

Windows 8 is unusable by mouse, here's how to fix it - MicBib
http://www.fixingwindows8.com

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freehunter
All these claims of W8 being "unusable"... I don't understand the use of this
word.

Once in a blue moon, there comes an event that makes the Internet completely
unbearable to me, no matter where I go. New, high profile product launches are
typically this way. The outrage on the Internet when the iPod was announced,
the iPhone, the iPad. When WP7 came out. A new update to Ubuntu. Any change in
Google or Facebook. All labeled by the Internet as horrible failures. The last
version is always the best (until you get used to the newest one).

There exists a set of loudmouths with nothing better to than rile up the
hivemind, and rile they do. A potentially good product is dead before it even
goes live, based on misconceptions, "viral" videos, and preconceived notions
based on misreported facts and wild, irresponsible speculation. Imagine if the
Internet culture was around when DOS was replaced by Windows.

Microsoft knows what they're doing. And if they don't, they'll figure it out
pretty quick, or they'll die. Guess what? This is a beta "preview" release. No
Windows has launched without a tutorial since at least Windows 95. If Windows
8 is a failure, it'll be because of wild, speculative bullshit, not because
it's a bad product. Using a computer is not intuitive by itself. All your
complaints would be equally valid going from Windows 8 to Windows 7.

~~~
Piskvorrr
Well, they _seem_ to know what they're doing: pushing a unified, one-size-
fits-all interface (and I've tried to honestly use it, on a desktop, for a
day; without a touch interface, it feels very clumsy). The trouble with one-
size-fits-all is obvious: it never does. Note that the linked site is not only
"riling up the hivemind," but also proposing solutions to the UX problems _as
present in the Consumer Preview_ (because there's nothing else publicly out
there to base the suggestions on).

That's _constructive_ criticism if I ever saw any - and loyalty to the brand
as well: that site doesn't say "eh wind0z3 iz teh suxxorz, hate hate," but "I
like Windows, but these are the specific problems I see with Win8 as it's
currently presented; this I propose to fix the issues".

~~~
freehunter
The solution in the article is "add a taskbar" or "bring the desktop back".
That's not fixing Windows 8, that's completely ignoring it.

~~~
Piskvorrr
Have you actually _used_ the W8 CP, or read the website? The desktop is still
there; and that taskbar is there as well, but it's hard to discover (most of
the UI elements are hidden by default, and it's not even obvious they exist).
Most of the changes proposed are not UI overhauls, nor Metro killers, but more
of a repositioning of various elements _when using the system without a touch
device_.

In other words, you seem to be doing quite the same thing you accuse others
of, but in reverse: "you're either 110% happy with the perfect UI in the new
release, or MS haters." The UI has potential to be useful, but it currently
feels half-baked (and there isn't time to finish such major changes between a
CP and RTM versions); perhaps W9 will finish and polish it?

~~~
freehunter
The desktop is there as a backwards compatibility crutch. It's not
discoverable because Microsoft doesn't want you to discover it. XP Mode in
Windows 7 isn't discoverable either.

I take exception to the "either a lover or a hater" comment. I have plenty of
criticisms of Windows 8, like I had many with Windows 7. But if there's one
thing you learn about trying to talk some sense into the Internet, it's to not
waffle on your position. Look at how quickly people picked up on "one single
consumer reportedly didn't like the Windows 8 beta, therefore Windows 8 is a
complete failure!" bandwagon. Now imagine the responses any reasonable debate
would garner if someone said "I think Windows 8 will be good, but one thing I
don't like is..."

Yeah, the very next response would be "see, even Microsoft lovers hate Windows
8!"

~~~
Piskvorrr
Well, let's get that out of the way, then: "see, even Microsoft lovers hate
Windows 8!" ;o) Anyway: you do have a point with waffle-resistance; but
"talking sense into the Internet" sounds a bit futile...especially when the
Internet is trying to do the same, with senses that are incompatible to yours.
The video is indeed somewhat unfortunate (note that I've actually watched it
_much later_ than this discussion started) in that it's easy to latch on,
instead of the - somewhat positive - rest of that site.

------
Piskvorrr
And here I was, thinking it was unusable by keyboard.

But sure, this would help with the discoverability problem _a lot_. "Oh,
there's a lot of useful contextual options...somewhere, maybe." Once you know
where to look, that is - a chicken-and-egg problem.

The impression I got from the Customer preview was "Not on a smartphone? No
touchscreen? You're not worthy, go away." Well, that's good to know, too ;)

------
AnthonBerg
I would be very surprised if Microsoft took that advice.

This is good user-interface research though. UI developers take note.

