How would you fix Metro on the desktop? My list:

[Wyn6]

No more hidden options. Why the %^&* do I have to swipe up to skip a track in music. While on the subject--- why don't the multimedia apps have volume sliders and why don't they respect ID3 tags that are there? I have a Slipknot album with a Billy Idol cover. :huh: I don't even have that sh&* in my library! Tags are correct in Foobar2000, MP3 Tag, and MediaMonkey. Believe me I checked. :angry: Can anyone help me fix it? I already removed it and readed it, rebooted, etc. B$ on steroids.

Not sure if you're using a touch interface or a mouse but you don't have to swipe up on either to change tracks. Swipe to the side with touch or click the phantom arrows that appear at either edge of the screen when using a mouse. Volume slider is in settings on the Charms Bar. Don't forget the Charms Bar is app respective. There'll probably wind up being one in the app in a later version. That's probably more ideal.

ID3 tags? Can't help you on that one. All my stuff shows correctly. Except, there's an entire Wu-Tang album that's not even in my collection that comes up. But, these sound like beta issues.

[Jan Veteran]

Metro is broken on the desktop. Here's how I would fix it:

1. Put a search box in the top right hand corner by the user's avatar.

You can just type and it'll search, the seach box would only be useful for touchscreen devices.

2. Include "shut down" and "restart" options in the menu that pops up in the top right corner when you click on the username.

3. Give every Metro application a big X in the top right hand corner so that Metro applications can be closed more easily.

The idea of Windows 8 Metro is to be clean and for the user's focus to be on the content, not chrome. You can easily press the Start key or click the corners.

4. Make it easier to access both the Charm bar and the application switching bar for better multitasking and such.

5. Have the tiles be arranged in such a fashion so that the user scrolls up and down, not left to right.

6. Create defined boundaries between groups of tiles. Every group of tiles should be a page, not a continuous flowing piece that keeps going when you scroll right.

7. For Metro IE10, put the address bar at the top, not the bottom.

I don't understand how this helps? Press F4 to easily access the URL bar or just click it as your mouse will spend most of it's time in the center of the screen.

8. Make sure that desktop Metro apps still have menus when big productivity apps (like Adobe Premiere, Microsoft Visual Studio) get ported.

Large apps such as those mentioned won't get ported.

9. For the sake of consistency, port over every Windows application over to Metro. That includes the Control Panel, Explorer, etc.

[encarta]

Metro is broken on the desktop. Here's how I would fix it:

The idea of Windows 8 Metro is to be clean and for the user's focus to be on the content, not chrome. You can easily press the Start key or click the corners.

Yeah because that little X is sooooo distracting, right?

I don't understand how this helps? Press F4 to easily access the URL bar or just click it as your mouse will spend most of it's time in the center of the screen.

URL on the bottom is the proof that metro is a tablet OS. MS said introduced URL bar on the bottom in WP7, so you don't have to move your hand to the top, tap the URL bar, and then move the hand to the bottom, where the keyboard shows up. Or, if they think this is a good idea, they should have put the URL bar at the bottom of the screen in the IE10 desktop, too.

Large apps such as those mentioned won't get ported.

Then why force this ugly metro down our throats in this generation? Metro in Windows 8 should be purely optional. MS would have a lot of time to refine it and people would slowly get used to it.

[Orange Battery]

First reaction would be to just plain remove it, I know MS isn't going to do that.

We must now attempt to meet some kind of agreement with the mad people deploying our next desktop environment - makes me wonder how they are our first choice still and how some other company hasn't stepped up in the OS market- i truly wish they would now.

To think that once I was jealous of Windows, I was as an Acorn A3010 user, jealous that a Windows PC user had a cool windows logo as their wallpaper - Id truly embrace competition now that MS just makes decision without any regard to its market,

First reaction would be to just plain remove it, I know MS isn't going to do that.

We must now attempt to meet some kind of agreement with the mad people deploying our next desktop environment - makes me wonder how they are our first choice still and how some other company hasn't stepped up in the OS market- i truly wish they would now.

