Just last week, we got our paws on Samsung’s Series 7 Slate , and it’s already making its second debut. This time around, however, it’s sporting a far more mouthwatering setup. No, it is not dawning Lady Gaga’s edible leftovers; this new look comes courtesy of Microsoft’s much teased and hotly anticipated touch-friendly OS, Windows 8 . As you’ve likely already heard, the most recent incarnation of the operating system is something entirely new for Redmond, and, because it seems, the area. It’s unlike anything we have seen before, but that isn’t stop us from making comparisons.
Like Apple’s latest attempt at a desktop OS, Windows 8 borrows largely from its mobile kin, Window Phone 7 , bringing its signature live tiles to tablets and PCs, and from what we have seen it does so effortlessly. Before we go ruining a superb thing, however, we need to talk about that this is not everything Windows has to give — it’s still a developers preview (and in turn, an OS under construction), and the device it’s running on hasn’t been approved as an official Windows 8 slate. Got all that? Good. Read on for our first impressions!
Metro style UI
You’ll hear the words “Metro-style” almost endlessly surrounding the discharge of Windows 8. Live tiles, hidden menus and controls, large, flashy graphics, bold white type, multi-touch gestures: these are the characteristics that set the OS with the exception of its predecessor and, to a point, from its competitors. You will not see any of the old, static Windows here, unless obviously you decide to — the desktop that you have grown used to in Windows 7 remains present, albeit as an app, but more on that later. In case your accustomed to Windows Phone 7, the user experience can be pretty familiar, but not entirely so.
Customization
Two major components of the Metro UI are touch and personalization, either one of which become obvious at login. Users can select a personalised lock screen in addition to choosing between three login methods: standard password, PIN, or picture password. The last of which lets you chose a photograph from any of your various photo deposits, including a myriad apps and cloud storage spaces, after which apply three touch gestures to authenticate that you’re indeed the master of your machine. We zipped through this process, poking the eyes of a precious pit bull to get to the beginning screen. This start page is precisely what it appears like — it is the start line for absolutely everything you do, and it’s likewise skinned to suit your every whim and fancy.
Live tiles are carried over here from Windows Phone 7, showing you real time updates for numerous apps of your choosing. Currently those apps are limited to a handful of intern-generated test options, but real deal offerings would be in effect by the point the 2 app store 2 goes live — whenever it truly is. Unlike the mobile OS, navigation here’s a left-to-right affair, as oppose to up and down, and is indeed as snappy as we’ve been bring about believe. Though we did have some slow moving launch times in about a the heavier apps, navigation was never sluggish.
Touch Gestures
Something becomes abundantly clear if you find yourself zipping through those customizable live tiles: Microsoft is banking on touch screens. The outfit’s execs weren’t shy on that time at yesterday’s press preview, going as far as to mention that “a monitor without touch feels dead,” however the proof is within the pudding. Fortunately, a few of the touch gestures are perfectly responsive; simple swipes left and right allowed for speedy scrolling, a swipe from definitely the right fringe of the screen pulled up the best navigation menu, and a mild tap and pull on any given tile selected it for personalisation, but there has been one gesture we never managed to master. Live tiles are meant to be easily reorganized, and they’re, but so are their selected groupings. a straightforward pinch-to-zoom technique should raise a simplified overview of the full start page, allowing you to rename and customize groupings. However, no amount of pinching or prodding could get our prototype to fall in line, thus our tile teams went unnamed.
Keyboards
Because not every PC has a hint screen quite yet, we’ve been told you should use the traditional keyboard and mouse to make your way in the course of the new UI. While we weren’t in a position to get our hands on a compatible mouse in time for this write up, we did give the Series 7′s keyboard a spin, and, much as we experienced in our 3 first hands-on 3 with the device, it got the job done. But Windows 8 is obviously a touchy-feely OS, and its various ways of having text at the page are a testament to that. There are three different methods for text input: two touch keyboards and handwriting. We were amazed that throwing down our signature chicken scratch actually proved fruitful, but handwriting on any computer still seems counterintuitive. The opposite two keyboards were responsive, and the layout was pretty much as good as any we’d seen.
Navigation
Like we said before, swiping from the left side on any screen pulls up a navigation menu that serves a similar general purpose because the more traditional start menu. Along that right edge reside a sequence of 5 “charms,” as they have been unfortunately named: Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings. We can’t to enter detail on all of those, but there are a few things worth declaring here. First, these charms are always hiding along that edge, regardless of where you’re to your experience, be it scrolling through your RSS feed for the most recent on Beyonce’s baby bump or scribbling naughty what-nots in your Ink Pad. Second, the hunt function not just permits you to search the contents of your computer, but additionally select apps. Finally, when you are in an app that has it activated, you need to use the proportion charm to Tweet your latest Facebook update, or Facebook your favorite recipe. It’s another point at which it becomes apparent that it is a desktop OS with a mobile mind.
Full-screen apps
On the center of this new, more design-friendly OS are full screen apps, section of a more humble user interface, in accordance with Microsoft, but much more likely a part of a better trend. We’ve already seen Apple have the opportunity in Lion, but Windows 8 takes the dedication a step further, ensuring that every one Metro UI apps get maximum real estate. As at the start page, swiping from any of the four edges pulls up menus and options. In case you swipe from the left, you’ll be able to navigate through other open apps, even snapping them in place for a split-screen view. The precise side contains the hidden charms, while the base and top are reserved for app-specific controls.
Metro Style Internet Explorer 10
That full-screen experience is carried over into the browser, which also gets the Metro treatment, supplying you with unencumbered viewing of whatever it’s you examine on the net. Frankly, we’ve never been put out by scroll bars, tabs, or URLs, nevertheless it seems nothing is untouched by Windows 8′s new Metro wand. And, truth learn, after doing without for a long time, we are not entirely sure we miss your complete added distractions.
Desktop
So far as Microsoft has include its latest OS, there is not any denying its roots, and, honestly, we cannot imagine that “Metro” will catch on with the enterprise sect — at the least not soon. Redmond’s made it clear that “everything that runs on Windows 7 runs on Windows 8,” that is true, but we cannot help but feel like it’s gone somewhat too far with all of this Metro business. The conventional desktop view, in order to play host for your more serious applications like Excel and Photoshop, is treated a twin of your Twitter client and RSS feed. It’s an app like every other at the Start page, but as a matter of fact it’s a completely different user interface. Yes, touch and stylus controls are an identical, and there are a number of style cues carried over from the Metro UI, but tap on that desktop icon and you’re served with a healthy helping of OS déjà vu.
Wrap-up
0 With the introduction of 4 OS X Lion 4 , Apple gave us a glimpse at what a post-PC operating system might appear like, and now Microsoft’s gone and pushed that concept to the limit. If Cupertino’s latest was a tease, than Windows 8 is full frontal. And we need to admit, we adore what we see. Sure this would possibly not be the ultimate build, or anywhere near it, but for whatever flaws it is able to have, the UI being offered during this developer preview is basically something special. Time will tell if the ” 5 one ecosystem to rule all of them 5 ” approach will catch on, but for now it is time to give props where props are due — at the very least until we are able to get our hands on a last build.
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