Computer Related > Windows 8.1 Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Robin O'Reliant Replies: 14
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New Wed 19 Mar 14 18:20 
 Windows 8.1 - Robin O'Reliant
After a week and a half with 8.1 on the new laptop I must say I rather like it, though on day one I felt like flinging the thing at the wall. A "How to" book from Amazon helped me get the hang of the thing and though I haven't had that much time to use it (Still mainly on the desktop for now) I'm finding it better and easier to use.

What are other people's thoughts?
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New Wed 19 Mar 14 18:27 
 Windows 8.1 - Zero

>> What are other people's thoughts?

Its different. People don't like change. If you get the chance to use it exclusively its good, swopping constantly from 7-8-7 (as most people have to, because they have mixed OS machines) is an issue tho.
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New Wed 19 Mar 14 19:08 
 Windows 8.1 - Mike H
>> on day one I felt like flinging the thing at
>> the wall.

Know how you feel!!

I recently helped a friend in their 70s buy a new laptop, which came with Windows 8 (don't think it was 8.1). Having been in the computer world sínce 1971, and being a regular user of Windows 7 and Windows Vista, my first thoughts were that it has been dumbed down and made "easier to use" for the man (or woman) in the street by making it look like a smart phone. Having spent a limited time with it, I just got frustrated and irritated with the constant popping up of icons whenever the mouse got anywhere near the edges of the screen. Luckily I was able to hand it over to the new owner to familiarize themselves with. I couldn't even work out how to shut it down, so I just set the power-off button to be the "shut down" mechanism. I also got extremely irritated by it speaking to me as though I was a five year old when I first switched it on. Rant over.

Easier to use? No way, not for me! But then I don't live in the world of smart phones, I use mine for texts and phone calls ;-)
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 10:35 
 Windows 8.1 - movilogo
>> What are other people's thoughts?

Pile of dog poo :-)

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New Thu 20 Mar 14 12:36 
 Windows 8.1 - Fenlander
Glad it hasn't been to hard to adapt R O'R. I can only think those that don't like it haven't yet set it up properly. If someone was looking over my shoulder while doing everyday tasks at the computer they might think I was using Vista.... and I haven't downloaded any skins or extras.

Our household has three very different computer users from 17yrs - 57yrs and we all happily swap to and fro the two win 8.1 desktops to our Win 7 laptop many times during the evening.

Now and again you have to Google "How to xyz with Win 8.1" but that's getting infrequent now after a few weeks.
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 13:25 
 Windows 8.1 - rtj70
The issue most will have with Windows 8.x is the two separate user interfaces. Microsoft got it wrong. They looked at tablets and thought it was touch that made them popular and so introduced an interface that was most suited to touch for interaction. But they knew people would still want the old desktop so kept that. They are relaxing some of the restrictions Balmer's era at Microsoft insisted on. Aren't they allowing the new UI apps to run on the desktop now?

And the use of hidden 'charm' menus is not intuitive is it - certainly not a benefit when using Windows Server 2012. Shutdown/reboot options aren't obvious are they for example.

The irony is they seem to have adopted some UI features and methods of interaction from tablets to compete against tablets. And made the Windows 8 experience worse for it. And probably driven even more people towards iPads and Android tablets. It's not the touch interaction with tablets that appeals to most is it. Apart from cost, there the convenient form factor. As Zero has said many times, most users are consumers of media and don't need a full desktop/laptop.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 20 Mar 14 at 13:28
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 13:47 
 Windows 8.1 - Fenlander
>>>The issue most will have with Windows 8.x is the two separate user interfaces

Yes well this the bit I really don't understand... that's a good thing surely. It allows the traditional desktop interface for all the office/mail/browsing/photo folders & editing etc... then at the touch of the Windows button on the keyboard you can move over to TV/games/apps/news/weather etc.

For me this is the best bit so they are kept apart and are simple to toggle between.

I admit you have to set it up so all the programs you want open on the right side of the fence but that should be easily sorted in a couple of days.

>>> And the use of hidden 'charm' menus is not intuitive is it

Well it has proved to be after a very short while.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 20 Mar 14 at 13:48
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 13:51 
 Windows 8.1 - RattleandSmoke
The main problem with the Metro interface is it not windows in a literal sense. The entire point of windows is you can have many applications open on the same screen at the same time. It is not just about multitasking.

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New Thu 20 Mar 14 14:09 
 Windows 8.1 - Fenlander
Yep so just toggle back to the normal desktop for a full windows experience.

Of course you can have several apps open on the Metro side at the same time... and this can include the desktop as one "window".

For example at the moment on the Metro screen I have one third Bing news, middle third the desktop with several windows open inc C4P and the remainder a weather page.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 20 Mar 14 at 14:12
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 14:21 
 Windows 8.1 - Slidingpillar
As I've said before, I'm using 8.1 and was one of the very early users.

I've turned off most options that 8.1 offers with regard to appearance, and installed Classic Shell. Laptop is now perfectly adequate but it did take a bit of time to get there.
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 17:51 
 Windows 8.1 - Zero
>> As I've said before, I'm using 8.1 and was one of the very early users.
>>
>> I've turned off most options that 8.1 offers with regard to appearance, and installed Classic
>> Shell. Laptop is now perfectly adequate but it did take a bit of time to
>> get there.
>
Thats because you wanted 8.1 to look exactly like 7. It was perfectly adequate, and your time would have been better spent learning it rather than bending it. (and breaking it I seem to recall)
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 15:14 
 Windows 8.1 - Robin O'Reliant
>> Shutdown/reboot options aren't obvious are they for example.
>>
>>
Well, my knowledge of computers is at a fairly basic level but it took just a couple of minutes to set up shortcuts on the desktop for Shutdown/Restart.
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 15:31 
 Windows 8.1 - rtj70
My point is you shouldn't have to customise it like that. It should be fairly obvious for a new user to know how to shutdown or reboot.
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 16:06 
 Windows 8.1 - Robin O'Reliant
The big problem these days is the lack of any user manual supplied with computers. Ok, it's all available online but I find it a complete fag to have to keep changing screens when I'm in the middle of trying to find out how to do something. It's so much easier to have a book open beside you while you fiddle round with settings, etc. The eight quid I spent on a How To book has made the whole process much easier of using the new OS so much easier.
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New Thu 20 Mar 14 16:59 
 Windows 8.1 - No FM2R
I agree. But you can just print it out of course. [I do].
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