To think that once I was jealous of Windows, I was as an Acorn A3010 user, jealous that a Windows PC user had a cool windows logo as their wallpaper - Id truly embrace competition now that MS just makes decision without any regard to its market,

[myxomatosis]

You know what's even more scary than Windows 8 with the ugly Metro piece of crap? Windows 9. Microsoft's plan is to remove completely the "desktop" environment.Their goal is to have a 100% WinRT/Metro OS in the future. That's what they're aiming, no more Win32.

Microsoft is killing its desktop PC user base to please the people buying tablets. That's a non sense.

[Wyn6]

You know what's even more scary than Windows 8 with the ugly Metro piece of crap? Windows 9. Microsoft's plan is to remove completely the "desktop" environment.Their goal is to have a 100% WinRT/Metro OS in the future. That's what they're aiming, no more Win32.

Microsoft is killing its desktop PC user base to please the people buying tablets. That's a non sense.

We can only hope the old school desktop dies that quickly. Here's to the 21st Century and moving computing into the next generation. Now, if we can only figure out how to effectively get rid of the mouse. Oh! And, cords. Cords are so last century.

[c3ntury]

3. Give every Metro application a big X in the top right hand corner so that Metro applications can be closed more easily.

In my opinion this'd look ugly, tablets will have a dedicated button for this, and so will keyboards, so not exactly needed.

[MFH]

IMHO: a Metro design like the Zune Desktop Software would work on big screen, but I don't see myself using Meto in it's current state on any of my devices?

We can only hope the old school desktop dies that quickly. Here's to the 21st Century and moving computing into the next generation. Now, if we can only figure out how to effectively get rid of the mouse. Oh! And, cords. Cords are so last century.

Star Trek called, they want their stupid non-science stuff back?

[myxomatosis]

We can only hope the old school desktop dies that quickly. Here's to the 21st Century and moving computing into the next generation. Now, if we can only figure out how to effectively get rid of the mouse. Oh! And, cords. Cords are so last century.

I don't think we're living on the same planet. You should stop watching old 80's science fiction movies...

[Wyn6]

I don't think we're living on the same planet. You should stop watching old 80's science fiction movies...

For three decades it's been the same. Computers have changed, but computing has not outside of mobile devices. The only real change to how we actually use the desktop PC in 30 years is the mouse. The only appliance/gadget I can think of that has stagnated this bad is the microwave. Even the refrigerator has changed.

Computers themselves have advanced exponentially technologically speaking. I remember when people were in awe over a 500mhz Alpha workstation 15 years ago. 500mhz. Hah. We have phones that match or exceed that capability now. However, we're still tooling around with static icons on our desktops. 30 years? Really? Time to move forward.

And, don't get me wrong, I know some of us geeks will not let go of the past. I get that. But, in case you guys didn't know... others are a bit more forward thinking. Experiments in wireless HDMI, and power transfer have been conducted. There are also other more experimental wireless technologies that will see us dump cords altogether.

MIce? As soon as someone scripts up a new program/app model that doesn't require a precise pointer OR allows similar productivity sans mouse, that thing will be done. I sat down one day with a friend of mine who does 3D layout and camera for an animation house and we tried to figure out how a mouse could be replaced for the work he does. It was difficult with how the current software is constructed so in the end we only came up with a kludge. What we figured was if the software was rewritten to take advantage of different or new(er) input methods, it could be done.

In the end, Microsoft may be seen as a pioneer with Windows 8 or as a catalyst for a move into the future. But, the result will be the same. In 30 more years, we will not be using computers in the same way we do now, although some of you may strongly wish otherwise. 'Tis only the beginning, my friends. And, if you learn to move and adapt with the times, your fears of being relegated to the equivalent of computing dinosaurs will be unfounded or at least won't come to pass. ;)

[MFH]

The only appliance/gadget I can think of that has stagnated this bad is the microwave. Even the refrigerator has changed.

They did? Do they bake now or what?

