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Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Planning 'Sweeping Visual Rejuvenation of Windows' (theverge.com) 284

Microsoft is planning a "sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows" that is designed to signal to users of the operating system that "Windows is BACK." From a report: That's according to a job listing posted by Microsoft recently, advertising for a software engineering role in the Windows Core User Experiences team: "On this team, you'll work with our key platform, Surface, and OEM partners to orchestrate and deliver a sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences to signal to our customers that Windows is BACK and ensure that Windows is considered the best user OS experience for customers." Microsoft quietly removed references to this "sweeping visual rejuvenation" this morning, after several Windows enthusiasts spotted the job listing over the weekend.
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Microsoft Planning 'Sweeping Visual Rejuvenation of Windows'

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  • "Windows is BACK" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by marcle ( 1575627 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:17PM (#60895494)

    Be afraid. Be very afraid.

    • by newcastlejon ( 1483695 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:33PM (#60895596)

      I certainly am. Past experience shows that they will keep everything from before and bury it under something ostensibly better.

      Get a watch and time how long it takes to find network adaptor settings. Now try device manager. I swear, with every new version of Windows the control panel becomes even less useful.

      • by Forty Two Tenfold ( 1134125 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:15PM (#60895856)
        I'm not. It means the year of Linux on the desktop is finally here.
      • by luvirini ( 753157 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:16PM (#60895862)

        Yes, it is really annoying how you cannot do the most basic things in the "modern" parts of windows and then have to go a really long and complex way to get to the classic parts where you can...

        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Yes, it is really annoying how you cannot do the most basic things in the "modern" parts of windows and then have to go a really long and complex way to get to the classic parts where you can...

          Which is indicative of a fundamental issue: MS cannot even do the mediocre crap they used to put out anymore. They have lost mastery of their platform.

      • I certainly am. Past experience shows that they will keep everything from before and bury it under something ostensibly better.

        Get a watch and time how long it takes to find network adaptor settings. Now try device manager. I swear, with every new version of Windows the control panel becomes even less useful.

        That reminds me of Windows 8.1. Everyone hated the interface on Windows 8, so they said they would bring back the start button instead of having just a corner that kicked you to the metro screen.
        What did the start button do on the desktop view? Kicked you into the metro interface.

        • by MBGMorden ( 803437 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @05:29PM (#60896442)

          And then in Windows 10 they brought back the actual start menu - because at the end of the day people don't really want Windows to change. The desktop UI metaphor doesn't need revamping every few years unless you're looking for an excuse for people to rebuy things (which likely is their true motive). Outside of bug fixes, security patches and updated drivers I don't care if any of my desktop OS's get a single new UI update ever again.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        They haven't finished doing that from the last time yet! There are still bits of the old UI in 10, still components that have not been updated.

      • by Rhipf ( 525263 )

        To get to device manager.
        1- Right click on "This PC" on the desktop (you have added this icon to the desktop right?) and select "Properties"
        2- Scroll down and select "Device Manager" under "Related Settings"

        Basically it should take just as long as it did before.
        If for some reason you don't have the "This PC" desktop icon you just hit the Windows key and type in "Control Panel" to bring up the Control Panel and select Device Manager from there.

        Network adapter settings are just as fast to get to assuming you

        • Putting those icons on the desktop is much harder than it should be. If you right click on the desktop and go to personalize, you'll see a link about desktop icons that takes you to a website talking about them rather than taking you to the place to turn them on and off, it's insane.

    • by quanminoan ( 812306 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:36PM (#60895618)

      Is that you Bob?

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 )

      Yep, this is what we've been fearing since Windows 10, the next turd release that we can't just skip like ME/Vista/8, since Win 10 is basically Windows Forever: The Rolling Release.

      Good thing almost all of my computers run Linux!

    • by clovis ( 4684 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:04PM (#60895786)

      Now I understand why the Dow dropped 500 points this morning

    • Still using Windows 7... will be switching to Linux to avoid the catastrophy that is Windows 10.

      "Designers" are evil

    • Be afraid. Be very afraid.

      Police: We tracked the IP... it's coming from inside the house and there may also be an Intel Inside [wikipedia.org] ... GET OUT NOW !!

  • God damnit (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tailhook ( 98486 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:18PM (#60895500)

    More pointless change no one is asking for.

