The Windows 8 UI: How do interface and usability experts rate all the changes?

When Windows 8 debuts on October 26, users will be confronted with the most radical changes to the look and feel of Windows in nearly 20 years. The traditional desktop has been relegated to second-class status, hidden beneath Windows 8's new touch-centric Start screen. And that’s just the first confusing surprise that awaits long-time Windows users.

Traditional point-and-click functionality on the Windows desktop will also change, to accommodate the needs of the new touch-centric interface. Once they get past the new Start screen and enter the traditional desktop interface, users will discover that the Start button is gone, and that key features such as the Control Panel and Search have moved to the new Charms bar, which pops from the right side of their display.

The new Start screen—with the Charms bar exposed on the right edge.

Microsoft is changing the design of Windows to adapt the OS to our new multidevice world. So whether you're playing Diablo III on a desktop PC, checking quarterly numbers on an Ultrabook, or reading an ebook on a tablet, Windows 8 can serve as the operating system in each hardware scenario.

“[With Windows 8] Microsoft is doing something we are all going to have to do soon, which is designing for all these different outputs and inputs,” says Josh Clark, an interface designer and the author of Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps.

But Microsoft's new direction poses a problem for users: Many people who’ve played with the RTM version of Windows 8 on non-touch-enabled desktop PCs complain that the new OS is difficult to use.

“The problem for Microsoft is that it has millions of users

How To Access Network Shares With Windows 8

Another significant change in Windows 8 is that the primary login method is via a Microsoft Live account, rather than via a local account.  This causes problems if you don’t use a homegroup to share files around your home network, or if you’ve setup traditional network shares to share files between PCs as you’ll no longer be able to access Network shares in Windows 8.

How To Access Network Shares in Windows 8

If you’ve tried to access a network share in Windows 8, you’ve either not been able to open folders or been presented with a login dialog.

The problem with the login dialog is even though there is a ‘remember my credentials’ button, it d

Review of Windows 8

Review of reviews.  Some comment are mine, others are peoples reactions to Windows 8.

People don't like change.

Will people use Windows 8 in the office?  This could be crucial, otherwise it could Metro at home (and on the phone), and Windows 7, or Windows 8 desktop version at work.

Metro or Aero

Needs to grow, feel comfortable

Chis Pirillo

Here are a few short questions to consider when reviewing Windows 8.

• Will the Metro UI be good on a tablet computer?  (No brainer)
• Will the Metro UI be acceptable on a desktop?
• Will we be able to choose whether the default will be Aero or Desktop?
• What percentage of computer sales will be tablets, or have touch screens?
• What percentage of reviewers are Microsoft bashers?
• What percentage of people at large are Luddites in any context not just computing?
• Did you have a bad experience of Vista?
• Do you think that XP was Microsoft's high-water mark.

Philosophy if 100 people say a view is beautiful, a painting is fantastic.

100 people say you should or should not buy something.

100 people do or don't buy something.

Overview, soft (skills)

Windows 8 Metro Really for Tablets.

Little if anything for desktops.  New Apps are taking over, ARM the way to go won't support legacy apps.

Windows 8 Start Screen

I like the new Metro user interface.  The live tiles are more informative than the old static shortcuts.  I am intrigued by the new of organizing the tiles, both which squares to allow in my screen real-estate, and the ways of configuring their settings.

See how the 'Old' Windows 7 Start Menu is replaced with tile-based Start Screen.

Scrolling through your tiles is clearly designed with touch screen in mind, but it does work smoothly with a mouse click or even a keyboard 'Page Up'.  Windows 8 apps seem even easier to connect to other machines than previous versions. Winkey enables you to switch to the classic desktop view.

SmartScreen

Microsoft says "Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, from the chip to the interface".

... The new interface is: "Fast, fluid and dynamic"

Windows 8 will play 3D movies and games, although we don't have a list of supported formats just yet.  This is one reason Windows 8 is designed for a wide screen display with a 16 x 9 aspect ratio at 1366 x 768 pixels.  Thus think carefully whether monitors limited to 1024 x 768 monitor will be suitable for this new OS.

Guy Recommends : SolarWinds' Free VM Monitor

The best feature of this new this new version of SolarWinds VM Monitor is that it checks Windows Hyper-V.  Naturally, it still works with virtual machines on VMware ESX Servers.  VM Monitor is a clever desktop tool that not only tests that your server is online, but also displays the CPU and memory utilization for each node.

It's easy to install and to configure this virtual machine monitor, all you need the host server's IP address or hostname and the logon info. Give this virtual machine monitor a try - it's free.

Download your free copy of SolarWinds VM Monitor.

Windows 8 Dedicated to Tablets?

Each version of Windows tends to focus on a particular aspect of computing.  With Windows 3.11 it was networking, in Windows 95 the taskbar and start menu gained focus, XP perfected connection to the internet, Windows 7 paid attention to laptops, now with Windows 8 it seems that Microsoft's priority has been to design the OS to ensure that tablets, phones and other mobile devices are truly 'smart'.