Computers themselves have advanced exponentially technologically speaking. I remember when people were in awe over a 500mhz Alpha workstation 15 years ago. 500mhz. Hah. We have phones that match or exceed that capability now.

We also have PCs that are 1000 times faster than smartphones, your point is exactly what? A phone beeing as fast as a 15 year old PC means nothing? Now a smartphone beeing twice as fast as a modern PC would be a different story?

And, don't get me wrong, I know some of us geeks will not let go of the past. I get that. But, in case you guys didn't know... others are a bit more forward thinking. Experiments in wireless HDMI, and power transfer have been conducted. There are also other more experimental wireless technologies that will see us dump cords altogether.

Reality has proven that none of these technologies is usable in reality?

MIce? As soon as someone scripts up a new program/app model that doesn't require a precise pointer

So you think that the future means that we get used to imprecise input methods, now that's what I'd call devolution?

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Funny, I don't remember Metro fans being this excited about "21st Century" computing and "moving computing into the next generation" and "getting rid of the mouse" when the iPad was introduced? But as soon as MS decides to turn Windows into a tablet OS, touch is supposedly not just the future, but the only thing that has a future, and computing with a mouse and keyboard and using a Desktop paradigm is seen as horribly outdated and something that keeps us from going forward and should not even be made available anymore. :wacko:

[Xypro]

Make the whole experience unison and it would work, Metro is on us for a while, its a change that we must embrace and find for ourselves if we can enjoy it or not.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Metro is [...] a change that we must embrace

I really don't see why I would have to... :huh: I certainly don't want it to be forced on me. If it's as good as people claim, users will flock to it all by themselves, without being told to do so. Users don't embrace iPads because "they must", but because they like to. Let's just wait whether users actually like and enjoy Metro on the Desktop.

[Dot Matrix]

You know what's even more scary than Windows 8 with the ugly Metro piece of crap? Windows 9. Microsoft's plan is to remove completely the "desktop" environment.Their goal is to have a 100% WinRT/Metro OS in the future. That's what they're aiming, no more Win32.

Microsoft is killing its desktop PC user base to please the people buying tablets. That's a non sense.

BS. Metro makes sense on any device once you see this video:

Face it, the desktop OS is dead. Quite frankly, I want to go to that video, but to do that we need to leave this old way of doing things, behind.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

BS. Metro makes sense on any device once you see this video:

[snip]

I'm about as convinced as I would have been in 1987 that tablet computing, voice commands and intelligent assistants as they existed at that point in time made sense to be used by the general population.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRH8eimU_20

[yardmanflex]

I'd remove it.

NO...Metro is the future....get use to it..are go linux...no one will miss you..

[+virtorio MVC]

BS. Metro makes sense on any device once you see this video:

Face it, the desktop OS is dead. Quite frankly, I want to go to that video, but to do that we need to leave this old way of doing things, behind.

I laugh whenever someone posts this thing. It is not an accurate representation of how anyone uses anything, especially the "desktop" segments.

But lets use that video as an example, tell me how the Metro UI workflow would help someone who actually had to create that video, with the various video editing, sound editing, image editing, documentation, project management and file management tools users will need to have easily accessible and probably on scree at the same time (possibly over multiple screens).

Metro is geared towards content consumption (as in tablet, aka the people who weren't doing anything useful in that video). The metaphor is all wrong. The desktop is a metaphor for your actual desk. Interfaces like Metro and iOS are metaphors for content (a book or magazine) - something that would actually sit on my desk.

But hey, if I've got it all wrong, please inform me by posting some actual decent use cases.

[Wyn6]

Oh a geek war. Game of point counter-point. Let's play.

`

They did? Do they bake now or what?

Let's look at the refrigerator/icebox since it became widely available to the public.

Late 1920s. A single door, porcelain contraption with hazardous chemicals used for cooling.

1930s. Single door contraptions with freon, slightly larger. Freezers came along and were separate units.

Skipping forward

Double door, triple, and quadruple door configurations w/ auto-defrost, freezers in the same unit, adjustable temperatures with different zones for different types of foods, icemakers and filtered water dispensers, quieter, faster cooling, greater efficiency, etc. All this and it doesn't take up much more space than they did since the 60s.

