Lots to see in the Windows 8 Release Preview

Who really cares about bob?  I forgot about that so long ago, I had to google it.  If you live in the past at this level, it is no wonder you cant handle change.  Bob, conceptually seemed like a good idea, of course in practice it was impossible to pull off (a little forethought would have the developers realize this sooner).  Windows 8 on the other hand actually works well.  Unbelieveably efficient if you figure out how to optimize it for you and you to it.  Throw out all your preconceived ideas, try to figure out how to use it (really not that hard to learn).  And you will see, you can do everything you used to do just as fast if not faster.  In addition, there is a whole new world that hadn't existed before.  Some of the apps don't seem to work well without touch screens (Cut the rope for instance) but with the additional apps available with release preview, I am having a blast figuring them out.  This is for me one of the most exciting versions of Windows ever.

The key is basically thowing out your expectations, they are likely wrong anyway.

First, while Start Menu and Start screen may sound like alter egos, this could not be farther from the truth.  I would think the truth is more on the lines of the Start Screen being a GUI running on top of the PC equivalent of server core (this is why metro makes sense on Windows Server as well, why do we really need a desktop on server?), and the Desktop is the original GUI wrapped up into an app running on Metro.  The truth to this is that you can actually close the desktop just like any other metro app, but Metro can never be closed.  I think MS needs to do a better job of communicating this fact.  But this is why they don't want the start menu back.  Allowing it makes as much sense as manual window handles on power windows.

Second, while Apple may talk about how Tablets and Computers have to be separate, MS seems to have learned to put them side by side on the same machine.  That in no ways means they completely mix.  Learn to organize metro so that when you are on the destop, you can maximize your time there so you don't need to go dipping into metro all the time.  Pin and Unpin item from the task bar and start screen.  I wish they let Metro be three layers instead of 2 for better organization, but I guess they haven't learned to expand and contract sections.  One thing I did was unpin the Metro IE 10 from the start screen and pin the desktop version there.  I personally find it disconcerting to have 2 versions for a laptop (this is my wifes only complaint about Windows 8 and I don't disagree with her).  If I get a convertible machine, I may have to rethink that, but it works good for us now.