• Windows 8 - "8" because cats were taken and dog races don't sound as intimidating
    1,617 replies, posted
[img]http://i.imgur.com/svxW5.png[/img] Welcome to the Windows 8 Megathread. Windows 8 was released on October 26th 2012. Read on to find out more. [img]http://i.imgur.com/cBoIo.png[/img] Perhaps the most talked debated feature of 8 is the new start menu. [img]http://i.imgur.com/wEXdQ.jpg[/img] The new start menu isn't a menu at all. In fact, it's a screen! That's right, the start menu now takes up your entire display, not just the little 400x600 area it took up before. Many people seem to have the idea that this is the new desktop and they don't like it. It's not true! Your traditional desktop is an icon on the start screen, only a click away. The new start screen also allows you to also launch new applications, commonly called "Metro Style" applications. These applications are full screen immersive applications - think of them as apps on a tablet, phone, whatever. These applications do not have to be touch first, however. Many metro applications work just as well with a keyboard and mouse. For example, the popular game "Cut The Rope" was modified to be a Metro application that works just as well with a touch screen as well as a mouse. But to get to this new start screen, you must log in. There is a new way to log into windows. [img]http://i.imgur.com/snLoK.jpg[/img] Instead of the traditional logon you are greeted with a full sized picture, along with the time and a few live feeds of information. To log in, you simply tap the spacebar (or swipe from the bottom, if you have a touch device) to enter your password and / or go to the start screen. You also have the option to enter a picture password, where you can perform different gestures over a photo to login. The next cool feature in Windows 8 is "System Refresh/Reset". [img]http://i.imgur.com/sVuzT.jpg[/img] System Refresh allows you to do a format of your computer while keeping most of your data intact - your metro style applications, your files, documents, etc. It unfortunately does not keep your desktop apps. System Reset allows you to do a complete format and restores your computer back to its out-of-box state. (Tip: You can actually create the image it uses to reset. So you can install all your games, etc and set that as the image). It's useful when you want to keep nothing - or have everything backed up to your SkyDrive account (And we'll get into that later as well). On the desktop side of things, the Ribbon has been added to Explorer. [img]http://i.imgur.com/8VC8d.jpg[/img] the screen that the old Explorer window did. The buttons in the ribbon are useful for both computer noobs and power users alike. If you don't like it, collapse it. Simple as that. After trying it out I have found it incredibly useful. Task manager has also been updated, providing a more detailed view to your running processes and applications - including graphs and statistics. [img]http://i.imgur.com/Wmz0u.png[/img] There is a new "file history" system to keep your files backed up - similar to Apple's Time Capsule. [img]http://i.imgur.com/UyFlo.png[/img] There is also a new integration with Windows Skydrive - you get 25GB of storage space for whatever you want - great for backing up files before a format or just to be safe from data loss. A webcam app is included by default. Exciting. [img]http://i.imgur.com/xRWDt.jpg[/img] Portable Workspaces are a new feature for enterprise editions - allowing people to take their computer anywhere they go on a 32GB+ flash drive. If it can boot from a flash drive, they can use their computer on it. [img]http://i.imgur.com/PEsCR.jpg[/img] There are many other small things added into Windows 8 - changes have been made so that your computer boots faster, shuts down faster, has a longer battery life, and many other performance improvements. Since Microsoft's antitrust agreement has expired, many features, such as an Antivirus program (more detail below) and a PDF reader, are now available out of the box. A built in-antivirus, Windows Defender, now is included by default. (Windows Defender used to be only an anti-spyware application, but it has been expanded to be a full antivirus program - likely based off of the highly successful Microsoft Security Essentials. [img]http://i.imgur.com/yAEz4.jpg[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/JBExV.png[/img] Windows 8 went RTM (released to manufacturers, including partners like HP) on August 1st. Expect to see it hitting shelves on October 26th, 2012. The Release Preview is available on Microsoft's website. See [url]http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso[/url] for more