Windows 8 RC To Get Flatter Explorer UI, Other Changes

[Zain Adeel]

:( what about us ??? I badly wana see the UI changes.!

[freak180]

Same here! Why do screen shots need to be hidden away from the public!

[pack34]

Same here! Why do screen shots need to be hidden away from the public!

Probably to increase traffic to his site.

[Jan Veteran]

Canouna: Today we've taken some times to check the most recent build of Windows 8,

Compiled two days ago, this build will let us check what's new on the Release Candidate branch.

First of all, we can note a new icons for Setup.exe,

Then a new color picker style during the OOBE & Personalization panel,

A bunch of new Aero cursors are added,

Another new revision of the Aero,

A bunch of new start page background added,

A polished start "button" in the corner,

And more...

The system is fast, and really stable.

[bogas04]

Did i tell i hate him a lot ? :(

Not telling was still okay than not telling completely :( :( :(

[George P Global Moderator]

So it sounds like they probably added the "button" back in some form but not the "menu", so people shouldn't jump up and down or anything. heh.

Honestly why don't they just let us set the same background as we have on the desktop with the start page? If the images are the same then the transition isn't going to feel as jarring to some/most IMO.

If they don't want to do that because it might mess with the way the tiles look (since they don't have any real border around them so they could "fade" into the wallpaper someone picks), then why not just slap a simple "glass" layer between the tiles and the wallpaper like windows on the desktop do now? That way you have something there to make sure the live tiles don't get lost in the wallpaper as it were.

I really thing that regardless of how many start screen backgrounds they add that it'll never be enough.

[freak180]

So it sounds like they probably added the "button" back in some form but not the "menu", so people shouldn't jump up and down or anything. heh.

Honestly why don't they just let us set the same background as we have on the desktop with the start page? If the images are the same then the transition isn't going to feel as jarring to some/most IMO.

If they don't want to do that because it might mess with the way the tiles look (since they don't have any real border around them so they could "fade" into the wallpaper someone picks), then why not just slap a simple "glass" layer between the tiles and the wallpaper like windows on the desktop do now? That way you have something there to make sure the live tiles don't get lost in the wallpaper as it were.

I really thing that regardless of how many start screen backgrounds they add that it'll never be enough.

There is no mention of it being added "back." The one in the CP is just polished.

[George P Global Moderator]

There is no mention of it being added "back." The one in the CP is just polished.

Well in the CP there is no "button" just a tab preview that shows up when you move the mouse down into the corner. They might have added something now though, cuz he says "button" not "preview" or w/e you want to call the popup in the CP. We'll know when screenshots get posted, just have to wait.

I don't care if there is or isn't a button, I'm more interested in the second part of my post about the wallpaper issue.

[Anthonyd]

Well in the CP there is no "button" just a tab preview that shows up when you move the mouse down into the corner. They might have added something now though, cuz he says "button" not "preview" or w/e you want to call the popup in the CP. We'll know when screenshots get posted, just have to wait.

I don't care if there is or isn't a button, I'm more interested in the second part of my post about the wallpaper issue.

The start button is inside the charm bar for the CP, it isn't gone.

[bogas04]

Canouna in the forums told that when he said "Start button" he meant

[Active.]

Honestly why don't they just let us set the same background as we have on the desktop with the start page? If the images are the same then the transition isn't going to feel as jarring to some/most IMO.

If they don't want to do that because it might mess with the way the tiles look (since they don't have any real border around them so they could "fade" into the wallpaper someone picks), then why not just slap a simple "glass" layer between the tiles and the wallpaper like windows on the desktop do now? That way you have something there to make sure the live tiles don't get lost in the wallpaper as it were.

I really thing that regardless of how many start screen backgrounds they add that it'll never be enough.

All they'd have to do is add a simple blur effect to the desktop background. I'm not really down with the aesthetics of the tiles in the first place though. The icons for legacy apps should be the main element of their respective tile, and therefore should be much larger and probably centered in the tile in a similar way that the icons for Metro apps are centered in their tiles. And the Metro tiles and their colors are too much 'in your face' for my taste, so much so that the Start screen can almost start to look like a bunch of ads...

[McKay]

right click on desktop -> Personalize -> Window Color Option (Automatic)

right click on desktop -> Personalize (open another window) -> select Windows Basic

Now select again the Window Color on the first window you did open

Nice! Thanks!

