6 ms·

I've tried both public releases and I have to say that I really don't care for Windows 8. The user interface is so schizophrenic that it's not funny. Sometimes

I've tried both public releases and I have to say that I really don't care for Windows 8. The user interface is so schizophrenic that it's not funny. Sometimes I wonder if MS would have been better served offering two version: one with the new metro UI and one without.

rlu 14y ago
The whole point is to have devices in the near future which act as a tablet and then can convert into a laptop or even desktop if it gets docked to a large monitor and keyboard. Metro mainly for touch, desktop mainly for mouse/keyboard. One device, 3 scenarios. Does that not excite you at all?
- Spooky23 14y ago
  Not really. Hybrid devices always suck.
- randomfool 14y ago
  The big question is whether there's more similarity (today) between tablet and laptop than tablet and phone. Microsoft has bet on the tablet-laptop combo while Apple and Android have taken the tablet-phone route. If Apple does indeed release a 7" iPad then this further cements the tablet-phone approach. Microsoft will have difficulties competing here immediately because Win8's UI is not made to scale down that small and it would be awkward to release 7" devices running WP8 (2 different tablet OSes!). Most people agree that there needs to be more continuity between desktop and mobile and Microsoft is setting themselves up decently with Windows Phone 8 (based on the Win8 core and WinRT). My concern with Windows 8 is that it took a cheap route to extend to tablet UIs (the second shell, Metro), resulting in 3 UI platforms- desktop (classic shell), tablet (Metro), phone (WP8), rather than 2.
- mtgx 14y ago
  But Microsoft is forcing you on Metro even on the desktop, which leads me to believe that they think Metro-only is the future, even for desktops.
- r00fus 14y ago
  I got over unattainable concept design porn years ago. My childlike wonder now requires actual shipping product. Attention to detail matters - sometimes more than the grand vision. Microsoft needs to get down to brass tacks - show success stories and tell us how the tablet/laptop scenario would specifically work with Windows8.
bunderbunder 14y ago
Nah, if it's technically capable of running Metro applications, then no sense in making them unavailable to people who are running it on PCs. I just remain unconvinced that the integration was as smooth as it could have been. And, let's admit it, it's going to be a while before I forgive MS for killing off the start menu mere moments after they finally figured out how to make it really good. The Metro replacement looks great, and I'm sure that approach will work as well on tablets as it does on smartphones. . . but for computers, the Windows 7 version was really pretty good, and its replacement just isn't doing it for me.
seanalltogether 14y ago
I've installed Windows 8 on my desktop and so far I find it infuriating to use. I get the feeling that the "computer as a tool" notion has been deprecated with this release, and yet the world is full of people who still need to use their computers as tools on a daily basis. Windows keeps forcing me to use metro, but all the apps I need to use throw me back to the desktop. I was constantly having to switch context throughout a normal working day. Also, I'm annoyed that the app store is Metro only. As a result its full of junk toy apps that are again designed to take me out of the context of the desktop. The fact that you can't purchase and install MS Office through their own app store shows how worthless it is.
- freehunter 14y ago
  Windows keeps forcing me to use metro How? I've been using Windows 8 for weeks and only see Metro when I'm launching an app I don't have pinned. And even then only for a very brief moment while I'm typing, a moment which is hardly disruptive. How do you feel forced to use Metro when everything you do is on the desktop?
  - seanalltogether 14y ago
    Login/Logout - Metro. Install and launch an application - Gotta go through metro Hit close on a fullscreen window - Metro sidebar shows up. Doubleclick a video file, where does it take you? Metro Need to look at pdf or image real quick, where are you going? Metro Wanna use a one off app like Notepad or Calculator? You have to go through Metro, then right-click to pull up the bottom bar, hit All Apps and then finally find your app. Dear God.
    - freehunter 14y ago
      Try this: Windows key + (application name) Is that any different than Windows Vista or 7? For media, you don't have to use Metro. When I open a video it opens MPC. When I open a picture it opens Windows Photo Viewer (not the Photos app). When I open a PDF, it opens Chrome or Foxit. Hell, I want to use Metro but my workflow keeps me in in the desktop 95% of the time. The other 5% is just to open a program I don't have pinned. In that case, just type the application name.
muuh-gnu 14y ago
> Sometimes I wonder if MS would have been better served offering two version No, they want to leverage the power of the desktop Windows to get a foothold in mobile, which they werent able to achieve on their own. Now everybody who develops for desktop windows also kinda develops for mobile windows and strenghtens the weak windows mobile ecosystem. That was the goal. One step back in the desktop, two steps forward in mobile. Thios force-bundling of ecosystems will work out if developers arent so disgusted by Metro to decide to leave the Microsoftian ecosystem alltogether.
- twoodfin 14y ago
  > Now everybody who develops for desktop windows also kinda develops for mobile windows and strenghtens the weak windows mobile ecosystem... I don't see this happening. You're talking about the intersection of Windows apps and their corresponding developers which: a) Haven't already migrated to the web. Discounting Microsoft's own products, the revenues for web "applications" have to dwarf desktop commercial software by several orders of magnitude. Remember when Encarta was a viable product? Or a recipe database? Mapping? Finance? You name something "ordinary people" used to do with boxed software and it's almost all being done online. b) Are suitable for a Metro/Touch-style interface and can leverage it to be cross-device easily (Games are out, so likely are IDEs, pro tools like Photoshop...). Whole classes of applications are going to keep being written against the non-Metro Win32 APIs and under the assumption that you've got a 12"+ screen and a keyboard/mouse. c) Are popular enough to go through the bother of a rewrite (and presumably popular enough to make a difference to Windows Phone or the Surface). Much of what's left when you exclude a) and b) is vertical market stuff or internally written line-of-business applications that will never be worth a radical WinRT rewrite. That's not to say Metro and Windows Phone won't be successful. I just think they're not going to be successful because the folks still writing desktop Windows software will wake up one morning and realize, "Oops, I guess I wrote a Windows Phone application, might as well ship that, too!"
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  The Windows Metro SDK and Windows Phone SDK are not the same. Windows Phone has already gotten pretty good developer support. I believe for a while it was the fastest growing platform in apps. But you hit a wall where users matter. They're not going to catch up to iOS and Android in apps without also having users. The two must grow together.
f4stjack 14y ago
True. There is no better word than "schizophrenic" for how it feels to operate a Windows 8 machine. I can see their reason for it. Pushing desktop paradigm into mobiles didn't work (Older Windows Mobile editions with start menu and all that wasn't easy to use) but now they are trying to tabletize the pc and tablet interface is not as same as a desktop. I felt my mouse was inadequate. The interface expects a sliding gesture, not a mouse click. Oh maybe with the release of Microsoft Surface it would be more useful. But with the run of the mill pc's it won't be so easy to convince the users to buy W8.

