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The 30 Best Features of Windows

Barence writes "PC Pro has picked out its 30 best features of Windows 8. Its countdown includes features such as the revamped Task Manager, the option to run ISOs and VHDs natively, and Windows To Go, which allows you to take a portable installation of Windows 8 with you." They've also listed ten features they'd like to see added to Windows 8, "including the return of the Start button on the desktop, virtual desktops and one-click sharing of optical drives."

7 of 470 comments (clear)

  1. Oh, yeah! by AllowMeToViolateAss · · Score: -1, Troll

    A few months ago, I accepted what at first appeared to be a very simple job: remove a virus from someone's computer. Given the fact that I owned a PC repair shop (and I still do) and had over 15 years of experience, I was confident that I could complete the job in a timely manner without any complications along the way. Little did I know, however, that accepting this job would spiral my life into a nightmarish den of anguish and uncertainty.

    First, I tried booting up the PC. When Windows finally loaded, it became apparent that this was no ordinary virus; it was a merciless monstrosity of a virus that would stop at nothing to ruin your entire life. However, despite this, I bravely pressed on and attempted to combat the virus. "I absolutely will not let a mere virus scare me off!" I thought.

    After numerous unsuccessful attempts at removing the virus and after exhausting every single option to combat viruses that I had, I finally realized that the situation was absolutely devoid of hope. This was a virus more fearsome than any other, and it was simply impossible for someone with my abilities (skilled as I was) to fight against it alone. Even reinstalling the operating system completely didn't help. I quickly sank into a pit of depression and despair.

    Being that I was extremely stressed due to my numerous failures, I began verbally abusing my wife and kids a few days after I received the job. This situation soon worsened when I began resorting to physical abuse in order to relieve some of my anger. Eventually, after not being able to withstand my daughter's constant moans and whines any longer, I locked her in the basement in order to retain an ounce of my sanity.

    That's when I had a stroke of genius: "If I can't fight this nightmare alone, then why don't I call in the World's Greatest Minds?" I immediately contacted the World's Greatest Minds and pleaded that they examine the computer. To my delight, they accepted the proposal, collected the computer, and began their experiments.

    After weeks of trial and error, numerous experiments, and many failures, the World's Greatest Minds had at last reached a conclusion. They contacted me by phone and told me that this, being no ordinary virus, called for extreme measures. They quite vehemently recommended the use of MyCleanPC to combat the virus and destroy its very existence once and for all. "MyCleanPC will completely eradicate the virus without a single problem," they enthusiastically told me.

    As soon as I got the computer back from the World's Greatest Minds, I installed MyCleanPC, ran a free scan, and then sat back and watched in awe as it totally eliminated the very same virus that I had spent weeks trying to get rid of in mere seconds! MyCleanPC had accomplished a feat that nothing else in existence could have accomplished! I was positively astonished by MyCleanPC's miraculous performance.

    What was my daughter's response, you ask? "MyCleanPC is outstanding! My dad's client's computer is running faster than ever! MyCleanPC came through with flying colours where no one else could! I recommend that you use MyCleanPC right this minuteness to fix all of your problems!"

    MyCleanPC totally cleaned up my client's system, and increased his speed! As a computer repair professional, I highly recommend that you use MyCleanPC to fix all of your problems. That's not all: The World's Greatest Minds also recommends MyCleanPC for all of your computer repair needs. By using MyCleanPC, you're ensuring that your gigabits will be running faster than ever, that all viruses will vanish off of your computer in seconds, and tha

  2. I am the mightiest of bootynudes! by Slashdot'sBootyFuck · · Score: -1, Troll

    About six months ago, I was overexerting myself trying to get rid of a terrible virus on a client's PC (I own a PC repair shop and have been fixing computers for over 10 years). Given my level of expertise, I thought I'd be able to get rid of it fairly quickly and without hassle, but as was made evident by my colossal failure, I was horribly, horribly wrong.

    I couldn't remove the virus no matter what method I used. I tried all the latest anti-virus software and all the usual tricks, but it was all in vain. Failure after failure, my life was slowly being sucked away as I spent more and more of my time trying to get rid of this otherworldly virus.

