Microsoft Shows Off Radical New UI, Could Be Used In Windows 8 403
autospa writes "In a three and a half minute video, Microsoft may have shown the world what it has in store for the eagerly awaited Windows 8. In the video Microsoft showed a radically different interface from past versions of Windows — even Windows 7. Running on Surface 2, the touch-screen successor to the original Microsoft Surface, the device accepts input from a Windows Phone 7 handset (HTC HD7). Gone are the icons that drive Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems of past and present. In their place are 'bubbles' that interact with files and post streaming information off the internet."
And I thought Office 2010 was hard to use (Score:5, Insightful)
And I thought Office 2010 was hard to use. The new Excel is a nightmare to learn well. And now, "bubbles"?
(from article) "eagerly awaited"? (Score:5, Insightful)
by whom?
"eagerly awaited" ? (Score:5, Insightful)
"eagerly awaited Windows 8" - say what ? :)
next version of grub might be more eagerly awaited than windows 8 or whatever.
ms hired a pr company to build up some buzz ?
Non story - news at 11 (Score:5, Insightful)
What? (Score:2, Insightful)
This has got to be the dumbest thing ever. Microsoft is just being different for the sake of getting attention, because they know they are quickly becoming irrelevant.
Well, so long Microsoft, it was a good run, but you finally have reached the limit of what you can steal from others and the ideas you come up with on your own are pants-on-head retarded. Goodbye.
Re:What? (Score:2, Insightful)
That seems to work well for Apple.
Research stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft research does really cool things, but somehow the bureaucracy always kill them. I don't think it will be different this time.
I want my 3:46 back (Score:5, Insightful)
There's nothing here you haven't seen before. It's the usual Microsoft Surface things, drawing Fantasia-y colors by waving your hands and rotating 3D objects, which you've seen before. Add to that a lot of vagueness about how everything is going to change and a soundtrack that could easily have come from any HR video on sensitivity training or proper timecard procedure.
Maybe these features will be nifty when we get them. But this video is the worst kind of marketing speak.
Re:That is the greatest advantage of Microsoft (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm no fuddy-duddy. I'm willing to change when an obviously superior idea comes along. What fucks me off about Microsoft is that they rearrange where you find the fucking things but they're ultimately the same fucking screen from the last four versions. But where do you go to configure network properties? It's a goddamn easter egg hunt.
Don't even get me started on that fucking ribbon.
Citations and plagerism (Score:4, Insightful)
The academic world worries about citations and plagiarism in their works but the commercial world never bothers or usually takes credit for others work as their own; the marketing departments go even further.
We (the community) should be pointing out and calling BS to this heavily marketing driven society that has created a world in which smart people and educational institutions lack their due respect as the true innovators and instead we are told to worship the mighty corporations; its no wonder so many Americans are anti-intellectual and pro-corporation -- they see new technologies like this Microsoft PR and think Microsoft "innovated" all that stuff when I didn't see anything there that they innovated other than perhaps the bubble thing which they didn't show much of (and I likely just missed some paper somebody did on the concept 10+ years ago.)
Not that impressed (Score:2, Insightful)
While MS have been mucking about with concepts, Apple have actually added real and useful features to their next OS upgrade.
Re:And I thought Office 2010 was hard to use (Score:5, Insightful)
At least with a menu I could just browse and read from the text what the option is. Now I often have to guess what that icon does and I'm not going to remember all those from the large amount of applications I have to support.
Re:That is the greatest advantage of Microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, that's great, except that what if you wanted to see the status of your network conenctions - your method (which requires a lot of typing) doesn't work.
Even better, I decided to type "configure network card," and the only usable option that popped up was "Manage Devices and Printers," which, interestingly, doesn't even show my network card as a device.
Why, might I ask, do you need 3-4 different ways to manage the network, some of which are inaccessible from other areas.
Why, in the network and sharing area, does a right-click on 'Home Network" not allow you to change the relationship, a right click on "Joined" for he home group does not allow you to unjoin or change the home group, and a right click on "local area connection" not bring up status, ipcongif info, the network card properties, or anything else? Why not put all those single clicks to new levels of dialog boxes into a unified interface? Why does doubl;e clicking your wireless icon in the tray disconnect you?
I can only assume that this guarantees more training dollars for everyone that has to use this stuff.
Re:That is the greatest advantage of Microsoft (Score:2, Insightful)
My keyboard doesn't have a "Windows" key, you insensitive clod.
Re:worst feature removed yet? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, let's stay with one freaking file (though there may be 3 it only takes one) that when it becomes corrupt it takes everything down. A better system would be one that decentralizes this task and only affects one or a few programs (and not the OS). If you aren't aware of it, and it really makes your argument seem silly, is that every program writes tons of files to their folders. Some write them all over the place. To look at what there was (with .ini files) and what we have today (the registry) and you consider that programs can place hundreds if not thousands of files on your computer in various folders, one would have to admit that them putting their little .ini file into their folder isn't going to add much to the complexity. The registry is a poor solution that was never improved and it is a single point of failure on the whole system that causes more than its share of grief for users.
And, as far as how Linux accomplishes the same feat you appear to be clueless about the configuration files. I actually see no detriment to being able to show hidden files and to locate the ones that correspond to the program in question and to rename them in an effort to debug issues.
And, as far as incompatible formats go, why would my photo editor need to know the file format of my CD player program's configuration file? And since when do we not have total incompatibility, even in the Windows registry, amongst programs? Why would my photo editor need to know what's happening to the registry settings (or configuration file settings) of my CD player program? They don't know anything about each other nor do they need to know.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:And I thought Office 2010 was hard to use (Score:5, Insightful)
I HATE this about commercial software, to the point where my productivity applications are years out of date and only "upgraded" when I know I'm going to have a month or two of good solid downtime to effectively re-learn them from scratch. Losing a week (or more) to get back up to speed (warp speed, not plodding along) doing the exact same thing with a toolchain that now runs slower on the same hardware is extremely difficult to justify on a regular basis.
If Vim and Emacs pulled the same stunt with every new version, the userbase would grumble, fork or recompile, and keep using their editors the way they always have. In the event of a massive change-for-the-sake-of-change ejection from a major mac/win ISV, creative professionals get to grin and bear it, lose time (and in some cases money) getting back up to speed, or not upgrade.
Much of the griping about Office doubtless comes from people who use it At Work, whose work machines are controlled by a nebulous IT department, who came in to the office one morning to find the new version thrust on them.
Software change is a lot easier to embrace when it's willful and provides a clear benefit. For many people, the change in Office was neither of these.
Re:And I thought Office 2010 was hard to use (Score:5, Insightful)
Who the fuck thinks it is a good idea to put the things we use most often or what always visible on the "desktop", the first thing to be covered as soon as we start actually doing something??
Widgets/wallpapers/desktop icons/conkey/whatever are absolutely retarded ideas.
When will UI designers realize that my computer UI is not a desktop, and I do not want it to mimick limitations of physical objects.
Microsoft Bob 2? (Score:2, Insightful)
Didn't they learn from Microsoft Bob?
Have you noticed cars all have a similar interface, pedals, steering wheels and so on. There's a good reason for that, it works and people are familiar with it.
Re:Citations and plagerism (Score:4, Insightful)