There's this real hidden hack of sorts that enabled a metro version of the Aero interface and I just transitioned to it literally right now, and my thoughts are iffy. I think it's not the best way to make something metro designed. The Taskbar looks more like an aero version of the Classic grey Taskbar in the Classic theme that is in Windows 7. But I do kind of like the window control buttons, they turned more into icons, which I wanted to see. But it still looks WAY retro, I'd imagine a smoother icon for each window control.

Open icons in the Taskbar feel metroish and nice. It's a definite change to metro. I don't know, it doesn't feel like it's new and modern, it feels slightly retro. But thankfully, it's a Developer Preview, we'll see what the Desktop will look like later....

Here is what I speaketh off.

I hate the ribbon thing on Windows Explorer.

Before they can metrofy Windows Explorer, they better work out on adding window control buttons like minimize, close and maximize into Metro apps first. But I don't quite feel that is likely even on the Beta.

Thinking "Metro=Squares" is wrong.
It is about basing your UI interface on actual content instead of graphics.
It is similar to Swiss Style, thus it is Typography based design language. It is not design based on squares..

Anyway, what you are seeing is not metro, it is called AeroLite.

Originally Posted by Vertex

I hate the ribbon thing on Windows Explorer.

Before they can metrofy Windows Explorer, they better work out on adding window control buttons like minimize, close and maximize into Metro apps first. But I don't quite feel that is likely even on the Beta.

It seems to me that you have still difficulty grasping what Windows 8 is. It is essentially a mobile OS that virtualizes Win7. Thus, Win7 is simply a task under this OS. How do mobile OSes close apps? By pressing the "back" or "home" arrow. In fact, in most mobile OSes (iOS, Android), the OS decides how many resources to award to background apps, to suspend them or to close them. This is exactly what is happening in Win8. On tablets and smartphones, Win8 systems will close apps by pressing the "back" button. This is why the "close", "minimize", "full screen" buttons do not matter any more. They have never been part of any mobile OS and they would not be part of this mobile OS. Win8 with "Metro" needs to behave like a mobile OS the users expect it to be.

Again, if you buy to the whole premise that you would be running a mobile OS which would run Win7 as an application, then you would be at home with Win8.

Even those apps just don't terminate immediately. Even whilst I was using Piano, I pressed the logo key to go back to the Start Screen, but I can still hear the sound of that. They should work on that at least. Make those applications terminate as they are closed. If there's one thing that very immediately made me dislike something about the iPhone or the iPad, there was no way to close an app unless you press the button that takes you back to the menu screen. If Microsoft would put some close and mimimize buttons into these Metro apps, don't you think that would be at least a small but important advantage over the apps of other tablets or smartphones?

I disagree with you that the Desktop part of Windows 8 is just an application. There are features in it that are not present on Windows 7, you get things like Hyper-V and Storage Pools but there are features like System Reset and System Refresh that are hard coded, they won't work on the Control Panel unless Metro is enabled. I'm just gonna say that you don't downsize the new features that are considerably good (maybe not siginificantly good for you) for users. I use WDP everyday but I had Metro and the ribbon on Windows Explorer disabled using Brink's tutorial. Its so far smoother than Windows 7 as far as I can remember but there are still a few bugs.

Originally Posted by Brink

Originally Posted by Vertex

I hate the ribbon thing on Windows Explorer.

Before they can metrofy Windows Explorer, they better work out on adding window control buttons like minimize, close and maximize into Metro apps first. But I don't quite feel that is likely even on the Beta.

Hello Vertex,

If you like, the ribbon can easily be toggled on or off in Windows Explorer though.

Windows Explorer - Minimize the Ribbon in Windows 8

Thanks, but I have Metro the the ribbon on Windows Explorer disabled using your other tutotial. The one that you can disable/enable Metro from the Desktop context menu.

Originally Posted by Vertex

Even those apps just don't terminate immediately. Even whilst I was using Piano, I pressed the logo key to go back to the Start Screen, but I can still hear the sound of that. They should work on that at least. Make those applications terminate as they are closed. If there's one thing that very immediately made me dislike something about the iPhone or the iPad, there was no way to close an app unless you press the button that takes you back to the menu screen. If Microsoft would put some close and mimimize buttons into these Metro apps, don't you think that would be at least a small but important advantage over the apps of other tablets or smartphones?

No, I do not. Not if the whole system is designed for touch on small devices like tablets and smartphones. Where would one put these buttons? It is not as if you have the real estate that you have in the desktop. If you want to run the same mobile OS (what Win8 really is) from smartphones to large desktops, this system would need to be configured for the lowest common denominator, which is the smartphone screen. And this is the main problem with Win8.