Laptop users were the most vociferous critics of Vista.  Microsoft listened and made improvements to battery life and awakening from 'Sleep'.  Windows 8 continues the battle to win back laptop users by making changes to the kernel; removing interrupts and timers that interfere with the operating system when it's trying to save power.

Windows 7 blocked processes that tried to wake-up laptops automatically when they're not plugged in.  Windows 8 takes this a stage further with a new 'intelligent alarm' that wake them up for virus scans, but only if they're plugged in. 

Windows 8 Runs on ARM Hardware

Windows 8 will be the first Microsoft system to run on ARM hardware.  One side-effect is there will be lots of cheap laptops, tablets and notebooks running Windows 8.  Of course, Windows 8 will also be a great operating system for traditional desktops where you will be able to take advantage of the new tile-based scrolling technology. 

Meet Microsoft, the world's best kept R&D secret

• As far as 99.9 percent of the world population is concerned, Microsoft is a stodgy, old-guard technology company. Its bottom line is fully leveraged against PC operating systems and business software—hardly the building blocks of a future-thinking portfolio, right?

But scratch that cold, conservative, pedestrian surface, and you’ll find a Microsoft that’s a veritable hotbed of cutting-edge innovation. Indeed, the company doesn't just loosen its purse strings when it comes to research and development. No, it practically throws money at really big thinkers to build a more wondrous, fantastical future. In 2011 alone, Microsoft's R&D budget reached a record high of $9.6 billion (yes, with a "B"). That’s a lot of Benjamins, and they’re being spent on some decidedly awesome projects.

Let’s take at some of the more interesting examples.

Blending touch and touchscreens

CARNEGIE MELLON

OmniTouch let's your fingers do the dialing... practically on your own fingers.

Several Microsoft Research projects have revolved into transforming everyday objects into fully interactive computing surfaces. If these initiatives bear fruit, you may one day conduct your morning Facebook check on the back of a cereal box rather than on your phone.

First up is LightSpace, which uses a plethora of cameras and projectors to create interactive displays on everyday objects. The system needs to be calibrated to the room it’s installed in, but once it is, users can interact with projected menus and screens using their hands, or even move a projected display from one object to another. Don’t feel like trying to crowd your team around a projection on a small desk? Drag it over to the wall, instead. You can see a basic version of LightSpace in action in this intriguing demo video.

How to Permanently Erase Data Off a Hard Drive

So you want to make sure that someone can't get their hands on your private files on a hard drive. Here are ways to render your data completely unreadable.

When files are deleted from a computer by emptying the Recycle Bin or Trash (or by reformatting), the operating system removes them from the list of files on the hard drive. However, the actual contents of the files remain on the drive until it is overwritten, either by use of the same space on the drive or by intentional data destruction. Data that has not been overwritten can easily be recovered with a few tools and a little know-how. This article covers methods of deleting data in such a way that the data becomes unrecoverable by anyone.

Steps

Boot and Nuke Method

This will allow reuse of your hard drive, but theoretically your data is still recoverable by forensic analysis by well-financed governments. Lifehacker describes the software that you will be using, Darik's Boot and Nuke, as "an open-source boot disk utility (read: works on nearly any computer) that supports a wide variety of disk wiping methods and operates from inside the computer's RAM, allowing it to scrub the disk thoroughly at a remove."^[1]

Five important Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Regular readers know of my fondness for keyboard shortcuts, especially those that help me navigate in and around Windows more easily.

If ever I needed "more easily," it's for Windows 8. Microsoft's new OS has earned its share of critics (myself among them) for being unintuitive, with various popular functions (like, say, Shut Down) unusually hard to find.

Thankfully, Microsoft didn't forget to pack Windows 8 with helpful keyboard shortcuts. Here are five I think you'll want to learn pronto.

(Note: In case you're new to keyboard shortcuts, all of these involve holding down theWindows key (it's to the left of the space bar), then tapping the appropriate letter or function key.)

Windows-C Immediately brings up the Charms bar, for quick access to things like Search, Share, and Settings.

10 reasons to choose Ubuntu 12.10 over Windows 8

Microsoft's Windows 8 dominated countless headlines in the weeks leading up to its launch late last month, but October saw the debut of another major operating system as well.

Canonical's Ubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" arrived a week ahead of its competitor, in fact, accompanied by a challenge: "Avoid the pain of Windows 8." That slogan appeared on the Ubuntu home page for the first few hours after the OS's official launch, and attracted considerable attention.

Apparently Canonical decided to tone down its message later in the day—the slogan now reads "Your wish is our command"—but it seems fair to say that the underlying challenge remains.

Ubuntu comes with a variety of software packages, including Firefox, Thunderbird, and the full-featured productivity suite LibreOffice.