4 ms·

From Transportation to Pixels (history and future of Microsoft 'Metro')

22 points by johns 16y ago

rbanffy 16y ago
I found the idea of letting the interface disappear in the middle of the information a very interesting idea. But the idea of borrowing UIs from science fiction is downright suicidal. Form follows function, not fashion.
- wladimir 16y ago
  Whereas I agree that a lot of 'TV' (not only scifi) user interfaces are nonsense (For example, in CSI, why do they show random fingerprints and photos while querying the database?), a lot of ideas from science fiction have been used for actual technology. It can be good ideas, or bad ideas, but you cannot say in general that they are bad or 'downright suicidal'... Only as soon as the technology makes it possible to actually execute the ideas, we can test whether they make sense or not... (Don't forget the Minority Report style interfaces that 'everyone' seems to want these days) (BTW: I wonder why the post in this topic by Hov, which mentions that tablets look a lot like the devices used in Star Trek, is killed?)
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    I think CSI qualifies as bad scifi. Not only the user interfaces are ludicrous, but they also employ "sufficiently advanced technology" in just about every episode.
chevas 16y ago
I think this is one of the better design directions MS has taken, but I have one major beef. Typography is not just type, but it encompasses layout, treatment of text, text as UI elements, etc. I just notice that there are times where more information can be placed on a single screen, but less data is displayed requiring me to interact more with the device than necessary. I feel like WinPhone7Series keeps a content focus at times and then loses it at others.
kevinburke 16y ago
Stealing UI ideas from movies is a really, really bad idea. Movie user interfaces generally have horrible usability. They're part of the reason that the early Web had so many 3D interfaces and flashy graphics, because managers thought they looked cool even though no one could use them. More here: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/film-ui-bloopers.html http://www.useit.com/alertbox/film-ui-bloopers.html
- Hov 16y ago
  I always felt the tablets of today were inspired by devices used on such shows as star trek TNG.
- unwind 16y ago
  Amazing that such a reputable source includes the Jurrasic Park classic ("This is a Unix system. I know this") without also pointing out that the application shown in that scene is indeed a real program, FSN from Silicon Graphics. See http://www.siliconbunny.com/fsn-the-irix-3d-file-system-tool-from-jurassic-park/ http://www.siliconbunny.com/fsn-the-irix-3d-file-system-tool... for more information. With that in mind, I don't think it's at all unreasonable that a 12-year old drops the distinction between "a Silicon Graphics system" and "Unix". Of course, it might be a bit beside the point to nag about factual problems in a movie about reborn dinosaurs. :)
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Obviously, any SGI geek would say "This is IRIX. I know this". ;-) No self-respecting Unix hacker (or an IRIX one) would navigate through a filesystem using FSN.
stcredzero 16y ago
There's some bit in the comments about wanting the Desktop OS to adopt some of the ideas, and the mobile team taking jabs at desktop. Ironically, Apple is in a better position for ideas to flow from mobile to desktop. Apple and Android would be well served from a UX standpoint to move from their tool-centric view to a content/information centric one, but I'm a little hazy on how one supports a market and developer ecosystem without a lot of tool-awareness in the UI.
toddmorey 16y ago
First, I think you mean "skeuomorphic". But I don't agree that the absence of texture is the obvious and only future of UI. Font, color, texture, shape... these are all tools that great designers--just like great painters--use well. Both the abundance and absence of those elements can be overdone. (Sometimes in all-type interfaces, it's really hard to know what to click on, for example.)

22 points by johns 16y ago

I found the idea of letting the interface disappear in the middle of the information a very interesting idea. But the idea of borrowing UIs from science fiction is downright suicidal. Form follows function, not fashion.

wladimir 16y ago
Whereas I agree that a lot of 'TV' (not only scifi) user interfaces are nonsense (For example, in CSI, why do they show random fingerprints and photos while querying the database?), a lot of ideas from science fiction have been used for actual technology. It can be good ideas, or bad ideas, but you cannot say in general that they are bad or 'downright suicidal'... Only as soon as the technology makes it possible to actually execute the ideas, we can test whether they make sense or not... (Don't forget the Minority Report style interfaces that 'everyone' seems to want these days) (BTW: I wonder why the post in this topic by Hov, which mentions that tablets look a lot like the devices used in Star Trek, is killed?)
- rbanffy 16y ago
  I think CSI qualifies as bad scifi. Not only the user interfaces are ludicrous, but they also employ "sufficiently advanced technology" in just about every episode.

chevas 16y ago

I think this is one of the better design directions MS has taken, but I have one major beef. Typography is not just type, but it encompasses layout, treatment of text, text as UI elements, etc. I just notice that there are times where more information can be placed on a single screen, but less data is displayed requiring me to interact more with the device than necessary. I feel like WinPhone7Series keeps a content focus at times and then loses it at others.

kevinburke 16y ago

Stealing UI ideas from movies is a really, really bad idea. Movie user interfaces generally have horrible usability. They're part of the reason that the early Web had so many 3D interfaces and flashy graphics, because managers thought they looked cool even though no one could use them. More here: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/film-ui-bloopers.html http://www.useit.com/alertbox/film-ui-bloopers.html

Hov 16y ago
I always felt the tablets of today were inspired by devices used on such shows as star trek TNG.
unwind 16y ago
Amazing that such a reputable source includes the Jurrasic Park classic ("This is a Unix system. I know this") without also pointing out that the application shown in that scene is indeed a real program, FSN from Silicon Graphics. See http://www.siliconbunny.com/fsn-the-irix-3d-file-system-tool-from-jurassic-park/ http://www.siliconbunny.com/fsn-the-irix-3d-file-system-tool... for more information. With that in mind, I don't think it's at all unreasonable that a 12-year old drops the distinction between "a Silicon Graphics system" and "Unix". Of course, it might be a bit beside the point to nag about factual problems in a movie about reborn dinosaurs. :)
- rbanffy 16y ago
  Obviously, any SGI geek would say "This is IRIX. I know this". ;-) No self-respecting Unix hacker (or an IRIX one) would navigate through a filesystem using FSN.

stcredzero 16y ago

There's some bit in the comments about wanting the Desktop OS to adopt some of the ideas, and the mobile team taking jabs at desktop. Ironically, Apple is in a better position for ideas to flow from mobile to desktop. Apple and Android would be well served from a UX standpoint to move from their tool-centric view to a content/information centric one, but I'm a little hazy on how one supports a market and developer ecosystem without a lot of tool-awareness in the UI.

toddmorey 16y ago

First, I think you mean "skeuomorphic". But I don't agree that the absence of texture is the obvious and only future of UI. Font, color, texture, shape... these are all tools that great designers--just like great painters--use well. Both the abundance and absence of those elements can be overdone. (Sometimes in all-type interfaces, it's really hard to know what to click on, for example.)