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stmuk writes:
"BGR reflects on recent comments by a Metro designer. 'Metro is a content consumption space,' Microsoft UX designer Jacob Miller explains, 'It is designed for casual users who only want to check Facebook, view some photos, and maybe post a selfie to Instagram. It's designed for your computer illiterate little sister, for grandpas who don't know how to use that computer dofangle thingy, and for mom who just wants to look up apple pie recipes. It's simple, clear, and does one thing (and only one thing) relatively easily. That is what Metro is. It is the antithesis of a power user.'"
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Windows 8 Designer Explains Why It Annoys You
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Oppernockity tunes but once.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by everdred on Wednesday February 19 2014, @10:13AM
...we had things pretty good for a while, but Windows 8 is just another sign of the times.
For decades, there were expectations of expertise built-into nearly all aspects of nearly all computing devices, because a greater proportion of the users were experts. While these expectations have been decreasing over time, the rate of change seems to have accelerated over the last few years; it's easy to see now when it's highlighted by its absence. It's happening in both hardware and software.
We have less functional keyboard layouts because most people don't use "those" keys. We've got soldered-on RAM because most people don't upgrade theirs anyway. Many laptops, phones and tablets have built-in batteries because most people don't need a second one, or keep a device long enough to see serious drop-off in charging capacity. Perhaps worst of all, we get less functional software because many people struggle with the basics.
To look at our stuff now and notice that we're lacking what seem like simple no-brainers is saddening if you're like many of us. If you're not one of us, the changes may not even register with you, or may seem like progress.
On the software side, we still have some good choices, and it's usually still possible to replace the programs or operating systems that come with our devices with the ones we'd rather be using. That said, some that previously seemed like good choices have become less so. (Think Ubuntu with Unity, Gnome 3, Final Cut Pro.)
But on the hardware side, things aren't looking so good.
A reasonable person would suggest we vote with our wallets and buy only the good stuff, even if it means paying more. After all, we don't have the masses' purchases to help subsidize our stuff anymore, now that most of the stuff on the market was designed with one ridiculous design compromise or another (non-removable batteries, etc.).
Paying more is reasonable, I guess. I, for one, am willing to pay a bit more for quality products that don't treat me like a jerk. But worst of all, the stuff that appeals to many of us is either disappearing or is already gone. Even the stuff that seemed sacrosanct is being, or has already been, turned stupid.
Just look what they've done to our fucking ThinkPads.
(Score: 3, Informative) by MrGuy on Wednesday February 19 2014, @12:22PM
Just pointing out that the rise of UEFI may well take away your options for installing alternative OS'es in the future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Fi rmware_Interface [wikipedia.org]
I for one welcome our new smart-tiled overlords.
(Score: 5, Informative) by dilbert on Wednesday February 19 2014, @01:24PM
UEFI by itself is not a problem.
Secure Boot, which is a component of UEFI, can be used to limit what type of code can be run on the computer. As it *currently* stands, Microsoft has required OEM's to allow Secure Boot to be disabled on x86/x64 machines if they want to use the 'certified for Win8' sticker on their machines.
Obviously Microsoft (or the government) could change that requirement at some point in the future.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 19 2014, @06:31PM
Are you sure? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2aq5M3Q76U [youtube.com]
To be fair the video is a bit old and maybe issues have been resolved. But it does seem fundamentally terrible.
(Score: 2) by everdred on Wednesday February 19 2014, @02:18PM
Mmhmm. SecureBoot had come to mind while writing this, but I'm not sure why it didn't make it into the post.
Great point.
(Score: 1) by dilbert on Wednesday February 19 2014, @01:21PM