

Microsoft brings not-Metro touch UI to servers - mtgx
http://semiaccurate.com/2012/09/12/microsoft-brings-not-metro-touch-ui-to-servers-to-stop-the-bleeding/

======
smacktoward
There is so much WTF here I don't even know where to begin.

1) Whoever wrote the headline HN is using to link to this story screwed up:
the story isn't about MS _giving up_ on Metro/"Modern UI" for servers, it's
about MS _bringing_ Metro/Modern UI to servers.

2) The story is wrong, or at least misleading. While Windows Server 2012 does
ship with Metro/Modern UI available, it doesn't _require_ you to use it. It's
there _as an optionally installed component_ for people who want it.

See Ars Technica's review of Server 2012 for confirmation
([http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2012/09/window...](http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2012/09/windows_server_2012_first_look/)):

 _Even though you can install the full Windows 8-like UI atop Server 2012, you
probably won’t want to. Better yet, you don’t have to. Like its predecessor,
Windows Server 2012 can be deployed with the graphical interface, or as a
“Server Core”—that is, with a minimal user interface that includes the command
line and the PowerShell command interpreter._

 _But there are additional shades of gray between the bare bones UI and the
full Metro Monty—you can also deploy the Server Manager and other management
tools with a graphical interface without installing the entire Metro UI._

Or if you don't believe Ars, here's word directly from Microsoft
([http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-
cloud/archive/2012/01/11/w...](http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-
cloud/archive/2012/01/11/windows-server-8-server-applications-and-the-minimal-
server-interface.aspx)), going into more detail about how Server 2012 is
_more_ command-line friendly, not less:

 _In [Windows Server 2012], users can transition between Server Core and
Server Graphical Shell at any time, with a single command and a single reboot.
Accordingly, we enabled the installation and removal of server GUI components
from the command line, PowerShell, and within Server Manager. In addition, we
created over 2,300 PowerShell cmdlets to enable command-line and remote
management of all server roles. We also introduced enhancements to Server Core
itself to increase application compatibility; for example, the full .NET
Framework 4.5 is now available out of the box on Server Core._

As a Unix guy myself I'm not particularly attracted towards Windows Server,
but I think it's worth noting that Microsoft has been working hard for nearly
a decade now to make Windows more componentized and command-line friendly (see
"MinWin": <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinWin>), and I applaud them for doing
so. That seems like a step forward for Windows admins, not a step back.

~~~
tankenmate
A reboot to switch to and from CLI and GUI on a server? This is so many
different flavours of wrong. As compared to a few keystrokes on most other
sensible server OSes.

------
gman99
Is this some word play on the site name? Or is it sarcasm that's not
particularly funny?

The article is the exact _opposite_ of the HN headline. Here I was checking
the article out to see if there was a quick registry hack or something similar
that I could use on a normal Win8 install. Disappointed.

I get it. You hate Metro/ModernUI/whatever. Just add explorer.exe to the
startup and a few shortcuts on the desktop for shutdown/other utilities. Pin
frequently used programs on the taskbar.

And. Move. On!

------
SlipperySlope
Actually the article states that Microsoft is requiring the Metro-style user
interface on their new server OS.

------
Lendal
To this article I say-- Wow. Jump on the Microsoft-bashing bandwagon some
more. This writer has not actually used the product at all. The desktop is
still there. The command line is still there. If you're the type of customer
that wants a server OS with a GUI on it, you get the same capabilities in 2012
as you had in 2008 R2. You don't need a touchscreen. I've used it now for two
weeks and I don't feel any need for a touchscreen. Yes it's a little weird at
first to get used to, but my taskbar icons were all still there and I use them
same as I did before. This article is so bad I wish I could downvote it.

------
larrywright
Servers should not have GUIs. Period.

~~~
sixothree
I spend a good portion of my day remoted into Windows servers and I perform
exactly zero system administration. Having only a command line would make my
job impossible because of the software we need to run on these servers.

What you claim might be acceptable if you were only running Windows Server out
of the box or solely Microsoft software, but that is not the case for much of
the industry.

~~~
larrywright
Ok, I'll amend my previous comment:

Servers should not have GUIs, and all server-side software should have a
command line interface, or at the very least a web based one.

I spend a good portion of my day remoted into Linux servers and I perform some
system administration. All of the other programs that I run there have either
a console based interface or a web one.

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stephengillie
How much longer will you be RDPing to servers from a laptop instead of from a
tablet?

------
sixothree
The color choices in Server Manager are just astoundingly nauseating.

