Know Which Version of an Application You Want to Install
With Windows 8, a lot of apps are going to have two versions for you to choose from, or, often, that you can run at the same time. It can be confusing, and leads to useful stories with insane headlines like “Understand The Differences Between The SkyDrive App And The SkyDrive Application.” That’s more punchline than headline, but the point is a good one: As you use more and more apps that have been updated for Windows 8, you’re going to have to decide whether you want the Modern version or the desktop version.
How You Should Actually Multitask with Live Apps
If you do choose to embrace Windows 8 in all its tiled goodness — and you really should — the first trouble you’re going to run into is fluidly switching between apps. Your programs will now open full screen, which means going back and forth is more complicated than just clicking around. And Alt+Tab doesn’t behave quite like you’re used to any more. So here’s how to get around:
Your New Most Used (But Kinda Clumsy) Gesture: You can zoom through Metro apps while multitasking easily enough just by swiping (or clicking in the top left corner, if you’re on a mouse), but there’s one problem: It can be a crap shoot which app you’re going to get, since there’s no visual reference point about what’s coming up next, and in what order. The gesture to get around this isn’t super obvious.
If you’re using a touchscreen, pull from the left side of the screen, like you’re going to yank an app over for that fast-change multitask, but then shove it back to the left. This brings up the Windows 8 app selector, where only Windows 8 apps are shown, with the desktop environment being a single app. As far as we can tell, this doesn’t work on trackpads (at least the ones we’ve used). Once you used to it, though, it’s actually a more natural way to access multitasking than iOS, and a little easier than Android since you don’t have to reach for a button — it’s just always on the left side of your screen.
Alt Tab vs. Start Tab: This is another big difference. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, Start+Tab cycled you through your apps using the Aero view, with previews of each windows rather than the regular Alt+Tab. Now, though, Start+Tab accesses the same Windows 8 multitasking menu, while Alt+Tab is unchanged.
The difference between the two is that Alt+Tab has an icon for each of your Windows 8 apps, but also each of your desktop apps. So if you’re just Alt+Tabbing around, you can get disoriented by zapping from full screen app to full screen app.
How To Use Gestures Without A Touchscreen Or A (Working) Trackpad
One of the best things about Windows 8 is that it adds an incredible amount of functionality to your arsenal with swipes and taps. You know, gestures. But if you don’t have a touchscreen or a compatible trackpad, here’s how you can still take advantage of all the new shortcuts. Microsoft calls them “hot corners,” but they’re basically just mouse-friendly maneuvers:
Start: Mouse to the bottom left corner, left click the tile.
Power User Navigation: If you right click the bottom left popup instead of left clicking it, you’ll get options for a host of commands, like opening Task Manager or Control Panel, or individual settings like Power Options or Device Manager.
Multitask Quick Swap: Mouse to the top left corner and left click it (You can also right click to close or snap left or right)
Multitask Bar: Mouse to the top left corner, then slide your cursor down the left side of the screen. (Right click closes or snaps left or right here as well)
Charms: Mouse to the top or bottom right corner.
Close Live App: Click the top-center of the app and drag it to the bottom of the screen.
Live App Menu: Right click anywhere in the Live app
Aero Peek: Aero Peek is still here! Mouse to the bottom right corner and leave the cursor there.
Other New Keyboard Shortcuts
Start+C: Open charms
Start+Q: Search charm
Start+H: Share charm
Start+K: Devices charm
Start+I: Settings charm
Start+Q: Search apps
Start+W: Search settings
Start+F: Search files (It’s easier to just type directly into the Start screen, but these take you directly to your desired search category.)
Start+,: Peek at desktop
Start+B: Back to desktop
Start+Enter: Open Windows Narrator
Start+X: Open system utility settings menu
For Live Apps
Start+.: Snap app left
Start+Shift+.: Snap app right
Start+Z: App options
Start+Tab: Cycle through app history
Start+F4: Close an app
You Might Actually Prefer A Mouse
The weird thing about Windows 8 in its Modern (formerly Metro) interface is that while it’s meant to be touched, and gestures are enabled on (most) trackpads, using a mouse with it is surprisingly great. So good, in fact, that using the scroll wheel to zoom around the horizontal areas and right clicking and using keyboard shortcuts is easier than dealing with trackpad drivers a lot of times. Go figure.
