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Windows 8 / RT |OT|

S

Suen

Member
I just bought a PC with Windows 8 (not 8.1) installed. I just want this shit to look like Windows 7. At the moment I can't be bothered to get used to a new GUI. Desktop mode is not enough, while it helps tremendously I still don't have any start button so what I want is this:

Makes desktop mode look slightly more like Windows 7 and this includes startbutton with all the usual options that appear inside it. I've read there are shells you can buy for a few dollars like StartIsBack and such. Should I go for those? If so what's the best option?

Oh finally why can't I:

1 Put "My Computer" in the task bar?
2 Choose to freakin boot my PC in desktop mode?
 
S

SPDIF

Member
Suen said:
I just bought a PC with Windows 8 (not 8.1) installed. I just want this shit to look like Windows 7. At the moment I can't be bothered to get used to a new GUI. Desktop mode is not enough, while it helps tremendously I still don't have any start button so what I want is this:

Makes desktop mode look slightly more like Windows 7 and this includes startbutton with all the usual options that appear inside it. I've read there are shells you can buy for a few dollars like StartIsBack and such. Should I go for those? If so what's the best option?
Click to expand...

I personally don't use any of them, but I've heard good things about Start8, which should let you do what you want. Either way 8.1 will be out on October 17th, so I'd just wait for that personally.

Oh finally why can't I:

1 Put "My Computer" in the task bar?
2 Choose to freakin boot my PC in desktop mode?
Click to expand...

For number one, just follow this tutorial. Specifically, "OPTION TWO".

For number two, download Start8 or just wait for 8.1.
 
R

royalan

Member
brotkasten said:
The Windows Phone app situation is much better than on Windows 8.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it really is a shame. So much potential with the Windows ecosystem.

One of these days I wish someone would blow the whistle on the politics of app support. And that's what it all seems to boil down to: politics.

I remember reading an article at The Verge where they said they had confirmation from within Microsoft that MS had built an official Windows Phone version of Instagram and were literally just waiting for the "Ok" from Instagram, but no. And for seemingly no good reason.

I remember execs at Blackberry saying something similar when Netflix gave the standard "we want to focus our limited resources on main platforms, but we look to offer support in the future" excuse for Blackberry 10. Tweeted something along the lines of "We'd have a team flying out within 24 hours if Netflix wants to bring their app to Blackberry." And still no.

I don't get it. You would think app developers would want their software on as many devices as possible, and in some cases hardware makers are bending over backwards to get their support, even going as far as to offer to do all the work, and still many don't get support.

Makes you wonder if Apple and Google have some anti-competitor shit going on in the background...
 
S

Suen

Member
SPDIF said:
I personally don't use any of them, but I've heard good things about Start8, which should let you do what you want. Either way 8.1 will be out on October 17th, so I'd just wait for that personally.



For number one, just follow this tutorial. Specifically, "OPTION TWO".

For number two, download Start8 or just wait for 8.1.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot! Computer icon in the task bar works fine now. Can anyone tell me how 8.1 will solve these problems? I do know it allows you to boot it in desktop mode but will it offer the other part of the traditional UI (i.e. start button etc.)?
 
S

SPDIF

Member
Suen said:
Thanks a lot! Computer icon in the task bar works fine now. Can anyone tell me how 8.1 will solve these problems? I do know it allows you to boot it in desktop mode but will it offer the traditional UI (i.e. start button etc.)?
Click to expand...

It won't give you the traditional start menu that you get on Windows 7, but it will give you the start button back:

win81-rtm-desktop.jpg


Pressing the button will still bring you to the start screen, like this:

yDzs.png


Although you also have the option of permanently setting it to only show you the app screen:

lQuI.png
Click to expand...

Right clicking the button will also give you a lot of options, including the ability to shut down:

jvUV.png
 
M

Mr_Zombie

Member
Suen said:
Thanks a lot! Computer icon in the task bar works fine now. Can anyone tell me how 8.1 will solve these problems? I do know it allows you to boot it in desktop mode but will it offer the other part of the traditional UI (i.e. start button etc.)?
Click to expand...

There is a start button, but it will still take you to the start screen (the metro one). It just there so that it's easier to return to the start screen (once in desktop, many users didn't know how to return to the start screen because there was no button, only a hot corner).

Things that are changed regarding Start Screen in 8.1:
- you can disable all hot corners (those for charms bar and metro apps switcher)
- you can set your desktop background as the background for start screen
- you can show a list of all installed applications (something like a flat start menu) instead of tiles on your start screen (you can do that in normal version too, but in 8.1 you can set this as a default view); on top of that, you can prioritize normal applications over metro apps on the list;
- you can have universal search instead of search divided into three categories (apps, settings and files)

Another big change, but regarding metro apps, is that you're no longer limited to a 1/3 and 2/3 snap.

