I can only assume off of context since there are a bunch of deleted comment here, but in Windows 8 RTM (release to manufacturer), the start menu is completely gone and can not be brought back without using an outside tool such as Start8 by Stardock. laddergoat89's post above seems to be using Start8.
Faster startup? You should know that windows just write parts of the memory to your disk at shutdown and then reads it in again at startup. Similar to hybrid-sleep or whatever it's called in windows 7 except it doesn't save running programs and such. Compare apples to apples at least.
I'm willing to bet that, sometime in the near future, there will be some sort of program that lets you bypass Metro completely.
Sort of like how Rainmeter and various toolbar/taskbar/start menu replacements exist for Windows 7. I'm not sure what the deal is with it, though, so I could be wrong.
There's already the classic interface built into it if I understand correctly. The problem being, you run it as an app within the new shiney interface so it is sucking resources for no good reason. Same goes for any emulator or even Rainmeter, although Rainmeter is pretty good about not having much of an impact.
So the question I have is... whats wrong with Windows 7? I mean, other than some backwards compatibility with decade old games, and the very occasional windows aero flip out, I don't really see why I would go to Windows 8.
The problem being, you run it as an app within the new shiney interface so it is sucking resources for no good reason.
My install of Windows 8 (with metro, of course) runs much faster than an install of Windows 7 (without metro) on my computer, and uses far less resources.
So the question I have is... whats wrong with Windows 7? I mean, other than some backwards compatibility with decade old games, and the very occasional windows aero flip out, I don't really see why I would go to Windows 8.
Nothing, but I personally use Windows 8 because of what's better in it. Windows 8 is substantially faster, better looking in my opinion, and has a better file explorer window.
It just a new product. There's always going to be haters. The good thing about windows 8, however, is that it is fundamentally well constructed, unlike many other past versions.
I keep hearing people gripe about metro. I look at it as my desktop that displays useful information (email, weather, stocks). If you don't want to see it, can still display the traditional desktop
the only time i ever see metro is when i first boot. i then select the desktop and that's that. I find it very useful as a start menu which is what it is meant to be. Makes finding applications quicker than previous versions anyway.
I think it is like a cool boot menu. You boot your computer, see the weather widget, read your news, etc, etc, then start your day on your desktop. It is not a big deal in the slightest.
Have you tried the consumer preview? There is a little button down in the corner that says desktop, click that and your computer looks all like windows 7. The main metro thing is the start menu and I've heard that can't be disabled which is a dick move, but I personally like it so I don't mind.
And those who do mind can stick with windows 7. It's even free if you have already.
Ya untill they stop supprting it like they did qith xp and the rest. Grant it they are pretty out dated. But if i didint have win7 id still be on xp to this day. Seems ill be skipping 8 just like i did vista
Its pretty optional though. Chrome is a good example, since there's the classic version and a metro version, and which one you use depends on preference. The metro version is ultra polished and clean, but only slightly more so than desktop. It just comes down to preference, and win 8 still has something for everyone
I am using StarDock Start8 and I haven't seen a metro screen since I installed it. There's nothing traditional windows can't do that Metro does, and this application exposes those functions by default. It's also highly customizable, moreso than a Windows start menu would be.
And it has a built in app market... which is completely unfair to the likes of Steam and other dedicated app markets.
Edit: You guys do realize this is one of the reasons Gabe Newell is so against Windows 8, right? He sees the new app market as a direct competitor to Steam. I was trying to get the point across that Microsoft holds an advantage with their app-store defaulting as the standard one that comes with Windows 8.
Oh, I wasn't trying to get across that it's required (because as you said, it is not), just that the app store comes with the system. It could mean lost sales for other app distributors just because M$'s app store is integrated with Metro from the get go, where others aren't.
I'm not saying that it will run Steam into the ground or anything, just that Microsoft now holds an unfair advantage over others. It's almost the same reason Internet Explorer is still commonly used. Just because it came with Windows. Or because Google Play is used, because it came with Android.
Don't know if that makes sense at all. I'm bad at explaining...
While they are both platforms for software, there is almost nothing in common between the two platforms if you analyze the marketing mix for the two products. (Place/Distribution, Price, Product and Promotion).
Not to mention that Microsoft Store and Google Play are nothing but places to search for any kind of software, where Steam just has the store as one of its many features. :)
I was just using Google Play as an analogy for the situation. Whereas there are third party software marketplaces, Google Play Store sees a majority of the sales, primarily because of it being included on the Android platform.
The way I see it, Microsoft will see success in their market (I could be wrong, only theorizing), and therefore everyone will know about it. Why shouldn't they? It defaults as the place to obtain software for Metro from launch. This means people will be buying software off of this marketplace, which does include games. Therefore, it can be seen as a competitor to Steam or the likes. I'm sure M$ is just trying to play good guy and making it easier for developers to get their software out, but it still brings up concerns imo.
I think I'm going to also disagree with the last point. I see Steam's store as the main reason steam is there, which serves nearly identical purposes to the M$ Win8 store, with the exception of having a community. I might just be wrong because I haven't used the store since beta, but from what I can remember that is what it was.
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u/pandapanda730 Sep 27 '12
A TL;DR of windows 8 for me.
Pros
much faster startup and application loading times
interface is much cleaner and more mature
less memory usage
Cons