Windows 9 Will Offer Desktop Or Start Screen

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According to this article Windows 9 will offer you the desktop or the modern UI, not both.

There is no middle ground between devices that have the Modern UI and devices that have the desktop. You either have the desktop or you have the Modern UI, you cannot have both. As reported around a month ago, the Start Menu for desktop users in Windows Threshold can 'act' like a full screen Start Menu however, meaning if you want that functionality you can have it on the desktop.
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What a mature response from Microsoft go those that demanded a desktop with Windows 8. "Take your stupid desktop, but no 'Metro', er, 'Modern UI' for you. Nyeah!"
 
Start screen has nothing to do with desktop, though. Bad reporting.
 
jfreund said:
What a mature response from Microsoft go those that demanded a desktop with Windows 8. "Take your stupid desktop, but no 'Metro', er, 'Modern UI' for you. Nyeah!"
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The article says the start menu still supports Metro 'features.'
As reported around a month ago, the Start Menu for desktop users in Windows Threshold can 'act' like a full screen Start Menu however, meaning if you want that functionality you can have it on the desktop.
Click to expand...
IMO it's time to just end the whole Metro experiment. They could keep the tablet UI as an app, but nobody is going to write Metro apps. Strip it out of Windows just like they're stripping desktop Windows out of RT.
 
I just wish developers created more MUI apps... W8 tablets could have been amazing if it had a decent catalog of MUI apps to go with the x86 programs. I hope MS doesn't give up on it just yet.
 
Metro and "modern UI" can DIAF for desktop productivity. AFAWK Windows 7 is the last great Windows release. I'll be using it as long as humanly possible.
 
wabbitseason said:
Metro and "modern UI" can DIAF for desktop productivity. AFAWK Windows 7 is the last great Windows release. I'll be using it as long as humanly possible.
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You're missing out. Windows 8.1 plus Start-Is-Back is way better than W7 for desktop use.
 
thelead said:
You're missing out. Windows 8.1 plus Start-Is-Back is way better than W7 for desktop use.
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Buddy, that's your opinion. Who are you to tell me what I like or any one else? I hate, loath, can't fucking stand 8 or 8.1. That's why so many of us went back to 7. I am missing 0 bullshit you have in 8. And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
 
SnowBeast said:
And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
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9 isn't coming out all that fast. The first public beta for Windows 8 came out three years ago and Windows 9 will RTM somewhere between 2.5 to 3 years after Windows 8 RTMed.
 
wabbitseason said:
Metro and "modern UI" can DIAF for desktop productivity. AFAWK Windows 7 is the last great Windows release. I'll be using it as long as humanly possible.
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Speak for yourself man. Windows 8 with Start8 and ModernMIX makes for a great combination. ModernUI apps run in a window on the desktop and there are quite a number of very well written ModernUI apps that can be used.

Spotlite (a ModernUI Spotify app), Slacker Radio, and WeatherBug are a few very good ModernUI apps that I use that are windowed using ModernMIX and they act and feel just like regular Win32 programs. I haven't taken the time to really explore the Windows App Store but I'm sure there are more where those few apps I mentioned came from.

Now, when Windows 9 comes and I can natively run these ModernUI apps in a window on the desktop (without the need for ModernMIX) and have a native Start Menu without the need for Start8, Windows 9 will be one very good and operating system.

And this is coming from someone who hated on Windows 8/8.1 for years since the initial Windows 8 came out.
 
SnowBeast said:
Buddy, that's your opinion. Who are you to tell me what I like or any one else? I hate, loath, can't fucking stand 8 or 8.1. That's why so many of us went back to 7. I am missing 0 bullshit you have in 8. And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
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Of course it's an opinion but what exactly is there to loath about 8.1 when you can just use desktop mode and never see anything metro?
 
DeathFromBelow said:
The article says the start menu still supports Metro 'features.'

IMO it's time to just end the whole Metro experiment. They could keep the tablet UI as an app, but nobody is going to write Metro apps. Strip it out of Windows just like they're stripping desktop Windows out of RT.
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with WinRT (the runtime, what you are referring to as Metro apps) The main reason why you don't see a ton of apps written to it for Windows is more because there isn't a good way to make an app compatible with all platforms (Windows, ARM, Phone) 9 is finally supposed to fix that.
 
SnowBeast said:
Buddy, that's your opinion. Who are you to tell me what I like or any one else? I hate, loath, can't fucking stand 8 or 8.1. That's why so many of us went back to 7. I am missing 0 bullshit you have in 8. And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
Click to expand...

Real question:

Could you tell me what is it about Windows 8.1 with Startisback, or a start menu replacement of your choice installed (I use ClassicShell because its free and feature filled), that you do not like?

tia
 
SnowBeast said:
And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
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It's three years. Roughly what they've followed since Vista, and planned to follow with XP before they stopped to basically rewrite it in SP2.
 
Ryokurin said:
There's nothing wrong with WinRT (the runtime, what you are referring to as Metro apps) The main reason why you don't see a ton of apps written to it for Windows is more because there isn't a good way to make an app compatible with all platforms (Windows, ARM, Phone) 9 is finally supposed to fix that.
Click to expand...