Originally Posted by Vertex

I disagree with you that the Desktop part of Windows 8 is just an application. There are features in it that are not present on Windows 7, you get things like Hyper-V and Storage Pools but there are features like System Reset and System Refresh that are hard coded, they won't work on the Control Panel unless Metro is enabled. I'm just gonna say that you don't downsize the new features that are considerably good (maybe not siginificantly good for you) for users. I use WDP everyday but I had Metro and the ribbon on Windows Explorer disabled using Brink's tutorial. Its so far smoother than Windows 7 as far as I can remember but there are still a few bugs.

That the desktop has certain enhancements, it does not prove it is not simply just a task under Win8. It is just that. This is basically what Microsoft is saying. You have Win8 which is fully Metro and it runs the old desktop (plus a few enhancements) as a task under it. This is what it is, by Microsoft's own communications. And this is why System Reset and System Refresh are Metro only. They are utilities of Win8 and not of the virtualized Win7 that runs as a task under it. And what is this big deal about System Refresh and System Reset? System Reset is available on all mobile OSes. It is available for iOS and it is available on Android. In fact, System Reset was available for Windows Mobile 6.0-6.5!!! Big deal. Microsoft is only catching up to other mobile OSes. It is quite instructuive that System Reset/Refresh cannot do anything about the desktop because the desktop is not part of the OS. It is a virtualized version of Win7+enhancements that runs as a task.

The whole think is less than impressive. It is essentially coding Win8 to behave like Android or iOS. The only concession is that Win8 would be able to virtualize Win7 and allow you to run "old" desktop apps within that virtualized OS. Of course, the Win7 virtualization will be missing from ARM-based computers (because, I think, they have some difficulty making it work there).

Just face the truth. Windows has come to an end. It is all over. With Win8, you have Microsoft's copy of iOS with a different UI that can virtualize the "old" Windows. If you like it, go and buy it. If not, then, too bad!!

Originally Posted by Jav

Thinking "Metro=Squares" is wrong.
It is about basing your UI interface on actual content instead of graphics.
It is similar to Swiss Style, thus it is Typography based design language. It is not design based on squares..

Anyway, what you are seeing is not metro, it is called AeroLite.

That I agree with. The Zune Software is the most metro program ever, and it uses actual content to make it what it is. I know it's AeroLite, but I wanted to see what that little weird hack does.
I highly doubt it'll even be in the client OS since that's the design of Windows 8 Server there.

Originally Posted by ADRz

Originally Posted by Vertex

Even those apps just don't terminate immediately. Even whilst I was using Piano, I pressed the logo key to go back to the Start Screen, but I can still hear the sound of that. They should work on that at least. Make those applications terminate as they are closed. If there's one thing that very immediately made me dislike something about the iPhone or the iPad, there was no way to close an app unless you press the button that takes you back to the menu screen. If Microsoft would put some close and mimimize buttons into these Metro apps, don't you think that would be at least a small but important advantage over the apps of other tablets or smartphones?

No, I do not. Not if the whole system is designed for touch on small devices like tablets and smartphones. Where would one put these buttons? It is not as if you have the real estate that you have in the desktop. If you want to run the same mobile OS (what Win8 really is) from smartphones to large desktops, this system would need to be configured for the lowest common denominator, which is the smartphone screen. And this is the main problem with Win8.

Originally Posted by Vertex

I disagree with you that the Desktop part of Windows 8 is just an application. There are features in it that are not present on Windows 7, you get things like Hyper-V and Storage Pools but there are features like System Reset and System Refresh that are hard coded, they won't work on the Control Panel unless Metro is enabled. I'm just gonna say that you don't downsize the new features that are considerably good (maybe not siginificantly good for you) for users. I use WDP everyday but I had Metro and the ribbon on Windows Explorer disabled using Brink's tutorial. Its so far smoother than Windows 7 as far as I can remember but there are still a few bugs.

That the desktop has certain enhancements, it does not prove it is not simply just a task under Win8. It is just that. This is basically what Microsoft is saying. You have Win8 which is fully Metro and it runs the old desktop (plus a few enhancements) as a task under it. This is what it is, by Microsoft's own communications. And this is why System Reset and System Refresh are Metro only. They are utilities of Win8 and not of the virtualized Win7 that runs as a task under it. And what is this big deal about System Refresh and System Reset? System Reset is available on all mobile OSes. It is available for iOS and it is available on Android. In fact, System Reset was available for Windows Mobile 6.0-6.5!!! Big deal. Microsoft is only catching up to other mobile OSes. It is quite instructuive that System Reset/Refresh cannot do anything about the desktop because the desktop is not part of the OS. It is a virtualized version of Win7+enhancements that runs as a task.

The whole think is less than impressive. It is essentially coding Win8 to behave like Android or iOS. The only concession is that Win8 would be able to virtualize Win7 and allow you to run "old" desktop apps within that virtualized OS. Of course, the Win7 virtualization will be missing from ARM-based computers (because, I think, they have some difficulty making it work there).

Just face the truth. Windows has come to an end. It is all over. With Win8, you have Microsoft's copy of iOS with a different UI that can virtualize the "old" Windows. If you like it, go and buy it. If not, then, too bad!!

Wow....