I’ve now been using Windows 8 on my primary desktop computer for close to two months and contrary to my initial reaction – I don’t regret it one bit. I admit that when I first downloaded the consumer preview I was convinced that I would never make the jump; however, their upgrade deal at the time managed to get me to give it a shot. When I made the plunge I knew people who already had switched, but most of them complained about the lack of start menu and in turn many of them paid for apps to add it back – I have not once installed a start menu utility on my version.

After actually diving into the operating system I realized there was a couple key things I was going to need to do in order for me to appreciate Windows 8. The first thing is one that people often forget to do – READ THE SCREEN. That’s right; by simply reading the screen I found a lot of my issues were resolved. For example, how does one get to the control panel in Windows 8? Well, after hovering in the lower right to activate the secondary menu, there is an icon that pops up that says “Settings”. Being that the control panel sounds like a place to change settings, I thought I’d click that and then the next thing I knew there was a button titled “Control Panel”. Yep, within two clicks I was into the Control Panel – note that is the same amount as in previous versions of Windows. I’ve found that by reading the screen a lot of the issues I had initially in Windows 8 with finding areas were easily resolved.

The next issue I’ll address is the one that most people have expressed – the lack of Start Menu. I’ve talked to a lot of users which have had a variety of complaints about removing the start menu from Windows 8; however, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. Although different than the previous versions of the Windows start menu, the Windows 8 start screen is bigger, and in my opinion better as it is much more flexible. Apps in the start menu can still be organized by group, but now there’s easier ways to move the shortcuts than ever. For example, any app that I have in my start menu can be right clicked on which then brings up an option to “pin to taskbar”. This makes using the combination launcher/taskbar, which was introduced in Windows 7, a lot easier to manage. Personally, I use my start-screen a lot more now than ever because of one important button introduced – “All Apps”. In previous versions of Windows I found that usually I’d keep the majority of my installed programs in the Start Menu and then just put the regularly used ones on the desktop. As such, my start menu was messy, chaotic and rarely used. Microsoft has now added an “All Apps” button (which can be activated by right clicking anywhere on the start screen) that now means that I keep my start screen clean and just the basics. For that occasional time I want to dive into something rare, I now can find it under the “All Apps” button. Any Android user will be familiar with this layout as it’s a very similar concept to the App Drawer.

While overall I’m enjoying my Windows 8 experience I will admit there are a few areas that need some improvement. While the apps seem to be a great idea for a tablet, I think that their execution on a desktop PC needs to be tweaked. For example, in order to close an app a user has to click at the top of an app and drag all the way down to the bottom. This seems like it would work great on a tablet, but on a desktop in doesn’t translate. I also think that dual screens need to be better supported for apps. I’ve been finding some Windows 8 that I’ve really liked (ie. MetroTwit); however, apps can only be shown on one screen. What this means is that if I have my MetroTwit dock to the right of my far right monitor, I can only open up other apps on my right monitor. If I do end up opening up apps on my left, it will be move my MetroTwit over to the left. I also think that while Microsoft has improved the search button (you can now filter to search by a variety of methods) – it’s missing an option that is needed, to search the old way. For example, if I click on the search button and start typing a random folder that I know I have on my computer, there’s no way for me to use the full search to find it. Instead I have to open up a File Explorer window and use the search bar there. One other issue I have is with the state of the default apps. I REALLY want to get behind the Windows app concept as I think it’s time users start using every pixel of their screen; however, I ended up changing most of my default programs to open in their desktop-mode counter parts. For example, when I open up a photo in the default Windows 8 Photo app, it’s missing the ability to cycle left and right through other photos in the folder. On the music front, the media player is clunky and trying to queue up multiple songs is just downright a pain. If the default apps operated similarly to the desktop programs I would likely be using apps by default, rather than desktop programs. Microsoft needs to improve the user experience in this area if they want people to adopt apps.

After a couple months hands on experience with Windows 8 I have to admit that I have no intention whatsoever of going back. I love the direction Windows is going but I think there needs to be some tweaks in order to make the desktop experience more user-friendly. That being said, I’m one hundred percent sold on the removal of the start button and I really hope Microsoft doesn’t cater to those living in the past and bring it back. While I see why people are buying replacement start menus, I think that those users are silly and need to be open more to change. Give the start screen a try and realize that you don’t need to have every single program’s readme and help accessible through the start screen. I also have heard people complain that they feel that they aren’t properly using Windows 8 if they default back to “Desktop” mode. There’s a reason that Microsoft put the word Desktop into “Desktop Mode” and that’s because that’s what works best with a keyboard and mouse. Don’t be afraid to explore Windows 8 and find a good balance of desktop-programs and Windows 8 apps – you don’t need to choose one or the other. I understand that change is tough, but in my opinion the change in direction with Windows 8 is for the better.