    Frustrated and stressed by my own failure, I began distancing myself from my wife and children. After a few days, I began verbally abusing them, and it eventually escalated into physical abuse. I was slowly losing what remaining sanity I had left. If this had continued for much longer, it is highly probable that I would have committed suicide. A mere shell of what I once was, I barricaded myself in my bedroom and cried myself to sleep for days on end.

    That's when it happened: I found MyCleanPC! I installed MyCleanPC right on the client's PC, ran a scan, and it immediately got rid of all the viruses without a single problem. MyCleanPC accomplished in record time what I was unable to accomplish after a full week. Wow! Such a thing!

    MyCleanPC is outstanding! My client's computer is running faster than ever! I highly recommend you install MyCleanPC right this minuteness, run a scan, and then boost your PC speed in record time! MyCleanPC came through with flying colours where no one else could!

    My client's response? "MyCleanPC totally cleaned up my system, and increased my speed!" All the PC repair professionals are using MyCleanPC to solve all of their problems. This should be reason enough for you to switch to MyCleanPC! It'll speed up your computer, rid it of all viruses, and you'll be able to work productively again! Wow!

    Even if you're not having any obvious computer problems, you could still be in danger. That's why I very highly recommend that you still use MyCleanPC. After all, it will boost your PC & internet speed to levels you never would think are possible!

    MyCleanPC: For a Cleaner, Safer PC.

  3. Not a single *new* feature by hobarrera · · Score: -1, Troll

    Out of all the 30 listed features, none of them seem to be really new, only new to windows.

    Mounting ISO with double click, tiling window manager, and all the rest have been seen on other OSs for several years now, namely, desktop linux, webos and android/iOS.

  4. Re:True #1 Feature! by Jeremlah+Cornelius · · Score: -1, Troll

    A few weeks ago, I foolishly ran a strange executable file that one of my acquaintances sent me by email. As someone who doesn't know much about computers, at the time, I thought nothing of it. "Why would my acquaintance want to hurt me?" Following this line of thought, I ran the file without question.

    How naive I was. Despite having what was supposedly the best anti-virus software out right then, a virus took over my computer and held it hostage. It was pretending to be a warning from Windows telling me to buy some strange anti-virus software I'd never heard of from a company I'd never heard of to remove the virus.

    This immediately set alarm bells off in my head. "How could this happen? My anti-virus is supposed to be second to none!" Faced with this harsh reality, I decided to take it to a PC repair shop for repair. They gladly accepted the job, told me it'd be fixed in a few days, and sent me off with a smile.

    A few days later, they called me and told me to come pick up my computer. At the time, I noticed that they sounded like whimpering animals, but I concluded that it must just be stress from work. When I arrived, they, with tears in their eyes, told me that the virus was so awful and merciless that they were unable to remove it. "Ah," I thought. "That must be why they sounded so frustrated and pathetic over the phone. Their failure must have truly ruined their pride as professionals." I later found out that two of them had committed suicide.

    After returning home, I tried to fix it myself (despite the fact that even the professionals couldn't do it). After about a day or so, I was losing my very mind. I stopped going to work, stopped eating, was depressed, and I would very frequently throw my precious belongings across the room and break them; that is how bad this virus was.

    That's when it happened: I found MyCleanPC! I installed MyCleanPC, ran a scan, and let it remove all the viruses! They were removed in precisely 2.892 seconds. Wow! Such a thing! I can't even believe this as such never before! MyCleanPC is outstanding! My computer is running faster than ever! MyCleanPC came through with flying colors where no one else could!

    MyCleanPC totally cleaned up my system, and increased my speed! If you're having computer problems, or even if you aren't having any obvious problems, I recommend that you using MyCleanPC. As a user, it did more for me that any so-called "professional." It'll even boost your PC & internet speed!

    MyCleanPC: For a Cleaner, Safer PC.