info. [img]https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1p0AZu10OIghUwUKYbof7S4VMWSsEAdbkRBj2jt12Oyatij_Rg0ioH_e1BJlKnIZZfYrqEh8YIiqeuh3SulqSp7w/WhyTheStart1.png?psid=1[/img] You probably heard Windows 8 was touch optimized, and as a result the new Start Screen sucked for mouse and keyboard. Well, I’m here to tell you that that isn’t necessarily true. Is the Start Screen touch optimized? Yes, it definitely is. Is it bad for mouse and keyboard? No. Now here’s some reasons why. I recommend reading [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/11/reflecting-on-your-comments-on-the-start-screen.aspx]this blog post[/url] by Microsoft, but as it’s a long affair I’ll shorten it down a bit and show all the fine charts. [b]The Start Screen can hold more programs[/b] [img] https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pBv9QzxB4i-9nB-EZRHnxy8yoSPnLsvf2MV3juX2EKuNIggOUae9EYC9U1giIXCNejJncFaeK0nk7TSDzt83lnQ/WhyTheStart5.png?psid=1[/img] This is the first point, and it’s an important one. You may say “Well, I don’t have more than x programs in my Start Menu, so why would I want that many on the Start Screen anyway?” - but that is really hitting the nail on the head. Read on. [b]The Start Menu was obsolete[/b] The Start Menu was meant to launch programs, but if people don’t actively pin the programs they’re using, why even have it all? As we can see in this chart, usage of the start menu went down a cliff between Vista and 7 (with the introduction of the “Superbar”): [img]https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pHxJcm_vMCqy6eq2_jjhUFa6olsuUNl9XVF-2GMKFgqkn-9MhlohXEmqBL0sdgdLQS0nKtMn3lGRcHX0hG-ASTQ/WhyTheStart3.png?psid=1[/img] And people put their important shortcuts on the taskbar, not the Start menu: [img]https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pk8TW0_8rQ6Qct0DZQCEdGD6M6YCqp3VU2fm5qt3hQ0Wn6kxP-I8tRHFLD-_RoL0OgA_27NSVhLAQD8-B7UDVqA/WhyTheStart2.png?psid=1[/img] This means that the Start Menu has essentially been replaced in functionality by the taskbar, and in general I found my self using it for search and not much else. I don’t know whether that’s the case for the lot of you, but I think many of you would recognize that behavior. [b]The Start Screen is easily organized and managed [/b] I may sound like a commercial, but it’s true. With the introduction of “Groups” you can easily order your stuff instead of having it all over the place, as seen here: [img]https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pgztEckFQIFv9KvdlcaG3hW15zY-HqufeYbmw6vQ1Fx98zYXIxw7XOSD6O6iuua2L5pkuDZSaxFB1i4nyPTy4vA/WhyTheStart.png?psid=1[/img] The thing you might notice here is that I’ve pinned quite a lot of stuff that you most probably wouldn’t pin on the start menu. Games for example – instead of going from Star Menu -> 2nd menu (Steam) -> Game, I can go from Start Screen -> Game. The same with the folders – they may not be something I use often, but instead of going through a few hierarchical menus, I can just pull it up just like that. All my School programs are there as well. [b]Why the Start Screen isn’t [i]only[/i] touch-optimized[/b] By now you’ve probably come to understand some of the advantages of the Start Screen, but you might be thinking “Yeah, that’s great and all – but if I can’t use it with mouse and keyboard then what’s the point?”. And this is where we get to “Well, you can. Quite easily in fact”. Here I’m going to use from charts from the blog. Again: [img]https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pAXeZksKivNU-DTr9t2sBTYMg7HJyHeEGanxKkCiVEX1kkiXtwhHzRobyEM6xnCdb0Z6MaU8Hug70yQDK6J8NAQ/WhyTheStart4.png?psid=1 [/img] These heat maps are made using some equation some air engineer thought out. Humans aren’t machines, so I thought “why not let you try it for yourself?” I made a quite extreme comparison between the Start Screen and the Start Menu, but I think it illustrates the point well enough. In the comparison, both the start screen and start menu are showing as many apps as possible (which is to say, the Start Screen is showing 80, the Start Menu 20), and you’ll have to click the one furthest from the left-hand corner. You’ll notice that the Start Screen icon is further away, but I think you’ll find that the difference between hitting either is minimal. The only difference is that you’ll have 4 times as many apps within that reach with the Start Screen. Try it yourself [url=https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y1pbHyWlWOi0mSgCoqkiODnkyxm9JW267J1PVbtymY_jU9ZSJ6AvV6SfBsmaQa0xNI4R6JLrF5HnV6bTs08G6T6vg/6355.Page14-2_0CE4F0661.png?psid=1]here[/url] (in full screen of course). Now, I’ve covered the advantages of the Start Screen