win8 Metro Inconsistencies already starting

[LaP]

Drop shadow is the devil. It needs to be eradicated from earth.

[ahhell]

shaddows are something my stupid spelling checker keeps switching words to on me automatically... for some reason it's in the dictionary list of words... but seriously, you seem to be trying to find stuff say? don't like the topic don't post

Oh noes!!! You really showed me!

You seem to be looking for BS to nitpick about. Win 8 hasn't even hit retail yet and you're whining about extra software inconsistency. I've seen apps that still look 16bit. What about those?? I guess that makes even Win7 or XP look "inconsistent".

[anidais]

In the DP, CP, and RP, Microsoft has drop shadows enabled by default. In the RTM, drop shadows are disabled by default.

Shadows are enabled in Windows 8 RTM. They have not been removed, but are very faint. Take a look at the screenshots and zoom in and you'll see. Inactive windows don't have shadows.

[neufuse Veteran]

Oh noes!!! You really showed me!

You seem to be looking for BS to nitpick about. Win 8 hasn't even hit retail yet and you're whining about extra software inconsistency. I've seen apps that still look 16bit. What about those?? I guess that makes even Win7 or XP look "inconsistent".

good greif :rolleyes: the point is MS is releaseing new "Windows 8 UI" programs and they don't even fit the "Windows 8 UI" it's not nit picking, its pointing out that they once again are not following their own UI design guidelines

Shadows are enabled in Windows 8 RTM. They have not been removed, but are very faint. Take a look at the screenshots and zoom in and you'll see. Inactive windows don't have shadows.

you have to enabled them in RTM, these new programs are ignoreing that setting and showing drop shadows when you have them disabled

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Shadows are enabled in Windows 8 RTM. They have not been removed, but are very faint.

Very faint indeed. :)

[anidais]

Very faint indeed. :)

Yes, most people won't even notice them. If you check the original visual style file, there are indeed drop shadows. Microsoft just toned them down a lot.

[George P Global Moderator]

Oh wow, I didn't notice either, maybe because the border itself is now so in your face I guess? I wonder how it'd be with a thinner border to match the thin shadow.

[Calum Veteran]

Metro itself may not have much of consistency issue.

It's the desktop where 99% of time would be spend has huge consistency problem.

It would take another topic to list all desktop issues

Yes, I certainly agree with that.

good greif :rolleyes: the point is MS is releaseing new "Windows 8 UI" programs and they don't even fit the "Windows 8 UI" it's not nit picking, its pointing out that they once again are not following their own UI design guidelines [. . .]

But this isn't a Windows 8-style app. Microsoft is only using that phrase to refer to WinRT apps. This is a Desktop app :) Due to all of the inconsistencies with Desktop apps, maybe they just thought it wouldn't matter?

[MorganX]

Like what?

Like meaningful Metro inconsistencies. Like a Metro control page bringing up a desktop .cpl app. This isn't even a Metro app.

[George P Global Moderator]

Lot of this left over, or rather, hybrid cross over will start to fade with time I'm sure. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect or think the "desktop" is going away at all but it will change to better match metro. I also don't mean change as it sorta has in 8 with just a new theme. MS could be holding back things for later, specifically Windows 9 once more users have wrapped their heads around the start screen and "metro" better.

I expect things like the systray to be dropped, or for the most part anyways, probably replaced with a slide in metro menu that acts as a replacement for the systrey/notification center. I also expect the taskbar to support pinning live tiles and not just the current standard win7 icons we get now. And before you jump up and down and moan about how adding live tile support to the taskbar would make it fatter and take up too much room I'd like to point out to WP8 and it's small size live tiles. They would fit perfectly on the taskbar while the start screen can support small, normal and large tiles. Seeing the first few steps, the ground work, being laid with Win8 makes me excited for what Win9 could bring us in a few years.

[anidais]

Seeing the first few steps, the ground work, being laid with Win8 makes me excited for what Win9 could bring us in a few years.

Windows 9 will bring improvements (I hope), but if Windows 8 is the foundation for the future then Microsoft should have put more effort.

Let's take the UI as an example. Maybe for the average user it is not as important, but the fact that the OS installer still uses the aero frames, for instance, is something that makes me think of Microsoft as lazy. Not only that, but other areas of the OS also feel unfinished. There are still notification popups with round corners and heavy shadows, the windows update window still has the strong blue gradients, prominent lines and round corners (not changed from 7 at all), the explorer preview pane still has the blue gradient (just like in Windows 7), the screen saver settings window still uses an XP-era monitor image, etc. There are many more inconsistencies. While Microsoft did change most visible parts of the OS, many still remain untouched. I do not know if they ran out of time or if they just didn't care, but as a perfectionist I don't believe in doing half the job to finish it later. Things must be complete and done right from the very beginning.

