Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, let me start by saying don't bother with reviews that cover the beta or preview versions. Don't bother writing reviews for those versions. They're not the final product. That said, I have reviewed the final version for two weeks since it was released to IT professionals on August 15. Also, I am reviewing it as a desktop/laptop user, not a tablet user. At the end of the two weeks, the clear and easy decision was to revert back to Windows 7. I tested on a computer with an Intel quad core processor, 8GB of RAM, strong video cards, and a high performance solid state drive. In non-technical terms, more than powerful enough to handle modern operating systems. The good: - There are some performance improvements under the hood. - The task manager has been re-done nicely and now gives easy access to control automatic startup items. - The ribbon interface familiar to Microsoft Office now makes an appearance in Windows Explorer and is quite nice. - File copy operations are nicely improved, especially for batch transfers. - Does not boot any faster on my solid state drive than Windows 7 did, but still fast at around 20 seconds. The bad: Usability on a conventional desktop is atrocious. Bad enough to make this version worth passing on. This might be okay as a tablet OS, but steer well clear if you are a keyboard and mouse user. A few examples... - The new Metro interface (excuse me... the interface formerly known as Metro. But I'm still going to call it Metro in this review.) is painful to operate with a keyboard and mouse. For example, to exit an app in the Metro interface, you have to click at the top of the screen and drag it down to the bottom, emulating a swipe action like you might use with your finger. Only problem? You're not using your finger, and the gesture is annoying when using a mouse. A convenient close or minimize button in the upper right corner would serve much better. - Want to see two items side by side? In Metro, you can't get them to split the screen 50/50. One app can be very narrow, almost like a sidebar, and the other app can take the other 85% of your screen. That's it. Want a 50/50 split? Only the trusty old desktop can do that. And the familiar Windows + arrow key combo doesn't work in Metro. - The desktop and the Metro interface are entirely separate from each other. Any programs you start up are kept separated. For instance, open up Internet Explorer in Metro, start browsing, open a few tabs, etc. Then go to your desktop. Click on Internet Explorer. Guess what you'll see there? Rather than seeing all those tabs you had open in Metro, you'll arrive at a fresh new Internet Explorer window. That's right. They're ENTIRELY SEPARATE. To get back to those tabs and continue browsing, you have to go back to Metro, then to Metro's Internet Explorer. Really?! This is an incredibly disjointed, disruptive experience. - I am watching a movie in the Metro Videos app. At the same time, on another monitor, I am saving a file. As soon as I click Save, the video quits and that screen drops out of Metro to the Desktop. Why?!? - Corners are reserved for special hidden buttons now. Hover over the bottom-left corner and you'll get a start button. Hover over top-left corner and you'll get a sort of Back button for switching between programs. Hover over the top or bottom right corners and you'll get what's called the Charms menu. The awkwardness comes in for multiple monitor users. Windows will stop your cursor at the left or right edges of the screen if you are near the corners to prevent you from accidentally going too far and entering the next screen. It's great if you actually want to toggle one of those hidden buttons. But it also grabs your cursor if you are dragging windows from one monitor to the other, or even just moving your mouse. You sit there saying "Where's my cursor? Oh... the corner grabbed it and it's still stuck over on the other screen." You have to remember to drop your cursor to the middle of the screen, then go left or right on to your other displays. More of a U shaped motion with the mouse. As the examples illustrate, this is a very unrefined experience. Desktop + Metro is like one operating system with multiple personalities. They don't work well together; it's a very disjointed experience. Metro doesn't work well enough to be the Desktop's replacement. And Microsoft doesn't want you to use the Desktop, so they make it hard to get to and try to force you into Metro. More clicks to get the same thing done. Unintuitive gestures. Poor handling of multi-tasking. This might be an interesting experience on a tablet, but it is a productivity nightmare on a desktop.