It’s all the rage: Windows 8’s new Metro/Modern interface taking over the classic Windows UI, trashing your mouse and keyboard and tossing the Start menu down the drain. With all of these new changes, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed.
However, one of the most common misconceptions that I hear is that Windows 8 isn’t reliable on the classic desktop computer. It’s said to slow down your workflow and drop productivity. Many say that utilities to add the start button back are needed, and some are even switching operating systems all together. This is all said to be needed if you want to do just about anything with the new version of Microsoft’s flagship OS; however, this just isn’t always the case.
Software
Windows 8 is designed for touch screens; that’s no secret. It’s easy to spot the larger buttons and simplified shapes, made for dragging and dropping with your fingers. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t equal a guaranteed workflow drop. The larger buttons are still clickable, and even though there are some changes to the UI, it’s nothing that can’t be easily accessed.
Windows 8 Pro, which is made to run on “traditional” hardware like Desktops, also includes the old Windows NT shell. In a sentence, you can run anything on Windows 8 that you could run on Windows 7. This means that you can still run your “traditional” programs—the media players, the productivity suites, the web browsers—it’s all there.
That said, let me put in my two cents about Windows 8’s full-screen apps. Now, the argument is this: full-screen apps take up the entire screen. You can only have two or three full-screen apps on the screen at one time. Less programs on the screen equals a worse experience, right?
Well, right and wrong: if you’re doing something that requires multitasking, then yes, the not-very-configurable split-screen apps approach may be a bad thing for you. However if you’re doing something that requires your complete focus—such as editing an important picture or viewing media—then you’ll quickly find that the full-screen apps can actually be a good thing. For example, when I’m writing articles or updating my website, I may want to stick to the “classic” desktop; when I’m catching up on my Stargate through Netflix, though? I’d have ended up maximizing the media window anyway, so the full-screen interface just puts more emphasis on my content, and less on the OS I’m using to view it.
Hardware
Now let’s discuss the other major difference between Windows 7 and 8: hardware. As previously mentioned, Windows 8 does have UI changes made with touch screens in mind, so how do you get about your regular tasks?
The answer to this one is much simpler. As some might expect, for every action you can perform with a touch screen, there’s a way to perform the action with “traditional” hardware (the mouse.) While it may require an extra movement or click, you won’t ever find that there’s something that a touch screen is REQUIRED for.
That not good enough for you? You want the ultimate simple experience? My solution: a wireless trackpad. The Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, a contender to Apple’s Magic Trackpad, comes with a program that adds many convenient gestures to Windows 8, such as three fingers up to get to the start screen from anywhere, and three fingers down for the desktop. Some of these are even easier than I find Windows 8 itself to be when using it on a touch screen!
So there you have it: Windows 8 really can be the productivity machine that you want it to be, if you’re just willing to put in the extra time and effort to suit it to your needs. Still not satisfied? Try Linux!
Oh, and by the way, Microsoft’s not the only one adding touch features to a classic OS. Apple’s Mac OS has been incorporating many features from iOS, such as Launchpad and full-screen apps, and Apple doesn’t even sell Macs with touch screens!
Have you upgraded to Windows 8? If so, good on you; how do you like it? If you’ve chosen another OS instead, I’m proud of you; how are you holding up without Windows?