The Windows 8 Power Struggle: Metro vs Desktop

I hate change, so I probably will hate Metro.

If Metro is forced on me I will move to Linux. I refuse to be put into an environment I can't benefit from.

Metro UI is absolute crap. For those who, like me, feel that this "change for change's sake" nonsesne has to stop, I recommend Zorin Linux, designed to "look and feel" like Windows XP; or Linux XP, which should be obvious.

I'll have to build my own PCs again, once the OEMs start forcing Windows 8 on us. A pre-installed Windows 8 is a deal-breaker for me; I won't buy it.

I used Windows 8 on my main of for about 4 days before canning it. I do still have it on my htpc though. I like the changes made to the task manager, file transfer, and much more. Being a desktop user I can't quite get on board with metro. Like stated in the article, wading through the metro interface is not quite productive, especially when on a 5760x1080 resolution! It's common for me to put tv episodes on one screen while gaming in the middle, and an internet browser on the other side. With metro, every time I bring up the start menu, the screen is blocked for whoever else might be watching. And I have to disagree about browsing media through metro. Searching while in the music task doesn't even bother looking in your library, but jumps straight to the music store, to purchase music you allready own. Once you are able to actually find your music, forget about finding what you want. As far as I can tell if you are browsing by artist, there is no way to quickly enter "artist album" to browse a certain artist's albums. The thing just seems dumbed down to me. Since when does everything need an app store? Sorry for the rant guys, but this needs a lot of work. I hope you can turn metro off for the final build

I'm really confused on your conclusion. Are you, really, saying clicking *1* tile is harder then the OSX transition was? I mean seriously, if so, then you have such a skewed view of the past it throws everything else you said into doubt.

"Forcing people to change to something different when the superior interface for a particular task is still included in the OS will only breed resentment."

It's a tile right there on the front of the screen! And I call BS; ANY change will "...only breed resentment". Oh and so will doing nothing.

Metro re-minds me of the latest 'update' for Xbox live. Next I suppose I'll need Kinect to get around my desktop machine. If that fails, I'll just stay with Mint Linux 11. Smooth and it works.

I'm glad that I don't really ~HAVE~ to adopt Windows-8 and can keep the Windows-7 that I own now. (You know,....the one that's already bought and paid for) I could probably make this OS work for me for many years to come if I have to. And I will too.

I have Linux Mint 11 on one of my PC's already, and I'll give the Zorin Linux a try too.

If Micro(don't listen to us)soft leaves Metro in the force feeding tube, I'd rather go hungry..

After playing around with Windows 8 for a while and viewing innumerable videos and reviews, I agree that Metro just isn't suited to desktop use. Phone and tablet, absolutely. Although there appears to be an awful lot of gesturing to sort through all the irregularly sized tiles.

And while I can see the usefulness of the Charms bar, whoever came up with the name should be expelled to the same seventh ring as those who came up with Me and Clippy.

I don't see any reason to "upgrade" to Win 8. I like the Win 7 desktop. The Metro desktop looks like a throwback to WFWG 3.1 substituting icons for folders.

> Metro, Microsoft's new UI, is bold, a dramatic departure
> from anything the company has previously done in the
> desktop/laptop space, and absolutely great.

Says who?

Do you know *anything* about usability?
Have you *ever* used (or just seen) Linux desktop?

One word: bullshit.
Microsoft is dead in the desktop market for years.

With all 9 different version of Win 8 scheduled why not listen to desktop users that want a total non Metro version, with some of the Win 8 features like the updated task manager, refresh, reset and a others and roll out a Service Pack for Win 7.being able to turn off the Metro [cr^p ] gui is one thing, not even having having it there on the install is another.

Plenty of choice out that work a heck of a lot better like Mint 11 and many other spins, that are much easier to navigate ,maintain ,and get things done.

I'Klee stick with 64 bit Windows 7 Pro thank you very much.

rrplay:

why not listen to desktop users that want a total non Metro version

I agree, but I think that you're preaching to the choir here. Doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Metro around. Probably good on a Tablet PC like some have said, but my tablet already has IOS on it and works great. On a desktop, it would probably just be an exercise in frustration.

I also agree about Linux,....if more good shooters were ported to it, I'd leave Windows behind for good. It's only a matter of time before that happens, and then, just watch out.

Munk,

"Says who? Do you know *anything* about usability? Have you *ever* used (or just seen) Linux desktop? One word: bullshit. Microsoft is dead in the desktop market for years."

Two glaring flaws in your argument.

1) Linux's market share in laptop/desktop.

2) The Linux community's reaction to Unity.

RealNeil,

You said: "I also agree about Linux,....if more good shooters were ported to it, I'd leave Windows behind for good. It's only a matter of time before that happens, and then, just watch out."

