Did Microsoft Reinvented Windows: The Windows 8 Review

Last time you used Windows you were using either 7 or XP. I can bet on it. Because Vista was a tragedy. I was expecting a loose operating system, which was not capable enough for high times, but I was surprised. You know what a fact says, "[Microsoft's] each alternate iteration is a OS which fails to gain a market share. " And this seems damn true to me. Start with the Windows 3 till the 7, you'll see how with each upgrade, Windows fail and win Consumer heart. Not going too deep, I expected Windows 8 to fail.

Microsoft with Windows 8 is betting too much. They dropped the start menu. They dropped Aero. Basically everything under the hood has changed. And this doesn't come easy. Surely Windows 8 was built from scratch, still we can find some areas where it remains true Windows.    

You can call it a rebirth of Windows, but what Microsoft did from last year is unbelievable. The amount of time they took and how they polished the complete operating system is remarkable. Metro or Modern UI, whatever you call it, is gorgeous. Beautiful typography with some funky animation makes it even more worthwhile.  

Windows 8, comes in two versions. Just like with every single Windows, they release Home basic, professional, ultimate etc versions and this time they did it simply with a more complicated way. RT and Pro are two versions which will be shipping. Even though, Pro strikingly says this is for Pro users and Novice should have an hands on with RT, this certainly isn't true. 

RT is made for Tablet users. Not-so-capable hardware which needs to be efficient at memory should use RT. And Pro is for High-end hardware. Also, RT can't run legacy apps. This is a downside because you'll have to download each application from windows store, where collection of Application is poor. And when I say poor, its pathetic. 

 WINDOWS STORE STILL

 LACKS SOME BIG NAMES

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With Windows 8 you'll have to learn how to use Windows, again. With almost two decade after, you'll have to search Internet or find out in some manuals, how to carry out some basic steps. Windows 7 was solid, and this seems even more solid. Notably, every PC running Windows 7 right now can upgrade to Windows 8, which is pretty cool. You don't need to buy any new hardware for new Windows but yes, if you buy make sure it has a touch screen. 

Design

Albeit, Windows 8 looks a lot like Windows 7 in desktop mode but thats half part of the story. When you'll see Windows 8's Start Screen you'll see Windows 7 not even near the fit and finish of Windows 8.  Windows 8 has got lots of visual makeover. First of all, Windows 8 has dropped Aero. Just like Ubuntu has got Unity, OS X has Aqua and Windows had Aero, but no more. Instead of the glassy, transparent, rounded look of Windows 7 (Aero Glass), the new windows are sharp, with solid colors and cleaner lines. It's a superficial change, but it affects the entire visual makeup of the desktop.

DESKTOP IS JUST AN APP.

User Interface

Task manager is brand new, built from scratch and is lot more powerful than ever. You'll get an amazing explorer which is lot more capable than the previous version. New Copy/Paste dialog box is welcome offering which lets you pause on going Copy/Paste process. Microsoft has also added the ribbon interface to File Explorer, which is collapsed by default. Although it takes up a significant amount of space when enabled, it helps surface a number of common file management scenarios and certainly speeds up some of these tasks. Microsoft has also brought the up arrow back, something the company attempted to kill off in Windows 7.

Other Things That I Loved

Internet Explorer sucked! but not anymore, IE 10 is a feature full browser and could be used to replace Chrome and Firefox. No lag in Zooming and scrolling is smooth. Page renders beautifully and Gestures work as intended. 

 The Metro version of IE10, for instance, outperformed the desktop version in HTML5 browser benchmarks, but not by a huge margin. (Desktop Chrome blew both out of the water, for what it's worth.)

Windows 8 is gesture heavy Operating System. Since Windows OEM sucked at making Trackpads, Windows 8 is a gift from Microsoft to them. They can now put multi touch Touchscreen and Windows 8 works like magic on them. Nobody will then ever care about how bad trackpads sucked before Windows 8. But still it's a big deal for all those who use Windows 8 on Windows 7 centered hardware.

Boot time in Windows 8 has decreased significantly. The new Picture lock is a nice innovation. Just after you sign in, you'll see lots of tiles, live ones too. It do not look static and feels significantly better as compared to iOS or Android. 

Keyboard shortcuts which you learned in Windows 7 are quite the same in Windows 8. Charms bar is great addition too. It has one of the most used feature of Start Menu in Windows 7, Search and it has been done quite nicely. All the files that matches the search result are grouped together in Apps, settings and files. It is far better and smoother as compared to Windows 7. 

STEEP LEARNING CURVE

Charms also works as an entry point to quick system wide settings such as Volume, Brightness, Network, Power and Notifications.  Charms can be seen as a replacement of earlier-so-called Start menu. 

Additionally Microsoft offers a music streaming service called Xbox Music which is built in. It works better than iTunes for the most part.  

Things that messed up

Windows Store has a poor selection of Apps. And with Windows RT they have approached a lot like they are closing their system like Apple infamously do. Windows 8 has a steep learning curve. Not so tech savvy mates can waste lots of time in figuring out How to carry out some Basic functions  You could have to learn again, how to use Windows. 

Mail app seems to be buggy at times. Things like threaded messages, joint inboxes, and notifications aren't working yet. It needs updates, really fast so that it can be used as a desktop client full time. RT vs Pro can make Microsoft lose some users. Even their employees in Microsoft Store don't know what's the basic difference between PRO and RT.

Wrap Up

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Windows 8 is a solid Operating System which is capable to compete with Android and iOS 6. 
I honestly think this software is not made for non-touch devices. Microsoft has focused so much on Touch based interface that it seems they have forgotten about the Non-Touch-Hardware. Learning Curve could make some users downgrade to Windows 7 again. Gestures work fine and Typography is beautiful. Metro UI is refreshing and animations are smooth. IE 10 can now be made default browser and works well on both desktop and metro mode. Boot time has decreased significantly and now system is less resource hungry. Microsoft has really done a great job with Windows 8. Looks like Microsoft has reinvented Windows the same way Late Steve Jobs did in Macworld 2007 with the iPhone. 

Score

Performance 9Features 9Ecosystem 8Design 8

Overall : 8.5

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