Now that Windows 8 has been out for awhile now, I was wondering if people (those who have used it on a regular basis) could give me their opinion about it. Is it worth upgrading/buying a new computer, or should people just stick with Windows Vista/7.

One reason I haven't upgraded yet is because the Metro interface seems to slow things down from a productivity standpoint by not being able to have multiple programs/documents open simultaneously, and switching between Desktop and Metro looks like a pain. And I haven't seen any high-end touchscreen laptops out there.

I have used Windows 8 since last September (2011): (aka in alpha)

Pros:
-It is much faster than win7. Boot time especially.
-It has a lot better task manager + file explorer.
-Better connections (wifi, bluetooth) management
-Built in Solid Virus + malware detection.
-Built in (but Metro-ized) Mail, Calendar and Social apps
-Cloud integration
-Better notifications (new mail, messages etc)
-Win8 is EXCELLENT and super intuitive on a touchscreen

Cons:
-SEARCH. I open everything pretty much by quickly searching the application name. Windows 8 adds an extra click to choose between searching file/settings/applications. Drives me nuts. Single worst thing about win8 in my opinion.
-Metro aka Modern UI aka the pain in the arse you just quickly bypass to get to real windows..the desktop
-Switching between desktop and Metro IS a pain. "desktop" is an "app" within Metro
-Inconsistent UI within Metro: Sometimes you right click, sometimes you bring up the side menu, sometimes you double click...and there is almost no real consistency between apps... including the Microsoft ones.
-"SplitView" in metro only works on 6:9 screens (mine is 16:10 but this shouldn't be a problem for anyone with a modern or consumer-oriented screen).
-Metro can be difficult to navigate with mouse an keyboard.
-First couple times I tried to shut down the computer I used the command prompt (but i am very familiar with this and it is always my goto when i encounter any oddity with windows) because they put the power menu in the side menu.


The cons may seem to outweight the benefits but in reality Windows 8 is the way to go. First off its actually difficult to get 7 on a new computer. Second of all Win8 IS a better OS. In time you will view Metro as just some glorified start menu. You dont lose too much productivity (except if you search!) if you just go right into the desktop as soon as you boot your computer. (or use the metro split screen to have messaging/mail/etc in the small panel while having the desktop in the main one).

Another small point is that Windows Blue (aka service pack 1) should be coming out soon. It should improve the metro expirience and is rumored to have a direct-to-desktop mode so you dont really ever deal with metro.

Metro can be used as a more information Consuming use case like an IPad, or you can just avoid that aspect an use it as a full screen start menu. Your Choice...


*Disclaimer. I use Win 8 with a Laptop (+external display, mouse, keyboard). I have used it with touchscreens a little bit for testing but my primary use-case is as a desktop.

Originally Posted by Allan

Now that Windows 8 has been out for awhile now, I was wondering if people (those who have used it on a regular basis) could give me their opinion about it. Is it worth upgrading/buying a new computer, or should people just stick with Windows Vista/7.

One reason I haven't upgraded yet is because the Metro interface seems to slow things down from a productivity standpoint by not being able to have multiple programs/documents open simultaneously, and switching between Desktop and Metro looks like a pain. And I haven't seen any high-end touchscreen laptops out there.

Windows Vista

Allan, run far away. Run as far away as you possibly can.

Other than that, I tend to agree with qwerty. I did not know about Windows Blue though, so that's worth reading up on.

Has anyone tried using it with real program liks photoshop, excel, ppt and prism/graphing software?

Its a huge barrier for me if it compromises those, I might switch to mac at this point

Originally Posted by britb

Has anyone tried using it with real program liks photoshop, excel, ppt and prism/graphing software?

Its a huge barrier for me if it compromises those, I might switch to mac at this point

It is compatible with anything that windows vista/7 is compatible with. In fact, it is mainly a cleaner looking windows 7 with a more flat, digital design. The metro interface is just a glorified start menu, which can be disabled if you so choose.

I didn't like it, to be honest with you.

