Friend just got a touch screen Windows 8 ultrabook

[BrightCandle]

He went and played with all the laptops in a local PC World. He found out pretty quickly he did not want a £400 laptop, having found that they were very big and heavy or light and very very slow (AMD E series *shudder*). But what surprised him was he liked Windows 8 and touchscreens. In the end he got a Sony Vaio Pro, having preferred the keyboard and the higher resolution screen (13" 1080p).

He has had it 2 hours now. Has first been frustrated with the need to uninstall a load of junk. But more importantly he just asked "How do I get rid of this metro thing? It keeps popping up when I don't want it". He is reasonably tech savy and I was surprised he found touch so compelling but I kind of suspected that after about 10 minutes that interface would drive him nuts despite the touch screen and it did. Touch I think is the one main reason microsoft has given for that interface, that it makes sense on a touch screen laptop. This is the first person I have seen get Windows 8 for the first time with a touch devices, and that user disagrees strongly with that sentiment.

Admittedly its just another user finding the two approaches in Windows annoying. Not a geek just a normal technology knowledgeable user. I think he still wants the Sony Vaio Pro, its a very light laptop with a nice screen, good performance and such but Windows 8 is about to get classic shelled. Its a shame its not getting fixed for Windows 8.1, its not even useful for a touch screen laptop.

 

[Imaginer]

Can't make someone like combined automatic manual shifting... I will leave that bad metaphor there.

 

[Imaginer]

Can't make someone like combined automatic manual shifting... I will leave that bad metaphor there.

But that doesn't mean others will take that same sentiment.

 

[SimMike2]

Can't make someone like combined automatic manual shifting... I will leave that bad metaphor there.

But that doesn't mean others will take that same sentiment.

If they are driving up a long hill in stop and go traffic, I can't think of one person who would prefer a manual.

 

[nimd4]

Friend just got a touch screen Windows 8 ultrabook

So sorry! :biggrin:

.. there are still some things that can be done, like:

https://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

&

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=windows+8+start+menu

 

[postmortemIA]

metro is bad even if you want to use touch screen. The right solution would have been metro on top of the desktop, so it is not in the way, just there for ones that want it.

 

[Imaginer]

If they are driving up a long hill in stop and go traffic, I can't think of one person who would prefer a manual.

Hence there is the automatic option alongside the manual.

And I can attest to shifting on a hill at a standstill and in stop and go traffic.

Again, some people aren't used to certain handling situations. Or is an adept and adaptable mind.

 

[Imaginer]

metro is bad even if you want to use touch screen. The right solution would have been metro on top of the desktop, so it is not in the way, just there for ones that want it.

So going back to overlapping cascading windows? Fine on a giant high resolution screen (with a precision pointer - fingers are doable, but not much). Not so much concerning smaller physical screens amplified by less pixel density.

 

[Imaginer]

But to your friend, and in my honest opinion, 8 shines with hybrids and convertibles. A plain jane ultrabook/laptop with a touch screen isn't going to provide a tangible benefit - if he is concretely seated in a desktop mouse-lift-and-drag touchpad/slidepad usage model.

 

[Bateluer]

So sorry! :biggrin:

.. there are still some things that can be done, like:

https://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

&

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=windows+8+start+menu

Classic Shell is another good one.

http://www.classicshell.net/

Classic Shell actually allows you to disable Charms Bar too, or so I'm told at Reddit. I know first hand that Pokki does not allow that.



To the OP, you're not the first person to be less than impressed with Metro on a touch device. We got several Dell branded Windows 8 Pro tablets, Atom powered, at work, and they're as mcuh an unusable mess as the desktop counter parts.