Interesting reading or read it from
http://www.pcworld.com/article/251820/exmicrosoft_employee_launches_fixing_windows_8_campaign.html#tk.nl_dnx_h_crawl
Ex-Microsoft Employee Launches 'Fixing Windows 8' Campaign
Not
everyone is happy with Windows 8's sweeping design changes, including
one former Microsoft employee who thinks the company can do better.
The former employee has launched a website called “Fixing Windows 8” with
suggestions on how Microsoft could improve the user interface, particularly for
a mouse and keyboard. According to Tom's Hardware, the website's founder is
Mike Bibik, a user interface designer.
“During the MWC keynote, Microsoft made it very clear that Windows 8
will work fantastically if you are using touch, mouse or keyboard,
The former employee has launched a website called “Fixing Windows 8” with
suggestions on how Microsoft could improve the user interface, particularly for
a mouse and keyboard. According to Tom's Hardware, the website's founder is
Mike Bibik, a user interface designer.
“During the MWC keynote, Microsoft made it very clear that Windows 8
will work fantastically if you are using touch, mouse or keyboard,” Bibik wrote
in his first post. “Unfortunately, that’s not entirely true.”
Among the site's complaints:
New users won't know how to navigate the interface because so many
choices are hidden from view, including the Charms menu, master apps
list and Start buttonMetro apps don't have window controls, so users can't
minimize or exit an appThe Charms menu hides vital functions such as searching
within an app
“Power users should be able to figure out how the mouse works in
Windows 8. Novices and new users will be completely lost,” Bibik wrote.
As evidence, he linked to a video posted by tech personality Chris
Pirillo, in which Pirillo's father can't find the Windows 8 Start menu because
Microsoft removed the Start button from the desktop.
Bibik says he's trying to be informative, not negative. As such, the website
includes possible solutions for making Windows 8 easier to use. Those solutions
include:
Combining the desktop task bar with the new Start screenCombining Charms and
the master apps list into a single menuAdding a dedicated Charms bar to the
bottom of the screenReinstating a Start button on the desktopBibik isn't alone
in his criticism of Windows 8's drastic changes. In a PCWorld survey,
half of respondents who installed the Windows 8 Consumer Preview said
they wouldn't recommend the new operating system to a friend. “Windows 8
straddles the fence between being a touchscreen OS and a desktop OS,
and anyone who's straddled a fence before knows it's rather
uncomfortable,” one detractor said.
Overall, I like Windows 8 for its ability to do double duty as a
tablet or laptop interface, but Bibik's concerns about hidden functions
are valid. Many of Windows 8's core commands are hidden from view, which
means users will need a tutorial to figure out the new interface.
Adding a tutorial presents its own challenges. (Remember Clippy?)
But Bibik's solutions aren't perfect, either. Adding a dedicated
Charms bar or task bar take away screen real estate from full-screen
Metro-style apps, and the more Windows 8 resembles the old OS, the less
appealing it is for tablet users. Bibik suggests leaving the interface
as-is when a touchscreen is in use, but that presents problems for
touch-enabled laptops or desktops.
Windows 8 could use some fixing. Doing so isn't as easy as it seems.
------------------
Regards
Leslie
Mr. Leslie Satenstein
50 years in IT and going strong.
Yesterday was a good day, today is a better day,
and tomorrow will be even better.
mailto:[email protected]
alternative: [email protected]
www.itbms.biz
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