Metro and the Desktop User
I think this is the last newsletter to be centered around what I perceive to be the shortfall of Windows 8, primarily the Metro look and feel. There is a lot of neat stuff in it that I am looking forward to using…but at what expense?
A little history…I started programming on an Apple Macintosh in 1985. I hated it at first because I was quite proficient in MS Dos, and console based applications. But, my company used Macs, and I quickly learned to adopt.
Then Windows started impacting the corporate world, primarily Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11. It was a poor approximation of my Mac, and crashed as often as not. When Microsoft came out with Windows 95 they finally had a product that was pretty cool, only a decade worth of features late. Still, it was the best the corporate world had at an economic level.
IMHO, Windows XP was the first true 32 bit pre-emptive, multi-tasking, stable Windows operating system for the consumer desktop with a really useful User Experience. It was tweaked to make regular desktop and notebook users highly productive.
From that point of view, nothing has been released from Microsoft that makes using a desktop or laptop computer easier for the professional. That doesn’t mean there are no meaningful modifications…I feel that the actual user experience has not gained any usability factor making day to day work easier, faster, or more efficient.
Now with Metro, we have taken a completely different approach from Document Centric presentation to Application Centric. Things that I could get to in one or two keystrokes, or mouse clicks have become more time consuming. Frankly, that is the only thing I have a problem with…the GUI and the work necessary to get to the application I want to utilize. Why restrict a user to the confines of what you are able to do on a touch screen with limited real-estate and capabilities?
I am guessing there must be a mode allowing me to work in a more traditional look and feel.
So, to be fair, tomorrow I think I’ll touch on some features about Metro I really like.
In the meantime, here are some comments from our readers.
Paul writes:
I’m just curious if Microsoft eats their own dog food on this one. Do their programmers do all their work on Windows 8 platforms? The answer to that would be very enlightening, I’m thinking.
Editor: "Eat their own dog food" is a phrase used to describe when a company internally uses software they create. For example, Microsoft uses SQL Server to host MSDN content, as well as other products. The phrase has even been turned into a verb, "DogFooding".
Michael writes:
I’m not sure if the following has been said about Windows 8 yet or not, but reviewing the comments below it may be helpful.
People should look at the Lenovo X220T Tablet. I think it is a perfect mix between Tablet and Laptop. It can be configured to look just like a traditional laptop with a keyboard or the screen can swivel backwards and lay flat so that you can lay it flat. It has several methods of input by default. It has the touch screen(non gorilla glass), it has the full regular keyboard, it also has pen input(both gorilla glass and regular versions), and on screen keyboard. The specs are good to run just about anything you want as it supports Windows 7 Professional and I think up to 8 GB RAM. It supports running SSD or regular hard drive. I think I have a 160GB SSD but you have the option for 500 GB drive.
Windows 8 runs great on it and Lenovo already has beta drivers available for testing. The only thing I haven’t got to work on Windows 8 is the fingerprint reader, but I can live without that for a bit. It also has an extended battery that you can buy that allows you to use the laptop up to 10 hours on a single charge. I bought this laptop/tablet and couldn’t be happier as I get the full benefits of it being a tablet but don’t have to sacrifice any of the functionality of a laptop or find equivalent apps.
The only drawback I can see is the screen size(12.5 inches I think). Its great for most things and for on the plane and has sufficient real estate, but if you’re going to be on it all day, you’d probably want to hook it up to a monitor or a laptop with a larger screen. But if I’m not needing to be on a laptop all day, this is now my go to laptop.
Eric writes:
I work in Sales in our systems division for [a large corporation in the United States]. I was reading through some of your readers comments on Windows 8 and was surprised by their overall negative tone, especially in regards to the Metro interface. I don’t think the Metro interface is supposed to replace a mouse and keyboard input system, but only to augment those current capabilities with a touch based interface. That is why I’m excited to develop ideas on this platform…simply because we can extend our current technological capabilities into new spaces with a new way of interacting with information.
There’s no way we’ll change out our data input heavy programs for a metro interface application, BUT we are VERY interested in using it for more workflow, decision based applications as well as for “dashboards” or “composites” that allow our users to be productive in any situation with the right tools to make them productive at their fingertips. That’s why the idea of Windows 8 being “hybrid” is exciting in the sense it can be a desktop computer when you need a desktop computer, and a tablet when you need a tablet.
What features of the Metro UX have you found useful? Are there things that have made your life easier or more efficient? Drop me a note at btaylor@sswug.org to share that experience with our readers.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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