Why do people constantly complain about Metro when it IS easier to use?

[lunarworks]

Metro is "easier to use" if all you use your computer for is Facebook.

[Raa]

Because it's not easier to use in certain circumstances. Or a lot of them, depending on what you're trying to achieve.

[Hum]

Metro is "easier to use" ???

I didn't know the Start menu was any big problem, in either XP or Win 7. :laugh:

[xendrome]

i complain because it scrolls left and right, instead of up and down...

until they make a left and right mouse-wheel, i'll complain...

I guess you are in luck then, my Logitech mouse wheel clicks left and right, think it is a G500...

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Even if people do well in trying to convince it works ok, it looks like crap as well.

[techguy77]

Even if people do well in trying to convince it works ok, it looks like crap as well.

It looks incredible bad, i agree.

[Wyn6]

It looks incredible bad, i agree.

That's what we call subjective opinions. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One man's garbage is another man's treasure, and so on. It's all relative. I for one like the look. That's my subjective opinion.

[Flae_qui]

it's design'd for touch screen and the "fisher price" mindset... most people who USE and computer are not those kind of people...

[Southern Patriot]

Why is it that people can't understand that something that is easier/more intuitive for one person isn't necessarily easier/more intuitive for someone else? There are those of us here who have been using GUIs since BEFORE Windows was even around, and certainly before the transition from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. IMHO, the Metro UI, while undoubtedly very well optimized for a touch-based system (it was, after all, originally designed for the Zune HD and Windows Phone 7), is simply (as it stands right now) not ideal for a mouse/pointer interface on a desktop. And the idea that average users should suddenly have to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts (or having to type the names of apps to find them) to do things that were previously simply performed with a few clicks of the mouse is a huge step backwards. Wasn't the GUI supposed to reduce people's dependence on having to memorize keyboard commands? That has been the trend for the past 20+ years, yet suddenly it seems that (at least around here) huge numbers of keyboard shortcuts are all the rage again. I deal with people (normal users, not power users/techs) that barely know how to cut and paste with keyboard shortcuts as it is.

[BajiRav]

it's design'd for touch screen and the "fisher price" mindset... most people who USE and computer are not those kind of people...

actually most people who use computers are in "fisher price" mindset (whatever that means :p)

Why is it that people can't understand that something that is easier/more intuitive for one person isn't necessarily easier/more intuitive for someone else? There are those of us here who have been using GUIs since BEFORE Windows was even around, and certainly before the transition from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. IMHO, the Metro UI, while undoubtedly very well optimized for a touch-based system (it was, after all, originally designed for the Zune HD and Windows Phone 7), is simply (as it stands right now) not ideal for a mouse/pointer interface on a desktop. And the idea that average users should suddenly have to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts (or having to type the names of apps to find them) to do things that were previously simply performed with a few clicks of the mouse is a huge step backwards. Wasn't the GUI supposed to reduce people's dependence on having to memorize keyboard commands? That has been the trend for the past 20+ years, yet suddenly it seems that (at least around here) huge numbers of keyboard shortcuts are all the rage again. I deal with people (normal users, not power users/techs) that barely know how to cut and paste with keyboard shortcuts as it is.

They don't need to type app names. They can look through the app list and pin to start screen the first time they use it, afterwards it is just a click away. It's no different than start menu except that it loads as full screen.

[Southern Patriot]

They don't need to type app names. They can look through the app list and pin to start screen the first time they use it, afterwards it is just a click away. It's no different than start menu except that it loads as full screen.

I didn't mean to imply that typing the app name was the only way to get to them, but it sure is one that many people around here have been touting as the easiest way to launch apps. Pinning them to the Start screen is an option, but a serious waste of space in comparison to the much more compact Start menu. If the Start screen (and the app list for that matter) had some options for scaling tiles down to a much smaller size with closer spacing, I could see it being somewhat more efficient.

[BeerFan]

Why do people constantly complain about Metro when it IS easier to use?

