Another tip:  In case it hasn't been covered and isn't immediately obvious.  If you right-click where the START button used to be you'll get a bunch of things like the "run" ocmmand etc.

i'm going to Indy this weekend so I can have a listen to the BOSE Solo Tv sound bar/speaker. while i'm in town, i'm going to head over to Frys and grab one of those Logitech T650 touchpads. i think that's the model number anyway . from the reviews i've read, that can be used instead of a mouse and it allows use of the win8 swipe motions. i guess it'll be like having a touchscreen monitor without actually having one.

I'm guessing it will be more like having a touchpad on a laptop instead of a touchscreen monitor. Won't be the same at all. This is strictly a guess at this point because I've not read about it yet. I'm thinking the swipe motions are going to be difficult since you aren't touching where you are looking, which is the point of a touchscreen. Let me know how it works, If you say it's fantastic as sliced bread then I'll be having one myself.

but IS it WORTH the $99 price??

from the pics it looks to be about twice the size of a laptop touchpad, but still a LOT smaller than even 7 inch tablet's screen and about the size of a id10tphone's screen.

harpo

My guess is it would be the equivalent of the Apple Magic Trackpad, enabling gestures usable in Win8 - pinch, rotate, swipe, etc.  I'm sure MadDeez will let us know.

actually, it's 80 bucks and i just noticed Staples carries it. i'm going to get one tomorrow and will get back on here and let y'all know how it goes.

I just took a look over at Logitech to see what all the fuss is about... at the US site it was listed as USD$109.00, and at the Australian site it is AUD$99.00.  However, I saw one at GoComp for $74.95, which is where I'd buy one should it come up.  Looks interesting, though

Thanks for the tips, stax77 and the_Monk.  At first glance Win8 was frustrating, but I'm getting the hang of it now.  Less than an hour of combined time playing with it so far and I'm using the desktop part of it.  The tiled screen isn't to my liking yet, but I'll give it a try. 

It appears to be pretty easy to use as long as you put Vista or Win7 out of your mind.

I have to reinstall my software, so I can only check a few things at a time.  The PlayOn media streamer works natively, but  surprisingly, PlayLater DVR needs Vista compatibility mode.  Still, it works.  FTL works fine natively.

Hmm...A touchpad, huh?  Maybe worth considering at some point. 

ok, phoon, starkers, monk, et al, i've been using this T650 touchpad for all of 10 minutes and i can tell you honestly that it kicks major ass. i can use either the T650 or my MX Revolution mouse depending on my mood. the build quality on the T650 is rock solid. the user surface feels like glass and it's very responsive. using 1, 2, 3, or 4 fingers to swipe, click, pinch, or whatever the needed gesture is works like a charm. i very highly recommend this touchpad. as you can tell by the picture below, you guys will have an advantage over me when using the T650 so if i can use it without issue, i'm sure you can too. i was hurt in an industrial accident on february 10, 1977. that's what a 750 ton press brake can do to ya. i've never worked a february 10th since then. by the way, that pic is probably 8 to 12 years old. i no longer have that keyboard. i have been using a black and silver microsoft natural keyboard for the past few years. i purchased the logitech illuminated keyboard today but have yet to hook it up.

hopefully, paul won't find very many spelling miscues.

also, logitech has released a new mouse, model T620, which may appeal to those who don't care for a touchpad. the T620 has a glass-smooth surface and the same gestures one uses on the T650 touchpad work on the T620 mouse.

Mmm....I dunno.....The Zubish tends to show up everywhere where you least expect it.

@ MadDeez did you get the k800 keyboard ?
i read the comment about the T650 and looked it up it looks very similar in style also in the shape  

no, i didn't get the k800. the one i have, although it's still in the box, is called Logitech Illuminated Keyboard. that's the only branding i see on the box. http://www.staples.com/Logitech-Illuminated-Keyboard/product_774128 <<< there's a link to it. the price shown is 10 bucks more than it is in the local store.

looks like the little brother of the K800, it is pretty much the same just wired, it also has perfectstroke shortcut controls and a dim for the keylights.
 

OK, so I tried to force myself into liking Win8.  While it's not the evil scourge from hell, It's simply annoying to use.  It's not any specific big thing, but a whole myriad of tiny annoyances.  They add up after a while.

I reverted back to Vista64 and my media stuff, Acronis and CAD all work again.  It's easier to shut programs off when I'm done with them and I can easily restart or shut my computer off when I want to. 

I'll probably give Win8 another go later when they come out with a patch or service pack. 

There's a patch for Windows 8 ......

....it's called 'Windows 7' ...;)

Admittedly, Win 8 takes some getting used to, but it's not something you can do in a day or three. It does take time, two or three weeks, perhaps, but once you've got it set up to your liking it's a slick and very efficient OS.

I had issues with Acronis 2012 not running in Win 8, but I got a $19.99 upgrade to 2013 and all was well again.  Other than that, all my other programs and utilities work under 8 without issue.  As for launching, closing programs, rebooting, shutting down the PC, Win 8 is decidedly more speedy and efficient than any Windows edition before it.  Now that I've stopped/delayed some programs an services at start up, I'm booting from a cold start to a usable desktop in 19 - 20 seconds, and shutdown occurs in under 10 seconds... and you can't ask for better than that.

That's easy to say when the closest to Win you've been is when you drove past Hardly Normal and they had it on display just inside the front door.

And I reckon that 'hardly normal' customers who shop there should get a free psychiatric consultation with every purchase.

Hah!  One of my editors is gently encouraging me to upgrade to Win8.  Because nobody else in the office or the freelancers wants to, and they have several peripherals sitting around that are Win8-specific to review.  Told him this wasn't going to happen.

send those peripherals to me. i'll review the heck out of 'em.

Or me...I'll just keep 'em.

Can't keep them.  They're only for review.

Software is treated differently.  Like CDs, books, DVDs, if you review it, you get to keep it.  At least, such has been my experience for a long time.  But hardware usually goes back to the manufacturer.

Windows 8 is not finished and should have listened to user feedback through a longer testing period. I find it annoying that they haven't made it more user friendly by incorporating things like start8 options and other tweaks so as to improve usability. 

Given time i think this OS will flourish but im very worried that since Steven the head of windows 8 development has resigned. What he did was build a OSX backbone onto windows but didn't have the time to take advantage of the new kernel. efficiency is as good as how to execute it. The UI is bottleneck.

But it's by Microsoft.

which just confirms your quote.

harpo

That was kind of my point.