here, but there are of course few downsides as well. I don’t find those downsides especially important, but some of you may, and therefore the Start Menu might be better suited for your needs, I don’t know, and it isn’t for me to say whichever you must prefer. Still, I recommend trying Windows 8 and the new Start Screen out – if you really can’t live without the old Start Menu, you can always buy something like “StartIsBack” or “Start8”, they work rather well as far as I know. Charms just suck, though. Blog posts by MS (relevant to the Start Screen): [url]http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/11/reflecting-on-your-comments-on-the-start-screen.aspx[/url] [url]http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/03/evolving-the-start-menu.aspx[/url] [url]http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/04/designing-the-start-screen.aspx[/url] [b]All credit for the (original) OP goes to Panda X and Jimmy422, though I might add some stuff. Stuff about Start Screen added.[/b]
Let's start this off right... Windows 8 sux!!!1! XP fo LYFE!
Windows 8 is gr8 imo. I have it on my laptop, and it's really nice to finally have touchpad gestures in windows.
There's a lot of great new features in the new Windows 8 package, but one thing I'm constantly worried about with Windows is the increasing size requirements and RAM requirements. On my 2GB RAM desktop PC Windows 8 runs like horse shit, which is a really darn shame, because it gives me such a bad impression on the operating system. I expect that the 32GB is the recommended size for a portable workspace boot, and not a requirement? I'm a full time Sabayon Linux user, but don't let that stir your view to think that I automatically bash everything Microsoft and Apple.
A guy from microsoft did a talk at my uni yesterday, and I wish what he said could somehow be expressed in marketing, because it's the first I've truly understood Windows 8, despite having mostly enjoyed using it for the past few months. Many great points were raised, such as an example where someone had been asked to sketch the ui of windows 7 and windows 8 in paint. For 7, the taskbar with a few circles and a singular blank window with titlebar, title and the 3 top right buttons. For 8, a title and a fullscreen grid of square tiles. It was obvious which one focused on content, and which on chrome. And the comparison of metro icons to legacy gradient-filled windows 7 ones - perhaps more obvious but still a very valid point. This is an improvement that anyone can understand, but seeing the entire of metro in the same way is much more difficult. Obviously I'm not saying that metro is suited for productivity or indeed anything beyond a fancy start menu or a tablet. It's got a long way to go yet. And they need to come up with a better way to use corner buttons and charms with a keyboard and mouse. The rest of metro is grand with a mouse, but I hate hovering to see menus and invisible buttons. But yeah, if anyone can find a video of the presentation We, Human by Andrew Spooner, I strongly recommend it. Inspirational as fuck.
One thing that could have been done better would be if we could add custom tiles by default. Luckily Oblytile exists, but still it would be better if it was built-in.
click in
The camera app on my laptop drops frames all the time in the recorded video :c It only uses 4% CPU usage so idk
The other thread was locked for (an idiotic) reason. This one will be too. You now have to create a new thread for everything regarding anything.
Nope, this thread can stay. [editline]27th February 2013[/editline] From what I've gathered the rule is "megathreads are allowed except when they aren't"
It makes no sense, what's the point in continuously locking threads when realistically it makes no difference? 20 threads with a 1000 posts would be the same as a single thread with 20000 posts.
[QUOTE=Panda X;39737597]The other thread was locked for (an idiotic) reason. This one will be too. You now have to create a new thread for everything regarding anything.[/QUOTE] This is a good rule, megathreads do not work in a traditional linear forum structure. Finding information and following a line of discussion are made much harder than they need to be.
[QUOTE=Darkimmortal;39738462]This is a good rule, megathreads do not work in a traditional linear forum structure. Finding information and following a line of discussion are made much harder than they need to be.[/QUOTE] How so, it's not like anyone is going to go back 1000 posts and read every single one of the to look for information and lines of discussions generally only last one or two pages, which then you would end up back where you were.
