Windows 8 RC To Get Flatter Explorer UI, Other Changes

By freak180
in The Fast Ring (Insider Previews)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Veteran

rfirth

Posted
Posted

One thing I do think would help overall is with the title bar size, if those could take up less space it'd look overall better IMO.

No, that's necessary for touch. You need a decently large title bar to allow you to grab and move windows. It's really annoying using programs that don't leave enough space for the title bar - like Google Chrome when maximized.

Grand Master

George P Global Moderator

Posted
  • Global Moderator
Posted

No, that's necessary for touch. You need a decently large title bar to allow you to grab and move windows. It's really annoying using programs that don't leave enough space for the title bar - like Google Chrome when maximized.

That could be the case and it makes sense as to why it's bigger but maybe the default on a desktop without touch could be smaller since the need is then gone?

Veteran

~Johnny

Posted
Posted

That could be the case and it makes sense as to why it's bigger but maybe the default on a desktop without touch could be smaller since the need is then gone?

*shrugs* Desktop users could appreciate the extra Windows grabbing space too. It helps that when it's maximised it actually gets a bit thinner :3

Grand Master

George P Global Moderator

Posted
  • Global Moderator
Posted

*shrugs* Desktop users could appreciate the extra Windows grabbing space too. It helps that when it's maximised it actually gets a bit thinner :3

That's fine, I don't really mind either way. I don't quite know what some people want out of aero at this point. I suppose they could do more work on the taskbar next maybe. Really though I think any desktop side changes will be minor till Windows 9.

  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

Wow. The desktop screenshot doesn't look half bad. The metro-ified visual style fits in much better with the overall design. Now if they let us reduce the title bar height too without having to resort to registry hacks I shall be a happy camper.

Grand Master

Dot Matrix

Posted
Posted
We applied the principles of ?clean and crisp? when updating window and taskbar chrome. Gone are the glass and reflections. We squared off the edges of windows and the taskbar. We removed all the glows and gradients found on buttons within the chrome. We made the appearance of windows crisper by removing unnecessary shadows and transparency. The default window chrome is white, creating an airy and premium look. The taskbar continues to blend into the desktop wallpaper, but appears less complicated overall.

To complete the story, we updated the appearance of most common controls, such as buttons, check boxes, sliders, and the Ribbon. We squared off the rounded edges, cleaned away gradients, and flattened the control backgrounds to align with our chrome changes. We also tweaked the colors to make them feel more modern and neutral.

I have a feeling that white is going to get to me, though. That kills my eyes. Hopefully, that's changeable.

While a few of these visual changes are hinted at in the upcoming Release Preview, most of them will not yet be publicly available. You?ll see them all in the final release of Windows 8!

:cry:

Mentor

LightShadow

Posted
Posted

Okay, this looks awesome! I can say it's shaping up nicely now!

I just hope in future builds, they remove the aero taskbar, and make it white, and give metro-esque icons. I'm liking the death of Aero.

Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

i'm gonna guess it's just the new Basic theme

No, that is what the desktop will look like. The glass effects are gone. See also what Dot Matrix quoted here.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

No, that is what the desktop will look like. The glass effects are gone. See also what Dot Matrix quoted here.

alrighty then :)

as long as you are able to change the color still or it doesn't stay THAT white/bright I will be happy

Grand Master

mdtaUK

Posted
Posted

I imagine a colour change in the registry or .theme file should work if there is no UI for changing the window colour. And of course there will be people working on new Visual Styles and a patch for the DWM and UXTheme systems.

Grand Master

Dot Matrix

Posted
Posted

No, that is what the desktop will look like. The glass effects are gone. See also what Dot Matrix quoted here.

alrighty then :)

as long as you are able to change the color still or it doesn't stay THAT white/bright I will be happy

I don't think they're gone, just white by default. Judging by this screenshot, it's changeable.

Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

I don't think they're gone, just white by default. Judging by this screenshot, it's changeable.

The colour of the window chrome will likely be changeable come RTM. The glass effects however are gone - read the B8 post closely. The parts you quoted above as well as this sentence from the paragraph about Vista:

This style of simulating faux-realistic materials (such as glass or aluminum) on the screen looks dated and cheesy now, but at the time, it was very much en vogue.
Grand Master

mdtaUK

Posted
Posted

I don't think they're gone, just white by default. Judging by this screenshot, it's changeable.

