Windows 8 -- even more dumbed-down UI?

[Tom]

Well gnome is. KDE has those options, but doesn't force them on you.

[Lazybones]

Well gnome is. KDE has those options, but doesn't force them on you.

KDE isn't an OS, which popular distro uses it as its primary default these days?

[Tom]

Well gnome is. KDE has those options, but doesn't force them on you.

KDE isn't an OS, which popular distro uses it as its primary default these days?

SuSe might. But they all have the option of KDE.

Yay. Getting that post error again.

[Mr. Analog]

This crop will lose, Win7 is dominant and will likely live on much as XP did.

Windows didn't die with ME and it won't die with 8 either.

[Darren Dirt]

Jakob Nielsen: "Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users"
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html


via http://mct.open.ac.uk/IT-Dev-Blog.nsf/dx/windows-8-experiments.htm

[Mr. Analog]

I expect SP1 will include a Windows 7 style desktop and a return to traditional Windows features.

Under the hood it's fairly solid but the interface and direction of the platform were too radical for most Windows users / developers.

[Tom]

I expect SP1 will include a Windows 7 style desktop and a return to traditional Windows features.

Under the hood it's fairly solid but the interface and direction of the platform were too radical for most Windows users / developers.

I have a hunch they just rushed it out too fast. Had the new desktop work going, but wanted to get Windows 8 out in time for the tablets and convertibles, and decided it didn't matter if the desktop was lagging on release. Just a hunch.

[Mr. Analog]

I wonder how much was design, compromise or just plain old internal politics that affected this release.

Apparently Steven Sinofsky was not really all that well liked in some circles at Microsoft and was one of the more vocal proponents of the changes, who knows what kind of friction was happening behind closed doors.

[Tom]

From what I've heard, there has been a lot of political bull@%&#. Other people have left because of it.

[Mr. Analog]

Not surprising really I guess

[Darren Dirt]

Under the hood it's fairly solid but the interface and direction of the platform were too radical for most Windows users / developers.

I have a hunch they just rushed it out too fast.

Yeah it's pretty clear that even those who WANT to try different things, who want to keep moving forward, and aren't opposed to change in of itself, are still left scratching their head -- even the JOATs in the IT industry who can easily jump around between Linux and Apple and Windows, multiple flavors of each.


I just really think it's a mistake in terms of Brand New Cognitive Thinking Patterns Required, a surprising burden put on the end-user including the hardcore techies ... but hey from a business POV I think that the Suits @ MS realized that in 5 years time they ain't gonna be making any $ from new OS purchases, unless they dive in with both feet into a New Direction (aka tablets and mobile and Surface devices etc.) ... but as usual the end user will have to "adapt or die" (in this case, adapt or stop being a Windows user).


But re. the UseIt link, even I think that Jakob might often be a cranky old fart who complains a ton, but he also has a ton of experience dealing with user interface and user experience, which includes emotions and efficiency and even neural pathways and whatnot, aka how the human brain works (and how to get in the way of it working efficiently) -- so if I was one of the OS design team @ MS*, I would be pretty worried that he panned the New Direction so strongly. (Hence the likelihood of a future "SP" to "fix" what they are currently denying is "broken" )




*or more correctly, one of those those who haven't yet resigned -- http://www.google.com/search?q=Why+Steven+Sinofsky+is+out+at+Microsoft (lol @ "making space for new leaders" )

[Mr. Analog]

At its heart it's a matter of taste, I know a few people who quite like the new interface and it's not that hard to get your brain around after playing with it for a bit.

It's very gimmicky though and when I see how the new XBox dash uses the "metro" style interface to deliver advertising in "unused tiles" I get very suspicious about the new direction.

Also I've had a lot of bad personal experiences in the past with Microsoft based "app stores".

Call me jaded I guess

[Darren Dirt]

At its heart it's a matter of taste, I know a few people who quite like the new interface and it's not that hard to get your brain around after playing with it for a bit.

There's a reason that 99% of "ordinary folks" didn't have any interest in have a home personal computer until the mid 1980s introduced the "desktop" metaphor -- because that's how people work. For the same reason, the movie "Minority Report" depicted a cool novelty interface with lots of finger pointing and swiping etc ... because it was novel and cool, not because it was suddenly a more efficient way of dealing with data and functionality.


"A desktop computer driven by mouse and keyboard is not a tablet or a phone and the visual and control metaphors just don't work in the same way."
- http://mct.open.ac.uk/IT-Dev-Blog.nsf/dx/windows-8-experiments.htm

[Mr. Analog]

Believe me I agree, I'm just saying some people like it but I doubt very much it will catch on.

I feel like it will be Vista, its out there, people will use it but there won't be much evangelizing, certainly not in tech circles lol

But I DO think that new forms of interface will start to become more common over time, especially after seeing so many cool uses people have found for the Kinect. I fully expect touch screen monitors to catch on sooner than later, as well gesture/voice interface though probably to a lesser degree.

The key to success isn't replacing traditional input rather supplementing it that will really drive new GUI metaphors.

It wasn't that long ago that people were using command line to launch games and apps and yet it seems arcane by today's standards.

[Darren Dirt]

I DO think that new forms of interface will start to become more common over time, especially after seeing so many cool uses people have found for the Kinect. I fully expect touch screen monitors to catch on sooner than later, as well gesture/voice interface though probably to a lesser degree.

The key to success isn't replacing traditional input rather supplementing it that will really drive new GUI metaphors.

here's hoping that something eyePhone-like occurs before this.