[crazy4laptops]

http://www.engadget....let-prototypes/

Basically it's the windows phone UI (enhanced) to run as a full-screen touch-friendly application on windows 7.
That is the secret of the o/s and I think it's part of Microsoft Surface 2.0

Are you excited, horrified, blah, meh, or cool about Win8?

[LiveBrianD]

I'd say more like horrified. Having the OS optimized for touch is nice, but until things like webpages get optimized to work with touch, this won't go to well. I imagine it'd be hard to tap fine web page elements with fat fingers (I don't have fat fingers so I can't speak for this). I prefer to use a separate mouse or pointing stick to navigate - my rotary skills are fine enough that I keep my mouse set at a really high speed. For instance, moving the mouse 1.5cm slowly gets me across a 1366 pixel screen. Moving it 1cm quickly also does it. I prefer to be lazy in that regard - why move the mouse much further if I don't have to? A touchscreen would prohibit me from being lazy!

Also, that interface looks like it wastes a lot of screen space. I don't like the ipad specfically for its' inferface - far too limited. I like to have several things open at once, not just one or two apps with huge font.

I hope I can keep using the traditional desktop exactly the same as I can with w7 - because that's what I'll keep doing. I really dislike the new, radically different, style. That's fine for a tablet, but not for a full PC. Again, that's the reason I like netbooks so much and hate tablets so much. (well, that and the lack of a hardware keyboard)

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 01 June 2011 - 07:40 PM

[crazy4laptops]

The iPhone handles webpages for touch remarkably well and I have standard human fingers... just not all webpages are designed to work with the iPhone. PCWorld forum sign-in is a good example. So it can be done, just Microsoft may trod on Apple's toes if they're not careful with the algorithms on touch to webpage element interaction... I agree on your mouse speeds, the faster the better! Apple believes it should be the opposite though...

I actually like touch interaction, now that I'm an iPhone/iPad fan lol but I still need a real mouse for photoshop, there's just no way around the precision on that, and I use the trackpad on my MacBook Pro for my PS work too!

Take a look at the 3:04 mark in the video, when he opens up Excel 2010 you will see the standard Windows7 UI

This post has been edited by crazy4laptops: 01 June 2011 - 07:47 PM

[LiveBrianD]

crazy4laptops, on 01 June 2011 - 07:46 PM, said:

The iPhone handles webpages for touch remarkably well and I have standard human fingers... just not all webpages are designed to work with the iPhone. PCWorld forum sign-in is a good example. So it can be done, just Microsoft may trod on Apple's toes if they're not careful with the algorithms on touch to webpage element interaction... I agree on your mouse speeds, the faster the better! Apple believes it should be the opposite though...

I actually like touch interaction, now that I'm an iPhone/iPad fan lol but I still need a real mouse for photoshop, there's just no way around the precision on that, and I use the trackpad on my MacBook Pro for my PS work too!

Take a look at the 3:04 mark in the video, when he opens up Excel 2010 you will see the standard Windows7 UI

It's nice how there's something familiar at least. I hate all these new touchscreen interfaces.

I also dislike the pointing curve on Macs - it accelerates way to suddenly. I can handle a very fast mouse if it moves consistently, but on Macs it doesn't. Also, the default pointing speed is WAY too slow - maximum is actually decent speed for me. I don't see the point of having an interface that's so simple on a regular computer though. Sure, it'll be less confusing for someone like my grandfather (who's not very tech savvy - at least he knows how to open remote assistance when I need to help him), but for techies like us, it's stupid. Again, that's the main reason I refuse to get a tablet (particularly a 10" - that's WAY too big for something with such little functionality).

[Knifeblade]

Vista bombed, so 7 came to the rescue, and now 8 is supposed to enhance 7 via touchscreens. I'm staying with XP until Microsoft gets on the road and stays on one path.

[LiveBrianD]

Knifeblade, on 04 June 2011 - 12:25 PM, said:

Vista bombed, so 7 came to the rescue, and now 8 is supposed to enhance 7 via touchscreens. I'm staying with XP until Microsoft gets on the road and stays on one path.

How should I put it?
Microsoft had a good os with 98. Then they came out with W2K and had a really solid, great OS. Meanwhile, on the other side, they came out with ME, based on the soon-to-extinct 9x kernel. Then they came out with XP - W2K's kernel with some visuals. Then there was Vista - different from XP, full of visuals, and bloated. Then there was 7 - plenty of visuals, but less bloat. Perfect. Now there could be 8 - TONS of visuals, plenty of bloat, and less productivity. Seriously, stop putting in visual effects and make the OS lighter and easier to use. They made the OS lighter and some of the new w7 features (like seeing a program when you mouseover it in the taskbar) are useful. Windows 8 is a huge step in the wrong direction. Besides, I've been disabling visuals like smooth scrolling and animations on minimizing since I used XP. With Windows 7, you can add in aero transparency.

[waldojim]

This looks like the MS Bob of the modern age.

How many people own touch screen monitors? How many are willing to run out and pay $300+ for a new monitor just for that function? For that matter, how many people want to pay all that for another overlay? Another stop-gap measure that will never live up to truly touch friendly interfaces.... Sorry guys, my prediction: Windows 8 will crash and burn.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 04 June 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

This looks like the MS Bob of the modern age.

