back to article Win8: A beginner's guide to FondleWindows

Microsoft has unveiled the biggest design changes to Windows in the past 15 years, and probably the biggest redesign in its 26-year life. There are also implications for Windows developers – many of you will soon be obliged to learn the Ways of the Script Kiddie. These are huge changes and you should have a look yourself. What …

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  1. Matthew 25
    Unhappy

    Not for me ta!

    I don't like touch screens (miss the physical keyboard I had on my blackberry) so won't be interested in this.

    Can you imagine trying to write code on a touch screen?

    1. N13L5

      I like keyboard with touchscreen

      You're right, for most things i prefer the keyboard. Nothing comes close for speed. I prefer keyboard shortcuts too, I don't like to move my right hand to the mouse when it can be avoided.

      And touchscreen keyboards are nothing short of awful by comparison to real keys.

      But I still like a touchscreen: its great for drawing stuff, Photo editing, 3D modeling.

  2. Arctic fox
    Happy

    I am most relieved that the author alerted us to his piece being "opinionated" .......

    .......otherwise we might have thought that the manner in which the assertion.............

    "The design borrows heavily from the iPhone's system, iOS, also used for the iPad. Cue grumblings that Microsoft has ripped off Apple again. These are justifiable,"

    ............was presented indicated that it was a statement of fact rather than a highly subjective allegation/opinion. My personal *opinion* is that they appear to have lifted it directly from the WP7 UI (a design that is not to my personal taste whatever the merits/demerits of the OS itself).

  3. Rattus Rattus

    Can I turn

    this annoying new interface off and use a sensible view that works? No? Then no Windows 8.

  4. Scorchio!!

    Shorely shome mishtake

    Windows Icons Pull-down Menus? Not something that Xerox would recognise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIMP_%28computing%29

  5. Whatithink
    FAIL

    How long should we give Microsoft?

    Let's face it, this is just utter sh*t. Why do companies do this sometimes? They just decide to fail and nothing seems to be able to stop them. Older readers will remember a time when Marks and Spencers, for example, was OK. I'm a boring middle aged man and there's nothing in M&S I'd wear. There never will be, not even the socks. Microsoft's going that way. If they keep trying to bully their customers into going away they'll succeed.

  6. N13L5
    Pint

    There's a lot of different ways for touchscreen UI's to look

    This Windows 8 screen was already done by Rainmeter with the Omnimo 2 Skin. Done really well for that matter, very customizable in what realtime info you wanted to see.

    And I know they're all high on that WinPhone7 guy's stupid Tiles at M$, but seriously, I've seen a more interesting Touchscreen UI in the Iron Man movies:

    You touch some element, and it grows a ring of options, and as you move onto one of those options, further items pop up. Its a nice drilldown requiring minimal finger movement for maximum effect.

    Best would be a real 3D UI, where you're not smudging your screen with your paws, but you're fumbling around ...err gesturing in thin air infront of the screen :)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No mention yet...

    1, Of how secure it will be (I'm guessing the usual MS 'secure as a wet paper bag' scenario).

    2, Of how often we're going to see the blue screen of death (I'm guessing almost as often as the boot screen)

  8. BobChip
    Linux

    All fingers and thumbs

    Wonderful news for CAD users! Want to fly in an aeroplane that someone designed with their thumbs? Still sure about that?

    To repeat what several other posters have already said, possibly a great UI for browsing the web, but absolutely useless for serious work. I have actually tried to "work" with an A0 drawing on a tablet, no mouse present, and work it does not.

  9. Fred 5

    The title is required

    "But it's unavoidably going to be called, now and forever, FondleWindows." No it won't. It'll just be you.

    What a dreadful article. Microsoft have come up with something really different in WP7/W8. I've not decided whether I like it or not, but it's certainly different. Yet somehow this is ripping off Apple "innovative" grid of icons?

    Also, where can I get one of those "conductive screens" you mention at the top of page 2?

  10. Chika
    FAIL

    Industry fads

    Let's face it, folk. What we have here is another chapter in the latest industry fad. Do away with keyboards and mice. The industry has, after all, been trying to force users off the desktop and onto the laptop/netbook for a few years now, and this is just the latest fad to hit us. No doubt this is of great use for some folk but the headlong dash will leave some users cold for any number of reasons, none of which seem to have been addressed by the industry.

    The personal computer was designed to be a general purpose device for use by as many people and in as many situations as possible. Before we start moving to a new platform, we need to be absolutely sure that this new platform can be used in the same arena, otherwise what we have is a piece of specialist equipment which can never be a valid replacement. There have been quite a few references here to Microsoft Bob, for example.

  11. Atonnis

    Hardware's more important anyway...

    I can see the benefits of this on a tablet...if you have a use for that sort of thing.

    However, until the hardware can really make it worthwhile, I'm not that bothered. Windows 7 is excellent for all aspects of my PC use, not just touchy-feely stuff and media consumption.

    When you can give me a good tablet unit that works with everything my PC does, and can be hot-slotted into a base unit that then connects to (ie boosts) the CPU, memory, hard drives, network, etc up to a proper desktop standard (proper by my standards) then I'll be more interested.

  12. Leigh 5

    Microsoft should return to stealing from Apple

    This interface is so hideous, it reinforces Microsoft's reputation for clunkiness and design ignorance.

  13. dannymot
    FAIL

    WIMP

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

    Windows Icons Mouse Pointer

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