    KDE folks: don't let this crap inspire your iconoclasts to mess up your DE. Just ignore it and let Microsoft shit the bed alone.

  • by DeplorableCodeMonkey ( 4828467 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:19PM (#60895502)

    They may not realize this, but if they were to go back to the Windows 7 L&F on top of the Windows 10 base, they could probably get away with a JetBrains-like model where users pay them $50/year for updates in perpetuity.

    • That would be the death knell for Microsoft. They have to keep their partner OEMs happy or they would start working on alternatives, much like what happened with Linpus Lite netbooks.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Haven't they already? Now that Windows 10 remembers recently opened documents like Windows 7 did, is there still anything missing from Windows 10 that was in Windows 7? Other than easy control over updates, that is.

      Aside from Vista and Windows 8, all the Windows versions are pretty much the same as Windows 95. Which is a good thing.

      • >is there still anything missing from Windows 10 that was in Windows 7?

        Yeah killing UWP and getting rid of the forced spyware in the OS that records everything and sends it to third parties. Windows 10 is literally the NSA on your PC.

        Not only that there are legitimate reasons to run cracked software for software preservation reasons, but you all seem oblivious to the fact that Windows 10 wants to marry hardware drm with software drm to end piracy permanently by phoning home via security chips.

        Sorry to t

        • Don't misuse the word "literally" to mean its literal opposite. "Like" would work better in your sentence, and not reveal you to be a fool.

          That also looks like a list of things you wish weren't in 10, not things missing. They're also things nobody is forcing you to have. Stop using the crap free version and shell out for Pro.

          Also, I think you mixed up Macs and PCs. The former has the security chip that dials home, not the latter.

      • > is there still anything missing from Windows 10 that was in Windows 7?

        Yes, as I pointed out [slashdot.org] last month, gradient title bars background color along with FULL control of foreground and background color for Active and Inactive Title bars is still missing from Windows 10.

        Also, Windows Key + Arrow keys needs to be fixed to work for windows that are 100% offscreen. Instead I'm forced to use a AutoHotKey macro to fix basic functionality. Do the Windows programmers even use the system???
        *FACEPALM*

        Since the st

    • >They may not realize this, but if they were to go back to the Windows 7 L&F on top of the Windows 10 base, they could probably get away with a JetBrains-like model where users pay them $50/year for updates in perpetuity.

      Call it protection money - $50/month or the Windows 7 UI gets it in the neck you get the Windows 10 UI.

    • by athmanb ( 100367 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:34PM (#60895602)

      Its not just the look and feel. They have to replace the backend of the UI too.

      Windows 7s WinForms based UI reacted to every click within like 100 milliseconds. Meanwhile Windows 10s UWP UI reacts like youre browsing a website hosted on a raspberry pi in Pakistan.

      They cant just reskin the UI to look as before.

      • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

        Yeah, that is because it is malware. They need to drop the malware.

      • Its not just the look and feel. They have to replace the backend of the UI too.

        Windows 7s WinForms based UI reacted to every click within like 100 milliseconds. Meanwhile Windows 10s UWP UI reacts like youre browsing a website hosted on a raspberry pi in Pakistan.

        They cant just reskin the UI to look as before.

        All of that performance burden you're talking about can be summed up in one word; Telemetry.

        Good luck convincing Microsoft to drop you from their product line.

      • I do not know all the core components of Windows 10 but it seems every update adds more and more services. Personally some of them are not needed by me but every new update Windows 10 has me turning so many services. Some of those services cannot be turned off like Cortana, Text Input (for touch screens) etc. Other services cannot be removed like Xbox, Meet Now.
      • by 140Mandak262Jamuna ( 970587 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @05:46PM (#60896492) Journal
        Windows 7, you click on the malware site from Pakistan and it loads within 100 ms.

        In Win10, it checks the URL, does Windows Defender, than open ports for the Russian hacker, the Chinese hacker and the Indian IRS scam call center, only after that it connects to the malware site in Pakistan. It takes time to do all this. But now you get four scammers, instead of a lonely one swearing at his raspberry Pi in Pashtoo.

    • by Moof123 ( 1292134 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:40PM (#60895646)

      UI's have gone crappy since this whole "flat modern" thing become dogma. I fired up an old ipod stuck at iOS 6, it was far less infuriating than whatever the current version in (14?). So much less cruft, and far easier to just do what I was trying. Too much stuff fails the "It just works." mantra. Try copying a playlist from your iPad to a new iPhone without paying for an Apple Music subscription, you can't.