Here's why:

1) Win 7 works perfectly fine for me. I'm very happy with it. I don't see the need for Metro UI unless you have a convertible laptop such as the Lenovo Yoga 13.
2) Yes, Win 8 boots considerably faster than Win 7. But my Desktop is always on. And I put my laptop to sleep. I rarely ever restart unless its because of a newly installed software.
3) The absence of the start button really bothers me. Yes, there are softwares out there to bring the start button back, but I don't like them.
4) Metro apps and the desktop applications seem like two different worlds sometimes. If you have a Skype APP installed, you can't run it from the Desktop. You have to go back to the metro UI to find it and run it. I don't know, this also really bothers me.


As I said, I think it's a really good option for those who have touch screen laptops/screens and specially for those who have a convertible laptop, but if you have neither, I would think that Win 8 would generally irritate you.

Also Vista???? Go to any current OS from Vista, you'll see a huge performance improvement regardless of the OS.

its sh*t! plain and simple.

stick with windows 7, and wait for windows 9. if no improvement, sigh...switch to a mac!

I thought everyone knew the trend that every other Microsoft OS is good.

If you don't use Metro (which is absolutely terrible) and it's features, It's a slightly better Windows 7, not enough of an improvement to pay to upgrade your OS/Computer, but definitely a bit better. If you do use Metro or don't know how to turn off/avoid it's features Windows 8 is significantly worse than Windows 7 and you're probably better off buying a Mac.

On my Surface Pro it works amazingly. Love the switch to Windows 8.

If you're using a touch interface (like the Surface) its pretty damn awesome since it was basically designed with touch screens in mind.

... Other interfaces such as desktop/mouse, the Metro part (the new start screen) is a little bit annoying. Excluding Metro however, windows 8 is more optimized than windows 7 since it's the next generation of OS (or at least that's the way it should be in theory, *cough* vista *cough*) - uses less RAM, and devices connect very easily (but i guess windows 7 never had a problem with that either). No idea if the boot time is that much faster, my experiences are biased since on the Surface i'm using an SSD with windows 8, and trying to compare it with my laptop with a regular HD and windows 7 haha

There are 3rd party apps and programs to remove Metro and bring back the old start button if you don't like it too while still using all the other functionality of W8.

Originally Posted by adaptation

There are 3rd party apps and programs to remove Metro and bring back the old start button if you don't like it too while still using all the other functionality of W8.

^This. I use Win 8 on my old laptop and it boots in no time. It's awesome! I just dont use the metro interface.

Performance/smoothness is what drives me to upgrade an OS. Does anyone know if windows 8 run programs like photoshop/matlab/vegas faster and has more optimized memory usage(less memory) for these programs?

@lgdynasty: Well, let's see. I haven't heard much on the Matlab front, so I can't really comment on that. I believe there might be (marginal?) improvements with Photoshop and Vegas, but nothing stellar (as far as I can see).

Now, as far as technical programs go, we had to use a specific IDE to code in Verilog this year: the Altera Quartus. Now aside from being a (in my opinion) useless memory hogging monster (25GB for an IDE? Really Altera?), someone I know who was using Windows 8 ran into massive compatibility issues.

Personally, I'd stick with Windows 7 until at least the first service pack for Windows 8 is out. I find this usually gives the slower companies time to catch up with the whole compatibility issue.

(('Oh gosh, it's a new Windows! Panic and flail your arms and then eventually update the product!'))

I think Windows 8 is a mischievous Apple ploy to get Microsoft users to switch over to Macs... lets hope the service pack that cometh makes things better.

For those who are concerned about not being able to run applications:

Windows 8 does NOT break any applications. Anything that runs on windows 7 WILL run on windows 8 and in most cases better. Metro is an added layer to the same previous desktop

If something in Win8 does not run when it runs in 7 the most likely reason is that the windows 7 version is 32 bit (common on computers 3+ years old) and the windows 8 is 64 bit (the default of todays age for all OS's.