Katherine Murray
Another prolific book author, Katherine Murray says Windows 7 was her favorite version of Windows, followed closely by XP. But with Win8, Kathy believes Microsoft "is in sync with the times." Kathy's written dozens of books about Windows, Office, SkyDrive, and other Microsoft products. "My Windows 8" is a compact, straightforward tome designed to help new Windows 8 users come up to speed.
Her comments:
My take on Windows 8 at this point is that I really love the color and movement. I love being able to tap my way into things. I enjoy the freedom of adding and working with apps easily and love the fast search capabilities (especially the fact that I can just start typing on the Start screen and go right to what I want without a lot of tapping or clicking). I like the similarity with the Windows Phone interface as well.
The downside is that I find the dual nature of Windows 8 (Start screen and Desktop mode) jarring, especially when I'm using IE10, and I hope Microsoft comes up with a more graceful answer in the next version.
Overall, I am pleased with the capabilities and functionality of Windows 8, considering the drastic redesign they took on, and I think it's a good first step into a new era of personal technology.