Microsoft explains why it killed the Windows 8 Start button
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Microsoft explains why it killed the Windows 8 Start button[^]
Microsoft removed the Start button from Windows 8's Consumer Preview version earlier this year, generating a lot of discussion and mixed reaction over a user interface element that was first introduced in Windows over 15 years ago. In an interview with PC Pro, the company has revealed that telemetry data was a big part of the decision to scrap the Start button and traditional Start menu in Windows 8.
Windows 8 Metro Style App Developer Silverlight Developer My Blog on Windows 8
I have really mixed feelings about it... I really like Win 7, even with the changes that made a few things more difficult (security). I have a Windows phone and love it, so I was really looking forward to Win 8. I have a home built Media Machine for my auto. It uses a 7" touch screen 1024x768 resolution. My media machine currently uses XP and will probably be using XP until it dies of old age. Here's why... I installed a fresh drive and Win 8 Release Preview. After some playing I was able to get the touch screen drivers to work, kind of. I realize this is the fault of the screen and/or driver, but gestures don't work. The screen is so small that trying to do anything with your finger other than launching an app on the metro screen is impossible: the scroll bar at the bottom of the metro screen is very difficult and getting the cursor into either hot-spot cannot be done. So I tried using it with a stylus, which won't work well in a vehicle by the way (think bumpy road). The scroll bar can be used, but I still can't get to the left-hotspot. For this application, Win 8 will not work at all, unless I 'hide windows' with an all encompassing user application. Then it doesn't matter what the OS is. Before removing the Win 8 drive and replacing it with the original XP drive, I tested it with a desktop monitor, keyboard and trackball. It took a little getting used to, which I expected. The extra clicks to do some things when using the desktop is annoying. other than that I liked the desktop experience. I have no opinion on using it on a tablet because i haven't tried it. My 2 cents.
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Thanks, for the hint, my only gripe with the Start page right now is that it automatically puts there every program i install without order or logic there. :) Regarding the video, i've seen it and it remarks very well that changes like that without proper training (or tutorials) can be disorienting at first, my own experience: i found pretty frustating in the Developer Preview the way the "Start button" worked and i wasn't able to hit it properly in the first week, after that i accostumbred to it. Also there is another video, i believe is in one of the Windows blogs, but i don't remember exactly where, that shows a user testing Windows 95, and is pretty much the same history.
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Reading the Steve Jobs biography, I was impressed with an anecdote about an illiterate boy who was able to pick up and start using an iPad without any instruction. I've also noticed my own kids use my Windows Phone and my wife's Android tablet. While I'm sure a large part of it is how little kids have no fear of trying new things to figure it out, what struck me was how truly intuitive these devices are, how they are usable without any instruction. Windows 8 is going in the wrong direction. For all they talk up how "intuitive" it is, the fact that they are having to put in a tutorial for the most basic functionality is completely backwards.
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Then you should read the article in the "CodeProject" newsletter, "The Codeless Code - Koans for the Software Engineer" - "Microsoft’s Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant" - http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/07/microsoft-downfall-emails-steve-ballmer . The "Start" button appears to be more of the same.
I did before, but I don't see how it affects what I said (except "boo, Microsoft, bad boy!"). It's not perfect, but at least Microsoft uses usability studies instead of "what Steve said".
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I think the "telemetry data" is more "what is Apple doing", rather than what are the users doing. I'm a fan of Microsoft (don't hate me), but they seem to think innovation is doing what Apple did years ago in a slightly crappier way. Apps that use the full screen as a revolutionary new interface? Yeah, I have that already on my Mac. Hot corners to perform actions? Yeah, I've got that on my Mac (and I can select what they do and which corner they use). $40 upgrade price? Mountain Lion will cost $20 and I can use it to upgrade all of my machines for that one cost. Despite all of this, I really am hoping Microsoft pulls off some of these changes. I think Windows 9 (yeah, not a typo) will probably be a good OS if they do.
KDE does all this too, and costs nothing. And you can have or not have a start button, you're not forced to live with what others have decided for you. In fact, you can't say KDE is a too innovative project - there isn't much more than what Windows and OSX combined provide that KDE provides. Only, you get all this for free. (Does it show I'm a linux fan?)