Windows 8 First Things First

First Things First

The very first things I did when my Windows 8 machine was up and running:

1. Open Internet Explorer in order to download Chrome and Firefox
2. Removed IE icons everywhere 
3. Setup Chrome Sync and bam I can easily move between my PC and my Mac 
4. Removed the Norton crap and turned on Windows Defender. I guess that's adequate, I'm certainly not paying for Norton to clutter up this fresh machine.
5. Install Evernote and Skitch desktop applications because the Windows 8 Store 'app' version is for a tablet and is pretty useless on a laptop (more on this later)
6. Install Google Drive

At this point I can do all my everyday tasks on either the PC or Mac without too much headache, everything is in sync.

To Work!

Download Visual Studio 2012 and install it. Still need to setup source control plugins and import source code.

Helpful Hints

Windows 8 does NOT have a traditional Start menu. This takes some getting used to but thankfully there are some very useful keyboard shortcuts. These 3 are my favorites so far.

• Windows Key + X pulls up a nice context window (thats really hard to get a screenshot of). Quick access to Control Panel, Run, command prompt, System, Desktop to name a few
• Windows Key + C opens the 'Charms', same as pushing your mouse to the top right corner
• Windows Key + Q opens the new Start menu and puts the cursor right in the search box, similar to Mission Control on a Mac

Windows 8 Impressions

I'll be giving my thoughts and impressions Windows 8 as I setup my new work machine. It is a Thinkpad T530 with Windows 8 Pro and 8 GB ram Core i7 at 2.40 GHz. My comparisons are based on my previous Windows 7 Dell which was heavily loaded down with corporate IT crap. And of course my MacBook Pro (2009) which is still going strong even though baby pictures and videos have filled my 320 GB hard drive. 

System Info

First impression of the Thinkpad:

1. This thing is fast!
2. The keyboard is great. Different from a Mac, but probably just as good
3. It's a 15" screen, same as the MBP, but the machine is quite a bit larger. This is not for business travel.
4. The Port Replicator I ordered with it does a fantastic job pushing video over USB to my DVI monitor