Windows 8 Requests

[zridling]

[attach]

[lujomu]

Systm wide speel and gramar cheker

[CleverCat]

Don't you get a choice to reboot now or later as in XP?

[Deozaan]

Windows 7 never forces me to reboot. Windows Updates that require a reboot will tell me I need to reboot, but just have a nag popup I can "dismiss" for up to 4 hours at a time.

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

[nudone]

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

that's got to be annoying. there's something weird going on with your machine - could it be related to the same problem vista had when it first came out? i never had the problem so i don't know what the solution was/is.

as for an "8" reqest: bring back the old xp taskbar (as an option) so i don't have to use several fixes and work arounds to get the same thing on "7". whoever designed the "7" taskbar obviously only runs a couple of programs at a time - or they just use their mac instead.

[vegas]

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

that's got to be annoying. there's something weird going on with your machine - could it be related to the same problem vista had when it first came out? i never had the problem so i don't know what the solution was/is.

as for an "8" reqest: bring back the old xp taskbar (as an option) so i don't have to use several fixes and work arounds to get the same thing on "7". whoever designed the "7" taskbar obviously only runs a couple of programs at a time - or they just use their mac instead.

Mind if I asked how you accomplished this?  I'm frustrated with what I see as a taskbar and tasktray in Windows 7 so far. Why does everything have to be so far spaced out. How bout any hacks to make the tasktray icons closer? Customize a StartButton Menu? Thx

[nudone]

i'm a bit pushed for time at the moment, vegas so i can't double check what i'll post below. i'll try to do a more thorough list when i've time...

this one might have everything: http://www.tipandtrick.net/2009/windows-7-usage-guides-how-to-hacks-tips-and-tricks-complete-list/
more: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/10/31/never-combine-icons-or-only-combine-when-full-but-hide-labels-in-windows-7-taskbar/

there are more things stored in a folder i've got related to win7 which i'll have to go through later.

[Shades]

If you like (some) of the look and feel from XP in Win7, visit this link for ClassicShell, which I am using myself.

From the website:

    * Brings back the classic start menu that Windows 7 doesn't support
    * Adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer
    * Shows recently used documents. The number of documents to display is customizable
    * Translated in 35 languages, including Right-to-left support for Arabic and Hebrew
    * Does not disable the original start menu in Windows. You can access it by Shift+Click on the start button
    * Right-click on an item in the menu to delete, rename, sort, or perform other tasks
    * Available for 32 and 64-bit operating systems
    * Has support for skins, including additional 3rd party skins
    * Fully customizable in both looks and functionality
    * Support for Microsoft’s Active Accessibility
    * And last but not least – it's FREE!

[4wd]

If you like (some) of the look and feel from XP in Win7, visit this link for ClassicShell, which I am using myself.

Since I'm in the UK and don't have access to W7 on my netbook can you please tell me if it passes this one simple test:

Does it work correctly with the Taskbar located on the sides of the Desktop as XP does?

Last time I tried it, it opened the menus from the bottom left no matter where the Taskbar was located which was extremely annoying.

[Josh]

I also do not get sudden forced reboots in Windows 7. I get prompted to reboot but am in no way forced. Plus, a simple net stop "automatic updates" fixes that problem. I've actually gone for 3 weeks without rebooting after being prompted once.

[Shades]

If you like (some) of the look and feel from XP in Win7, visit this link for ClassicShell, which I am using myself.

Since I'm in the UK and don't have access to W7 on my netbook can you please tell me if it passes this one simple test:

Does it work correctly with the Taskbar located on the sides of the Desktop as XP does?

Last time I tried it, it opened the menus from the bottom left no matter where the Taskbar was located which was extremely annoying.

Seems that this is fixed.

[attach]

[cmpm]

here's a couple of tweakers

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-7-taskbar-thumbnail-customizer-released

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/tweak-taskbar-button-thumbnail-sizes-with-w7-taskbar-tweaker

which should be in 8

and the upgrade price should be a LOT LESS

[Innuendo]

Windows 7 never forces me to reboot. Windows Updates that require a reboot will tell me I need to reboot, but just have a nag popup I can "dismiss" for up to 4 hours at a time.

There's even a registry hack that goes all the way back to Windows XP which will turn off automatically rebooting altogether. A little icon will sit in your system tray reminding you that you need to reboot, but it will be up to you to do the rebooting yourself when you're ready.

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

That's nothing a good file manager or TeraCopy won't fix.

[Darwin]

I can confirm that the taskbar behaviour 4wd asked about works fine on my install (Win 7 64-bit). I tried it in every position (ie bottom, top, left and right of the desktop) and all menus opened where they were clicked.

As for the other comments - I've never had either Vista or Win7 reboot my computer after Windows Update. I do get pop ups warning me that I need to reboot, but that's it. If I am not around for the warnings, the power button on the start menu switches to "Install updates and shutdown". File transfers/copying speed is fine on my notebook (although I use DOpus 9 and TeraCopy, so perhaps I'm simply not seeing the behaviour).

NB I just tried using two instances of Windows Explorer with TeraCopy disabled and moved a 50MB file from E:\ to my desktop (on C:\) in less than a second.

[cranioscopical]

I tried it in every position (ie bottom, top, left and right of the desktop) and all menus opened where they were clicked.

How fortunate that you have such long arms! 

[superboyac]

I have only one request:
Do whatever it takes to get it as fast, responsive, and lightweight as possible.  That's all I care about.  No extras.  I have third-party software to do just about everything better than anything that comes with Windows.  So just focus on OS speed, responsiveness...stuff like that.

[MilesAhead]

Windows 7 never forces me to reboot. Windows Updates that require a reboot will tell me I need to reboot, but just have a nag popup I can "dismiss" for up to 4 hours at a time.

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

Is it only file copy? Anything that poor I would run some disk diagnostics.  If you find it's due to retries you may have a defective drive.  Even Vista preSP1 was nowhere near that bad.

[cmpm]

Life Rocks just posted this today.

http://www.nirmaltv.com/2010/04/02/tweak-windows-7-taskbar-settings/

I pretty sure that's where I found the other two I posted.

People are making these for a reason.
I'd say some flexibility built into Windows 8 is needed.

[JavaJones]

I certainly echo everyone's desire for WinXP/2000 style taskbard and start menu. But if I had to pick just one thing, it'd be this:

64 bit only!

- Oshyan

[Eóin]

Don't require driver signing for 64bit versions!

[Josh]

Don't require driver signing for 64bit versions!

Why would you even say that? It helps keep things stable. By requiring driver signing you force developers to certify their drivers.

[Innuendo]

Why would you even say that? It helps keep things stable. By requiring driver signing you force developers to certify their drivers.

So very true! I wish MS had made this requirement long ago.

[Eóin]

Ye serious? Truecrypt, Sandboxie, ImDisk Virtual Disk, and lord knows how many other excellent and often free opensource application currently have to pay at least $230/year just so people can use their products without resorting to dodgy hacks like Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider w/ Remove Watermark.

How does such a system ultimately benefit anyone but Microsoft's greed?

[Josh]

When combined with WHQL certification, it benefits the end user by ensuring that the drivers meets a set of standards and won't crash a system due to poorly written code. It is designed to ensure you know where you are getting a driver from and that it is not some hacked driver. Yes, those programs might very well be decent and I use a couple of the, but they need to be signed and tested. This is not just to line Microsoft's pockets but to ensure the end users computer experience is a good one.

[Eóin]

I realize dodgy drivers can wreak havoc on a system, but so can dodgy applications. If the requirement could either be turned off, or if the fee was within the afford ability of a hobby programmer I'd have no problem, but without those I see greed before the user.