Windows 8..Can' t play a dvd?

Windows 8 continues to frustrate me and my friend. People who personally know me will tell you that I am a very patient man. I have to be. I've been repairing computers for quite a few years. And I've been teaching people to use computers for a very long time.

Most people are happy to be able to use their computers to play a few games and to operate their favorite programs. They will not truly understand my frustrations with Windows 8. Others are content to have the latest operating system on their machines. They don't really care how long it takes them to perform their regular maneuvers. When they become frustrated, they walk away and blame themselves. I don't want to be in either group. I work on "ill" computers and I can't walk away when I become frustrated. Time is money. Work is a joy unless it becomes frustrating. This brings me to the latest incident.

My friend wanted to watch a movie on the new laptop. She popped it in, the drive whirred a few times, then...nothing happened. The screen showed its usual tiles, but where was the movie?? Of course, she brought it to me to solve the mystery of the invisible movie. I popped the drive and reinserted the movie. Again, nothing but whirring. No indication of a player or anything. I checked the tiles for one of the players shown there. Nothing. My friend is now looking at me as if to say "what the hell? Where is my movie?" Understand that she is used to just popping in a dvd and the movie begins playing. Windows 8 now makes you have to work for it. I admit, I am perplexed. I switch to the desktop, no movie, no drive, no notifications of what is required. My friend walks out of the room. I wanted to get back to what I was doing originally, but I couldn't let her down. This is what I did.

• I opened the desktop
• Clicked desktop assist
• Clicked computer
• Right-clicked drive to show options
• Pinned the drive to the start tiles
• Exited to start screen
• Clicked the drive tile and chose a program to play dvd
• Played the movie.

I was pissed as hell! All that work to play a doggone dvd. Who is the genius who thought of that? How many computer users want to go through that sequence to play a simple dvd?  What happened to ease of use? Microsoft spent a lot of time and money to train people to accept and use its Windows operating systems. Why, after all these years, would it deviate from everything its consumers have learned to introduce a rather complex learning curve with this totally alien system? I must admit that I am totally perplexed.

I am not saying that I am not impressed by some of the features of Windows 8. The ability to use both android and "regular" programs is pure genius. But "ease of use" is more important to me than any other feature. Windows 8 (and Microsoft) is sadly lacking this feature. Having to switch between apps to get to and continue a job is a serious time-waster.  I hate to be a naysayer, but I feel at this point that Windows 8 was not properly planned and executed and I believe that I am not alone in this feeling.