      Windows 10 also suffers from flat for the sake of flat UI, with too much complexity crammed into a fake simplicity facade. The Ribbon is still flaming garbage. Control panels have been partially taken over by settings, but clearly the mandate is to keep those too simple, so you end up in the legacy control panel (or elsewhere) 90% of the time anyway. Hiding and obscuring stuff is not the same as simplifying it.

      • by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:56PM (#60896070)

        One of the trends I hate attempts to hide complexity by failing to acknowledge them. Windows 10 Settings are the worst for me. Instead of a Control Panel that has things by icon, Settings pushes them to be sub menus under other sub menus that often require ultimately linking to the old control panel app.

        For example, my sound is sent via HDMI through my graphics card to an A/V Receiver. Every now and then the HDMI defaults to stereo instead of 5.1. The problem is that no part of Settings can change that. Sound in Settings has a handful of controls that wants to take up the entire screen. To change it, go to Sound Control Panel, click on the Configure button, and it is the first thing

    • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

      The Windows 10 base is malware. Their model is selling users not selling to users.

    • Why? Is there really anything better about 7's GUI other than you were more accustomed to it? 10 took some getting used to, and I still prefer some of the old controls, but I would never want to go back to 7 in any way.
      • by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @05:19PM (#60896394)

        I kind of liked windows 8.1. It got rid of the boot-to-metro from windows 8 and you could boot straight to desktop. After some registry changes to fix the UI borders (which amazingly wasn't in the preferences) it looked ok to me. Windows 10 screwed that up by adding in extra telemetry and mandatory we-know-better-than-mere-users updates, the dangerous addition of Microsoft accounts (all the better to track you with), hiding even more settings, making settings that did exist even more difficult to understand, and an overall dumbing down of things. Windows 8 was faster than Windows 7 most of the time which I liked, I liked the shutdown-is-really-hibernation, etc. But Windows 10 slowed things down a LOT and it's using more RAM than Windows 8 did. It forced me to get an SSD, apparently Microsoft assume everyone has one of those now so why bother optimizing. On a VM on my Mac at work it is amazingly slow and busy all the freeking time (it recompiles all the .NET crap in the background after an update in order to improve the user experience but to me it means leave the damn thing alone for 10 minutes after starting it up)

    • by flink ( 18449 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:46PM (#60895998)

      Just install Open Shell (née Classic Shell) [github.com]. It gives you a Windows 7 L&F on top of Windows 10. It's the first thing I do for any windows install.

  • I hear it's one louder.
  • Oh god, not again. 10 is already bad, now it'll be impossible!
  • they want it to stay exactly as it is. For some changing colours, layout, etc just cause confusion. The average slashdot user might find this laughable, but for many users any change at all will not be welcome.

  • by Tough Love ( 215404 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:24PM (#60895532)

    Tough Love's first law of Grand Sweeping Visions: When a PHB has a grand sweeping vision it never ends well.

  • They're doing a "rejuvenation" so... are they bringing back 3.11 interface?

  • by AcidFnTonic ( 791034 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:26PM (#60895544) Homepage

    Is Steve Ballmer back? Sounds like something he would do.

    I decree, we are now not uncool or behind, because I declare it!

    We are hip, windows is BACK baby! Whoo ahhhh.

    • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:52PM (#60895708)

      Is Steve Ballmer back? Sounds like something he would do.

      I decree, we are now not uncool or behind, because I declare it!

      We are hip, windows is BACK baby! Whoo ahhhh.

      Well, there's one good thing if he's back.

      The annual Microsoft chair-throwing contest will be revived once this "baby" shits all over itself...

  • When you have to do a "rejuvenation" after just a few years.
  • by medv4380 ( 1604309 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:29PM (#60895564)
    The people who thought the Start Button wasn't being used enough.
  • The last time they did this we got Windows 8
  • And break more shit.

    The Microsoft Way.

  • I don't see how combining three health potions, three mana potions and a chipped gem is going to help Windows at all.