rlu 14y ago

The whole point is to have devices in the near future which act as a tablet and then can convert into a laptop or even desktop if it gets docked to a large monitor and keyboard. Metro mainly for touch, desktop mainly for mouse/keyboard. One device, 3 scenarios. Does that not excite you at all?

Spooky23 14y ago
Not really. Hybrid devices always suck.
randomfool 14y ago
The big question is whether there's more similarity (today) between tablet and laptop than tablet and phone. Microsoft has bet on the tablet-laptop combo while Apple and Android have taken the tablet-phone route. If Apple does indeed release a 7" iPad then this further cements the tablet-phone approach. Microsoft will have difficulties competing here immediately because Win8's UI is not made to scale down that small and it would be awkward to release 7" devices running WP8 (2 different tablet OSes!). Most people agree that there needs to be more continuity between desktop and mobile and Microsoft is setting themselves up decently with Windows Phone 8 (based on the Win8 core and WinRT). My concern with Windows 8 is that it took a cheap route to extend to tablet UIs (the second shell, Metro), resulting in 3 UI platforms- desktop (classic shell), tablet (Metro), phone (WP8), rather than 2.
mtgx 14y ago
But Microsoft is forcing you on Metro even on the desktop, which leads me to believe that they think Metro-only is the future, even for desktops.
r00fus 14y ago
I got over unattainable concept design porn years ago. My childlike wonder now requires actual shipping product. Attention to detail matters - sometimes more than the grand vision. Microsoft needs to get down to brass tacks - show success stories and tell us how the tablet/laptop scenario would specifically work with Windows8.

bunderbunder 14y ago

Nah, if it's technically capable of running Metro applications, then no sense in making them unavailable to people who are running it on PCs. I just remain unconvinced that the integration was as smooth as it could have been. And, let's admit it, it's going to be a while before I forgive MS for killing off the start menu mere moments after they finally figured out how to make it really good. The Metro replacement looks great, and I'm sure that approach will work as well on tablets as it does on smartphones. . . but for computers, the Windows 7 version was really pretty good, and its replacement just isn't doing it for me.

