{"id":13212,"date":"2012-07-26T18:27:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T17:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aidanfinn.com\/?p=13212"},"modified":"2012-07-26T18:27:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-26T17:27:00","slug":"how-to-explain-metro-ui-to-someone-in-60-seconds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanfinn.com\/?p=13212","title":{"rendered":"How to Explain Metro UI To Someone In 60 Seconds"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is so much crap out there with some people (usually bloggers) freaking out over the new UI in Windows 8.  I really don\u2019t get it.  <\/p>\n

Headlines flew all over the net earlier this week on every IT news site about Gartner allegedly saying Windows 8 was \u201cbad\u201d.  I only saw PC Pro (UK site) carry the story where Gartner corrected that.  The media love controversy and negativity but I guess corrections and positivity don\u2019t get the same numbers of hits.  I was just forwarded a story by an executive from Steam (the online game distributor) saying Windows 8 was bad.  I\u2019m sure the fact that the Windows Store will make his business irrelevant had nothing to do with forming his opinion.<\/p>\n

Although my production machines (work and home) are still Windows 7, I use Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 a lot<\/em> and am doing that via touch and via traditional keyboard\/mouse.  Yes, it is different.  No, it did not take me 3 days to get used to.  Sure there\u2019s some muscle memory stuff in mouse navigation but you get over that.<\/p>\n

So how do I explain the new Metro UI?  Simple:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The pinned area of your start menu now fills the screen.  That\u2019s called the Start Screen now.  It\u2019s bigger, and has lots more information on screen to show you what\u2019s going on in your apps without having to open them.<\/li>\n
  2. You can get to anything that was in All Programs by hitting search or starting to type the name of the thing you want from the Start Screen.  I use the typing approach \u2013 Windows Key + Type, e.g. Windows Key + ISE finds me the PowerShell ISE in less than 2 seconds.<\/li>\n
  3. The right side of the screen finds things, configures settings, and shares data.<\/li>\n
  4. The left side switches between apps.<\/li>\n
  5. The top\/bottom of the screen interacts with the app that is open.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How many iPhones and Android handsets and iPads have been sold over the last 5 years?  This stuff is not alien to people.  I just don\u2019t get all the negativity from the vocal minority on this one.<\/p>\n

    The last time I saw this level of anxiety was when Windows XP was released.  It was soooo different.  Many took to calling it Windows FP (Fischer Price) because of the kiddie-like interface (we thought) and we admins hated that everything had moved.  I remember having to deploy it one night in a small government office and dreading going in the following day when people had logged in.  It was my first deployment and I was sure that unhappy users would rip my head off.  They loved it.  In fact, businesses loved XP so much that we\u2019re still trying to get them off of it.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m not foolish enough to thing enterprises will leap into Windows 8 straight after finishing still on-going Windows 7 deployments.  But I don\u2019t think Windows 8 is the black death for business either.  I think some of the features in there are quite compelling for business:<\/p>\n