Opinion: How Normal People Will Use Windows 8
There is no escaping it, the idea of Windows 8 is a little confusing. It's mash-up of the touchscreen-optimised Metro interface combined with the traditional Windows desktop environment, but how these two disparate environments will live in harmony is something Microsoft has yet to fully explain.
The Windows 8 Consumer Preview was released at the end of February and while a lot of tech-savvy people have been having a play with the new-look OS, most people won't get their hands on Windows 8 until the second half of 2012 when PCs, laptops and tablets will ship with the new software.
Adding to the confusion is the development of two versions of Windows, one based on the traditional x86 CPU architecture which forms the basis of processors from Intel and AMD (which is the Consumer Preview version) and Windows on ARM (WOA) which has been developed to run on low-power ARM-based chips which are found in the vast majority of tablets on the market today.
While most first looks and previews of Windows 8 have reported that the touch interface is good, the disjoin between using the Metro interface and Metro-style apps with the traditional desktop environment is very jarring.
And in a bid to prove this point, Chris Pirillo from Lockergnome sat his father in front of a PC running the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 and got him to have a play. Chris's dad, faced with the Metro-style interface, managed to click on one of the Live Tiles and opened Windows Explorer, which takes him to the traditional Windows desktop environment.
However, once here, Chris's dad was unable to get back to the Live Tiles and after three minutes of frustrated clicking, he turns to the camera and questions: "They [Microsoft] trying to drive me to Mac?" A damning indictment if ever there was one.
To complement the official Building Windows 8 blog which details the development of the new operating system, an alternative blog, entitled Fixing Windows 8 has been set up to highlight solutions to the problems people have with Windows 8.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.