Pin Apps To The Search Bar
You will probably be using the search bar a LOT to navigate your way around Windows 8. So while the defaults of Apps, Settings, and Files are good things to search in, the rest of your apps are in alphabetical order. That’s not convenient for calling up frequently used apps — like, say, Music or Bing — in a hurry. Thankfully, there’s a better way.
Just open the search bar through the Charms bar, or from the Start screen, and right click an app and select Pin. It will now remain just under the default three search categories, and you can drag your pinned apps around to rearrange their order.
Pin Desktop Apps To The Start Screen
If you like the new Start screen, but you just want to use it as a hub and do all the rest of your work in Desktop mode, you can use it as, basically, a fancy app launcher, widget hub (with Live Tiles), and favourites hub by yanking out all of the tiles that would open a separate Live app. You do this just by right-clicking a desktop app and selecting Pin to Start.
This is a good tip to use in conjunction with picking new default non-Modern apps. You can also keep just one or two Live apps there, and use them as your Snap apps. That will also have the added bonus of making the fast-swap gesture more usable since it would always be the same thing.
Get Your Google Apps And Search Working
A lot of people rely heavily on Google services for their PC life. Google’s made it easy to maintain those services — and replace their default Microsoft equivalents in Windows 8 — by making a landing page called getyourgoogleback.com. From there you can easily download the Google Search app and Chrome, and stick them on your Start screen. You can also pin the Google Search app to the search bar, ahead of Bing.
Take The Time To Sync Up With A Microsoft Account
You can run a regular local account on Windows 8, but it’s definitely worth your time to set up a Microsoft account. All that requires is a Hotmail, Live, Outlook, or other Microsoft email address.
To sign in systemwide, go to the Charms bar, and select Settings > Change PC Settings (this will send you to another window) > Users From there you can select Switch to a Microsoft ccount. From there, just enter your account email, or you’ll be given the option of creating one. A new subhead will now appear in PC Settings called Sync your settings. You can pick out which kinds of settings you want to sync.
It’s worth your while, especially since it’ll save you the trouble of having to sign in each and every time you try to access Xbox Music, the Windows Store, etc.
Turn Off the Lock Screen
Windows 8 turns on the lock screen by default, which is probably for the best. But if you’d rather not deal with it, you can disable it, and launch right into the screen you left off at.
Type “netplwiz” into the start screen, and launch the app that comes up. Then select your user account, and uncheck Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer. You’ll be prompted to enter your password twice. Now just restart and you’re password-free. You can re-enable the lock just by doing this in reverse.
BEWARE: Live Tiles Make ALL Of Your Photos And Video Thumbnails REALLY VISIBLE
Speaking of security! This is a very funny side effect but also a very real one for, basically, all of you. Any embarrassing photos or videos you have on your computer, once displayed in the new Modern interface, will be used as thumbnails for your folders. So. If you’re in SkyDrive, for instance, and you have a folder with a bunch of photos of your family at the beach, but in another folder carefully hidden and innocuously named there are photos of scantily clad furries, guess what: you’re running a roulette game that the furries will be the top level folder’s thumbnail.
Basically: Burying your porn is no longer good enough. All the more reason to just keep that stuff in your browser, where it belongs.
Nuke All Of The Bloatware On Your Machine At Once
Windows 8 makes making a clean install simpler than ever. Just go into PC Settings > General. Scroll to the bottom, and you’ll see two options: Refresh your PC without affecting your files and Remove everything and reinstall Windows.
The first option will retain your music, photos, and other personal files, while the latter option will just give you a toasty fresh install of stock Windows 8. That’s it. No discs, no hassle.
It’s probably a good idea to run this as soon as you buy any new computer.
Change The Boot Drive If Windows Boots Too Fast
Traditionally, when you’re changing which drive or partition your computer boots from, you do it at startup. But Windows 8 boots really fast, so if you need to switch the drive and don’t want to futz with timing your keystrokes, just go to PC Settings > General > Advanced startup options. From there, you can restart into a screen that will let you switch operating systems, troubleshoot, continue to Windows, or restart.
Take Advantage Of The New Task Manager
Task Manager (Control + Alt + Delete) is one of the more boring parts of Windows, but it got a bit of a facelift in Windows 8, and there are some new features that can make your life easier.
