One of Microsoft's founders, Paul Allen, has offered his lengthy opinion on the company's forthcoming Windows 8. While he praises the majority of the operating system, he admits that some features are "puzzling."
Allen has penned a thorough analysis of Windows 8 in a blog post that included images and tips for helping users customize particular features. Ultimately, he believes the OS is a lot "snappier and more responsive," as says the tablet features are "bold and innovative."
However, Allen also stresses that the dual modes could potentially be confusing for users, which may ring especially true when two versions of the same application such as Microsoft's own Internet Explorer can be run simultaneously.
"Windows 8 does certainly require a brief adjustment period before users become familiar and comfortable with the new bimodal operating system," said Allen, who is worth more than $10 billion.
He went on to note that Windows doesn't allow users to start their systems with the desktop as the default view, which Allen believes should be a option. As for the "Charms" bar that delivers access to significant features such as search and settings, the co-founder noted that it isn't easily showcased to users.
What Allen found most "puzzling" in Windows 8, though, was actually adjusting to the operating system's new additions as a traditional desktop user. For instance, he found it difficult to utilize multiple monitors, in addition to the system sometimes switching between the two modes without his permission.
"Personally, I would almost always prefer for Windows to leave me in whichever mode I was already in," he stressed.
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Criticism aside, Allen said PC users should generally be able to pick up the changes without much difficulty. Windows 8 on tablets, meanwhile, is "elegant, responsive, and stacks up nicely with other tablets on the market."
"I'm confident that Windows 8 offers the best of legacy Windows features with an eye toward a very promising future," he concluded.
While Allen was evidently critical of the operating system, Acer's founder had gone as far as to say that Windows 8 is more stable than Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6.
Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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echondo "While Allen was evidently critical of the operating system, Acer's founder had gone as far as to say that Windows 8 is more stable than Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6."Reply
LOL, nice little note right there!
In all honesty, I don't like W8, I'm going to stay with a dual boot of W7 and Ubuntu. When W7 finally starts feeling, old and lacking, I'll just fully migrate to Ubuntu or CentOS etc.
It just feels as if W8 will be much better if I had a touch screen monitor, and I don't want one because it'll have my finger prints all over it...and I don't want to be wiping off a 27" monitor daily xD -
NiPPonD3nZ0 What i still don't understand is why the frak metro is overlaping the start menu... i'm trying to adapt, i really am, but damn its a rock in my shoe not having start menu...Reply
Changes? yes, i can live with them, but why should i have to be this way on the desktop? it would be much more apreciative if they could apply them good changes (faster, responsive, the under the hood changes) and keep it with no metro and with the start menu... Windows 7 is a winner... why not work on it to make it better? why did they have to puke the metro hell all over a great OS?
it simply puzzles me... -
memadmax I don't want to sound mean or anything, but anything you build, write, show, etc etc and intend to release it to the general public needs to be simple enough for a 12 year old to understand. This is what they teach in journalism school "keep it simple stupid" to the extreme. This is why lots of news articles are vague/lack detail and are short...Reply
Microsoft seems to have lost sight of this.
An operating system designed to multi-function like this is much too complex for most people. That's just the way it is. Not everyone is computer nerds like us. I think what happened is there is some sort of conflict going on inside MS between the engineers and software packagers along with the accountants... which is nothing new, but in this case it seems to have gone to the extreme. -
ricdiculus From the mouth of babes....Reply
Finally someone seems to get it.
Guess that makes Paul Allen a troll too in some eyes -
AndrewMD BigMack70Windows 8 is the worst desktop OS I've ever seen.Then you haven't used Ubuntu then.. I hate the new interface of Ubuntu, give me gnome desktop any day over that crap Ubuntu installed by default without asking me if I want Gnome.....Reply
As for your opinion from a consumer's point of view and Microsoft, you sir are irrelevant and account for the less then 1%'ers -
echondo AndrewMDThen you haven't used Ubuntu then.. I hate the new interface of Ubuntu, give me gnome desktop any day over that crap Ubuntu installed by default without asking me if I want Gnome..... As for your opinion from a consumer's point of view and Microsoft, you sir are irrelevant and account for the less then 1%'ersReply
The difference between Ubuntu and Windows 8 is that you can remove it and install Gnome, Micro$oft is trying to and is willing to remove all 3rd-party programs that implement the Start menu. -
DRosencraft memadmaxI don't want to sound mean or anything, but anything you build, write, show, etc etc and intend to release it to the general public needs to be simple enough for a 12 year old to understand...Reply
Don't mean to mean either, and I can't say it's your fault, but i think you're going to the wrong journalism school. As you say, journalism nowadays is the fact that everything is dumb down to the point of losing important details and meaning. That's not good!
We're supposed to be getting smarter as a species over time, not staying the same, or getting stupider. I think that if you don't challenge people at least a little then nothing will change. Quite frankly it's not that hard to use the OS. Most of the people I know or read about who have problems are simply turned off by the appearance of the interface and by not having the Start menu. Most simply don't care to try. If that's the case, nothing that was different from 7 would satisfy anyone, ever. We would have the same interface from 7 for ever, because the argument would always be that a new interface is confusing. Is it perfect? No. But I do appreciate the effort to do something new.