Comment by pistle | Hacker News Reader

Comment by pistle | Hacker News Reader

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I've used Windows 8 for as long as it's been out and it's my 'get things done' OS via bootcamp on my MBP.

I work at a place stuck on 7 and I want 8. Many little things and a few bigger things are just better in 8. Task manager?! Search?! Snapping the metro apps (music/skype/etc) into the little slice along the edge of the screen on one of my monitors?

I've only used it on desktops and laptops and it's better than 7.

What I keep seeing is "serious" computer people who aren't Windows users, fans, or enthusiasts flailing - much the same way I flail with linux or OSX when doing the 3-5% of tasks that are not well-supported. Finder? F#&$#&$ finder? How do you organize your files on OSX?

So I see someone who feels that they should just "get" a new interface because they know how to use a "from-the-corner" menu system, etc. and they don't get it (because they didn't watch Scott Hanselman's Win8 bootstrapping video). So, obviously nobody should be able to get it... psh - LOSER operating system alert!!! Even number FAIL! Check out the penguin tattoo I got. Linux til I die.

Here's the thing. My kids get it. They aren't 10. Their mental plasticity and lack of ego enabled them to be mad functional right quick. They jump in and out of desktop mode without a whine or cry for help.

We've got 20+ years of a model of thought around approaching the machine. Someone disrupts the model, and the champions of disruption crowd roll up in a ball?

>Here's the thing. My kids get it.

Um, that is quite proving the point that Win8 is not for productive users. It is for kids. All this wishy washy gestures with the mouse, two UIs in one kind of thing is more play than anything else. Of course kids dig that.

And also, ego has nothing to do with it. Your kids are just exposed to their first OS is all.

Wait what they'll do if you put them in front of a Unix system. See how long that takes until they can do things without a cry for help.

Once they are used to do things a certain way I will guarantee that they'll be pissed if they suddenly have to rethink their habits. And now add these 20+ years to that and you have your answer why win8 in its current form will never be a competitor to 7.

This.

I manage to keep emotions aside most of the time, I am cool working with Win/Linux/OS X. I have preferences but I won't cry if I have to work with something which is not my top preference. And I am a happy user of Win8.

I believe, most of the criticism is also because it's Microsoft. You know, just like PHP or VB6, it's an easy joke. And hardly anyone will give you weird looks for hating MSFT. Good luck with publicly hating Apple. Of course, there is some good criticism. But only some of it.

Innovation is about failing until you find something new that works. Microsoft took a risk by offering something new, this time it didn't pay off. Microsoft people are not toddlers and they were aware of that. Yes, that kind of dashboards is not something unseen to human kind, but it's new having something like that as the first screen after OS loads.

Metro is a good example of good idea, shit implementation. I really like the idea of a screen where everything in one place. It's something refreshing in desktop OSes. And the design of Metro apps looks visually appealing (e.g. Skype). But the implementation, default content is pretty bad. It's just not something I might need. And most of the things requiring MS Live account (even Calendar) killed any desire to explore.

> Task manager

Any serious Windows user should be using Process Explorer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.asp...

(Some of the other sysinternal tools are worth their weight in gold as well)

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