I really liked Windows 8 until I had to create a video DVD in a rush and found that video DVD creation is no longer supported. Even more disturbing, WMP no longer even plays DVDs. Quick internet search said it was had something to do with codec licensing. It's a shame, because Windows Movie Maker and DVD maker were some of the most user friendly and reliable applications that ever shipped with Windows. In addition, my Eject button on the Win 7 laptop that I upgraded to 8 now functions as an "eject" button in a fighter jet, pushing it immidiately crashed my computer gives me the frown face of death. I can still open the DVD drive by using the "eject" command in Windows Explorer. Apple moved away from built-in DVD creator earlier, but the unlike in Apple's case, 90% of Windows computers ship with a DVD burner. Does MS really HAVE to rely on third-party software for that? /rant

I have a couple of small issue you guys may help me fix. One, on the computer I upgraded from 7 to 8, in the Photo app all portrait-orientation photos are displayed doubled, placed side-by side. No issues in displaying landscape-orientation photos.

Also, I can not get some online videos to play in the Metro explorer on a brand-new Win 8 Lenovo, but they play just fine in the desktop Explorer with the Flash plug-in. I know that Metro explorer does not support Flash, but somehow these same videos play just fine within Safari on my iPad, so maybe there is an alternate feed? Unless i figure out how to play these same videos in Metro, I will have to teach my in-laws how to toggle between Metro and Desktop and explain them the difference, but i'd rather make it as simple as possible for them. I do like the full-screen experience of the Metro explorer. A website to use as a example is http://www.IPTV.ge


[Edited on December 20, 2012 at 1:01 PM. Reason : .]

12/20/2012 12:58:47 PM

Metro IE does support Flash, but only on a set of whitelisted sites, and it does not support any other plugin; also, the Windows Media Center Pack is free for Win8 Pro until the end of next month, and for DVD burning you need to use a third-party solution like CDBurnerXP.

12/20/2012 2:24:59 PM

Quote :

"Windows Media Center Pack is free for Win8 Pro until the end of next month"

i haven't bothered to google it, but how does one get it? i went to the "add features" bit on a whim a couple of days ago and it wanted me to enter my product key or something before moving forward...so i just closed the window and forgot about it

12/20/2012 2:48:34 PM

^http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs

For viewing flash websites in the IE10 touch browser: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1961793

Or better yet, just install Chrome and put it into touch mode.

12/20/2012 4:33:55 PM

nice start..
https://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

Microsoft you've done messed up.
http://www.neowin.net/news/pokki-has-had-500000-downloads-of-its-windows-8-start-menu-program



85% of settings altered are to avoid the start screen.

[Edited on December 20, 2012 at 6:52 PM. Reason : .]

12/20/2012 6:51:27 PM

Quote :

"http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs"

thanks!

it won't let me do a second invite, though...even with a different email address and different browser...i "need" two, one for my laptop and one for my desktop

maybe i need to use the second computer to submit for a second product key

Quote :

"Microsoft you've done messed up."

i do wonder if they'll stick to their guns and just make people pay for start8 or download pokki/classicshell...or introduce the ability to run 8 in "7 mode" via an update or SP or something

some of the comments are valid, though i'm still firmly in the camp of "microsoft doesn't ALWAYS know best" and "under no circumstances am i going to waste my time trying to use metro on my non-touchscreen computers"

[Edited on December 20, 2012 at 10:44 PM. Reason : .]

12/20/2012 10:38:11 PM

^I just submitted every email address I have so I'll have a cache of keys for the future. Didn't give me any problems submitting multiple times, though I used Chrome

12/21/2012 1:00:47 AM

^ tried again this morning from my laptop, my wife's laptop, and my desktop (all with chrome)...no dice

remoted into my work computer and it went through just fine...tried a second address while still on my work computer and i get the same "we cannot process your order" (or similar) message

tied to IP address? whatever, i got the two i needed...i'll try for a couple of more later

[Edited on December 21, 2012 at 8:45 AM. Reason : .]

12/21/2012 8:44:59 AM

http://youtu.be/WTYet-qf1jo

12/23/2012 11:32:18 PM

sounds like he'd have been better off watching the video that comes up the first time and teaches you things like the charms bar, how to close metro apps, and the like.

hard to sit through a 25 minute video when half his complaints are solved in a 5 minute video they give you with the product. i dont expect an OS to have everything immediately evident (like creating recovery disks).

12/24/2012 3:20:52 PM

This discussion again? great.

