No more Aero in Windows 8

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MrCrispy

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http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx

The world's longest blog post summarized -

1. you will use touch at some point, so get used to it
2. we're getting rid of Aero and made the desktop even uglier

The comments on the blog speak for themselves. It seems Microsoft is determined to make Win 8 even worse than it already is. They try so hard to make excuses and make it sound like non-touch desktop is still going to be ok, but its obvious they don't care about them.
 
I like the history recap. It is very interesting how people hate change.

Look at how experts thought the mouse would never catch on.
 
wonder how much of this crap they will strip out of the server OS...... since the beta has the ugly colors and layouts.

touch is just NOT efficient, period.... on a workstation at all!

not to mention the added strain of having your arms and hands up all day typing and moving things.

it is like comparing a console controller to a mouse...
 
Touch for the desktop is an absolute disaster. It's not even a matter of 'change', it's simply stupid for how people use their computers at home. I'm staying with 7 for now, but is this is Microsoft's roadmap for the future I'm out. Time to get a mac or move to linux.
 
I don't see a problem with it myself, personally. I'm on Windows 7 Pro at the moment and I'm using a theme I found at DeviantArt called Aero8 which gives 7 the look-and-feel of the flat aspect UI that Windows 8 favors.

As for Aero itself, never mattered much to me. The 2D and 3D aspects of the Windows UI are both accelerated nowadays so it's not an issue with performance but the look and feel, obviously, and I could care less about that overall. I won't fall all the way back to the "classic" look however; I left Windows 2000 years ago and ain't returning anytime soon.
 
Q1DM6 said:
Touch for the desktop is an absolute disaster. It's not even a matter of 'change', it's simply stupid for how people use their computers at home. I'm staying with 7 for now, but is this is Microsoft's roadmap for the future I'm out. Time to get a mac or move to linux.
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Or you could use Win 8 with a mouse and keyboard like you do now. Go to desktop and ignore all metro apps, it's like win 7 but better. Just sayin'

We do not view the desktop as a mode, legacy or otherwise—it is simply a paradigm for working that suits some people and specific apps. This is very much like the person who uses a mobile “phone” but really uses it for the mobile browser and mail client and rarely uses apps or the phone. It is like the person who has a brand new tablet but only uses the web browser.

The desktop is a great way to work with mouse/keyboard and a large monitor or several monitors. It is a powerful and flexible paradigm, allowing for pervasive control over the size and layout of windows on the screen.

If you only want to “live in the desktop,” if you never plan on using a PC with touch or using any apps from the Windows Store whatsoever, Windows 8 still has a lot to offer. The Windows 7 desktop experience has been brought forward and significantly improved, with additions such as the new Task Manager, new Explorer and file copy UI, Hyper-V on the client, multi-monitor taskbar and wallpaper, etc. And all in a package that uses fewer system resources than Windows 7. The new Start screen is simply a continuation of the Windows 7 trend of unifying disparate elements of the user interface—starting, launching, switching, and notifications.

It is really your choice. You can use only desktop apps if you want. You can use only new apps and never leave them if you want (in which case all of the desktop code is not even loaded.) Or, you can choose to mix and match apps that run in both environments. We think in a short time everyone will mix and match, simply because there is so much creative development energy being put into the new scenarios made possible by new Windows 8 apps.
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All the Windows 8 hate is hilarious (especially considering in desktop mode it is almost completely the same as Win7).

Another year, another Windows release, another slew of unjustified hate towards Microsoft because THEY CHANGED MY WINDOWS HOW DARE THEY. Y'all can have fun using your antiquated software while the rest of us are enjoying touch enabled awesomeness :D I personally can't wait for Windows 8 Slates-I think they will be the be all, end all mobile devices, a true replacement for both laptops and tablets all in one device. I'm going to be rocking a slate+my desktop, both running Win8, and quite frankly I can't wait. Haters will continue to hate, as usual :D

Btw, love the sensationalist thread title! :rolleyes:
 
How is it sensationalist? Whether you agree or disagree with whether this is good or not, that's what Microsoft is doing: removing Aero (Glass).

This is good, in my opinion. For two reasons: A) Aero is over-the-top and pointless 'look at me!' design which was aimed at impressing XP users with visual effects, and B) this clashes less with Metro. I say "clashes less", because everything still clashes abysmally in the shot they posted. Low-contrast icons with perspective and lighting mixed with a giant slab of white. Looks absolutely ridiculous. Hopefully they abandon their old icon design guidelines in favor of what they did with VS11 (only not doing as poor a job at it).
 