With all of this I am not saying that every piece of software has to be perfect. There will always be things to improve.

[Scorbing]

Just got the new version of the Microsoft mouse and keyboard drivers... its all metro now, but in widows 8 their windows and splash screens all have drop shaddows?! but nothing else does in win8?

Even though I don't like that Metro crap UI, I don't see anything wrong with the screenshots you are showing.

[George P Global Moderator]

Windows 9 will bring improvements (I hope), but if Windows 8 is the foundation for the future then Microsoft should have put more effort.

Let's take the UI as an example. Maybe for the average user it is not as important, but the fact that the OS installer still uses the aero frames, for instance, is something that makes me think of Microsoft as lazy. Not only that, but other areas of the OS also feel unfinished. There are still notification popups with round corners and heavy shadows, the windows update window still has the strong blue gradients, prominent lines and round corners (not changed from 7 at all), the explorer preview pane still has the blue gradient (just like in Windows 7), the screen saver settings window still uses an XP-era monitor image, etc. There are many more inconsistencies. While Microsoft did change most visible parts of the OS, many still remain untouched. I do not know if they ran out of time or if they just didn't care, but as a perfectionist I don't believe in doing half the job to finish it later. Things must be complete and done right from the very beginning.

With all of this I am not saying that every piece of software has to be perfect. There will always be things to improve.

I agree that they need to change more of the older UI elements like stuff from XP and so on but we'll see how they take to updating Win8 and WinRT. If the updates they do going forward are bigger and not just simple patches for bugs like we're used to then we could see constant UI tweaks till bigger ones come with Windows 9.

[Quillz]

There are still two glaring Win9x-era dialog boxes in Win8. The Mouse one is particular jarring because of both the low-quality icon that doesn't even attempt to be Metro and because of the "battleship gray" background.

And the worst part is both of these were brought up during Win7's development and continued to go ignored. I think Microsoft just doesn't care.

[DrakeN2k]

Why not just hire someone just to fix all the dialogue boxes and win 9X icons

[George P Global Moderator]

I think those will finally be changed, Win8 has a metro control panel and we could see it gain more options going forward.

[Quillz]

Why not just hire someone just to fix all the dialogue boxes and win 9X icons

Not as easy as it sounds. Removing old icons could break legacy support and changing one dialog box could break another.

As much as they could/should fix all the inconsistent dialog boxes, that in of itself would probably require a new Windows version. And even then, it wouldn't change inconsistent behavior: sometimes you'll get a modal window, other times you'll get a tabbed window, sometimes you'll get multiple windows.

[Colin McGregor]

What are "shaddows"?

To people with a functioning brain the word is "Shadows" but it seems yours isn't capable of seeing the person accidently hit d twwice <--- see what I did there?

There are still two glaring Win9x-era dialog boxes in Win8. The Mouse one is particular jarring because of both the low-quality icon that doesn't even attempt to be Metro and because of the "battleship gray" background.

And the worst part is both of these were brought up during Win7's development and continued to go ignored. I think Microsoft just doesn't care.

I know right. I mean when im staring at those two dialogues all day i get mad they look like that.

[Skin]

What are "shaddows"?

really bad-ass shadows

...And the worst part is both of these were brought up during Win7's development and continued to go ignored. I think Microsoft just doesn't care.

I think since MS would love to kill physical mouse and keyboards one day soon, they divert their attention to more important things than the mouse graphics and boxes.

[ArialBlue]

Windows 8 still supports a screen saver. Ewww.

[anidais]

There are still two glaring Win9x-era dialog boxes in Win8. The Mouse one is particular jarring because of both the low-quality icon that doesn't even attempt to be Metro and because of the "battleship gray" background.

And the worst part is both of these were brought up during Win7's development and continued to go ignored. I think Microsoft just doesn't care.

This is what I'm talking about. I think you are right, maybe they just don't care otherwise these would've been changed long ago.

I think those will finally be changed, Win8 has a metro control panel and we could see it gain more options going forward.

There should only be 1 control panel in the whole OS, in my opinion. The desktop control panel has gotten more complicated over the years. A simplification and unification with the "metro" control panel would be better.

[FMH]

I agree with you on the first image. But in the second image, it is very light, and mostly unnoticeable (and it kinda looks really nice!).

[Quillz]

Windows 8 still supports a screen saver. Ewww.

Why shouldn't it?

[Demonface]

Not to mention the background of the splash screen looks like it was ripped from Vista and the application is kinda clunky.

You also have to remember that windows 8 was just leaked when it actually releases they will of course send out service packs and updates to fix eveything which was missed or messed up on.

[neo1911]

Hey atleast the hard drive properties pie merges nicely with Metro UI now.