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Windows 8 Metro is hip, Explorer not so!

Windows 8 - Metro is hip, Explorer not so!

By Sahil Mohan Gupta | Updated: 6 June 2012 15:44 IST

Highlights

Windows 8 is Microsoft's latest operating system which is designed for touch from the ground-up and heralds the companies Metro UI.

Before the rise and rise of Apple, desktop operating systems were dominated by Bill Gates' juggernaut Microsoft. Microsoft's Windows platform held more than 95% of the market share. But in June 2007 along came Apple with their simplified iOS that powered the iPhone, later on adapted for the iPod Touch and iPad. For Microsoft, it was a death knell. The Post PC Era, a term coined by no less a person than Steve Jobs himself, was one of innovation and evolution. The time of desktops was over, the time of mobile had begun. Jobs even went so far as to describe Windows based devices as trucks.

Microsoft's early effort to fight back, Windows Vista, did nothing to help themselves. They came back strongly with Windows 7 but, even though it was vastly improved from Vista, it broke no new ground. In contrast, Apple steam rolled past with the gamechanging iPhone and iPad.

The truth was that in an Android and iOS dominated market, we had leaped into the age of mobile computing, leaving Microsoft's brand of pioneering in the past. This, despite the little known fact that Bill Gates was actually the first to push the tablet platform. Poor hardware and software let him down, giving way to Apple to spearhead tablet technology.

Once the pioneer of pioneers, Microsoft had no mobile innovation that could compete with Apple's mighty arsenal. That is, up until now. Computex 2011 changed that - Microsoft previewed Windows 8 and, hey presto, they were back in the game.

In the version showed at Computex, Windows 8 borrowed the Metro UI from the Windows Phone OS. But look further, and there were elements of the old Windows desktop as well. Windows 8 was also compatible with ARM based chips, which broke the Wintel rut the PC industry has been stuck in these last two decades.

Impressive though Metro UI and ARM compatibility be, we have to ask: Is Metro just a pretty face to hid the old desktop core? And will there be legacy compatibility on ARM processors?
Other questions not answered at Computex: How good id the battery life? Is it a tablet or a desktop OS? And, most importantly, how good is the touch interface?

At their developer conference, Build, Microsoft finally answered most of these questions and also showcased the new Windows in all its glory.

Unlike the lucky 5000 who attended Build, we at the NDTV Gadgets lab did not get the developer tablet. However, we did manage to install the developer preview of Windows 8 on a Dell Latitude XT3 and a Sony Vaio E-series laptop.

After testing Windows 8 over two days, we have to say that it's a strong answer to naysayers. They have also sidestepped the post-PC nomenclature war with this simple philosophy: any device running Windows 8 is a PC, there is no separate tablet OS. This "One OS To Rule Them All" strategy could have turned into a minefield for Microsoft, but so far things look good.
Given that Microsoft is a practiced comeback kid - consider how it followed up the lukewarm reception to the original Xbox with the firepower of Xbox 360 and Kinect - the fact that they may have reinvented desktop and tablet computing is both entirely probable and unsurprising.

Some observations about Windows 8:

It's a Metro World:

Windows 8, even at the developer preview stage, is stunningly fast, fluid and stable. Is it a facade for the old Windows desktop? Definitely not. It is a fully functional UI, which allows us to access every aspect of the operating system. Obviously, for legacy apps, we still need to revert back to the old desktop but the fact that it allows us to blend the new and old seamlessly is impressive.

Windows 8 even offers a bolstered Windows desktop via "fuzzy hit targeting" which enhances the touch interface input on the old interface. Besides this, Microsoft has added the ribbon interface to Windows Explorer, which was featured on the last two iterations of Microsoft Office.

At this point, we'll come straight out and say the Metro-UI is gorgeous. It even features 3D acceleration. Also, it is not cluttered or clumsy like Android Honeycomb and the "Live Tiles" make it dead simple to use. Just swipe and move on. It's the sort of combination of intuitiveness and eye candy that Apple produces.

Faster and lighter than ever:

It sips less power than any other Windows and we have tested that on a current generation
Dell Latitude and also on an older generation Sony Vaio.

It definitely is a compelling alternative to Apple's dual pronged approach where they have the iOS for mobile devices and the Mac OSX Lion for the full fledged computing. So good is the power consumption, that it made our one-year-old Sony Vaio last longer.

On Windows 7, our Vaio normally lasts 1- 1.5 hours on a single charge, but on Windows 8 it consistently clocked over 2 hours even touched the 2.5 hour mark at times.

