Windows 8 Consumer Preview (CP)–After a month

 

I have been using Windows 8 since the developer preview and currently using the CP since its release. Windows 8 CP is currently my main workstation with all the developer tools installed. When using the developer preview, I was running into frequent crashes but CP has been really great. The frequent crashes are not happening anymore. Windows 8 is a huge shift for Microsoft Users as the user interface has been completely redesigned and is based on Microsoft’s Metro User Interface. Microsoft is aiming towards a single operating system for both desktop, tablet and phone users. The trick will be to satisfy all the different types of users and this will be a difficult task to accomplish. If Microsoft can pull this off, it will be a huge accomplishment on their part. Historically, it has been proven to be difficult to satisfy all types of consumers. Each area like tablet, desktop and phone has a niche of users with their own requirements.

Coming to Windows 8, here is my analysis:

• Will work great on Tablets. Have been using Samsung 7 Slate and is awesome !
• Enterprises  will embrace it quickly because of some of the nice features
• What are the nice features ?
• Single interface for tablets and PC’s
• Metro Applications
• Reset and Refresh – easily restore your PC
• Sky Drive integration
• File History
• Charms
• Snap Multi-Tasking
• Windows 2 Go
• Better Support for multiple monitors
• Excellent Search – search for anything and everything
• More (another blog post)
• Now to the sore points
• No Start button –> This will take time to sink in
• Power and Restart buttons –> not easy to find
• Turn off Metro interface if needed –> cannot do it in DP or CP (may be in Release Preview)
• Close background applications –> no easy way to do this (right click on the top left of the screen actually shows the applications which can be closed OR task manager)