Individual Project by Jonathan Idolor 2013-14792
I was a bit
reluctant in choosing a laptop with a seemingly foreign OS. It still had the
familiar “Windows” name but I was skeptical about a lot of things Windows 8 was
packaged with.
The moment
you log in you are greeted by a multitude of tiles that somewhat mesmerized and
intimidated me at the same time. Despite the recent 8.1 update, wherein you
could boot to the desktop automatically, the Metro start screen is something
that you’ll have to get used to. It’s different but it’s not all that bad, you
can actually adjust to it quite quickly and the customization level is enough
to give it a personal feel.
And then
there was the App Store. At first I thought it was a cool new change and would
be similar to the Google Play store. Yet once I learned to shop I tediously and
slowly downloaded these seemingly cool, interesting, and useful apps, which I
ended up never using, a lot of them still lacking in development for a PC
setting.
I realized that
Windows 8 was made for a touch screen, more of tablet, device. No matter how
useful the Metro apps may be, I rarely use any of them due to their
inconvenience and loading times. Multitasking the apps side by side is also too
much a hassle. I seems like the desktop has been transformed into an app tile,
the only one I always use and spend most of my time with. I think it was a
strange move on Microsoft’s part to push focus on a tablet OS rather than the PC
power OS it has become famous for.
It’s also
strange how you have a Metro version and a desktop version for the same type of
programs. Even the PC settings of the desktop and Metro clash. It feels like a
Windows 7 wrapped in a tablet OS styled Windows 8. It makes it confusing and
quite repetitive.
Despite all
that, it has proven to be better at several things as well.
The desktop
mode is more user friendly. Task manager is a lot better, letting you manage
start-up programs. Copy pasting files also got lot more detailed, with a more accurate
“Windows time” estimation. You can sync your Microsoft account to save the
setting of the computer, along with Sky/One Drive online storage and sync features.
It’s supposedly faster in start-up and shutdown too (Branscombe, 2014). It has a
better Windows Explorer with a nifty file history feature, more customizable
and can be protected with a picture password or pin.
A lot of what
I have written here, which I have discovered and reacted to through
experimenting with this new OS, has also been said in countless other reviews. There
are many opinions to whether you should get Windows 8, but it ultimately
depends on whether you are willing to adapt to this change and sacrifice a
little unfamiliarity to gain some worth it benefits.
Reference List:
Branscombe, Mary, & Grabham, Dan. 2014. Windows
8 review: Our definitive look at the latest version of Windows. TechRadar. http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-8-1093002/review/8#articleContent.
Mach 9,2014.
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