Other than that, the interface for start screen is also vastly improved.

EDIT: Ugh, beaten.

Also, in case you didn't know, if you right click on the bottom-left corner (or press Win+X) there's a menu like the one shown in the last screenshot posted by SPDIF. It's very useful.
 
C

cbox

Member
royalan said:
Yeah, it really is a shame. So much potential with the Windows ecosystem.

One of these days I wish someone would blow the whistle on the politics of app support. And that's what it all seems to boil down to: politics.

I remember reading an article at The Verge where they said they had confirmation from within Microsoft that MS had built an official Windows Phone version of Instagram and were literally just waiting for the "Ok" from Instagram, but no. And for seemingly no good reason.

I remember execs at Blackberry saying something similar when Netflix gave the standard "we want to focus our limited resources on main platforms, but we look to offer support in the future" excuse for Blackberry 10. Tweeted something along the lines of "We'd have a team flying out within 24 hours if Netflix wants to bring their app to Blackberry." And still no.

I don't get it. You would think app developers would want their software on as many devices as possible, and in some cases hardware makers are bending over backwards to get their support, even going as far as to offer to do all the work, and still many don't get support.

Makes you wonder if Apple and Google have some anti-competitor shit going on in the background...
Click to expand...

Some companies don't have the resources to have QA for multiple ecosystems and devices and might not want to invest a new team of people for an app that isn't currently being used.

It's a damn shame though because wp8 is fantastic.
 
S

Suen

Member
Thanks for all the answers! I will look into Start8 and see if it's something for me though I reckon I'll give Windows 8.1 a try as well.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Suen said:
Thanks for all the answers! I will look into Start8 and see if it's something for me though I reckon I'll give Windows 8.1 a try as well.
Click to expand...

Remember, the final version of 8.1 gets released on October 18th and I wouldn't bother with the public preview version, because it's pretty old and not stable.
 
S

Snowdrift

Member
I finally got around to installing Windows 8 yesterday.

Wow, is this a fast OS! I thought Windows 7 was quick, but Windows 8 is noticeably faster.

My only annoyance so far has been having to create a shortcut for a sleep button to pin to the taskbar, as the sleep/shutdown functions are unnecessarily buried.

There are so many aspects of Windows I didn't really appreciate until I started running Xubuntu for coding.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
Looks like Google is basically bringing the full Chrome OS to Metro: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/6/4701504/chrome-os-in-windows-8-app

Pretty bold to hijack the entire OS, but kind of cool. In a multi-monitor setup you can practically run both the Windows desktop and Chrome OS next to each other.



brotkasten said:
The Windows Phone app situation is much better than on Windows 8.
Click to expand...
I'm hopeful Windows 8 can get to Windows Phone levels of app support within two to three years ^^
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
royalan said:
Yeah, it really is a shame. So much potential with the Windows ecosystem.

One of these days I wish someone would blow the whistle on the politics of app support. And that's what it all seems to boil down to: politics.

I remember reading an article at The Verge where they said they had confirmation from within Microsoft that MS had built an official Windows Phone version of Instagram and were literally just waiting for the "Ok" from Instagram, but no. And for seemingly no good reason.

I remember execs at Blackberry saying something similar when Netflix gave the standard "we want to focus our limited resources on main platforms, but we look to offer support in the future" excuse for Blackberry 10. Tweeted something along the lines of "We'd have a team flying out within 24 hours if Netflix wants to bring their app to Blackberry." And still no.

I don't get it. You would think app developers would want their software on as many devices as possible, and in some cases hardware makers are bending over backwards to get their support, even going as far as to offer to do all the work, and still many don't get support.

Makes you wonder if Apple and Google have some anti-competitor shit going on in the background...
Click to expand...

MS offered to give the company I work for money if we created a Windows Phone app, and not an insignificant amount either. The people in charge declined because they said the maintenance costs were not worth it.
 
D

Diprosalic

Banned
guys i still have shit perfomance with win 8. i went to 8 at launch but i got fewer fps in games so i switched back to 7. yesterday i thought they surely fixed that by now but i still have problems.

i have 2 screen and in 7 i can play a 60fps game on the mainscreen and have a 720p youtube stream on the left one without a stutter. with windows 8 when i do that both the game stutters and the youtube video runs at 5 fps.

anybody got a solution or should i just go back to 7 again.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
Diprosalic said:
guys i still have shit perfomance with win 8. i went to 8 at launch but i got fewer fps in games so i switched back to 7. yesterday i thought they surely fixed that by now but i still have problems.

i have 2 screen and in 7 i can play a 60fps game on the mainscreen and have a 720p youtube stream on the left one without a stutter. with windows 8 when i do that both the game stutters and the youtube video runs at 5 fps.

anybody got a solution or should i just go back to 7 again.
Click to expand...

