Here's what's wrong with Windows 8

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Here's what's wrong with Windows 8[/h] By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
March 12, 2012, 11:00am PDT


Summary: Windows 8 is a massive gamble for Microsoft, and right now I can see the potential for it to fail harder than Windows Vista did.


I’ve been using the Windows 8 Consumer Preview since its release back at the end of February, and having used it extensively on a number of several physical and virtual systems, I can now put my finger on what I think is wrong with Microsoft’s latest incarnation of Windows.


It might not say the word ‘beta’ anywhere on this release, but this Consumer Preview is still pre-release software, and as such there will be bugs and features that are not yet fixed in stone.


Let’s take a tour of where I think Microsoft has gone wrong with Windows 8, starting with the obvious.


Too much emphasis on touch



I know I’ve ranted about this before, but that’s not going to stop me from ranting about it again.


I still can’t fathom out why Microsoft is pushing a touch-based operating user interface onto systems that people are going to be driving with a keyboard and mouse, which I estimate will make up at least 90 percent if not more of Windows 8 users over the lifespan of the operating system. It feels like change for the sake of change and nothing else.


It feels clumsy and awkward and, as far as I can tell, offers no benefit the traditional PC user. By now, I’ve used Windows 8 enough to be confident enough to say that the new interface is far less efficient to use with a mouse than the Classic interface.


But it gets worse. The more you use the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the more you get the feel that the concessions that Microsoft have made to those using a keyboard and mouse are poor afterthoughts that feel awkward and clumsy to use. There’s a tremendous lack of consistency in the operating system that really bothers me.



Clashing user interfaces



Another problem I have with Windows 8 is how readily Microsoft flips users between the Classic and Metro user interfaces whenever the developers haven’t managed to create a consistent user interface. I find it utterly crazy that I can go from clicking on a tile on the Metro Start Screen and then be unceremoniously dumped into things like a Classic Control Panel applet or Windows Explorer.


Bolting on a new user interface is one thing, but when that user interface is incomplete, it makes you question the value of having it in the first place.


It gets worse. While Microsoft has ribbonized much of the Classic user interface, these Ribbon menus are still packed with small user elements and fiddly to use with a mouse, and I’m sure that they will be even fiddlier, if not impossible to use, when driven with a finger. The ribbon menus weren’t developed with touch in mind, but it seems that Microsoft has decided to adopt it as a cheap alternative to spreading the Metro user interface across the whole of Windows 8, and it seems like a really bad idea.

see two page report

 

[lehnerus2000]

Exact Opposite

...that's what actually creates jobs. I read people saying how the IT dept will go bonkers, how to train everyone?, is it possible??

Instead, we should be seeing things like, "Oh, this is different in Windows 8. I can easily now add a tiny sub-division to my small business to deal with that for my customers" - or similar - what I mean is clear enough.

All that stuff is creating employment. Every single last person getting paid to deal with anything computers really has Microsoft to thank in no small part. It's all by design and intended.

"Isn't that just pointless busy work?" - Lisa Simpson

However, there may be a "light at the end of this tunnel" in that I saw an article yesterday on several forums indicating that a former MS person had setup a website to focus on what he thought MS did wrong with Win8 -- focus on touch devices -- and to gather ideas for tailoring Win8 to work well for the REST of us.

They'll gather results, interpret them and then implement the exact opposite.

Just like how they use their so-called telemetry data.

 

[Calico]

Here's What's Right With Windows 8

Or not...

 

[Night Hawk]

That's another good sumation seen there of how Windows 8 be labeled the portable OS not intended for desktop use! It's looks fancy on a geek's presentation screen but not for the practical every day productive user or the typical mom and pop PC for that matter.

What we are still waiting to see more of however is what other new things does 8 bring along it besides the Metro? What else would want anyone to upgrade out of a working OS(7) which automatically saw a hugh success into a real mess up of an OS in the next version?