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Windows 8.1

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  • F Forogar

    Yes, I am also VERY interested in getting rid of Metro. If I can do that I might actually re-install Windows 8.

    - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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    ssadler
    wrote on last edited by
    #37

    Start8, StartIsBack and Classic Shell come to mind. Start8 and StartIsBack are pay for, but they're pretty inexpensive. Classic Shell is a freebie with lots of options. I dislike the flat look (and lack of configuration) of the Win 8/8.1 desktop UI but the improvements to the underlying OS are welcome.

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    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      I don't surf one-handed...

      Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)

      J Offline
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      Jacques Loubser
      wrote on last edited by
      #38

      Sorry replied on the wrong comment. Meant for Ed. Newb mistake.

      OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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      • J Jacques Loubser

        Sorry replied on the wrong comment. Meant for Ed. Newb mistake.

        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriff
        wrote on last edited by
        #39

        :laugh: We've all done it! (Not "surf one handed", you understand...)

        Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
        "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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        • H hairy_hats

          Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V are one-handed (left-hand) shortcuts unless you have particularly small hands. Pinky on Ctrl, forefinger on C then V. I can do Ctrl-N left-handed without discomfort.

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          patbob
          wrote on last edited by
          #40

          I just use ctrl-ins/shift-ins with my right hand (I drive my mouse with my left hand to avoid carpal tunnel issues). Thankfully, they haven't take away all the keyboard shortcuts... yet.

          We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.

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          • R Ravi Bhavnani

            It's only $5.  Classic Shell is nice but doesn't give you everything that Start8 does. /ravi

            My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

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            jwbasham
            wrote on last edited by
            #41

            Why pay, just get Start Menu 8. Gives all features of the above, takes out Metro completely (Heck it even did that with Win8), and it has the best price of them all, FREE! It is one of IOBit's offerings.

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            • J jwbasham

              Why pay, just get Start Menu 8. Gives all features of the above, takes out Metro completely (Heck it even did that with Win8), and it has the best price of them all, FREE! It is one of IOBit's offerings.

              R Offline
              R Offline
              Ravi Bhavnani
              wrote on last edited by
              #42

              Thanks! :thumbsup: /ravi

              My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

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              • J Jacques Loubser

                Have you heard of Crtl+C & Ctrl+V ??? Unless you have only one hand, You should not need buttons.

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                M Offline
                Member 4608898
                wrote on last edited by
                #43

                OK if you have a keyboard, kind of difficult on a touch screen

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                • E ed welch

                  I finally took the plunge and upgraded to 8.1. After getting rid of Metro, it's actually not that bad. File manager is a lot better than Windows 7 file manager. Of coarse, there's tonnes of things that don't work properly (hibernation, large fonts, etc.), but that's just the par of the coarse when you have a Microsoft OS.

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                  Andre Pereira
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #44

                  How does hibernation not work? It's better than ever, the newer hybrid hibernation is a dream on a laptop, just suspend and forget, the OS will deal with it. Doesn't matter how much battery I had, when I open my laptop it just get's back where it was, taking a little more time if the battery was empty. Fonts and scaling are a huge issue, but that's thoroughly resolved in the new Metro apps. Of course, if you ignore the new and improved avenue, you'll still be seeing only the old problems. This hatred on Windows 8 borders on the irrational, I use it on my dev machines and even in VMs and have absolutely zero problems with it. Even if you don't like the new stuff, the only new thing you must use (and even then it's optional) is a full screen customizable launcher, which frankly 10 times better than a list of 10 programs on the bulging messy start menu. At least 3rd party start menus are much more functional than Windows 7's.

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                  • E ed welch

                    Indeed. I presume the Metro fiasco was the reason that Ballmer got sacked

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                    IndifferentDisdain
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #45

                    I can't find the article I read about it, but apparently he was fired over the Nokia deal. TL/DR: Ballmer wanted Nokia, board didn't, he threw a hissy fit and got his way, at least in the short run.

