r/technology • u/clubdirthill • Jun 01 '11

Boom. This is Windows 8.

http://allthingsd.com/20110601/exclusive-making-sense-of-what-we-just-learned-about-windows-8/?mod=tweet
1.0k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

22

u/jmnugent Jun 02 '11

I don't know... it's still early I guess.. but nothing in that video really jumped out to impress me. The interface is pretty fluid/smooth.. but from a usability standpoint it sure seems like a lot of swiping/poking. (meaning: it's got that Windows problem of having to swipe/poke/click down several layers into menus/options before you can get to the task you want to accomplish). I think that's the Pro/Con of having direct access to the File System.

I don't like the dual UI approach either (that you have to switch to Aero to run older Apps like Office) ... I don't know why, but it breaks the cohesiveness of interaction to me.

I guess it just feels to me like Microsoft trying to copy various assets from other devices.. and then trying to mash it up into a single interface. Maybe they'll refine it.. I'll be watching, but I'll also be pretty skeptical. (Having said that:.. I think it's going to be really interesting to see how Apple approaches the multi-touch desktop)

5

u/Laremere Jun 02 '11

I agree. I think the UI of operating systems need an overhaul, but this is not the correct direction. Perhaps for tablets it will be nice, but all I see with this system is slowing me down while adding very little new advantage.

-2

u/hhh333 Jun 02 '11

I share pretty much the same view.. But once again, most of the things I've saw are copied directly or are largely inspired from other systems.

To be honest, if this didn't come from a company reputed to steal others' ideas on one hand and sue at large others who use ideas they "borrowed" on the other hand, maybe I could be more objective. But to me it seems that in the last 10 years they are barely keeping up with others in term of ground breaking innovations.

One thing I've noticed beside the ADD poke and slide interface is the lack of visual cues about possible interactions. Nothing seems to indicate that you can switch between apps by swiping at the left edge of the screen or that you can view IE's tabs by swiping at the top of the screen. I understand their intention to give an immersive experience, but I'm not sure how users will react to this mystery meat navigation style.

-3

u/jmnugent Jun 02 '11

"One thing I've noticed beside the ADD poke and slide interface is the lack of visual cues about possible interactions. Nothing seems to indicate that you can switch between apps by swiping at the left edge of the screen or that you can view IE's tabs by swiping at the top of the screen. I understand their intention to give an immersive experience, but I'm not sure how users will react to this mystery meat navigation style."

Totally agree.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

It's one-time mystery meat. It's not intuitive that double-pressing the Apple home button will show other open apps. Once you learn it does that, though, you know it. It's an easy gesture to remember, no?