Windows 8 - Disappointing Usability for Both Novice & Power Users. Summary: Hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive overhead from dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window UI and low information density. Too bad. With the recent launch of Windows 8 and the Surface tablets, Microsoft has reversed its user interface strategy. From a traditional Gates-driven GUI style that emphasized powerful commands to the point of featuritis, Microsoft has gone soft and now smothers usability with big colorful tiles while hiding needed features. The new design is obviously optimized for touchscreen use (where big targets are helpful), but Microsoft is also imposing this style on its traditional PC users because all of Windows 8 is permeated by the tablet sensibility. How well does this work for real users performing real tasks? Double Desktop = Cognitive Overhead and Added Memory Load The Roman god Janus; Dr. Unfortunately, having two environments on a single device is a prescription for usability problems for several reasons:
8 worst Windows 8 irritations (and how to fix them) Windows 8, I want to love you, but your annoying quirks keep bringing me down. After spending more than a year conquering the operating system's overhauled (and nonintuitive) interface in its various prerelease iterations, I've now entered a second stage of frustration: I find myself cursing at Windows 8's major changes less and less, but shaking my fist and swearing like a sailor at its little irritations more and more. Beyond its polished, tile-based surface, Microsoft's new operating system plays host to a legion of smaller annoyances—a cornucopia of quirks that will leave you seething long after you get the hang of all the new gesture controls and schizophrenic system options.
Some of the problems are whoppers. Others are mere nitpicks that result from a lifetime of traditional Windows use. But many of these problems can be fixed, with one major exception. Read on! Lock down the lock screen Let's start at the very beginning of the Windows 8 experience. Press Start to continue Ah, well. Thanks to Windows 8 and the Surface, Microsoft’s consumer perception scores set new records. According to brand polling conducted by YouGov, Microsoft and its Bing and Windows products are riding high.
Following a launch cycle that saw a new version of Windows, a relaunch of Windows Phone, the Surface, and the introduction of a plethora of developer tools and enterprise software, Microsoft is more in the eye of consumers than it has been in years. YouGov polling tracked what it calls “consumer perception.” This statistic is ranked off of the question, “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?” Which is turned into a “Buzz Score.” Yes, this is all a bit mathmagical, but YouGov was ranked as the second most accurate polling shop in the 2012 election, besting the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Gallup, and others. Here are the key findings from the survey data: Windows is at its highest point of perception since Windows 7 was introduced in late 2009.
I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Bill Gates spotted in Windows 8 Times Square launch video. When Microsoft had its massive Windows 8 launch in New York City's Times Square a couple of weeks ago, the company didn't indicate to the press or the general public that the company's chairman Bill Gates might show up. Yet, in a newly posted video from Microsoft showing the launch of Windows 8, Gates is indeed seen, very briefly, inside the Microsoft Store in Times Square.
The video, posted on YouTube, has Gates inside the store and talking to customers (you can see him at the 1:08 mark). It's possible that Gates actually showed up on October 26, the day after the Windows 8 launch. This is because we also spotted a couple of images that were posted on the Flickr account of a man name Tom Starkweather who took two photos of Gates walking around by himself in Times Square on October 26th.
Source: Windows on YouTube | Image via Microsoft. Top 6 New Features of Windows 8 Release P. Here’s the back of the envelope look at what’s new in Windows 8 Release Preview. Many analysts, including yours truly, were somewhat surprised to see how few changes were made between Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows 8 Release Preview. Normally, at this point in the process, you’d get a “Release Candidate” which would be, as the name implies, feature-identical to the final product, barring any major revelations during testing. This time, thanks to Microsoft’s blog, we know about upcoming features in the final release. This includes a new flattened design for the “desktop” interface in Windows 8, which serves as the replacement for running legacy Windows 7 apps, as opposed to the tablet-friendly, newfangled Metro-style apps, with their tiles and simple, touchable design.
Despite the lack of many new, marquee features in Release Preview, Microsoft claims that hundreds of visible changes and tens of thousands of internal coding changes have been introduced. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Windows 8 on the desktop - an awkward hybrid. Windows 8's new user interface has proven nothing short of polarizing. The hybrid operating system pairs a new GUI concept, the touch-friendly Metro interface, to the traditional windows, icons, menus, and pointer concept that Windows users have depended on for decades. In so doing, it removes Windows mainstays such as the Start button and Start menu.