The biggest advantage is the Startup feature, which doesn’t just tell you which programs are set to load when you start your computer; it also tells you how much they’re going to affect startup time. That ranges from None, to Low, Medium, and High. Some are Not Measured, but for the most part, this should let you more accurately pick which programs to launch at startup.
Easy Screenshots! Finally!
There’s finally an easier way to take screenshots on Windows. Here’s the keyboard shortcut, which will dump the screenshots into a Screenshots folder in your Pictures folder.
Start+PrntScrn:: Take screenshot and save to Pictures
Try Out Xbox Music — But Know What You’re Getting
Xbox Music is Microsoft’s new streaming music service. It’s activated by default if you’ve connected your Microsoft account to your Windows 8 install, meaning that you can just boot up Windows 8 for the first time and play free music in the Music app. Think of it as a built-in Spotify. Pretty cool. But before you sign up for the premium version, beware that cross-platform support isn’t available yet. It’s coming, but unless you’re using a Windows Phone, Windows laptop, Windows tablet, and an Xbox, you’ll maybe want to stick with Spotify or Rdio for now.
Know The Difference Between RT And Windows 8
Microsoft hasn’t done a great job of explaining that Windows RT is not the same as Windows 8, even though they look very much alike. If you’re buying one of the new computers made specifically for Windows 8, take a moment to figure out which version of Windows you want. Here’s our full breakdown of what Windows RT can’t do.
But in short, Windows RT is more of a mobile OS than a true desktop OS, and you should know that going in. You’ll be able to use the new convertibles to do some of the stuff you’d do on a regular laptop, but it’s absolutely a compromised experience. Which is fine! It’s better than not having the option on your tablet. But anyone telling you it turns your tablet into a full-on laptop is full of it.
Run Windows 8 In Its Own Partition First
Maybe you’d rather just dip your toes in the Windows 8 waters, and not go all the way in. Totally fine. You can install a partition and run Windows 7 and Windows 8 side-by-side and even select which is the default.
If you’re starting from Windows 7, just go to Windows’ Disk Management and set up a 20GB partition for Windows 8. From there, you can simply install Windows 8 on that partition. You can use the aforementioned boot drive selector in Windows 8 to pick which OS you’d like to make the default.
Wipe Windows 8 Out And Install Windows 7 Instead
OK. Last thing. If you REALLY don’t want Windows 8, you can get out of it. Simply install Windows 7 on a partition, as detailed above, boot it up, and erase your Windows 8 partition. But know that you’re not getting making a full escape; you’re just buying yourself some time before the future fully takes hold.
Windows 8 is garbage. Running it on bootcamp on my mac. I keep getting these ads I cannot seem to find every minute. My keyboard stopped working...however, my windows key (command) works. My trackpad no longer works. Waste of my $40. This shit is for tablets and not a laptop or pc. thank god I didn't install this on my pc.
Ran fine in Bootcamp for me after I made a driver disk in OS X using the Bootcamp assistant and installed it.
Yeah I was going to say, and this isn't just Win 8, I always did the same with Win 7 running in boot camp and haven't had problems with either.
why dont you run it on a non apple machine?
im running it on my work laptop, and home desktop, and its flawless, havent needed to download a single driver.
havnt had a single issue at all...
Because he has a Macbook that he wants to run it on, just a guess but common sense I would have thought.
Apple computers have a lot of proprietary shit designed to not work well with anything other than OSX. Don't use them.
Look I have 2 high end desktop PCs that run Windows extremely well but also have Macbook Pro that I originally bought to run Pro Tools on while at rehearsal rooms with mates. I use it 99% for OSX but sometime need to use M$ Office on it when I'm out and about so have a dual boot to Windows, it runs office apps extremely well and certainly better than cheap laptops I've had a various jobs that were built for Windows.
Is that proprietary shit you speak of, intel CPUs, Hitachi and Samsung drives, Samsung ram etc etc.....
Would you mind listing for us what "a lot of proprietary shit" you are talkin about?
You do know that Apple don't support Windows 8 with bootcamp drivers right? When they decide to start supporting it, you may have more luck. Regardless, you can get around some of the issues with Bootcamp via your friend google. I've installed it on two macs with bootcamp and only had issues on the laptop where touchpad drivers were gone
Jin you are an idiot and a disgrace to Mac user. who would buy a Mac to be run on windows products ?