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                    • B BobJanova

                      Metro is absolutely not an advance for PC users (maybe it is for tablet). It is a reversion to one-app-at-a-time computing which Microsoft correctly decided was outdated in 1990 when they brought out Windows. With two 1080p monitors and multi-core CPUs to play with it's even more nonsensical now than it was then.

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                      Colborne_Greg
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #46

                      You are uneducated. I am using Two 1080p monitors and multi-core CPU. Until windows 8 metro I have never seen a app use 64 bits correctly, let alone a single app correctly handle 200 GB. The only reason not to like metro is the fact nothing is programmed for it yet. Your opinion is not based on technology, but mere thin air.

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                      • B BobJanova

                        Do we have functionality from previous versions back yet, i.e. - Classic theme and full customisation options for window colours - Useful status bar information in Explorer (total size when selecting multiple, version information when selecting single) - Bye bye Metro by default - Double clicking various common file formats (PDF, AVI at least) doesn't open full screen Metro apps by default

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                        IndifferentDisdain
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #47

                        - Of course not, and I never really thought that many people customized their Windows colors that much. However, I use the Bing Desktop, so I get a new bg image and color theme each day. Keeps things fresh. - Total size when selecting multiple: yes. Version information when selecting single: no. TBH, I can't imagine why I'd want to see version information in file explorer (that's what the properties dialog is for, after all), but to each his own, I suppose. - You know the answer to that. Like it or not, it's not going away anytime soon. - This is easily resolved once you install your pdf reader of choice and set as default (or whatever). With a fresh installation, the only PDF reader installed is the metro version, which is a step up from the no reader installed of versions past. Your first two points are all about lost configuration options, and your last two are about not wanting to configure your installation. Sorry, but can't have it both ways.

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                        • A Andre Pereira

                          How does hibernation not work? It's better than ever, the newer hybrid hibernation is a dream on a laptop, just suspend and forget, the OS will deal with it. Doesn't matter how much battery I had, when I open my laptop it just get's back where it was, taking a little more time if the battery was empty. Fonts and scaling are a huge issue, but that's thoroughly resolved in the new Metro apps. Of course, if you ignore the new and improved avenue, you'll still be seeing only the old problems. This hatred on Windows 8 borders on the irrational, I use it on my dev machines and even in VMs and have absolutely zero problems with it. Even if you don't like the new stuff, the only new thing you must use (and even then it's optional) is a full screen customizable launcher, which frankly 10 times better than a list of 10 programs on the bulging messy start menu. At least 3rd party start menus are much more functional than Windows 7's.

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                          ed welch
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #48

                          Hibernation crashes intermittantly on my machine anyway.

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                          • E ed welch

                            I finally took the plunge and upgraded to 8.1. After getting rid of Metro, it's actually not that bad. File manager is a lot better than Windows 7 file manager. Of coarse, there's tonnes of things that don't work properly (hibernation, large fonts, etc.), but that's just the par of the coarse when you have a Microsoft OS.

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                            U Offline
                            User 2764366
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #49

                            What third party application are you using to get the Start menu back?

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                            • E ed welch

                              I finally took the plunge and upgraded to 8.1. After getting rid of Metro, it's actually not that bad. File manager is a lot better than Windows 7 file manager. Of coarse, there's tonnes of things that don't work properly (hibernation, large fonts, etc.), but that's just the par of the coarse when you have a Microsoft OS.

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                              Yortw
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #50

                              Haven't tried large fonts, hibernation works great for me on three of four devices (fourth is a desktop where I've turned it off). Explorer is improved (and I had never noticed the copy/paste buttons missing in 7 - I always use right-click menu), as is task manager and a whole bunch of other things. It's also much faster to start than 7 used to be, and seems to leave me more RAM free at boot to desktop. I actually quite like Metro too (even on my laptop and desktop), but it is lacking *quality* apps. The store is full of rubbish so there isn't much point in being in metro (or even visiting the store). I actually really like metro IE, faster than chrome for me in most cases and gives me more space/focus on the actual content I care about. The annoying thing is occasionally it behaves differently to the desktop one and I'm forced to leave it. The twitter app is pretty good but has a few niggles, and the Facebook app is ok if you care about that. The email client is fine for my personal mail, but I wouldn't use it for work. After that, everything else starts to fall down - either I don't have a use for it, or the apps are poorly written/designed/don't fit my use case. On the other hand, I don't have an iPad or Android tablet either, and I'm a dev, so maybe I just don't fit the target demographic for tablet/touch apps.

