Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[NoelC]

You're not supposed to like the way the desktop stuff looks any more.  And it's even worse with Office.

 

The best solution I've been able to come up with so far for the nearly invisible scroll bar situation in IE11 is to set the thing to be darker gray than the default.  You can do this by specifying a little bit of CSS code...

 

html {

scrollbar-base-color: darkgray;

}

 

If you put the above in a small file on your disk somewhere, then refer to it in the Tools > Options > Internet Options > "Accessibility" button > User style sheet you will get darker scroll thumbs.  Example:

 

 

Microsoft apparently the brilliant idea that if they can't make Metro/Modern actually better they have to make the desktop worse in order to get anyone to be interested in using it at all.  Who thinks that stuff up?

 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

Neat! How did you get the edges of the scroll bar/thumb to look darker than the inside? That's better than a uniform solid color throughout.

 

I'll have to try this. Some weeks ago when I was experimenting with various style sheet color settings, I don't remember getting any that had that border around them. (Doesn't mean it didn' thappen, only that I can't remember. )

 

--JorgeA

 

P.S.

Microsoft apparently the brilliant idea that if they can't make Metro/Modern actually better they have to make the desktop worse in order to get anyone to be interested in using it at all.  Who thinks that stuff up?

 

It sure seems that way, doesn't it?

Edited August 11, 2014 by JorgeA

[NoelC]

I haven't done anything special beyond the CSS snippet I showed above.

 

I'm using the standard with Windows 8.1 desktop theme along with Aero Glass for Win 8.1 and my own Theme Atlas file (available on Big Muscle's site).  But I don't think Aero Glass or the Theme Atlas have anything to do with the scrollbar thumbs in IE.

 

-Noel

[Formfiller]

Microsoft apparently the brilliant idea that if they can't make Metro/Modern actually better they have to make the desktop worse in order to get anyone to be interested in using it at all.  Who thinks that stuff up?

 

-Noel

 

Problem is that even worsified desktop still handles better than anything metro.

[NoelC]

No argument there.  I never run any Metro/Modern apps myself nor see the Start screen at all.

 

The good part is that with tweaking to disable the new stuff and 3rd party augments like Classic Shell and Aero Glass for Win 8.1 the desktop can be betterified to where it's very nearly as good as with Windows 7, except that some applications just don't follow normal style/usage guidelines. 

 

Hopefully Microsoft is tracking back to the straight and narrow now with the development of the next version, and those of us who have weathered the storm will be rewarded with a system that's more prone to being useful again right out of the box.

 

-Noel

[jaclaz]

Hopefully Microsoft is tracking back to the straight and narrow now with the development of the next version, a ...

Hopefully, but traditionally unlikely/improbable.

IMHO, the complete failure of Windows 8/8.1 has not been - incredibly - severe enough.

The good MS guys have not yet fully perceived how they have a complete design flaw and they are trying to patch it as opposed to either (their chioice) create a new working UI or get back to the good ol' one.

I have seen the other day on TV a documentary about a (much respected) German scientist testing a newly designed "hybrid" TIR (18 wheeler in the US) in which he implemented a "drive by wire" technology (which is good) BUT decided to remove the steering wheel and pedals replacing them with a sort of joystick with brakes activated by three fingers of the left hand.

The only issues in the test was that he couldn't brake (and steer) properly/accurately.

 

... and those of us who have weathered the storm will be rewarded with a system that's more prone to being useful again right out of the box.

Technically , there are two ways to survive a storm

 

First one is to (boldly) stand in the midst of it, attempting vainly to mitigate it's effects using an incredible amount of survival tricks, second one is to stay in a safe place and wait until it passes (or move to somewhere else).

 

I believe that the second approach leads to being more relaxed and less tired (and/or wet) when the sun starts shining again, and the sun will shine equally above both kinds of survivors.

