I should have been really getting my hands dirty with Windows 8 beta, but
come on, they have moved everything so spelunking in it just
isn't fun. I keep getting stuck, frustrated, and shutting down
Parallels
just to get back out to a familiar landscape. I never did get
into orienteering, I don't like feeling lost. And that is just the
position
Windows 8 beta is putting me in by changing the navigation options. Like I read recently, it's called Windows because of the
WINDOWS!!
Version 8, not so much.
This harks back to the days when Micfrosoft belatedly jumped into the web
browser business and thought everybody else should start playing by
their
HTML rules. IE is still the least compliant browser out there,
Hel-lo!! Navigation is a pretty straightforward necessity in any computing environment, and is
similar
across computers and even between local and internet applications,
between Mac and Windows and Linux. What makes Microsoft think that
should
change? Who knows, but think it they do, and lots of folks beg to
disagree. I read this comment, "Why
do
I get the persistent feeling that Microsoft is never, ever building on
the good things - according to users, not MS execs - that Windows can
do, and always trying to invent an oval wheel?"
Enter 3rd party apps. These developers have been getting their
hands dirty, thank goodness, and have some dandy tweaks to bring back
our
accustomed navigation. One is called Start8 another is ViStart, and they put the start button and basic
navigation back into Windows 8, allowing 8 to work and look like Windows 7. Skip all the tiles,
these put back the entire Windows Vista/7 Start Menu, including access to
the programs
menu and Control Panel and allow booting directly to the desktop. Most helpful to folks coming from XP. Start8 offers extra features and several skins.
Or, if you prefer an earlier version of the Start Menu, give
Classic Shell
a try, the XP Start Menu blended with Aero graphics. Not to say
that Microsoft approves of this, they have been ripping out the code
that will allow these options, though the folks at Start8 are optimistic
their product will continue to be viable. No word on the others as
yet, though as I always say, there is always more than one way to achieve every purpose.
Okay, to be fair, I get the idea that Microsoft really would like to
develop a standardized look and feel that is consistent across devices.
However,
dumbing down my PC to the level of my tablet is NOT the way to go
about it, and the Start Menu developers get that. They have at least
given
me a way to conceivably install Windows 8 and still be productive by
allowing me to turn the tiles "feature" off and use Windows as I prefer.
The main problem is that most people I know have a proven
stable of known applications that provide the functionality they
require, and
have a dislike of major changes to these as it affects productivity big time. If Microsoft, as has been suggested, went all in on 8 they'd
better hope their river brings them a mighty big paddle.
There are lots of "geniuses" out there that think they will
determine how we will use our equipment. Take the Windows 8 decision that productivity
is no longer the most critical function of a PC, for instance. The overwhelmingly negative reception of Windows 8 speaks
much more eloquently than I can as to the accuracy of this thinking.
