How Microsoft can salvage
Windows 8 before it's too late
Summary: Here's what
Microsoft should do if it wants to prevent Windows 8 from going down in history
as a Vista-like flop.
By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
for Hardware 2.0 | July 18, 2012 -- Updated 19:11 GMT (12:11
PDT)
A regular Hardware 2.0
commentator challenges me to do something that may well be impossible -- fix
Windows 8.
You've spilled a lot of
pixels telling us what's wrong with Windows 8. Your mission, should you
decide to accept it, it to come up with a concise way that Microsoft could
salvage the operating system before it's released.
This is a tough challenge,
given that Windows 8 is only a few months away from release. There's not a lot
that Microsoft can do in this time. However, given that the Redmond giant has
already gone on the record to say that the UI that we see in the Windows 8
Release Preview is not what will be in the final release, it's safe to say that
things are in a certain state of flux.
As I've said on numerous
occasions, the biggest problem with Windows 8 is the way that the dumbed-down
Metro UI has been unceremoniously bolted onto the mature and well-refined
"Classic" user interface. While there's no doubt that the existing UI
is flawed, bolting on a UI designed for touch devices is not the answer.
OK, you asked me to keep
this concise, so here it is. Here's how I think Microsoft should tweak Windows
8 before it's released:
Reinstate the Start Menu.
Scrolling through the
Metro UI Start Screen is no better than scrolling through the Start menu, so why
add change for the sake of change? While I'm sure some people will take to the
Start Screen, for those that don't want it -- perhaps because they don't have a
touch system, or just want to keep their old workflow -- then bring back the
Start Menu.
Desktop-centric Windows.
Make it so it's possible
to make the desktop the central focus of the operating system. Booting into the
Windows Desktop is infinitely more useful for those on a traditional PC than
booting to the Metro UI Start Screen. Unless you're driving Windows 8 via a
touchscreened device, that Metro UI start Screen is about as useful as a fire
alarm that plays a lullaby.
Bring back the Start orb.
There's enough mystery
meat navigation elements in Windows 8 already without adding more. I can understand
why Microsoft pulled the Start orb -- because none of the other on-screen
cursor hotspots that Microsoft has added have a visual element attached -- but
the Start orb is so iconic that removing it is likely to cause no end of
confusion.
Rename Windows RT
Windows RT is a
wishy-washy name for a platform that doesn't give the consumer a clue as to
what to expect. Even adding the word 'Tablet" somewhere would help. Come
on Microsoft, give people a clue here somewhere.
Integration between the
two versions of Internet Explorer
Windows 8 has two
different versions of Internet Explorer. A "Classic" version and a
"Metro" version. This introduced all the problems associated with
running two browsers. While both versions share a common history file, that's
about it.
Let me give you an example
of what's wrong. If I'm working with both a "Classic" application and
a "Metro" app, and I need the browser open in both screens -- sounds
complicated, but this comes in handy when you're researching something -- there's
no way to have both Internet Explorers synced so they show the same
content.
Use Windows 8 SP1 as an
opportunity to refine both UIs
We know that it will take
about a year from when Windows 8 is released before we see Service Pack 1. That
gives Microsoft a chance to listen to user feedback -- and by users here I mean
regular users, not people who've bothered to download and install the previews
-- and configure the two UIs into what users want rather than what Microsoft
thinks they want.
There's a palpable fear
that Windows 8 will stumble out of the door. I'm hearing this from people
within Microsoft, from the OEMs and vendors, and from others in and around the
industry. The OEMs and vendors feel especially vulnerable, and if Windows 8 does
become 'another Vista' then there will be an industry-wide bloodbath. Analysts
are already cutting price targets on Dell and HP, and Windows 8 is still months
away.
My predictions are that
after the initial fanfare following the release, things will play out as
follows:
Enterprise will continue
to demand Windows 7, because to roll out Windows 8 'properly' the costs will
rocket due to mass purchase of touch-enabled hardware and additional user
interface training;
OEMs will sell Windows 7
PCs alongside Windows 8 systems because they will find it almost impossible to
present the benefits of Windows 8 on desktop systems;
Microsoft will once again
find itself in a position where it has to offer longer-term support for the
older operating system;
Windows 9 will look
significantly different to Windows 8, and likely switch back to the
'traditional' Windows interface;
Depending on how Windows
RT tablets sell, Metro could well be on life-support come Windows 9.
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