Windows 8 recently became available on MSDN/technet so I decided to give Microsoft's latest and much maligned iteration of Windows a whirl. I didn't install to a physical computer, instead opting for a VMWare guest install to give it a look see.
Setup
Setup was surprisingly simple, and somehow asked even fewer questions than Win7, if memory serves. It did provide a bit less feedback, and for some reason you sign in to Windows with a hotmail or other Microsoft account (which could arguably be a problem for people that don't have one) But, when you think about it, this isn't exactly new. You need an account with Apple to work with iTunes and the iTunes store and things. I think you can skip it and not deal with the Windows app store, too.
Metro "The New Windows 8 UI"
This is the part that is getting the most flak as far as Windows 8 is concerned. I've heard a lot of rants about it, but never actually seen it in action myself, so tried to defer judgement for it. I'll admit it's certainly different and could take some getting used to compared to the previous paradigm, but I neither see that as a bad thing, nor do I see this as a bad thing. It takes a look back to see how this is a step forward; We've really been using the taskbar paradigm since Windows 95, and every version of windows since has had that. However, while Windows 95's Taskbar fit the document centric paradigm of the day, it doesn't really work as well when we are talking about social media, network, and internet focussed activities, for which there is little doubt is the center of many peoples computer activities. This new UI will probably work very well with touchscreens, which are poised to become a "thing" on desktop machines, making the cries that "OMG it's for tablets" obsolete as touchscreen monitors slowly replace "output only" monitors like LCDs replaced CRTs. ClearType was designed just as LCDs started to come down in price, and was pretty pointless on CRT screens, but much like the Win8 style tried to "predict" where things were going.
Windows key still works the same for a given key sequence to search, which is nice. Lack of a start menu in desktop mode doesn't bother me at all, since I never used it (with the exception of search, which still works fine.
Also: I really like some of the touches that were added. When I installed firefox, it instantly detected it and prompted me to ask if I wanted to change my default browser. Hopefully this will remove that INFURIATING prompt by every single bloody browser that complains when it isn't the default. Every time I start IE here, "Oh, hey, I notice you set some other browser as the default. That HAS to be a mistake, do you want to fix that mistake and set me as the default" Same for Chrome, and Opera... This should help since Win8 will recognize new browsers and ask you itself, rather than having every browser ask you every single time it starts.
I also like the overview the "win8 style" gives... (I really don't like the troubles that Metro AG legal trouble is causing...); hotmail inbox, right there. Often used apps, right there. And programs can add new interactive tiles with WinRT, too, which adds a lot of possibilities. Considering the fact that a lot of the "decked out" Windows desktops have pretty much the same crapton of pointless gadgetry that Win8 includes, I'm surprised how many people hate it for that reason.
A lot of the complaints I've heard still don't really echo with me after using win8. one of the common ones I hear is "you can't quit applications!". But when you think about it, isn't that a bit outmoded in some respects? I believe the new model makes sense- applications that are idle for a given period are essentially "hibernated" in that they are told "hey, save your stuff in this propertybag, I'll give it back when you wake up" and that application is terminated. When you go back to that "active" program, it re-reads that data and goes right back to where it was. One could argue that people thinking that the applications never close is actually evidence of this functionality working perfectly. There really is no reason to think about computing in terms of discrete processes and programs, instead I think the ideal case- and this was first stepped towards on the Windows side with Windows 95- is to think of programs merely as building blocks in a workflow for a given task. Instead of having to think "OK, I have it in that E-Mail. so I'll start my E-mail client, and get the Mail, and close it" You just open the E-mail client and grab the information you need. No need to quit the program, since applications will be "hibernated" when they sit idle or memory runs tight.
One thing I don't like is the dumping of Aero, because I kind of liked that look. And I cannot seem to find how or where to customize the Win8 style desktop... thing... aside from the colour chosen during setup, that is. But this is all within the first half-hour.
My plan was to learn WinRT and get some apps on the Windows Store, since that is a better place than my website for advertising, even if I sell for a few dollars. Heck just in using Win8 I thought of a few app ideas- namely, something to customize things like the metro background and stuff, which would likely be possible via tweaks (assuming I didn't simply miss an obvious config dialog, that is).
