Windows 8
Ok people I have just Installed Windows 8 on my PC after downloading for several hours… Last night, Microsoft started to show off the new OS in their Build Conference. In the morning, we saw that they have released download links to Windows 8 developer preview! I think most of you have already downloaded it… Some might be waiting for a good review! So, here’s your review…
Before I begin, please consider that Im also a big Linux fan! Ok, lets start… First of all, I burned the downloaded ISO and tried to install it in my test PC…
Install Windows 8
The installation went smoothly. A bit similar to Windows 7. After the installation is finished… The magic starts! First, you’ll see the initial setup screen. In here, the UI is completely different. Very minimalistic! Just like a modern web interface. The first step is to give a name to your machine. After that, you have to create a user account. Now, Windows 8 is trying to move us towards the web. So, at first, you have to login through your windows live id or have to create one. Don’t worry, you can use any email to create a live id. If you don’t like the idea, you can skip it! You know what? If you sign in with the live ID, your settings, themes,etc will be synced with their servers. So, if you install Windows 8 on another machine, you won’t lose your home!
Windows Live ID
Hmm.. Windows 7 likes a light blue color. But, Windows 8 seems to be having a green color! An interesting fact…
Now, windows will also let you choose some basic settings like the auto updates. You can use the default settings or dig deeper and customize them for yourself. After that, you can start your work!
My first impression on the Metro UI is.. Cool! There’s something new and I like it! But, your old desktop is also there to help you…
The Old Styled Desktop
At first, it’s not easy… You have to explore a lot to get the hang of it. However, there’s one big change in the old desktop… The start menu! No more all programs! Now, that’s a big problem for me. I don’t think the new Metro Start will help you to list all the installed apps. Oh, there’s one way… If you click on Start and go to “Search”… You’ll get all the apps… But they are not nicely grouped under folders just like the old days. Now that’s a problem!
Oh, I just remembered something… In the Build conference, they said that you can start searching for an app without going to the start menu. Lets see… Yep, that’s true.. Start typing something and the app search will be opened. To run the command prompt, just type “cmd” and hit enter. Now that’s something which will save a lot of time!
Currently, there are two types of apps in Windows 8. The apps using the Metro UI which are based on web technologies like HTML5 and Javascript and the old software. All the Metro Apps will be utilizing the cool tiles provided by Windows. Actually, those apps have a more clean interfaces than the others. I like them!
Sudoku
Memories
Soon, The famous Windows App Store will be released to help you get more and more apps! (Actually, its not available in this preview)
But wait… Here’s another problem… Now I opened a Metro Based app… Where’s the closing button? How can I close this thing? Well, I did everything I knew, pressed a lot of shortcuts… Still, the app won’t close… Then, I posted this question in reddit and bingo…
You cannot easily close applications anymore. Windows 8 is adopting the Apple iOS method of program management and thinks that it is irrelevant whether or not an application is running. The computer will chose to suspend processes automatically based on usage but never fully close unless you do so forcibly through task manager.
-By zowki
According to my friend zowki at Reddit, Windows won’t close your apps! It will keep them in background and will close them if something else needs more memory. In that Reddit thread, many people have complained about big system slowdowns due to this new method. Here’s something that happened to me… I just opened a Metro based game. Since I can’t close it, I went to the menu and opened Photoshop. Still I can hear the music of that game! Ok we can say that this is only a development version and it still have bugs. But, the idea of non closing apps doesn’t look right. Sometimes I do a lot of heavy work in my machine. So, I close my apps to get some free resources instantly or to refresh the apps! But there won’t be much refreshing if Windows tries to keep them open! The only way to close them is through the task manager!
The task manager… Yes… In Windows 7, The task manager is something which normal users ignore. They don’t care… But, since Windows 8 keeps our apps open, the Task Manager will get more popular among regular users. So, Microsoft is also getting ready for that. From the first launch, the Task Manager shows only the currently running apps! Nothing else! Not even the fancy resource amounts. But,when you click more… You’ll see a completely re designed task manager which have become a lot user friendly than ever! Check the screenshots to see what im talking about!
Simple Task Manager
A More Detailed Task Manager
Ok, Now im going to the Explorer… Ah… The Ribbon. Can you remember the new ribbon styled menu Microsoft introduced in Office 2007? Well, Now its all over Windows 8. Sometimes Im getting to think its too big… On Linux, we tried to make things at the top, smaller as possible… That’s why we went for Nautilus elementary! But, it does give access to some critical functions… Im neutral in here.
Windows 8 Explorer
Now to File copying… I think Windows 8 have improved this sector… I just copied a huge file to my desktop and it got copied with an average speed of 80MB/s. Then I tried to copy a huge file in my Windows 7 Laptop (The test PC is a Core 2 Duo with 4GB Ram and the Lap is a Core i7 with 6GB Ram). You know what? The average speed which Windows 7 gave me is nearly 24MB/s. Yep, Windows 8 really knows how to copy files! Not only that, now you can pause your file copying and resume it after you finish your heavy tasks… Cool isn’t it? There’s more… Check this post to learn more about the new file copying : Windows 8 brings kick-butt copying to life
Copying a File in Windows 7
Copying a File in Windows 8
Copying a File in Windows 8 (Paused)
Whose next? Hmmm… Now I pointed out the most important parts which I saw in the first few hours… But, there’s more cool stuff hidden in Windows 8. You have to dig them up. Before I wind up.. I need to talk about shutting down! According to Microsoft, they have implemented a new Shutdown process to Windows 8. Now your system will go to a half hibernate half shut down state. Read this post for more information : Windows 8 will Boot in 6 to 8 Seconds! Now, this is what happened… I started to install the Adobe master collection then had to restart my system for a different reason. So, I restarted. Normally, if you start the Adobe installation for the second time, it will give an error saying that there’s an incomplete installation. A restart should fix this. But, after restarting Windows 8, I got that message! So, the advantage in this quick boot is, you will get a really fast boot but you won’t get a fresh system! Got it? Great…
The Summary :
The Good :)
- A Cool new Metro UI
- Apps with a more appealing and a clean design
- The settings and the themes will be synced so that we don’t have to worry about loosing them after a re format
- Easy to execute apps. Just type the app name and it will start to search
- The apps will not be closed so that they will load faster when you access them for the second time
- A new re designed task manager which is more user-friendly
- Faster file copying
- Faster boot
The Bad :(
- No way to easily close some apps so they might be an issue when it comes to resources
- No all programs
- Sometimes, people might think that the ribbon is too much
- Because of the new quick boot, you might not get a fresh system after a reboot
