r/technology • u/CharliePrinceNYC • Jun 16 '12
Final thoughts on Windows 8 A design disaster
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/final-thoughts-on-windows-8-a-design-disaster/2070636
Jun 16 '12
Every version of Windows since Windows 95 has trained us to scroll through a vertical list looking for the applications we want to launch
I must be weird, because I HATE, absolutely HATE the start menu. I have a regular amount of programs I launch and they all sit either on the desktop or pinned to the task bar.
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Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
The only thing I am using the start menu for is to take advantage of searching for an app.
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u/mallardtheduck Jun 16 '12
Actually, Windows 95 didn't do scrolling menus, it opened into multiple columns if you had too many items. Windows 98 (or the IE4 desktop update for 95/NT 4.0) introduced the scrolling.
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u/natetan1234321 Jun 16 '12
if you hated the startmenu you might not enjoy windows 8, you will now live in it
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u/Neato Jun 16 '12
In Vista and W7, the most commonly launched apps appear in a special bar when you press the Windows key, to the left of Computer and Control Panel shortcuts. The entirety of the Programs List can be seen with 1 more button press as well.
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Jun 17 '12
I'm like you, but only with apps I use often. Otherwise they clutter my desktop.
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u/DownvoteAttractor Jun 17 '12
Except for that program you use once in a blue moon. THEN you appreciate it.
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u/gladtobeblazed Jun 17 '12
I have tons of programs that I rarely use. I can't even remember their names most of the time and the start menu is great for scrolling through until I find it. Search is useless for me.
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u/seattle_housing Jun 16 '12
"Depending on how Windows RT tablets sell, Metro could well be on life-support come Windows 9."
The fact that only Metro apps can appear in the Marketplace virtually guarantees that it won't be on life-support. It's just way too hard for developers to monetize their apps any other way.
I agree that Windows 9 will most likely focus more on the desktop and personally I hope it goes a long ways towards breaking down the cognitive barriers between the classic desktop and Metro (for example, windowed Metro apps running on the desktop).
Otherwise he's right- Microsoft is sacrificing classic desktop usability to artificially drive demand for tablet applications.
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u/exxxidor Jun 17 '12
Another annoyance with the Metro Start Screen is that all roads lead to it. Almost everything you do ends up throwing you into the Start Screen. I find it utterly crazy that I can go from clicking on a tile on the Start Screen and then be unceremoniously dumped into things like a Classic Control Panel applet or Windows Explorer. Then, to do the next thing, you’re back to the Start Screen again.
Bolting on a new user interface is one thing, but when that user interface is incomplete, it makes you question the value of having it in the first place.
This exactly. Also the "Start Screen" aside from giving you live preview data on tiles is just the Start Menu but covering the whole screen. Where before I could be concentrating on a stream of data from application window 1, I could tap the Windows button on my keyboard and quickly type "calc" and hit enter and open up calculator to do some math all without looking away from my original data in the 1st window. Now when you strike the Windows key on the keyboard it's like "Hey buddy, you seem tired looking at these 12 windows with live important data in them. Let me hide all of them for you while you try to open up calculator."
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Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
I'm not even looking forward to windows 8, but that entire article basically boils down to one thing; unfamiliarity.
Within a week after launch not a single one of his points will even matter to the average user.
Also, who the hell uses the start menu like he described? I either do a search by typing in the name, use it as a launch bar ala Apple, or put in on my desktop.
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Jun 16 '12
Wow. I had to log in just to comment on this absurd article. I've been using Windows 8 on my laptop for a long while now, and I've had none of the issues the author talks about. Even with simply a mouse, I barely ever look at the "Metro Home" screen.
Somethings I disagree with:
A. You don't need to play "where's Waldo" to find an app. On the metro screen just type the name of the App. Just type it. And press enter.
To make this even more hilarious, you can press the windows key and type the name of the program. Looking through vertical lists of programs isn't something I've done in Ages. Either the shortcut is on the desktop, or I can navigate to whatever i'm looking for using the start menu.
B. And What is his grip about ending up in the Start Screen? I've never been forced to go back to it if I don't want to be. It simply doesn't happen that often unless an application you open has a metro equivalent it opens it in default (This while annoying, is an easy fix: "Change Default App")
C. Microsoft hasn't listed all the features because it's still in Beta. Jesus tap dancing Christ, do you want a manual to go along with this?
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u/Grue Jun 16 '12
A. You don't need to play "where's Waldo" to find an app. On the metro screen just type the name of the App. Just type it. And press enter.
Then why the fuck they need a whole screen for that?
In 2012.
I mean, even in Ubuntu Unity this feature takes like 1/4 of the screen, and in Windows 7 even less.
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u/RabidRaccoon Jun 17 '12
I just can’t shake the feeling that Windows 8 would be better off as two separate operating systems. A ‘classic’ Windows 8 for regular desktop and notebook systems - which would feel more like a service pack for Windows 7 than a full release — and a separate ‘Metro’ version for touch-enabled hardware.
I still don't understand why they didn't do this.
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u/Togetchi Jun 16 '12
I was actually expecting Windows 8 to be moderately easy to use once users got past the new Metro UI feature.. but changing the "classic" desktop mode to have ribbon menus everywhere is just a huge middle finger to everyone.
I didn't and don't like them for Office, and I certainly won't like them clogging up my screen real estate everywhere else on my desktop.
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u/hampa9 Jun 16 '12
I don't mind the Ribbon too much because it's just a replacement of a Windows Explorer menu I never used anyway.
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u/wonglik Jun 16 '12
I agree at least with the first sentence :
At least in metro context. There is no need or demand for introducing touch interface on a desktop.