What's new

What do you LIKE about Modern UI?

mitchellvii

Well-Known Member
Anyone who follows me at all in here knows I haven't been the biggest fan of Modern UI. That isn't because I think Modern UI in itself is a bad concept, I just disagree with MS attempt to force it upon us as the main act instead of letting us be drawn to it organically. An arranged marriage rather than trusting us to meet and fall in love on our own.

Regardless, there are things about Modern UI that I like, chief among them is IE 10 - not without caveats. For a touch device, IE 10 is exceptionally easy to use. Zoom works fantastically and without lag, text is clear (on a small HD screen) and the swipe back and forth feature is really nice as opposed to trying to click a very small back or forward arrow. That little voice in your head says, "This is nice..." when using it.

That being said, as with most things in Windows 8, there are some glaring inefficiencies which spoil what could have been a 5 star experience. Favorites Management is basically non-existent. I believe this is an extension of MS's "Take as much control from the user as possible" movement. On the other hand, typing in a website that you have visited previously does bring it up quickly. I guess MS assumes we are too dumb to manage our own favorites but somehow all have remarkable memories for website names. Font smoothing seems to work very well on my SP screen but looks quite zagged and pixelated in a larger format. MS has changed Cleartype somehow so it is less effective - again, I am sure they focus grouped this and contrary to all logic found that people actually prefer zagged fonts? I don't know, MS Research seems to come to quite a few counter-intuitive findings. The more likely reason is that MS is designing for higher PPI tablet screens that must also rotate and the old version of Cleartype handled rotation poorly. The fact this affects desktop users adversely is immaterial since we must be prepared to make sacrifices for the future. Once again, good idea badly timed as most potential Window 8 users still have non-touch, low ppi monitors and likely will for years.

The rumor is that the Desktop version of IE 10 will offer swipe navigation as well as favorites management in Windows Blue. This would be awesome but would also give me one less reason to ever use Modern UI. If I were MS, I would make Desktop IE 10 really horrible so users are forced to use Modern UI IE 10 despite its deficiencies. In the history of software, forcing users to do things has always turned out well and MS wouldn't have to change their current strategy.

WHAT THIS THREAD IS FOR:
So anyway, use this thread to discuss the things you LIKE ABOUT MODERN UI and also THE THINGS YOU WOULD DO TO IMPROVE THAT THING YOU LIKE if you aren't 100% satisfied. Modern UI is like a pitcher with a great fastball but lousy control. Tell us what your favorite pitch is and how they could improve their control over it.
 
Last edited:

tonyz3

New Member
Love: kickstand, kickstand angle, pen magnet clip, scaling on desktop.
:LOL:.
also love:
1-start screen. I am not afraid of change
2-live tiles
3-full screen metro apps,

Would fix:
1-need tile for Bluetooth toggle, Wi-Fi toggle,
2-centralized notification center
 
Last edited:

ArnoldC

New Member
I didn't realize the kickstand is a Modern UI feature :LOL: Just kidding...

1. In terms of Favorites management, or the lack of it in IE10, it is a legitimate issue, but here's what I would do-

a. Use Pin to Start, and use Tile Groups to group them accordingly.
b. Use IE10 Desktop, and do the usual method of managing the Favorites. They appear on the IE10 list together with Most Recent when the address bar is active.

*Possible* improvement. If I use option a above, I could end up with a long list of Tile Groups, therefor the *possible* addition of Folders within Tile Groups is a potential solution.

ClearType is *not* a Modern UI concern (we had this feature ages ago) so I won't take a stab on it.

What I like about Modern UI.

1. Charms
2. The application switching (and application list)
3. The App Bar (when developers use them properly)
4. "Split" screen
5. Live Tiles (when developers use them properly)
6. Development API (love or hate to others)
 
OP
mitchellvii

mitchellvii

Well-Known Member
Love: kickstand, kickstand angle, pen magnet clip, scaling on desktop.
:LOL:.
also love: start screen. I am not afraid of change, live tiles, full screen metro apps, Would fix-need tile for Bluetooth toggle, Wi-Fi toggle,

You are truly a Renaissance man :)
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
I like:
1) That it is touch-enabled;
2) The unobtrusiveness of application menus (i.e., swipe to reveal them) so that more of the core application UI is visible on the screen;
3) Live Tiles (I must admit that when I first heard about this functionality I was skeptical, but now that I have them, I do like them! Being able to glance at a tile for information instead of opening up the application is great!).