How many people own touch screen monitors? How many are willing to run out and pay $300+ for a new monitor just for that function? For that matter, how many people want to pay all that for another overlay? Another stop-gap measure that will never live up to truly touch friendly interfaces.... Sorry guys, my prediction: Windows 8 will crash and burn.

Honestly, Microsoft should really just quit dabbling with tablets, since they keep failing. Otherwise, make the tablet thing a separate OS - I do NOT want that tablet interface crap on my desktop and laptop. Or at least give the user a way to completely disable that interface. And if they don't, I'll find my own way around it.

[Knifeblade]

And that's why I'm going to be stubborn and hold onto XP, or maybe even put in my old 98 install disc . I mean, 7 sure rolled out rather fast after Vista, and then 8 for potential touchscreen usage {wave of future, maybe so, but not really for desktops, so it's useless for the average PC user, meh}.

I'll have to bite the bullet and adopt 7 or whatever MS has as their current flavor OS at some point, but in my case {pun intended}, I have to get a new comp. to do that. But, as long as XP is working well for me, and I feel I have it fairly well shielded, I'll hold on as long as I can.

This post has been edited by Knifeblade: 05 June 2011 - 02:41 PM

[coastie65]

waldojim, on 04 June 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

This looks like the MS Bob of the modern age.

How many people own touch screen monitors? How many are willing to run out and pay $300+ for a new monitor just for that function? For that matter, how many people want to pay all that for another overlay? Another stop-gap measure that will never live up to truly touch friendly interfaces.... Sorry guys, my prediction: Windows 8 will crash and burn.

Yep. That is pretty much what I said in a post on another thread. Vista II on the way.

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 05 June 2011 - 04:10 PM, said:

waldojim, on 04 June 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

This looks like the MS Bob of the modern age.

How many people own touch screen monitors? How many are willing to run out and pay $300+ for a new monitor just for that function? For that matter, how many people want to pay all that for another overlay? Another stop-gap measure that will never live up to truly touch friendly interfaces.... Sorry guys, my prediction: Windows 8 will crash and burn.

Yep. That is pretty much what I said in a post on another thread. Vista II on the way.

Do you think Microsoft reads forums like these and blog comments on things like this? I sure hope they make heavy use of user feedback!

[crazy4laptops]

LiveBrianD, on 05 June 2011 - 06:46 PM, said:

Do you think Microsoft reads forums like these and blog comments on things like this? I sure hope they make heavy use of user feedback!

Microsoft has gotten better about their feedback, I had the opportunity to correspond with scott goble and steven sinofsky when Win7 was still in beta as I had uncovered a few issues with the task manager and how I could crash Win7 by plugging in flash-based media...
Plus, the feedback forms/Microsoft Connect are your best options for getting your voice/feedback heard and analyzed for implementation in the next OS.

[smax013]

waldojim, on 04 June 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

This looks like the MS Bob of the modern age.

How many people own touch screen monitors? How many are willing to run out and pay $300+ for a new monitor just for that function? For that matter, how many people want to pay all that for another overlay? Another stop-gap measure that will never live up to truly touch friendly interfaces.... Sorry guys, my prediction: Windows 8 will crash and burn.

If the only main new thing is the touch tile interface, then I agree it will likely crash and burn for traditional laptops and desktops, which is pretty much 100% of Windows current installed base. If this is the case, I am with you that most people will see very little need to upgrade. It would only likely appeal to those who are buying new computers with touch interfaces.

For tablets, OTOH, it could work out well. In particular, it could make the "old" laptop/tablet combos make a comeback and actually prove useful. I could see it being useful by having it operate in "traditional" Windows mode or "combo" mode as show when the screen is flipped into the laptop mode but operate in the touch tile mode only when the screen is flipped to tablet mode. The problem with those types of tablet computers was that it was Windows with a touch "kludge". And for "pure" tablets (like iPads and Android tablets), the touch tile only mode might work well.

Overall, while I am not impressed, it is still WAY to early to really assess things. Keep in mind that this is essentially a "marketing" demo. Typically, the devil is in the details and when companies employ their marketing "spin", it can be tough to figure out the details even if they are ready to release it. Case in point, I am still not sure if upgrading to Lion on my Macs is worth it or not even though Apple just announced that it will be released next month. I won't know until places like MacWorld get their grubby paws on it and start to get into more detail. On the plus side, it will only cost $30 to upgrade ALL my Macs (that are capable of being upgraded that is).

[LiveBrianD]

Hey, remember that you still paid the apple tax when you bought the machine!

I do like the idea of the touch interface only when in tablet mode though - if it can transition smoothly (software-wise that is). For instance, the Dell Inspiron Duo's design is cool.

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 07 June 2011 - 12:23 PM, said:

Hey, remember that you still paid the apple tax when you bought the machine!

Off topic. Don't go starting some Mac vs. Windows holy war.

[LiveBrianD]

smax013, on 07 June 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 07 June 2011 - 12:23 PM, said:

Hey, remember that you still paid the apple tax when you bought the machine!

Off topic. Don't go starting some Mac vs. Windows holy war.

Yeah OK... but hey, OSes are the closest thing I have to religion (I don't believe in god or anything like that, unless the Microsoft god counts ).