Faster, but negligibly so.
With all the added benefits one has to wonder: "just how fast is
it?" Well, according
to the benchmarks the
difference isn't substantial in day-to-day use, the performance
assessments focusing on differences that will hardly ever be noticed
by Windows 8 users that do not use benchmarks.
An
extra few points in Google V8 will go unnoticed in terms of browsing
experience when modern browsers in Windows 7 are already fast to
start with. Boot-up times are indeed much improved, but shaving a few
seconds when booting is like starting a car faster; not going to make
any real difference unless the user constantly restarts the computer,
which commonsense dictates is an unlikely scenario. The same can be
said about gaming or multimedia performance, which improves to a
point where only benchmarks and timers can pinpoint the difference.
Basically
unless you want to squeeze that last tiny drop of performance, you're
better off sticking to the version already installed.
Windows 8 Store lacks relevance and is immature.
The first issue with the store is that it's mainly designed for
Windows UI apps, leaving the aquisition of Desktop apps to the
developer which makes it look like an afterthought. The second and
most important is the insignificant number of applications available
through Windows 8 store compared to the plethora of apps designed for
the "Desktop Windows" making it just a gimmick until the
platform matures; it can take some time to take off which is why a
rushed upgrade is a bad idea. Facebook, Google+, Instagram are all
missing right now, and these are just three examples off the top of
my head.
Microsoft account is required.
Windows 8 provides two methods of authentication, one using a local
account and the second relying on a Microsoft account. The only way
to get access to complete Windows 8 functionality is to use the
latter, basically forcing you to apply for a Microsoft account in
order to benefit from all features. Want to use a Google account?
Tough luck. Features like Windows Store only work with Microsoft
account. If you do not have one or do not want to create one just for
Windows 8 you're out of luck.
SkyDrive integration only.
Microsoft places its own services in the first lines of "assault",
which can be viewed as a good thing in terms of added functionality,
but at the same time doesn't offer an alternative to the people out
there using Google Drive or Dropbox that have already paid for extra
storage space on the popular cloud storage providers. Then there is
the issue of all cloud data being stored on Microsoft's own servers,
which might not sit well with some users as far as privacy concerns
go.
Windows Defender can't replace a dedicated security software suite.
While it provides a certain basic
degree of security,
Windows Defender is still pretty far away in terms of overall
functionality compared to dedicated security software suites and it
still doesn't integrate with Windows Firewall to provide a unified
interface for the integrated security software. It's addressed only
for basic security needs which basically means that it can't offer
the same degree of protection as a fully fledged security suite.
Multiple monitor support is only useful to some.
Because let's face it, this does not target every Windows user like
some of the features do. It has a limited applicability because of
the obvious hardware requirements and having the ability to separate
the new Windows 8 UI from the Desktop on two separate monitors is not
necessarily important when the old Desktop did just fine before. A
similar functionality exists already that allows to separate working
spaces on multiple monitors; this is just as good when there are not
two different interfaces to play with, but just the older Desktop.
The new ribbon desktop interface is different, but not necessarily
improved.
A few months ago Microsoft decided that an Aero-like look a la
Windows 7 is not worthy of Windows 8 and accordingly has removed all
transparency effects from the desktop interface. The change was made
for the sake of using less resources, directly benefiting tablets not
desktops. It's not necessarily better looking and it certainly
doesn't provide extra functionality over the older Windows Explorer
which is important when defining the term "upgrade." Same
functionality, just the look is different.
Windows 8 UI has a higher learning curve and makes simple operations
more complicated.
A good example of how the new UI makes Windows 8 seem unintuitive is
power options, as performing simple
operations like shutting down
the computer is for some reason more complicated to do than it was
with Windows XP or Windows 7. This is just an example of how the
learning curve in Windows 8 is higher than with any other desktop
operating system to come from Microsoft. Then there is the confusion
added by a separate interface. Pressing a button switches from
Desktop to Windows 8 UI and vice-versa, which will only encumber
inexperienced users that were used to a single place to conduct all
operations.