Hahaha, Its garbage because it doesn't run on my mac??? fanboy boy complainer much?
I put it on my laptop (Samsung Series 9 900X3A) last night. I have to say, I actually like it! Samsung are providing all new drivers & software for the laptop by the end of November, but in the meantime I've installed Synaptics v16 driver that allows a few functions like charms access. I feel "apps" are VERY touch centric - i.e., closing them is a PAIN IN THE ARSE (alt f4 works tho). But all in all, I think I can get used to the whole Win8 thing. Of course, I need to do 'real work' using it and not just playing around.
Ie10 Metro IS PAINFUL - I have no idea how to access tabs :/ I've made them appear once or twice, but have no idea how to get them back.
Quite easy actually, you right click to bring the tabs back.
But might i suggest chrome is a better option.
You might suggest but you'll have a hard time convincing.
By closing apps, you just simple drag from top to bottom. It's pretty handy
cool
i've got it and it's going good. It seems to workflow better with 2 screens so far.
Wait for Windows 9 is the only thing you need to know about Windows 8, it should be OK by then
Ah yeah, but then people are going to be spewing that it doesn't support their 1987 dot matrix printer.
Installed Windows 8 on a laptop with no gesture controls on the touchpad. It's a nightmare. I thought Win 8 might install new touchpad drivers with gesture control.
I can see where Microsoft were going with the OS... integrating all their pay-for-services so they can boost their market share across all these sectors... but it doesn't feel right in a PC operating system. Using the computer now feels like I am on my phone.
Gesture control is a hardware specific function, you can't just install a driver and somehow your single point of contact touch pad becomes a multi touch track pad with gestures.
If you feel like you're using your phone, press windows key + d
Enjoy.
Still not sold yet. I'm not moving until someone presents me with some valid reasons why Windows 8 will make my life better. Besides possibly saving a few seconds with new gestures and layouts... What Windows 8 needs is a killer feature, something I can't already do and would place me at an advantage over using Windows 7.
Personally, I don't see it as something that will "make your life better". Instead, I see it as a security and architectural upgrade. Eventually Windows 7 will go the way of Windows 98 (i.e. no longer supported) and your computer will be at risk from unpatched Windows vulnerabilities.
Of course we're all looking for that killer feature. But it seems like the smaller stuff makes up the whole -- modern UI aside. Better multi monitor support, faster start up times, cloud integration (log in to your friend's computer to get your files easily) and stuff like that.
Think of windows 8 as paving the way for killer features. It's not that it can do anything any other computer can't. That's unthinkable, I can't even think of anything a mac can do that a PC can't (And I'm not talking about content, such as game x or game y).
If any of you have used Linux then you would notice that there is no start button. Windows has to move away from it. As far as I am concerned good riddance to the mouse marathon.
Linux is an unusable mess that only the neck bearded crowd run.
So if everything runs in full screen mode now, his on earth do you have two app Windows side by side?
Personally I find most of w8 completely counterintuitive.
Modern UI apps run full screen, but can be "docked". You basically put your mouse to the right, right click on an app (or possibly drag it out?) and dock it to the side of the screen.
All other "desktop" apps such as Photoshop or Explorer run in separate windows that you can maximize. Personally, I love the idea, as I can dock a note-taking app (such as Evernote) to the side of my screen and catch content easily while I'm working.
Can't we just call programs programs and not apps, apps is the terminology used for light weight mobile programs. If it's on a computer, just call it a program. I don't want to turn my computer into a large iPad so I think I will stick with windows 7 for now, it seems that 8 is based around touch screens that just aren't that practical in the real world of desktop computing.
Program isn't a word specific to computer software. And programs running in the metro interface ARE designed to be lightweight, such as the apps on your phone. I don't use my windows 8 machine with any touch device. After a while I didn't even think about the touch side of things.
How do you differentiate between "programs" designed to run in the Metro environment and full-blown applications designed for the desktop? "Apps" and "applications" seems like the prefect way to me.
Ive been using Win8 for a month or 2 and I love it. I honestly dont see what the fuss is about. I do not use the Metro shit at all. To be honest it feels exactly like my Win7 computer. Except it boots in about a 3rd of the time, runs better, across 2 screens its alot better. All these seem to be great reasons to upgrade, I think people are just getting hung up on the start menu.
