I tried Windows 8...

I've read a lot about how much people hate Windows 8 but I have never read much about how it actually works. I've seen screen shots and promo videos, but those never tell the true story. I read how Valve hates Windows 8 calling it a "disaster" but I've never seen videos from games played on Windows 8. Honestly I haven't even used Windows 7 that much. I primarily use Macs but I did buy a Windows 7 laptop last year for my wife and I have been using it more and more recently. I am not a fan of Windows...at least on the desktop platform. I love Windows Phone and currently use a Nokia Lumia 900 so I'm not a total hater of Microsoft nor am I a fanboy of Apple and Macs. So I decided to try out Windows again because the newest OS is so radically different.

So my experience with Windows 8 was disappointing. Not because I didn't like the operating system. In fact, I spent less than a day with it so I can't even say I have much right to judge it. The reason I spent less than a day with it is because I was running it on my MacBook Pro. Windows 8 doesn't currently support my graphics card on my MacBook Pro so everything was laggy and stuttered through all the animations. I'm not saying that the OS was slow, just the graphics and animations. I couldn't even tell you if the OS was fast or slow because the graphics card couldn't keep up. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, just imagine trying to do an everyday task while opening and closing your eyes every second. It would be incredibly slow to try and type this blog if I did that. That's how my experience was with Windows 8.

For all the things I experienced, I actually really liked it. I loved the new keyboard shortcuts and the hybrid legacy Windows desktop and the new Start screen. The fact that you can run almost any program from previous version of Windows and you get the great atmosphere of tablets and smartphones in the new Windows Store and the apps. Now you can download almost anything you want from the Windows Store. Having a central location for finding the best that Windows 8 has to offer is huge and I believe that will have a huge part of the success of this new operating system. Even if you hate the new look and feel, you can't ignore that.

Now I haven't given up on Windows 8. I will be installing it on the laptop I mentioned earlier, my wife's computer. I will use it almost exclusively for about a week or two and then I will write a proper review (at least my thoughts) on the latest Microsoft has to offer. Until then you can visit my YouTube page at chucklesthetechie.