I suggest trying again when 8.1 is final on October 18th.

Because of this article I read: http://windowsitpro.com/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/microsoft-finalizes-windows-81-development

Perhaps more surprisingly, Microsoft has made a somewhat startling admission, at least internally: In a congratulatory memo to his team, Jon DeVaan, the corporate vice president for Windows Development at Microsoft, noted that he expects Windows 8.1 to be much more reliable than Windows 8 and to have a "fighting chance" of approaching the reliability of Windows 7 "in some areas." This suggests that Windows 8 is known internally to be not as reliable as its predecessor, a fact Microsoft has never stated publicly.
Click to expand...
 
mhayze

mhayze

Member
Diprosalic said:
guys i still have shit perfomance with win 8. i went to 8 at launch but i got fewer fps in games so i switched back to 7. yesterday i thought they surely fixed that by now but i still have problems.

i have 2 screen and in 7 i can play a 60fps game on the mainscreen and have a 720p youtube stream on the left one without a stutter. with windows 8 when i do that both the game stutters and the youtube video runs at 5 fps.

anybody got a solution or should i just go back to 7 again.
Click to expand...

This is most likely video card driver related. What is your hardware?
 
V

Via Purifico

Banned
brotkasten said:
I'm really curious about the Bay Trail chip. Apparently it's about as fast as 4 1.5 GHz Jaguar cores, but the lack of announced devices and and TDP or ANYTHING doesn't spell confidence.

In other news: Lenovo declared Windows RT dead.
Click to expand...

How do they explain the fact that the surface RT is still one of the best selling windows 8 tablets?
 
A

Arkanius

Member
Just installed Windows 8.1 x64 RTM...
And I got 25GB of space. (From 10 GB free to 35,5) Good job Microsoft!

EDIT:

Oh man, Internet Explorer 11 is so smooth. God damnit, I'm having that trouble again of choosing between Chrome for features or using IE11 for user experience.
 
P

PG2G

Member
Anyone know if its possible to do an upgrade from 8 to 8.1 using the 8.1 ISO? Or do I need to wait for the official release?
 
S

Spinluck

Member
Why can't my Windows 8 connect to the internet? Why?

I can't update the Windows, or go to the Windows Store for updates. I can't install some programs because of this too. Windows SmartScreen can't run, and Windows Wireless Service..

I don't know what to do. :-(

I wanna just reboot everything but I get in error (I think). Considered going back to Windows 7, but I've grown attached. Although, it's never to late to go back. I really need this laptop to work right now, can't afford to buy one anytime soon.
 
N

Nero3000

Member
SpinDasher said:
Why can't my Windows 8 connect to the internet? Why?

I can't update the Windows, or go to the Windows Store for updates. I can't install some programs because of this too. Windows SmartScreen can't run, and Windows Wireless Service..

I don't know what to do. :-(

I wanna just reboot everything but I get in error (I think). Considered going back to Windows 7, but I've grown attached. Although, it's never to late to go back. I really need this laptop to work right now, can't afford to buy one anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Reset the network adaptor?
 
A

Arkanius

Member
PG2G said:
Anyone know if its possible to do an upgrade from 8 to 8.1 using the 8.1 ISO? Or do I need to wait for the official release?
Click to expand...

I used the leaked ISO which was the same as the official ISO
I used the provided 8.1 key then used my legit 8 key to activate
 
M

Monkeylord

Member
Does anyone know if it's possible to create your own personal Win 8 apps. Not to be uploaded to the store or anything, but just for personal use.


I'm thinking of putting together a few simple database tables listing various things... my movie collection, game collection, songs for my different music games (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc) and thought it'd be neat if I could make them browsable on my laptop (Vaio Duo 13), and possibly on my phone via an android app.

Nothing fancy, but some simple scrolling and searching would be useful. Especially when we have our semi-regular Rock Band nights, so people not currently playing can browse the songlist while others are rocking out so they can choose what they may wanna play or add to the playlist.
 
M

Monkeylord

Member
SPDIF said:
Yes. Just develop them as normal and then deploy locally.
Click to expand...

Don't you need to pay out some developer fees or something to be able to do this?

To be honest, as someone with an interest in giving it a try, but absolutely no programming knowledge or experience I'm somewhat hesitant about the whole thing if it means paying out some kind of subscription.
 
S

SPDIF

Member
Monkeylord said:
Don't you need to pay out some developer fees or something to be able to do this?

To be honest, as someone with an interest in giving it a try, but absolutely no programming knowledge or experience I'm somewhat hesitant about the whole thing if it means paying out some kind of subscription.
Click to expand...

As long as you're just deploying to your own machines then no. Your app should be pretty straight forward, it won't cost you anything, so just go for it.
 