Win8 is awesome - the mac fanboys are going to be left faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar behind! It has the things to feed the novice tablet lover (if you have a touch enabled laptop), the daily windows user accustomed to the gui and the power user! It took a while to configure it and learn the ropes but in the end, i find it much more advanced. I think this is THE major update of windows ever (I sort of get the same feeling of changing from win 3.1 to win 95 long ago, when I upgraded from win 7 to win 8 on the day of launch!).
I made the plunge on both my desktops over the weekend and am finding it runs great and kept all my apps in tact. One PC where I don't want to use the metro interface I have installed Classic Shell Start Button from sourceforge and I now have a WIndows 7 style start button that is far more customisable. The little touches like the new task manager are great and I continue to find little things that are great to use.
Two issues I have found so far:
1 - with my HTPC, I leave it running 24/7 as my main downloader and file sharer however when I switch off the amp and tv it runs through and then switch them back on I lose my desktop background and end up with just a black screen and task bar, doesn't effect performance at all but a little annoying.
2 - my other PC rarely gets shut down instead I prefer to have it go to sleep after 30 minutes of no use (since I purchased SSDs all round awakening my PC takes a few seconds) however whenever its asleep it resets for some reason and when I awaken it I have a message telling my it had to resend and do I want to send the reason to MS.
So both annoying but not really deal breakers.
It must be detecting a change in monitor config as you turn your amp off. I assume your PC is running through the amp with HDMI. What it would be doing, when you turn it off is switching over to it's default output (Either it's a laptop with it's own screen, or a VGA output). So when you turn the amp back on, it sends a signal through HDMI to the computer saying "The video output is alive" but your computer is detecting it as a SECOND monitor, and is throwing it up as a second screen. Disable multiple outputs on that machine and you'll be right.
And yes, send the data to Microsoft. If you don't then they won't have any information on what caused the problem, so they'll be less likely to fix it. All they want is some clear detail on the problem, they are not in it to steal your personal information or to spy on you, you will be completely anonymous.
The more people who do this, the less people will be able to winge at the release of a new OS.
thanks for the tips Matthew I will try the multiple monitor thing tonight, but yes I connect to the amp via HDMI and then to the TV so your advice could be on the money. I will continue to send M$ my reports, I guess these sorts of small niggles go with the territory of being an early adopter and not waiting for SP1 before you update.
Like a few other people in the thread I have been running Win 8 for a few weeks now and I find it perfectly fine. It does have a few niggles, but so does every OS when it's first launched. IMO the (admittedly small & incremental) improvements do collectively add up to a really nice feeling product.
I can appreciate why people are fixating on Metro (or "modern" or whatever the hell it's called now), but for a normal user who is familiar with Win7, it's a bit on a non-issue in daily use. It just isn't a factor. Everything runs well, haven't had any crashes or expected behaviour, and I can still do everything I used to.
For the record, I don't consider myself a fanboi for either camp - I use Mac and M$ products, and use what I like from each.
Exactly. No one turns on their computer, opens up the start menu and sits there staring at it thinking about how useful it is, and how much love it has given them over it's 20 year existence. Start menu has only a momentary use, it's designed to be there, then be gone.
I installed it off a deactivated windows 7 by going to the upgrade site and saying I bought a new laptop or whatever on the 15th of October-I've done this 5 times so far and received 5 windows 8 upgrades on 5 pcs for 15 bucks each. just thought I'd mention the flaw in the upgrade offer in case anyone couldn't be bothered paying 60 bucks but wanted an activated legit windows 8
Running it on my Macbook Air...works perfectly after I got the drivers sorted. HD graphics 4000 handle W8 really impressively. My only gripe is that the Bluetooth management in Windows is still really terrible, no improvemtn from 7 at all. Boot time is less than 20 secs everytime and battery life seems great. UI is super intuitive, Apple trackpad is really nice with Windows 8 if you can get the drivers working (had to set up Bootcamp to run on a scheduled task before it would work properly). Limited app selection so far but found a few goodies. Loving the music app, really nice.
I found, and fell in love with Zune.
