Displaying items by tag: MetroUI

Even though Mozilla quite early announced the availability of their Firefox browser, published for the Modern UI on Windows 8, looks like some problems got in the way. Although the original development should be completed this year, as it now seems, however, finalized version will not appear until next year.

Microsoft has announced that they are getting rid of the Metro name for the Windows 8 “start screen”.  The sudden shift on the eve of the launch (the final version has been released to OEM partners and other manufacturers) is unusual and Microsoft’s answers for this change are not adding up. The original term Metro can be dated back to the UI used for the Zune players and in particular the ZuneHD. This style of slimmed down icon-free user interface that many people liked about the now discarded media player. After receiving good feedback on the Zune (and with many comments asking for a “Zune Phone”) Microsoft pushed some elements of the Zune UI into their Windows Phone product.

So Microsoft finally pushed out a patch that kills of the sidebar and its “offending” gadgets. The news is everywhere as if this is a new story or that the ability of a third party developer to include malicious code is something new as well. The problem is that this is nothing new at all. Microsoft has always had warnings about the dangers of downloading sidebar gadgets since they first appeared in Windows Vista. However, it was always at the user’s own risk if they chose to download and install these and the XML exploit that they talk about is generally mitigated with any type of decent security (like MS Security Essentials).

Microsoft has recognized a flaw in their plan for Windows 8. This is the enterprise space. Apparently they might have thought that because the majority of business and enterprises use Windows based networks and systems they were going to just get those sales again with Windows 8. Sadly most of the IT people I have spoken with (and that is a lot) do not want it in their shops. They view Windows 8 as a mistake that will eclipse Windows ME and Windows Vista together.

It is no secret that we are not fond of the direction that Microsoft is moving in with Windows 8. The new operating system with its phone and touch based MetroUI is a step back from what many feel a Windows system is supposed to be. What many wonder is why this push of the MetroUI and the cloud services that are linked to it.

As we have continued to work with Windows 8 in all of its x86/64 forms (we have it on desktop, virtual and tablet hardware) we have found one item that is both amazing and annoying all at the same time. No this is not the MetroUI, we are still not happy with that piece. No what has frustrated us at the same time we are very impressed with it is the fast boot time. On our Asus EEE Slate EP-121 the normal boot time is something like 5-6 seconds from off, to sign in screen. This is an amazing feat from Microsoft considering how long it can take to boot up older versions of Windows.

After reporting on the potential for Congressional involvement in the “issue” over Windows RT we are hearing that Mozilla is trying to drag this into a new area simply because the new software will have the name “Windows” in it. You see Mozilla’s argument revolves around Microsoft’s promises to make “Windows” more open to other developers. When asked how Microsoft’s new way of handling Windows RT differs from what both Google and Apple are doing they claimed that by not allowing access to certain Win32 APIs that Microsoft has ported to WindowsRT (the actually only exist in the desktop mode) they are locking out competition.

When I first started working in technical journalism I wrote a short article about the psychology behind the need to hate Microsoft and other big companies. I talked about the need to assign personalities to them and to identify them with certain character traits. It actually was fun to write, but as you can imagine was not well received by many readers. Still it has become almost an ingrained part of the global psyche that Microsoft is bad and incompetent to boot. So much so that after months of Windows 8 blog entries the big news is not what Microsoft is screwing up technically, but the new Windows Logo… really guys, Is that all you have?

Microsoft is once again betting on a losing horse. After failed attempted to form HDCP (High-Definition Content Protection) into every aspect of the Desktop with Windows Vista and failing to motivate people to buy the OS they are now pushing a UI that has failed to capture the markets imagination. The funny thing is that they are admitting to this and still cannot see what they are doing. As we have told you before, Microsoft tends to ignore what the public actually wants and seems to make business decisions based on what they think “should” work.

Four days, I lasted four days before I had to go back to Windows 7 on the EEE Slate. I tried to get Hyper-V running but the Core i5 on the system did not want to work the way it should.  In the end I have come away with some interesting observations about the state that Microsoft’s next OS is in and where it could be by launch date. The first thing I have to remind everyone is that this is a developer’s preview. It is intended to allow App developers to push out apps for their Metro UI and also to ensure that software and hardware are ready (drivers mostly). By releasing it to the general public Microsoft has done a very smart thing. They are getting the OS out and on the street. People are actually running this as their main OS right now. Now this is all great if you are using something like a Laptop or even a desktop. There truly is very little that Windows 8 cannot do right now. However, when it comes to a tablet… things begin to fall apart. The problem is not that there is no touch screen support; it is that there seems to be no multi-touch support. On the EEE Slate EP 121 under Windows 7 I have multi-touch gestures and greater control. In Windows 8 that is gone. Instead of a two finger tap to right click my only option is touch and hold.

The matter is further complicated by Microsoft’s very immature Metro UI. It looks decent, but you cannot move things around to suit what you want or the layout you want. I do not like everything bunched up on one side on my tablet. I prefer it along the bottom. The Metro UI bunches the Apps and due to their different sizes breaks up any chance of a good flow.  The lack of a Home button inside the individual apps is a big problem as well.  Once you strip away the Metro UI you are left with a skinned Windows 7. Now I do like the new sharp corners as I think they make the windows look clean and show off a screen’s ability to reproduce good 2D imagery (well more like 2.5D).

The speed of Windows 8 is also very good. I was more than a little surprised to find this developer preview zipping along like it does. Usually at this stage of the game the OS does not feel very complete at all. There are speed issues, driver issues, and worse you name it you will probably run into it. In many cases (unless I have to) I do not really starting playing around with a new OS until it is at least at Beta 2 stage. Here you have things really ironed out and are looking for the little items. It is usually about this time that Microsoft opens up the Customer Preview Program and allows anyone to download the new OS. This early Developer’s Build really feels and performs much more like a Beta 2 than a dev preview.  

So to wrap up my experience with Windows 8 on a tablet, I have to say I am impressed with quite a bit of it, but I do feel that this OS needs a LOT more work if it is going to compete head to head with Apple and Google in the tablet market. Sorry Microsoft, pretty Widgets and a cool keyboard is not enough to make it in this market space. You have to come up with something that no one else has or is doing, and as of right now, Windows 8 just does not have it for the Tablet Market. Let’s hope that by launch time these bugs are ironed out and we see a much improved version of Metro UI around August of next year.

For now we will get back to bringing you the news and our regular reviews..

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