Windows designer explains why Windows 8 is such a mess

Page 6 of 10 FirstFirst ... 45678 ... LastLast

  1. Posts : 9,600
    Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
       #50

    smarteyeball said:
    I still don't get the continued hate for eight. The vast majority of user complaints are easily rectified by a single free app and having the option to completely ignore the Modern side of it all. It really is that easy. If there was no work around, then the hate would be justified...
    There are several reasons. For starters, why upgrade if one has to modify the upgrade to get the same functionality one already had? If one has an existing Win 7 desktop and gets a Win 8 laptop, switching between the two OSes will be a nightmare for many, if not most, people. Why upgrade when the upgrade introduces changes that aren't really needed, unnecessarily complicating usage. Why upgrade when the upgrade doesn't significantly improve usage? Why have to deal with workarounds when Win 8's predecessor worked just fine?

    When I got my Win 7 notebook 19-20 months ago, I had no trouble transitioning from XP to Win 7. I had expected a huge learning curve and was pleasantly surprised when I found myself actually using the computer pretty much right out of the box. With the exception of the piddle poor photo download wizard and photo viewer (those got ruined), most, if not all the changes from XP and Win 7 were actually improvements. They did not disrupt the work flow patterns I had developed over the years.

    Not so with Win 8. I had to be walked through it by someone just to do a couple of simple things on it and never did learn how to find things on it that I could home onto in Win 7 without any trouble. Most of the changes in Win 8 really weren't an improvement; they just appear to be changes for the sake of change. The biggest issue I have with Win 8 is the direction M$ is trying to take, of which Win 8 is just the first step: subscription and cloud computing, more frequent, as in yearly, upgrades (which only increase user confusion and expense and create nightmares for hardware and software developers to keep their wares up to date), and foisting an Apple-like closed system on us.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4,566
    Windows 10 Pro
       #51

    smarteyeball said:
    I still don't get the continued hate for eight. The vast majority of user complaints are easily rectified by a single free app and having the option to completely ignore the Modern side of it all. It really is that easy. If there was no work around, then the hate would be justified.

    Overall it's as good an OS once "adjusted" as 7 is. It's more similar to 7 than 7 was to XP and how many former XP users had little trouble adjusting to 7?

    Whilst iOS and OS X share the same core and other frameworks, at least Apple didn't make the mistake of forcing one of the OS X updates to look and try be used exactly like iOS.

    With 9 - Hopefully MS have actually listened and not just said they have. By now MS should have been forced to admit that a PC is not a mobile device and vice versa. It really shouldn't take much to make 9 more successful than 8. But 9 and MS "change" of attitude is all just speculation for the moment. I'll reserve judgement until there is something to judge.
    Remember average users. They wouldn't know how to find the free app, or how to install it. They just return it cause they cant use it. I have had several people come to my second job (a retail store) and say to me how do I shut my computer down? How do I Close internet explorer? Why is it taking up the whole screen? Where is the desktop? Why can't I close this? Why do I click a picture and it takes me to this giant full screen thing?

    Words from actual customers. If that isn't enough reasons, I don't know what is. Microsoft officially made the average user pissed off. That is why.

    When I get support calls from people who can't even shut down there machine, that's a problem. When you have an interface without options being in front of you, that's a problem. When things are hidden and you have to do a Google search to find them, that's a problem.

    Basically: It's a problem for users.

    Win 8 =Great

    Windows 8 + bad interface = horrible.

    That retail store I work at has never seen so many returns on PC's before. --Not even from Vista.
    Last edited by andrew129260; 24 Feb 2014 at 19:46.
      My Computer


  3. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #52

    Andrew, I think you described the real life situation very well. Not all users are Gurus like us who fiddle with systems all day long.
      My Computer

  4.    #53

    Honestly, I'd like to see them be brave.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 353
    64-bit Windows 7 Professional
       #54

    W8 I think it was just to follow the fashion of the tablets. I tested the interface for a few minutes, and took me all those minutes to figure out to how get to the desktop.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #55

    3Colors said:
    W8 I think it was just to follow the fashion of the tablets. I tested the interface for a few minutes, and took me all those minutes to figure out to how get to the desktop.
    Yup that's the issue many of us have with it, it's not for real computers.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5,941
    Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers
       #56

    Britton30 said:
    Hi there,

    Jimbo, please don't beat around the bush, say what you mean.

    (I agree with all of your points too.)
    Hi there

    OK -- to re-phrase it all

    1) the MOBILE OS (tiles etc) is showing its limitation even as a "mobile" app on the latest set of smartphones / tablets too -- with lots of apps installed this tile swiping gets tedious and awkward. With a really powerful phone / tablet just imagine finding anything with 100's of apps installed. The OS was fine for up to about 3 pages /screen swipes) --any more swiping to find / run apps then irritation time sets in. !!!

    2) A lot of serious creation work requires if not the use of several monitors - certainly at least decent re-sizeable windowing - especially when copying / comparing content from one or more applications / sites. Everything working in full screen windows is just NOT ON.

    3) Whatever manufacturers / designers do to "lock in" consumers to a particular product - there are inevitably ways around it - the example I gave was AMAZON - its e-books are cheap and available everywhere - I happen to prefer the SONY e-reader rather than the kindle- so I de-drm the amazon books and convert to e-pub. I'm not "locked in" to the amazon kindle just because I buy e-books from them.

    4) W8.1 shows a little "The sinner doth repenteth" part by Ms. With a little bit of work you can turn it into a desktop OS and never have to bother with the metro stuff. Windows 9 should be better in this regard.

    Hope that's clearer for you.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #57

    LOL! You were very clear Jimbo, I was being sarcastic or facetious, or something.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 9,600
    Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
       #58

    Britton30 said:
    LOL! You were very clear Jimbo, I was being sarcastic or facetious, or something.
    It's that "or something" that's scary.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #59

    I was Espousing Elucidation.
      My Computer


 
Page 6 of 10 FirstFirst ... 45678 ... LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:22.
Find Us