My First Week With Windows 8
A week ago I noticed that Windows 8 was released together with Visual Studio 2012. I used the opportunity to not only upgrade my OS but also the hard drive it was installed on. So I bought a new Samsung 830 SSD with 256GB and upgraded everything.
Installation
I installed the several Windows 8 preview versions in virtual machines and was used to the install process. I managed to make some trouble around my RAID controller on my mainboard. (Solution was BIOS update + Load BIOS defaults). The remaining installation was smooth, very fast and easy.
Usability
It basically feels like a slightly improved Windows 7. Everything just works as expected and I really like the new start screen:
But most of the time, I just press the Windows-Key followed by typing the application name I want to start and an enter key:
This works this way since Vista and I like it because you don’t have to use your mouse.
Compatibility
Everything works! Basically every single driver was installed. I had to install additional mouse drivers to get better configuration possibilities for my mouse buttons. mainboard, USB3, webcam, networking and graphics just worked out of the box.
Performance
I cannot give accurate details if 8 is really faster than Vista or 7. I think I got the main improvement in performance because of switching to a solid state drive. It is soooo fast! Rebooting takes less than a minute from “workable” to “workable”. You cannot tell, if an app was minimized or just started. It is just there in an instant. But I have to admit, I am using fairly decent hardware.
Conclusion
The first week using Windows 8 was amazing. I wasn’t missing my old Vista at any time. I think Microsoft did a great job and I see a bright future for Windows 8.