Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions

[NoelC]

Perhaps the joke just left everyone flat. 

 

In all seriousness, that people write crap like "flat is better" is so disappointing and disturbing that it's hard to joke about it.  Who would, without a nefarious motive, write that a button that doesn't even look like a button would be somehow easier to use than one that does?  Paid shilling that is made to sound like scientific research does no one any good.

 

Skeuomorphism is not a bad thing.  Even the most egregious "bookshelf" made out of faux wood is fine.  It gets the job done and it gives the App character.  Anyone who can't stand looking at faux wood in a computer image is driven by an ulterior motive - or mentally disturbed.

 

Unfortunately we don't have direct mind input to computers yet.  As such, we're still poking at things with mice or fingers.  The things that we need to poke at need to be recognizable as things to poke at.

 

It's so damned obvious that it's hard to describe without going circular!

 

What's a REAL SHAME is that if one makes a software product, it risks being perceived by the masses as "not modern" if it doesn't embrace the "new and improved" design concepts.  I've been working on my own software products lately to try to find some compromise that makes them no less usable yet makes them seem "flatter".  Frankly it's a waste of my time.  I'd really rather concentrate on the substance of the product, not the look and feel.

 

Just as an example:

 

vs.

 

 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

A hard-hitting piece that I missed from last week:

 

Accepting Microsoft's Windows 10 privacy stance at face value is sheer folly

Microsoft has broken the trust of many users, and Myerson's post does little to patch things up. In reality, it is an exercise in public relations, spin, and misdirection. It also raises more questions than it answers. In particular, it highlights the obnoxious disregard Microsoft appears to have for home users.

 

[...]

 

Now this is interesting. It raises the question of why home users and enterprise are treated differently in this area. Is it because there are privacy and security concerns for enterprise? If so, surely these apply to home users too. Your privacy and security is no less important than that of a bank, for example. Is Microsoft pandering to the legitimate concerns of enterprise customers because this is where the bulk of its income comes from? Why not treat home users with the same respect? They are no less important.

 

But Myerson's post is interesting for a number of other reasons as well. It fails to step into the shoes of the average user to understand how they would see things. There is a disconnect between Microsoft and its customers that is perfectly demonstrated by the company's apparent surprise at the reaction to the more secretive aspects of Windows 10.

 

[...]

 

There is also something else that is important to bear in mind. While the likes of you and I may be only too aware of what is happening with our computers, and we may keep fully up to date with what Microsoft is doing and how it is dealing with things, this is certainly not the case for the vast majority of people. Most people just use their computers. They might not care about privacy issues in Windows 10 because they know nothing about the issue. It may well be possible to disable the collection of various pieces of data, but if you don’t know that it is being collected in the first place, why would you even investigate this?

 

  :thumbup  

 

As with the Start Button and Menu with Windows 8, the privacy angle may turn out to be Windows 10's undoing. Time will tell as word gets around about its privacy intrusions, and quoting (let alone enforcing) the MSA will only facilitate the decision to skip Win10.

 

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Perhaps the joke just left everyone flat. 

 

In all seriousness, that people write crap like "flat is better" is so disappointing and disturbing that it's hard to joke about it.  Who would, without a nefarious motive, write that a button that doesn't even look like a button would be somehow easier to use than one that does?  Paid shilling that is made to sound like scientific research does no one any good.

 

Skeuomorphism is not a bad thing.  Even the most egregious "bookshelf" made out of faux wood is fine.  It gets the job done and it gives the App character.  Anyone who can't stand looking at faux wood in a computer image is driven by an ulterior motive - or mentally disturbed.

 

Unfortunately we don't have direct mind input to computers yet.  As such, we're still poking at things with mice or fingers.  The things that we need to poke at need to be recognizable as things to poke at.

 

It's so damned obvious that it's hard to describe without going circular!

 

What's a REAL SHAME is that if one makes a software product, it risks being perceived by the masses as "not modern" if it doesn't embrace the "new and improved" design concepts.  I've been working on my own software products lately to try to find some compromise that makes them no less usable yet makes them seem "flatter".  Frankly it's a waste of my time.  I'd really rather concentrate on the substance of the product, not the look and feel.

 

Just as an example:

 

vs.

 

 

-Noel

 

Yeah, I've never understood this "modern!/new!!" mentality. Show me that it's better, not that it's different.

 

Excellent example you provided up there. The gradient on the buttons in the left image suggests there's something sticking out that one might push in. But the rectangles in the right image look like just text with an outline around them. "Are they really controls?" As a user, I'm left to guess as to where the functions are. When using software, I'd rather not have to guess.

 

--JorgeA

[Formfiller]

They want to kill the control panel:

 

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/174582-microsoft-killing-classic-control-panel-in-win-10/

[rn10950]

They want to kill the control panel:

 

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/174582-microsoft-killing-classic-control-panel-in-win-10/

 

OK, that's it. I give up.

[JorgeA]

I feared that this would be the case ever since they introduced that gimped Settings app.

 

Now it's pretty much a done deal. Control Panel is a "dead man walking."

 

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

The Continuum concept makes its debut, and it hasn't exactly bowled over a usually fannish blogger:

 

I'm sorry, Lumia fans, but Microsoft Continuum can't run two apps side-by-side

 

As one of the lucky people in attendance at today's Microsoft event in NYC, I was of course excited for a new Surface device -- I expected the "Pro 4", but was pleasantly surprised by the "Book". What I was particularly interested in trying, however, is Continuum. This is Microsoft's branding for using a smartphone as a PC. In other words, you connect a Lumia to a monitor, mouse and keyboard and have a desktop experience.