I'm genuinely curious as to why you think this. Linux's share of the desktop market has scarcely budged in years. The utilities that exist for providing cross-platform compatibility, like Wine, are in much better shape than they were 10 years ago, while the OSS utilities that provide equivalent functionality are equally improved -- yet as far as gaming is concerned, Linux ports remain a rare occurrence.

What is it that makes you think we're going to see greater support in the future -- or that greater support would matter? As a PC gamer myself, I can tell you that gaming is a barrier to me moving to Linux, but even if Linux supported PC gaming perfectly, I'd take Windows 7 64-bit over Linux any day. I'd only move to Linux if I literally couldn't stand whatever version of Windows was prominent *and* W7 was literally no longer supported by any current software.

That seems unlikely.

My Linux Mint and Zorin Linux are full featured OS's that are free. I can do just about anything I need to do with them. (even make them look just like Windows does)  Honestly, if I could game on them as well as I can on my Win-7 OS, I would use them instead of buying the latest flavor that MS needs us to want every few years. When you're retired and on a fixed income, ~free~ speaks much louder to you and sounds a lot sweeter too.

I like the security of these two Linux distributions and the fact that they just work without issue. I surf the web and those pesky exploits don't bother me. There are ports of some games on Linux now and people are working on more of them too. We'll see what the future holds for Linux gaming.If it works out, then fine. If not, I'll get over it too. Just like you, I still have my Win-7 to game with.

Linux is a viable OS for home use. I have it on two PC's now and they both are totally predictable. There is a lot of software available for them too. (also free)

Do I honestly think that Linux will surpass Windows in the gaming arena? (any arena?) Nope,.....but I'd love to see it happen. Do I see this whole Metro interface idea as a steaming turd? Yep!

The world is firmly rooted in MS software, we all realize this, but market share just doesn't matter to some of us.

You are using it wrong if you are putting every app icon on the start screen. It is only for your most used apps. The system is optimized for search. Just start typing and it will show a list of apps that match what you are typing.

You could clutter up your Windows 7 desktop as well by putting a gazillion icons on it, but I doubt you would agree that that would be the OS's fault.

fredclown:

You could clutter up your Windows 7 desktop as well by putting a gazillion icons on it, but I doubt you would agree that that would be the OS's fault.

No, if I were to do such a stupid thing it would be a matter of personal choice. My own choice,.....

Metro is an abitrary move by Microsoft that may not be user configurable. It remains to be seen.

you are full of crap.. installing programs drop all of these icons automatically. you dont have a choice.

If Metro isn't all that's cracked up to be I may be sticking with Windows 7.

You always have a choice, installing programs often puts icons on the traditional Windows desktop as well. Doesn't mean you can't customize after installation!

Meanwhile, this is still only a preview! Hundreds of changes are still pending!

No, the point is valid. Difference in UI doesn't mean you'll be forced to take it as is and never create any customizations. Even Android can be customized and that's just a limited mobile OS.

Windows 8 will be a desktop OS, Metro UI notwithstanding, it will customizable, theme-able, and will be capable of far more than any mobile OS is capable of doing.

Whether you choose to even bother with it is your choice but making judgements based on the lack of familiarity and what is still only a preview alpha version is not really giving it any real thought and dismissing it mostly out of hand.

It's akin to someone dismissing and disparaging Linux because they don't like the Unity UI.

lifeskills:

I used Windows 8 on my main of for about 4 days before canning it. I do still have it on my htpc though. I like the changes made to the task manager, file transfer, and much more. Being a desktop user I can't quite get on board with metro. Like stated in the article, wading through the metro interface is not quite productive, especially when on a 5760x1080 resolution! It's common for me to put tv episodes on one screen while gaming in the middle, and an internet browser on the other side. With metro, every time I bring up the start menu, the screen is blocked for whoever else might be watching. And I have to disagree about browsing media through metro. Searching while in the music task doesn't even bother looking in your library, but jumps straight to the music store, to purchase music you allready own. Once you are able to actually find your music, forget about finding what you want. As far as I can tell if you are browsing by artist, there is no way to quickly enter "artist album" to browse a certain artist's albums. The thing just seems dumbed down to me. Since when does everything need an app store? Sorry for the rant guys, but this needs a lot of work. I hope you can turn metro off for the final build

I had some of the same frustrations initially, then I realized that you can simply re-associate your media files with Media Center or Windows Media Player instead of the Metro based Video and Music apps. What I really don't like is that most of the Metro apps seem to be for touchscreens mainly and do not work very well via keyboard/mouse. Also the metro style stuff doesn't offer any customization everything is either full screen which no re-sizing of the toolbars/etc of the application or 2/3 vs 1/3 and thus getting two apps on screen with primary focus on one. Also adding a Programs Toolbar on the desktop mimics the Start menu without using the third party tool which adds a Start menu.