OK, I have complained on so many places about the Win8 interface and always felt like nobody was listening. I am hoping that Tami, or you Brandon would take my comments seriously.
First, before you think I am anti Windows here is some background about me, I think Windows 7 is by far the best desktop OS, I have built software on Windows that is in use by millions of people. I also use Android and iPad, so it is easy for me to get used to a new interface.
I do like many things on Windows 8, it is not a bad overall, it is amazingly fast compared to anything else I have seen, and it is great for power users, you can tinker with the settings as you could on previous OSes, plus it has the benefits of the Store, something didn't exist in previous Windows.
BUT it has many interface decisions that I find strange. I am going to list few pf them here:
1, Start Button:
I do understand the new paradigm with the Start Screen, in fact I don't mind it (except perhaps it needs the ability to make the icons smaller), but I don't understand the whole concept with removing the start button and making it virtual (hover)
Hover should never be part of a common UI, it is just horrible UX. Hover means you have to wait for the element to show up then you continue your task, waiting should never be part of common task (even if it was few 100 milliseconds). Also hover means I really have to concentrate on a hidden element, that is distraction, it reduces productivity.
Oh, wait it gets even worse, if you have multiple monitors, you actually have to hover on a specific pixel because if you overshoot the mouse by a couple of pixels it goes to the second monitor.
Of course I can use the windows key, but usually my hand is on the next key ready to type, you see experienced windows users are just very productive and you don't want to slow them with poor UI decisions. I might also be holding something else in my hand (A phone, or a child on my way out of the house) and just have one free hand to use the mouse.
Also, the current start button is very glitchy on RDP, sometimes I have to move the mouse many times over the virtual pixel before it shows up (I even have recorded a video about this)
BTW, the same issues with the virtual Start Button apply to the Charms Menu
2. Search:
So imagine that you hover on the bottom left to get the start button, you click it to get the start screen and you start typing something like "services" or "programs and features" well nothing will show up, so you will have to move the mouse all the way to the top right and click "Settings" then it shows up on the top left, and you can click it (or hit enter).
How did this work before,
1. Click start bottom left (unhidden)
2. Type services, Enter
Search should be just search, it should never be segregated into apps, files and settings, it is just counter productive.
3. File search:
In Win7 file search was as simple as clicking start button and typing whatever path you want, it auto completes for you, and allows you to navigate easily. Now, it is almost like going in a dark room, you start typing in the start screen and suggestions might show up, and they might not, and whey they do show up they are very limited. Worse off, the suggestions are not clearly visible, and it took me months before I realized they are there! The same applies to going to network locations.
Navigation is just not as easy.
4. Backup, I like the new backup method, but I don't understand why there is no way to provide system images as well as incremental backups. I want to have the ability to keep a historical archive of my data + system images every month in case things go badly. Windows will always need to offer system image as long as legacy apps are supported, it is not an option.
I am very fast when I use Windows, if you look behind my shoulder you would probably get dizzy how fast I move around the OS, and I imagine that there are thousands, if not millions of people like me who are just so used to Windows being a productive OS, Windows 8 just pulled the rug from under our feet, it cannot be used in a productive way, it is not simply a learning curve problem, but a productivity one too. This is a HUGE problem, and is one of the main reasons why Windows is the dominant OS, it is very productive environment, and if you remove that, people will find other environments that are more productive, so please bring Win7 productivity back.
Thanks
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