4 ms·

Its funny that as soon as microsoft need to make an alterate UI for computers they always reach for the home as an analogy. Are they really that short of creati

by alt227 2y ago

Its funny that as soon as microsoft need to make an alterate UI for computers they always reach for the home as an analogy. Are they really that short of creativity that rooms full of stuff is all they can imagine computers as?!

robertlagrant 2y ago
If you look at their Metro UI that was very innovative, and looked a lot like "real stuff" less than the equivalent iPhone/Android UIs at the time, from memory.
- alt227 2y ago
  I disagree. Metro UI was ugly, space wasting, and a blight on UI design. I even disliked it on mobile which it was arguably designed for.
  - robertlagrant 2y ago
    You think it looked more like "real stuff" than the contemporary iOS and Android designs?
  - tgv 2y ago
    I actually liked it on mobile. Not fully: it was clunky and almost anti-aesthetic, but it worked, was easy to navigate (where implemented properly; I remember a date calc function that would show the years as a pop-up...) and was a fresh break from the trends at the time. (Well, I'd better come out of the closet now: Yes, I had a Microsoft mobile phone. But I was not the only one!)
  - datavirtue 2y ago
    Compared to random icons sprinkled across three or four screens? Metro was clean, fast and easily customized, the way a phone should be. The current Android/iPhone UIs are pure slop in comparison.
    - bayindirh 2y ago
      iPhone is just an evolution of PalmOS, and I think PalmOS was a great operating system all around, including UX. Unfortunately, development experience (on PalmOS) didn't mirror the usage experience, though.
slightwinder 2y ago
Rooms with stuff are natural, we all live in them. And even Game devs tend to implement them as interfaces, because it's simple to understand for beginners and laymen. Any innovative interface has to build knowledge and understanding with the users first, and that usually fails.
- alt227 2y ago
  I dont see Apple or Google using room based interfaces, it seems to just be Microsoft these days. Please can you point out some games that do this? I cant find any.

by alt227 2y ago

robertlagrant 2y ago

If you look at their Metro UI that was very innovative, and looked a lot like "real stuff" less than the equivalent iPhone/Android UIs at the time, from memory.

alt227 2y ago
I disagree. Metro UI was ugly, space wasting, and a blight on UI design. I even disliked it on mobile which it was arguably designed for.
- robertlagrant 2y ago
  You think it looked more like "real stuff" than the contemporary iOS and Android designs?
- tgv 2y ago
  I actually liked it on mobile. Not fully: it was clunky and almost anti-aesthetic, but it worked, was easy to navigate (where implemented properly; I remember a date calc function that would show the years as a pop-up...) and was a fresh break from the trends at the time. (Well, I'd better come out of the closet now: Yes, I had a Microsoft mobile phone. But I was not the only one!)
- datavirtue 2y ago
  Compared to random icons sprinkled across three or four screens? Metro was clean, fast and easily customized, the way a phone should be. The current Android/iPhone UIs are pure slop in comparison.
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    iPhone is just an evolution of PalmOS, and I think PalmOS was a great operating system all around, including UX. Unfortunately, development experience (on PalmOS) didn't mirror the usage experience, though.

slightwinder 2y ago

Rooms with stuff are natural, we all live in them. And even Game devs tend to implement them as interfaces, because it's simple to understand for beginners and laymen. Any innovative interface has to build knowledge and understanding with the users first, and that usually fails.

alt227 2y ago
I dont see Apple or Google using room based interfaces, it seems to just be Microsoft these days. Please can you point out some games that do this? I cant find any.