While few are concerned about Windows 8's usability as a tablet operating system, desktop users remain wary. Will the new operating system take a huge step back in terms of both productivity and usability? The good news is that these specific criticisms are largely off-base. The bad news is that the various pieces of the operating system do not in fact mesh together smoothly; the seams, especially between the Metro and legacy interfaces, remain obvious and jarring. Let's run through the most common interface elements and see how Windows 8 fixes old problems—and creates new ones of its own. A "Start menu" for the tablet age All Programs. A Walkthrough Of The Windows Store Experience On Windows 8 Compared To The Mac App Store On OS X Lion.
Advertisements One of the more significant additions to Windows 8 (on the latest Consumer Preview build) – which is critical for the platform to succeed in the tablet space – is the Windows Store, essentially an app store where you can purchase applications for Windows, particularly Metro-style ones. Thus, in terms of functionality, it’s pretty much like a combination of the iOS and Mac App Stores. But, in usability and design, it does have its differences. For one, it’s a Metro app. So gradients, more "thick" graphics, and drop-shadows are ditched in favor of a flat – albeit clean – design.
On the other hand, we have the App Store, which has all of these "thicker" design elements. On the main page of the Windows Store, you scroll horizontally to glide through the various top apps in each category. On the main page of the Mac App Store, we see a few categories to showcase top apps. You can also view either the "Top Free" or "Top Paid" games in each category in the Windows Store. Windows 8 Will Come in Four Versions. Finally! After years of confusing consumers with multiple, slightly different versions of the same operating system, Microsoft announced today that Windows 8 will come in only four versions: One for home use, one for business, one for devices running ARM chips, and one for large enterprises that buy in bulk.
For most people buying an operating system for a traditional desktop or laptop, the choice will be between just two versions. The version called simply "Windows 8" is designed for home users. "Windows 8 Pro" is for business users and includes features for encrypting a file system, virtualization, and domain management. "Windows RT" is the new name for what had been called Windows on ARM. Windows RT will come with special touch-oriented versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. [RELATED: PCWorld's Windows 8 coverage] Here's Microsoft's chart detailing some of the differences: (This is not a comprehensive list of all Windows 8 features.)
Admirable Restraint. Microsoft Windows 8 will have user-friendly reinstall button. So, how many of you can relate to this story? Your computer has been infected by a virus, or it's just running really slow, or you accidentally deleted a system file, or maybe you bought the computer from someone else and it still has all the previous owner's junk on it. If you wanted to just perform a complete, fresh install of Windows, would you be able to find your original Windows install disc? A lot of you would probably say no. However, it looks like that might not be such a problem in the next version of Windows. Microsoft will be implementing a simple, easy way to reinstall Windows 8.
To do either of these in Windows 7 requires having your physical installation disc from when you got your computer, or bought a Windows 7 DVD to upgrade your Vista or XP computer. [via Liliputing] Windows 8 lets users decide which IE opens links. News March 27, 2012 06:43 AM ET Computerworld - Windows 8 users will be able to set which version of Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) automatically opens Web pages when links are clicked, Microsoft said Monday. The new operating system features dual and dueling editions of IE10, one for the traditional desktop and another designed specifically for the touch-first, tile-based Metro user interface (UI). By default, links clicked in the Metro environment open in that UI's IE10, while links clicked from within a program running on the desktop render in the conventional browser.
The two browsers rely on the same engine, but they're not twins by any stretch. Metro IE10 does not support plug-ins like Adobe's Flash Player or those built for the long-established ActiveX standard. IE10 on Metro presents pages only in a full-screen view, sacrifices visible tabs and eschews on-screen tools, while its kin features standard browser elements such as multiple windows and on-screen tabs. Is Windows 8 any faster than Windows 7? Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system is finally put to the test in a new report and we find out exactly how much faster it is compared to Windows 7. According to the report, Windows 8 booted faster and generally ran faster than Windows 7. As PCWorld reports, both Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows 7 were installed on an identical machine (3.3GHz Intel Core i5-2500K processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB 7200-rpm hard drive, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card).