Touch first, type later:

Cynics will say nothing much has changed from Windows 7 which also had touch. With Windows 8, however, the interface is optimized for touch from the ground up. As a bonus, Microsoft also manages to keep the old desktop hidden, giving Windows 8 an edge in usability.

A fabulous on-screen keyboard, which can even be split, for thumb-typing is a huge improvement from the below average virtual keyboard on Windows 7.

You can use your fingers or a stylus if you so choose as Microsoft has baked in advanced handwriting recognition algorithms inside the OS from the offset.

Apart from this, the OS is also quite smooth on a non-tablet device, though it takes some getting used to, especially in Metro-mode. But those who find it too hard can always revert back to the plain Jane Windows Desktop.

We have to admit that in terms of pure desktop usage we prefer Apple's gesture based approach with OSX Lion via a multi-touch trackpad. Logitech has already released a similar product, so it will be interesting to see how the OS responds to a multi-touch trackpad.

Smart Multi-Tasker:

As far as multi-tasking goes, Windows 8 is a rock star. On the Metro UI we get a Windows Phone like experience where we can swipe between apps from the left. If we hold down the app long enough we can have two or three apps running side by side. When not in operation, Windows 8 automatically suspends apps. Once suspended, the app does not draw any power from the processor.

Virus alert, Kill Em All:

Windows 7 was the most secure version of Windows but, guess what - Windows 8 is even more secure. Microsoft has bolstered Windows Defender and it now includes anti-virus and anti-spyware tools. If we install a third party anti-virus software, Windows lets it take over.
We can even boot from a USB thumb drive but if Windows detects malware, it will be blocked right away. This was actually shown off at the Microsoft Build Keynote.

A silver lining in the Cloud:

With iCloud, Apple has a concrete cloud strategy. While Microsoft has nothing as ambitious that will compete, it does have the Office 365 service and Windows Sky drive and these have been well integrated into Windows 8.

Just in case you are wondering, Microsoft Azure remains but, at the fore, Microsoft pushes it's Office 365 and SkyDrive services, like Windows Phone Mango.

Xbox Live, the hidden X-factor:

Most critics tend to sidestep the fact that Windows is one the biggest gaming platforms around and Microsoft has just made Windows tastier for gamers by adding Xbox Live support. In the long run they also intend to add Kinect support, which will just snowball the possibilities of the operating system.

Neither Mac OSX Lion nor iOS nor Android can match the Xbox brand in terms of pure gaming.

ARM support:

Microsoft has announced ARM support, which will make Windows more mobile than ever, but this comes with a catch - Intel x86 apps will not support ARM architecture based devices.
However, Microsoft has enough developer muscle to garner interest for the Metro UI applications. Another thing that's really intriguing is that there is a distinct possibility for compatibility between Windows Phone and Windows 8 Metro apps, which would automatically give a fillip to both platforms.

What's Not Hot:

As a pre-beta build of the operating system, Windows 8 is understandably riddled with bugs. It can become unstable at times - though, but on the whole it is in cracking condition by and large. What we really don't like is the jarring transition between the Metro UI and the Windows Desktop. It's like chalk and cheese. And what's surprising is the amount of duplication of functions in the OS - for instance we have two control panels, one for Metro, one for Windows Explorer. Microsoft can do a lot of work to unify the experience and make the transition from Metro to plain Jane Windows more palatable.

We also do not like the overdependence on shortcuts with the keyboard. If this continues in the final build then Microsoft will alienate users who are overly dependent on the mouse.
We hope Microsoft will sort these out before the OS is ready for prime time.

On the whole, we love Metro and if Microsoft can find a way of running the old Windows apps in the Metro environment then it's a mass appeal no brainer. To put it bluntly - the old Windows Desktop is still pretty bad in terms of usability on a touch interface.

Microsoft still has some time to fine tune the Windows 8 experience, but it is imperative they get it right else chances are Windows 8 will go down in history as Vista Mark II - a disaster revisited.

Verdict:

What really separates Windows 8 from its predecessors is that it has the wow factor, the UI is just downright delicious and people will line up to use it. Microsoft in no way sacrifices performance and utility - in fact it manages to increase both by massive margins which makes Windows 8 not only the most ground-breaking desktop operating system since Windows 95 but also a very fine alternative to Apple's iOS and Google's Android.

If Microsoft plays its cards right Windows 8 not only has the potential to the PC market by storm once again but also to end the reign of the iPad - a feat nobody has managed to bring about thus far.

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Further reading: Hands-On, Microsoft, Windows 8

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Windows 8 - Metro is hip, Explorer not so!

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