Posts by MonkeyBoyFan 5 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jun 2012
Jeeze, crawl back under the bridge you came from -- you give Microsoft-lovers a bad name, and that kind of trolling won't positively influence any of The Register's readership. I develop for Windows 8, but at least have the sense to recognize the high quality of so much of the open-source code, and to acknowledge the debt our (necessarily) proprietary drivers and applications owe to FOSS code that came before.
From the viewpoint of a designer, it was clear that PCs needed a fresh face. Although Microsoft has always been the undisputed technical leader in operating systems, the windows and icons metaphor has become rather tired. Worse, file icons and shortcuts mar what could otherwise be a pristine desktop, and the ability to simultaneously view multiple applications forces the user to multitask, distracting from the most important task at hand.
But change is afoot, and Metro+Windows 8 is designed to play a pivotal role in Microsoft's bold leadership into a future awash with touch-centric devices. Metro isn't just pretty: It's efficient and supports quick navigation. Unfortunately, because it represents a bold new user interface paradigm, Microsoft needs to reeducate citizens and gently help them to become part of this brighter, shinier future of computing. That's why these Microsoft "retail stores" are so necessary, even if as a cost center they end up taking a loss.
The greatest leaders of our time understand that it is not the little people who simply create things that really matter, but rather the investors, lawyers, and intellectual property firms who monetize and manage those creations who truly make an economy great. Microsoft's own Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold are universally admired for their early recognition of this principle in the high-tech world.
Governor Romney makes the case for the free enterprise system around these essential but so-called "non-productive" roles, which has "helped America create the greatest economy on earth -- producing more jobs, opportunities, and prosperity than any other system ever devised... helped lift more people out of poverty across the globe than any government program or competing economic system... a bright beacon of freedom for the world. It has signaled to oppressed people to rise up against their oppressors, and given hope to the once hopeless."
Desktops like OSX are so 1990. The WIndows 8 decisions are being made by a very talented design team who are not afraid to shake up the misconception that the Apple Lisa had the right idea about user interfaces. That team is enthusiastically supported by management, who realizes that every new Microsoft release is a tide that lifts all boats in the computing community, and that even users who are initially afraid to try new ideas will eventually embrace the new paradigm.
A good user interface is all about delivering content to the user, and the entire UI design team at Microsoft enthusiastically agrees that Metro provides a truly superior user experience. With regard to enterprise use, usability experts point out that productivity is impaired by trying to work on more than one thing at a time, and Metro is intended to prevent you from doing just that. 3D effects and the like simply distract from the app content, and aren't necessary when all applications run full-screen.
Remember, Windows 8 and Metro were designed by Microsoft, the true experts in computing. While some users may initially complain about having to learn a better way to do things, Metro is poised to usher in a shiny new age of computing, merging the demands of content providers and enterprise managers.
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