Windows 8 “final” edition

This morning, I enthusiastically downloaded the Windows 8 RTM (Release to Manufacturing) bits and wiped my computer to install them. It’s clear from the outset that Microsoft has been working pretty hard to resolve issues with the previous preview releases, but whilst it’s a ‘polished product’ right now, it definitely doesn’t have that complete feel that I’ve felt previously. That said, it’s come a long, long way from where it was just a few months ago.

The Good #

Despite a lack of final polish, the product feels a lot more useful than before, thanks to a combination of small tweaks that have really made usability better.

Metro’s new color options and crazy-patterned wallpapers make it pop a little more, and is more visually appealing. The fact that there’s actually high-resolution icons for normal applications just feel better. The desktop improvements are incredible (Seriously, I love the new copy interface) and are extremely useful.

The desktop feels like Windows 7.1. It’s literally Windows 7 with a V8 engine inside. It’s faster, smarter and finally syncs across PC’s. I set ‘Hidden folders’ to show at home and like magic they start showing up at work. Magic.

For me, a desktop user, the changes just outweigh the annoyance of having to dive in and out of Metro. I tend to avoid it with a combination of keyboard shortcuts and the run dialog where I can, but occasionally I’m thrown into it, and it’s just a minor inconvenience rather than too much of a hassle for the most part.

The Bad #

There’s some obvious changes here in response to user backlash. Like the ‘tutorial’ that tells you how to find the start menu while it’s loading. It doesn’t really tell you much about what you’re about to be thrown into, but it’s a nice way to hide the fact that Windows is still configuring in the background.

As I went about setting up my machine, I found my first annoyance. I knew Microsoft was “removing” Aero from Windows 8, but it seems like they’ve decided they would rather half remove it instead. The taskbar is transparent, but nothing else is. It’s no big deal, but it’s just a visual inconsistency really.

The second I was into Metro I fell into a world of hurt. Perhaps it’s just not being used to the new ‘order’ of doing things, but after opening the formerly-known-as-Metro Mail app, and accidentally cancelling the wizard, I was met by this:

Well… I have to be honest, I was a little stumped. There isn’t really anything to click on. I wasn’t really sure what to do next. After messing around a little bit I found that I was required to go to the charms bar, then settings, then accounts and new account to get something to show up. Now, all is dandy, but I wasn’t told about this in the manual.

There’s still two control panels for everything, too. Some settings are in one place, like lock screen wallpaper, and some are in others, like the desktop wallpaper. I don’t understand why Microsoft couldn’t just unify these things.

The only other complaint I have about Metro, other than it not being rich enough, is that it doesn’t expose features that are actually pretty useful. I love that one can name groups of applications, and knew I could do it, but there is no way my mom could figure out how to do it since it’s hidden behind a tiny button and then a right-click action.

The new activation technology in Windows 8 is much more advanced, by the way. I wanted to test out what it behaved like, and after two hours of use, I began getting a floating “You need to activate” message. This one is unlike it’s predecessors, though, and does not pop up periodically. It’s just always there, overlaying over the very top of whatever you’re doing. It’s annoying as hell, and for good reason.

Also, there’s quite a few things you can’t do until you’ve activated, even during the ‘grace period’ it seems. I couldn’t customize the logon screen or change my notification settings there, for example. Fair enough, though.

Not that anyone uses it, but Media Player doesn’t seem to have gotten any better, either. I just wanted to play a few tracks to test out some new headphones, but my MP3’s wanted me to download… something.

After the download of whatever it was that media player needed, I tried again to play my music. And then got this. This is when I gave up and installed iTunes.

Right now, that’s all that I can fault, and honestly, Windows Media Player really doesn’t even matter that much. I still feel the same way about this release as I did with the Release Preview, though. Metro applications feel like just the web, in a wrapper.

I’m assured ‘great applications’ will come with time, and that Windows 8 right now is really just version 1 of a product that will evolve over time. What concerns me, is that I prefer to use Outlook.com over the built-in Metro application just because it handles better. Shouldn’t I be wanting to use native one’s when I’m able to?

I’ll write more on this later, when I’ve spent more time with Windows 8.