Windows 8 -- even more dumbed-down UI?

[Darren Dirt]

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

note to self: I really have to stop linking to anything from College Humor. #timesink #avoidable

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

But I DO think that new forms of interface will start to become more common over time

"UI is important because it affects the feelings, the emotions, and the mood of your users. ...To make people happy, you have to let them feel like they are in control of their environment. To do this, you need to correctly interpret their actions. The interface needs to behave in the way they are expecting it to behave."
- Joel "on Software" Spolsky article "Controlling Your Environment Makes You Happy" -- from 12.5 years ago.

"A [UI] metaphor, badly chosen, is worse than no metaphor at all." Bingo.

[Mr. Analog]

How many people touch their damn screens. Everyone.

[Darren Dirt]

How many people touch their damn screens. Everyone.

But when it comes to Real World tasks being accomplished, "pushing paper" is a cliche for a reason. You don't "slide away" your folders from your desk, you file them away, open and close them etc.

I was talking about the OS UI being a metaphor that cognitively links up with the RL tasks. Not whether or not the current reality is that human beings are used to using touch screens to interface.

[Mr. Analog]

Well, I don't want to put you on the spot here Darren but I'm sure you've noticed that everyone uses their computer in a different way but they use the same inputs, I don't see how adding new inputs/metaphors are a bad thing. It's only when you replace one metaphor for another that is the main point of contention I have with Windows 8.

I like the idea of adding touch capability, probably because I have been using a tablet interface for artwork for a number of years now but also because I have a Tablet computer and found it easy to use out of the box. It could be a replacement for using a mouse, in fact I think you'd have to use your arm less because you can just click on something, you don't have to drag a cursor to it first.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very adept at using both the keyboard and mouse at the same time to "do things" and no one is taking that away, but I can see how adding touch capability is going to be useful for everyone.

I'm calling it now; touch screens are coming (if not here already) to PCs and will be part of your daily computing experience.

Fear is the mind-killer.

[Thorin]

Multi-touch monitors and all-in-one computers have been around for a couple of years now.  My in-laws bought one about 18 months ago at Costco, and they like to use two-finger zooming on pictures they're looking at (by that, I mean that they touch the screen where the corners of the picture is and then move their fingers further apart to make the picture bigger).  In fact, they find it very intuitive, much more so than trying to find the zoom slider and moving it sideways with the mouse.  This functionality on their computer required separate HP software, though, whereas Windows 8 should have it built in.

[Darren Dirt]

everyone uses their computer in a different way but they use the same inputs, I don't see how adding new inputs/metaphors are a bad thing. It's only when you replace one metaphor for another that is the main point of contention I have with Windows 8.

Yeah.

[Mr. Analog]

Well okay then

[Darren Dirt]

Well okay then

FYP:








...(crash your web browser yet?)




...(or at least induce a seisure?)

[Mr. Analog]

SUCCESS!

[Mr. Analog]

Even More Windows H8

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2012/12/05/christmas-gift-for-someone-you-hate-windows-8/

a 'Christmas gift for someone you hate.'

[Tom]

And more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYet-qf1jo

I thought it was amusing, and not incorrect.

Losing context is a bad thing for the human brain. It likes to wipe your short term memory when that happens. How many times have you forgotten what you were doing when you went through a door way (or from one room to another?). There's been studies that show that that's what the brain does when context is lost, It treats it as an all new experience, assuming that prior state is not likely to be useful, so away it goes.

[Darren Dirt]

-removed-

[Melbosa]

Well I have to say... wow!

I've been watching and reading all these, trying to keep an open mind.  I've been using Windows 8 now since October, and I have been trying to really see the problems each of these people had.

I agree in some things; mail program and messenger are really really bad.  I would recommend not even trying either when you get there.

But I cannot agree with most of the H8.  I really can't.  I enjoy Windows 8's advancements, and I can't no matter how hard I try hate the OS.  The small-comings that every article points out aren't as imposing or problematic as they make it out to be.

Take the last video from Tom - guy keeps talking about the weather app popping up in his face. I've setup all the weather apps, and none did what he complains about, including the built in one.

The complaints about the swipe technology on a touch pad and complains about it interfering with your mouse movement.  Took me a few seconds to really determine the difference between the mouse and the swipe actions.  I think he might have skipped the tutorial on this - why a tutorial?  Because you are adding functionality to a device that didn't have it before - hence you have to learn something new.  And this tech is there not just for Windows 8 but for all OSs implementing swiping.

Anyway, I don't want to downplay your guys findings.  Obviously some people are not happy with the Windows 8 interface or feature set.  But the hate is getting too stupid; its becoming a band-wagon freak show now.

For those of you whom find some of these to have relevance and will be hesitant to move to Windows 8 - I say Windows 9 will be probably the better for you.  Those of us whom can adjust to change, keep open minds and let things sink in a Windows world, then I implore you to try Windows 8.

And if you do try Windows 8 I leave you with this one piece of advice - don't try and make it Windows XP or Windows 7.  It is a new brand of OS from Microsoft, a new animal.  You have to try to embrace the new concepts, rather than compare or it just ends up posted here as an article....

[Darren Dirt]

"elderly dad uses Windows 8 for the first time"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4boTbv9_nU


So he starts at the boxes. Quickly clicks Windows Explorer.

Then spends a LONG time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4boTbv9_nU#t=1m8s "trying to get back to all them boxes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4boTbv9_nU#t=2m45s "Try to get back to the tiles!" "That's what I'm trying to do!"



Melbosa, see this follow-up video with the same elderly dad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbjnbhWVN8c (Windows 8 vs Mac OS X)
"navigation was the weakest thing for me ... cumbersome ... more frustrated working with the Windows, I felt challenged"

[Mr. Analog]

I finally got 'round to watching the video and it nails the main point of what's wrong with Windows 8 as a desktop PC experience: everything.

The video focuses on the "Four Cs"; control, conveyance, continuity, and context and shows you how various operating systems (including previous instalments of Windows) have succeeded and where exactly Windows 8 fails.

Near the end he picks up a very good point which has been the main theme with all this echo chamber hatred: Windows 8 is designed with content consumption in mind NOT content creation.

Perhaps it rubs you the wrong way because of the presentation (whiny guy from internet) but there are many valid points there.

Like it or not it this iteration of Window is a turkey, at least in its current form.

Edit:

Melbosa I couldn't disagree with you more, I've had hands on Windows 8 on a desktop now for a while now, it isn't about learning a few new metaphors it is about completely obliterating common sense for style.

I know this sounds hyperbolic but this is the worst desktop offering from Microsoft since Windows ME.

It works great on a phone, but you know what, so did the rotary dial.