ASUS Vivobook
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ASUS Vivobook[/caption]This Thanksgiving, I bought my wife a ASUS Vivobook from Best Buy. This laptop features an 11.6 inch screen, Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB Ram, 520 GB hard disc, touch screen functionality, and runs Windows 8 operating system. Normally, this laptop is listed anywhere between $499-$599, but we bought it during the Thanksgiving week for $479 including taxes.
We are really happy about the quality of the hardware. It features a metal case on the keyboard similar to MacBook Air, looks very stylish and sturdy the same time. It weights only 2.9 pounds. It holds battery for 6 hours.
Windows 8 user interface is a very big leap of faith on Microsoft's part. Microsoft combined tablet UI with a PC UI. However, it only created UI that is the worst of both worlds.
This laptop is now even cheaper on Amazon, currently ranging from $399-450. If you wish to buy this laptop, click ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T-SL 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop ( Silver).
Windows 8 Start Screen
One of the key features of this UI is the Start screen that displays various panes that keep refreshing over time. One of the panes is a desktop pane that takes you to traditional PC-like UI. A major problem of this PC-like UI is that your traditional start menu featuring all installed programs is totally gone. I felt very helpless when trying to find Notepad and Control Panel. There is no pre-determined way to access programs anymore. You now need to search for these apps and click on the search results to open it. This is too much work for utility programs like a Notepad.
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Windows 8 Start Screen[/caption]Another major problem with the desktop UI is that you ONLY see one open program at a time. So, if you are an office worker who opens multiple windows while working, you are out of luck unless you know the ALT+TAB shortcut key. This is a MAJOR step backword in my opinion.
Another problem with the UI is the charms bar and hot zones that get activated accidentally on touchscreen and even with a mouse. This is really un-productive and frustrating because windows keep popping up and sliding in and out without my explicit invitation. Microsoft has really messed up here.
Even though we are disappointed with Windows 8, we will keep the laptop because its hardware is good and we have found work-arounds to the problems I describe above.
Classic Shell Start Menu
There are a quite a few number of software that have sprung up to address these needs. One of my favorite is an open source (free) software called Classic Shell. Classic Shell is includes features that were available in older versions of Windows but were later removed. It has a customizable Start menu and Start button for Windows 7 and Windows 8, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features. It also features the ability to disable charmbar, Start panes, and hotzones. By installing this patch, you get back the Windows 7 user interface.
Another trick is with Google Chrome browser. When you install this browser, it runs by default as a tablet browser such that you do NOT get to see any other minimized windows on the taskbar. There is a simple setting 'Relaunch Chrome on the Desktop mode' on the Tools menu. Clicking on it will change the display of Google Chrome to not allow it occupy full screen.
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