Because it isn't! :D

[Stoffel]

I didn't mean to imply that typing the app name was the only way to get to them, but it sure is one that many people around here have been touting as the easiest way to launch apps. Pinning them to the Start screen is an option, but a serious waste of space in comparison to the much more compact Start menu. If the Start screen (and the app list for that matter) had some options for scaling tiles down to a much smaller size with closer spacing, I could see it being somewhat more efficient.

Wouldn't it be a waste of space if you wouldn't pin them to your start screen. All that space and not using it.

I still can't believe so many people have an issue with a start menu that is full screen.

Other then that, nothing really changed for a 'power user'.

Years ago power users were saying the mouse was redundant, because you could do things quicker with keyboard shortcuts.

No MS gives us heaps of keyboard shortcuts and now those same 'power users' complain that you have to remember all the shortcuts.

MS just wants to give us the option of using our preferred input method, that being mouse, KB or touch.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Personally, I think someone (or I will) start a thread which is just videos of Neowin users showing and letting people use windows 8 for the first time and their reactions and thoughts.

[Rippleman]

While Windows 7 destroyed the Mac Guy vs. PC Guy marketing campaign, I can see Metro on the Desktop reviving it, with PC guy on the losing end this time.

i know i will be going mac when Windows 8 comes out. Was looking for an excuse for a while now, but windows 7 has been very perfect for me. Won't be upon Windows 8 release, but my next PC will be Mac this year.

[Stoffel]

Personally, I think someone (or I will) start a thread which is just videos of Neowin users showing and letting people use windows 8 for the first time and their reactions and thoughts.

That is still biased. There would be a huge difference between a person you show Win8 to, compared to someone I show Win8 to.

You will probably have people who will really dislike it, just because you don't like it. I will have people who will probably like it, just because I will introduce it completely different.

[+Warwagon MVC]

That is still biased. There would be a huge difference between a person you show Win8 to, compared to someone I show Win8 to.

You will probably have people who will really dislike it, just because you don't like it. I will have people who will probably like it, just because I will introduce it completely different.

True, so I just made a thread, using youtube videos. Good or bad.

[migo]

It's too early , there aren't enough Metro apps to properly demo Windows 8.

[Southern Patriot]

Years ago power users were saying the mouse was redundant, because you could do things quicker with keyboard shortcuts.

No MS gives us heaps of keyboard shortcuts and now those same 'power users' complain that you have to remember all the shortcuts.

Go back and read what I wrote again. I said that normal users barely know the keyboard shortcuts that exist already, and expecting them to learn a whole bunch more is wishful thinking. I said nothing at all about "power users".

[migo]

Normal users will do just fine with metro (once it's the only thing they need to use). I provide support for people who don't even know if they're on xp, vista or 7 and think IE is Google, the kind of issues they have are largely solved by metro in windows 8.

[migo]

i know i will be going mac when Windows 8 comes out. Was looking for an excuse for a while now, but windows 7 has been very perfect for me. Won't be upon Windows 8 release, but my next PC will be Mac this year.

Prepare to be disappointed by mountain lion. Lion was already a step back from snow leopard. You're really just better off hanging onto windows 7 for a few years if that's how you feel about 8. Wait and see what happens with 10.9 (if there even is a 10.9 and it isn't all iOS by then)

[MorganX]

Wouldn't it be a waste of space if you wouldn't pin them to your start screen. All that space and not using it.

I still can't believe so many people have an issue with a start menu that is full screen.

Other then that, nothing really changed for a 'power user'.

Years ago power users were saying the mouse was redundant, because you could do things quicker with keyboard shortcuts.

No MS gives us heaps of keyboard shortcuts and now those same 'power users' complain that you have to remember all the shortcuts.

MS just wants to give us the option of using our preferred input method, that being mouse, KB or touch.

R U Serious? Reread your comment, and just out of curiousity, after reviewing, does it not sound like circular reasoning nonsense from someone that's just determined to accept what is being shoved in front of you, for better or worse?

