Windows 8 -- even more dumbed-down UI?

[Darren Dirt]

Reports by PCMag's Lance Ulanoff* and others  indicate that Windows 8 may take a hard left turn down a cliff with a complete
UI redesign that will dumb down the interface but make it more practical for tablets and phones.

From what I've heard, this new approach, which mimics the iPhone and Android OS GUI as well as the Phone 7 GUI, will essentially kill desktop computing once and for all?at least, for Microsoft.

The description was an eye-roller and then a shocker, as the demo of this turkey turned up with a pop-up on-screen keyboard, which is the way the keyboard crops up with a phone or tablet. I'm not sure what Microsoft is thinking, but a typical desktop computer actually has a real keyboard. You know, Microsoft even makes such a device. I'm using one now.

I've been waiting for quite some time to see Microsoft do something incredibly stupid that would open the door so Linux could waltz in and take over the desktop. Right now, there is a mistaken belief that Linux will never be a desktop OS. I disagree. With a few lucky breaks and a misstep by Microsoft, Linux could instantly be on every desktop. From what I hear about Windows 8, this moment may be at hand.

The personal computing dominant metaphor is that of a "desktop." This means folders and obvious navigation help. A mouse, a real keyboard, and windowing software are all part of an evolved package. This model of computing has pretty much evolved to its end-point, in much the same way that home appliances and automobiles have evolved.

Today's car, for example, drives nearly the same way as a car from the 1930s. The early years of experimentation have been over for decades, and now a car is pretty much the same no matter what model. Attempts to have push button transmissions and joystick steering wheels have come and gone. Everything that's happened since the 1930s is only a tweak.

This is the same for computers. If people think that putting an iPad/iPhone interface, designed specifically for touch use on a small screen, is appropriate for normal, big-screen, mouse-centric desktop computing, they are putting Microsoft in grave risk.

* http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386290,00.asp

[Lazybones]

From another thing I read the "NEW UI" is mostly for touch enabled devices, a tweaked windows 7 like UI will also be present.

[Darren Dirt]

Microsoft finds own foot, pulls trigger (five "deal-breaking flaws" in Windows8 -- and WOW, I completely concur!)

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/96249-5-deal-breaking-flaws-in-windows-8
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/96249-5-deal-breaking-flaws-in-windows-8/2

:shouldastoppedatXP:

[Mr. Analog]

Yeah, I think it's gonna end up as the Windows ME of the current generation...

Still, early days so who knows for sure, at any rate Windows 7 suits me just fine.

Conversely, Windows XP is becoming ... cumbersome. I'm finding getting things done is slower in XP now that I've been more or less 100% in 7 for more than a year now.

The only things I still run in XP is Photoshop/BitTorrent

[Mr. Analog]

So not to harp on this but somewhat tangentially Ubuntu came up with its Unity GUI a while back which was supposed to be a touch friendly interface, of course many people who use Ubuntu found this concept didn't really mesh well with the desktop, so it's interesting that the actual touch friendly version of Ubuntu is going to use a wholly new GUI, so where does that leave Unity and why am I talking about it in the Windows 8 thread?

Windows 8 is supposedly going to be a one-metaphor to rule them all interface (Metro), but I just don't see it working all that well on the desktop. It sort of reminds me of the last major XBox Live update that made everything harder to find / more clicks deep, sure there's less stuff to clutter up each view but sometimes you want to see lots of stuff in one screen, especially if the goal of the screen is to find something quickly and use it. I'm not saying the start menu is good, but it's better than shoving giant boxes around the screen.

Thoughts?

[Lazybones]

Thought.

Windows 7 support has been extended till 2020 http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/23/windows-support-will-last-forever/

[Mr. Analog]

8 years! Well we know what the defacto OS is going to be for a while.

[Thorin]

Hah!  Just like XP turned out to be supported for almost ever.

[Darren Dirt]

Thoughts?

What about accessibility? Was thinking about ALT tags the other day, reading XKCD is half as fun on your mobile phone because there isn't really any "hover your mouse over the image" equivalent.

Ditto for Windows8/etc. when it comes to the flexibility of functionality available through 2-button mousing, it's definitely a "dumbing down" of the UI if it becomes reduced to only click-or-hold-down events, it would (as you pointed out with XBL) require a lot more levels of menuing to do stuff, reducing the context-sensitive handiness of a lot of well-written apps.

Hope that kinda made sense, pretty mentally drained, happy Friday every1!

[Lazybones]

What about accessibility? Was thinking about ALT tags the other day, reading XKCD is half as fun on your mobile phone because there isn't really any "hover your mouse over the image" equivalent.

http://m.xkcd.org/ <- alt text displayed but click instead of hover.

http://xk3d.xkcd.com/ <-- OOOOOo 3D

http://uni.xkcd.com/ <-- Unix shell?

[Thorin]

You get only one button on your mouse, you don't need any more!

Eventually he gave in.  But until that time, anyone using a Mac didn't have to worry about learning the difference between left- and right-clicking.

[Darren Dirt]

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1139063--technology-writers-give-microsoft-a-thumbs-up-as-windows-8-released-for-public-testing

#unexpected

[Mr. Analog]

From what I've been reading there may never actually be ARM support

[Tom]

From what I've been reading there may never actually be ARM support

Hm? They have apparently already shown off the ARM support, but you likely won't be able to buy a copy for yourself. Almost certainly it'll be OEM only, and the ARM versions will be locked down harder than iOS devices.

[Mr. Analog]

I heard the opposite, that it was going to be delayed for now. I know MS has been honking about support for a while but I don't think there's been any demo?

I could be wrong, last time I was reading about it was the end of January.