Windows 8 News, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

03/12/13-Windows 8 News, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good.  No such thing as bad media.
Windows 8 continues to dominate Tech News and is on the minds of all it's devoted detractors.  I don't know why the outpouring of negative news concerning Windows 8.  I have received positive reviews from nearly 100 percent of my colleagues and clients who are using the latest OS and other than a couple of devices that were not supported, implementations have been trouble free.  In shops that took advantage of the unbelievable $39.99 upgrade special to Windows 8 Pro, they have experienced increased performance out of their old hardware.

and for all you Windows 8 warriors a couple of good links to enhance your experience.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/15-essential-windows-8-keyboard-shortcuts

http://blog.laptopmag.com/top-10-windows-8-apps

The Bad.  Microsoft screwed up.
I have been using Windows 8 since it first came out as a beta version in 2011.  I bought an Acer Iconia W500 tablet with Windows 7.  The tablet was too sluggish with Windows 7 plus it lacked the pizzazz of an iPad or Android tablet.  I immediately jumped on Windows 8, upgraded the tablet and voila!  I have loved the tablet and OS ever since.

When the OS was released the bad press and false statements surfaced.  There has been enough false press and statements to stall both Snopes.com and urbanlegends.about.com fact checking servers.

You must have a touch screen, FALSE.
They did away with the Desktop, FALSE.
yada, yada, yada, FALSE.

In fact it is very ease to navigate the OS with mouse and keyboard only.  The familiar desktop is alive and well.  It is accessible via Windows key, alt+Tab or simply clicking on the desktop tile.  Everything was great to me but then I read an article about consumers and computer users in general that made me think that I had been wrong about Windows 8 and the associated backlash.

Computer users defined:

·         A tiny percentage (say one percent) of users are experts, with a high tolerance for learning.
·         A few more (say nine percent) of users are willing adopters — they have an expectation that the product will meet their needs, and some (albeit low) tolerance for learning.
·         The remaining 90 percent of users just use technology to get a job done and have no tolerance for learning at all. These are mainstreamers.  (remember this term I will used it later).

After reading this article I concluded that Microsoft did make two glaring mistakes that I hope they fix and soon.

1.  The default interface on boot is the Metro UI.  This is an assemblage of Tiles for Apps which is great for Tablets and Phones and there is a Tile for the Desktop that upon selection opens the familiar Windows 7 desktop which computer users are accustomed.  No problem for me but why not allow a choice of which interface to be the default upon Start up.  Also Microsoft, allow the user to easily turn off the Charm Bar and all Metro Apps that keep causing the user to jump from Desktop mode to the Metro UI interface and consequently wondering how to close the App and return to the desktop.

2.  The second needed change is to return the Start Button if only for the sake of continuity between Windows 7 and Windows 8.  This is a prime example of the 10 percent and 90 percent users.  Why the drastic change in the way to do basic tasks?  The basics should just flow from one OS to the other.  Both of these miscues have been addressed by 3rd party sources but these changes should be incorporated into Windows 8 right out of the box.  Consumers don't want to have to research or make these changes nor should they.

I have a 12 year old Apple iMac with OS X v10.2 (Jaguar, see Note A) and with each successive new Apple OS that has been released since then, the basic way of navigating and performing tasks have remained the same.  This allows users to do what is important, get their work done and check out the new features later rather than having to relearn the basics of how to perform tasks and where these tasks are located.

The link below explains what I consider the Bad.

http://www.zdnet.com/will-90-percent-of-users-always-hate-windows-8-7000012348/?s_cid=e539

The Ugly.  The Media is biased towards Android and Apple.
I have listed 3 news links after my comments below.

The first link is to an article about a CEO who wanted to implement Lenovo's Yoga Ultrabook running Windows 8 Pro as the tool of choice for her traveling staff.  She wanted the combined effectiveness of a tablet for presentations and a notebook for productivity.  The negative points for her was 1.  Dropbox which her company relies on.  The Dropbox App did not sync properly and lacked the synced file folder she was accustomed to.  2.  She did not like having to sign into Windows using a Microsoft account.  She had to use a long-abandoned Hotmail account and 3.  The Lenovo's screen orientation (rotation) did not work properly in Tent mode for presentations.