M

Monkeylord

Member
SPDIF said:
As long as you're just deploying to your own machines then no.
Click to expand...

Ok, cool. I did a google search that took me to the Win 8 app developers site, but the first thing I saw was a massive pop-up on my screen saying that the Win 8 developers area was for US designers only at present. So I clicked away.

As long as I can give it all a go without having to plonk down any money (chances are I won't actually end up with anything usable for a very very long time) I may just dive in with it.

The free tools (visual studio?) all say 30day trial and then you have to register. I take it registration's free then? I did click to look, but it wanted me to sign in and I wasn't sure I wanted to do that quite yet, so clicked away from the page.


Sorry if this all seems like braindead questions, but I get very wary when I'm out of my depth and am probably missing tons of information due to being overcautious, lol.
 
S

SPDIF

Member
Monkeylord said:
Ok, cool. I did a google search that took me to the Win 8 app developers site, but the first thing I saw was a massive pop-up on my screen saying that the Win 8 developers area was for US designers only at present. So I clicked away.

As long as I can give it all a go without having to plonk down any money (chances are I won't actually end up with anything usable for a very very long time) I may just dive in with it.

The free tools (visual studio?) all say 30day trial and then you have to register. I take it registration's free then? I did click to look, but it wanted me to sign in and I wasn't sure I wanted to do that quite yet, so clicked away from the page.


Sorry if this all seems like braindead questions, but I get very wary when I'm out of my depth and am probably missing tons of information due to being overcautious, lol.
Click to expand...

Yes, Visual Studio Express is free and should give you everything you need to create apps. You have to register after 30 days for a free product key.

Are you running 8 or 8.1? If you're running 8.1 make sure it's VS 2013 you're downloading.
 
M

Monkeylord

Member
SPDIF said:
Yes, Visual Studio Express is free and should give you everything you need to create apps. You have to register after 30 days for a free product key.

Are you running 8 or 8.1? If you're running 8.1 make sure it's VS 2013 you're downloading.
Click to expand...

8 at the moment. I did install the preview of 8.1 when I got my laptop, but every image on every website I went on had a big cross on it (not replaced with a cross, like it was missing, but a big white cross overlaid on the image). I couldn't handle it so reverted back to normal 8.

Thanks for the advice, BTW. It's late now and I'm gonna need to go to bed soon as I have to be up in 6hrs to go back to work, but I'll definitely look into this more when I get home from work tomorrow. It could be fun. It could be an unmitigated disaster. Either way, it'll be a giggle to find out, and I *MAY* just learn something at the end of it :D
 
S

SPDIF

Member
Monkeylord said:
8 at the moment. I did install the preview of 8.1 when I got my laptop, but every image on every website I went on had a big cross on it (not replaced with a cross, like it was missing, but a big white cross overlaid on the image). I couldn't handle it so reverted back to normal 8.

Thanks for the advice, BTW. It's late now and I'm gonna need to go to bed soon as I have to be up in 6hrs to go back to work, but I'll definitely look into this more when I get home from work tomorrow. It could be fun. It could be an unmitigated disaster. Either way, it'll be a giggle to find out, and I *MAY* just learn something at the end of it :D
Click to expand...

No problem :)
 
Jzero

Jzero

Member
Is there a free application that puts the clock and taskbar controls on other monitors as well?

Never mind, i don't think third party apps are worth it.
 
M

Mr_Zombie

Member
jsnepo said:
What for? We already got the People app. They could have just improved upon it and bring back Facebook messaging or integrate it with the Skype metro app.
Click to expand...

Official Facebook has advantage of:
- showing you posts that are marked as private by your friends
- taking into account that you marked some type of posts as ignored
- not switching you to a browser every now and then (for example, in People app, if I click on notification that someone liked my comment or post, the comment/posts are shown in a browser instead of the app)
 
J

jsnepo

Member
Mr_Zombie said:
Official Facebook has advantage of:
- showing you posts that are marked as private by your friends
- taking into account that you marked some type of posts as ignored
- not switching you to a browser every now and then (for example, in People app, if I click on notification that someone liked my comment or post, the comment/posts are shown in a browser instead of the app)
Click to expand...

Thus why I said they just need to improve upon the People app instead of creating a dedicated Facebook app. Make the things you listed possible in the People app instead.
 
M

Mr_Zombie

Member
I don't think Facebook API allows that, though. I've used few unofficial Facebooks apps on Android (since their official one was shit for a long time) and neither of them had those features.
 
G

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
jsnepo said:
What for? We already got the People app. They could have just improved upon it and bring back Facebook messaging or integrate it with the Skype metro app.
Click to expand...

Given the rate of development on the built in apps I'd much rather have an official one.
 
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