12/25/2012 2:38:08 PM

^^ your point (which is the same that microsoft and any number of other pro-metro folks have made, i'm sure) is only partially valid

it's great that YOU only needed to watch the 5-minute video ONCE to find 8 easier to navigate and use than 7, and on your non-touchscreen computer, no less! but his point is, by and large, that microsoft broke continuity for no gain whatsoever

so in addition to the fact that most folks don't comprehend the windows 8 navigation/usability changes after a single 5-minute video, the changes are NOT beneficial to workflow in a traditional (ie. non-touchscreen) environment...that's independent of the "i've always done it this way and i don't want to do it another way!" argument that the pro-metro folks use as the ONLY reason everyone else doesn't love metro

metro is inarguably clunky as all hell without a touchscreen...i'm sure it's great on a smartphone or tablet (i haven't used it on either), but it simply isn't intuitive or smooth with a keyboard and mouse

^ it's not going away...microsoft made a poor choice and folks aren't going to forget any time soon about how clunky 8 is on a non-touchscreen computer

it would be easier for everyone if we could all just agree that microsoft made a mistake by not taking into account such a large market (non-touchscreen PCs) when designing 8...had microsoft forced the desktop/start menu on the phones/tablets, we all would have laughed and called them idiots...metro has its place and so does the desktop/start menu and it's ridiculous to use the same interface for two very different input systems

/argument?

[Edited on December 26, 2012 at 11:22 AM. Reason : .]

12/26/2012 11:20:41 AM

so buy a new touchscreen laptop and quit fucking crying about it in this thread, we have already had this discussion.

</argument>

(nerd)

12/26/2012 12:31:31 PM

+1

12/27/2012 10:28:36 AM

I didn't say most of that. I don't think 8 is inherently easier than 7. I cant do everything in 8 after the video.

That said I also cant do everything from memory in XP or 7 either. When dude in that review says something like "charms bar ...What is this!!!!? I had to google it." I just don't lend a lot or credibility to the rest of his critique nor do I find it all that entertaining. Most computer illiterates wouldn't find the old control panel easy either and the rest of us are fine for the most part.

I'm far from a metro fan but 8 is faster on my old machine and the Ui changes largely make no effect on my day to day computing. I'm not trying to bring up old arguments ...just saying the video is melodramatic and dumb.

[Edited on December 27, 2012 at 3:09 PM. Reason : k]

12/27/2012 3:08:39 PM

Quote :

"so buy a new touchscreen laptop and quit fucking crying about it in this thread, we have already had this discussion. </argument> (nerd)"

what kind of idiot buys a new computer to fit the OS' design flaw when they an just pay $5 to make it work correctly? because i definitely opted for the $5 route and haven't looked back

Quote :

"8 is faster on my old machine"

indeed...and it's exactly why i paid the $15 + $5 for win 8 for two of my machines...it was worth it

12/27/2012 8:05:13 PM

So many new touchscreen laptops, convertibles and tablets being announced at CES, I think MS made the right move with Win8

1/8/2013 2:06:27 PM

^ those are being announced because of Win8, not the other way around.

1/8/2013 5:46:23 PM

Um.... Duh

1/8/2013 6:00:50 PM

Spent about 30 minutes poking around on a desktop. Nothing is intuitive, nothing is simple.

1/9/2013 11:50:12 AM

I too fear change.

Seriously though I think it's pretty simple. Click on stuff. If you don't see stuff to click on type in stuff and click on that. Click Desktop and you're back to Windows 7 minus the start button.

1/9/2013 1:32:18 PM

looks like a decent tablet OS

my desktop is not a touch screen though

LOL

1/9/2013 2:11:54 PM

A must for Win8 on desktop, works great for me

1/9/2013 4:35:44 PM

i just now got my media center key

1/9/2013 5:28:33 PM

^^got to try that at Best Buy and loved it, although I would need to keep my traditional mouse for gaming.

1/9/2013 5:52:09 PM

Yeah, I use it in combination with a regular mouse

1/9/2013 6:05:09 PM

So I was in the market for a new laptop, the one i settled on was in the middle of a transition/upgrade in their inventory system from Win7 Home Premie to Win8; the Win8 version was $400 more. The computer was the exact same specs except for the OS. I got the Win 7 since the upgrade pack to Win 8 was only $70 or so. I know this is very subjective buuuuut for those of you that have Win 8, is it worth the upgrade on a non-touch screen laptop? Or should I hold off the update until i feel its necessary down the road?

2/3/2013 10:47:52 AM

^ I think it comes down to personal choice. I used windows 8 for about a week. I hated it for many reason. I have seen others who love it. It was indefinably different and required more clicks for almost everything I wanted to do.

2/3/2013 11:38:49 AM

I'm not really a fan of where the "start button" went, but I can adapt to that.

The programs layout, took me a bit to find, I'm not keen on it with using a mouse, but it should work well for touch.

The thing that frustrates me is the loss of aero. I'd like my windows to be see through. These flat borders on windows seem to be a step backward, on programs like chrome, it takes away from the content being front and center, and adds crap to the sides.