After using Win 8 for over two months, I like the little thoughtful designs in the new system: file transfer information, task manager, especially the multi-monitor support. It didn't take me too much time to get use to win 8. I'm having my desktop running win 8 and laptop with win 7, I have no problem running mixed machines at the same time. The only reason to keep win 7 on laptop is multi point touch pad doesn't work properly in win 8. Maybe I should try to find a better driver for it.
"Microsoft calls them "hot corners"." Apple has been calling te same functionality "hot corners" for at least 6 years. Nice innovating Microsoft
W8 is good(ish), but sucks beyond belief for dual screen with this Modern UI crap. If I could either run an instance of Modern UI on each screen, or have Modern UI stick to its own screen, instead of jumping to the other screen every time I want to open a program on the desktop, then I would be a happy man. Alas, I am not.
All the other features of W8 are good, but Modern UI should be kept fro single screen tablets.
/rant
" Easy Screenshots! Finally! "
It's always been easy.
Just press prnt-scrn and a full screen grab gets placed on the clipboard just waiting to be pasted into whatever app/prog/application you desire.
Pressing ALt - Prnt scrn will give just the active window.
I just wanted to say a big thanks to Gizmodo and Kyle for this write up.
It has answered a number of concerns and questions I had re Win 8.
It's also helped me get my head around some of the more quirky behaviour I've come across so far.
The new interface is not as intuitive as it probably could be, and it's taking a bit of getting used to the new "way"
So thanks again guys.
I've had all of the release candidates and betas on offer to me through my MSDN account, however I've ignored them all. This was something i wanted to experience in it's final complete and polished version, I didn't want it to be spoiled by an unfinished experience. However in saying that, I've lasted all of 3 hours with a fresh install of Windows 8 Ultimate on my machine, and it's not necessarily for the operating system itself. The OS itself is great, it's intuitive it's clean and crisp and seems very fast. Hell, I even got around the no Start menu button by buying Stardock which gives you full functionality of the Start menu back (I HIGHLY recommend this, costs $5). For me, the downfall was Origin. It does not work, and it's no fault of Microsoft for this, this is EA's fault completely. So mean time, whilst I actually WANT to use Windows 8 and I am looking forward to getting back into it once the program compatibility is there (for a lot of things) I will be sticking to Windows 7 until such time.
Windows 8 is simply appalling. Re Metro "using a mouse with it is surprisingly great" - no it's not, it's awful. Metro on conventional PCs is almost impossible to figure out without reading up on and memorising about 120 different keyboard shortcuts, few of which make any intuitive sense. No non-nerd users are ever going to do this, it's simply too much work and too much to remember.
The best advice to any user with a non-touch screen computer is simply install Classic Shell and forget all about Metro, it's hopeless for computers with mice or trackpads.
The loss of Aero Glass in desktop mode is a huge miss too -- the new, flat 2D, boring and badly designed UI theme is dreadful. Background windows are shaded/highlighted so they look like the active window normally does while the active window is flat white and unhighlighted -- the total reverse of all previous windowing conventions going back decades. Overlapping windows look awful and it's hard to distinguish their borders as everything's rendered as 2D flat graphics.
Oh yeah, and it has BSOD more often in the last week (on both a new VM install on my Mac and on a Dell Inspiron I upgraded from Win 7) than Win 7 did in the last three years! Screw the fancy smiley face, just make it not crash.
I almost reverted back to Win 7 today.
Launching a tile after a cold start (eg google search) took over half a minute. Doing the same in chrome desktop web browser, opening a new window and selecting my search bookmark takes 2 secs or less. Weather app is also more than half a minute. Chrome App ditto.
My file explorer crashed on me to the extend that I could not even get to task manager to stop it.
There is in my opinion a LOT about this metro interface that is not well thought through for the normal desktop/laptop environment.
I honestly regret having upgraded.
hey I am no expert on this stuff but I am not happy with Windows 8, I am going to give it time as I am just not used to it, but it doesn't seem to be very good on laptops. Also the charms bar comes up way too often when I am using my touch pad, that's annoying! maybe I just need to get used to it. Can any one tell me also what happened to Microsoft Word?? Its my first time not seeing it on a computer.
I made the mistake of installing 8 -lost most useful programs and got the gee whiz-I use my computer for writing and editing-I'd by an I-Pad to play-8 is neither one nor the other-am trying to find out how to recover Office.