Windows 8 In Pictures: Top 20 Windows 8 features

[News]

From Metro Start to reduced hardware requirements, here is a look at the best new features Windows 8 users will love

Source: Yahoo! News

 

[davehc]

I have just posted an answer to this on another site. But it is worth reposting, to get some views:


I am in support of the majority of the following posts in that article. I am looking, deliberately, at Windows 8 with a cynical eye. It helps to keep my feet on the ground when testing. I will move on to Windows 8, but could not recommend its mass purchase to companies, who are already happy with Windows 7. To them, the advantage of the Metro is only as an alternative menu. Having "touched" the required program, in most cases I cannot see secretaries etc, getting up much speed tryin to type letters on a desktop keyboard? Or accountants trying to get their fat fingers on to those tiny columns!
2. The most controversial - The touch Screen.
3. Traditional Desktop? Not at all. Surely if it is "traditional", it should have the most glaring feature the "Start" globe(menu)
4. As in 2.
5. Windows Store. A newly introduced way to download software. Other ways have existed for years.
6. Tablet ready. As in 2.
7. IE10. ? Is this a "Special" feature of Windows 8?
8. Touch interface. As in 2.
9. Skydrive. Not a particular feature, again, of Windows 8.
10. Charms bar. Only a graphical eye candy move, and change in navigational procedure. Could easily be implemented in Windows 7
11. Search bar - No comment.
12. Snap feature. I find the multi tasking ability of Windows 7 more convenient and easy to use.
13. Recovery. Yes. Convenient to use. The offe is available in legacy OSs, but has to be readied through a command prompt. (A shortcut could be made)
14. Simplified settings. Nice to have it all under one umbrella, but it is all avaiolable, mostly through the Control Panel, in Windows 7.
15. Storage spaces. There are several third party examples that do the same thing in Windows 7. I still prefer an external drive for safe storage.
16. File History. Called Volume Shadow copy in Windows 7.
17. Ribbon Bar.Far too over the top for most windows. I use a hack to return Windows explorer to the legacy view, for example.
18. Windows Reader. Yes. About time. But why do Windows 7 users still wait for the implementation. Once Acrobat start waving their swords, it'll probably be withdrawn anyway!
19. Video Player? We already have one?
20. Social networking? No comment.
21. Reduced hardware requirements.PCworld's own comment says it all: "Perhaps one of the most important features for many users is actually having the ability to run the operating system. Machines that run Windows 7 and Windows Vista already meet the hardware requirements for Windows 8, and many systems running Windows XP will also be eligible to run the latest OS.

My performance figures have not, unfortunately, been as exciting as many seemed to have experienced. This is on an older computer, dual booting with Windows 7 boot manager, to avoid the built in delay with Windows 8 manager.All software and startup sequences are precisely the same.

I am not claiming these as authorative benchmarking .- just my own tests, out of curiosity.

Windows 7 Windows 8
Start-up (Bios to useable desktop/Metro inc Internet connectionan cessation of HD activity.).
43 secs 41.5 secs
Open IE to Google
1.2 secs 1.1 secs
Open IE to webpage
4.4 secs 4.2 secs
Open LIve Mail (No Mail tocollect, inc Live login)
5.2 secs 5.4 secs
Paint
1.0 secs 1.2 secs
Control Panel .
2 secs . 4 secs