[bogas04]

All they'd have to do is add a simple blur effect to the desktop background. I'm not really down with the aesthetics of the tiles in the first place though. The icons for legacy apps should be the main element of their respective tile, and therefore should be much larger and probably centered in the tile in a similar way that the icons for Metro apps are centered in their tiles. And the Metro tiles and their colors are too much 'in your face' for my taste, so much so that the Start screen can almost start to look like a bunch of ads...

a weird wallpaper can ruin it easily, hence the weird start screen background by itself.

[Anthonyd]

This is terribad, all that blur in fullscreen really kills my eyes :(

[Active.]

a weird wallpaper can ruin it easily

Maybe - although nobody is forced to use a weird wallpaper - ... but you're right, it might not be appropriate for MS's concept of going with the very stark colors for their tiles.

I think something like the blur effect would alleviate the problem to a certain extent though.

(first Google result I got for 'weird wallpaper' ;) )

vs.

This is terribad, all that blur in fullscreen really kills my eyes :(

You've got to be kidding ?! (although I'm certainly not saying it's perfect the way I did it)

[George P Global Moderator]

I dunno about blur, that's probably not the right way to go about it. I think added a glass effect like how the taskbar or windows have in the desktop right now is a better way to do it. That way the tiles would look like they're on top of a glass window and your wallpaper is behind the window etc. It'd fit with the "windows" theme still.

As for the desktop app tiles using a small icon I think, as I said in another post months back, that having different tiles look different is by design in the end. Think of it like this, if every type of "object" that you pinned to the start screen had the same live tile look then how would you know what is a metro app, what's a desktop app, or what's a pinned website? Or what's just a shortcut to something on your system for that matter?

Having pinned sites, desktop apps and metro apps with different tiles lets you, as a user, know right away what you're clicking on. But I agree that the icon for desktop apps under the app name could look better if it was a bit bigger. I think the reason it's not is that most apps icons don't support the bigger, i'm guessing 64x64, look and so they're just going with the default 32x32 size icon in the tile?

[bogas04]

Maybe - although nobody is forced to use a weird wallpaper - ... but you're right, it might not be appropriate for MS's concept of going with the very stark colors for their tiles.

I think something like the blur effect would alleviate the problem to a certain extent though.

(first Google result I got for 'weird wallpaper' ;) )

Well it would work (as Launchpad does same thing) but then metro apps' tiles are not like apple apps (no boundaries/shadows/<add more differences here>). Anyways , these concepts would just remain here :/

ALSO not to forget how WP is so locked in terms of customization , i think the amount of customization given for Metro Tablets/Desktop Users is more than enough.

[neo1911]

I am excited about the new dotted cursor theme. Can't wait for it to be ported to windows 7 :D

[Active.]

As for the desktop app tiles using a small icon I think, as I said in another post months back, that having different tiles look different is by design in the end. Think of it like this, if every type of "object" that you pinned to the start screen had the same live tile look then how would you know what is a metro app, what's a desktop app, or what's a pinned website? Or what's just a shortcut to something on your system for that matter?

Having pinned sites, desktop apps and metro apps with different tiles lets you, as a user, know right away what you're clicking on. But I agree that the icon for desktop apps under the app name could look better if it was a bit bigger. I think the reason it's not is that most apps icons don't support the bigger, i'm guessing 64x64, look and so they're just going with the default 32x32 size icon in the tile?

But would you really look for an app based on whether it's Metro style or legacy? Seems kind of backwards to me. In the end, you just care about what the app does, not what framework it's written in, or its visual style.

Maybe I'm too cynical about this. But I suspect Microsoft are making the tiles for legacy apps look deliberately bad so that the Metro tiles stand out more.

[bogas04]

I am excited about the new dotted cursor theme. Can't wait for it to be ported to windows 7 :D

Though it seems a small thing , but it hasn't been changed since umm 2006 :D

[Active.]

Well it would work (as Launchpad does same thing) but then metro apps' tiles are not like apple apps (no boundaries/shadows/<add more differences here>).

You're right. And I think that's great. MS is doing something completely original here (even though I don't agree with all of their decisions).

[freak180]

Any chance of screen shots being leaked?

[Dot Matrix]

Any chance of screen shots being leaked?

I would assume soon. If you're on Twitter, follow https://twitter.com/#!/Canouna

[bogas04]

The new cursors and new icon for setup. Apparently we can see the new Aero revision as well :) Thanks to Jim Allchin & Canouna , but i still hate him for keeping us drooling all this while :p :p :p :drool: :

Which reminds me of Canouna's old tweet which had no explanation behind it , now makes sense :p

http://twitpic.com/9enwup

[Anthonyd]

Pics aren't loading here :( Excepted the twitpic one.