So I’ve used Windows 8 on a desktop for a week, and taking that with some of its other features that will be ready at or around release, here’s some thoughts:

– The new Start Menu interface isn’t that foreign. I understand why they changed, and the end product is actually far more user-friendly than I envisioned it. Some people won’t like it, but some people didn’t like the original Start Menu either.

– Its performance isn’t really any different from Windows 7. Its reboot times are insanely fast (30 seconds on a Core 2 Duo machine, no SSD), but that’s a tertiary feature.

– Compatibility, by and large, should not be an issue. Windows 7/8 are practically the same on the back end, and I have only seen rather niche applications have issues. This will certainly not be an XP/Vista shitshow as far as driver/application support is concerned.

– Internet Explorer 10 is certainly interesting. It seems rather fast, but you’ll likely need to pull Google Chrome out of my cold, dead hands.

– I flat-out do not see major businesses upgrading. Or if they are, they shouldn’t. Almost all the new things in Windows 8 are meaningless to business. I’m sure there are niche exceptions, but by and large, Windows 8 is a home OS. A business upgrading would be a large waste of licensing and training cost.

I think the desktop experience for Windows 8 is, at worst, “functional”. It takes a little getting used to, but anyone who calls it “unusable” is being facetious. I’ll likely upgrade at home, but that’s probably more to do with some random subconscious obsession with having latest/greatest.

I’m rather excited for how this shakes out on tablets. I really think Microsoft might have a winner here, especially if the “second screen” stuff works out. Using your tablet as a remote control for your PC and your XBox 360 seems pretty cool.

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