Windows 8 is finally here. Microsoft’s new operating system is completely
different from all previous versions of Windows. The UI is new, it’s much
faster and more secure as well. This is pretty much Microsoft’s riskiest move
till date, it’s changing the whole image of itself and Windows 8 is at the
forefront of this evolution. But is it worth a buy? Would Windows 7 or older
users consider changing to Windows 8? We tell you everything you need to know
in our complete Windows 8 review!
Windows 8 Review – Introduction
First and foremost, even though Windows 8 is superior in
performance to Windows 7 and has this general zippiness, system
requirements are pretty much the same. This is good news for owners of older
computers, there’s no need to upgrade, although like always it’s recommended.
Still, even on the exact same hardware you’d notice that it’s much faster. This
is also the first time Windows has the ability to run on ARM based processors,
although that’s Windows 8 RT. Here’s the system requirements:
§ Processor: 1 GHz with PAE, NX and SSE2 support
(IA-32 and x86-64 architectures)
§ RAM: 1 GB (32-bit)/2 GB (64-bit)
§ Graphics card: DirectX 9 device with WDDM 1.0 or
higher
§ Disk space: 15 GB (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)
The installation process is pretty quick and you’ll be at the
new start menu in no time. More on the new UI in a bit. Now signing in is done
via Microsoft Account, an account that ties all social networks, mail accounts
and such into one so that when you log into your computer, all your information
is already there. This also helps in case you want to log into another computer
somewhere else, all your settings are saved and synced. There’s also an option
for a local account, but there’s hardly any integration there so
we recommend using the Microsoft Account.
Windows 8 Review – The new user interface
Let’s not mince words here, the new UI is something you’re
going to either love or hate. It’s funky, colorful, functional and much more
personalized. Love it or hate it, by default your PC boots into the
new start menu. There’s the desktop and Windows Explorer (now called File
Explorer) available as well of course, you have to either click on the
“Desktop” tile or right click the bottom leftmost corner of the screen. The
mainstay of all Windows PC’s, the “Start” button is now gone. Instead, you can
access most settings by right clicking the bottom left of the screen as
mentioned. Another bunch of settings can be accessed by moving the mouse
pointer to either corner of the right side of the screen. Open apps/programs
can be viewed and closed by moving the pointer to the top left corner of the
screen.
Sound confusing? It is. Initially it’s going to be pretty
difficult to get used to, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you won’t miss
the old interface. Admittedly, this change can be jarring since everyone’s used
to pretty much the same interface since decades. Once you’re into the desktop
mode or Windows Explorer you’ll notice that not much has changed, but it’s much
easier to use thanks to the ribbon interface a la Office 2010. All file
settings, views and such are accessed via a ribbon menu on the top that can be
dropped down and file details have been moved to the right side. Gone is the
Aero Glass effect as well, all windows now have this minimalistic matte type
finish which we like.
The whole user interface takes a few cues from Windows Phone,
and there’s a lot of swiping and smooth transitions that look slick. Also like
mobile operating systems, apps keep running in the background unless you close
them via the redesigned Modern taskbar (pointer to top left of screen). The
extra bit of personalization that you get to see after all your accounts are
synced is really something to behold. Live tiles constantly keep updating
information, so you know everything without even opening the app. For example,
the Mail app shows if you’ve got unread mails, the People app shows
notifications from social networks or just a collage of pictures of your
contacts and the Pictures app shows pictures on your Facebook account or
SkyDrive. Other apps like News, Travel, Music and Bing also update in real time
and you’re always getting the latest news or just a bunch of stuff to look at.
The Start menu background and colors can be customized as well, and so can the
logon screen. You can set up notifications you’d like to see on the logon
screen too! Settings and search can be accessed by right clicking in apps or
the Modern interface, speaking of which, the Search function performs a search
within the app or Start menu so you find what you’re looking for. Overall, a
fantastic interface that looks good and performs even better.