Universal apps do exist today, how compatible the code is between the Windows Phone and RT largely depends on how the UI needs to be implemented which is something that isn't even 100% with iOS and Android if the developer wants more than a blown up phone app on a tablet. 9 is supposed to further unify Windows RT/Phone into a single whole, so most modern apps should be able to run as-is across tablets, desktops and phones.
 
trparky said:
Now, when Windows 9 comes and I can natively run these ModernUI apps in a window on the desktop...
Click to expand...

There you have the crux of what is wrong with "Modern UI". It takes the most basic defining concept of the Windows user experience (the ability to run multiple applications, each in their own WINDOW), and throws it out the, er, window.
 
trparky said:
Speak for yourself man. Windows 8 with Start8 and ModernMIX makes for a great combination. ModernUI apps run in a window on the desktop and there are quite a number of very well written ModernUI apps that can be used.

Spotlite (a ModernUI Spotify app), Slacker Radio, and WeatherBug are a few very good ModernUI apps that I use that are windowed using ModernMIX and they act and feel just like regular Win32 programs. I haven't taken the time to really explore the Windows App Store but I'm sure there are more where those few apps I mentioned came from.

Now, when Windows 9 comes and I can natively run these ModernUI apps in a window on the desktop (without the need for ModernMIX) and have a native Start Menu without the need for Start8, Windows 9 will be one very good and operating system.

And this is coming from someone who hated on Windows 8/8.1 for years since the initial Windows 8 came out.
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RT apps are a flipping failure. I made the mistake of thinking I actually had a use for a Surface RT but turns out even Microsoft's own RT versions of their applications like Skype are anemic copies of the desktop counterparts. Office on Surface RT's run outside RT in a kludged desktop mode.
 
Perhaps ModernUI v2.0 is what we're going to be seeing in Windows 9 for desktop users. A ModernUI interface that runs in a window on traditional desktops.
 
MS can do no wrong according to haters. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Meanwhile OSX releases 'new' versions with barely any features, and the OS is a pale joke compared to Windows, I used to think it was a decent alternative but after owning my MBP for 3 months I realize how deficient it is.

Windows 8.1 is a great OS and it takes literally 1min to install a start menu replacement if you wish, everything else about the OS is a big upgrade. But the small but vocal haters, including bloggers who are paid by Apple, have poisoned the minds of casual users who are turned away by the constant negativity and never get to use it.
 
MrCrispy said:
MS can do no wrong according to haters. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
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They could try listening to their customers and be a little more willing to give them what they want, not what Microsoft thinks they need, or is willing to give them.
 
heatlesssun said:
Universal apps do exist today, how compatible the code is between the Windows Phone and RT largely depends on how the UI needs to be implemented which is something that isn't even 100% with iOS and Android if the developer wants more than a blown up phone app on a tablet. 9 is supposed to further unify Windows RT/Phone into a single whole, so most modern apps should be able to run as-is across tablets, desktops and phones.
Click to expand...

I didn't say it wasn't possible, just that there wasn't a good way to do it. You have to treat every platform as a separate project in Visual Studio, and then make another project that contains the shared code. The problem was especially early on in Windows 8 not a lot of the code could be shared so it was almost like writing three separate things. A lot of what they did in 8.1 just basically made their previous suggestions on how to properly implement it in Visual Studio more obvious.
 
trparky said:
Perhaps ModernUI v2.0 is what we're going to be seeing in Windows 9 for desktop users. A ModernUI interface that runs in a window on traditional desktops.
Click to expand...

It looks the idea behind the modern UI on an x86 device is that elements will be able to be windowed and non-full screen OR like they are currently in Windows 8.1, with a full screen Start and modern apps. My guess is what controls whether modern elements or full screen or not will depend on a combination of default configurations based on input types available to a device (mouse and/or touch screen) and user choice of those configuration options. What will be interesting is how this would work in hybrid situations for devices like the Surface and other x86 tablets which are hybrid by nature. When using a mouse and keyboard will things work "desktop" like and then automatically work "tablet" like when using touch?

It's going to be extremely interesting to see how this all turns out. This is a hugely important release, and while the emphasis does need to be on the desktop, Microsoft can't forget tablets and touch and I think getting the hybrid model working smoothly is critical to the future of Windows. The desktop, as important as it is, simply isn't enough today for a general purpose OS like Windows has always been in the past.
 
Ryokurin said:
I didn't say it wasn't possible, just that there wasn't a good way to do it. You have to treat every platform as a separate project in Visual Studio, and then make another project that contains the shared code.
Click to expand...

This isn't true anymore, indeed, this is one of the big deals about Universal apps. There's a Universal app solution type now that solves this problem.
 
timta2 said:
They could try listening to their customers and be a little more willing to give them what they want, not what Microsoft thinks they need, or is willing to give them.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly what they did with .1 and Update, and now will get rid of Metro altogether yet people are still complaining.

Do you apply the same standards to Apple, who dictate everything and anyone who doesn't like it can STFU. Or does blind worship only happen when you have cool ads?
 
