Since making that blog post, my mind has been dramatically changed about Windows 8 and its new Metro Start screen and UI. At the time, I was judging based on videos I had watched of people using the Windows 8 Developer Preview. More recently, however, Windows 8 Consumer Preview was released, and me, being a consumer, decided to install it. I wasn't prepared for how great it was, even for being pre-beta. Something I mentioned in the GameBoy post was the banishing of the desktop in favor of the Metro Start screen being the main GUI. I was wrong there. The Start screen feels more like an addon, not a replacement. It's like a bigger, more comprehensive Start menu. The layout and design are still geared for touchscreen interaction, but it works well enough with a mouse & keyboard. Most Metro apps aren't working for me because my system specs aren't that great, or they crash because they're only pre-beta and that can be forgiven. I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much yet. I still use the Desktop the most. In fact, I still use it just like I did on Windows 7. I installed the programs I most used on Win7, like Google Chrome and Paint.NET. Compatibility between the 2 Windows versions is almost seamless. There are a few programs that have to be used in compatibility mode, but it's excusable. And to me, Windows 8's Desktop environment is much less laggy than Windows 7's, but that could be my bogged down install of 7. As far as functionality goes, Windows 8 is doing pretty well with the coexistence of Start screen/Desktop. The same can't be said about UI, however.
Windows 8's Desktop got a few minor UI changes to Aero, like more square window boxes and Aero color changing based on desktop background color. No drastic changes. The comes the Start screen and the Metro design. The Start screen isn't the only example, "apps" are being made that follow the Metro style. Last time I checked, my Windows computer ran programs, and my iPhone had apps. Another step towards a tablet OS, I guess. From my view, Metro and good ol' Desktop UIs just don't fit together. They're too radically different. And Metro is slowly bleeding into the Desktop, which is even worse. For example, in the bottom right corner in the Notification Tray, a click on the Internet indicator brings out a Metro-style connection manager. Other little things include a Metro HUD for volume changing, and the charm bar. The charm bar is a poor lost and confused addition that is just a bad idea altogether. The Search is understandable, but it should be relocated to the Start screen in Start menu style. Share doesn't work unless you have an app installed that supports sharing, like a Twitter or Facebook client. And very few apps actually let you share its content anyway. Start button? Seriously? That's what the bottom left hot corner is for, oh, and the physical Windows keyboard button. Devices could fall under the Settings, and both should be put on the Start screen. The only mildly useful piece is the HUD showing the time and date and battery & Internet connection status (because Metro apps and the Start screen don't have the taskbar's Notification Tray for that information, or any other consistent show of it, which is another flaw of Metro). Overall, a good set of improvements, but still pre-beta. I hope to see some improvements by the official release of Windows 8.
Windows 8's Desktop got a few minor UI changes to Aero, like more square window boxes and Aero color changing based on desktop background color. No drastic changes. The comes the Start screen and the Metro design. The Start screen isn't the only example, "apps" are being made that follow the Metro style. Last time I checked, my Windows computer ran programs, and my iPhone had apps. Another step towards a tablet OS, I guess. From my view, Metro and good ol' Desktop UIs just don't fit together. They're too radically different. And Metro is slowly bleeding into the Desktop, which is even worse. For example, in the bottom right corner in the Notification Tray, a click on the Internet indicator brings out a Metro-style connection manager. Other little things include a Metro HUD for volume changing, and the charm bar. The charm bar is a poor lost and confused addition that is just a bad idea altogether. The Search is understandable, but it should be relocated to the Start screen in Start menu style. Share doesn't work unless you have an app installed that supports sharing, like a Twitter or Facebook client. And very few apps actually let you share its content anyway. Start button? Seriously? That's what the bottom left hot corner is for, oh, and the physical Windows keyboard button. Devices could fall under the Settings, and both should be put on the Start screen. The only mildly useful piece is the HUD showing the time and date and battery & Internet connection status (because Metro apps and the Start screen don't have the taskbar's Notification Tray for that information, or any other consistent show of it, which is another flaw of Metro). Overall, a good set of improvements, but still pre-beta. I hope to see some improvements by the official release of Windows 8.
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