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I've had my frustrations with Windows 8 (on a surface RT), but I wouldn't presume to know how I'll feel about it in a few years. I get it that Microsoft sees that the future is in devices other than the desktop, and I guess I agree. Whether the strategy of unifying the three experiences (phone, tablet and desktop) is the right strategy, I don't know. Perhaps 5 years from now I'll think Apple is brain dead because you have to learn two totally different interfaces, one for phone and tablet and one for desktop. On the other hand, it may turn out that they are so fundamentally different that they cannot and should not be unified.
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Agree
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Its all comes down to the user. I look around my family and see how they all have different levels of uses and preferences. Simple web browsing and e-mails will work fine with modern touch UI and the simplicity of the modern UI keeps the "how does this work?.." questions to a minimal. For productivity there's no room for modern UI. Using your finger will never be as precise as a 1400 dpi laser mouse, therefore the modern touch UI can only go so far and users will have to put down their tablets and jump on a PC. For now at least... who knows what the future will bring.
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As a programmer, I don't want or need a touchscreen style interface to access my development environment. I just need quick and dirty access, and I find the graphical interfaces are more of a distraction than a help. I may have to target the metro, but I don't have to live in it...
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The 'Modern' UI seems more oriented toward content consumption, which requires little in the way of navigation or detail management. Content creation, other than "mash-up" style, requires the ability to manage and navigate layers of detail. Modern UI methods don't lend themselves to concise presentation and rapid navigation.
I'd like to see someone develop an effective IDE in the 'Modern' UI. VS 2015, perhaps?
Software Zen: delete this;
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That's almost my precise 'argument' about tablets. Not that I have an argument against them.
But they're entirely content consumption devices and I think you've hit the nail on the head about these "cell phone writ large" UIs.
I'd like to see the results of someone TRYING to develop an effective IDE in a modern ui style. I sure as hell wouldn't PAY for such a POS though.
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For phones and tablets the Modern UI makes sense. Small real estate, no keyboard, and a low-precision pointing device (your finger) means that detail navigation takes lots of gestures. That encourages apps with low navigation requirements, aka content consumption. The only data entry required is that needed for search.
For the laptop/desktop, I don't think that's the case. Lots of real estate, a keyboard for text entry, and a precision pointing device (mouse/trackball) lend themselves to concise navigation through dense detail and heavy data entry.
The end point is, I think there's room for both approaches. I'm not sure it's necessary to force the Modern UI on the desktop to ensure a commonality that isn't appropriate. I'll wait and see how Windows 8.1 is on my wife's laptop (I'm still running Win7), and see if there are any improvements.mikepwilson wrote: I'd like to see the results of someone TRYING to develop an effective IDE in a modern ui style.
Given some of the bizarre decisions made by the VS2012+ UI team (ALL CAPS menus, fer goshsakes) you may get your wish.
Software Zen: delete this;
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But they're entirely content consumption devices
Perhaps I am being unnecessarily pedantic here, but this really isn't true. They are predominantly content-consumption devices, certainly, but it is entirely possible to create a variety of type of images, edited videos and even music with a tablet, and people are doing this.
That said, the degree of flexibility currently possible with touch interfaces does limit what can be achieved, and I don't really see how that can change significantly. Anyone really serious about creating any of these media will continue to use a traditional desktop for the foreseeable future.
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Maybe voice in conjunction with mouse and touchscreen. Voice will be distracting to others in proximity. Until we get to thought control of an interface...
Larry Hobbyist
modified 28-Oct-13 22:19pm.
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Taking the keyboard away from the user seems to greatly limit the options on how they'll F^&& up the software.
So, it does have its place, after-all. I had originally planned on simply having their thumbs cut off.
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Do not underestimate the user 
Anyway, failure points are the responsibility of the developer, never the user's fault.
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You haven't met some of our users... 
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I know users, and "worst" than users are good testers.
And in my current company I met the "worst" ever:
the Good Product Owner that tests and knows what she's doing.
And after all this, still the fault points (at least undocumented and unacceptable ones) in software, are the responsibility of the developers 
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I always thought it would be fun to provide additional user feedback on entering stupid data ( "." in text fields is a user favourite here, even when its not a required field) with a mild electric shock mechanism in a keyboard, but I guess that could be done with either a touchscreen or keyboard.
"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.
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Until there's a metro app that's more than a web scrape then the UI is still questionable.
Where's the utility or creation apps? The CD/DVD burners, mp3 rippers, photo/movie editors, text editors?
Even with VS2013 the templates are really only variations of the same theme, take some other data and display it.
Same for iOS v OSx, though there its more understandable as Apple have never tried to make iOS do something it cant.
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If the user is Creator / Developer, then the traditional Desktop UI is a must, no alternatives, no excuses.
But if the user is Consumer, then it's OK to bring the dumb-down version of Desktop UI.
In other words, They both have their places.
i.e.
When I am at work, I don't use the Metro side of Windows 8.1 at all.
But when I am at home, I like the clean Metro interface, for surfing, reading emails, watching movies etc.
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This is the right way to put it.
It's not a matter of time to get used to it, it's actually the type of usage that is completely different.
They both have their place and like you said, even by the same person.
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I also need more than 1 application at once at home. So still don't see good use for Metro aside from tablets or phones...
I have a Surface Pro at home for ocasionally watching movies, listening to some music and surfing the web, where I like the Metro Interface. I even like Internet Explorer more than Chrome as far as the Metro Implementation is concerned...
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I haven't used it yet with multiple monitors. How does this work on Windows 8?
Are you able to run different applications in metro on those monitors? Or is it just for Desktop use again? (How about the Taskbar? Does it finally extend to the other monitors?)
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Actually the one I pointed out is using multiple apps on a single screen in a split view.
But I also use Windows 8 on dual 24" monitors. And it works great.
- Yes, I can run different Metro Apps on different monitors.
- Yes, the taskbar extends to the other monitor in a Desktop mode.
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Hm. Looks like they want to introduce Windows 8.1 next year at work.  So it seems I have to get comfortable with the thought
Nice to hear they at least managed to add some useful features.
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I Couldn't have said better... vote up
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