  • Comment (Score:5, Funny)

    by WallyL ( 4154209 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:39PM (#60895638)
    I hear Mozilla has some folks who have experience with "sweeping visual rejuvenations." Maybe they can go over to the Windows side of things and leave us alone, then...
  • by xack ( 5304745 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:39PM (#60895642)
    Chicago, Neptune, Luna, Aero, Metro, Modern, Fluent are just some of the “visions for Windows” Microsoft has had over the years. There is only so many licks of paint that the task bar and start menu ui that has been established over the last 26 years can have. Windows 8 failed miserably without the start menu and Windows 10X is also going to fail hard since they are trying to remove the system tray.

    Coca Cola, Heinz Beans and Lyle’s Golden Syrup keep a consistent design for decades, a stable Windows interface should be like those. Same goes for Mozilla, as they manage to do it with Seamonkey but not Firefox. There is a reason why I use MATE when using Linux.
    • I am not sure what this Windows thing is that everyone keeps talking about. I use a computer operating system called Classic Shell and have done for what seems like decades. It never changes, though some of the boxes seem to change color and get renamed occasionally which is a bit of a pain. /s

  • by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:49PM (#60895688) Journal

    Can you stop putting giant buttons on the Windows versions of your apps, as if the HDTV screen is a phone touch screen for people with fingers the size of those giant long circus balloons?

  • As most people have noted a new UI won't change people's opinion of Windows in a positive way. For most people here on /. any UI changes, short of actually reading our minds and putting data we're thinking about up on the display instantly, will be met with "meh". For non-technical users any UI changes (regardless of how good they are) to ensure a positive response will need to be rolled out gradually so the new features, interfaces, approaches, controls, etc. don't appear at once and be overwhelming.

    Pers

    • For non-technical users any UI changes (regardless of how good they are) to ensure a positive response will need to be rolled out gradually so the new features, interfaces, approaches, controls, etc. don't appear at once and be overwhelming.

      This is Microsoft we're talking about. You seem to have forgotten about metro on Windows 8 and then doubling down on it with Windows 8.1.

  • by beep54 ( 1844432 )
    I would far, far prefer MS to fix all the niggling little things that don't quite work now rather than jiggle with things. For one instance, I used to be able to call up two file explorer windows and tell it to stack them. This worked fine in 7 or Vista. These days you try that you get two 1/3 windows stacked. Huh? Probably with the wrong on on top.
  • by sabbede ( 2678435 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:56PM (#60895734)
    Windows hasn't gone away, how could it come back? Is BACK and acronym for something? Bing, ActiveX, Comodo and KDE?

    Would that start riots?

  • In other words" (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:57PM (#60895742)

    "Once again you won't know where anything f***ing is. Enjoy!"

  • by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:59PM (#60895752)
    They slapped this "Settings" thing over everything else but it only offers superficial settings, so now you have that plus 4 or 5 other "Settings"/"Control Panel"-type things laying around.

    This morning I was trying to figure out how to specify my DNS server without disabling DHCP. Damn this thing!

  • Be there!

  • Please Noooo (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vyvepe ( 809573 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:00PM (#60895770)
    Well, if the trend of UI changes in Windows will hold then:
    • The current at most 1 point wide windows border will be changed to at most 0 points wide so that you cannot see where the border between two overlapping windows is. They probably even lower the contrast for window 3D shadows so that you do not have any clue where window boundaries are.
    • I bet they will remove the possibility to set active window title bar colour so that you cannot see which window is active.

    The best change to Windows 10 UI would be removal of the spacious web like interfaces for something more information dense, better keyboard support and a native support of some linux tilling window manager (e.g. i3, xmonad, ...). And please return back tooltips and that small question mark button which was in the top right window corner in the past. Or at least some help files and the "Help" button :)

    • Well, if the trend of UI changes in Windows will hold then:

      • The current at most 1 point wide windows border will be changed to at most 0 points wide so that you cannot see where the border between two overlapping windows is.

      So, like a Mac.

      They probably even lower the contrast for window 3D shadows so that you do not have any clue where window boundaries are.

      Well, they love the flat design language after all.

      I bet they will remove the possibility to set active window title bar colour so that you cannot see which window is active.

      Stop giving them ideas.

