Windows 8, and people moaned about Unity

[montag dp]

I haven't tried Windows 8, but FWIW here are the two main things I don't like about Unity:

1) I don't like how multiple instances of an application go to the same place on the side bar. It means I have to click multiple times to open the window I want. For me, this was bad for productivity in practice.

2) I like to have a menu of installed programs in case I forget about something or just want to browse. I like the quick click and search ability of the Dash, but this same behavior is available in Cinnamon (for example) without turning up as much stuff I'm not interested in.

[trent.josephsen]

Sorry my mistake, haven't personally tried XFCE but got the idea from the PCBSD Handbook which advised users who found KDE and Gnome too heavy to turn to XFCE instead. No offences intended.

It's not entirely incorrect, just semantics. XFCE is the lightest of the heavy environments. Like the most fuel-efficient SUV, or something like that.

For me the best bit about Unity is the Unity Dash, by pressing the windows/super key and typing part of the filename/command I'm looking for then a group of matches will appear.

e.g. pressing the super key and type "System Monitor" will take you directly there instead of exploring all the levels down the menu tree.

Dang, that sounds familiar. Like something I've used before. (You can do the same thing in older versions of Windows, too, at least back to Vista.)

That's the kind of thing we need more of: language-oriented interfaces. Pointing and grunting, er, clicking is a primitive approach to communication and I don't understand why some people seem to think it's a great way to interact with a computer. (Perhaps that's just the Perl programmer in me speaking.)

I haven't used Unity much and never touched Win8, so I'm not being critical about either one specifically. I'm just interested in what others have to say, because I simply haven't seen a good reason to migrate yet (XFCE).

[handsheldhigh]

I'm using Windows 8 on my netbook and I have to say, it's very smooth in Metro and good in Desktop.

My main complaint is that I feel that the whole experience is disjointed. I want to be able to do everything in Metro. I guess we'll have to stick it out and wait for more and more software devs to port their stuff to Metro.

My biggest complaint is Internet Explorer 10. It doesn't work with some websites I visit, and a lot of plugins like Java require me to be in Desktop mode, which is kind of jarring. Even in desktop mode, some things don't work.

Sure, I can use another browser, but none of them have Metro support, except for Chrome (although I think it looks like they just made the bar black and called it a day, it doesn't fit in with Metro at all).

I'm waiting for Firefox to release a Metro interface which I heard is in the works. I know that the nightly build allows for a Metro interface, but it's buggy and you have to do a bunch of crap to get it to work.

I don't think Windows 8 is bad, I think it just needs time to mature.

[flavouride]

Dang, that sounds familiar. Like something I've used before. (You can do the same thing in older versions of Windows, too, at least back to Vista.)

Agreed. Vista and Win7 have programs/files search mounted to the Start Menu as well. But the results are small icons and are confined to display within the Start Menu itself.

If a user searches for an ambiguous filename like "setup.exe" within their software backup folders in Users which might yield dozens of results, they might then be required to scroll all the way down to find the exact match they want.

IMO one could hardly miss any important moment on another running program while searching for an app or file just to open, which should take less than 5 seconds.

It is thus IMO Win8 is an improvement in this aspect by displaying the results in large icons in full screen and hence truely utilise the whole Monitor. This gives a more comfortable searching experience in comparison with the previous Start Menu search.

[boo2060]

But looking for programs is very easy. Just press the windows key then type "paint" will give you Windows Paint (+ "Paint.NET" for me)

While pressing the Windows Key and type "calculator" will bring you exactly there.

That's a useful thing to know. In my opinion however it is not a good solution. I would rather have a list (easy accessible) of which software is installed already. In my opinion this is very well done in the gnome environment (don't have experience in others) were software is bundled according to its functions. Who really does recall all the names of these little programs? Well .. calculator may be easy (but is it a Taschenrechner or a Rechner in German?) but what about these program I use only once in a while? Beginning from the moment you use computers where Windows 8 is set in different languages this becomes ridiculous, if it works how I imagine it.

[trent.josephsen]

If I were worried about missing something in a running application, I wouldn't want to obscure it with a menu when all I want to do is open something, so I'm not seeing much of an advantage there.

But I would never use that feature for looking up files in the first place. Not unless it can approximate the expressive power of "find".

[screaminj3sus]

Yea locating the shut down button really required some reseach by Windows Key + i or the horrble gesture combination of pointing the mouse to top-right then swipe down then setting then power.

But looking for programs is very easy. Just press the windows key then type "paint" will give you Windows Paint (+ "Paint.NET" for me)

While pressing the Windows Key and type "calculator" will bring you exactly there.

The Windows Key is in fact the Unity Dash button which of course is not ideal to everyone.

P.S. I'm still using Google Chrome in Desktop Mode in Win8

This is exactly the same case in windows vista and windows 7... hit the super key and search for paint, only difference is start menu vs fullscreen start menu. I don't understand why people keep advocating windows 8's start screen's search as some revolutionary new advantage over the old start menu, when the *exact* same functionality has been present since windows vista. Windows 8 does pointlessly bury functions like shutting down the computer. I run windows 8 myself on my gaming pc, and don't think its that bad overall, but the start screen has little point on the desktop and has no real advantage over the start menu on the desktop.

[mJayk]

Windows 8 knows better and forces you to do it a specific way. That's what makes it awful, half assed attempt to make an OS for a touch screen that forces you to work in a certain way.

[flavouride]

That's a useful thing to know. In my opinion however it is not a good solution. I would rather have a list (easy accessible) of which software is installed already. In my opinion this is very well done in the gnome environment (don't have experience in others) were software is bundled according to its functions. Who really does recall all the names of these little programs? Well .. calculator may be easy (but is it a Taschenrechner or a Rechner in German?) but what about these program I use only once in a while? Beginning from the moment you use computers where Windows 8 is set in different languages this becomes ridiculous, if it works how I imagine it.

This is not disputed then. May I suggest the next version of Start Screen to enhance support for "legacy apps" to allow something like Program Folders to appear, to automatically group similar functioning apps or games together, or to at least rid the main layer of the Start Screen of those silly shortcuts of "uninstall.exe" from every single installed program.

Something like the new style "Games" App is doing quite well by grouping multiple second-layer Apps into a single first-layer shortcut in the Start Screen.

[mips]

Making Win8 behave in a conventional Win7/XP way is way easier than modifying Unity to act like Gnome2.