When compared to Windows 7, Windows 8 Consumer Preview booted faster, ran through the WorldBench 7 benchmark faster, and had superior performance when it came to web browsing, thanks to hardware acceleration and browser optimization. The only test that made Windows 8 look bad was the Office Productivity Measure, which utilizes Futuremark’s PCMark benchmark tool and simulates editing text, launching applications, and scanning for viruses. 6 Ways to Totally Avoid Metro and Use Only Desktop Mode in Windows 8.
Windows 8: Everything You Need to Know. As far as Microsoft is concerned, 2012 is the year everything changes. The software giant is on course to reinvent its core software, Windows, for the modern era. Windows 8 changes Windows entirely, yet leaves it untouched in some key ways. How it all works — and how its customers respond — will determine the company's future. Currently, that's a lot of customers. According to recent statistics, close to 90% of today's computers run some version of Windows. Windows 8 is a bold step forward for Microsoft, since the experience on mobile devices — specifically, tablets — was a key part of its inception.
SEE ALSO: What a Windows 7 User Needs to Know About Windows 8 At least that's Microsoft's hope. Here's what you need to know about Windows 8, including a few details you may not have noticed yet. Why is Windows 8 such a big deal? The new interface is called Metro, and its overall aesthetic and functionality is very similar to Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone. Fair enough. Windows 8′s Competing Interfaces Will Double Your Effort, Halve Your Fun.
Like a Miley Cyrus / Hannah Montana concert, Microsoft’s new operating system promises the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, after manically switching back and forth between Windows 8′s new tablet-inspired Metro UI and traditional desktop mode, users will feel like they’ve accompanied the teen star on a bad Salvia trip. Microsoft is making the right move by offering a touch-friendly interface for tablets without abandoning its long-standing windowed desktop, but users should be able to run all their programs in the single environment of their choice.
Using the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 is an exercise in frustration because there’s no way to live exclusively either in desktop or Metro modes. When I installed the OS on my dual-screen PC, the Metro UI only appeared on my primary display with the traditional desktop on my second monitor. If you want to change operating system settings, there are two different control panels. Recommended by Avram Piltch Avram Piltch on. Windows 8 Tricks, Tips and Shortcuts to Make the Preview Process Less Painful. The Windows 8 Kill Switch: A Hacker's Dream Come True. A number of stories about a Windows 8 kill switch have appeared on the Web, each with its own odd and ominous tone. The blogosphere has gone berserk with all sorts of menacing commentary, such as the following from the Vigilent Citizen: The very anticipated operating system Windows 8 will have a feature that was never found on PC's before: A kill switch that can remotely delete software and edit code without the user's permission.
Although Microsoft claims the switch would only be used for software that is downloaded from its app store, no official policies clearly define the actual purpose of the kill switch... nothing is truly considered "illegal" and that includes issues regarding spying, censorship and free speech. Pretty scary, kids. Less-than-totally-freaked-out Computerworld has this to say: Kill switches -- so called because a simple command can deactivate or delete an app -- are common in mobile app stores. Check out more of our Windows 8 coverage. Windows 8 Consumer Preview: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [REVIEW] I'm writing this article on a Windows 8 tablet. Thankfully, I've got a wireless keyboard and mouse as well as a dock to help the Samsung developer tablet act more like a regular PC. Microsoft made the Windows 8 Consumer Preview available this morning to everyone who wants to check it out. It was also kind enough to give Mashable a sneak peek. What exactly is a consumer preview?
First, a little background: Windows 8 is a complete re-imagining of Windows. That's really just scratching the surface of Metro, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. My first impression: Almost, but not quite. Metro With a Mouse & Keyboard Microsoft has a vision, a dream even. Microsoft knows this, so Windows 8 is highly adaptable. Making the corners the key points when operating Windows 8 with a mouse is a good choice — they're pretty unmissable and you don't need to be precise.
For starters, the icons don't follow standard web "mouseover" rules. Also, Metro is all about scrolling left and right. Sharing.