Granted, we still open a door and put food inside to be cooled. But, the advancements in how we cool and keeping food fresher longer, beat out the microwave which doesn't cook any faster or more efficiently than they have since the 70s. They are more energy efficient but chicken still comes out rubbery if cooked for too long. ;)

We also have PCs that are 1000 times faster than smartphones, your point is exactly what? A phone beeing as fast as a 15 year old PC means nothing? Now a smartphone beeing twice as fast as a modern PC would be a different story?

I believe you missed my point here. The point was how fast computers, which includes phones, have advanced from a computing power standpoint. In a mere 15 years, cell phones now have more raw computing power than professional workstations had then. Which begs the question, why can't the WAY we compute advance as well?

Reality has proven that none of these technologies is usable in reality?

This is why the word "experimental" appears in that statement. Experimental implies that these are not daily use or widely available technologies.

So you think that the future means that we get used to imprecise input methods, now that's what I'd call devolution?

No. The future means we develop software and hardware that obsoletes our current methods of input.

Let me ask you a question and anyone else that's of the same mind as I am curious.

Do you believe in the year 2112 we will still be using a mouse-driven or keyboard input method? If not, what will have changed? If so, then... we as human beings will have simply said the hell with it and stopped innovating. That or the world will have ended at the end of this year.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Do you believe in the year 2112 we will still be using a mouse-driven or keyboard input method? If not, what will have changed?

Yes, good point. We might be abandoning it in 100 years, so that must mean it has become useless today. :rolleyes:

[Wyn6]

Yes, good point. We might be abandoning it in 100 years, so that must mean it has become useless today. :rolleyes:

First of all, who said that it had become useless TODAY? I read back over this last page and didn't see that mentioned anywhere. I'll read again after I submit this post. Maybe I missed it. But, let's bring that timeframe down for ya, okay? Since, we've been using the mouse for the last 20 years, do you think it will still be one of the main input devices for the computer by the year 2032?

[MFH]

Double door, triple, and quadruple door configurations w/ auto-defrost, freezers in the same unit, adjustable temperatures with different zones for different types of foods, icemakers and filtered water dispensers, quieter, faster cooling, greater efficiency, etc. All this and it doesn't take up much more space than they did since the 60s.

Granted, we still open a door and put food inside to be cooled. But, the advancements in how we cool and keeping food fresher longer, beat out the microwave which doesn't cook any faster or more efficiently than they have since the 70s. They are more energy efficient but chicken still comes out rubbery if cooked for too long.

So the basic interaction didn't change at all (you just presented a perfect example of technology that evolved whilst interaction stayed as it was before) - btw. outside of the US single door is still pretty dominant?

I believe you missed my point here. The point was how fast computers, which includes phones, have advanced from a computing power standpoint. In a mere 15 years, cell phones now have more raw computing power than professional workstations had then. Which begs the question, why can't the WAY we compute advance as well?

Your point is just moot as at the same time PCs have evolved massively, so your point exactly is what? That technology evolves? (I'm in deep shock now /s). Or in your own words:

In a mere 15 years, PCs now have more raw computing power than professional workstations had then.

This is why the word "experimental" appears in that statement. Experimental implies that these are not daily use or widely available technologies.

Yep, "experimental". You know, they also proven that fusion reaction is possible experimental, doesn't mean that it will ever be usable in the real world? They have also "proven" that nuclear reaction is the cleanest form of energy creation? They already have proven that you can control you PC with your mind, you only need to calibrate the device for about an hour and have to wear a whole lot of s**t to transfer your mind to the PC, doesn't mean that that will ever be applicateable in the real world either?

No. The future means we develop software and hardware that obsoletes our current methods of input.

No. The future means that we perfect input methods that support precise input, as our world (the stuff that drives the world, not some wimpy tablet or slate) is build in precise information!

Let me ask you a question and anyone else that's of the same mind as I am curious.

