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Thread: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

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    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    TBH,I think I am going to stick to Windows 7 for my desktop for the time being:

    http://www.techspot.com/news/47323-m...-the-dodo.html

    I don't want that stupid start screen and hopefully you can disable it.

    So know you will need to go through the screen saver, log in window and the start screen to get to the desktop. ATM,I go through only one of those steps.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 06-02-2012 at 12:47 PM.

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    I will reserve judgement for the moment, but i would hope they offer a way of setting things back to a traditional format, in the same way you can set all the W7 changes back to be more like XP or Vista

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    I like Windows 7 but seeing Windows 8, am in 2 minds, haven't tried the Beta but tempted but see your point CAT.

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    The article quite clearly says that the traditional start menu is still there, and accessible by hovering over the area that the start button used to be. So at worst you'll have to see the start screen once per startup - is that such an imposition?

    I think we need to see and use the start screen before discarding it - I really like having a quick notification system on my phone, and when I start up my laptop I wouldn't mind having a quick reference screen that told me what new emails I had, whether I had any appointments or tasks due, stuff like that, right there without having to go looking for it. If you can then quickly tell it to go away and drop into a standard desktop for the rest of your session, I don't really see what the problem is...

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    The article quite clearly says that the traditional start menu is still there, and accessible by hovering over the area that the start button used to be. So at worst you'll have to see the start screen once per startup - is that such an imposition?

    I think we need to see and use the start screen before discarding it - I really like having a quick notification system on my phone, and when I start up my laptop I wouldn't mind having a quick reference screen that told me what new emails I had, whether I had any appointments or tasks due, stuff like that, right there without having to go looking for it. If you can then quickly tell it to go away and drop into a standard desktop for the rest of your session, I don't really see what the problem is...
    What I can see is MS just trying to push a one size fits all mantra for all as usual. In the beginning it was trying to push a desktop GUI onto tablets(Vista and Windows 7) and now it seems to be starting to go the other way.

    Isn't it about time they made an OS which could configure itself optimally for each interface out of the box?? Microsoft is the most profitable software company in the world so why can't they start doing this??

    With the developer preview - it was a start picture to login screen to start screen. Hopefully,Microsoft will make and "accommodation" for desktop users to switch the start screen during install off so I never need to see it. I use my desktop for productivity purposes(and games) mostly.

    A tablet is far better suited to be checking e-mails and such quickly in the morning for example. The slate interface works well from my experience on touchscreen enabled devices.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 06-02-2012 at 01:50 PM.

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    A tablet is far better suited to be checking e-mails and such quickly in the morning for example.
    True, but I can see value to having that available at startup on, for instance, my laptop - yes, I'm starting it up for productivity work, but part of that will be checking email and appointments, so having a nice, easily-readable notification screen as part of the start up procedure wouldn't bother me. I accept that YMMV though.

    I can't see Microsoft being dim enough to force everyone to a start screen though, particularly after the extensive public beta / RC they did for Win 7: if enough people try the beta and tell MS they want a way to disable the start screen completely, I'm sure MS will find a way to get it in there...

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    I think you need to really see a lot of the changes in the flesh.

    There is one thing which is coming out of this, and from the use of fondleslabs and such, the WIMP interface is dated, and we've not really improved on it since its inception, its mostly just been slight tweeks to graphics. These interfaces not only don't work well on touch, but they don't work as well for consumption tasks.

    What I'd say they are doing is more akin to the way the command line died as the windowing system became all encompassing.

    By this I mean in the days of Win 3.1 say, you had to struggle to configure a lot of stuff from DOS, or from config files inside the WIMP land.

    Now adays few people ever go to their command prompt on windows, I can't remember where but I read the telemetry and it was low. Thats not to say the command prompt is dead, power shell etc prove that cli is a very good interface for some tasks on the windows platform.

    However I think we will see that 'Tiles & Touch' replace the traditional WIMP usage in much the same way WIMP replaced CLI for most tasks.

    It will very much be a case for lots of users that they sigh and have to 'dive in' to a WIMP land.

    In much the same way plenty of users wish they didn't always have to boot in to a complex shell rather than have a series of nice un-restricted commandlines on startup, I fear we will have to do the same with the tiles interface.

    That should hopefully explain it quite nicely! Wait for it to come out and play with it before judging it too harshly, remember thou, you can turn metro off in the current builds, but you'll loose all the new stuff that makes Win8 have a purpose....
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAnimus View Post
    I think you need to really see a lot of the changes in the flesh.

