So, is Windows 8 and 8.1 an
operating system worth
recommending?
recommending?
The Short answer? Yes!
Why Recommend It?
"Why would they?" one would wonder. But I wonder, why not? Let's start there, the reasons why one shouldn't recommend Windows 8.
Let's be a little realistic now here and take a look at what it is that most people are complaining about with Windows 8. The main thing people have a gripe with is the new Start Menu. Most people hate it because of the way it looks. Some actually feel they are being told they are dumb?! That big buttons and colours express Microsoft's opinion about its customers in some strange way? And few find it hard to navigate. I say few because those that didn't try to learn to navigate through it don't actually count, only those that tried and still found it hard and they are indeed few since it isn't really something too hard to learn.
At the end of the day the reason we are left with why one wouldn't recommend it is one. The Start Menu. And the main reasoning behind that is aesthetic appeal. That is all. Most people simply don't like the way it looks, and well, that is barely a reason at all. You can't not recommend a program simply because you don't like the way it looks.
Further justifying such opinions with "I don't like the navigation" is based on this first aesthetic disagreement with the operating system and this is understandable as it is acceptable. We all have different needs and tastes as well as habits. Going as far as not recommending an operating system and hating on it is a little too much, as it shows some simply can't accept the fact that what needs and likes others may have might be different, and many try to sabotage the image of the operating system in hopes that fewer will use it and hence Microsoft will be forced to change it back. Or perhaps even that their complaints will pile up, again forcing MS to change things back to the way they were.
Highly doubtful and unlikely.
For starters, more and more people are getting used to it. Then we have the added functionality for touch screens. And lastly we have a range of mods that can change the operating system to look like or mimic the older start menus.
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| There is a wide range of mods to change the look of your Windows 8.1 start menus into something more familiar. Simply take your pick and start customising your likes. |
If Microsoft was smart about it and I hope they are, they will keep steering on this path and not make changes back to the older styles. Such options are available for those that truly need/want them and go through the hassle of applying such mods. The rest that simply want a lighter operating system would not and should not agree to Microsoft making it a clumsier design for the few that seemingly don't want the new version just because they don't want to move forward.
Creatures of Habit
Lets look behind the complaints though and see what people are really saying.
Behind their dislikes of the aesthetic appeal, behind the new navigation that they need to get used to, behind the "dumbed down" design, it all comes down to people being creatures of habit.
Opinions of the like "they tried to make it colourful for children and/or casual users" come in conflict with opinions such as "they tried to make it look simpler/minimal whilst Windows 7 had a more animated look on the buttons and windows and everything. It was just so pleasant."
So which is it? You either want your operating system to be more "colourful" or you want it to be simpler/minimal. Wanting a change however, any change, and not being able to even try to apply yourself to it shows signs of habit.
More contradicting opinions also include complaints (especially before win8 came out) the likes "Windows is the same look for over 20 years, there is nothing innovating about it or appealing, we get a lame start menu and task bar and that is all, not to mention the functionality problems it has with touch screens. It looks like a dead operating system with regards to the future..." and now we are met with "why did they change the look? they are trying to push touch screens on us all and trying to look cool for not having a better animated navigation menu all this time?" or anything else on those lines.
End of the day no-one is really pushing anything on you (touch screens, tablets, or something else). I have been using Windows 8 for 1.5 years now, I never felt the urge or need to want to switch to a touch screen even once in all this time.
With all these opinions coming back and forth and a range of people being so, well, aggressive, towards an operating system mind you (first world problems right? indeed) one can only draw the conclusion that it all comes down to habit. I of course being who I am and incapable of seeing such needless and over the top reactions towards anything come along to set the record straight and put some balance back out there on the table. Opinions are welcome and we all have the right to our own taste, being mindless about it however is not a right, it is an exploitation of one's freedom.
Habit ends up being in the end one of the ugliest things one can express. It also stands to be on the other end of the spectrum from one being able to evolve.
A New Design with More Customisation and Added Functionality
The new design offers more customisability to each user (for those complaining thus far on windows not feeling personal), a new look finally to rival other operating systems (for those complaining it looked outdated with the same design in mind all this time) and improved functionality not only for touch screens but a range of software ushering in better user friendliness as well (for all those that complained on the operating systems shortcomings with regards to touch screens or those that argued it was not user friendly to older people, newer users, or even veterans that need to navigate through a range of things at times to do one task).
