Thursday
Sep062012
Windows 8 / Touch screen environments?
Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 3:00AM Do you think that you would be comfortable using a Windows 8 / Touch screen environment on a computer workstation? Thanks to David.
Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 3:00AM
Reader Comments (8)
no, and I think MS are crazy to drop the start menu in favour of the Metro menu which is really touch based...
Who needs folders to organise their programs? we all only have a dozen apps on our desktops so a single list of applications is fine? isn't it? lol <- same problem with WM7, hell iOS wised up and added that crazy new invention called folders, yet MS somehow forgot?
Not sure until I tried it, but doubt it
My wife's new computer is effectively a 25" tablet mounted upright with a keyboard and mouse, running Window 7, so it is effectively Windows 8 ready. She doesn't use the touch screen, why would you with a mouse just next to keyboard. It is inconvenient to move the hand from the keyboard to the screen to reposition the cursor/pointer. And although there is an on-screen keyboard, who would find comfort in typing on a vertically aligned keyboard?
If the whole computer was embedded in the desk, at an angle, it might be different...
I guess it's the start of a new concept for the future. It looks stupid for now, but in time, with Microsoft pushing forward, maybe we will say one day: "I just can't get how on earth we managed to live with just a mouse... we can produce so much more with the touch screen!".
We must remember one thing: the OS are not ready and optimized for such thing... for now. But if the trend stays, apps and the whole environment will change and adapt to that concept. Then I'm sure we will be able to produce even more.
I've learned enough about tech that we must never reject. We must be open to exploring new features, even if they don't seem right at the moment.
^
YEs and if it turns out to be wrong MS will just dump it and their customers and developers (like they did for WM) and start all over again.. Looking at WP I think they have a long road ahead to reclaim some semblance of decent market share in the mobile space, and I am curious to see how many people metro ui on desktop drives to OSX..
Microsoft have been very brave with the changes that they've delivered in Windows 8, but they didn't know when to draw the line and the results aren't good. I've been using Windows 8 on various devices for a while a regular laptop, traditional tablet and hybrid laptop with touchscreen and all have problems.
Forcing the touch friendly Start menu on users trying to use keyboard/mouse setups is poor - those users could have sat in a comfortable Windows 7-like environment instead they end up shunting between desktop and touch environments; and using controls designed for touch without a touchscreen gets annoying very quickly.
For touch devices Microsoft has failed to separate the desktop environment - the OS should be sufficiently aware that when the user has a tablet (or a hybrid in tablet mode) it renders the desktop mode inaccessible. The result is as frustrating for a touch user as it is for keyboard/mouse users.
Windows 8 makes most sense when used on a device that marries touchscreen, keyboard and mouse. Unfortunately all those different tools get in the way of fluid working. Unlike the Transformer Prime for example, where you can safely ignore either the touchscreen or the trackpad and get things done.
Its a bold move from Microsoft but ultimately one that doesn't work very well. Adoption levels will probably appear high as new consumer machines will come with Windows 8 pre-installed (and may not be capable of downgrades).
I bet Microsoft will need to release a service pack very early on that restores the old Start menu to desktop mode and allows users to toggle between touch-only and desktop-only interfaces.
To an extent (small albeit), the switch to the Metro UI for desktops reminds me of the last significant UI switch for Windows when the "Program Manager" was dropped in favour of the "Start Menu".
There was some resistance by some for that change (not by me, I though it was a great idea), but this new leap is a head of its time as far as desktop hardware support goes, and definitely immature. The window manager controls (minimise, maximise/restore, close {top right} and control {top left}) are not finger friendly yet, being designed for a mouse pointer and all.
Instead, I think, the whole lot should be a separate development stream, for tablet PCs only, and Windows 7 should continue to evolve until there is no longer any hardware requirement, by which time, tablet PCs, or whatever hardware implementation best suited to a finger/stylus touch orientation, will have become the norm.
Microsoft's only real chance of getting where it needs to get in the portable market is to bring phone, tablet and desktop together, particularly with apps.
Windows 8 isn't for the benefit of their desktop business; it's for the benefit of their mobile business.
Viewed in that light what they're doing makes a lot of sense, although it may still be poorly executed.
I guess All-In-One desktops are about to get a lot more popular...
The bright side is that, when they finally get it right, the desktop, tablet and phone should work together far more seamlessly in their 3-screens ethos. To me it's what's missing with current tablets; I can't speak for iPads but Android tablets have almost no connection to the desktop where it should be pretty seamless.