Several posters as well as myself responded that points 1 and 2 were wrong.  On point 2, Windows 8 during setup gives you the option of signing in as a Local User rather than using a Windows Account.  She was obviously in too much of a hurry to read the screen when setting up and the columnist was in too big of a hurry to check the facts and verify this.  It makes you wonder if the journalist had even used Windows 8.

I don't know about the Dropbox App but I do know that in Desktop mode you can open a browser, download and install Dropbox as before with the synced File folder, no problem.  Don't know why the columnist didn't check this either.  As far as the her 3rd point about the screen orientation problem with her Lenovo Yoga, I have a Lenovo Twist which does not rotate properly in tablet mode.  However, I look at it as more of a manufacturer/driver issue than a Windows 8 problem.

I can't fault the CEO of the company, the screen rotation would be a huge problem for her needs and she stated that she was not an IT person.  I do fault the journalist for failing to check and report facts rather than spread innuendo.  I guess he didn't care.

The second link is to an article by a journalist who I enjoy reading but he has a slant toward Linux.  I use Linux and it has apps and browsers that allow me to enjoy the internet, compose a letter, create a spreadsheet and check email without problem.  However to run Windows programs which I need for my accounting and for compatibility issues I have to use a Terminal or emulation program both of which are detrimental to performance.  My clients who are Apple based use Parallels to run Windows programs.  They pay 3 times more for the Apple hardware simply to run Windows programs more slowly, go figure.  

His main points in this article are about the useless Metro Interface and that there are no new innovations in the Desktop.

While I think and stated previously that the user should be able to push the Metro interface to the background rather than front and center, I don't think it is useless.  Trying to print from an iPad or iPhone is useless without an Apple AirPort or a restrictive work around App.  That is what Metro is about, the inclusiveness of Tablets and phones in the IT environment.

a little good with the ugly, Window Phone Kid Test, http://news.cnet.com/8301-33620_3-57573982-278/will-they-switch-the-kid-test-windows-phone-vs-iphone/?tag=nl.e404&s_cid=e404&ttag=e404

The Desktop not being innovative is kind of Apple like good, continued familiarity for users (mainstreamers) who don't like change.

The third link is by the same columnist who writes another article lamenting the fact that he can't dual boot his Windows 8 machine into Linux because Microsoft UEFI, Secure boot prevents ual booting of non Windows OSs on new machines.  The fact that dual booting the leading manufacturer machines because of Microsoft UEFI, Secure boot that prevents Dual booting of OSs on new machines points to the lack of demand for Linux technology by the 90 percent of consumers who just want to accomplish their work, the mainstreamers.

I will build a machine this week using the latest all new parts and put to the test this controversy about not being allowed to dual boot OSs that are not Microsoft.  I will use either Ubuntu's latest distro or Mint and report back upon completion with my findings.

Funny how there are no complaints about not being able to install Apple's IOS on Intel hardware that costs two thirds less than the same hardware from Apple, because it is illegal to do so and Apple will sue.  No complaints at all.

The Ugly:

http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-convertible-my-3-month-test-dr/240150093?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-03-07_html&elq=7610a86edd5b4eb3877710c549dba153

http://www.zdnet.com/five-reasons-why-windows-8-has-failed-7000012104/

http://www.zdnet.com/linux-on-windows-8-pcs-some-progress-but-still-a-nuisance-7000010697/


Notes:
a.  In 2002 Mac OS X v10.2 Jaguar, replaced Puma which replaced Panther and although with the exception of when Apple migrated from the Power PC chips made by Motorola to Intel (remember they told us they had the fastest chips but for some reason changed to Intel), I don't think Apple has ever come out with a completely new operating system.  Rather Apple's  "new Releases" are bug fixes which incorporate new features to keep pace with the marketplace.

b.  I think one of the reasons many clients have been so satisfied with Windows 8 has to do with the performance of the new Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 desktops.  The 64 bit OS coupled with the increase in available RAM dramatically improves the computing performance for all users.