 

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

 

I have seen the other day on TV a documentary about a (much respected) German scientist testing a newly designed "hybrid" TIR (18 wheeler in the US) in which he implemented a "drive by wire" technology (which is good) BUT decided to remove the steering wheel and pedals replacing them with a sort of joystick with brakes activated by three fingers of the left hand.

The only issues in the test was that he couldn't brake (and steer) properly/accurately.

 

Details, details. But it's modern and fluid! Are you against change? Have you even tried it?? Oh well, haterz gonna hate.  

 

More seriously (and speaking of automotive UIs), here's another insightful analysis by the NN Group. It's so good, I could highlight the entire article:

 

Maximize the Content-to-Chrome Ratio, Not the Amount of Content on Screen

 

One of our readers recently sent us a message complaining about the recent trend of “horrible menuless windows”, which he compared with cars where all dashboard functions were hidden in the glove-box compartment. His annoyance had been triggered by the new desktop version of Firefox that “copies the Chrome browser” and hides the menu options under a hamburger icon.

 

[...]

 

Behind this antichrome movement stands the mobile-inspired assumption that we should prioritize content over chrome. Of course, users go to a website to engage with the content and not to admire the clever UI, so content is ultimately the king. So, if that’s the case, is hiding the chrome bad?

 

Cost of Hiding the Chrome

 

Truth is that chrome supports how users engage with that content and determines whether a site is useful or not. Hiding the chrome incurs a substantial cost for the users:

1. Users must discover the chrome. Whether that chrome is hidden under a generic menu button, or under a gesture (as in Windows 8 for touchscreens), people must think to look under that button or perform the gesture in order to uncover the chrome.
2. Even after they’ve discovered the chrome, users must recall how to access it later during the same session. Exposing the navigation options favors recognition over recall, and thus follows one of the 10 usability heuristics.

   In our Windows 8 testing we often saw users discovering how to access the chrome, and then forgetting all about it later on. Out of sight is truly out of mind.

3. Even if they discover and remember how to access the chrome, users suffer an increased interaction cost to access the functionality provided by the chrome. For a hamburger menu, they must first click the menu icon, and then select the option that they need, instead of just clicking on a navigation choice right away. Of course, you may say — what’s one extra click? Most of the time it’s not much in itself, but it can quickly become annoying if users must repeatedly access those hidden options.

 

--JorgeA

[NoelC]

 

First one is to (boldly) stand in the midst of it, attempting vainly to mitigate it's effects using an incredible amount of survival tricks

 

 

That implies two things:  The person standing is "barely surviving" and that "there is a better place to go".

 

I don't know about you, but outside of a recent silly extra cost endeavor to play DVDs on Win 8.1 I'm not just "surviving", I'm thriving! 

 

I use my workstation all day, every day, late into the night to do all sorts of engineering and documentation and anything else I can think of, and it just works.  For weeks on end.  With all the "survival tricks" in place I'm the master of this sucker, and enjoying every minute of the ride.

 

To counter a prospective argument that it takes special skill to do that, I'll answer that I published a very good book on how to do it.  You could do it too.

 

And as far as alternatives, what do you suggest?  Mac/Unix?  Linux?  No, I mean seriously.

 

Yes, I did this "standing boldly" thing with Windows 7 as well - I mastered its butt too, and wrote the book!

 

 

Right now I'm in the best spot to move forward from where I am, with more understanding, than if I'd stayed with Windows 7.

 

 

"I will bend like a reed in the wind (then ram my knife up in the SOB's throat)."  - Paul "Muadeeb" Atreides   

 

-Noel

[NoelC]

 

Maximize the Content-to-Chrome Ratio

 

 

People serious about usability have known this for a long time.  Unfortunately that's not what Microsoft is about.  They're about manipulation, since someone apparently thinks it's too hard (expensive) to make the product actually better.  Better to try to sell new versions through deception and setting what's "fashionable".

