Windows 8 began hanging frequently. The only solution was a hard power-down and reboot. SOOOO tonight I decided to back up my most important data and do another scratch install. This time I would install all my apps fresh and configure them anew. Slow going, backing up and restoring large quantities of image and music files, along with my work directory which contains bajillions (that's a word) of little files... ugh!
But I am hoping this will solve the hanging issue. This did not occur with my previous Windows 8 install, which ran flawlessly for 4 months, no major hiccup at all. This being the final Beta release, I have to assume that it should be running even more smoothly than the previous Beta version.
Windows 8 PR is even "prettier" than the previous version, tho' MS has made it quite clear that the UI is NOT as it will appear in the final release. Specifically, the translucency will disappear, instead MS is opting for minimal UI with high performance, less fancy graphics. The Explorer colors are, however, close to their final, flat, almost pastel shades and textures.
This is just the desktop. I am not one of those users who will end up spending a lot of time in Metro-mode. I use the desktop and use it quite heavily, but for development purposes, which means I rarely need to leave the desktop to jump into the metro interface. This need to jump back and forth has a lot of people in a tizzy. To me, the metro interface will just be something I need to use when I want to start an app. In other words, a glorified start menu. Here is my current metro start screen, but not yet complete, and certainly not organized the way I like it:
This metro interface is what users who purchase tablets, laptops, new windows phones, etc. will see once Windows 8 is released. It is quite customizable, I just haven't gotten to that point with my fresh install. I tend to organize it by my most used to least used apps in both a vertical and horizontal way.
I won't talk more about performance until I have all my installs completed and have been using it for a few days or so. I really do believe it will be solid with this fresh install, no more hangs. If so, it should prove to be even more efficient than the previous beta release, which was incredible. As I have mentioned before, Windows 8 outperforms Windows 7 in almost every way. I should think the trend would continue.
Running beta versions of Windows can be a pain, since every update is a fresh install (including when the final release comes out, they will not allow a user to upgrade from beta) but it has been worth it. I am glad to be one of the people who are actually USING Windows 8 as my primary OS, and not one of the people who use it for a day, say they don't like metro and drop it, but continually post in forums just how awful it is. I find the opposite to be true. Admittedly it takes a little getting used to the missing start button, and the metro vs. desktop paradigm, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature. A word of caution tho', there ARE valid arguments floating around about how it could make some users' lives miserable because of how they would use Windows, and also, Microsoft seems to be trending away from the desktop, trying to position Windows 8 as something akin to iOS. I just hope they maintain some common sense and hold onto the desktop for just a little bit longer. :) Not every app will be something for a tablet or phone or other touch interface. Can't ditch the old ways just yet.