seanalltogether 14y ago

I've installed Windows 8 on my desktop and so far I find it infuriating to use. I get the feeling that the "computer as a tool" notion has been deprecated with this release, and yet the world is full of people who still need to use their computers as tools on a daily basis. Windows keeps forcing me to use metro, but all the apps I need to use throw me back to the desktop. I was constantly having to switch context throughout a normal working day. Also, I'm annoyed that the app store is Metro only. As a result its full of junk toy apps that are again designed to take me out of the context of the desktop. The fact that you can't purchase and install MS Office through their own app store shows how worthless it is.

freehunter 14y ago
Windows keeps forcing me to use metro How? I've been using Windows 8 for weeks and only see Metro when I'm launching an app I don't have pinned. And even then only for a very brief moment while I'm typing, a moment which is hardly disruptive. How do you feel forced to use Metro when everything you do is on the desktop?
- seanalltogether 14y ago
  Login/Logout - Metro. Install and launch an application - Gotta go through metro Hit close on a fullscreen window - Metro sidebar shows up. Doubleclick a video file, where does it take you? Metro Need to look at pdf or image real quick, where are you going? Metro Wanna use a one off app like Notepad or Calculator? You have to go through Metro, then right-click to pull up the bottom bar, hit All Apps and then finally find your app. Dear God.
  - freehunter 14y ago
    Try this: Windows key + (application name) Is that any different than Windows Vista or 7? For media, you don't have to use Metro. When I open a video it opens MPC. When I open a picture it opens Windows Photo Viewer (not the Photos app). When I open a PDF, it opens Chrome or Foxit. Hell, I want to use Metro but my workflow keeps me in in the desktop 95% of the time. The other 5% is just to open a program I don't have pinned. In that case, just type the application name.

muuh-gnu 14y ago

> Sometimes I wonder if MS would have been better served offering two version No, they want to leverage the power of the desktop Windows to get a foothold in mobile, which they werent able to achieve on their own. Now everybody who develops for desktop windows also kinda develops for mobile windows and strenghtens the weak windows mobile ecosystem. That was the goal. One step back in the desktop, two steps forward in mobile. Thios force-bundling of ecosystems will work out if developers arent so disgusted by Metro to decide to leave the Microsoftian ecosystem alltogether.

twoodfin 14y ago
> Now everybody who develops for desktop windows also kinda develops for mobile windows and strenghtens the weak windows mobile ecosystem... I don't see this happening. You're talking about the intersection of Windows apps and their corresponding developers which: a) Haven't already migrated to the web. Discounting Microsoft's own products, the revenues for web "applications" have to dwarf desktop commercial software by several orders of magnitude. Remember when Encarta was a viable product? Or a recipe database? Mapping? Finance? You name something "ordinary people" used to do with boxed software and it's almost all being done online. b) Are suitable for a Metro/Touch-style interface and can leverage it to be cross-device easily (Games are out, so likely are IDEs, pro tools like Photoshop...). Whole classes of applications are going to keep being written against the non-Metro Win32 APIs and under the assumption that you've got a 12"+ screen and a keyboard/mouse. c) Are popular enough to go through the bother of a rewrite (and presumably popular enough to make a difference to Windows Phone or the Surface). Much of what's left when you exclude a) and b) is vertical market stuff or internally written line-of-business applications that will never be worth a radical WinRT rewrite. That's not to say Metro and Windows Phone won't be successful. I just think they're not going to be successful because the folks still writing desktop Windows software will wake up one morning and realize, "Oops, I guess I wrote a Windows Phone application, might as well ship that, too!"
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
The Windows Metro SDK and Windows Phone SDK are not the same. Windows Phone has already gotten pretty good developer support. I believe for a while it was the fastest growing platform in apps. But you hit a wall where users matter. They're not going to catch up to iOS and Android in apps without also having users. The two must grow together.

f4stjack 14y ago

True. There is no better word than "schizophrenic" for how it feels to operate a Windows 8 machine. I can see their reason for it. Pushing desktop paradigm into mobiles didn't work (Older Windows Mobile editions with start menu and all that wasn't easy to use) but now they are trying to tabletize the pc and tablet interface is not as same as a desktop. I felt my mouse was inadequate. The interface expects a sliding gesture, not a mouse click. Oh maybe with the release of Microsoft Surface it would be more useful. But with the run of the mill pc's it won't be so easy to convince the users to buy W8.