Wow. The official Windows 8 twitter page has claimed that Windows 8 Consumer Preview has passed the one million download mark in it’s first day. That is very impressive for a beta. Hopefully, users will like and get used to the new interface before the final release and sales will look equally impressive.
Judging by the amount of negative comments towards the new Metro interface in the various forums, including Microsoft’s own Answers forum, they may end up adding a way to default to a Windows 7 like interface for those without touchscreens and don’t like the live tiles and other enhancements that the Metro UI brings. I really like the new interface, but I’ve been using it on Windows Phone for about 6 months. The mouse and keyboard combination isn’t too dismal, but it definitely takes a lot of getting used to. I would say that if I didn’t use the Windows Phone first, I’d be talking a different story. Metro UI isn’t bad, it’s just way too different than what we are all used to. Some people like change, others don’t, but such a drastic change to make Windows a true touchscreen operating system is a lot to take in. I’m still not entirely sold on the whole Metro UI on the desktop yet. I love what it brings, but I don’t like it as a complete desktop replacement.
Like it or hate it, it’s Windows 8. It’s coming. I’m not going to go out and switch to a Mac (a lot of people are screaming that in the forums based on the Windows 8 beta – still unreleased operating system), or Linux just because I don’t like the interface. I’m going to learn it, get used to it, and see if it will fit my needs. If not, I’m sure someone will come out with a program to regain a real desktop (Stardock, or similar company). That is one thing I love about Linux: the variety of desktop environments. From KDE to Gnome to Fluxbox, they all give you the basics and improve on that. They don’t take everything away and add what they want. They even have some that work with very minimal PC configurations to reduce CPU/Video usage.
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