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I 'm watching TWiT right now, and I just heard the Editor Emeritus of Engadget (which I assume m...


G+_George Kozi
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I'm watching TWiT right now, and I just heard the Editor Emeritus of Engadget (which I assume means "Big Shot Tech Pundit") say that he tried to use windows 8, and the OS made him feel stupid... well, that's reassuring...

 

By comparison, I must be a genius, because I figured out how to move my mouse pointer to the corners to make stuff appear... and I did it on my own!

 

Paul Thurrott 

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Hmmmm, Win8 teaches you to use the corners (or slide in from the sides if you have a touchscreen), and once you understand that it's seems easy enough to use. Also, just looking at the screen, how do you know to bring up the charms (for example)? Just moving the mouse around until it goes offscreen cannot be intuitive design. This seems to be the case as MS may be tweaking the design in Blue.

 

Finally, for a truly mainstream OS like Windows, if people have trouble finding elements of the UI, you can't just ignore them. Once a certain number start complaining, you have to think maybe they are right.

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George Kozi Just because they tell you how to use it doesn't make it good. If they told you how to use the Command Line, it doesn't make it intuitive or easy.

 

A lot of people find the ipad easy to use. Mainly due to the 'appification' of everything. If you need to change settings, open the Settings app etc They don't go through a tutorial before they use it.

 

I tell everyone who uses Win8 that you use the corners with the mouse, or slide in from the edges with a touchscreen. Which is simple enough.

 

In addition, the problems with Win8 are not just about using the corners of the screen. I love that settings are in the same place (on the charms bar for all apps), however, why are some of the settings there, and others are in the Desktop Control panel? Again, MS are aware of this as they are moving more of the settings to the charm.

 

On a side note, why has RT got a desktop - make a 'Metro' version of the programmes that are curerntly using the desktop (file explorer; copy window etc); move all the command panel settings to the charm, and open the Office apps in full screen. Therefore, you never see the desktop.

 

Anyway, there are a lot of great things about Windows 8. When I install a new OS I love going through all the options, settings etc to see what's new. Once you've done that with Win8 I find it easy to use. The more I read and listen to podcasts etc, the more I see people having problems with it. It's got to the stage now where 'I'm alright, Jack' or 'it's new, you'll get used to it' is not acceptable, and you have to evaluate whether their concerns are valid or not.

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Just listening to TWiT at the moment, and, wow! There is not being able to use Windows 8, but the opinions were very odd. It was full of the vague 'I can't navigate around Win8', nothing concrete.

 

I understand when 'normal people' (I hate that term) can't use Win8, but anyone who follows tech must have seen a Win8 demo, or heard about the start screen or the corners/charms etc over the last 18 months.

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