Bashing Windows 8: A Lack of Knowledge and the Unwillingness to Change

Wednesday, July 04, 2012  Unknown  

It's not often that a simple editorial on a blog would cause me to begin a multi-paragraph response, but with a constant flow of writers talking about Windows 8 it shocks me how misinformed they and the general public can be about some of the most important aspects of the OS. I recently came across an article posted on ZDNet about a week after the release of the Windows 8 Release Preview. Titled "Final thoughts on Windows 8: A design disaster" the writer brought up many of what he considers to be problems with Windows 8. I can say firmly that I do not agree.

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If a writer has trouble searching for apps in the Metro interface then they really have no purpose writing about technology, let alone using beta software. Windows 8 does all that is has changed to make it easier to use for everyone. To start an application you simply start typing the name of the program on the start screen. This is the same as what has been done in Ubuntu Unity and Gnome 3 on Linux. Both of these desktops have made Linux much easier for average consumers to use, it is only the hardcore geeks afraid of change who have had problems with it and stuck with the terribly old-fashioned Gnome 2. The same way of launching apps is how a large number of people have done so since Windows Vista with the Start Menu Search functionality. And how else people launch apps? Pinned icons, desktop shortcuts - they're all still there.

This is only one of the misconceptions about Windows 8. It never forces you to use Metro. Some people when trying Windows 8 the first time try to stay in it all day only to find themselves on the desktop. That is how it is supposed to work. Of course on a tablet you will be using full screen apps - most better designed than any iOS or Android app ever created - and will spend much more time in Metro than you would on a desktop. The start screen (as it says in the name) is just the place where you go to start. It replaces the start menu to launch programs entirely, and does so in a much more beautiful manner. It also offers a bonus of providing you useful information through the use of live tiles as well as easy searching of apps, settings, and files. Speaking of full screen apps, Windows 8 will be the first tablet OS to naively support true multitasking with multiple windows - third party solutions include Onskreen's Cornerstone for Android.

Some people are also criticizing other important features of Windows 8. There are several "hidden" menus that are very import to the experience: the charms bar, the app bar, and the Metro task switcher. On a tablet these menus are accessed from swiping for the edge of the screen, much like accessing multitasking and app switching on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS. On the desktop these menus can be displayed by moving your mouse to the appropriate corners or by using a variety of keyboard commands - thus, making is usable for beginners and advanced users. These bars unify the experience on Windows 8 by being able to use the same menus on all apps. We see this problem on Android often, and even on iOS, when  the method of finding settings differs from app to app.

Many beta testers are also complaining about the simplest aspects of the OS that have changed. To "unlock" your computer if you were on a tablet you would swipe, but on the desktop people begin to freak out. Microsoft has made it very easy to unlock your computer with a keyboard and mouse. Your options:
  • Click the mouse
  • Move the mouse scroll wheel
  • Press any key on the keyboard
Obviously, it shouldn't be difficult to unlock your computer from sleep, yet people who are slow to change somehow can not get past it. These same people also don't understand how the Metro interface works with Horizontal scrolling. The secret is...scroll. Yes, just move your mouse wheel and you'll be flying across that scary UI in no time!

The desktop itself has also gained many improvements. Aside form being a generally faster experience than Windows 7 (even more so with the upcoming removal of Aero), certain improvements like the addition of the ribbon bar in Explorer makes many options available for the items you have selected known to novice users. Those who do not prefer a simpler experience can simply collapse the bar in all windows with a single click.

I wouldn't call Windows 8 perfect, but I feel that it is better than Windows 7 in almost every way. The metro UI may just be an evolution on the desktop, but it is a revolution on a tablet.

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