At first glance, Windows 8 looks like the hip, new art gallery in town. An array of paintings in the form of apps greets the user on the new Start screen. Click on one to take a closer look, and you find that the days of the traditional toolbar-based Start button are over. With Windows 8, users must learn to navigate this new avant-garde, tablet-oriented system.

Windows officially released its most recent software, Windows 8, in late October of last year. Since then, the reviews for it have been a mixed bag. A number of websites such as PCWorld describe it as extremely user-unfriendly, with superfluous and difficult-to-work-with changes. Others can only sing praises about it, bidding good riddance to the time-honored layouts of previous Windows versions.

Lynn Min, senior project analyst at CITES, began working with Windows 8 in December. Since then he has gotten to know the ins and outs of the system.

“Most of the changes have been in the back end — what the users don’t usually see,” he said. “(Microsoft) revamped the entire code, so they literally rewrote the entire operating system. For the most part (Windows 8 has), improved security, performance; … the most visible change is the Start screen and the Microsoft app store.”

In addition to these changes, each application now automatically runs in full-screen mode, giving the user the power to multitask and dock programs on the side. Other changes include detailed graphics paired with the copy-paste function, a more comprehensive Task Manager and a number of available shortcut keystrokes.

“The Microsoft strategy is that they want to use the same user interface for the laptop, Microsoft phones, servers,” he said. “So they want to use the same user templates across all the devices that they also make.”

This means that since many of these devices are touchscreen, Windows 8 has been directing its new interface to these gadgets. As a result, people who own different types of devices can move seamlessly from one to another, all the while dealing with the same Windows 8 setup.

While this is a plus, Min said it tends to make Windows 8 non-touchscreen computers somewhat of a hassle to use with the new Start screen.

“Should I tell you the secret?” he said laughing. “I tried to use (Windows 8) as Microsoft intended, and I absolutely hated it. But what I did was, I installed a program that brings the (traditional) Start menu back. It is amazing. So I’m using Windows 8, but since I have the program installed, I have the Start menu, so it looks exactly like Windows 7.”

This way, new Windows 8 users who become frustrated with the new Start screen feature have the option of changing it.

Frank Gambino, freshman in LAS, personally has no problem with the new changes.

“I like Windows 8 because the display is very clean, the interface is extremely user-friendly, and its speed is unparalleled to any other Windows operating system,” he said in an email.

He also mentioned the new live tiles for Windows 8 that update in real time on the Start screen itself — these include weather apps, Netflix apps, to-do lists, etc.

Currently, there are more than 30,000 CITES-managed workstations on campus, and less than one percent support Windows 8.

Min believes that Windows 8 will not take off more widely around campus mainly because of the difficult transition away from the long-established Start button.

“However, I will stress the point that we as a University should keep up with the technology,” he said. “Personally what I would like to do is basically, if we can, have a license for the software, bring the Start menu back, then we can deploy it widely … and then you will gain the performance and all these amazing things that come with Windows 8.”

Matt Sucich, sophomore in Engineering, has also been using Windows 8 since December. Sucich believes that over time, its use will spread around campus through word of mouth and otherwise.

“I think, especially for engineers, because they have access to (computers and tablets that run Windows 8), they’re going to be the ones that give the gateway to everyone else,” he said. “They’re going to start using it … (and) they have the chance to promote it to everyone else indirectly or directly.”

For those in the market for a new laptop or desktop, almost all new computers currently come with Windows 8. This could mean a higher spark in Windows 8 use, or it could mean that more people revert back to Windows 7. Since Windows 8 is still relatively new, and since the reviews are so varied, it is difficult to tell as of now.

All in all, Windows 8 has its fair share of staunch devotees and unimpressed critics. For some people, it is a drastic, frustrating change from Windows 7 because of the fundamental usability modifications. 

For others, it is a breath of fresh air, an entirely different system that enables new features and looks. The bottom line is that it varies from user to user, and each person’s opinion depends on their personal computer user experiences.

Reema can be reached at [email protected].