Microsoft will release Windows 8 to manufacturing in August and it will be generally available for sale in October. So IT managers will shortly be faced with the question of whether they should switch to it or not. In my view they should wait – as long as they can.
The Windows 8 Metro Start menu with its tiled interface
Consumers buying new PCs on the other hand will likely have no choice. Early adopters, enthusiasts and Microsoft bigots will certainly jump at the chance – after all, new operating systems offer improvements and Windows 8 is no exception.
Enterprises will find the move to Windows 8 something of a revolution however. The kind of revolution you want to avoid. Users will need training and applications will need testing. Windows 8’s new default Metro interface is in essence a tablet user interface optimized for consumption, dare I say, entertainment – reading, watching a movie, games, and other pastimes.
For enterprises and their conservative IT managers, Windows 7 is surely the best place to be right now; it’s optimized for efficient creation – writing, data entry, and other productive activities on the desktop. If you have to do something demanding, repetitive, or complicated (like work) you’ll be using a mouse, a keyboard, and a large monitor.
To help you decide whether it’s the right time to make the move, here’s a list of its major new features, starting with what’s good:
The Good
- It’s cheap. Microsoft has announced that upgrading to Windows 8 Professional will cost only $39.99 (offer good through January 31, 2013). Compare this to the traditional $199.99 upgrade cost for Windows 7 Professional. Clearly Microsoft wants to migrate as many people as fast as possible to its new OS. Windows 7 is still barely half of the installed base some two years after its launch.
- It seems fast. You notice right away that Windows 8 feels quick and smooth during startup, launching apps, surfing, and so on. Be careful though – all newly installed OSes are fast. Filesystems age as they fragment over time, that’s why when you reinstall, everything seems crisper. Also new OSes are free from add-ons, updaters, virus scanners, and other accumulated gum. Wndows 8 will probably gum up too.
- Several Windows applications are improved. Windows Explorer now boasts a useful ribbon interface. Task Manager is more efficient and detailed. Control Panel has been tweaked. The Cloud plays a large role too. No matter where you are, your settings, such as your Bookmarks bar in Internet Explorer, are available. A Windows Store offers a variety of promising apps.
- Searching, spell-check, and sharing are now global. Instead of having to put text into a word processor, you can spellcheck within any Metro app. Press Win+C to open the set of Charms (search, share, start, devices, and settings) and click the search utility. Searching now extends beyond your file system and documents. It can access your contacts, mail, finance, sports, Google—essentially all your apps can be searched.Unfortunately, searching isn’t as easy as it should be. Applications are the default search target, so you have to manually select the other kinds of searches—files or settings—from a list. Finally, with the share feature you can easily attach photos and files to email. However, this only works in the Metro mode, not the desktop mode. And, at this time, email is the only possible target. Even Facebook and Microsoft’s Cloud storage system, SkyDrive, are missing.
- Metro has some intriguing new features. Instead of launching applications via lists, icons, or menus, you click “tiles” which are large, dynamic icons. They’re dynamic because they can display varying data, such as a recent news photo in the News app or the number of unread emails in the Email app. Some of them also include small permanent icons in the lower left, and, if you hover your mouse over them, a text cue appears.
The Bad
- It is somewhat schizophrenic. Worried that few desktop users would switch to the radical new Metro interface, Microsoft has cobbled together two incompatible user interfaces; the dumbed-down Windows 7 desktop mode, and the profoundly different, Smartphone optimized, Metro touch-screen interface. Although it’s easy to switch between them, Windows 8 has ripped the heart out of the desktop metaphor: the Start button. When you press the Win key, you switch to Metro. (Some third-party vendors are retro-fitting Start button simulators, although Microsoft is reportedly busy removing all the Start button code.) Having Metro as the Win default assumes everyone is going to use it as a tablet, but most desktop computers don’t offer touch screens and probably never will. If you think it’s a bit awkward moving your hand back and forth between a keyboard and mouse, try switching between a keyboard and a touch screen.
- Some features are now more difficult to use. It’s amazing that Microsoft has become so literal about forcing the desktop to behave like a Smartphone. For example, in Metro you can’t just shut down or switch users with a couple of simple clicks. Instead, you must open the “charm” list on the right side of the screen, then click Settings, then Power, then choose from sleep, shut down, or restart options.Another example: there are two, competing versions of Internet Explorer – a Metro and desktop version. They look and work differently and can operate simultaneously, so stay awake. The Metro version displays no tabs, no bookmarks, no back-arrow icon, or any other icons for that matter, unless you right-click. It’s tuned for a Smartphone you see.
- Apps are stripped bare. The design goal for Metro apps is minimalist. Thus, they are designed to default to full screen mode, they cover the screen completely and display no “distractions”. Gone are icons, title bars, menus, ribbons, tabs, context menus, minimize or restore buttons, and the X close icon. Makes sense for a Smartphone, but should it be the default mode for a desktop? Why try to imitate a 3.5” screen on a 23” monitor? Microsoft is evidently sacrificing usability for consistency.
The Ugly
- The Start screen is clumsy. It’s the central launchpad for everything in Metro and yet it can be hard to remember which app a particular tile refers to (is that the payroll app? the stock control app?). Some tiles have icons and text clues to tell you what that tile launches. Other tiles offer no clue beyond its position onscreen. But the positions themselves can change if, for example, you delete or rearrange a tile.
- The Start screen sometimes makes you solve a puzzle. I don’t want to be puzzled by my OS. You can start typing the name of the app and the Search feature instantly displays any matches, so that’s good, but why change the classic Windows Start button’s list of applications? Why force users to learn something new? There is no need.Chaitanya Sareen, Microsoft’s principal program manager at Microsoft, has said that studies showed users were using the Start button less. He didn’t say which kind of users (business? home? power?). And he didn’t say how many. Given that the missing Start button is by far the biggest complaint from beta testers, it would seem that Mr. Sareen is, to put it gently, loosely coupled with his customers.
- Touch screens demand compromise. Metro only allows the screen to be divided in half – to compare two documents for example. Traditional multitasking is awkward. You can’t resize, tile, or stack apps. All of this makes sense for a Smartphone. But should it be the default on the desktop?
Why does Microsoft feel compelled to yank the Start button from the desktop mode in Windows 8? Why not leave it in for those who prefer it?
Net Bottom Line
Tablet and Smartphone users will relish Windows 8 Metro. Enterprise users less so, they may even hate it. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try though and the release preview version is available for free. Beware that Windows 8 may take over your computer and make it difficult to roll back to Windows 7.
Metro has its fans and to be honest playing around with it is fun – discovering cool new options, personalizing the environment, and finding shortcuts. But if you intend to use it for work, you should not take such a move lightly.
Few, if any, sensible corporations are likely to spend the money and suffer the steep learning curve required when moving to Windows 8 on a desktop. And in my view, only those buying new desktop PCs in the home will be willing to make the leap. The unification Microsoft seeks with Windows 8 from desktop to mobile device will be a long time coming, in my humble opinion.
Microsoft says they will support Windows 7 until 2020, so you’re covered until then if you refuse Windows 8.
The Fourth Column 
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