I'm sorry they made the OS faster and more intuitive... This argument above all makes me confused. Windows 8 on a laptop/desktop is 99% of Windows 7 but it's more efficient. Is the start screen actually that much more confusing? I understand, for certain people they have legitimate claims like SSL and VPN matters, maybe even some people who actually code, but for most it's just that the new screen isn't what they are used to. Plus, on a Surface RT you can run a lot of apps. The app store is more extensive than people give credit to, and anything not available in the store you can remote desktop into another computer for (or even app stream for those more tech savvy) to supplement the deficiencies. So for the same price as an iPad I get a device that can run real office and real remote desktop. Gotta be a no brainer here. More apps /= better apps
what's so intuitive about it? the fact they hide every menu option? or how a simple function like shutting down your pc is hidden in a "charms" menu? or how there's a control panel for the desktop...but then a pc settings for the start screen? i got tired of hovering over every fking corner. i like how their calendar app couldn't sync to multiple gmail calendars.
Metro UI gives app developers a consistent design while optimizing screen real estate. If you want to close a window you always pull down, if you want to flip between programs slide left to right (or Alt-Tab if you're so inclined), in app settings are usually a swipe up from the bottom or a tiny swipe down from the top, and universal app settings can always be pulled up by charms. These actions seem to me to be intuitive, they would be what I'd expect if my operating system was a real thing, like a desk full of papers. Do you know how annoying it is to explain to a non-power user that even though they click the X on a piece of software it might still be live in their system tray? Or, that pulling up settings between two different programs might be night and day. Windows 8 defeats that entirely. It is a lot more uniform in how it acts and how you act with it. Furthermore, the live tiles tell me what I'd like to know before me even having to open the software. Any new headlines on CNN? How about email? I just don't know how anyone could pick up a tablet or use a desktop and say that they are legitimately confused about how to use it. It's as simple as it gets when it comes to using it. The proof is in the pudding as some would put it. Originally, teaching my girlfriend on how to use Windows 7 (after XP) was a pain in the ass. She always had little questions here and there. Some things were simple, some things were not. Thus far, I have spent a combined total of 20 minutes teaching her how to use her surface. Literally after unboxing the surface I showed her some of the basics and she's had 0 questions. Mind you, this is a girl who is technologically inept, she had trouble setting up our Wii. Let's put it this way, she would rather use her surface than our mac or her old Windows 7 laptop... As for calendar syncing that's a two fold issue. First and foremost I have 1 school gmail (undergrad), 1 personal gmail, 1 live id, facebook, a shared calander with a friend, and my grad school calendar all sync to the app. I've had no problems. Maybe it's more of a function of gmail and less a function of the app. Have you tried setting your primary gmail to pull secondary gmail calendars and sync? The second issue is that this calendar app is in no way a replacement to outlook, and I think your frustrated because you want 100% pure outlook here. If you want outlook, install outlook? That seems simple...
Microsoft is crying their eyes out over those devices, and the only thing to dry those tears are the tons and tons of money that they've made from Office, Server and the Windows team's sales... If anything, those devices appear to have lived on in new devices. Devices like the Zune and Kin went to Windows Phone, and I think they've learned as much from their "failures" as their successes. Honestly, with the Zune and Kin it boiled down to timing. If the Kin would have come out a year or two before the iPhone it would have been a more than suitable option for teenagers raging for an iPhone. The Zune in a lot of ways was better than the iPod, but when it came out it just had too much ground to cover too quickly. I don't think Windows 8/Surface RT face the same set of problems that those devices did. The iPad is not like the Surface RT, and Windows 8 is nothing like anything apple or google has put out. Microsoft is treading in new territory and for all intents and purposes that is what they are rather good at. The point is, they aren't playing catch up here.
:grin: They're improving it. Check it: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4DbgiOCTQts?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
