My Windows 9 Harmony UI.


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It is irrelevant if people can design or not. CONSUMERS dictate what they like. They don't need to design it, they need to USE it.

 

Of course the customer is King, but don't think any average user can come up with something people simply won't sneer at. MS can't afford to go on chopping and changing the main UI of their OS, so what they come up with has to appeal to a large segment of the population at least. Being an experienced designer definitely does help, this is not a trivial job. If it were everyone would be doing it and people like Jony Ive wouldn't be so highly regarded.

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lol oh please, it's just a concept. Obviously it would look 100% better if actually used.

It doesn't do anything to improve upon Windows as it stands today. It's just change for the sake of change.

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It doesn't do anything to improve upon Windows as it stands today. It's just change for the sake of change.

 

You must like windows 8 :laugh:

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You must like windows 8 :laugh:

I certainly do. While I think this is a decent concept, I can't say it's better, or even as good as the Windows 8 UI.

 

I'd download it in a heartbeat if it were released as an alternate shell for Windows 7, though.

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You must like windows 8 :laugh:

I do, though I am critical of many aspects of the Metro implementation.

 

Personally I think the Windows desktop works well as it is, though more space could be achieved by hiding some elements of the interface during normal use while still allowing you to quickly switch between apps:

 

SRsKvAJ.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

What I would like to see is them have a physical button for the charms bar. The charms bar is one of the things I hate showing people because the moment I do their eyes glaze over. It's a really hard bar to explain and show how to activate.

 

What would be nice is a physical button on the bottom right of the taskbar for mouse and keyboard users. Once you click it and click settings (for example) then the bar on the right appears.

 

33to3s1.jpg

 

People would understand this and their eyes wouldn't glaze over. What i've seen from showing people windows 8 on the desktop is that they LOVE physical buttons, and they HATE hidden UI elements. The hidden stuff is what makes their eyes glaze over.

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It's a really hard bar to explain and show how to activate.

 

How hard is it to tell people to place the cursor in the right most corners of the screen? :huh: I've never had to tell anyone how to do that.

 

post-420821-0-31077600-1394215316.png

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What I would like to see is them have a physical button for the charms bar. The charms bar is one of the things I hate showing people because the moment I do their eyes glaze over. It's a really hard bar to explain and show how to activate.

 

What would be nice is a physical button on the bottom right of the taskbar for mouse and keyboard users. Once you click it and click settings (for example) then the bar on the right appears.

 

33to3s1.jpg

 

People would understand this and their eyes wouldn't glaze over. What i've seen from showing people windows 8 on the desktop is that they LOVE physical buttons, and they HATE hidden UI elements. The hidden stuff is what makes their eyes glaze over.

 

Not a bad idea for the desktop side, though I'd put the button in the corner, since that's where the charms are now, and where I'd assume they'd still come from. A visual target isn't a bad notion, but it should work with what's already in place. Just nudge the "Show Desktop" button and system tray over a bit and drop it in there.

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Dot Matrix, on 07 Mar 2014 - 12:02, said:

How hard is it to tell people to place the cursor in the right most corners of the screen? :huh: I've never had to tell anyone how to do that.

 

attachicon.gifCharms.png

Comments like these, which are the norm on tech sites it seems, show me who are in the "trenches" of the IT field and who are simply hobbyists.

 

warwagon is quite on the mark. I'm in the same position as him (he owns a tech company, I work for one) and I'm sure he sees day in/out customers come in that have Windows 8 on their machines. Out of easily 200 people I've talked to the last 2 months regarding Windows 8, only 10-20 of them knew of the charms bar and how to activate it.

 

So, maths for a second:

 

20 / 200 = 1/10

 

1/10 of the consumers I've dealt with understood this portion of Microsoft's UI. This represents an outstanding problem; one in which Microsoft clearly is concerned about else Windows 8.1 Spring Update would not have the various changes in it that it has.

 

If you want even more depressing numbers, I can go into more detail of how many of them actually USE the new start screen or how to even tweak it (move around tiles) or even where the desktop tile is to, quote, "escape this stupid ######ing thing".

 

Don't get me wrong Dot, I love Windows 8. Hell I fight against my boss about it (he won't use my computer cause it doesn't have start 8 :p). It just isn't clicking with the consumer and after being out for more than a year now...that is a scary position MS finds itself in.

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It just isn't clicking with the consumer and after being out for more than a year now...that is a scary position MS finds itself in.

I disagree that it isn't clicking. Being on the market for a year doesn't mean many people have been exposed to it. I still get asked how to work iPads. It's just a part of the game, but it isn't that hard to tell people, simply mouse over to the corners. They're hard to forget, and the easiest targets to hit.

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I disagree that it isn't clicking. Being on the market for a year doesn't mean many people have been exposed to it. I still get asked how to work iPads. It's just a part of the game, but it isn't that hard to tell people, simply mouse over to the corners. They're hard to forget, and the easiest targets to hit.

You are welcome to think that, I only speak of personal experience being an IT professional in the field.

 

That said, the biggest tell sign is the Spring Update. You cannot deny that Microsoft is backpedaling on some of their design decisions.

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How hard is it to tell people to place the cursor in the right most corners of the screen? :huh: I've never had to tell anyone how to do that.

 

attachicon.gifCharms.png

 

Well if you are power user with a multi monitor setup it is a ######ing pain in the ass to use it so they cleary didn't think enough about it.

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Well if you are power user with a multi monitor setup it is a ####ing pain in the ass to use it so they cleary didn't think enough about it.

I disagree. It took me all of two days to get used to it.

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Well if you are power user with a multi monitor setup it is a ####ing pain in the ass to use it so they cleary didn't think enough about it.

I have a multi monitor setup, and I've had no issues with it.

You are welcome to think that, I only speak of personal experience being an IT professional in the field.

 

That said, the biggest tell sign is the Spring Update. You cannot deny that Microsoft is backpedaling on some of their design decisions.

I support people myself. Many of which are participating in a Windows 8.1 pilot. None of them have had any issues using the corners.

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It kind of reminds me of a less dynamic rocket dock. (less dynamic= without the fancy rounded animated elements found in rocket dock) Nice work though.

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Kinda sorta reminds me of the old Cairo Shell mockups before that project went belly-up.  Theirs was on top with a traditional taskbar on the bottom but just the vibe I got.

Exactly what I was thinking

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What would be nice is a physical button on the bottom right of the taskbar

 

Um, you may want to look up "physical"

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