In many ways, it improved on the initial concept and design adding navigation that still relies on being fluent as well as easier. Some may see this as dumbing down? Making a program more user friendly is not dumbing down, it is saving peoples time getting rid of needless things and improving the speed and experience of the user so that they end up spending actually less time on each thing, if not the same time yet with simpler layouts. Improvement in user friendliness is always a good thing. There was a time when programs were so non-user friendly that saying something was "user-friendly" alone was an advantage. When did we all suddenly become so pretentious or perhaps needy that we want things to be complex in order to feel good about our intellect?
Add to this the fact that, as I am guessing, few of these complainers had the wonderful experience of teaching others how to use an operating system like Windows from scratch. Anyone that has gone through this process will know of the frustration such a task comes with. Not so much with the person you are teaching it to (many times that as well), as with the operating system itself and having to explain a million and one things to someone new. Here one realises that for a casual user Windows is not user friendly, and it needs to be so more people that require it's services can take advantage of it.
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| For a casual user, most of the interface is actually much more self explanatory. This can indeed come in handy for a wide range of users out there, whilst also not getting in the way of veteran users that like to run their windows the old way. |
This is not dumbing things down, this is making them better all around for everyone as it does not take away from any of the functions a veteran user needs as I already mentioned. Seriously now, instead of a scroll down menu you can customise your own Start Screen with what shortcuts you need on it, which results in more or less the same thing. Instead of clicking on the start button and navigating to the shortcut you want, you click on the start button and click on the shortcut you want. Also saves you desktop space from all the desktop shortcuts you would usually use. Which brings us to the next point.
Desktop-ception... A Desktop Within a Desktop Really
The main way one should see the new start menu design is, as opposed to simply a dumbed down version for touch screens, a second desktop.
This was in fact in the past one of the many custom theme mods for windows that had successfully made its way to many users. Me included at a time. I would have kept to such mods had I not noticed performance drops on my machine in many various tasks. At times, these mods were so great that I would even try to suck it up and power through performance drops just to hold on to them. The main idea to these mods was multiple desktops.
The style existed as a custom windows theme years before it ever made it's way to smartphones in the form of multiple "screens" to flick through. And it is really as efficient as it sounds cool.
Keeping a desktop clean is usually a hard thing to manage. Some actually like to keep it messy. Makes them feel busy I guess? I on the other hand have the same complaint many of us out there share. I try to keep the desktop clean so I can have quick and easy access to all I want from there, but working on so many different things forces you one way or another at a point to have a mess of things floating around, most of it dropped there in a rush to save yourself the time of searching for the right folder with the notion it will be cleaned up later. All making the desktop experience both messy and sometimes complicated to navigate through. I have experienced periods where the desktop was 90% crammed with files and shortcuts... all this with small icons too by the way! Try finding your way out of that mess.
Multiple desktops is simply that. Multiple desktops. And it helps in keeping your desktop clean, but also gives you the freedom to use it. You can have say one desktop for temporary work files, another with all your basic programs, another with games, and perhaps even a fourth one with nothing on it just to keep it tidy when you don't want any distractions. The amount of combinations are plenty one can think of and all great had they not the problem of creating performance drops.
The new start menu is in a way just this. Although not a desktop itself, it is more of a desktop overlay and its size is not limited to that of the desktop alone (meaning you can scroll horizontally out of the screen). With Windows 8.1, you can even group icons into categories and name them. With customisable sizes and the entire layout pretty much being customisable, this smart blend of a desktop-like start menu can clear your desktop from all the space it has on it. With regards to performance, files and shortcuts on the desktop can create problems, so there is that. Whilst Microsoft implementing this all on the go instead of having to mod the operating system with another custom theme means performance is not compromised one bit.
You will still on occasion drop files on your desktop, but at least navigating through all your programs and folder shortcuts is not compromised by this and is kept neat and tidy on it's own layout. A tip to further keep the desktop completely clean from there would be creating a temporary folder to drop the things you need in it when in a rush.
You will still on occasion drop files on your desktop, but at least navigating through all your programs and folder shortcuts is not compromised by this and is kept neat and tidy on it's own layout. A tip to further keep the desktop completely clean from there would be creating a temporary folder to drop the things you need in it when in a rush.
I would recommend windows 8.1 for the Start Menu alone, but it offers more than just a new start menu and altered visuals. It has plenty reasons under the bonnet as to why one would enjoy working with it and recommend such an operating system to others.
The Technical Side of Things
Working after the tradition that Windows 7 launched, the philosophy of it actually working, Windows 8 does just that... It simply works!
