Paul Allen Offers His Impressions on Soon-To-Launch Windows 8
By emeadows
October 4, 2012
October 4, 2012
- Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen provides a detailed review of the upcoming Windows 8 on his website. He highlights features of the new bimodal user approach and offers helpful tips based on his experience.
- Allen notes that some long-time Windows users might be initially frustrated by the lack of a traditional Start menu. But the new screen is visually pleasing and easy to navigate, he suggests.
- “The Start screen displays a scrollable collection of tiles,” he writes. “Each tile represents an app (Mail, Internet Explorer, and Calendar, for example) or feature. Many are live tiles; that is, tiles that display notifications related to that app or feature.”
- And although it can sometimes be difficult to find, he writes of the new control called the Charms bar, which offers access to important features like Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings.
- “There are a number of things introduced to Windows by the tablet aspect of the bimodal user experience that I found puzzling, especially for a traditional desktop user like myself,” he writes. These include difficulties using multiple monitors, inadvertently switching modes, inability to build hierarchies on the Start screen and difficulty scrolling in desktop view on a tablet.
- Allen notes in his conclusion that the bimodal operating system will take some adjustment, but he remains confident that users will adapt quickly, will find touch to be a natural progression and will be particularly impressed with the tablet capabilities.
- “The tablet interface is elegant, responsive, and stacks up nicely with other tablets on the market,” he believes. “And with its capability to optionally switch to desktop view right on the tablet, Windows 8 extends to mobile users the flexibility to run traditional applications and become more efficient and productive while on the go.”
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