Windows 8 Metro

I just wanted to write a few lines today about Windows 8 and the new Metro Home Screen. I have been using a Windows Phone for almost a year now after using Android on an EVO 4G for nearly a year. I can say that I do prefer Metro on the phone as opposed to Android or iOS. I really prefer Office on Windows Phone over anything I tried on Android. I use my Phone mostly for making calls, text messaging, email, calendar and tasks. 

I am looking forward to buying a "cheap" ARM based Tablet to run Windows 8. I do not have a tablet myself but my wife and oldest teenager each have an Android tablet. I find the same "cheap" feel with them as I did with the Android phone. Software writing data anywhere and everywhere, no basic file structure standards, crashing java apps, etc, etc. My Wife and son could care less, it displays Facebook, or YouTube, or whatever. It handles email good enough for them.

I do not think users expects "every" product to have the same interface. I do not think most people like Metro on the Windows Phone because it locks you into a certain way your device looks. Android and iOS are not much better but you have to admit you can organize a lot "prettier" with them. I do not really care about looking pretty, I just want my phone to work for what I have it for and Metro suits that very well. I will expect the same from a cheap ARM based tablet running Windows 8 RT.

I, however, absolutely hate Windows 8 for use with a VM or a Laptop. I just do not understand what MSFT is smoking. Now they are announcing Aero is "Dated and Cheesy" and not being included in Windows 8. Give me a break! Here is the quote from this blog

"Aero gave the appearance of highly-rendered glass, light sources, reflections, and other graphically complex textures in the title bars, taskbar, and other system surfaces. These stylistic elements represented the design sensibilities of the time, reflecting the capabilities of the brand-new digital tools used to create and render them. This style of simulating faux-realistic materials (such as glass or aluminum) on the screen looks dated and cheesy now, but at the time, it was very much en vogue."

WHAT? I freaking love Aero. I was actually hoping for more Aero type features with Windows 8. Now I can go along with this for a Tablet, but not a Desktop or Laptop. I bought a Laptop and Desktop with a high-end video card to make my computing life look, well, as cool as it can. In other words, I want my Laptop or Desktop to do what I need it to and look good doing it. It is, after all, what I am using most of the day.

If the hard heads at MSFT will not listen to the users at launch you can bet they will when no one buys Windows 8 right away (remember Vista, remember how that turned out?). I expect an add-on pack OR an "R2" release that differentiates between Metro only versions and standard Start Menu versions with the "option" to switch to Metro, probably a year or less after launch. And if not...

I have been using the current UI style navigation for 17 years now and I do not see the need to change on my desktop/laptop. I welcomed the "Windows 95" Start Menu with great enthusiasm because it felt right, it flowed right, it was a perfect evolution from the old Program Manager of Windows 3.x. I was also an avid user of the OS/2 back in the day so I evolved from the OS/2 v2 and Warp 3 Launch Pad then the Warp 4 UI. I started to lose interest in OS/2 when Windows NT 4 incorporated the "Windows 95" Start Menu and I have been loving it ever since.

If Metro flowed and felt natural with a keyboard and mouse, then I would eventually get used to it, but Metro is not a fit for a keyboard and mouse. The keyboard and mouse are not dead and I fear the only OS that will figure that out will be some flavor of Linux.

I understand the consumer market is where the money is, but pissing off the backbone of a companies bread and butter (Corporate IT) so you can ride the money wave generated by the typical consumer is not going to help you, but it may very well doom you. I find myself being more interested in learning more and more about Linux everyday and this may be the catalyst I need. Who knows.

I do know this; I do not want to go from this:

To this being my only option:

Is this the next great innovation? To quote ESPN; "C'Mon Man!!"