Windows 8.x /9 – Re-Start the “Start” Button

OK so did Frankenstein monster just start looking a little bit more human? If you read my earlier post “Windows 8.1 a Mary Shelly Novel” (http://technobable.org/2014/02/17/windows-88-1-a-mary-shelly-novel/)..it looks like Microsoft listened to the voice of a LOT of less than happy mouse and keyboard users and the START button seems to be coming back…Re-Start the START 🙂 Check out hour 2 minute 9 of the Microsoft \\Build conference and you will see that we may once again have our old friend the Start Button http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/KEY01

Screenshot of the Start Button Menu….looks Fantastic!

Still think MS need to think through mode SWITCH.. I.e.. If I undock my tablet from Mouse, Keyboard and external monitor/s I want decent size (device display) and touch fully enabled. If I SWITCH back then I want the device I’m on to be smart enough to figure that out. Of course fundamentally WinRT/Metro/ARM based apps and classic apps need to behave, no one wants two ecosystems, they have to come together seamlessly when I SWITCH….that’s my Marketing slogan suggestion for Windows 9 by the way…

“Windows 9…SWITCH”

Few other things need to get sorted out so we have a rocking Windows OS that everyone will love:

Data Grids, yes they are actually useful for design, not allowing them in Metro style apps is a joke

Real on screen keyboard (OSK) re-sizing for the device your on, so it doesn’t take up all the screen real-estate

Intellisense where the word appears above what your typing, so you can read what is below the text

Windows Store Apps that let people download Classic Apps…I’m sure there is no money in that one Microsoft 🙂

If your interested in a really sensible UI design check out Jay Machalani’s Blog on “Fixing Windows 8” http://jaymachalani.com/blog/2013/12/12/fixing-windows-8

Microsoft please hire this guy!

Windows 8/8.1 a Mary Shelly novel

Have to say I find Windows 8.1 to be little like the Mary Shelly novel “Frankenstein”

Microsoft honestly guys seems like if you want to make a touch/mobile OS while also allowing Desktop/Mouse/Keyboard OS, you need to TOGGLE!
If I detach the keyboard then I want a decent touch enabled OSK. The current OSK isn’t intuitive either, takes up half the screen real estate when looking at a web page and in word with the ribbon and navigation on, I’ve a tiny tiny line of actual document content, it needs to SCALE for the input/output mode.

I understand wanting to be able to go support ARM and other mobile processors but you need to build an OS that can SWITCH (there is a good marketing term Windows 9 Switch OS) E.g two versions of IE that pretty yuck as is switching between RT Metro style apps and traditional windows Apps.

On the store front perhaps you should make traditional apps available also. How about you buy Office “Mobile” professional Office “Desktop” Professional, same code base, just let’s you TOGGLE. But yeah get those traditional apps into the Store, then you will have the same number of apps as Apple, but better, in many regards, e.g. Full version of Adobe products like Photoshop or things like AutoCAD, try running those on an iPad. Go have a chat with game companies so you can resell all the desktop games all over again, perhaps for a reduced price. Maybe consider offering vendor convert their license keys to Windows Store Licence Keys….that should earn you guys some extra clams and be great for resellers. Who knows it might be possible for resellers to see who is licensed and for what, great marketing statistics and potentially and could also reduction software piracy, that should be worth something! Finally make sure you add a routines to the store to check if a device will run software before downloading so as to guarantee the hardware and OS will support it …..anyway there are some off the cusp ideas