> What people are complaining about isn't the new interaction paradigm, it is how hard it is to figure out that paradigm.
People always complain about change. Always. That's not to say that there couldn't be improvements to the W8 interactions, but it's good to remember that a lot of complaints are really about the fact that something has changed, and not how that thing has changed. Look at the hate Facebook gets every time they change, and then notice that despite all the complaints, everyone is still using Facebook, and that the next time Facebook makes a change, those people loudly demand that Facebook revert to the version they complained so much about last time.
I am certain that the Windows team is listening to the feedback they are getting. The removal of the Start button was due to that feedback. People complained that it was confusing and misleading that the old start button did something so different. Whether that was the appropriate reaction is obviously something that not everyone agrees with.
> especially now that Apple put the same functionality in the settings app, probably because it wasn't discoverable
Out of curiosity, where? I looked and couldn't find it there.
> Given you have to know a gesture just to get logged in, you can't even start using it without knowing the magic incantations.
I feel like this is kind of a ridiculous claim. The login screen "swipe" is extremely discoverable. It's so understandable that Apple stole it (bounce and all) to use for exposing the camera functionality from the lock screen in iOS.
On top of that, any key will invoke the "reveal", as will the scroll wheel.
> But you have to be very careful when you change 15 year old metaphors, and I don't think MS has been careful enough.
I agree. I think the Windows team realizes that they have to change, though, or they will get passed by.
Oh, I was actually talking about rearranging, not deleting. The scenario that the storage page supports is actually much different from the ones that the "wiggly icons" supports. Wiggly icons are for deleting apps the user doesn't want and rearranging the icons according to preference. The storage page is for reclaiming storage. The behavior is similar, but the root user desire is somewhat different, which is why it's in a separate place with different information provided.
You can rearrange icons in iTunes. The "wiggly" interface us completely redundant. I agree it is not discoverable; I've had to show each of my kids. It just isn't a comparable example.
I would put the original MacOS eject behavior as much closer. That was horrible.
Hmm, I think of the iTunes interface as an affordance for the awkwardness of the wiggly icon interface, rather that its discoverability. But I suppose it is more discoverable as well.
The old MacOS eject behavior was indeed horrible. It was a miderable design. I can't understand how anyone ever thought "throw the floppy away" was a reasonable abstraction for "eject".
People always complain about change. Always. That's not to say that there couldn't be improvements to the W8 interactions, but it's good to remember that a lot of complaints are really about the fact that something has changed, and not how that thing has changed. Look at the hate Facebook gets every time they change, and then notice that despite all the complaints, everyone is still using Facebook, and that the next time Facebook makes a change, those people loudly demand that Facebook revert to the version they complained so much about last time.
I am certain that the Windows team is listening to the feedback they are getting. The removal of the Start button was due to that feedback. People complained that it was confusing and misleading that the old start button did something so different. Whether that was the appropriate reaction is obviously something that not everyone agrees with.
> especially now that Apple put the same functionality in the settings app, probably because it wasn't discoverable
Out of curiosity, where? I looked and couldn't find it there.
> Given you have to know a gesture just to get logged in, you can't even start using it without knowing the magic incantations.
I feel like this is kind of a ridiculous claim. The login screen "swipe" is extremely discoverable. It's so understandable that Apple stole it (bounce and all) to use for exposing the camera functionality from the lock screen in iOS.
On top of that, any key will invoke the "reveal", as will the scroll wheel.
> But you have to be very careful when you change 15 year old metaphors, and I don't think MS has been careful enough.
I agree. I think the Windows team realizes that they have to change, though, or they will get passed by.