248 replies to this topic 2 votes

[GreyWolf]

TheLegendOfMart, on 15 September 2011 - 12:56, said:

Whats wrong with having windows on a desktop, i have at least 5 apps open all at the same time i dont need to tile them or divide them.

Nothing's wrong with that. Click the desktop tile or hit Win-D and use it (or just turn off the start screen completely.) I was simply saying that you can easily view and use multiple Metro apps at once.

[+littleneutrino]

Metro UI is HORRIBLE on desktops. Unless they are going to give the option at Install whether or not to use Metro UI then I will not be encouraging people to purchase this version of windows. for a Desktop/Laptop. I do not want to have to go around modifying peoples computer just so they can use it for day to day usage.

[Mark]

The fact that it's a tech preview does not change the fundamental concept. That's what we're talking about here.

I don't think the concept works on the desktop at all, yet it's perfect for tablets. I can't see them making it work well on the PC with extra work either, It just doesn't make sense for a desktop experience.

[neo158]

~Johnny, on 15 September 2011 - 12:41, said:

I don't think we can honestly judge yet. What makes the Metro interface what it is is its apps - without the apps it's quite literally nothing, apart from your user tile and a piece of text that says "Start".

And due to the fact that there are no proper apps for it, apart from a bunch of placeholders, I'd don't think it's right to judge it from a user perspective, because users just aren't going to be using it like this. Users are going to be using it in a far more personal, alive state, that simply doesn't exist today. When the programs are there, when they're all linked up to search contracts and share contracts and all working harmoniously, smoothly, fluidly and quickly with each other - with live tiles exposing all their personal data right there on their start screen - that'll be a better time to judge.

At the moment though, I like it's vision. I like where it's going - it's aiming to make the PC far more personal and far more integrated than what's the default right now. I like it on the desktop too - it's easy to use with the mouse, and it's fast. It's not harder to use, once you're properly introduced to the new workflow (which may take you a little while), it's a nice way of doing things.

I also like the way Microsoft have embraced the cloud with this new Metro framework - much better than what Google is doing with Chrome OS. Instead of killing off the desktop, they're bring down all your data from all your cloud services all over the place, and making them feel natively like part of your operating system. Extremely simple to get too and use all your content in the same UI's, no matter what service it's hosted on.

This is exacty it, the Metro Design Language gets the UI Chrome out of the way and puts the data first. Take a look at the mail client on WP7, and apart from the app bar at the bottom, the content forms the UI putting it up front.

The tiles are largely irrelevant, it's the content they convey to the user that's more important. Again, tiles on WP7 show just what you need to see i.e. Messaging has an icon, yes, but the important part is the counter showing how many text messages you've recieved.

[FMH]

It is not the time to judge the interface in such an unfinished state. It is a technology preview. And a lot of features have not been shown, and even those shown at BUILD are not present in this build.


But the basic idea and the design philosophy is grand and world-changing.

The solution they have is very simple and elegant, even at this early stage.

[TheLegendOfMart]

GreyWolf, on 15 September 2011 - 12:58, said:

Nothing's wrong with that. Click the desktop tile or hit Win-D and use it (or just turn off the start screen completely.) I was simply saying that you can easily view and use multiple Metro apps at once.

I shouldnt have to turn it off, though its not just that, the whole OS is going to be designed for and geared around Metro which means my user experience if i dont want all the metro crap is going to be impacted for the majority of the brainless simple minded slate users.

[Zedox]

GreyWolf, on 15 September 2011 - 12:55, said:

You know you can resize the apps and have multiple ones on the screen with dividers?

Only thing with that is we don't know if we can have more than 2 at a time. That's the only "limitation" that I see so far with Windows 8 that will hamper "productivity" in the Immersive UI. If we can have more than 2 (and why can I not do split screen....I think that's crazy) then I believe it will do great for productivity. I think right now they haven't announced more than 2 is because they are still trying to figure out how to do "right click" aka app bar for those resized applications. They are really focused on making sure that whatever you do in the Immersive UI is well thought out and makes sense.

[funkydude]

Metro UI like Marmite? Love it or hate it.

I think if MS want to make the new Start Screen work with the desktop crowd it needs improved. They need to sell it as the new taskbar, allowing you to create shortcut tiles etc. Also they need to remove the darn "flicking" when clicking the left hand side of the screen for desktop users.

[Midnight Mick]

IMO I believe MS need to get this right first time, keeping the desktop customers happy or there will be a lot staying with win 7 or dare I say it moving to an Apple PC eventually.

Generally, people don't like change & I fear that this will be the worst mistake that MS can do for the desktop environment for their company.

[neo158]

TheLegendOfMart, on 15 September 2011 - 13:00, said:

I shouldnt have to turn it off, though its not just that, the whole OS is going to be designed for and geared around Metro which means my user experience if i dont want all the metro crap is going to be impacted for the majority of the brainless simple minded slate users.

Then stick with Windows 7 then, it's not as if Windows 7 disks and PCs will spontaneously combust just because Windows 8 is going to be on the market.

The truth is this version is a DEVELOPER PREVIEW i.e. IT'S... NOT... COMPLETE.

[GreyWolf]

Zedox, on 15 September 2011 - 13:01, said:

Only thing with that is we don't know if we can have more than 2 at a time. That's the only "limitation" that I see so far with Windows 8 that will hamper "productivity" in the Immersive UI. If we can have more than 2 (and why can I not do split screen....I think that's crazy) then I believe it will do great for productivity. I think right now they haven't announced more than 2 is because they are still trying to figure out how to do "right click" aka app bar for those resized applications. They are really focused on making sure that whatever you do in the Immersive UI is well thought out and makes sense.

I can only get two as well, but... "It's not done yet"
I remember seeing a preview video where they had more than two apps open side by side, but apparently it's not in the DP.

EDIT: I just noticed that you can drag the desktop and make it one of the "screen tiles" - you can use an app and and the desktop at the same time.

[Midnight Mick]

neo158, on 15 September 2011 - 13:06, said:

The truth is this version is a DEVELOPER PREVIEW i.e. IT'S... NOT... FINISHED.

Wanna shout that a tad louder?!

[neo158]

Midnight Mick, on 15 September 2011 - 13:10, said:

Wanna shout that a tad louder?!

The font won't go any bigger, I can try though!!!

[Zedox]

GreyWolf, on 15 September 2011 - 13:07, said:

I can only get two as well, but... "It's not done yet"
I remember seeing a preview video where they had more than two apps open side by side, but apparently it's not in the DP.

I think you're right, I think it was a video and something else. Once we get more than 2 apps at the same time, when we get into the realm of "productivity" because honestly, that's all it really is. Multitasking and how fast and efficient can I multitask. Even though 2 screens at the same time is still productive. People like organized clutter. lol.

Another thing, we need to get productivity Metro apps before we can say that this isn't good for productivity reasons. It's all about the applications. Someone make a quick Notepad. lol.

[Midnight Mick]

neo158, on 15 September 2011 - 13:11, said:

The font won't go any bigger, I can try though!!!

Bold will suffice, usage of larger fonts just make you look stupid which I am sure you are not.