  5. features won't matter by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: -1, Troll

    if windows continues to be what it is: a second rate UI on top of a third rate DOS, on top of a fourth rate scheduler.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  6. Re:Almost virus and malware free? by jaymemaurice · · Score: -1, Troll

    You are joking right?! Linux has sooo many malware entry points and hooks. Give regular users mainstream linux and you will see it get exploited to all hell. Just like Android. If when Linux is mainstream for desktop, it will need much of it's Linux-ness removed, and even then, it will still get raped by those who are combing the code for their payout.

    --
    120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
  7. And here they are: by mcgrew · · Score: 1, Troll

    I've been waiting for someone to publish a "why?" article. I wish the submitter had used the single page version and saved me a click. As to TFA,

    1. Interactive tiles
    Fine on a phone, but I don't want it in a PC OS.

    2. Task Manager
    Windows has had this for literally YEARS. IIRC Win 95 had it. BTW, is there anything like that in KDE? I'm hoping someone says "yes" and points me to it.

    4. No new hardware requirements
    LOL! "That means â" in theory, at least â" that any PC capable of running Windows Vista should be able to handle Windows 8." I'm running the latest kubuntu (just upgraded yesterday) on a machine I built out of ten year old parts, and it runs well. No way would Win 8 run on that thing. TFA looks like loke a Microsoft ad.

    5. Airplane mode
    Man, MS is really grasping at straws here. FN+F8 (F8 has a wifi icon) toggles wifi on my netbook, along with an indicator light. Bluetooth is shut off when you unplug the dongle. In short, this feature is completely useless.

    6. SkyDrive integration
    The Stones said it and I agree -- hey, you, get off of the cloud. I'll keep my own data on my own deviced, thank you very much.

    7. Windows Store
    Um, is that like Apper except you have to pay for the software?

    8. Interactive lock screen
    Rubbish. Nothing of substance, just "Ooh! Shiny!"

    9. Split-screen apps
    What's new here? New for phones, maybe, but not computers.

    10. Split touch keyboard
    Useless for PCs and laptops

    11. App contracts
    "Microsoft has published a set of APIs common to all Metro apps that allow them to freely exchange data. Itâ(TM)s possible, for example, to give a Twitter client access to the Photos app, massively simplifying the process of photo sharing."

    It sounds unsafe to me. It also sounds like one of the kinds of thing I got away from Windows for. And people wonder why Windows is the only OS with malware problems.

    12. Fewer surprise restarts
    My Linux box has no surprise restarts whatever. In fact, the only time I restart it is when I'm upgrading the kernel, maybe once a year or longer. Meanwhile, the notebook still has Win 7 and I wind up having to reboot every week or two, thanks to MS's hatred of users.

    13. Cross-device synchronisation
    "The Windows 8 installation screen practically forces users to set up a Windows Live account." And they call that a feature???

    14. Improved 3G support
    Useless on a PC or notebook

    15. Built-in antivirus
    Not new, there's Windows Defender already. You're grasping at straws, Microsoft!

    16. Picture passwords
    Kind of cool I guess, but useless on a PC.

    18. Windows To Go
    "Another one in the eye for those who claim that Windows 8 has little to offer businesses is Windows To Go. This allows companies to provide employees with a locked-down installation of Windows 8 on a USB thumb drive." Uh, I've been doing that with Linux for a decade.

    19. Secure Boot
    Most emphatically DO NOT WANT!!!

    20. Revamped Explorer
    "The Windows Explorer is now graced with the ribbon interface"
    Do Not Want!!

    21. Restore PC
    How anout instad they write an uninstaller that actually works? TFA says you have to reinstall all your apps after a restore, PITA. I don't have to put up with this nonsense in Linux.

    22. Thumbnail previews
    Probably useful on a phone, not on a PC.

    23. Metro groups
    Good on a phone, bad ona PC.

    24. Kinect for Windows
    I'll reserve judgement on this one, it might be good.

    25. AppLocker
    Again, nothing new, and TFA even says so.

    26. Reset PC
    Look, if you're going to wipe and reinstall your OS, just FDISK and install. I don't see what problem this "solution" solves, unless installing Windows is still the PITA it was with XP.

    27. File copy revamp
    *Yawn*

    28. Faster boot times
    This is one place Windows beats Linux (Most distros anyway). Fortunately, a L