Ongoing with Windows 8

I've managed to wean myself off of Start8.  Start8 was the little app that re-inserted a sort of start button on the task bar...  I am now 100% Windows 8 Metro.  I am not missing the start button/menu.

As a debug version of the OS, Windows 8 has proven generally faster than Windows 7.  That being said I have noticed minor quirks.  For example when I shutdown my JBOSS server it used to take literally just a few seconds on Windows 7.  While it still starts quickly, perhaps quicker than it did on Windows 7 (but difficult to say when you are dealing with hundredths of seconds) it takes a full MINUTE to shut down.  Very strange behavior and I haven't really investigated why it is happening.

Another quirk is that I have to kill the Cisco NAC Agent every time I want to reconnect to our VPN, then manually start it post connection.  No idea why...  just some minor tweak or change in protection or activation behavior in Windows 8.

I have not yet (knock on wood) had an actual OS crash (ie. blue screen of death occurrance), but I have noticed problems with I/O ownership with apps that hang.  When I play one specific game it tends to chew up VRAM and RAM quickly and at some point hangs.  When this happens I cannot switch I/O focus to the task manager (even tho CTRL+ALT+DEL works, and starts the task manager (you can see it in the bar)) and cannot kill the offending app.  I end up having to log out and log back in.  That's a pretty annoying problem.  On the other hand, it doesn't usually cause any other problems as I don't have anything else (or much else) running when I am gaming.

Back to the start menu and metro...

A ton of people are complaining about it.  I understand why... but after using it consistently for the last month it has become second nature to me.  It has not a distraction and because it is more spatial than the old menu, it is actually easier to remember where your apps are (not to mention you are the one who arranges your start screen).  I have a system now (arrangement of icons) of most used to least used, closest to a certain section of the screen.  I think what Microsoft has done is pretty bold, and in the end definitely more useful... but people are and will have a hard time giving up the old start menu paradigm.  But I also believe if they give it a shot, use it consistently for a month instead of uninstalling after 2 days and reinstalling Windows 7, they will grow to appreciate it for its configurability and spatial interface.

Not much else to report.  Microsoft has not been putting out any major updates... so no improved metro apps (like mail).  It has been predicted that the pre-GM build will be out in July, hopefully Microsoft will allow updates.  But all in all, I have found Windows 8 to be pretty exceptional and am enjoying it quite a bit.