Windows 8: The Animated Evaluation

I'm an Ubuntu Linux and OS X user and have been trying to like Windows 8.1 in the last weeks. The problems I have in no particular order ... - network management in Windows 7 was usable, whereas in 8.1 it is totally fucked - Microsoft accounts are on their way to become mandatory, as creating a regular account is not user friendly and there's a big and scary warning when you go that route; they are basically trying to resurrect Windows Live ID - Microsoft has started to force people on using their products - I could not figure out a way to turn OneDrive off completely, or to use anything other than Bing as the search engine in their "Search Everywhere" (this also happens on Windows Phone) - I haven't seen a "modern Windows" app that I like, they are all pieces of crap, including stuff from Microsoft; modern Skype for example is lacking crucial functionality; their app store is filled with trademark-violating malware and I've never seen such a low quality app store - from a usability perspective Windows 8 is a failure - there's something inherently different about a PC with 21 inch monitors, keyboard and mouse, versus a tablet, yet Windows tries to unify both worlds, becoming hostile in the process - see this funny video on the subject - ▶ this video - of course, you can totally ignore the "modern Windows" side of the coin for now, except that's where Windows is headed - I bought the standard edition, then I discovered that I needed the Pro version to get disk encryption or to conn

in “Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions” · View on HN

>unattractive, resource-intensive, usability damaging Subjective, compared to what, subjective > simple, efficient, usable flat design is in. subjective, subjective, subjective. I don't know where this utterly moronic "flatten ALL THE THINGS" design meme comes from, but I wish it would die in a fire. Flat UI, at least Microsoft's implementation of it, has a great deal of fail about it. It's hard to tell what's clickable and what's not, things are not organized in a logical or easy to reach manner, and on and on. Have a look at this if you have about 20 minutes to spare. Someone goes into a great deal of depth on the 8 UX: ▶ this video

in “Windows 8.1’s user-hostile backup story” · View on HN

Microsoft made a mistake trying to force a made-for-touch interface on PC users, and in the end the strategy is not that different than forcing a PC interface on a touch device. It may actually be worse, because at least in that case you would be familiar with the interface, so at least it would have that advantage. I think this video explains most of the problems with Windows 8: ▶ this video

in “Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista” · View on HN

No, you feel that way because that's actually how it is. This guy described a lot of the problems with Windows 8 and he is pretty spot on (although he does exaggerate a bit in some cases): ▶ this video

in “Fujitsu Not Pleased With Windows 8 Demand, Either” · View on HN

I'm an Arch, OS X, and Windows user. I'm a developer in my day job, on the .net platform. I prefer Arch any day of the week, but I really like windows as well. > network management in Windows 7 was usable, whereas in 8.1 it is totally fucked I have zero problems with network management. It has not changed how you do it from the CLI, and the GUI is just different. If your definition of "totally fucked" includes "new GUI", then I'm not sure what to say. I agree that it's a step back from Windows 7, but saying it's totally fucked is downright wrong. > Microsoft accounts are on their way to become mandatory, as creating a regular account is not user friendly and there's a big and scary warning when you go that route; they are basically trying to resurrect Windows Live ID I was throughly against the Microsoft ID to start with, but for other reasons I had to get one and since I use multiple PCs it has actually been a positive experience for me. I see that as a good thing, and if you don't like it you can still create a local account. The warning is fair, because a lot of the new functionality depend on the MSID. > Microsoft has started to force people on using their products - I could not figure out a way to turn OneDrive off completely Nobody is forcing you to use OneDrive, it's a feature and if you don't like it don't use it. Simple as that. You either do not use a MSID as your login or disable it as this ( [link] ) MS article instructs. Just because you cannot remove an integral

in “Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions” · View on HN