Reply to post: Re: If it's done right...

Re: If it's done right...

The awesome comment was directed more to the fact that I finally have a device that I can carry around in my pocket that effectively turns into a desktop computer when I plug it into a dock. Yes, there's room for improvement, but it's still pretty awesome. The only thing that could make it more awesome would be if my AI-piloted flying car had a dock and screen. And a bottomless minibar.

I still don't understand the Start menu hate. I suspect a lot of it is just people trying to get their views validated (it's still an easy way to the upvotes around here). Let's compare the start menu in 7 and 10 for a minute...

7: The most recent apps appear in a list directly above the start button - a nice idea, but the most used apps appear furthest away from the start button. (Unless you have your taskbar on the top of the screen, I guess.) Furthermore, the order will potentially switch around if several apps are used as often as each other - reducing the ability to use muscle memory to open applications (albeit ever so slightly). You can remove applications from this list, but you can't explicitly add something there (IIRC). Below all that is the Windows 95 style gargantuan All Programs tree of crap for all registered applications along with all the bullshit web and redundant uninstall shortcuts that the developer (or marketing department) deemed was absolutely necessary for you to run their software.

10: The left half is an alphabetical ordered list of installed applications. (There's still some crap in there because old developer habits die hard, but it's nowhere near as messy as the All Programs menu from before.) The right half is a fully customisable space for your favourite and most used applications. After five minutes of setting this up, you can develop and tone your muscle memory to perfection. (You can even add a shortcut to the old Control Panel there.) I don't remember how the search worked in 7, but I rarely have trouble finding an application by typing a few letters after opening the start menu in 10 - I don't even have to click anywhere first.

Most personal assistants are still pretty useless. Cortana, Siri, whatever the fuck Google has... I don't use them. I can see the point, but I just don't think the technology is there yet. There's a whole host of privacy issues that need solving from a legal perspective before I would consider using them too.

I don't think it's any harder to find something in the Settings than it was in the Control Panel of 7. Certainly if you didn't know where something was in the Control Panel, it could take ages to find something. At least there's a semi-intelligent search box in Settings. The biggest problem with Settings is that it's simply not finished. They should have completely replaced Control Panel in one go - but I realise that wouldn't have been possible with backwards compatibility requirements. On the whole though, I like the fact that settings are now freed from the tiny little cramped dialog boxes of yesteryear. If they can just finish the rest off and get rid of all the bloated peripheral panels with bullshit custom UIs (hello, Intel and Logitech), I'll be happy.

Anyway, not going to try and convince anyone they're right or wrong here, just fancied sharing some thoughts. :) (First <icon>'s on me.)