Nightski

I recently started a topic on importing photos from Lightroom on a laptop that has Windows 7 to Lightroom on a desktop that has Windows 8. I got lots of feedback on how much people hate Windows 8. I wonder there are people who like Windows 8 and would be willing to share some helpful hints on using Lightroom or any other photo editing or storage software in Windows 8.

If you like Windows 8, please tell us why!
So far, I like it, but I am not that far into using it yet.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I just got a mental image of some tumbleweed rolling down an empty street lol.

Looks like the W8 fan club is still waiting for its first member!

Nightski

I know...this is so funny! Kind of scary though, because that's what I am going to be dealing with now.

Nightski

I hope it's Windows 8 they don't like, and not me :shock:

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Don't be silly - the Nightski fan club will never be short of members :-D .

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I liked Windows 7 very much and so far, haven't found anything about Windows 8 that's better except that Picasa is compatible :)

Nightski

Thanks guys :D

Down Home Loc: Anywhere, Now, SE TEXAS

Hello Nightski. :-) I have WIN 7 too, and, I have only answered questions about WIN 8 because of the changes from 7. The ONLY thing I can see as a plus for 8, is for the people that want to keep their screens dirty and not use a keyboard. :lol: Yes, one can use a mouse to navigate as before, BUT, some things are so hard to find because they are hidden away. :-( I hope it gets better too, I don't want to upgrade, but may have to. :roll:

Nightski

I don't have a touch screen with the new computer.. We have a touch screen computer for the register at our business. It's nice for that use, but having worked with it, I think it would be a pain for editing.

The start screen pops out if you mouse the lower left corner.
The screen with settings and some other stuff pops out when you mouse over by the right side. That part isn't so hard.

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

A have to chuckle, I have an Older Navy friend, who was so happy he upgraded to Windows8, then had to go and get a monitor so he use the touch screen (didn't need to but did). Then tells me he's play solitaire with a 3' stick stick from his chair. LOL,, He is now replacing his touch screen because he has worn a hole in it. LOL'

Nightski

LOLOLOL...There's my big laugh for the day...Thanks :thumbup:

Dave Johnson Loc: Grand Rapids, Michigan

I just acquired a laptop that has Widows 8 on it. I've used it for about four weeks now and I don't have many good things to say about it. In the next week or so I'll be removing windows 8 and replacing it with widows 7.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

This is from a post I made on another thread. Windows 8 is most similar to Windows 7 and can easily be made to look almost exactly like Windows 7 easily, for free and with no down side . There is no need for a touch screen for photo editing since most editing software does not support that feature anyway.

Windows 8 is far from a disaster. It is by far the fastest and most stable version of Windows to date. I have used Windows as a user and software developer since the first stable version, Windows 3.1, back in 1992. Most of the issues people are having with it are generally a result of older software incompatibility, outdated drivers, especially for older hardware, and incompatibilities as a result of moving from a 32 bit to 64 bit environment. While there are occasionally other software issues that don't fall in the above categories, they are an unfortunate result of a moving to a new operating system. There are problems that occur every time a new OS is rolled out and are often a result of the software designers not strictly following Microsoft's design rules. Early versions of an OS may be more tolerant of design errors than later versions . Windows 8 is no worse than any other in that regard. I could tell you horror stories about moving from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Initially there was a huge outcry of anger. How dare Microsoft change the interface! Things never change. Beyond the occasional software and hardware issues, the concerns most people have are in regard to two obvious design changes.

Windows 8 includes two environments, the Desktop and the Metro screen.

Desktop differences- the missing Start menu
One change is to the desktop, which is similar to the one on Windows 7, minus one important feature, the Start menu. However, there are several 3rd party Start menus available for free that look and work almost identically to the Windows 7 Start Menu. I've tried a few of the available ones and personally use Classic Start Menu version 3.6.8. http://www.classicshell.net/ It is very configurable and can be made to emulate 3 styles of Windows Start menus including Windows 7 and Windows XP. With the Classic Start menu in place the Windows 8 desktop will look and feel just like Windows 7.

The Metro Screen- the new "Start menu"
The second, and most obvious and annoying change to many, is the inclusion of what has been dubbed the Metro screen. The Metro screen is designed for touch screens and to provide ease of use on portable devices like the Windows phones and Windows 8 based tablets. The look and feel of the Metro screen, which is tile based, rather than Window or icon based, is identical on all these devices. The Metro screen includes a number of functionally limited applications primarily to view things like the news or photos or videos. It even has its own separate and functionally limited version of Internet Explorer. The full version is only available on the Desktop. It was also intended to serve as the new Start screen for Windows 8. In fact when Windows 8 boots up it defaults to the Metro screen. The desktop can be reached by clicking on one of the tiles there. Its frankly all very annoying. There are probably relatively few applications specifically available for use by the Metro screen that traditional desk top users would find of great interest. These applications are also full screen only! Windows 8 also displays controls differently than Windows 7 so as an example, its not easy the first time you use it to figure out how to configure or even shut down Windows!

Boot Directly into the Desktop and bypass the Metro Screen
The 3rd party start menus, like the one I mentioned above, also can be configured to boot directly into the desktop bypassing the Metro screen altogether and giving the user a very Windows 7 like experience. One can go back and forth to the Metro at any time if desired, but its not necessary. To rehash, 3rd party start menus like the one I mentioned will result in a thoroughly Windows 7 like experience on a faster and more robust platform with many additional features. Hope this helped.

Nightski

Thank you, MWSilvers for your detailed and thoughtful post. I very much appreciated the description of the OS and it's layout. I think I understand it better now. I like the metro screen. I just didn't fully understand how all of that works until now. Again, thanks so much for your time.

PS: My son is a software developer too. He told me he really likes Windows 8, and he was going to show me around it next time he gets home, but that may be a while. I appreciate the time you spent on this. :-D