Actually if you look at the image in the blog post, you will see the taskbar seems to be blue or transparent, but not the Window Chrome, so perhaps the colour changing has been removed from the window frames, but retained in the taskbar?

Grand Master

Dot Matrix

Posted
Posted

Actually if you look at the image in the blog post, you will see the taskbar seems to be blue or transparent, but not the Window Chrome, so perhaps the colour changing has been removed from the window frames, but retained in the taskbar?

I hope not. All that white is going to kill people's eyes.

Experienced

winlonghorn

Posted
Posted

I hope not. All that white is going to kill people's eyes.

Yes! I agree! Too much brightness and we will all be blind! lol :s Maybe that is what they want! A bunch of blind IT Professionals will help them retain their dominance because the rest of us won't be able to see anymore! lol

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • AMD 9070XT

      By cooky560 · Posted

      Well I've done a grand total of nothing, and it now clocks between 2010mhz and 1995mhz (stock is 1710mhz) and hovers around 80c, warmer than it used to, but tolerable clocks seem to have returned. Thanks for all the advice on this thread. Will review the evidence and make a choice.
    • Microsoft hides these secret Windows 11 performance boost settings available on every PC

      By ExPat · Posted

      Looking forward to the test results.
    • Audacious 4.6.1

      By Copernic · Posted

      Audacious 4.6.1 by Razvan Serea Audacious is a lightweight, open-source audio player that emphasizes simplicity, performance, and sound quality. Designed for Linux, Windows, and macOS, it supports a wide range of audio formats, internet radio streaming, and playlist management. Users can customize the interface with Winamp-style skins or modern themes, making it flexible for different preferences. Audacious also includes an equalizer, advanced audio effects, and a plugin system for extending functionality. Its low resource usage makes it especially suitable for older computers or users who value efficiency without sacrificing playback quality. Audacious key features: High audio quality – delivers clean, gapless playback with minimal distortion. Wide format support – plays MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, WAV, WMA, and more. Internet radio streaming – supports Shoutcast, Icecast, and other online streams. Winamp skin support – classic, nostalgic look for users who prefer the old-school style. Modern GTK-based interface – clean, simple UI with a more modern feel. Customizable themes – change appearance through skins and themes. Advanced playlist management – organize, save, and edit playlists with ease. Equalizer – fine-tune audio output with a built-in graphical equalizer. Audio effects – built-in DSP options like crossfade, replay gain, and more. Plugin system – extend functionality with additional components. File metadata support – displays and organizes music based on tags. Drag-and-drop support – quickly add songs or playlists. Global hotkey support – control playback without switching windows. Bit-perfect output modes – bypass system mixers for pure audio output. ReplayGain support – normalizes track loudness automatically. Cue sheet support – play entire albums from a single audio file with .cue. MPRIS2 integration – integrates with Linux desktop environments for media controls. Advanced resampling options – adjust playback quality with different resampler settings. Gapless playback – seamless transition between tracks encoded properly. Crossfade plugin – blend one song into the next smoothly. Last.fm scrobbling plugin – track listening history online. Remote control support – control Audacious via command-line or scripts. Lyrics plugin – display song lyrics if available. Alarm / timer plugin – start or stop playback at set times. SOX resampler plugin – high-quality resampling for audiophiles. Spectrum analyzer / visualization plugins – visual feedback while playing music. Headphone crossfeed effect – simulates speaker listening for headphones. Customizable buffer size – tweak latency and playback smoothness. Audacious 4.6.1 changelog: Use XDG cache dir to store temporary files (#1817) Accept embedded lyrics in more cases (#1818) Bump .so and plugin ABI versions retrospectively (#1819) Include Georgian translation (#1820) Fix build on systems using musl instead of glibc (#1823) Download: Audacious 4.6.1 | 48.2 MB (Open Source) Download: Portable Audacious 4.6.1 | 69.8 MB View: Audacious Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Politically funny images of the World

      By +DoctorD · Posted

    • Can't access the forum on mobile

      By Steven P. · Posted

      I really wonder if this has to do with the built in VPN or "private DNS" of browsers that trip up legal requirements like cookie consent and Cloudflare (to avoid all the botnet attacks we get). And BTW some botnets still manage to get past Cloudflare, we are constantly having to tweak it to block malicious traffic that ultimately cause a DDoS.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      agatameier earned a badge
      One Month Later

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      505
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      197
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      142
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      89
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      80
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!