Lance Whitney
Lance Whitney's first book, "Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time," breaks down the (formidable) task of learning Windows 8 into five-minute chunks. Lance is a widely read blogger on Cnet, where he covers the tech news. He's also a Web developer, software trainer, and contributor to Microsoft TechNet Magazine.
His comments:
I appreciate what Microsoft tried to do with Windows 8: offer one OS for both tablets and PCs. But it's like mixing oil and water. The Start screen and other Windows 8 -- aka Metro, aka Modern -- elements work nicely on a tablet but not as nicely on a PC. And the familiar desktop is well suited for a PC, as always, but feels kludgy on a tablet.
I found the touchscreen features of Windows 8 clumsy when I first started using them on my PC. But those same features felt quite smooth and natural when I jumped over to a tablet. The ideal device for Windows 8 would be a touchscreen notebook or hybrid laptop/tablet. I think the OS will find a better home for itself once more of those devices hit the market.
I didn't like the Start screen at first, especially since it replaced the old reliable Start menu. But it has a certain appeal. I think live tiles are a great way to show all your updates in one shot. I usually spend a few minutes surveying all my updates and checking out the items that interest me. But then I jump to the Desktop when it's time to do some real work. And I still can't function without a Start menu, so I use Classic Shell, a third-party Start menu replacement.
Windows 8 is a first attempt at a different type of operating system, so it feels like it's not fully developed. But once you figure out its quirks and idiosyncrasies, it kind of grows on you.
This story, "Windows 8 book authors dish on Windows 8," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in Microsoft Windows at InfoWorld.com. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.