It seems that there are subtle but perceptible differences in behaviour
between the Metro UI and what Microsoft call the legacy desktop, as found in
Windows 7.
The first difference is that you can no longer boot into the legacy Windows 8
Desktop. You have to start with Metro user interface even if you put a
desktop shortcut in your startup folder. Furthermore, the registry hack
RPEnabled no longer works. See more on
Windows 8 desktop registry
settings.
Many users are thinking of the Metro UI as one big start menu, as a
result they simply start typing the name of any program, app or setting that
they want. This is the same technique as 'Search for programs and
files' in Windows 7.
Pressing WinKey and switching to the Windows 8 desktop provides a very
different experience from the Metro UI; probably the best way of operating
in this environment is to right click your program back in the Metro UI and
'Pin to taskbar', the result is that you have a shortcut at the bottom of
the desktop view. Another tricky alternative is to invoke the start at
the very bottom left corner.
See more on
using this Windows 8 desktop start menu.
The default Metro version of IE 10 does not have those cogs to configure
the browser's internet settings. The good news is that you can change
that IE 10 behaviour.
Pin to Start With the Metro version of IE 10 open,
you have 'Pin to Start' available for any web page. As a result you can
create tiles for a handful of your favorite sites, then position them on the
Metro UI just as you would for other tiles.
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What I like best is the way NPM suggests solutions to network
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When you launch the snipping tool is switches to the desktop, and it's
hard - but not impossible, to return to the Metro UI so that you can capture
its image.
This is my technique to snip in at the Metro interface:
Launch the Windows 8 snipping tool.
Press the Esc key to get out of snipping mode.
Press WinKey to get to the Metro UI.
Arrange the screen to be captured.
Press Ctrl + Print Screen (Crucial Point)
Now select the area of your screen that you want to capture.
Footnote: In truth, it took me about 3 tries before I
got the sequence right. However, I was eventually rewarded with a snip of
stuff in Metro UI.
Guy Recommends:
SolarWinds' NPM - Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds' performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages,
making it easy to see what's working, and what needs your attention.
This utility guides you through creating network maps; it also helps
identifying whether the
root cause is faulty equipment, or resource overload. Give NPM a try.
