7 ms·
Microsoft is looking to do more data-driven design; this is the reason for all the telemetry in Windows as well. Raymond Chen pointed out an example where a bu
by wvenable 10y ago
Microsoft is looking to do more data-driven design; this is the reason for all the telemetry in Windows as well. Raymond Chen pointed out an example where a button was removed File Explorer (prime real-estate) because the telemetry showed that hardly anyone ever pressed it.
It's unfortunate they are so tone-deaf about the PR implications in Windows.
- brudgers 10y agoThe Story of the Ribbon video about Microsoft and data driven design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl9kD693ie4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl9kD693ie4
- ethbro 10y agoRibbon, or "How to Figure Out Where a Menu Item Is Based Solely on UX Data"* *Customers may not be granted access to UX data
- jameskegel 10y agoThe Ribbon is, in my opinion, the use interface equivalent of a broken pull tab on a can of corn. I know it is there, I know that I'm supposed to use it, but I can't because it is broken.
- krylon 10y agoI am relieved to see there is somebody out there who shares my opinion on this ... innovation.
- jenscow 10y agoLike when they removed Macros from Visual Studio because according to telemetry only 1% of users used them.
- hatchnyc 10y agoI always suspected that there was probably significant overlap between users of macros and users who opted out of telemetry. Lesson learned: leaving "yes" checked from now on.
- emn13 10y agoBig Brother has trained you well. ;-)
- kbenson 10y agoYep. Don't vote and nobody will care about your (unexpressed) needs when making decisions.
- BHSPitMonkey 10y agoWell, it would be nice if there is a way to vote or express one's needs via some alternative to having one's usage actively mined for data.
- reitanqild 10y agoThere is mining for data and there is mining for data. Monitoring which features I use? Opt in. Monitoring what I do? Uninstall if possible.
- cfreeman 10y agoI think you are truly in a minority if you'd rather take a survey than have the data collected automatically. There has to be a sane middle ground.
- emn13 10y agoData collected by a neutral third party without conflicting interests pushing for creative monetization opportunities that's responsible for sufficient annonymisation/aggregation before releasing the data?
- iask 10y agoAre you referring to the 1% on wall street? ;)
- spo81rty 10y agoI only remember accidentally t turning them on and they getting mad!
- logfromblammo 10y agoWe have removed all the weapon deployment buttons from our nuclear subs, silos, and bombers, because telemetry shows that they are typically only pressed during unit testing. Since we only have two recorded events of someone deploying a nuclear weapon in a real-world scenario, it should be safe to relocate those buttons off the main console, and just use the auxiliary functions button, behind the kick panel, next to the row of DIP switches used for selecting the button press function. Since "reorder coffee pods" was the last auxiliary function to be added, "launch nukes" will be next, so make sure you double-check those switches before pushing, coffee drinkers!
- georgemcbay 10y agoI know this is just meant in jest, but because the weapon deployment buttons are something you never want to be pressed on accident, ideally you really do want to obscure them behind layers and layers of user interaction. If anything we had the problem of them not being obscured enough for a while (if the story of the launch codes being 00000000 across the board is true).
- djsumdog 10y agoI thought it was just four zeros (0000)
- MichaelApproved 10y agoYou're joking but I'll give a serious reply to why your analogy is off. This is why they have war games. The telemetry from those games would be included in the analysis.
- logfromblammo 10y agoMy point was that user interface patterns do not always indicate the importance of the control, because there may be multiple modes of operation (such as "Standby", "War", "War Game", and "Readiness Drill") that might not be obvious--or even apparent--from the raw button-press numbers. You want the "War Game" telemetry to count for the "War" design, but you can't really tell which is which without having additional data that you shouldn't be allowed to see. If you detect "casual user" and "programmer" modes in your OS, the user shouts, "I don't want my computer knowing (and sharing) that much info about who I am!" Even though most people aren't likely to ever need to use a fire extinguisher, you really want that interface to be simple and accessible. If you decide that because no one ever used this particular fire extinguisher, it doesn't need to be there, that's a decision that could make the difference between life and death. Moving a button on a form doesn't seem quite that serious, but it could still cause people to lose time or money, which adds up across all the people using the software.
- jobigoud 10y ago> a button was removed from File Explorer Would that be the "Go up to the parent directory" button that was removed in 7 by any chance?
- ohitsdom 10y agoEasily my favorite button in file explorer.
- dingle_thunk 10y agoNo. And that was added back in Windows 10.
- contextfree 10y ago8, actually
- luciusism 10y agoThe "Compatibility Files" button was removed: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20150902-00/?p=91681 https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20150902-00/?p=...