Speed is everything with computers and Windows 8 is headed for the Indie 500 winner’s circle
Most of the articles that are being printed about Windows 8 imply you must upgrade and adopt Windows 8 this fall. Windows 8 is being designed for new computers.
However, Windows 8 is such an improvement over previous versions of Windows, I predict tens of millions of people will want to make the upgrade.
Two weeks ago, we tested Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Win8CP) against Vista and Windows 7. It was faster. Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7 and Vista
The iPad 2 comes in at 25 seconds, almost as slow as Windows Vista. In actual use, Windows 8 feels like a sports car compared to the plodding iPad 2 family sedan.
Last night I wanted to check an email that came in on my phone, after everything was shut down, so I turned on the Win8CP old clunker, a dual core Quad 9300. Zip, it was ready for sign on before I could turn around. The real time as about 15 seconds.
That was fast.
Big media get the story
The big media like PC World and ComputerWorld are starting to pick up on the Windows 8 speed story. Windows 8 Preview Beats Windows 7 in Most Performance Tests writes PC World. They have a series of charts that change from higher is better to lower is better. Didn’t anyone tell them that charts are meant to improve comprehension. You can’t tell what PC World tests mean unless you read the legend.
Over at ComputerWorld, which is one of my regular sites for IT news, Preston Galla repeats the story Tests show Windows 8 Consumer Preview is faster than Windows 7
“These numbers don’t surprise me,” writes regular Windows commentator Galla, “I’m running Windows 8 Consumer Preview on an Acer Aspire One netbook and it’s quite speedy. It starts up fast, is extremely responsive, and rarely displays lags. The only time I’ve noticed any lagginess is when I’m browsing the Windows Store.”
And there you have the problem. Like most people writing about Windows 8, Preston Galla of Computerworld doesn’t have a computer that was meant to run a touch based operating system.
New hardware for multi-touch experience
You need a multi-touch screen like the Acer T231H to enjoy the Windows 8 experience. You also need a touch pad like the Logitech Wireless Touchpad to navigate. Windows 8 is being designed for new computers that have touch screens and pads.
Apple isn’t trying to make the iPad fit on a MacBook Pro or iMac. You buy an iPad or iPhone for touch. Why are the reviewers trying to fit new wine into old bottles in their tests?
Related
First Look – Acer T231H monitor delivers multi-touch for Windows 8
First Look – Logitech Wireless Touchpad and Windows 8
Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7 and Vista
Windows 8 is very cool but it is a Beta
PC sales headed for 400 million in 2013
Download Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview
Microsoft releases Windows 8 Guide for Business
Windows 8 Hotmail integration succeeds where Gmail fails
Microsoft Windows 8 will link you to the Cloud more easily than Apple iCloud
Where to buy USA
Acer T231H bmid Tiger Direct USA $309 (at time of publication, price may vary)
Where to buy Canada
Acer T231H bmid Tiger Direct Canada $289.99 (at time of publication, price may vary)
I don’t get it… Every thing I read on your site is Windows 8 is — Faster, more powerful & better looking than an iPad. What is the deal? Comparing a computer OS to a tablet device? This makes no sense at all… Touch screens for tablets makes sense – Touch screens for desktop computers is nonsense. Within two hours your arm will start to become tired, within three hours your wrist will get sore, a full 8 hour day of this and you’ll want to forget you ever heard of desk top touch screens. I sell computers for a living — touch screen computer I have sold the come with the same lament — “I thought I would use the touch screen a lot but, my family just doesn’t.” The follow up is always the same, “The multi-touch screen is not accurate enough to make the interface work properly.” Understanding that most of these all-in-one touch screens are for the most part, under powered i3 or lesser chip, running windows 7 with a touch screen OS layer – we are bound to see a performance hit. So what is it going to take to run windows 8? A lot more hardware than most people own.
Thanks for the comment. I understand your POV. I sold computers for more than a decade and understand the user experience. Sometimes the industry is full of hype. However, Apple has proved the value of touch. 3 million people just shelled out for a touch tablet last week that is underpowered, fragile and will cost mucho Dolores to use.
I agree it is Apples and oranges to some extent. Windows 8 on tablets has also been tested and found to be faster than IOS on the iPad, but not by me. The Win8 computer I have setup for testing is an older box – dual core 2.5 GHz which was not in use anymore because it was too slow on XP. It has revived the computer.
Frankly, once you are past the “swipe is fun” phase of an iPad, the lack of speedy response sets in. I find myself always waiting on the iPad – cute but slow. Touch computers – the all-in-ones – are big, slow and overpriced I agree. I think Windows 8 will usher in a new era of touch screens and touch pads as standard devices.
Sore arms can happen, especially when the screen is at arms length. It’s tiresome to hold an iPad for hours tapping on the screen keyboard. The touchscreen works best right in front of the keyboard, just like the iPad is a lap device. We talked about mounting one in the desk surface which would be a little far out.
With Win8CP I use a combination of screen touch, touch pad and keyboard to vary the way of interfacing with Windows 8. Swipe to login (bypassing the keyboard), touch to pick a news reader or Facebook, hit the Start button on the keyboard, right click to find another open app. It might even qualify as exercise. It can’t be any worse than the hand cramp most people get from parking their wrists on a keyboard for hours.
It will take new touch monitors (under $300) and a touch pad (under $40) to run Windows 8 as a touch computer. Logitech already has a keyboard with touch pad included. Non-touch monitors are going to disappear from the market and the price of touch monitors will drop down to current LCD pricing within time. Can anyone even remember when we used those clunky CRT monitors and LCD’s were expensive options?
Thanks again – you raise all good points. I didn’t think touch on the desktop would work, but I like it.