Should i preview windows 8

Are you thinking about trying out the Windows 8. Before you do, make sure you know what you're getting into. I've gathered the best questions from my mailbag and answered them here. Windows 8. If all goes according to plan, the final version should be released to manufacturing in August so that it can be widely available for the holiday season, roughly a year after the debut of Windows 8.

Hands on with Windows 8. It's not just a service pack. The built-in apps also get some major upgrades and additions. Is this enough to silence the skeptics? Read More. The Windows 8. Microsoft has published a somewhat long-winded Windows 8. For technical support, Microsoft has created a dedicated Windows 8. As I wrote a few weeks ago, this is not just a service pack. Some features and apps that will be in the final release of Windows 8.

This includes a significant update to the Mail client, which Microsoft has shown in demos but did not include in the preview release.

A few features that were in Windows 8 are not in the Windows 8. Some have been changed radically, with features removed, at least for the preview. New sizes of Live Tiles that offer more information or reduce clutter on screen, additional motion backgrounds, and the ability to set any image as the Start Screen wallpaper make for an improved and refined interface. The transition between desktop mode and "Metro" is a lot less jarring now, and there are even options to boot to desktop or set a new All Apps view as the default home page for the Start Screen.

Microsoft appears to be listening to its Windows 8 critics here, making 8. Altering the new Start Screen takes some getting used to if you're used to the old method, as you have to hold down on Tiles to move and change their size or position.

It feels less intuitive than before, but it also prevents accidental swipes and movements so there's a tradeoff involved. The lock screen has also been tweaked to include quick access to the camera, the ability to quickly accept Skype calls, and a slideshow feature that pulls pictures from SkyDrive or the local PC.

These features are minor, but good additions for upcoming 7- and 8-inch devices. The controversial Start button returns to Windows 8 , and if you want you can almost combine it with the All Apps view to create a Start Menu of sorts. The button is simply a visual element that takes you back to the Start Screen, but you can also right click on it and access power user commands and the shutdown or restart options.

Its return should help ease one of the usability complaints around Windows 8, but it does very little to change the way you have to interact with the Charms or the recently used apps with a mouse and keyboard. Fortunately the hot corners can be disabled so if you want to totally avoid the "Metro" world then it's possible to do so without third-party software now. One of the biggest changes in Windows 8. Microsoft is altering this dramatically in Windows 8.

You can also change that percentage to better control how much of an app you see on screen. On 7- and 8-inch tablets, Windows 8. Multiple monitor support for Windows 8-style applications has been greatly improved in Windows 8. In our testing you can snap multiple apps across multiple displays and even extend a machine wirelessly to a Miracast-compatible display. Microsoft is supporting Miracast natively and it has surfaced as part of the Devices Charm with the project option. I found that the Start Screen would often jump to the active monitor, making it tricky to arrange apps.

Still, the support is welcome and it certainly makes Metro a lot more appealing on desktop and laptop computers without a touchscreen.

It's a minor change, but it makes text entry a lot easier on touch-based devices. Other improvements include a focus on revamping the touch-friendly control panel. In Windows 8 Microsoft had around 10 percent of the settings converted to this mode, with 8. Additional built-in apps in Windows 8. Microsoft has also done some work to improve photo and music experiences on 8.

Xbox Music is greatly improved with a focus on playing music quickly. You can also create radio stations out of the artists you're interested in. The updated Xbox Music app will come with Windows 8. Microsoft is also building in a Reading List function into the Share charm for Windows 8. It's basically an extended clipboard for Windows, but it will let 8. This will also eventually be available on Windows Phone.

The Camera app in 8. This approach of recognizing where Windows 8 needs improvement really underlines Windows 8. It's not so much an update with some stand out features and big name changes, but more of a refinement of the existing operating system. All of these minor changes add up to big improvements in the way you can use Windows 8. Microsoft has had time to sit back and witness the reaction to Windows 8 and see exactly how people are using the product.

With Windows 8. The good thing is that Microsoft is correcting some misses after just months on the market, and it's coming as a free update for existing Windows 8 users. If Microsoft can keep this rapid pace of improvement for Windows then it has a real chance of challenging others in the tablet market, providing even more touch-friendly apps are made available.

The PC is in decline and tablets are taking over consumer spending, so Microsoft and its OEMs have to ensure tablet offerings are solid. It's still unclear exactly when Microsoft will ship Windows 8. With Computex on the Horizon and Build approaching soon, this is only the first taste of Windows 8. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

Metro is not, on the whole, something which Microsoft's existing customers want. Windows 7 succeeded because it was unequivocally better than Windows Vista: faster, more reliable, and with useful innovations like its improved taskbar from which you can launch applications. Metro by contrast is new and unfamiliar, and delivers little obvious benefit when installed on a desktop or laptop with keyboard and mouse but no touch capability.

Put Windows 8 on a slate though, and it starts to make sense and come to life. Even on a legacy PC, Windows 8 improves markedly once you learn the basics of navigation. Leaving aside Metro, Windows 8 benefits from three years of engineering improvements since Windows 7 in , resulting in a faster, smoother experience. Nevertheless, the bifurcation of Windows comes at a cost.

Desktops apps generally have no knowledge of Metro apps and vice versa. The two versions do not share bookmarks favourites or cookies, so you can sign into a site such as Amazon on the Metro side, then open it on the Desktop side and find you are not signed in.

It is also easy to lose a web page, or to open it twice by mistake. The Windows 8 experience starts with the installer, where Microsoft has done an excellent job, judging by our experience on a slate, a desktop clean install, a laptop upgrade from Windows 7, and on a virtual machine.

All went smoothly. Be warned though: if you install the Release Preview, you cannot uninstall it, nor upgrade it to the final release. Choose a colour scheme and you are in, presented with the blocky Windows 8 Start menu, which runs full screen and cannot be reverted to the Windows 7 pop-up style Start menu. This moment is tough for new users. They click a Metro app and cannot see how to quit it.

They find the desktop, but wonder where the Start button is. Microsoft knows there is a problem, and has as-yet unspecified plans to assist users.

We have confidence that people will quickly find the new paradigms to be second-nature," a spokesman told the Guardian. That said, there are only a few basics to learn. On a desktop or laptop, you mouse to the bottom left corner for the Start screen, or the bottom right corner for the Charms bar, a vertical bar which gives access to settings including those for the current Metro app , Start screen, Search, Sharing and Devices.

Mouse to top left brings up a thumbnail preview of running Metro apps. Touch users swipe from the right for Charms, or from the left to switch apps. Another key point is that within a Metro app, a right-click brings up app menus at top and bottom of the screen. Touch users swipe from top or bottom. Here though, mouse users are disadvantaged, since sometimes a right-click has another meaning. Right-click while editing an appointment in the Calendar, for example, and you get a pop-up menu for paste or selection.

Still, there is usually some dead area you can right-click to get what you want. The new Start menu itself is oversized for most desktop screens. Legacy desktop applications have ugly small icons. Metro apps have Live Tiles, first seen on Windows phone, which populate with data drawn from the app, such as a summary of recent mail, or a photo from your library. Live Tiles are an interesting concept, but tend not to be aesthetically pleasing since they display random data.

They are also distracting, which is a curious contrast to Microsoft's Immersive UI commitment.