 

Heh, Jorge, a page from my Windows 7 book, first published in 2009.  Thought you might enjoy it in light of the above:

 

 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

You're not supposed to like the way the desktop stuff looks any more.  And it's even worse with Office.

 

The best solution I've been able to come up with so far for the nearly invisible scroll bar situation in IE11 is to set the thing to be darker gray than the default.  You can do this by specifying a little bit of CSS code...

 

html {

scrollbar-base-color: darkgray;

}

 

If you put the above in a small file on your disk somewhere, then refer to it in the Tools > Options > Internet Options > "Accessibility" button > User style sheet you will get darker scroll thumbs.  Example:

 

 

Microsoft apparently the brilliant idea that if they can't make Metro/Modern actually better they have to make the desktop worse in order to get anyone to be interested in using it at all.  Who thinks that stuff up?

 

-Noel

 

 

OK, I modified the CSS file that I was using. The only change from what I had before was to switch the scrollbar base color from black to "darkgray", leading to this:

html {scrollbar-base-color: darkgray;scrollbar-arrow-color: black;scrollbar-track-color: lightgray;scrollbar-shadow-color: black;scrollbar-lightshadow-color: black;scrollbar-darkshadow-color: gray;scrollbar-highlight-color: white;scrollbar-3dlight-color: black;}

And here's the result:

 

 

 

That's easier to find than a solid block of any kind.

 

Thanks for the tip! You may have just saved IE for me for the foreseeable future... 'til they find something else to screw up.

 

--JorgeA

[NoelC]

Cool, glad I could help - and thanks for the follow-up with the other CSS elements.

 

IE11 is sometimes a bit flaky running a few other forum editors (like Microsoft and Adobe, but thankfully not this one).  Other than that I have been having a pretty good experience with it.

 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

Long ago, we discussed the subject of Microsoft "astroturfing" popular support for Metro by using paid shills to post favorable comments on forums and comments sections. We've also speculated on Paul Thurrott. I just came across the following exchange on Windows Weekly, which touches on both those topics. (For those who'd rather listen to the podcast, it starts at about 1:25.)

 

Leo: So Microsoft did kind of a dumb thing. They’ve done it before.

Paul: Well, I'm not clear this was Microsoft but go on.

Leo: this is the paid, paying bloggers to write about IE thing.

Paul: This kind of thing comes up a lot with Microsoft doesn’t it. But its not always, its not Microsoft is it? Isn’t it like a marketing company.

Mary: It was.

Leo: So what happened Mary Jo?

Mary: Yeah, Advocate Marketing Company, called Social of course, they started recruiting bloggers to write positive things about Internet Explorer and they offered to pay them. By check. They unfortunately approached the wrong person. Michael Arrington.

Leo: Oh no! no! oh they are so stupid. Oh my God are they stupid.

Mary: So he, of course, posted the note that they sent him, and all hell broke loose basically after that. So I went to Microsoft and I said “wow, were you guys paying these guys to do this?” and they said “you know what, this isn’t the way we do things and we’ve terminated that program immediately and we’re not…”

Leo: This same thing happened once before though. Recently.

Paul: Yes it has. Yep. So I actually was approached for something like this for a different Microsoft product. I think I told Mary Jo about it at the time.

Mary: You did. Was it social media or no?

Paul: Whats that? Oh, I’ll have to look, I don’t remember. I don’t know. It was not Microsoft. They were representing Microsoft. I blew them off at first. They kept bugging me about it. And so finally I was like “okay, explain to me what is it that I have to do?” and it was social media stuff, it was posting stuff on twitter, facebook or whatever. And they were going to pay me. And so I wrote back and I said “okay, here’s the deal. I actually really like this Microsoft product, it’s something I write about regularly, I wouldn’t say that I promote it. I’m not like a, work for Microsoft, but I’m comfortable saying that it’s a good product because I use it and I like it. I cannot ethically be paid by a marketer to do this kind of stuff so this isn’t going to work out.” And I think, I want to say the amount that they were going to pay me was like maybe 3500 bucks, I’ll have to look it up, but she wrote back and she said “Paul, so sorry about that, we can fix this. They’ve agreed to pay 5000 dollars.”

