7 ms·
I do not really understand how Microsoft could drop the ball that low on Windows 10 usability. It feels like a cramp to make something different but without any
by 2ion 6y ago
I do not really understand how Microsoft could drop the ball that low on Windows 10 usability. It feels like a cramp to make something different but without any foundational insights how it could be better than past iterations on the UI nor with the budget and man power actually needed to pull the project together. Putting all other things aside, the "Windows shell" today is so much inferior to even latest GNOME and KDE iterations.
On the other hand, what's changed massively is how easily Windows 10 can be used as a power user, single-user desktop computer from the shell through powershell. I do not even have to rely on bad or outdated click UIs --- although my employer recently sent me to a AWS course where the task was to configure a Windows Server based AD controller, and the experience involved admin GUIs from my worst nightmares --- to do things like checking the current IP addresses, configuring and overriding DNS servers, or definining/scheduling custom background services anymore.
While other parts and usage paradigms of the Windows computer are experiencing a boost and are being "supported" right now, esp. when it comes to developer tools and developer workflows, package management (winget...) --- thank you Microsoft for that vision ---, the "classic way of using Windows" and the use of good UI to make the OS accessible to users of all PC user skill levels is being neglected to such a degree it's not even funny.
- epanchin 6y agoMicrosoft didn't just drop the ball on the general design. Individual features have fallen behind. The calculator in Windows 7 was great, you could type sums and edit your history to quickly make changes to calculations. Windows 10, history is just for looking at. I now have a Texas calculator on my desk.
- andrepd 6y agoQalculate is by far the best calculator app I've ever used.
- cosmodisk 6y agoI don't think I've seen a single person in any office using the calc on windows- anyone who needs to do simple calculations more than once a day has a physical calc on their desk- so much better and easier to use.
- rvba 6y agoExcel or apps that allow to edit history are much better than an old school calculator
- cosmodisk 6y agoI meant for simple calculations only- there's no way a pocket calc can be better than Excel.
- 20thCB 6y agoMy kids just type the calculation into Google.
- stjohnswarts 6y agoYour kids are smart. I have a pinned wolframalpha tab
- soulofmischief 6y agoThat's the point. No one uses it because it sucks. Meanwhile, my linux box has a dedicated macro to opening and closing SpeedCrunch, I also have br from the command line. Along with a numberpad input, there is literally no difference here from a desk calculator (which I still have, of course)
- anthk 6y agoany REPL >>>> spreadsheet.
- tomerv 6y agoI just installed calc.exe from Windows 7 on my work laptop with Windows 10. You can find copies of it online.
- erfgh 6y agoPro tip: Install python and do your calculations on the command line.
- Darmody 6y agoOr use a good calculator like Speedcrunch.
- mrweasel 6y agoThat’s not really the point is it? Windows 7 had a good calculator, which have been reduced to a bad one, for no real reason other than a GUI refresh.
- snazz 6y agoThe system I'm typing on runs Windows Server 2019, which has the Windows 7-era calculator and very little ability to use UWP apps, and I still do my math with Speedcrunch, Desmos, or an emulated TI-84 Plus CE via CEmu. The Windows 7 calculator is a solid basic calculator, but I think most power users in that time used third-party options or something like a spreadsheet. Microsoft clearly thinks of the calculator as a demo application for UWP and XAML, as evidenced by them open-sourcing it, sort of like how Apple treats TextEdit like a Cocoa text rendering demo. If you want a serious calculator or a serious text editor, you're better off looking outside these bundled tools.
- sgtnasty 6y agoI wish it would support HiDPI displays better. Right now it's impossible for me to read.
- akalsz 6y agoOr if you prefer JavaScript, try qjscalc from QuickJS [1]. [1]: https://bellard.org/quickjs/ https://bellard.org/quickjs/
- FpUser 6y agoInstall that giant monster just as a calculator? This does not make sense. There are free calculators for windows with very nice functionality and no bloat.
- splithalf 6y agoWhy not use a spreadsheet? You can save a spreadsheet and do linked graphics. Spreadsheets are the future.
