Windows 8 CP: One month later

So it's been almost a month since I started using Windows 8 CP and have my initial impressions of it changed? Not much, although I will say this. I do recommend Windows 8 as an OS. Ever since I installed it, my bootup times have decreased. A LOT. I would say exponentially in fact. When I was using Windows 7, my boot times were a real drag but now, on the same laptop, my boot time is very very fast. How fast? I haven't timed it yet but I would say probably 30s-ish. 

Anyway, a few things new about Windows 8 CP that I didn't have time to discover before my first blog went up. Now, you can apparently drag certain built-for-metro programs to the side where they'll act like a side bar. This is pretty much just an aesthetic choice since you can still alt-tab to find your programs in normal windows mode but it can still be convenient at times. Especially if you don't want to leave the metro interface.

If you want, you can also pull the dividing line so that you can temporarily have a full view of your sidebar program. This will also allow you to see which programs you have running in the background as well on the other sidebar. You can then click any of those programs to minimise the first program into the sidebar again. 

I also like how they've changed the interface for folders. It's not a huge change because everything that was there in the old file menu etc, is still there but the icons really make it nicer to look at now. Again aesthetics. But at least with the icons, they've arranged most of the icons out in the open so I don't have to click through a menu, find a submenu and then click on something. It's also made it a lot easier for me to decide 'hey this folder should be arranged for pictures/videos or general'. Which was quite troublesome to do in Windows 7.


I also like how they let you directly view what's in .zip files without having to unzip it. No such luck with .rar files though. 

One issue I've had with Windows 8 however was 'HTF do I shut the computer down?' I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one since there is no obvious 'power-off' button anymore. I couldn't find one in the start menu either and typing power in startmenu just brings up a program called Windows power-shell. Turns out the answer is somewhat hidden and yet somewhat easy at the same time. 

The first way is to move your mouse to the right side of the screen at which point the systems bar will pop up. Click on settings and there you'll see the power button. Click that to shut down. 


The other option however, is much simpler. Simply click ctrl-alt-del at which point the log-off screen will come up. At the bottom left, there's also a power button. No need to drag your mouse anywhere. 


TLDR; I love the speed of Windows 8 at the moment. It's incredibly swift. However, there are still a few issues that can be improved and I'm worried about backwards compatibility for a lot of my old games.