[QUOTE=Panda X;39737642]It makes no sense, what's the point in continuously locking threads when realistically it makes no difference? 20 threads with a 1000 posts would be the same as a single thread with 20000 posts.[/QUOTE] Garry said something a while back about slowdown due to data usage. That's why he refreshes it every now and then.
[QUOTE=woolio1;39733428]Let's start this off right... Windows 8 sux!!!1! XP fo LYFE![/QUOTE] xp was a cashout for m$. they lost their soul Win95 forever
why can't i open links from programs like steam, teamspeak, skype, etc.? i had this problem for a while then suddenly it stopped and now it's back, i haven't changed any settings since then though tried turning UAC off, making sure chrome is default browser etc. but nothing works and when i click on links in programs nothing happens, they're not even clickable
I don't know, I just bought 7 for my new build and I'm not sure how great of a move that was.
Does anyone know the shortcut to arrange items by when they were modified
Thinking of getting windows 8 You guys suggest tablet or notebook? Look at the surface pro and asus taichi. Not sure which to get
[QUOTE=shian;39746688]Thinking of getting windows 8 You guys suggest tablet or notebook? Look at the surface pro and asus taichi. Not sure which to get[/QUOTE] I'd take a look at the Dell XPS 12 and the Thinkpad Yoga 13, they're both solid convertibles.
[t]http://d.ezhik.me/public/screenshots/i just accidentally the entire metro experience.png[/t] tell me what's wrong with this screenshot :v
The pony desktop background, because you're a faggot? [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Flaming / homophobia" - MaxOfS2D))[/highlight]
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;39747071]I'd take a look at the Dell XPS 12 and the Thinkpad Yoga 13, they're both solid convertibles.[/QUOTE] Are they cheaper or anything? Or the specs better?
[QUOTE=shian;39749300]Are they cheaper or anything? Or the specs better?[/QUOTE] Longer battery life, and convertibles are arguably a better form factor than tablets when it comes to Windows 8. You'll miss the keyboard sooner or later, and trackpads are useful in their right. The Taichi is a convertible, but it has short battery life and the second screen is nigh useless, really - just makes it expensive.
[QUOTE=Ezhik;39749003][t]http://d.ezhik.me/public/screenshots/i just accidentally the entire metro experience.png[/t] tell me what's wrong with this screenshot :v[/QUOTE] You've got the desktop integrated with the start screen, and that's, quite frankly, genius... Seriously, do something like Mac OS X's virtual desktops, and have a way to scroll sideways through your desktops, and your start screen on the farthest left panel. That sounds amazing.
[QUOTE=woolio1;39750348]You've got the desktop integrated with the start screen, and that's, quite frankly, genius... Seriously, do something like Mac OS X's virtual desktops, and have a way to scroll sideways through your desktops, and your start screen on the farthest left panel. That sounds amazing.[/QUOTE] Yeah, that would've been really awesome. Actually I just accidentally used an utility that allowed to remove borders from game windows (because games these days don't work with alt-tab very well) on a Metro app, and, well, this all happened.
So, I just installed Windows 8 on my netbook (Eee PC 1001PXD), and it has a maximum resolution of 1024x600. The minimum required resolution to use all those fancy Metro apps is 1024x768. I know there's some registry hack I can use to set my resolution to 1024x768, but I don't want everything looking squished. Is there some way around this?
Every time i pin Chrome to the start, it disappears. Then when i repin it, it says its the like 4th one. Whats wrong?
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;39750093]Longer battery life, and convertibles are arguably a better form factor than tablets when it comes to Windows 8. You'll miss the keyboard sooner or later, and trackpads are useful in their right. The Taichi is a convertible, but it has short battery life and the second screen is nigh useless, really - just makes it expensive.[/QUOTE] Nice, thanks. But if there's any windows 8 that is like the transformer prime, I'll get it.
Reasons why I need something better than splashtop: [t]http://puu.sh/28pvA[/t] And how it usually looks [t]http://puu.sh/2a45Q[/t]
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