What's your experience with Windows 8.x platform in general ?

[Sanjay Chandra]

I was quite enthusiastic about Windows 8 platform back in 2012 especially from the day they unveiled Surface.I installed Windows 8 on my desktop on release day itself , I upgraded directly from Windows Vista , So the jump was very huge.I bought WP8 last year around this time.Surface was not released in my country and xbox music and many bing services don't work here.

Apple launched iTunes store around that time (appstore was there from long time though) , So I was glad that I didn't jump to surface from my iPad.I faced lot of driver issues with Windows 8 ever since I installed it on my PC.I haven't tried 7 on it but only Vista and drivers work perfect for it.I continued to use Windows 8 because I liked boot times and also general design/metro apps.
I think I used metro apps on desktop for few days and that's it , never touched them again.

I installed linux recently and its dual-boot now but I was unable to open my drives because linux couldn't access them because Windows 8 has "fast start" enabled which prevents linux from accessing my drives.So I disabled that , now my boot up times are nothing hugely different compared to Vista.So I am thinking about going back to Vista because my bluetooth drivers and lots of things not working (I don't have W7 license) as well.Games performance is also not good in W8.

Coming to WP , I absolutely love the design and metro apps but lack of functionality/other storage bug and lack of apps/games drove me to seek iPhone or Android but iOS 7 ditched Google Maps , So I jumped to Android with Galaxy S4 , I couldn't be happier.It has more apps and much more customization is possible.

That's the same reason why I dual boot Windows instead of using linux : Yes , app selection is poor on other platforms compared to Windows in desktop.

I have no interest to try W8.1 , I may return again when Windows 9 comes out.I hope microsoft irons out the shortcomings.

 

[spaulagain]

Mine has been pretty good...

I put Windows 8 on my machine when it RTM'd in 2012. The only issue I had was tracking down the right driver for my graphics card. Its a bit dated, so that was a hunt. However, from the sounds of it, if I had just resinstalled Windows 7, I would have had the same issue.

Since initial install I have been very happy. Its fast, I love the new UI, although it needs polished, especially the desktop side of things. My biggest gripe with the UI is that they didn't match the desktop with the metro side. Just squaring corners doesn't count. Things like the right mouse/touch and hold menu should look identical. White, clean text, and thick black border.

Other than that, I've installed all my Adobe software, AutoCAD, Visual Studio, etc with no problems. And I find using them even inner mixed with Metro apps is just fine. Especially with 8.1s improvements.

I'm also glad to see the drastic improvements in the baked in Metro apps like Mail and Xbox. These were practically unusable when W8 launched. I do think Metro apps should launch faster though. They should take less than 2 seconds to launch.

As far as WP8. Love it!!!! The Lumia 920 sucked, but now that I have my 1020, I couldn't be happier. I think the WP experience is amazing and by far the smoothest, best looking OS period.

Android? Has to be the ugliest OS in a decade. And its so chaotic. Can't stand it. I can put up with iOS 7 if I have to though, its just boring.

 

[krox1105]

I have been using Windows 8 on my desktop since the consumer preview was out, and I can honestly say that I am extremely happy with it.
My desktop is quite old, running a Core2Duo E7500 processor with 3 gigs of RAM and no dedicated GPU. And even on this lowly hardware, Windows 8 simply flies on my system. It works flawlessly.
All the softwares that i use (PS CS6, Vegas Pro 12, BlueJ) are compatible with it. In short, I am pretty happy with it ON MY DESKTOP. On my laptop however, it is a different story.

I have an HP DV6 with Sandy Bridge i7, 4 Gigs of RAM and a Radeon 6770M. I installed Windows 8.1 on it recently, and the biggest problem that I faced on it was of drivers. That however is mostly HP's fault. I got most of the drivers using Windows Update and device manager, but the ones i didn't find gave me hell. My Fingerprint reader doesn't work anymore as there are no drivers available for it. When the GPU is set to the dedicated one, I can't adjust the brightness of the display. I can no longer use Bluetooth to send/receive files. These are the biggest problems for me.
Other than that, there are also a lot of improvements. The shutdown/boot up times are a lot shorter. The integration with Skydrive and my Live ID are amazing. The thing i like the best is that it feels so snappy when doing general tasks.
Xbox music, sadly doesn't work in India but still iTunes is a great alternative.

TL;DR: Yup, the drivers issue on my laptop aside, my experience has been great.

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

Yep , Android isn't pretty but I traded off design for functionality.

 

[VigneshSS]

My experience with the WP8 platform is awesome. With the Black update i feel very happy. Well done Devs !!

I've got two scenarios/minor issues that i experience in WP8 platform
1. Editing the (keyed)number in Dialing screen is not possible.
explanation: type a new number in dialing screen like 904367583, now you missed to add one number in between, you'll not be able to edit and it in the middle. The only way is to delete the whole numbers & type it again.
suggestion: add 'press and hold' to edit the messages, here too
2. Finding the Bluetooth devices when sharing files
explanation: when sharing files via Bluetooth, finding the (already paired) devices which exists at the bottom of the list, is buggy. i.e. the scroll functionality in that screen is not working like other screens. Please check.

Please find a fix for these.
Other than these everything works really cool. WP is gonna reach heights. You're doing so well guys. Cheers !!:smile:
Thanks !

 

[xandros9]

Picked up a refurb ThinkPad T400 about a year and a half ago, had a nice Windows Vista and Centrino 2 sticker on it, came with Windows 7 installed. I put the drivers in, tossed in an SSD (which may or may not be worth more than the computer at this point) and some extra RAM, took off and I was a happy camper.

Cue Windows 8, in the beginning, I was a naysayer like many out there, it's like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, right? Wow no such cohesion. I don't have a touchscreen! I continued enjoying my Windows 7 install.
but then my school system offered a free Windows 8 upgrade. and then one of my friends asked me about it wanting to try it, I voiced my concerns, but he wanted to try it anyway. I thought about it, why not? It was free, so I tried it. Unfortunately, my computer was one generation too late to receive official substantial driver support for Windows 8 from Lenovo, so a few months later I reverted to 7 to enjoy Lenovo's creature comforts like keeping the Wi-Fi alive and Power Manager. (although i did copy Windows 8's sounds) At the cost of official SSD TRIM optimization and THE SPEED.
But then I wanted to tinker with the WP8 SDK, and I didn't know of the hacked install to allow installation on 7. So I ended up upgrading, cleaning out the drivers which didn't work the best and left the Lenovo tools behind, loaded up some hacked graphics drivers (they had a soft-block otherwise, Minecraft was the only thing that complained though, resulted in Test Mode text appearing, haven't risked removing it.) and went on my way. I was a happy panda.
Drivers tl;dr, nothing was truly broken, the essential drivers had been updated officially and unofficially, some thinkpad specific features were gone, but I don't miss them at all.

the 8.1 CP rolled around, and I decided to take the plunge. It was very nice. Biggest perks were the custom Start screen background, small tiles, SNAP WAS ENABLED YES (I had a 1280x800 LCD), and of course that little fishy on boot.
I accidentally partitioned part of my Windows install into oblivion sometime after (Metro apps broke in its entirety, couldn't reset because PC Settings wouldn't launch, etc. Yup I dun goofed.)
One clean install later, I just waited for official 8.1.

So here I am, the lappy and Windows 8.x has hardly let me down. Only Linux and Windows Phone has arguably treated me better.
I picked up a Venue 8 Pro and it has served me well too.