Mary: Oh jeez. Wow.

Paul: I was like, “guys, clearly you did not listen to anything I just wrote. I cannot ethically do this.”

Leo: Holy cow.

Paul: I cannot ethically do this. So I got something like this up, I cannot remember...

Leo: This would have wowed Mike Arrington, it says “We love your aesthetic and your blogging style, and we think you would be the perfect partner to spread the word on the new Internet Explorer browsing experience!”
“Compensation for this post is available, and there will also be ample opportunities for fun prizes and rewards throughout the duration of the program.”
 

Paul: I would like fun prizes, I have to admit!

Leo: That would be fun, why didn't they write to me?!
This happens to me – I get emails all the time from all kinds of people.

Paul: I don't know that I've ever seen one like that, before this.

Leo: I have to blame Microsoft a little bit, because surely they hired this company!

Mary Jo: They must have hired this company. The thing I tried to point out when I wrote about this is, you can have sponsored posts, there's nothing illegal about having sponsored posts on sites, but you should mark them when they're sponsored! What they were basically doing was getting these folks to write things about IE and not mark them as sponsored.

Leo: They say you can't say that we are paying you?!

Mary Jo: No, it didn't say that, but I went back and looked at a couple of things where people had done them and used the hashtag, it's not really clear that they were sponsored.

Leo: That's highly unethical.

Paul: Xbox one was part of this last year, I think that's what it was, the video bloggers at the time were not allowed to say that they were being paid, which is actually illegal.

Leo: That's exactly right, Paul, I remember that story. It's good for you and me and Mary Jo, the companies and the reporters and the press who kind of remain bloody minded and independent and don't take money...

Paul: No, no, Leo! I love money! I'm totally happy to accept money, but obviously it depends on – this is just unethical, this is contrary to everything that I stand for. I am supposed to be independent...

 

--JorgeA

 

[JorgeA]

Snowden: Clapper comments pushed me to become leaker

 

 

Snowden told Wired he had been troubled by other discoveries in his work with the agency, including that the NSA was spying on the pornography-viewing habits of political radicals.

 

This is one of the main threats that surveillance poses to democracy: it expands the ability of those in power to use personal information about the opposition to blackmail them into silence. No need to resort to crude beatings or kidnappings arrests (that's the province of brazenly undemocratic governments); just threaten to disclose embarrassing details about their private lives.

 

--JorgeA

 

[JorgeA]

In case you still needed a reason to stay off Facebook:

 

Facebook to Track Users Across Devices to Study Shopping Habits

 

Facebook Inc. (FB) will let advertisers know where a promotion was first viewed and when it led to a purchase by tracking users between their electronic devices, a tool that may reignite privacy concerns.

 

[...]

 

Because Facebook’s users must log in to use the service, the company can link their identities with their behavior as they switch between devices throughout the day. That allows Facebook to give more information to marketers than they could glean from other online tracking methods, such as cookies that log activity within a Web browser.

 

“With the new cross-device report, advertisers are now able to see where someone saw an ad, the device they used, and which device was used when they converted,” Facebook said today in the blog post.

 

--JorgeA

 

[JorgeA]

Wow, is IE's reputation really that bad?

 

Microsoft internally debated rebranding Internet Explorer

 

The name, that is. According to an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit, members of the Internet Explorer development team debated renaming the venerable browser, presumably in an effort to eliminate any distaste from the software's earliest days.

 

"It's been suggested internally; I remember a particularly long email thread where numerous people were passionately debating it," Microsoft's Jonathan Sampson, wrote. "Plenty of ideas get kicked around about how we can separate ourselves from negative perceptions that no longer reflect our product today."

 

--JorgeA