The New Windows 8

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

So, a few months ago mu Toshiba laptop that my mom gave me when I was a senior in High School finally quit on me again. Instead of fixing it for the third time in five years (which I felt was a pretty good lifespan since one time it was my fault for punching the keyboard and breaking the hard drive), I decided to update my computer system and buy a new laptop.

The newest version of Windows is Windows 8 which came with my new Gateway computer. I was slightly weary of buying in when I discovered on one of the display models that the computer had apps now and that the system looked very different from what I have been previously used to. But, I decided to be adventurous and get it anyway.

Instead of a start button on the lower left as Window users are used to, it is a page of applications that you must scroll through to find what you are looking for. Of course it offers personalization and I always have my computer on the windows screen instead of the application screen. I am finally beginning to figure it out, but it is not very user friendly at all.

Without cellular phone experience and good tech-savvy skills, it would be nearly impossible to figure this new system out. I get what they are trying to do, they are trying to make it more like phones so that future generations will be used to its operation, but instead it is a complicated mess that you have to dig to figure it out.

I do like the large amount of customization on the new system such as new color schemes and as long as I am always on the desktop I can pretend that nothing has changed. The start button that pops up on the side opens up the applications page instead of the usual options. Then, from there you have to find the application that you want. So what about notepad and paint and all of those old programs that you may still need to get into? Is it still on the computer because the apps page does not automatically show them? Yes, but you have to do some digging to find them.

Initially I was neutral about Windows 8, then when I went to find programs and had difficulty adjusting to the change, I did not like it at all. Now that I am telling myself not to be resistant to change and to explore a little more, I once again feel fairly neutral about the product because it does seem to have the same programs as before, they are just in a different spot. I am going to show you a couple of things that I have discovered about the system to help anyone else out who may need a little assistance or who do not want to spend the time looking around for this information on their own.

Below is a picture of the applications or the start page. You can see that in the bottom left corner, you can access the desktop that looks almost identical to previous systems. You can also see what my current desktop background image is-my daughter. You can also access it by pressing the esc key on your keyboard or the Windows button if you also have that.



 Now, if we scroll all the way to the right of this page, we can see our programs installed on the computer as application icons. Right click on the icons to "unpin" and remove them from the page, or press uninstall to uninstall the program completely. There is also an option that says "all apps" that can be accessed by right clicking anywhere on the page. If you click on this, it will show you all the applications you have on your computer. They are in alphabetical order, similar to the start button of older models, except that the accessories are listed at the end as "Windows Accessories" (see picture below). This is were paint and notepad are located. You can also access other tools and the control panel. If you want easy access to these programs, then just right click on the program and select "pin to task-bar".



Thank you for your time, please comment below on your experiences with Windows 8 and any troubleshooting advice that you might have.