Future of Metro and Desktop

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kdw75

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Jun 18, 2008
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What do you think the future will bring for the Desktop and for Metro? Do you think metro will be advanced and gain useable multi-tasking so that people can actually use it or do you think it will continue to co-exist as a start screen for playing around?
 
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People hate change; so Metro will have to find some middle ground between the traditional and touch environments. Beyond that I don't see it changing too much.

As for the desktop; I think with the evolution of cloud computing we will see a huge decrease in its popularity. However, I think it will be a very long time for it to die or become an 'enthusiast' market.
 
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I actually love change when it helps me be more productive. If you are in Metro though, from what I understand, it is very difficult to do common things such as have InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator open and drag art files between their windows. If Metro won't even let you have multiple programs open in re-sizeable windows then it doesn't seem like it is of much use in day to day life.

When it comes to the touch feature I don't really see the point. On a phone you use touch because you have to, not because you want to. Touch isn't good for precision such as playing games. Look how sucky the games are on touchscreen phones for example.
 
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the capabilities of the "metro" interface are tie to the capabilities of the low end ARM processors. As the ARM processors become more powerful over the next 5 years you
should see a growth in what the metro interface can provide, more features from the core OS will be ported over time and as new CPUs come on line. Microsoft has to do this to prevent becoming obsolete in the long term. The low end ARM processors are encroaching and eroding the desktop market share which Microsoft is king.
They have to tie to ARM or die in the long run.
 
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Computing has changed through many cycles - and with each major cycle, people resisted change.

From DOS to Windows 3.1 - people hated the mouse.

From Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 - people hated it because old DOS programs had issues.

Windows Vista brought about new complaints about the experience, Windows 7 fixed most of them.

Now With Windows 8, there is a new evolution into "touch". People don't like it because it isn't like previous versions....we went from the keyboard to a mouse, and now the mouse is disappearing and being replaced with touch.

With the evolution of new hardware like Kinect and Leap Motion (check out their page - https://www.leapmotion.com/ ), Metro will eventually become more mainstream...it took years for Windows to be adopted over DOS....
 
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metro sucks.

i like windows 8, mostly, but i completely avoid metro

i dont like how microsoft is attempting to make people use windows the way they want. like theyre trying to guide us into a future they picture. something just to boot tablet sales.

examples of this are that metro isnt natively optional, and the removal of aero glass. both attempts to make us used to seeing windows in a way that would work well on a mobile tablet.

i think aero glass is awesome looking, solid and plain looks dated to me. metro is just terrible.

fortunately you can install start8 and make windows 8 work like windows 7. unfortunately there is no way to get aero glass back into windows 8... yet. soon though, it is being worked on by third parties.
 
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People don't like it because it's a step BACKWARDS from keyboard and mouse.

Every other stage you mentioned was a step forwards in terms of productiveness and UI functionality. Metro is ONLY good for touch, which is exceedingly inferior to the faster and more precise mouse and keyboard system we use today.

If metro's changes actually made things more productive / easier, then I guarantee you it would have been a success, eventually. As for right now, it's a belly flop for anything that doesn't have touch as the mandatory input device.
 
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DarkSable - I don't know that it is a step backwards - but it is different. People hated Windows 3.1 because you had to use a mouse. I remember computer showrooms and people touching a mouse for the first time...It was great for a few laughs.

We have all become used to the mouse, and because of it, the change to touch or gesture based interfaces are going to take a while to be accepted.

That being said....I still run Windows 7 on all my machines...I tried out the release candidate just to check it out, and while some features were nice, I am not ready to adopt it. It needs to become more mainstream into the applications before I jump in...
 
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Kind of like the "ADD FEATURE" its removed after windows media center is installed they totally deleted the AnyTimeUpgrade jeez, think they would have at least left the add features to windows there, and used a link stating there are no other features to install, found a work around for that if I want to activate my windows 8 pro key again. Don't get confused this is different than the add windows features in programs.
Run this command in admin mode bing your key is activated, slmgr -ipk [your cdkey]
 
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But see, here's why I think it is: It's slower.

Besides the fact that touch means filthy screens and slower actions (compare swiping and poking to moving your mouse an inch and clicking), it's a poorly designed UI. Almost every task requires sliding through screens, multiple layers of menus... what have you.

Rule number one of good GUI design is this: "The fewer actions a task requires, the better."

The reason windows 8 isn't popular is because it shatters that rule, and feels slow and complicated as a result.
 
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maybe the issue is that our screens are in front of us instead of lying on the table. Then you would have your hands on the screen instead of in the air :)

I have Win 8 and I think the main issue, which another user mentions, is that you can't resize windows in metro. Metro is really a fancy launch screen and a casual consumption tool (it is much better to read news on the news app then a normal internet app because of how it fills my screen).

MS really should just have replaced the desktop with the start screen (I don't mean get rid of the desktop but have single click items on the desktop to launch programs much like shortcuts and files. This way you can launch programs (or files you save to your extended desktop). You can have the icons appear as the tiles instead of the old icons. Then everything else opens like old windows that resize. Additionally they could have made a desktop lite for tablets were the windows go full screen or the 3/4th's & 1/4th like metro.

I think this allows people to have the nice single click / touch start option while still working in the desktop environment. Additionally they could have two options to get to all apps (one is the metro style and the other the start button).

 
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When I tested Windows 8 on a touch screen system, my arms were not raised all day. I used the mouse most of the time - but found the ability to use gestures on the screen added a 3rd type of input device. In some cases, the gestures were nice, but end result - it was more of a gimmick - because the applications weren't optimized for gestures/touch screens.

It may take a few years for applications and hardware to catch up to utilize the features of Windows 8....until then...I will remain on Windows 7.

The one thing where I did find the user interface better was with WMC and my WMC remote. The metro style screen allowed for use of my WMC remote from the couch. I found that was easier than using the mouse/keyboard on a TV tray or coffee table.
 
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Now that's interesting... I might have to consider something like that for building an htpc in a year.
 
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DarkSable - I have a Silicondust HDHR3 Prime - and with Windows 8, there are issues to deal with, but the interface was appealing. I think it goes back to my IT mindset that until SP1 comes out, the OS is not proven... 🙂

Within the next 2-3 years, they will have applications that are optimized, and innovations in hardware like the leap motion mouse:

https://www.leapmotion.com/

Until then...It's Windows 7 for me.
 
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Im loving it too, look at the great title game. I can just see the future of pcgaming in the future. ROFLMAO. They give us stick man
stickman.png

 
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ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER: By following this link you will purchase the product.

Now I have that out of the way. Having a keyboard with a touchpad built in is just awesome. Have one for our HTPC and means you can do anything you would with a computer, gaming excluded, with out finding something flat and not too reflective to use the mouse on.

Our HTPC is mostly used for movies and internet surfing so there is no problem but I do have to grab my MX Anywhere for gaming on it.
 
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The traditional Desk-Top PC is a Dinosaur, that's why Intel have announced they are getting-out of the Desk-Top Motherboard business; MS have created a UI that targets a growing market, not a shrinking one.

If you can't Fondle it, the masses won't buy it.
 
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