Windows 8
Out of context: Reply #40
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For those who are asking for more feedback and insight....
I've been using Windows 8 on my primary machine for about 3 months now. Before I installed the OS, I upgraded my Toshiba laptop to an SSD and my computer boots up and shuts down within 5-10 seconds. The OS feels pretty quick and snappy, and my applications start up much more quickly than they did when I had a regular HD installed. Not sure if this stuff is due to Win 8, the SSD or (most likely) both. Regardless, I would recommend an SSD to go with Windows 8, or any other OS.
Like I said I never run Windows 8 in the metro mode. When you're running in Metro, there's no taskbar and the current app that you're using takes up the entire screen. It's a great system for people who are only using a computer to do simple tasks 1 at a time, such as browse the web, play a video game, and then write a Word doc. So for a lot of non-tech-savvy computer users the Metro interface may be a good thing.
However for myself and other people on this forum it's totally inconvenient. I rely on the taskbar with quick access to all of my open apps, and there are some apps I use that can *only* be opened in desktop mode. I'm not interested at all in the Metro sports widgets, weather widgets, etc... I opened them up once or twice when I first installed the OS, but never again after that. I bypass the Metro system completely and go straight to desktop mode.
The desktop/window design is slightly more streamlined and simplified in Windows 7, which I think is nice.
Oh, and the one biggie that everyone is talking about is that there is no start button. Instead, you need to move your mouse over to the right-hand side of the screen and a tray of options for search, settings, etc.. pop up. So if you want to open a specific app that isn't pinned to your taskbar you'll need to "search" for it instead of going to start -> programs -> your app, etc... Overall not a big deal to me.
Even with the consumer preview version that I've been using, the OS has been very stable. The only problem that I've had is installing a specific video driver for my laptop, which is doesn't want to let me do so I'm stuck using some default driver that's not quite as good and causes some weird display issues for me at times. But I suspect these type of kinks will be ironed out shortly.
Bottom line for me is this: It's an evolved version of Windows 7 with a slick Metro interface that I'll never touch.