Suggestions for improvement:
1) Support content folder structures. This can then be applied to the Start screen, IE Favorites, etc.
2) Easier manual placement/organization of Live Tiles. Right now, this can be cumbersome and tricky. I want to be able to easily place my App Tiles anywhere within the Group grid.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
The thing that I like most is that the Application Paradigm is designed to be Chromeless, nothing gets in the way of what you are working on, watching or reading, no menus, no dialog boxes, no boarders....and most importantly it is Touch Friendly.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Yes to all of the above reasons, which if you notice is pretty much everything about what Modern UI is including design language (summary phrase of Jeff's point). The shortcomings lists are also pretty much spot on and should be easy to fix as long as MS decides to (connectivity toggles, folders, notifications, etc.).

I would not make anything really horrible to force users into something else (who thinks like that anyway ;)). If MS wants to make a definitive change they can simply remove the alternative (Start button) without having to conspire and contrive.
 

machistmo

Active Member
Anyone who follows me at all in here knows I haven't been the biggest fan of Modern UI. That isn't because I think Modern UI in itself is a bad concept, I just disagree with MS attempt to force it upon us as the main act instead of letting us be drawn to it organically. An arranged marriage rather than trusting us to meet and fall in love on our own.

Regardless, there are things about Modern UI that I like, chief among them is IE 10 - not without caveats. For a touch device, IE 10 is exceptionally easy to use. Zoom works fantastically and without lag, text is clear (on a small HD screen) and the swipe back and forth feature is really nice as opposed to trying to click a very small back or forward arrow. That little voice in your head says, "This is nice..." when using it.

That being said, as with most things in Windows 8, there are some glaring inefficiencies which spoil what could have been a 5 star experience. Favorites Management is basically non-existent. I believe this is an extension of MS's "Take as much control from the user as possible" movement. On the other hand, typing in a website that you have visited previously does bring it up quickly. I guess MS assumes we are too dumb to manage our own favorites but somehow all have remarkable memories for website names. Font smoothing seems to work very well on my SP screen but looks quite zagged and pixelated in a larger format. MS has changed Cleartype somehow so it is less effective - again, I am sure they focus grouped this and contrary to all logic found that people actually prefer zagged fonts? I don't know, MS Research seems to come to quite a few counter-intuitive findings. The more likely reason is that MS is designing for higher PPI tablet screens that must also rotate and the old version of Cleartype handled rotation poorly. The fact this affects desktop users adversely is immaterial since we must be prepared to make sacrifices for the future. Once again, good idea badly timed as most potential Window 8 users still have non-touch, low ppi monitors and likely will for years.

The rumor is that the Desktop version of IE 10 will offer swipe navigation as well as favorites management in Windows Blue. This would be awesome but would also give me one less reason to ever use Modern UI. If I were MS, I would make Desktop IE 10 really horrible so users are forced to use Modern UI IE 10 despite its deficiencies. In the history of software, forcing users to do things has always turned out well and MS wouldn't have to change their current strategy.

WHAT THIS THREAD IS FOR:
So anyway, use this thread to discuss the things you LIKE ABOUT MODERN UI and also THE THINGS YOU WOULD DO TO IMPROVE THAT THING YOU LIKE if you aren't 100% satisfied. Modern UI is like a pitcher with a great fastball but lousy control. Tell us what your favorite pitch is and how they could improve their control over it.

I like that I can use it to get to the Desktop....

Not much else.....

It feels to me like a touch desktop that does not allow me to set a wallpaper or anything else customized and all the while offering me about none of the Zillions of features that desktop has.... Its so badly designed that I want to vomit sometimes. I use it RARELY.

Being able to get back to the desktop works for me.. The more I use METRO, the more I want to remove it completely.
 
Top