Dunno if I'll revert to 7 or not.

2/3/2013 12:40:55 PM

Quote :

"I know this is very subjective buuuuut for those of you that have Win 8, is it worth the upgrade on a non-touch screen laptop? Or should I hold off the update until i feel its necessary down the road?"

it was worth the $15 it cost me...which was really more like $20 when you factor in the $5 for start8 (which is mandatory, IMO...the level of retarded that went into the decision to eliminate the start menu altogether - without the option of enabling it for non-touchscreen machines - is astounding)

it is noticeably faster on both my desktop and laptop and i actively like it (again, once i made it more 7-esque by disabling the things that make it windows 8)

i realize that the common view is "why bother spending even the $20 if you're just going to make it like 7 anyway?"...and my response is that it IS faster and it FEELS more stable (not that 7 was unstable)...rather, it's like a polished 7 and worth the upgrade

now, you mentioned upgrading for $70...i wouldn't bother upgrading at that pricepoint...anything more than the $20 i spent would have been too much, IMO

2/3/2013 1:57:19 PM

Good input here, appreciate it. Sounds like its not so bad with some tweaks.

^I understand where you're coming from on the $15 cost from MSFT. I didnt even know that existed otherwise I wouldn't have bought the upgrade pack. I'll have to check when I get back home after reading about some upgrade issues others were having when DLing a copy from them. In my mind the $70 cost would still be worthwhile as the cost for the Win 8 comp would have still been over $300 more when including the upgrade cost; but I will try the direct DL first.

2/3/2013 10:18:11 PM

Has anyone discovered any lesser-known Windows 8 apps that they enjoy?

(I'd make a top apps list, but there aren't that many so it would probably be the same for everyone.)

2/4/2013 9:05:40 AM

Ugh. I don't know what to do. I love Windows 8 on my desktop, needs one or two tweaks. My second computer is a 10" netbook which I just put an SSD into but ran WinXP. Well, I hate switching OS when I switch computers, so I put Win8 on my netbook too...and it runs fine. It is great at hibernating and resuming in a hurry, love that. But it sure burns up the CPU running background tasks (interrupt handler burning 20%? I suspect there is a hardware incompatibility somewhere). Battery life was 10 hours, it is now much less but hard to judge, I guess somewhere around 6 hours. And everything is poorly sized for my screen's low resolution. And Windows 8 just makes it ever so obvious whenever I use it that my poor Atom processor is under-powered.

2/4/2013 1:20:23 PM

I put windows 8 on my computer but it won't work



I blame Noen.

2/4/2013 2:07:59 PM

I'm getting frustrated with windows 8. Am I doing something wrong or is the search feature simply broken? Things I used to be able to search for in the "run" box in the start menu like "administrative tools" or "network adapters", i.e. anything under like control panel do not show up in the big "search" feature of windows 8. I have to search for control panel then use the search box at the top right. Frustrating.

2/4/2013 2:31:51 PM

it's a feature

2/4/2013 2:53:10 PM

^^ the default is to search Apps. you want to search Settings (shortcut is Win + W)



[Edited on February 4, 2013 at 3:02 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2013 3:01:40 PM

^^^This should be moderately helpful to you:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/software/3408859/20-must-know-windows-8-tips-tricks/

2/4/2013 3:27:29 PM

Ahhh that helps. Thanks!

2/4/2013 3:30:00 PM

How do I share a webpage or photo to twitter/facebook? Neither show up in the share charm, are they supposed to?

2/4/2013 7:02:01 PM

Is the store not live yet or something?

I couldn't open it... It hung as it was loading.

2/4/2013 10:37:55 PM

Store is definitely live.

2/5/2013 9:34:56 AM

^^^use the People option

2/5/2013 10:02:38 AM

2/5/2013 2:36:49 PM

So if the store is live, anyone else have trouble connecting? Just shows it as perpetually loading. Same with the embedded apps

2/5/2013 7:30:34 PM

store loads fine for me.

2/5/2013 11:00:12 PM

^^ Sounds like a connectivity issue. Make sure there's no pending updates to install, reboot, try again.

2/5/2013 11:02:44 PM

^first thing I tried

2/5/2013 11:42:41 PM

start menu 8 is out of beta, now: http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

it's free and while not QUITE as snazzy as start8, it's close (much better than the other free options, IMO)...the default start menu button is oversized (like the round one in vista and win7), but you can actually change the graphic to whatever you want (i changed mine to look exactly like start8's, which is no bigger than the bar itself)

2/7/2013 8:57:10 AM

Whats the reason MS didn't include silverlight on their metro browser? Is there a technical reason?

2/7/2013 7:57:18 PM