The first is the Charms Bar–a set of five icons that fly in from the right side of the screen and provide access to Search, Sharing, Devices, application Settings, and a shortcut to the Start screen. To get started, you’ll need to understand three important elements.Ĭharms give you quick access to important Windows 8 features. Metro’s gestures certainly take a bit of getting used to.

Can’t find the classic Control Panel, or a particular file? When you’re on the Start screen, just start typing–the search dialog box has been around for a long time, but getting where you need to be has never been this fast and easy. Gestures make getting around the PC faster and more efficient–and they work just as well for keyboards and mice as they do for the touchscreen devices they’re designed to accommodate. Applications are readily accessible and serve up useful information without forcing users to rely on shortcut icons or third-party applications. Metro’s modern approach to interface design brings Microsoft’s operating system into line with the touch-centric devices that have taken center stage in our lives. There’s considerably more to Windows 8 than an aesthetic overhaul. (For a less upbeat appraisal of the Consumer Preview Windows 8, see my colleague Ed Albro’s article “ Windows 8’s Metro UI: 7 Things You May Just Hate.”) The preview also gives Microsoft a chance to listen to feedback from users, and get things right in the final product. The Metro UI is a breath of fresh air, and the Consumer Preview has given Microsoft an excellent opportunity to make headway in changing perspectives on where it is headed with Windows.

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