Yeah dont think Ill care for touch especially as long as theyre making cool ass keyboards and mice. Id much rather fondle my G700 and clack away on my Black Widow than touch my hot LCD screen.
 
This is more of an evolution of Aero. And it looks better. People will rationalize anything at this point to hate on Windows 8.
 
With all the incessant whining you'd think Microsoft bricked everyone's PC and mailed out tablets as replacements.

My hat's off to Microsoft. They've studied the PC market exhaustively and made thoughtful, reasoned changes to Windows to address the changes to the PC market. They know what they are doing. They know they are stepping on some toes. But while the complainers are worried about their personal work flows Microsoft is worried about a billion or more people's work flows.

Frankly, most of the complaining is beyond pointless. Your Windows 7 apps will work just fine in Windows 8, just like they always did. For so long as there is a need for desktop PCs Microsoft will do its best to satisfy that need. Your Windows 7 apps sure won't work in Linux, or OSX. Keep that in mind when you talk about abandoning the Windows platform because you don't think the Start Screen is pretty enough. And if you're in an IT department, I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you make that pitch to management: "They got rid of the Start Menu and the new Start Screen sucks. I don't know how to teach people to use hot corners. Shut down takes two extra clicks. I recommend we toss everything and go Mac." Good luck with that. Keep that resume up to date!
 
I like the glass windows, I think they look better squared than rounded too. I don't mind the controls getting a new style (buttons, sliders etc) but I'd like the option at least to keep my slick glass window borders.
 
Gnome 3 has linux die-hards literally on the edge of burning torches and pitchforks with burning effigies of supposed GUI designers.

So we should really copy that.

I also like how the amount of "chrome" is mentioned several times, as if it's a bad thing, but the default theme still uses giant title bars and border padding.
 
Fine with me. Windows 7 works beautifully and has all the features I want.

I don't want a dumb Metro interface because I'm not using a touch pad , I'm using my Desktop PC. And I want to keep Aero and everything else the way I like it.

If XP is going to be supported into 2014 than I'm sure W7 will be for a long time to come.
 
MrCrispy said:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx

The world's longest blog post summarized -

1. you will use touch at some point, so get used to it
2. we're getting rid of Aero and made the desktop even uglier

The comments on the blog speak for themselves. It seems Microsoft is determined to make Win 8 even worse than it already is. They try so hard to make excuses and make it sound like non-touch desktop is still going to be ok, but its obvious they don't care about them.
Click to expand...
They're not getting rid of Aero. Changing a few theme parts as they said, sure, but the fundamental infrastructure is still basically the same (note the taskbar, for instance).
 
Eman D. Rahym said:
My hat's off to Microsoft. They've studied the PC market exhaustively and made thoughtful, reasoned changes to Windows to address the changes to the PC market. They know what they are doing. They know they are stepping on some toes. But while the complainers are worried about their personal work flows Microsoft is worried about a billion or more people's work flows.
Click to expand...

Spot on!

Wonderful blog post that explains things very well. I think that people seem to think that Microsoft is just making these changes for the sake of change but aren't looking at marketplace realities.

the absolute number of all US desktops sold will be fewer than the number of tablets in 2012!
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Seriously, what the hell was Microsoft supposed to do with Windows 8? Ignore the market place? Desktops and keyboards and mice aren't going anywhere anytime soon either:

We do not view the desktop as a mode, legacy or otherwise—it is simply a paradigm for working that suits some people and specific apps. This is very much like the person who uses a mobile “phone” but really uses it for the mobile browser and mail client and rarely uses apps or the phone. It is like the person who has a brand new tablet but only uses the web browser.
Click to expand...

But the truth is that more and more people are using touch devices and that market is EXPLODING. The desktop is in relative decline. We can argue all day long about how inefficient touch is and how personally you may not care about tablets or touch, it's just not the reality of the market place.

And yes, Microsoft could have developed a separate tablet OS, but where would that have left Windows? An OS for a dying market. And while making Metro optional sounds good to Metro haters, all it would do is slow down Windows' transition to touch, which is HAS to make.

And lastly, many who hate Metro don't seem to get that NEW hardware is as much a part of Windows 8 as the OS itself.

