Windows 8 UX: Weak on tablets, terrible for PCs

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html

 

Dedoimedo is ALWAYS right! Then again, the reason Windows 8 doesn't work is Microsoft couldn't make up its mind on what direction to go.

Its the Windows equivalent of GNOME 3.

 

Honestly, I have been running Windows 8 for about a month now... and Metro is fine. I rarely interact with it - my programs are displayed on the desktop and it's virtually identical to Windows 7, except no start button, but you click the same area and your start menu appears but full screen.

The only full screen application I use is Windows Update. Otherwise I rarely interact with metro apps. And the numerous features, both in terms of usability (native ISO mounting is big for me) and security, make it an upgrade I'm happy I made.

People hate change. MS will release Windows 9 in 2-3 years with a few UI tweaks and changes and the media will go "OH MY GOD they fixed it it's perfect now!" and users will flock to it, just like they did with Vista and 7.

It is almost surprising, as the change from 7 to 8 is far easier to make than XP to vista/7. Almost.

I don't love metro. I agree with the article that it feel like two UIs in one. It's just that the second UI never comes up for me, I use the start screen exactly as I used the menu, and that's it. So for me the UI is basically exactly the same as Windows 7, but I get all of the benefits that come with a Windows 8 computer.

The part of the article I most agree with is the removal of shadowing. Before it was easy to tell which items were clickable, now it's impossible as text and buttons look so similar.

 

I read on another forum today that Best Buy employees are saying that 6 out of 10 new PC sales are being returned because of Windows 8. If that's true, and I do believe it, Windows 9 should appear within a year or so...

 

ISO mounting utilities have been available for years. I use Virtual CloneDrive, which works from the Windows Explorer context menu. I don´t see any difference between this and a native utility.

 

The difference is that it's one less program to manage. Maybe if this were Linux I wouldn't care, because all software is kept up to date through a package manager.

Besides not having to keep it up to date or deal with it, I expect a level of quality from Microsoft and their products. For example, Daemon Tools (this issue may no longer exist) at one point installed a driver that was incredibly difficult to remove afterwards, even after installation. Lately MS has done a much better job with QOS/ SDL.

It's not a big deal, I wouldn't necessarily upgrade only for that. But it's one of a few features I like - others might be the new startup type for services, similar to a hybrid of manual and delayed start. Or the numerous security improvements.

I wouldn't pay for a Windows OS, and I never have. This key was gifted to me, so for me upgrading meant very little - just a matter of getting it done. For others who have to justify paying money I can see why they'd be more wary.

 

I didn't like Metro when I first used it. But now it's easy and I prefer Win8 to previous OS. People don't like change and Win8 takes time to adjust your thoughts.

 

Same here. I only get a new OS when I buy a new computer.

 

True, but something new should also be intuitive and easy to use if it's to be considered progress as opposed to a step in the wrong direction, and apparently a lot of people don't find it so intuitive or easy... I had no trouble with it personally, I just don't want metro there.. so I passed. I do believe the market will speak and let MS know what it thinks in no uncertain terms....

 

I recently bought a used laptop with vista 64 on it, I was ready to yank vista off and install xp on it. But on a fast laptop (4gb ram) vista 64 aint bad, it runs better than xp. I hate to say it but I like windows vista.
Little by little I'm moving up to the newer windows OS that I didnt want to do, maybe windows 8 isnt as bad as everyone says but it will take me a couple of years to get there to find out. Change is slow for me.

 

If you have service pack 2 installed Vista run quite well. On some computers it works well without any service packs, on others it suffers from freezes and slow downs until you install the service packs.

 

If you don't use short-cuts it maybe prudent to learn a few when starting out on Win8 :

You can also r/c on the desktop or where the "Start" is to start an activity.

 

i pretty much tamed Windows 8.

i've gotten comfortable with Metro.
but i launch my desktop programs the same way i did when using Win 7: by opening a folder where i keep all my shortcuts.

i'm not sure it worth the 40$ i paid for the upgrade from windows 7 but i am happy with the the few minor changes that i like: got rid of the bloody Aero sunrays effect on the taskbar, being able to schedule a Command Prompt at boot time from the desktop.

on the downside, my old motherboard has problem with Win 8 and Sleep mode.
but booting is a little faster on Win 8 so i don' t really mind.

 

There are a whole load of usability issues (http://arstechnica.com/information-...r-the-sad-state-of-office-2013-touch-support/) using the old desktop on a touchscreen in Windows 8 that were not covered by the useit article, which is very important to the huge amount of people who still need to run legacy desktop.

 

The matter of fact is that the degree of perceived and real usability differs from one person to another. We may be talking about the exact same 'feature' or 'product' and yet have different reactions and level of acceptance/tolerance towards it. For some, it may be intuitive or learnable while for others, it represents a form of mental or workflow challenge. Again, the exact same 'feature' or 'product' might introduce efficiency for some while hampers productivity for others. What one calls progress is someone else's regress. There's always the argument of opposing change vs adapting to it but will a reasonable form of conclusion be achieved when it's apparent that the 2 sides do not accept the other's view of what defines 'usable'? All of these are normal. In the case of Windows 8, when the target audience is large and varied in terms of user patterns and behavior, there will always be those who find it 'disappointing', those who find it 'satisfactory', and those who find it a 'success'.