    There is one thing which is coming out of this, and from the use of fondleslabs and such, the WIMP interface is dated, and we've not really improved on it since its inception, its mostly just been slight tweeks to graphics. These interfaces not only don't work well on touch, but they don't work as well for consumption tasks.

    What I'd say they are doing is more akin to the way the command line died as the windowing system became all encompassing.

    By this I mean in the days of Win 3.1 say, you had to struggle to configure a lot of stuff from DOS, or from config files inside the WIMP land.

    Now adays few people ever go to their command prompt on windows, I can't remember where but I read the telemetry and it was low. Thats not to say the command prompt is dead, power shell etc prove that cli is a very good interface for some tasks on the windows platform.

    However I think we will see that 'Tiles & Touch' replace the traditional WIMP usage in much the same way WIMP replaced CLI for most tasks.

    It will very much be a case for lots of users that they sigh and have to 'dive in' to a WIMP land.

    In much the same way plenty of users wish they didn't always have to boot in to a complex shell rather than have a series of nice un-restricted commandlines on startup, I fear we will have to do the same with the tiles interface.

    That should hopefully explain it quite nicely! Wait for it to come out and play with it before judging it too harshly, remember thou, you can turn metro off in the current builds, but you'll loose all the new stuff that makes Win8 have a purpose....
    I have already tried the dev copy and I use a desktop for productivity purposes(and gaming). I actually looked at the time it took me for a number of tasks. For productivity purposes I am more interested in efficient multi-tasking not pretty shiny stuff. Desktops I see in the future being limited to such uses more and more.

    You see I don't really care about change but whether it suits what I use a particular device for.

    Its about time this one size fits all shoe horned approach for GUIs starts dying. In this day and age an OS should be able to reconfigure itself optimally for each different interface method IMHO.

    I have a tablet for non-productivity purposes. Like I have mentioned several times the slate interface works well for such devices.

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    yes but my analogy still holds, you have WIMP behind it, you just have to accept this layer on top, in the same way CLI people feel about WIMP.

    So long as your not impeded by it, shouldn't be much of an issue.

    The changes to launching via start myself I'll find minimal as I only use that menu < 20% of the time, normally its WIN + 1 etc.

    Without anything to actually do in metro, its hard to evalute the worth of it right now!
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

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    That's all I want from windows 8 - gief on W7

    I may upgrade, depending on how many mates want to as well and the price/details of home packs and technet subs.
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    I know this is rather off-topic, but what are the chances of seeing Direct-X 12 within Windows 8?

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Quote Originally Posted by Hoonigan View Post
    I know this is rather off-topic, but what are the chances of seeing Direct-X 12 within Windows 8?
    I think it depends on what 12 is to bring! Some kind of improved computer vision APIs? Better support for Augmented Reality? Or just more visual effects?

    *shrugs*
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Im undecided about the interfaces changes in windows 8. I think the end result should be good. Microsoft have already stated that windows 8 will have a taskbar per monitor which will be great for multi monitor setups so that shows that microsoft is targeting alot of different markets. I have never really liked the idea of one app taking over the whole screen on a desktop or laptop. this is why ive never really liked OSX interface or unity.

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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAnimus View Post
    I think it depends on what 12 is to bring! Some kind of improved computer vision APIs? Better support for Augmented Reality? Or just more visual effects?

    *shrugs*
    IIRC DX12 is purely about making things more efficient. Not really about new features.
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    windows 8 has dx11.1, there is no dx12 planned AFAIK, could be wrong but that was the latest .

    Im not sure on win 8 yet, in regards to the actual start button well i very very rarely use it as i tend to just hit the windows key or as TA said, window key + others to do it for me, much quicker than a mouse. I am hoping that MS can get this new metro design to work, however I really hope they keep the option to stick with win 7 GUI on the basis that people may or may not get on with it.

    Guess its looking a bit more like office 2003 -- > 2007, i hated it originally and went back to 03 for another year but then going university they used 07, was forced to use it and im glad i was as it was SO much better than 03 regardless of new features... interface was improved drastically but it took time on my end to get up to speed etc.

    Regardless, we shall see if MS make a terrible mistake or not at the end of the year .
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    Re: More details of the changes to the Windows 8 GUI

    How about pressing the middle mouse button brings up the "Start" menu where ever the mouse pointer is?

    I'm expecting it to be customisable as to where/if you want the start button tbh altohugh until I have a RTM copy then I'll just take everything with a pinch of salt, just becuase were getting leaks doesnt mean they are all from the same part of the dev team and how one person has there machine setup doesnt mean thats how its going to be come install time..

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