I opted for the 39.00 upgrade, I figured "how bad can it be"?
About 2 hours after installing on my desktop, I completely wiped the drive and went back to Win7. It was just utterly horrible. How dare they remove the start button! How dare they push these ugly and very inconvenient tiles on me!
But then I saw a Sony VAIO Tap 20 machine, which is a 20" portable all in one touch screen system. I had to have it! I could use it to replace my laptop, bring a computer wherever I felt like using it AND use it as a giant 20" tablet with a full computing experience!
I want it, I want it!
So I ordered it. It was love at first sight....
I had a completely different user experience with Windows 8 on this machine. The touch interface really made a difference here. After using it a few days, I opted to put Windows 8 back on my desktop.
I can see some of the merits in this new OS, but it really should allow it self to be installed based on the type of machine you are installing on. They should give the option to install in desktop mode to mimic the Windows 7 desktop user experience, or tablet mode for the full touch experience.
On my desktop, I purchased the $5.00 Start8 software, which gives me back my Start button (and a customizable start button and start menu, or just plain classic start menu of Windows 7), AND allows my desktop to go straight to the desktop and bypass the start screen, and allows me to shutdown more easily.
There have been some good improvements in Windows 8:
- Faster start up -- my desktop machine starts up in about 6 seconds due to the way Windows 8 shuts down
- I like the file copy progress dialogs, which show the copy statistics and keep your preference
- When attempting to copy files of the same name, you can view all conflicts in one screen and just do the whole operation en masse, or choose what to do individually.
- Better usage of system resources
- Much improved task manager
- The start screen is great on a touch screen or tablet (NOT on a desktop machine)
- Spell check EVERYWHERE! This is really a great thing.
- The Xbox games are pretty good
- Allows you to sync settings across devices, but this can be changed on each individual device.
- I like the full screen apps for news reading and weather
- Some pretty good free apps. mostly news and social stuff, but kind of cool nonetheless
What I don't like:
- I miss the weather gadget on my desktop
- No clock on the start screen (But you can find one in the app store)
- Too much social integration. Fine for youngsters in this day and age, but I'm not a social butterfly
- Most store apps are pure garbage and overpriced. If you're going to push this as a seemingly tablet-like experience, the apps should be priced accordingly.
- The new interface takes a lot of getting used to
Overall, what started out as a terrible experience, turned out to be a pretty good one once I gave it some time.
Bottom line: A good touch device experience, and a good desktop experience if you give it some time, and learn how to make the OS work your way.
For someone that does not know much about computers and customizing, I can't see this as a viable desktop option.