Windows 8 Tutorials but in addition, I wanted to go through 5 of the Windows 8 features that I think small businesses will really like.
The Metro User Interface
Windows 8 is set up a little bit differently than its predecessors. For starters, Microsoft is integrating Metro, their tablet and phone design language, into the new Windows 8 OS to an unprecedented extent. Metro is not completely new since elements of the program have been present in all Windows operating systems after 95, but back then, they were much more contained to certain parts of the system. Some people have expressed their concern over the Metro-based UI due to debut in Windows 8. However, the Metro UI is the design aesthetic that created the new, dynamic tile based interface. The tile based interface is jarring at first but it can be useful because the tiles display the latest information from each app without having to open it. If you have a weather app on your desktop, you can always see what the weather is without ever launching the program. You don’t have to open your email to see if you have any new messages, either. The tiles can be individually configured by each user, and are unique to each computer based on which apps are present.Faster Boot Time
Computers have always needed a certain amount of time to boot up or start up. Microsoft engineers have worked hard for years to try and shorten this time. Windows 7 boots pretty speedily, but businesses will love that Windows 8 boots even faster. A new application of kernal-based memory allows the machine to keep your session in hibernation even when you turn it off so that boot time is minimized. Although workers may miss the time for a cup of coffee and a quick flip through the sports pages, a quick boot time increases productivity and decreases frustration.Improved Search
There is a new and improved search function in Windows 8. Instead of going to the start menu, which will no longer exist, the new search function pops up when the user starts typing. Search capabilities include displaying all of the matching files and apps instantly, and even searching within certain apps that are compatible with the Windows search function. Finding a file or an email has never been easier.Windows To Go
Large and small businesses are definitely going to appreciate the Windows To Go function. From an enterprise or business perspective, this is my favorite new function in Windows 8. This great new feature allows businesses to save a standard Windows 8 profile image to a flash drive and distribute that. When plugged into another computer running Windows 8, the settings all automatically transfer and it looks like the reference copy you created. More importantly, from a provisioning perspective, this allows businesses to get contractors up and working on day one. Instead of having to find a computer and workspace for a contractor, they can bring their own computer and just attach the USB drive to start working immediately. The USB image will be safe and virus/malware free and manageable by System admins. All on day one.The Windows Store
The Windows Store, which will be launched along with Windows 8, has a lot of potential for small businesses. Just like applications that are used on smart phones and Apple computers, Windows apps will be available for purchase and developers will be allowed to post new ones. This could provide a great resource for business-specific apps that increase productivity. Instead of having to wait for a major software company to decide that there is enough of a market for a certain program, developers can help each other create apps for obscure functions that might be very useful in certain industries. Then everyone can benefit from access to these programs through the app store. This is just scratching the surface of all the benefits and improvements that Windows 8 will bring. Small businesses should start testing Windows 8 Enterprise right away, it’s available from Microsoft here.]]>Article Tags:
Businesses · Enterprise · Features · Intellectual Capital · Metro Design · startup · User Experience · User Interface · Windows 8 · Windows 8 desktop · Windows 8 Features · Windows 8 Security · Windows 8 User Interface · Windows To GoArticle Categories:
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 Hmm: A large amount of companies are currently just moving to Windows 7, after having spent years and years with XP. I don’t think many companies will be moving over to Windows 8, especially with the new Metro interface and charms causing a learning curve that companies didn’t have before. Besides, Metro is an unproductive singletasking screen that belongs on a tablet, which is a “content consumption” device, not a “content creation” device.
Live tiles is nothing that gadgets on Windows couldn’t do (Microsoft just were working on making Windows 7 as unattractive as possible, so they stopped making gadgets safer). Besides, would you want your employees to stare at a distracting start screen, or to do some actual work?
Fast boot times are fun, but normally you boot once in the morning. BTW, my work laptop running XP (yes XP) does hibernation without any problems. In this article you make it seem previous operating systems can’t hibernate.
Search in Office Outlook works just peachy, and so does Windows Search. In fact, if you have a machine with loads of applications, and you forgot what your application was called exactly, you could spend needless time finding your application in the large single start screen, while in the old menu it would be grouped in a folder.
Windows To go I haven’t played around with yet, but your article is about small businesses, and now you are comparing it to how it goes in a large enterprise. A small business has a few computers at most, and they don’t want to spend time getting Windows To Go up and running and having standard profiles. They are happy enough doing their work on any machine.
Windows store comes hand in hand with the metro interface. MS wants to push it, because it gets them 30% of the app price, which is big bucks. But metro apps are single tasking, full screen large screen estate wasting applications.
To all the people that say “Just press the desktop icon, or the win key and you’re back in the old interface. That’s what I do..”: Microsoft wants you to get away from the desktop. That’s why they took out the registry setting to get to the desktop automatically, and took out the start button.
In all, I won’t be advising anyone to “upgrade” to Win8 just yet. Windows 7 works just fine.
I’ve loaded windows 8 along side my Windows 7 and am experimenting with both. Windows 8 is somewhat faster, but not enough to make it really mean anything to me. Also, I run a small business that’s been around since 1984 and started running on DOS1.0 – and the last thing I or my employees need is that first screen with all the large squares that come up when 8 starts. It’s like running a giant video game, that’s kind of cute for about 3 minutes, then becomes a nuisance real fast. I now immediately switch to the desktop appearance and forget all about the first screen with all the “apps” on it. I don’t need apps; I need my system ready to do work.
Windows to go is useless to me. I catch someone duplicating my desktops and taking them home with them, and they’ll get fired!
I’m definitely going to stick with Windows 7 and tell all my customers to do the same.
What about Windows 8 Tablets? Would you use those? Or Windows 8 Phones?