Windows 8 imagines the convergence of two kinds of devices: a laptop and a tablet. Instead of carrying around three devices (a phone, a tablet, and a laptop) you carry around just a phone and a Windows PC. A PC that is the best tablet or laptop you have ever used, but with the capabilities of the familiar Windows desktop if you need it. You may choose to carry a tablet, or you may choose a laptop/convertible, but you do not need to carry around both along with your phone. You never think about a choice, or fret over your choice of what to carry. Things just work without compromise.

Great hardware like this doesn’t quite exist yet, but it will be commonly available later this year. This is the promise of the Windows 8 experience. With a little imagination, you can start to see why this kind of device will change the way you think of a PC.
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Another market reality is that most people get new versions of Windows with new hardware. The second is that PC OEMs are getting hammered these days, just look at the massive layoff rumors spreading around HP. PC OEMs NEED something besides traditional PCs to sell. The days of selling cheap machines cheap or luring people to upgrade with spec bumps in memory or CPUs simply isn't compelling or profitable anymore.

Windows 8 is about addressing lots of different issues while at the same time making huge changes in one of the most successful products in history. It is a huge risk, but the reality is that the world is moving more and more past to PC and mobile devices for their computing needs, and those devices are touch based and run simplified and sandboxed applications.

If Windows didn't support touch and sandboxed apps and stayed keyboard and mouse only, it would die a slow death anyway as the world would turn increasingly to touch and tablets for not only causal computing experiences but for productive ones as well. Indeed the iPad being used for business and productive uses has become a HUGE focus of the device. Staying keyboard and mouse only was no guarantee that Windows would stay the predominate computing client platform for business.

The computing world is changing and Microsoft, as much as I'm sure it doesn't want to, has no choice but to adapt as by extension, it's flagship product Windows must as well. The desktop and keyboard and mouse aren't going away but those things are in relative decline in the computing world. That's just the reality of the situation.
 
3mF7a.jpg
 
It's kind of like fashion. Just got to live with whatever the current trend is, whether it's flat, 3D, colorful, transparent, circular, rectangular, etc.
 
heatlesssun said:
But the UI in the AOL client isn't what killed AOL. It was a little something called the Internet.
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You do realize AOL created the Internet right?

At least it seems that way from all the people I find on a daily basis that still use AOL Desktop 9.7 on their shitty Windows XP boxes.

Change is good. Windows 8 change is not good.

The Win 8 Server interface has touches of this tripe in it and it makes me cry baby seal tears.
 
if you disable Aero on 7/Vista you will then have screen tearing on the desktop. surely that will not happen with Windows 8 though will it?
 
cannondale06 said:
if you disable Aero on 7/Vista you will then have screen tearing on the desktop. surely that will not happen with Windows 8 though will it?
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No, because there are actually two different things commonly refered to as Aero. One is the code running the fully hardware accelerated desktop (windows are rendered as textures allowing for things like Flip3d). The other is the actual 'Aero' theme applied to all the chrome elements.

Just as in XP and Vista it is easy for Microsoft to change the theme without going back to the classic unaccelerated desktop (which has remained almost unchanged since Windows 2000). An example was how Windows XP used the 'Luna' theme (3 color choices), while Windows XP Media Center Edition used the altered 'Royale' theme. With the right modifications it is possible for end users to install their own themes, you can even import the Royale theme into regular Windows XP and there are a few 'Windows 7' themes too, albet without the transparency or hardware accelerated animations that are only possible with the Vista/7 engine commonly called 'Aero'.

From the screenshots all I see is that Microsoft has replaced the theme portion - changing the bitmap resources, colors and transparency settings that give Aero it's specific look and feel. The 'Aero' hardware acceleration looks to be perfectly intact.
 
cannondale06 said:
if you disable Aero on 7/Vista you will then have screen tearing on the desktop. surely that will not happen with Windows 8 though will it?
Click to expand...

Never experienced tearing in both the Developer and Consumer Previews, even with the basic display driver. I think the reason it rears its ugly head whenever you switch to 'basic' mode in Vista/7 is because a different, XP-like window manager is being used to render what you see on the screen (as opposed to DWM, the window manager used to run Aero glass and whatnot). I believe that Windows 8 employs DWM and only DWM for its window management while the older manager has either been couched for emergency purposes (e.g. Safe Mode) or stripped out completely.
 
stiltner said:
Change is good. Windows 8 change is not good.

The Win 8 Server interface has touches of this tripe in it and it makes me cry baby seal tears.
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It's good if you take the time to learn and get used to the changes.
 