Taking a trip down memory lane, I was so frustrated with Microsoft at the time I hated them with a passion. Windows XP was the most unstable operating system one could come across and patiently try to work with through a million saves and abundant close program operations. When Vista came out it proved that Microsoft not only has the ability to make an unstable operating system, but also manages to make it demanding and ruin its performance ten fold.
I was at the time opting for other ideas towards other operating systems, Mac OS and Linux included, and if it wasn't for some programs that require Windows to work I might have gone through with it at some point.
When Windows 7 was announced I was already convinced that I wanted another operating system and Microsoft was not to be trusted. Until I tested the beta release... Then the RC version... And lastly the normal version. Needless to say, I was surprised from the very first beta release, and had been already using Windows 7 about a year before its release. Microsoft's new operating system pretty much saved Microsoft. It didn't crash once. At last I could work on demanding visual jobs without needing to worry about my operating system letting me down every ten minutes. Happy with all that Microsoft had achieved, I stopped the search right there. The hunt for a stable operating system had come to an end, as Windows 7 was more stable than I could have ever needed it to be.
Windows 8 followed down the same path, added functionality for touch screens, cloud controlled profiles and data to further take advantage of the online technology our time provides us with, made the operating system even lighter and quicker, whilst also adding extra functions to it. One of these extra functions of the top of my head, and among the few that really surprised me, was auto-mounting for disc images. Yes, you know all those .iso image files that we once needed MagicDisc, MagicIso, Deamon Tools and a range of other programs to open? Windows 8 simply mounts them on the go after double clicking on them once.
There are a number of other tools that I can't even recall at the moment, since I don't need to use them on a daily basis, that keep smiles on my face when I stumble across them even now when need be. Another one very small and simple addition is the in-built PDF viewer, or the detailed task manager, or all the added enterprise functions and system securities.
Some of these are minor things of course, especially those the likes of a PDF viewer, and we got along just fine before them with our own programs. But in the end these all added up to one program being installed after another and at the end of the day, the more of these functions being added to an operating system, the more complete it comes out of the box, making it lighter as it is filled with less "program installation clutter" all over the place. And did I not already mention it? I did. Windows 8.1 is even lighter and faster than Windows 7. The fluidity in file data transfers, all device speeds and functionality in general as that of even USB 3 ports for example along with more, all of which show for an improved operating system that has evolved onwards and added to the initial and successful architecture of Windows 7.
Subjective Thoughts
Subjectively there is very little that I do not like with the new operating system and hope they continue to support this approach. I am not too keen on the Metro system (which is indeed tailored after touch screens and tablets) and even though it has some nice and very fluent controls to it, it remains slow in terms of navigation and clumsy with regards to work.
Great for browsing perhaps or sometimes splitting the screen to have a video playing on a portion of the screen and working on the other without compromising the desktop workflow at all, but this is completely subjective. The Metro interface is indeed for casual users or tablets alone, or even for non-casual users when they are in the mood for casual use (yes, its a thing), yet I found it barely ever getting in the way enough to make it something to complain about. All programs can be installed on desktop mode rendering Metro completely absent. One barely ever comes across it period if they do not want to.
The Start Menu is a much better design in my opinion, and since we are talking about subjective opinions now, the look of the entire operating system is much better too. The neater and more minimal look actually helps me concentrate more as well. Sitting down for work alone on my station feels like a very pleasant and tidy experience that handles extremely well in the performance area.
A Personalised Workplace that actually Works
Overall, I would recommend Windows 8.1 to anyone and everyone. It is simply an improved version of something really great that already worked, Windows 7, and the only drawback one could argue it has is the different Start Menu. Not even the Metro Interface is a problem, and being able to work on everything else in the exact same way one has always worked on it means that the only thing getting in the way of the experience is a little bit of habit with regards to the old Start Menu. One which was clumsy by comparison and in the long run this form of habit is simply getting in the way of experiencing something better. I know I myself needed to get used to it, but in less than a couple days it became so common to me that using PC's after that with Windows 7 installed on them (or older) was and still is quite a tiresome experience.
It works, it is customisable, and after some small portions of patience it is even more functional and accessible than before. Why wouldn't someone want to recommend an Operating System that evolves with the needs of our time becoming all the while better as it goes? Especially when this whole "menu problem" can be bypassed with a simple mod.
For those hesitating on the change over to Windows 8.1, they really have no reason to do so. Giving it a chance can prove that in less than a week Windows 8.1 is capable of becoming a great experience after all. One to rival and even surpass previous Windows experiences. Moving forward in such style was never a bad thing and there is no need to hesitate at all.