Normal users will do just fine with metro (once it's the only thing they need to use). I provide support for people who don't even know if they're on xp, vista or 7 and think IE is Google, the kind of issues they have are largely solved by metro in windows 8.

If your users are "that" computer illiterate they probalby only know Google and have no clue what "IE" is. And I suppose for that level of illiteracy, Metro would work fine as I doubt their feeble minds could do more than one full screen at a time. Seriously.

i know i will be going mac when Windows 8 comes out. Was looking for an excuse for a while now, but windows 7 has been very perfect for me. Won't be upon Windows 8 release, but my next PC will be Mac this year.

Stick with Windows 7. As a 3 time Mac owner, it will be a waste of time and Money. A Windows 8 user could go to Mac and be happy, but not a Windows 7 user. The only good thing, when you decide to sell your Mac, you'll get more money on eBay than you would for a used PC.

[MorganX]

actually most people who use computers are in "fisher price" mindset (whatever that means :p)

False. Most people who use desktop computers are beyond "fisher price." Most people who use Android phones (and don't have a PC) and to a lesser extent iPhones and iPads (for just facetime and a few games) ARE of a "fisher price" mindset and that's who Metro is for.

Most Neowin readers and surely most who post here are Microsoft fans and advanced users. Those two groups online anyway, always tow the company line just like they did with WindowsMe and Vista. MS is doing all it can to force Metro to succeed by even tainting Windows Server. They are indeed desperate and this is the biggest sign that Enterprise computing will change and that Apple and iPad are much more relevant that any of us may have though.

MS is actually conceding that Apple was right about a lot of things. They could be opening the flood gates for Apple and Linux (Linux is a joke that will never be relevant to desktop computing however). They intend to flood the plains first. We'll see how well they do. Consumers generally don't like anything forced on them.

[PGHammer]

Tell me how easy it is to use with 50+ programs installed. Do you remember every programs name ? Searching takes longer. Metro is easier to use if you only use maybe 10 programs at most . For people like me who uses dozens of programs a day having all those small squares on your metro start screen is a pain to use.

Why cant they just add the start orb to the desktop app? Its not that hard to do . Wont change much but will make windows 8 much easier for those of us who have tons of programs and do a lot with or desktops.

I have considerably more than fifty programs installed. I have three virtualization applications installed (not including Hyper-V), Office 2010 x64 Professional Plus, Visual Studio 11 Ultimate (beta), several games, etc. Very few of the programs are Metro/WinRT. To find a specific application, I use the Windows key, then the first letter, then the next, until whatever application/game/etc. I want to run shows, then I click on it. Unified Search - works for any installed application, file, or anything else. Faster than even the Windows 7 Start Menu - in fact, the more applications you install, the faster it would be than searching the Windows 7 Start Menu for it. And that's from the desktop (a standing start) - not the StartScreen.

If you *can't* remember what programs you have installed, did you actually install them yourself, or are you working from a base image that includes several *default* programs you usually don't use? (The latter is commonplace in enterprises.)

[MorganX]

>>I use the Windows key, then the first letter, then the next, until whatever application/game/etc. I want to run shows, then I click on it. Unified Search - works for any installed application, file, or anything else. Faster than even the Windows 7 Start Menu - in fact, the more applications you install, the faster it would be than searching the Windows 7 Start Menu for it.<<

Please explain this to me, exactly how it will get even faster with the more items you have to search, especially since the search is practially identical to Windows 7 and you never have to leave the desktop.

>>If you *can't* remember what programs you have installed, did you actually install them yourself, or are you working from a base image that includes several *default* programs you usually don't use? (The latter is commonplace in enterprises.)<<

While I have no problem with it, expecting enterprise users to search for programs is somewhat ridiculous. If Metro makes it on the corporate desktop, hotkeys and searches will not be the answer. I would assume GPOs will be able to manage tiles as well as turn off the Microsoft Store, etc. This will be a more reasonable solution in the Enterprise.