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Make Kinect useful in Windows 8, and kill two birds with one stone.
 
Ruoh said:
Make Kinect useful in Windows 8, and kill two birds with one stone.
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Yeah, I don't think this will be a problem, it's not officially supported but does work with the CP though not with Metro yet but that has to be coming.
 
this is why windows 8 is going to suck in my opinion. Forcing people to purchase new things such as multitouch monitors. What a shame.
 
I actually enjoy the glassy feel to Aero. I hope they change their mind and keep it.
 
agentdomo said:
this is why windows 8 is going to suck in my opinion. Forcing people to purchase new things such as multitouch monitors. What a shame.
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Are you serious?? Touch screen monitors are not required and the experience with a standard monitor won't be any worse than it is with Windows 7...
 
ChingChang said:
Are you serious?? Touch screen monitors are not required and the experience with a standard monitor won't be any worse than it is with Windows 7...
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A lot of people however don't believe this and think that Windows 8 is huge step back fro mice and keyboards. I simply cannot come to that conclusion after having used it every day with a mouse and keyboard for 9 months now.

I think that people are just a lot more hung up on the differences and not actually using it. When you use this UI for a while with mouse and keyboard it's just not as bad as people make it out, indeed it's just far more interesting and useful that a static list of icons, even with just a mouse and keyboard.
 
Keeping my dualboot system Linux Mint 13 (Maya) and Window 7 Professional. They can keep Windows 8.
 
And I could care less about a touch screen monitor!. I use a keyboard and mouse, and sometimes a wacom tablet.
 
jedimasterk said:
And I could care less about a touch screen monitor!. I use a keyboard and mouse, and sometimes a wacom tablet.
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I use keyboards, mice, touch and wacom pens everyday with Windows 8. This is where Windows 8 shines. Form factor and input freedom.
 
Perhaps I'm being shalow, but I quite like the 'shiny' and feel the new direction MS is going in looks quite boring.
What's so bad about offering a choice? It took me a while to warm up to the new look in XP, and it'd be nice to come around (and I'm sure I will) to the new windows 8 look at my own pace, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

heatlesssun said:
A lot of people however don't believe this and think that Windows 8 is huge step back fro mice and keyboards. I simply cannot come to that conclusion after having used it every day with a mouse and keyboard for 9 months now.

I think that people are just a lot more hung up on the differences and not actually using it. When you use this UI for a while with mouse and keyboard it's just not as bad as people make it out, indeed it's just far more interesting and useful that a static list of icons, even with just a mouse and keyboard.
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It's not the great leap back some people think it is, but it is at least a slight shuffle back. There is a lot more moving from one edge of the screen to another. No big deal with a proper mouse beyond muscle memory, but it's a pain on a trackpad - closing apps particuarly.

Not that trackpads are awesome in any OS of course but 8 could use some improvement in that area, particuarly if its aimed at the mobile market, not all new windows 8 laptops will be coming with touch.

Keyboard shortcuts are one solution (and already exist) but how many novice users know them? Not sure how you'd educate them either, since a lot of people refuse to read messages.
 
Raxiel said:
t's not the great leap back some people think it is, but it is at least a slight shuffle back. There is a lot more moving from one edge of the screen to another. No big deal with a proper mouse beyond muscle memory, but it's a pain on a trackpad - closing apps particuarly.
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Not really sure if I buy the mouse movement issue. I mean really, if you're using your computer with a mouse, well it tends to move a lot period. I do agree what closing apps could be an easier gesture or close button but I imagine that's going to change a bit or there will be trackpad gestures for that with Windows 8 machines.
 
Q1DM6 said:
3mF7a.jpg
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Why did you post a photo with 2 identical pictures? :rolleyes:

I like change. I've jumped on the newest version of windows every since 95. Windows has gotten nicer and nicer with every version until now. I really like the glassy aero theme. I really HATE the ugly square look of metro. It's old, boring, and did I mention UGLY? When I first saw the windows phone os, I thought it was ugly and I bought an android phone. I'm not a google fanboy, I'm definitely not an apple fanboy (I hate all the iCrap out there), and I'm not a linux fanboy. I'm stuck with windows because I'm a gamer and all the good games are for windows.

But this win8 crap is offensive to my eyes. How can somebody honestly say it looks good? I don't give a shit if it works or not, it's UGLY.

/rant (sorry, had to vent)
 
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