Well, as a tester I cannot say that I didn’t find bugs on the new Windows 8, but this was to be expected as it is just a Consumer Preview, but what I wasn’t expecting was the User Interface versus the User Experience.
Installation
But let’s start from the beginning: the installation, well, that was quick and didn’t require any special knowledge, which was great.
Once installed I had my first user experience on the Metro interface. It was different, somehow I was expecting something more similar with the iOS mobile interface, but it wasn’t. I’d never used a Windows phone before, maybe because of this it was so different for me.
Interface
The User Interface looks good, very appealing to the eyes and very colourful as well - not always a good thing - but it looked good.
If you are used with the usual Windows way to do things, well, forget about it, because the new Windows 8 is different on every way.
As a Windows user I have loads of user habits on Windows, things such as the use of the right mouse button to select other functions, or use the search on the start menu, or shortcuts with the start key, or the use of the .exe name to run a program...
Many things that I’ve got used to over the years, things that somehow improved my daily rotines and now are gone.
Wasn’t just the Start button that they got rid of, nothing has a close or minimize button. Those functions are still available but not as simple as it was. I understand the whole app feature but when you are using a PC you want to improve your PC performance as much as possible, you don’t want the PC with hundreds of apps opened consuming memory.
Being a Tester helped me to analyse applications in a way that a new user would: I have to analyse how good is the User Experience on the app; how easy and logical is for an user to execute a simple task on the application; how easy is to get to point B from A. Close an application should be a basic daily task for a normal user on any level of knowledge. And close an application was my first challenge on Windows 8 Metro interface, I didn’t count all the time spend between me and my fellow developer colleague on the attempt to close an app, but let’s say, it wasn’t quick. My theory is that should not take you more than 2 minutes (and that is a lot) to do a simple task in a software, well, took us more than that to find out how to close an app.
I really wanted to like Windows 8 because a whole new way to do things should improve the Windows user experience, but it didn’t. This new interface was supposed to be a big improvement and make things easier for the end user, should be very user friendly and make the user feel comfortable and have a great experience... but it didn’t. It was clumsy, the functions available are not very logical, I must say that I’ve used on a normal PC so I couldn’t enjoy the touch screen features, but even though should still be useful and deliver good results on a normal desktop.
With the Metro interface come the new “Charm bar” that doesn’t have much charm. It is not simple to make it appear using the mouse and requires the use of the start key + C to be displayed via shortcut. How do I find that out? Well, research on the web as AGAIN nothing was very logical and obvious as it should be.
The old interface still available as well, but without the Start button, it is not a nice second option. And yet the old interface is not a choice, you will HAVE to use if you wish to use things such as the Windows Calculator, Windows Explorer, Network or any other Control panel functionality. I am not sure if Microsoft will keep it like that, but it does looks wrong if you have to switch between interfaces to access different functionalities and in both interfaces each application works in completely different ways.
I do believe Microsoft lost the plot. I understand the whole investment into something that can improve the user experience on touch screen devices, and I understand the whole approach of simplicity, but that wasn’t what they delivered.
There is a new tendency that started a while ago with Google. Did you ever asked yourself why is Google so popular? It’s because it is SIMPLE and responsible, it does the job! The iPhone as well got popular for the same reasons, simplicity, and not multiple functionalities that you won’t even use, just a simple straight forward interface with a simple access to everything. Microsoft is trying to do the same with Windows 8, but in my opinion they failed. For an application to be simple has to be very user oriented, but they failed to achieve that, it looks simple but there is a lot of hidden things that should simplified the user experience but it doesn’t as there is not a logical access.
The colour scheme is a mismatch at the moment for Microsoft, the colourful Metro theme looks good, but it contradicts the new simple look that Microsoft is trying to implement, like the new Windows 8 logo with a blue and white interface or even the new Visual Studio with white, blacks, blues and greys. Contradictions...
Positives
It is not all bad, to shutdown and start the machine is as quick as it gets, of course, once you find out how to do it. There’s also a big improvement on the overall performance.
One new great thing is SkyDrive integration, free 7GB space on an easy access and the simple connection with Xbox will also make many users happy.
Talking about apps, thumbs up for the Bing map, great app, very simple and functional. There are still minor improvements to be made, but it’s understandable as this is just a preview, even though I was happy with the app.
Overall Opinion
With Windows 8, there is a clear picture about what Microsoft is trying to achieve, but unfortunately the execution wasn’t good enough. They do have a shell, but there are loads of changes that will have to be made if they want succeed with this version.
The Windows 8 is functional but will take people a while to get used with the new interface. I do like the fact that Microsoft is taking a risk but I am not sure if will pay off on this version.