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Very interesting article. I am interested to see how the use of mouse and keyboard evolves as more OSs/UIs move towards a touch based interface.
There's very little in Windows 8 that requires multiple touch input - pretty much the only thing touch input can do and the mouse can't. This is what's ultimately allowing Win8 to keep mouse keyboard and touch on the same level. Compare with Apple and some of the iOS gestures such as four-finger (!) swipes... (I wrote the article)
[1]: http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~tikhon/openSUSE-grub.jpg
That said, I'm really happy that people are moving towards prettier interfaces everywhere. Why don't distros like Ubunutu or Fedora do the same?
I think the comparison with Grub is a little unfair--if you look at a distro like OpenSUSE[1], the grub screen actually looks very good. You still can't use the mouse, but I would happily trade speed for that, especially since using the keyboard to select the right system is easier and faster anyhow. [1]: http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~tikhon/openSUSE-grub.jpg That said, I'm really happy that people are moving toward…
To reiterate and clarify: if the price to have all the bells and whistles of the Win8 bootloader is to have it take as much time to load as the entire damn operative system you're loading in the first place I'll prefer the very basic and functional interface of Grub immediately.
The only thing that is annoying me with Windows 8 so far are the contextual menus where you need to move your mouse to the bottom right-hand side. The delay is too long and it makes the experience less fluid IMO. I'm liking the Start Metro screen and getting used to the dynamic tiles.
A shortcut you can use is Windows key + C. More here: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/02/getting-starte... http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/03/windows-8-tricks-tips-and-s... Looking at the comments, it's like people can't even spend 5 or 10 mins getting to know a new UI in a redesigned OS. And then some complain about the dumbification of everything. Maybe they're wrong and everything must be dumbed down to t…
Is it not at least a tad reasonable for people to be a bit upset about MS strong-arming a fix into the not-broken UI they've been using for a while now?
Why should Bob at home with his five year old Dell care that this MS' salvo in the Tablet Wars? Why?
Metro is quite impressive as a tablet UI. Frankly, I think it's the only legitimate alternative to iPad. But on a mouse-driven desktop it's at best uncompelling, and at worst baffling and frustrating. There's a risk Microsoft could pull another Vista, where an overwhelmingly negative public perception of Metro on the desktop overshadows some otherwise good features. The other risk is that if they insist on coupling A…
“If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last few months, you probably know all of the following:” Whenever I see articles starting in this manner, I suppose that: 1. The writer does not know how to write; or 2. The writer is so far immersed in their topic that they have lost sight of what is important and relevant to the rest of the population. In either case, I stop reading. Am I wrong? (Genuine question, n…
However... the blog is for superuser.com, this is hacker news and I'd say the audience probably does know that Windows 8 and Metro do, indeed, exist :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A shortcut you can use is Windows key + C. More here: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/02/getting-starte... http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/03/windows-8-tricks-tips-and-s... Looking at the comments, it's like people can't even spend 5 or 10 mins getting to know a new UI in a redesigned OS. And then some complain about the dumbification of everything. Maybe they're wrong and everything must be dumbed down to t…
But, But, ... Is it not at least a tad reasonable for people to be a bit upset about MS strong-arming a fix into the not-broken UI they've been using for a while now? Why should Bob at home with his five year old Dell care that this MS' salvo in the Tablet Wars? Why?
My issue with the active corners is that they are impossible to use with multiple monitors. Fitt's Law actively works against it; instead of being able to slam your mouse, you have to gingerly move it to the right spot.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A shortcut you can use is Windows key + C. More here: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/02/getting-starte... http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/03/windows-8-tricks-tips-and-s... Looking at the comments, it's like people can't even spend 5 or 10 mins getting to know a new UI in a redesigned OS. And then some complain about the dumbification of everything. Maybe they're wrong and everything must be dumbed down to t…
But, But, ... Is it not at least a tad reasonable for people to be a bit upset about MS strong-arming a fix into the not-broken UI they've been using for a while now? Why should Bob at home with his five year old Dell care that this MS' salvo in the Tablet Wars? Why?
Maybe Bob should stay with Windows 7? Why should MS stop (what they think is) progress for people like Bob? Will anything ever get done with thinking like that?
Also, if you take a few mins to learn your way around, Windows 8 behaves substantially like a far better Windows 7 with a glorified start menu(remove all tiles you can and you're good to go).
And it will enable many devices like these that don't exist now:
Idea Pad Yoga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2R9y9ZvkA&hd=1
Samsung x86 Tablet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-K1ELv6DE&hd=1
Try doing that with an iPad.(There are iPad-like ARM Windows 8 tablets too that won't run x86 apps but which will have Office).
83inch displays: http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/29/2833173/windows-8-82-inch-...
All these form factors tied in the with the vast Win32 ecosystem(except ARM tablets) and a single Touch-first Metro ecosystem.
It's interesting how the comments on Apple/iPad/Post-PC articles, financials of Apple/Dell/HP etc. state that "MS is dying in the Post-PC" era, but now when they come out with a solution to make a OS run on different form factors and to have tablets that are not just consumption devices, the comments on here are skewed towards "Why change something that works?". If PCs are really dying, why not attempt to fix that instead of standing by with their head in the sand(like RIMM)?
There will always be people unhappy with anything you build or change. They should just go with their vision of what they think is right and that's what they did. They envision that with Windows 8, most new monitors will be touch enabled because of the demand so that for some functions(like clicking on links), people can use touch.
You may disagree with the vision, but you can't disagree that there is a method behind the madness.
