Comments on: Jakob Nielsen slams Win8

By: BobBeechey

BobBeechey — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 06:17:26 +0000

I find all this very strange. When I first used a Mac, I hated certain eccentricities in its interface but now I am used to it. What really made all types of Windows and Mac software usable were mouse hover balloon help and context menus – “if in doubt, right click”. For an interface designed for commonality across phones and tablets? These familiar clues are impossible (almost) to include. My wife was stuck when she had a pdf in her browser window on her IPad- how to save it? I told her to tap the screen and use the I-Book button that then appears. The same early stage faltering applies for the non-intuitive features of Windows 8 – if in doubt tap, failing that swipe, failing that try a corner. I have only played with Win8 for 5 minutes but had no trouble shooting back and forth between new and old interface – it seemed no more or less intuitive than first time use of IOS. It is a pity that Apple is patenting some of its tap and swipe metaphors as this will militate against useful user expectations of a phone/pad interface.

By: edtittel

edtittel — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:37:22 +0000

Indeed, I do agree with his assessment, but we are all aware that “mere usability” is not the only criterion used to evaluate — or even to adopt — operating systems. I’m committed to learning and using the Win8 environment (with the addition of usability enhancements like Start8 or Classic Shell) because it’s part of what I do for a living.
Here’s a perhaps more telling answer to a question you didn’t ask? Am I running Windows 8 on any of my production PCs. Not yet!
Best wishes,
–Ed–

By: MTidmarsh

MTidmarsh — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:28:19 +0000

As a Windows expert yourself, do you agree with Nielsen's comments about Windows 8?