Do you believe in the year 2112 we will still be using a mouse-driven or keyboard input method? If not, what will have changed? If so, then... we as human beings will have simply said the hell with it and stopped innovating. That or the world will have ended at the end of this year.

May you offer a solution for a better way to input a whole lot of data (as it seems you hate keyboards too?)? The mouse: well we could switch to trackballs - who are arguably better - or other precise input methods. If we can't come up with new solutions it means that to our knowledge these are still the best input methods for precise input. You may use your tablet UI, but those of use that have to input precise data will continue to use keyboard and mouse and keep the world moving?

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

who said that it had become useless TODAY?

You said "We can only hope the old school desktop dies that quickly". But I don't see why we would hope for that, unless a superior solution for all use cases already exists. And it doesn't. The desktop, keyboard and mouse will each die when they're not needed anymore, and we're not there yet. I'm fully aware though that a lot of people can already get by just fine with an iPad.

[Wyn6]

So the basic interaction didn't change at all (you just presented a perfect example of technology that evolved whilst interaction stayed as it was before) - btw. outside of the US single door is still pretty dominant?

Allow me to quote myself, "Granted, we still open a door and put food inside to be cooled." If you will dissect that sentence, you will see that I admit the basic interaction didn't change. Until we no longer need to store food, and/or replicators are invented, refrigerators will be a necessity. Same goes for computers as I said. When software changes to the point that it involves new(er) methods of input which are as precise as a mouse, whatever that may be, then the way we compute WILL change. It has begun with touch and will only further evolve.

Your point is just moot as at the same time PCs have evolved massively, so your point exactly is what? That technology evolves? (I'm in deep shock now /s). Or in your own words:

In a mere 15 years, PCs now have more raw computing power than professional workstations had then.

The point isn't moot. It was an example which points out how fast computing power has evolved yet the way we interact with the computer has not evolved as fast. Hence, we are still using mice.

Yep, "experimental". You know, they also proven that fusion reaction is possible experimental, doesn't mean that it will ever be usable in the real world? They have also "proven" that nuclear reaction is the cleanest form of energy creation? They already have proven that you can control you PC with your mind, you only need to calibrate the device for about an hour and have to wear a whole lot of s**t to transfer your mind to the PC, doesn't mean that that will ever be applicateable in the real world either?

This was a pointless retort as I have already conceded, the first time I posted, that these technologies are experimental. But, by all means carry on if you must. However, if you believe that we will not eventually cut the cord considering how many wireless technologies do exist now, I don't know what to tell you. They have cordless mice these days, ya know?

No. The future means that we perfect input methods that support precise input, as our world (the stuff that drives the world, not some wimpy tablet or slate) is build in precise information!

I hope you realize that the mouse is not the end-all-be-all of precise input. People didn't even want to use the thing when it first came along because they felt the keyboard was superior or the mouse was too different. Guess what happened? Software, that could take advantage of the mouse's strengths, came along. Guess what's gonna happen in the future? No, really. Guess.

May you offer a solution for a better way to input a whole lot of data (as it seems you hate keyboards too?)? The mouse: well we could switch to trackballs - who are arguably better - or other precise input methods. If we can't come up with new solutions it means that to our knowledge these are still the best input methods for precise input. You may use your tablet UI, but those of use that have to input precise data will continue to use keyboard and mouse and keep the world moving?

Actually, I initially mentioned the desktop, mice and cords. Let me save you some time in pointing out the technicality that a keyboard is usually part of a desktop. But, I specifically did not mention keyboards as they will most likely be around in some form longer than the mouse. But, like a true geek you came up with words that no one said.

I love it. You MFH are a true forum geek. It's been awhile since I've been in a geek forum war. Thank you for the lively combat. FYI, I'm not trying to be sarcastic or insulting. I sincerely mean that. This kinda back and forth can be pretty good.

[blade1269]

Disagree. I would prefer to have them scroll up and down too.

Web pages go up and down. That way scrolling is better. Or better yet M$ better give us a touch screen with every purchase. Lol.