SnowBeast said:
Buddy, that's your opinion. Who are you to tell me what I like or any one else? I hate, loath, can't fucking stand 8 or 8.1. That's why so many of us went back to 7. I am missing 0 bullshit you have in 8. And if 8 was so great, why is 9 coming out so fast like XP did right behind Windows ME?? Its not just opinion, 8 was a failure.
Click to expand...
All I see is wah wah wah as for windows 9 coming out so soon. No it's coming out on the the year schedule like Microsoft wanted to get back to.
 
Steve said:
According to this article Windows 9 will offer you the desktop or the modern UI, not both.
Click to expand...

That's fine. The "modern" UI crap delivers exactly nothing. As such, there's no great loss involved.

And the fact that it's not some craptastic "hybrid" choice where they're still shoving Metro down my throat? Even better!
 
I don't mind the Metro UI, but for touchscreen-based products. I guess most of the stuff that I could see using that interface on are all-in-one products you buy... But it has no place on a handcrafted high end gaming machine.
 
MrCrispy said:
Which is exactly what they did with .1 and Update, and now will get rid of Metro altogether yet people are still complaining.
Click to expand...

Doesn't look like they are getting rid of the modern UI altogether but integrating better into the desktop. Of course any ability to run modern apps, even in a window or live tiles in Start, even if they don't have to be used and are completely optional as they are in 8.1 still won't be good enough for some. But the practical reality is simply that there's capability there and it would be up to users to determine if they want to use it.
 
MrCrispy said:
Windows 8.1 is a great OS and it takes literally 1min to install a start menu replacement if you wish, everything else about the OS is a big upgrade. But the small but vocal haters, including bloggers who are paid by Apple, have poisoned the minds of casual users who are turned away by the constant negativity and never get to use it.
Click to expand...

And what about Business and Enterprise that flat out rejected Win8 and its forced smartphone UI. You think they were "poisoned" by a minority of "haters" and "bloggers paid by Apple"?

LMFAO. Get a grip.
 
DPI said:
And what about Business and Enterprise that flat out rejected Win8 and its forced smartphone UI. You think they were "poisoned" by a minority of "haters" and "bloggers paid by Apple"?

LMFAO. Get a grip.
Click to expand...

Seriously. Microsoft tried to impose its vision of desktop productivity on us and failed utterly. What the fuck were they thinking? Hurrr, it'll be easier for us if tablets and desktops have the same UI? If you think Windows 8 or 8.1 beat 7 for getting work done, you're incredibly dense.
 
But...

What does this mean for tablet users (for whom "Modern UI" actually is a better UI) who want to run apps that are desktop-only? (You know, like MS Office.)

(I doubt there are any desktop users who REALLY PREFER any modern UI app over its desktop equivalent.)

Of course, now that I wrote that last part, I think of one: Netflix. And Hulu.
 
GaryJohnson said:
That's the problem isn't it? It's not easy to get comfortable with it if you've been using 95/98/xp/vista/7 for the past 19 years.
Click to expand...

The unfamiliarity of Windows 8's UI to may desktop users is by far the biggest issue with the UI. However unfamiliar isn't the same as unproductive. And when looking at normal productive tasks on the desktop, very little of that time is normally spent in the Start Menu or Start Screen but in desktop apps which have the same UI between 7 and 8.x.
 
CharonPDX said:
But...

What does this mean for tablet users (for whom "Modern UI" actually is a better UI) who want to run apps that are desktop-only? (You know, like MS Office.)

(I doubt there are any desktop users who REALLY PREFER any modern UI app over its desktop equivalent.)

Of course, now that I wrote that last part, I think of one: Netflix. And Hulu.
Click to expand...

Hopefully 9's UI will be adaptable and/or configurable to work like 8 for those that want or need it for touch and tablets. The rumors thus far seem to indicate this is how it will work for x86 tablets ad touch devices.

Yeah, can't remember the last time I touched the Nettlix of Hulu websites. Or Twitter for that matter. Modern apps don't bring much in the way of productivity, but for consumptive tasks, and PCs are still used a lot for these kinds of activities, modern apps can provide some options besides the standard website.
 
As reported around a month ago, the Start Menu for desktop users in Windows Threshold can 'act' like a full screen Start Menu however, meaning if you want that functionality you can have it on the desktop. This will be helpful for devices like the Surface Pro 3.
Click to expand...

I.e., its still there for all intents and purposes. Welcome to clickbait.

BB
 
My biggest gripe is not so much with Windows 8's features as much as Microsoft's insistence to throw that same crap UI on Server 2012.

From a business perspective, Win8/2012 are a nightmare to manage, At the desktop level as people were already clueless to begin with and now Metro just threw productivity out the fucking window. At the server level, most of my SysAdmins now install Server Core and do most of their work via PowerShell/CLI as they hate the damned UI as much as I do.

Simply put, wrapped around, it's an unintuitive UI for most people, business or non.
 
Microsoft is damned if they do and damned if they don't. The tech community has turned into a bunch of crybaby little girls.
 
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