Taking a trip down memory lane, I was so frustrated with Microsoft at the time I hated them with a passion. Windows XP was the most unstable operating system one could come across and patiently try to work with through a million saves and abundant close program operations. When Vista came out it proved that Microsoft not only has the ability to make an unstable operating system, but also manages to make it demanding and ruin its performance ten fold.
I was at the time opting for other ideas towards other operating systems, Mac OS and Linux included, and if it wasn't for some programs that require Windows to work I might have gone through with it at some point.
When Windows 7 was announced I was already convinced that I wanted another operating system and Microsoft was not to be trusted. Until I tested the beta release... Then the RC version... And lastly the normal version. Needless to say, I was surprised from the very first beta release, and had been already using Windows 7 about a year before its release. Microsoft's new operating system pretty much saved Microsoft. It didn't crash once. At last I could work on demanding visual jobs without needing to worry about my operating system letting me down every ten minutes. Happy with all that Microsoft had achieved, I stopped the search right there. The hunt for a stable operating system had come to an end, as Windows 7 was more stable than I could have ever needed it to be.
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| The source for this picture can be found in the link provided. Keep in mind that gaming optimisation improved, and even more so with Win8.1, as this was from 1.5 years ago. And it still measured up overall to being faster than Windows 7 save for 3D graphics and gaming. Windows 8 vs Windows 7 |
There are a number of other tools that I can't even recall at the moment, since I don't need to use them on a daily basis, that keep smiles on my face when I stumble across them even now when need be. Another one very small and simple addition is the in-built PDF viewer, or the detailed task manager, or all the added enterprise functions and system securities.
Some of these are minor things of course, especially those the likes of a PDF viewer, and we got along just fine before them with our own programs. But in the end these all added up to one program being installed after another and at the end of the day, the more of these functions being added to an operating system, the more complete it comes out of the box, making it lighter as it is filled with less "program installation clutter" all over the place. And did I not already mention it? I did. Windows 8.1 is even lighter and faster than Windows 7. The fluidity in file data transfers, all device speeds and functionality in general as that of even USB 3 ports for example along with more, all of which show for an improved operating system that has evolved onwards and added to the initial and successful architecture of Windows 7.
 |
| A more to date comparison showcasing the frame-rate increase between the two operating systems. |
Subjective Thoughts
Subjectively there is very little that I do not like with the new operating system and hope they continue to support this approach. I am not too keen on the Metro system (which is indeed tailored after touch screens and tablets) and even though it has some nice and very fluent controls to it, it remains slow in terms of navigation and clumsy with regards to work.
Great for browsing perhaps or sometimes splitting the screen to have a video playing on a portion of the screen and working on the other without compromising the desktop workflow at all, but this is completely subjective. The Metro interface is indeed for casual users or tablets alone, or even for non-casual users when they are in the mood for casual use (yes, its a thing), yet I found it barely ever getting in the way enough to make it something to complain about. All programs can be installed on desktop mode rendering Metro completely absent. One barely ever comes across it period if they do not want to.
The Start Menu is a much better design in my opinion, and since we are talking about subjective opinions now, the look of the entire operating system is much better too. The neater and more minimal look actually helps me concentrate more as well. Sitting down for work alone on my station feels like a very pleasant and tidy experience that handles extremely well in the performance area.
A Personalised Workplace that actually Works
Overall, I would recommend Windows 8.1 to anyone and everyone. It is simply an improved version of something really great that already worked, Windows 7, and the only drawback one could argue it has is the different Start Menu. Not even the Metro Interface is a problem, and being able to work on everything else in the exact same way one has always worked on it means that the only thing getting in the way of the experience is a little bit of habit with regards to the old Start Menu. One which was clumsy by comparison and in the long run this form of habit is simply getting in the way of experiencing something better. I know I myself needed to get used to it, but in less than a couple days it became so common to me that using PC's after that with Windows 7 installed on them (or older) was and still is quite a tiresome experience.
It works, it is customisable, and after some small portions of patience it is even more functional and accessible than before. Why wouldn't someone want to recommend an Operating System that evolves with the needs of our time becoming all the while better as it goes? Especially when this whole "menu problem" can be bypassed with a simple mod.
For those hesitating on the change over to Windows 8.1, they really have no reason to do so. Giving it a chance can prove that in less than a week Windows 8.1 is capable of becoming a great experience after all. One to rival and even surpass previous Windows experiences. Moving forward in such style was never a bad thing and there is no need to hesitate at all.
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