I found out this week that my Windows 7 Installation had some corrupt files in it that were causing some issues. So rather than having to clear my whole hard drive and just re-install Windows 7 I decided to capitalize on the uber cheap Windows 8 Upgrade Offer (only $15!) and moved up to Microsoft’s new hybrid OS.
I’m still pretty new to Windows 8, and don’t know nearly enough yet to write a good review. Instead I thought I’d write a list of some of the apps I think the OS needs.
1. An Official Twitter App
It’s apparently in the works, but I seriously can’t stress how frustrating every free Twitter app for Windows 8 is. I’m not willing to buy one, because I can always just run good old fashioned Tweet Deck in Desktop Mode, but I cannot wait to get a full featured Modern UI Twitter app that actually opens my feed up where I left off rather than at the top (I’m looking at you MetroTwit).
2. An Update to Evernote
I live in Evernote. I keep school notes, project plans, and even daily stuff like grocery lists in it. It was the first app I installed in Windows 8. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it only supports Simple Text Editing, and you can’t default to Notebook view. I can’t take lecture notes without bullet points, and I’m certainly not going to browse through two years of notes on the home screen when I just need to look up one vocabulary term or phone number.
3. Pocket (aka Read It Later)
I just started using Pocket this week and I’m already totally reliant on it. I’ve queued up tons of articles and videos to keep me busy whenever I get downtime. Unfortunately I have to jump out to the browser to access what is essentially a Modern UI webapp from Pocket anyway. I’d love to just be able to launch this as a standalone, and also share things to it from other apps.
4. Buffer
Buffer is another recent addition to my app suite. For the uninitiated it queues up your tweets and status updates for you, so that when you find something cool at 1:00 AM your network will actually see it on their feed later on when they’re online and active. Being able to share to Buffer straight from the Share Charm would be most excellent.
5. Tumblr
Of all the social networks that could develop Win8 Apps, I figured Tumblr would be the first to jump at the chance. Their image-centric system would look excellent in the Modern UI. I really expect this one to be awesome when it comes along.
Honorable Mentions
1. Google Apps
Though they’ve already stated they won’t be going for it, I would love to have Gmail, Google Calendar, and especially a YouTube app in Windows 8. I know this will drive traffic from Chrome, which Google doesn’t want, but it would be so much more convenient. And the YouTube app for Xbox 360 might as well be a Windows 8 app anyway, so perhaps that will get moved over.
2. Facebook
Yet another tech giant who has refused to build a Windows 8 app. Though they have stated that Microsoft could build their own, Zuckerberg and friends aren’t going to writing anything for Win8 any time soon. Luckily the Messaging app takes care of your chat needs and for the News Feed you can always jump out to your browser of choice like the good old days.