Yes. Windows 7 sucks ass on a touch-screen device. Sucks ass.
What difference does it make? On Win7, you bring up the start menu, find what you want, then the start menu goes away. On Win8, you bring up the start screen, you find what you want, and the start screen goes away.
Oh whoops. Don’t they think the requirements for a TV interface and a computer interface are different?
I remember Win95 folks cluttering the hell out of their desktops with frequently used applications - it was essentially the Win8 start screen minus the live tiles. We moved away from the desktop because it’s nice to launch programs from the Start button or the taskbar - that way you don’t have to Win+D down to the desktop, you can launch from anywhere.
When I read the Win8 build blog I can understand their thought process but not their conclusions; the premiss of the start screen just doesn’t work for me.
The interfaces are different. Metro isn’t in interface; it’s a design language. The Windows 8 and Xbox 360 UIs share design language, but are customized for their function.
What party? Nobody has yet integrated the ease-of-use concepts from tablets and smartphones to an actual computer. Apple’s attempts to this point have been half-baked and clumsy.
MS might fail, but they’ll be the first ones trying.
If you’re referring to the “tablet” party, you’re talking about a platform that has meaningfully existed for two years. It currently consists of Apple making the iPad, and dozens of companies making clumsy Android tablets.
Pretty sure there’s room for growth.
If that’s what passes for customized. It’s actually quite a bit more cumbersome and obfuscated than the previous NXE interfaces. But now it looks like Win 8, hooray?
Basically Windows 8 is a bet that users want both PC and tablet capabilities. By and large this is true. Tablets are becoming increasingly popular but I know very few people who use tablets exclusively. However carrying both a laptop and a tablet is cumbersome so Microsoft thinks there are many people who would like a device that does both. Again I think that’s true.
Now the issue is it is actually possible to make a device that combines both capabilities well. We will have to wait and see but from what I have seen Windows 8 does a reasonable job. Metro UI seems a great tablet environment which well with touch. Behind Metro you have a regular PC environment with a few nice refinements over Windows 7.
What I am really looking forward to is a device like the Samsung Hybrid, announced recently at Computex. Basically it’s a tablet which docks magnetically into a keyboard and runs Windows 8. When it’s docked I would imagine it’s pretty much like your standard laptop and if you undock it should work nicely as a tablet in Metro UI. It also has Wacom pen support which should come in handy in tablet mode. I really like the S-pen on my Galaxy Note and I am looking forward to trying Wacom pens on bigger screens.
I for one, am excited about windows 8. We have it installed on a tablet here at work that has an attachable keyboard. I love the interface. From what I can tell it works well as a laptop or tablet device. I’m holding off on my next computer purchase until November because that’s when I heard they’re becoming available to public.