 

The good news is, I did get to try Continuum. The bad news? It is not yet ready to replace your PC. Unfortunately, there is one specific thing that makes it less than ideal. Sadly, you cannot run two apps side-by-side. That stinks.

 

So it's not quite the same thing as running a real PC. Fagioli offers some more of the gory details:

 

Now, the programs can run simultaneously (in the background), so you can move between them, including copy and paste, but you can only have one on the screen at a time. Some apps will be full screen, and some only take up a part of the screen. Sometimes a big part of the screen is wasted, for instance the text-messaging app (one of Microsoft's own), is not optimized for the full screen. This is very frustrating, and a huge hit to productivity. You will need to master alt+tab or the task view switcher on the task bar.

 

His conclusion?

 

Microsoft seems to be pushing the portability of Continuum and the Display Dock, but I'm not sold. One of the representatives tried to tell me how great it would be to bring to a hotel and plug into the HDMI of the TV. Why would I want to have such an uncomfortable setup with a limited OS as opposed to bringing a low-cost Windows 10 laptop?

 

The commenters down at the bottom bring up a number of other practical issues:

 

Yea, I agree. The technology is cool ... it has the geek in me excited to play with it but I just don't see a way to fit this into my computing life or the computing lives of many other people I know. This is a feature that, right now, you have to specifically want and then build around it and that kills its adoptability opportunities because so many other options exist to address the same portability problem. If they added this to the $150 phone as well, that might have made a difference ... to lower income users but @ $650 for the XL, that kind of user can afford other options.

.

Continuum is one of those things that sounds good on paper but won't ever really work. Even if it was powerful enough to be a full blown desktop, nobody is going to carry around all of the accessories (i.e. keyboard, mouse, dock, adapters) on the off chance that they might have a display somewhere they can connect to.

It's considerably easier and more convenient to simply carry around a tablet or a laptop.

 

This Continuum idea is shaping up as another "neither here nor there" approach that'll struggle to find either a purpose or a market.

 

As we've been saying here since 2012, a PC is not a phone and a phone is not a PC. Each serves a different need and requires its own distinct type of interface.

 

--JorgeA

 

[JorgeA]

Well, well. Not merely does Microsoft claim the right to spy on its Windows 10 users, but it turns out that it's made it possible for others to spy on users too:

 

Your Microsoft Account identifier is stored in plain text, exposing you online

 

Secure HTTP is all the rage these days, with users expecting a certain level of privacy and security when it is used to access services online, however if you think that's enough to protect your privacy when checking webmail, think again. It has been revealed that when users connect to their Microsoft user account page, Outlook.com, or OneDrive.com even when using HTTPS, the connection leaks a unique identifier that can be used to retrieve the name and profile photo in plaintext.

 

[...]

 

...[T]the CID can be used to retrieve the user's profile image, and it can also be used via the OneDrive site to retrieve a user's account display name. By accessing metadata from Microsoft's Live service with the CID, someone could also retrieve information about when the account was last accessed and when it was created. The same metadata can expose information associated with the Live Calendar application, including user location.

 

This sort of vulnerability could allow someone to use the CID as a tracker, even when a user is connected with the TOR network. It could correlate someone's identity with other traffic from the same IP address, and while using an anonymizing network such as Tor would conceal the origin point of the traffic, CID data would be exposed once traffic left a Tor exit node.

 

Use at your own risk. Don't say you weren't warned.

 

--JorgeA

 

[NoelC]

 

there is one specific thing that makes it less than ideal. Sadly, you cannot run two apps side-by-side. That stinks.

So it's not quite the same thing as running a real PC. Fagioli offers some more of the gory details: 

 

Why would anyone expect that?

 

Oh wait, it's called Windows.

 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

^^ Touché!

 

--JorgeA

[Tripredacus]

Well, well. Not merely does Microsoft claim the right to spy on its Windows 10 users, but it turns out that it's made it possible for others to spy on users too:

 

Your Microsoft Account identifier is stored in plain text, exposing you online

This isn't news and isn't even related to Windows 10. Skydrive URLS have been formatted this way since it was released and OneDrive is the same. My SkyDrive bookmark I have in IE is from 2010 and has the CID in it.

[351837]

Do i see glimpse of 3D?

Windows 10 Build 10558: Microsoft adds new icon for the Registry Editor, and more

[NoelC]

Sure, there are richer icons, but with Orthographic Projection it always just looks a little "off", as opposed to items drawn with true perspective.

 

That's clearly intentional.  They're screwing with peoples' perceptions.

 

-Noel

[Tripredacus]

The only time it is safe to remove a PCI sound card is when the power is off...

[JorgeA]

 

Well, well. Not merely does Microsoft claim the right to spy on its Windows 10 users, but it turns out that it's made it possible for others to spy on users too:

 

Your Microsoft Account identifier is stored in plain text, exposing you online

This isn't news and isn't even related to Windows 10. Skydrive URLS have been formatted this way since it was released and OneDrive is the same. My SkyDrive bookmark I have in IE is from 2010 and has the CID in it.

 

 

That's true. However, what's new is that millions of Windows users who never had SkyDrive or even a Microsoft account are now being herded into getting one, thus getting one of these vulnerable CIDs. It's something else for Win10 skeptics to point out to people on the fence, and for folks who might be moving to Win10 to consider before making the switch.

 

Let's just say it's another arrow in our quiver. Or, from another perspective, another nail in the coffin.

 

--JorgeA