Windows 8 Review – Apps and more
A new addition is the Windows Store, which lets you download
apps, just like a mobile phone. There’s no installation and they’re usually super
light and functional. Sure, the app store is barren compared to the number of
Android or iOS apps available, but most of the stuff you’d need is there. You
can download app versions of software like TeamViewer, Google Chrome and such
which let you do most day to day things, but it’s better to use the full
desktop versions of the same for the heavy duty stuff. A good example is
Internet Explorer 10 bundled with Windows 8, you’ll find flash support only on
the full fledged desktop version. The Music app is extremely cool and once your
music library is synced, you can view artist bio, discography and pictures
that automatically appear when songs are played. The Travel app has
information about a lot of cities around the world and ticket booking, hotel
reservations, places to visit are all integrated. You can also view photos and
360 degrees panoramas. The News app brings the headlines via Bing to your Start
menu and you can view the news you are interested in like Entertainment news,
Technology news etc.
There’s a lot of fun apps available too, including games like
Fruit Ninja and Cut the Rope. Microsoft’s new Skype app is also sleek and
functional. You can find photo apps, business apps, note apps, music apps and
much more. The ecosystem is small as of now, but it’s sure to grow. The
integration of some apps like the Messaging app is a boon and lets you
communicate with everyone without even logging into to social networks like
Facebook or Twitter. You can carry on chatting without opening up a web browser
and messages sent to you are immediately notified even while you’re doing
something else. For some tasks you might have to switch between the Modern
interface and the usual desktop mode, it can be annoying sometimes. But apps
are a great way to perform simple functions like sending mails, reading the
news or catching up with friends without using programs.
Windows 8 Review – Performance, installation and recovery
A lot of the graphical whiz bang is now hardware powered. So
you’re looking at smooth transitions, better colors and text that’s actually
hardware rendered. All of this results in a much snappier looking interface.
Visual flourishes aside, the operating system as a whole does tasks faster than
its predecessors. Microsoft has come good on its promise of faster boot, and
boot times are in the area of 15-20 seconds while earlier they were around 40
seconds. It’s an impressive feat and makes you feel as if your hardware got a
second life. Performance across the board is much better and we’re pretty happy
about it.
Windows 8 now has the option to run from USB drive, so you’ve
got an operation system on the go. System developers and technicians will
welcome this feature. Now, if you’ve somehow screwed up your computer, Windows
8 offers the option to Refresh or Reset itself. Refresh changes some settings
to default and Reset is basically like a system restore and would fix most
problems. If you want to restore just a certain file or folder, you can do so
through the File History option in the Control Panel, which is a nice touch.
Finally, there’s the new and updated Task Manager that gets rid of all the
useless stuff, it now shows descriptions and individual component usage so you
know exactly what’s eating up your resources. No more obscure filenames and
such. There’s also a Performance tab that collates information about CPU,
Memory, Network and Disk usage. The startup programs list also displays here
along with Users logged in and how much resources they’re using. In case you
want details, there’s also a tab with details of all processes and services
running.
Windows 8 Review – Conclusion and rating
Windows 8 is a bold step forward by Microsoft, rarely have we
seen companies completely reinvent themselves and their portfolio. While the
drastic change might be jarring to some, we welcome it. Sales might not be all
that because of initial apprehensions, but once the word gets out Windows 8
should really pick up. That’s not something to argue about in any case, since
this is pretty much the future of Windows and one has to get used to it. Once
you’re into it, you might never turn back, the ease of use and information at
your fingertips (literally, in case of touch based devices) are hard to do
without now that I’m used to Windows 8. The funny thing is, if this was a
completely new product it would receive much less flak than it is now, it’s
just the change that people are not able to stomach. It’s good to see another
ecosystem pop up, that includes all Microsoft devices like Windows 8
computers, Windows Phone 8 devices and Xbox as well. You
can read more about Windows 8 editions here.
According to us, Windows 8 is a winner. Sure it’s going to
take time getting used to, and there are some shortcomings like the paltry
number of apps and the confusion regarding UI, but the bottom line is that
Windows 8 improves upon the desktop experience and integrates a lot of other
devices into it while looking fresh. It’s got incredible personality and won’t
disappoint.
Pros:
§ Much faster than predecessors
§ So much more personalized
§ Some simplified functions
§ Apps
Cons:
§ Steep learning curve
§ Some simple settings and functions are
made complicated
§ Confusion between apps and desktop
programs
§ Slightly difficult to control with
keyboard and mouse
§ Not too many apps available
CoolPCTips rating: 9.1/10