      The best change to Windows 10 UI would be removal of the spacious web like interfaces for something more information dense, better keyboard support and a native support of some linux tilling window manager (e.g. i3, xmonad, ...). And please return back tooltips and that small question mark button which was in the top right window corner in the past. Or at least some help files and the "Help" button :)

      Probably won't see that.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • -Cortana is not able to analyze stress and activity levels and optimize patching to ensure only important calls and work toward tight deadline is disrupted.
    -Azure integration is now mandatory for all non-Enterpise users. As part of this integration you are assigned to AI boss that nags you to complete weekly timecards and forwards you random emails that you already received.
    -The Home edition now has productivity gamification enhancement. You have to reach level 100 in Solitaire or Minesweeper to unlock star
  • just fix it? it would be great if Widows could just stop crashing like all the time.

    please.... not another win7 fiasco. we don't really need to see the blue screen in 3d.

    thanks.
  • Microsoft is smart enough to listen to the criticisms and change other things...

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @03:48PM (#60896018)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • by greytree ( 7124971 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @05:09PM (#60896362)

    Any file that can exist on any supported file system must be select-able, copy-able and rename-able in File Explorer.

    It is shameful that a mature, commercial operating system cannot do this.

    FFS.

  • by realmolo ( 574068 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @06:16PM (#60896678)

    The 3D-ish look of buttons and window edges and all that stuff WORKS. It made things easy to see. The Windows 7 UI was pretty good, too, but I always felt that it wasted a lot of pixels on decorative stuff that nobody cares about.

    Seriously, the Windows 200 UI was close to perfect the way it was. All it needed was more theme/color options ( a true "dark theme" for it would be great). And, of course, it had TONS of theme/color options compared to Windows 10, which has essentially NONE of those options.

    All that said, I have no real issues with the Windows 10 UI. It's not *that* much different. The biggest complaint I have is the same one everyone else has - the "control panel/settings" stuff is a complete and utter mess. Still.

  • by joe_frisch ( 1366229 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @06:31PM (#60896754)
    Why the F do they feel they have to keep changing the appearance and UI. Some of us are actually trying to do work with windows, not just admire the shiny new icons and the beautiful new placement. Changes to UIs cause a loss in productivity and should only be done when there is a clear major efficiency improvement - which is almost never actually the case
  • by wakeboarder ( 2695839 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @06:36PM (#60896776)

    Let's say you have a house, and to make it look new you completely redo the entire front of the house (and garage) every 2 years. Sure it looks new, but every once in a while you decide to drive on your front lawn because that's where the driveway used to go.

    Has it ever occurred to software companies that a refresh doesn't equal better? What it does is decrease productivity because people have to learn how to use the software all over again. They also screw up features that worked and break things.

  • by RogueWarrior65 ( 678876 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @07:04PM (#60896886)

    I swear that we could solve the world's energy problems by fixing the OS so that it doesn't fart around for ten minutes after you boot it before you can do anything thus encouraging you to put the computer to sleep instead of totally shutting it down at the end of the day.

  • This reminds me of Apple's big "Apple II Forever" event, back when the Mac was about to eclipse the Apple II. back in 1984. It even worked, for a little while - the Apple IIc was quite popular in its day, though the seeds if its demise were already planted. And between MacOS, iOS, Android and Linux, Windows isn't looking so dominant these days - according to https://gs.statcounter.com/os-... [statcounter.com], Windows is down to 31% market share. Though competition is good - if MS starts actually innovating, that'd be good for everyone!

  • gray (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mcswell ( 1102107 ) on Monday January 04, 2021 @10:15PM (#60897396)

    Perhaps you've noticed the difference between the vibrant (read: visible) colors in previous versions of Windows, vs. the bland pastel colors in Win10, ever more so with the Fluid Experience. Well, with this new user Experience, we're going to go all the way with pastel--all the way to black, white and gray. Yes, we will have no colors. And you will like it.

    Think I'm joking? Remember the three color themes in Microsoft Office? White, Dark Grey, and Black.

  • by UnixUnix ( 1149659 ) on Tuesday January 05, 2021 @12:12AM (#60897602) Homepage
    "The longer he talks, the faster we count our silverware" --in this case, the more I check I have Win7 machines in the box for any future Windows needs.
  • by BAReFO0t ( 6240524 ) on Tuesday January 05, 2021 @03:34AM (#60897944)

    So MS marketers *themselves* already see Windows as dying or dead.

    Otherwise they would feel no need to declare that is it "BACK".

    Although it would be hilarious if they brought back the Windows 95 or 3.1 look, after the current bevel anorexia. Just like they brought back the Start menu. Because we sure do love to pay to get what he used to have after we paid to have you ruin it!

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