4 ms·
I think the problem is not that the start menu is a fantastic piece of UX (which it clearly is not), it's that Win8 takes away a key method of interacting with
by mattkevan 13y ago
I think the problem is not that the start menu is a fantastic piece of UX (which it clearly is not), it's that Win8 takes away a key method of interacting with the system and replaces it with something worse.
Do something better and there'll be less complaints.
- TillE 13y agoYep. For example, Alfred on OS X is a fantastic third-party interface addition. The Windows 8 start screen is similar in concept, but it's a pile of crap in comparison: slow, bad search, lacking features, takes over your whole screen, etc.
- silverlake 13y agoIsn't the Win8 start screen similar to Launchpad on MacOS? Spotlight is command+space, Win8 search is Win+F. And Unity on Ubuntu does the same thing: a giant screen where you search for the apps you want. Why all this special hate for Metro?
- mattkevan 13y agoNot really. Launchpad was introduced in 10.7 as an additional way to browse and launch apps, making things more familiar to people who'd only used iOS. The previous methods, like apps in the dock (introduced with OS X) the applications folder (every Mac OS ever) still work fine. If, at Lion's launch, Apple had said 'we think launchpad is so good we're going to take away all the other ways of launching apps', there would have been a full-scale riot. The problem with the start menu is that millions of people, people who don't really know much about computers, or want to know much but have to use one anyway, grew up thinking a start menu is what a computer has. It's been there and worked in a similar way since 95 and it's disconcerting to find it's suddenly disappeared. It's not special hate, I love the design language and it's great to see Microsoft taking the lead in design values - it's just that it is not good enough yet.