Windows 8 on the desktop—an awkward hybrid. Windows 8's new user interface has proven nothing short of polarizing.
The hybrid operating system pairs a new GUI concept, the touch-friendly Metro interface, to the traditional windows, icons, menus, and pointer concept that Windows users have depended on for decades. In so doing, it removes Windows mainstays such as the Start button and Start menu. While few are concerned about Windows 8's usability as a tablet operating system, desktop users remain wary.
Will the new operating system take a huge step back in terms of both productivity and usability? Specific concerns voiced in our forums have included the mandated fullscreen view and a lack of resizable windows, the tight restrictions on what applications are permitted to do, and the automatic termination of background applications. The good news is that these specific criticisms are largely off-base. Let's run through the most common interface elements and see how Windows 8 fixes old problems—and creates new ones of its own.
8 Things We Hate About Windows 8 - Page 2. 5.
Let Users Dictate Services It’s great and all that Microsoft has made an attempt to integrate third-party services directly into Windows 8 – in fact, the feature (found in both the People and Messaging apps, to name a few) made our list of “8 Things We Love About Windows 8.” What we don’t love, however, is the fact that Microsoft’s the one dictating which services get invited to the Windows 8 party and which are left sad and alone at home. We envision a future where we can only use Windows 8 to manage a handful of social networks and instead have to use Internet Explorer – or, more likely, a browser that isn’t horrible – to catch our friends elsewhere.
Or perhaps some other third-party apps: You’re not going to find your Steam contacts within Windows 8’s contact list, nor your AIM, Yahoo, or Google Chat friends within Messaging (as of right now within the Consumer Preview), et cetera. We would have much preferred Microsoft to make a handshake instead of a closed fist. 6. 7. 8. 8 Things We Love About Windows 8. Windows 8 has certainly taken its share of criticism since the official debut of Microsoft’s Consumer Preview last Wednesday (Download and install it here).
But let there be no anger within this article. It would be wrong to just crap on all of Microsoft’s latest attempts at Windows brand revitalization because, guess what? There are some pretty nifty features to like within Windows 8. And guess what else? There’s a good reason why Microsoft has titled this sneak preview of its operating system as a “Consumer Preview” and not, “Windows 8: Set In Stone Final.” So, what’s there to like about Windows 8? 1. Finally, Microsoft crawls out of its Hobbit hole to acknowledge that there are more platforms on this earth than just those that start with “Microsoft,” “Windows,” or “Hot.” Once it works, Windows 8’s “Messaging” function will draw from your comprehensive well of “People” and allows you to chat with them via a single interface. 2. A Skydrive for every home!
Guess what? 3. Got it? 4.