- Causality1 6y agoI still remember the first day I used Windows 10 and tried to make a desktop shortcut. I opened the Start menu, began typing the name... and then dragging a program off the search result list didn't work. I right clicked, expecting to get the option to "send to desktop(create shortcut)" and that was gone too. I found I had to add it to the Start menu, drag it from there onto the desktop, and then delete it from the Start menu. The feeling of dread that settled onto my stomach at that moment has never been matched by any other computer event in my life.
- Anthony-G 6y ago> The feeling of dread that settled onto my stomach at that moment has never been matched by any other computer event in my life. Consider yourself blessed if that’s the most dreadful computer experience. I’ve had severe anxiety induced by: * user errors, e.g., why is that “rm” command taking so long? or “Save As” over-writing an important file * software bugs, e.g., “no boot device found” after the most recent Windows 10 update * hardware errors, e.g., USB flash drive suddenly becomes unreadable
- Causality1 6y agoThose are bad events that happen once and then are over and you pick up the pieces. Windows 10 is like learning you have a terminal illness. It's a few small inconveniences now but you know it's just going to get worse and worse and worse.
- boatsie 6y agoHad this exact experience and had to google a solution.. Why they didn’t use the same control element for an item found with the search versus in the start menu is mind boggling.
- Causality1 6y agoThe same attitude extends everywhere else in the operating system. In any other version of Windows if you drag a folder onto the taskbar you get a labeled icon that opens that folder when you click it. In Windows 10 it just adds to the list of possible folders when you open the file manager shortcut. You can create a shortcut to a folder by adding an Explorer argument to a folder shortcut but it still won't have a label when you put it on the taskbar.
- tapland 6y agoThe one I run into the most is the new modern settings-interface which looks nice but is bloated and contains 1/10 the features of the control panel categories I'm actually trying to get to.
- cogman10 6y agoIt's so unnavigable that I'll either use the search function in some cases I have to Google or bust out powershell. At this point the linux desktops have become more useable.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y agoWindows is, unfortunately, just following the general trend of letting brain-dead "UX designers" make everything look like a website on a fucking iPhone. More wasted screen real estate, fewer features, slower to load, and built-in adtech. It is our fault as an industry that this has happened and we are reaping what we've sewn.
- titzer 6y agoI lol'd at your comment. Poor UX designers. In an age of gentleness, I wish I could barge into their houses and rearrange all their furniture, toss the contents of their refrigerators into the bathtub, and spraypaint their bedrooms a cheap pink color. Because that's what they do to my computer interfaces at random intervals, and I have no power over it anymore.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- mynameisvlad 6y agoI think what it really is is that the power user is no longer the target audience. It’s the 18 year old who wants a new flashy thing every few versions. Regular users think the same is boring and old, so the need to “change things up” is higher than ever. Look at iOS (and to a lesser extent Android) for instance. It has had I believe 3 or 4 major UI looks in its 13 year life.
- soulofmischief 6y agoAnd I have no idea how to use an iPhone because I haven't used one in years.
- sircastor 6y agoI have owned an original iPhone and an iPhone 12 mini. In between I used Android through 4 phones. I did not find it difficult at all to move back to iOS.
- MichaelMoser123 6y agoi think they tried to create a common UI experience with windows 10 mobile; they even had the concept of 'universal apps' that could run as is on both the desktop and windows phone; They really tried to make it on the phone, but it didn't work out. Now the desktop is stuck with the result, as they decided to change priorities to the cloud, and windows 10 turned into the 'last good version'.
- AnonymousPlanet 6y agoIn my experience, pretty much every single Windows emcumbered IT department I came across lately [1] switch off Powershell on their servers "for security". Every single setup involves circle clicking your way through >20 year old windows UIs. There's absolute no change if everyone involved has their foot firmly on the brake. Powershell and WSL are nice, but if pretty much every corp puts a lid on them, you're still stuck in yesterday's Windows hell. [1] Assessing our software deployments at customer sites
- PeterStuer 6y agoThey sacrificed the desktop ui on the mobile first altar to get the blessing of the app store margin gods.