News - Skype to receive a shiny new UI for Windows 8 'Modern UI'

[Hicks12]

I think you misread my post or I just didnt explain myself properly , what I meant was that proper metro apps will be based for tablets/phones hence the initial fullscreen BAM type stuff, it needs refinement but you can make metro apps not fullscreen, simply open them and move your mouse to the top of the screen (will turn to a hand icon) then drag it to where you want it, if you want to side load applications simply hover over the left side and right click the app tile and click snap left/right.

Im not saying its a good idea but i meant that in the realm of tablets/phones you have limited space so you will do things one at a time but leaving them running in the background is fine e.g. a voice skype call you can leave running while you browse the web etc.

Desktop side is fine, just dont use metro apps . It needs improving for desktops but apart from that its got the right idea for mobile devices.

[pp05]

I had read that when you exit the app you exit the program rather than it going to the background and you getting alerts when you receive messages. Which doesn't sound great given we are moving to multitasking interfaces.

[dangel]

I had read that when you exit the app you exit the program rather than it going to the background and you getting alerts when you receive messages. Which doesn't sound great given we are moving to multitasking interfaces.

I was using the messaging app earlier and then pop up notifications appeared top right of my primary monitor when someone messaged me later today so it seems that isn't true. I don't really use metro (I'm a trillian user) for IM or much else really.

[Noxvayl]

I had read that when you exit the app you exit the program rather than it going to the background and you getting alerts when you receive messages. Which doesn't sound great given we are moving to multitasking interfaces.

Not sure where you read that but I haven't been able to find any way to exit a Metro app yet... There is no option in the right click menu, there is no exit button anywhere and click-and-drag does nothing so my experience indicates that you either open up another app/window otherwise the only way to get rid of a Metro app is to go to task manager.

I suspect it is possible to provide an exit button but all the standard apps that are included in Windows 8 have no means to exit so I doubt Skype will.

[Hicks12]

Noxvayl you must have been looking in the wrong place, go to the desktop or any app for that matter and hover on the left side find the apps tile and right click then click 'close' it will kill the app unless ive missed something, thats what ive been doing to close video app when it opens by mistake as it auto makes it be the default player .

[Noxvayl]

Noxvayl you must have been looking in the wrong place, go to the desktop or any app for that matter and hover on the left side find the apps tile and right click then click 'close' it will kill the app unless ive missed something, thats what ive been doing to close video app when it opens by mistake as it auto makes it be the default player .

Let me get this right, you have to use the start screen to close the app? Only thing that opens from the left on Windows 8 is the start screen and having to click that and then right click the tile for the app and then click close is stupid when all programs running in Windows 7 and below, Mac OS and Linux have an exit button inside the application.

Software convention for decades has included an exit function inside the application that is running, the Metro start screen is a stupid place to have the "close" button for an application.

[rtyall]

It's not surprising MS are pimping Skype to fit in with the Metro UI, they've got to make that $8.5 billion purchase appear worth it and make it look "Microsoftish".

[Hicks12]

No dont hit the bottom left, top left is the way i do it then you will see all open apps its silly though that it requires atleast one other application open.

An alternative is to hit alt + f4 .

[Noxvayl]

No dont hit the bottom left, top left is the way i do it then you will see all open apps its silly though that it requires atleast one other application open.

I don't know how someone could possibly have thought this was preferable to having an exit option inside the application.

I'm starting to favour aidanjt's opinion that Microsoft has become brain dead.

[Biscuit]

I do agree with this - but I would point out that you can dock one app to the side whilst using another. I managed to have the IM app open on one side of my screen whilst using this web browser (on the desktop proper). Doesn't feel great tho and it's weird flicking apps left/right.

I think you misread my post or I just didnt explain myself properly , what I meant was that proper metro apps will be based for tablets/phones hence the initial fullscreen BAM type stuff, it needs refinement but you can make metro apps not fullscreen, simply open them and move your mouse to the top of the screen (will turn to a hand icon) then drag it to where you want it, if you want to side load applications simply hover over the left side and right click the app tile and click snap left/right.

Im not saying its a good idea but i meant that in the realm of tablets/phones you have limited space so you will do things one at a time but leaving them running in the background is fine e.g. a voice skype call you can leave running while you browse the web etc.

Desktop side is fine, just dont use metro apps . It needs improving for desktops but apart from that its got the right idea for mobile devices.

This feels a lot like a work around to a problem that needn't exist. Im not adverse to change by any stretch of the imagination but i cant really see how this approach is a good idea at all.

It was never broken but ms went for the 'fix' anyway.

[Fraz]

The first PC laptop I owned, which was back in 1998, came with a 800*600 screen I think, or at best maybe a 1024*768. Yet it had a full desktop OS, with a windowing system (Windows 98).

In 2012, my tablet has a 1280 * 800 resolution screen, but no windowing system. I'm certainly not saying this is a bad thing - I actually really like the simplicity of single-screen apps given what I want the tablet for. And obviously it's touch-driven rather than mouse-driven, but it's interesting how things change...

[Zanny]

The color contrast on that crap is awful and it makes it a pain to read. Then again, all the Metro UI gobblygook is throwing away usability for anything "different" to try to make M$ more like Apple...

[brasco]

Let me get this right, you have to use the start screen to close the app?

The apps actually use no resource when not in focus, so you can leave them open. It's still clearly not designed well for desktopers who don't use shortkeys at all, I expect to see a patch rolled out ASAP once the reviewers pan it's schizophrenia.

The actual desktop experience once your through metro is brilliant, like a well refined Win7, especially like the transfer options and general monitoring tools, and no more Aero

[vian_siu]

i am not impress by the new ui. why can't they just keep it simple.

[blueball]

The new desktop is appalling; flat, boring and reminds me of Windows 286

[cheesemp]

The new desktop is appalling; flat, boring and reminds me of Windows 286

But Windows 286 had multitasking and a close button for every app? Two very missing features in Metro - Sorry MUI!