Should I use Windows 8 as the main OS?

Installation

• The installation was fast like Windows 7. You will need a Windows Live account once you are done. If you do not want to connect to the internet, you can always create a local Live account.
• If you want to access the Metro app store, you need to login using a Windows Live account.

Desktop screen Metro user interface does not use desktop space in an efficient way. The problem with Metro UI is that apps take too much space and the problem with traditional Windows 7 start menu is that the user is not able to clearly see the various apps. Multi-monitor display support If you are using several displays, Windows 8 is capable of detecting them but you have to configure them in the resolution control panel. Taskbar can be assigned to one monitor or both and background images can be stretched over both displays. Applications Finally, I managed to install Microsoft Office 2010, Google Chrome and Steam to install some of my games. Office applications work pretty well except for a few minor bugs. I tried exiting Word and it kept saying Word might be experiencing a compatibility mode error. Data was not lost at any instant but the message is a little discouraging. Adobe Photoshop had a lot of issues running on Windows 8 as images were not loaded properly and the application kept crashing before I even started processing images. Once you have a certain number of installed applications, Metro UI bears a cluttered look. Gaming Although Windows 8 comes equipped with pre-installed games, I am a hardcore gamer who prefers Steam games any day. Steam was working fine even though I got a message initially telling that Steam may not have been installed correctly.

• Deus Ex Human Revolution was unplayable on Windows 8 with the controls going haywire. Dead Island was running very smoothly with graphics rendered at best quality on maximum settings.
• However, benchmarking software like Sysinfo would not work with Windows 8 since it did not detect the new operating system; so I had no way of comparing gaming performance on Windows 8 with Windows 7.

My verdict The best thing to do is to wait until the operating system is fully released and all software vendors make their releases specific for Windows 8. You are free to try it out but if you want to use it as your main operating system, I would recommend against it unless you are a developer who loves to experiment.]]>