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                              • S ssadler

                                Start8, StartIsBack and Classic Shell come to mind. Start8 and StartIsBack are pay for, but they're pretty inexpensive. Classic Shell is a freebie with lots of options. I dislike the flat look (and lack of configuration) of the Win 8/8.1 desktop UI but the improvements to the underlying OS are welcome.

                                F Offline
                                F Offline
                                Forogar
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #51

                                Can we get Aero back?

                                - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                                • C Colborne_Greg

                                  You are uneducated. I am using Two 1080p monitors and multi-core CPU. Until windows 8 metro I have never seen a app use 64 bits correctly, let alone a single app correctly handle 200 GB. The only reason not to like metro is the fact nothing is programmed for it yet. Your opinion is not based on technology, but mere thin air.

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                                  F Offline
                                  Forogar
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #52

                                  Quote:

                                  You are uneducated.

                                  [edit]: He has a Masters degree from Cambridge.

                                  Quote:

                                  Until windows 8 metro I have never seen a app use 64 bits correctly

                                  You are very opinionated for someone with such limited experience (which could be seen as poor education for yourself).

                                  - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                                  • E ed welch

                                    you need two hands to activate the shortcut, so you have to take your hand off the mouse and that slows you down. Really there's no reason no to have a toolbar button. It's not like there's no room

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                                    B Offline
                                    Bitbeisser
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #53

                                    ed welch wrote:

                                    you need two hands to activate the shortcut, so you have to take your hand off the mouse and that slows you down.

                                    Why do you have to take the hand from the mouse or use two hands for the shortcut? Unless you are a South Paw, you are commonly using the mouse with the right hand and the Ctrl-C/V can easily be reached with the left hand only... Beside that, the menues within the file manager of Windows 8.1 aren't that bad, but then they kept stupid Windows 7 habits like full-sizing resized windows on its own as soon as you hit the screen boarder... :( :( :( Ralf

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                                    • L Lost User

                                      ed welch wrote:

                                      After getting rid of Metro

                                      How did you do that?

                                      B Offline
                                      B Offline
                                      Bitbeisser
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #54

                                      Shameel wrote:

                                      ed welch wrote:

                                      After getting rid of Metro

                                      How did you do that?

                                      Installed ClassicShell? :cool:

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                                      • F Forogar

                                        Quote:

                                        You are uneducated.

                                        [edit]: He has a Masters degree from Cambridge.

                                        Quote:

                                        Until windows 8 metro I have never seen a app use 64 bits correctly

                                        You are very opinionated for someone with such limited experience (which could be seen as poor education for yourself).

                                        - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                        C Offline
                                        C Offline
                                        Colborne_Greg
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #55

                                        9 years of post secondary. Tell me about an app that can utilize 200 GB please? Every server environment I have ever worked on has to use virtual machines to utilize that amount of memory or more. Having a masters degree means you can gets grades and follow society - that does not mean he is current on technology. He is indeed uneducated.

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                                        • L LloydA111

                                          You use buttons "all" the time when Ctrl + C/V is all you need?

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                                          B Offline
                                          B Offline
                                          bobc4012
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #56

                                          They don't work in all cases. It depends on what you are viewing. I have run into situations where Copy/Paste work when invoked via Edit on the Menu bar, right clicking and select from the Context list and Ctl C/V with standard vanilla text situations or only one or two of the three work or none work. There have been instances of wanting to copy a few lines (such as a tip) from a web page where none of them worked and I end up going to the "source" and copying from there.

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