TRAIN WRECK #1

Have you tried Windows 8? Have you read about it?

I have. My response: “What were they thinking?!”

Well, I have an idea what they were thinking… They have been saying for years they want Windows everywhere –  not just on computers, but on appliances too. I suspect that while chasing that mentality, they tried to make Windows 8 fit phones, tablets, and PCs.

And it gives users fits because one size does not fit all. Windows 8 is the equivalent of a single vehicle being billed as a truck, bus, and car.

The folks in Redmond could use a reality check. Windows Phones are used for different purposes than Windows desktop PCs. A Windows desktop PC is a productivity tool. But Windows 8 thwarts many attempts at being productive, due to its focus on communication.

Windows ambassadors point out that Windows 8 has a desktop mode. Well, admittedly, desktop mode does allow some multitasking. But it comes up woefully short compared to Windows 7. Let me explain…

Want to run a second program? Well, you have to exit desktop mode and find the program shortcut hiding amongst unrelated programs on the Windows 8 program screen haystack. You then click it, and then click again to go back to desktop mode. Four trips across the screen with your mouse.  Do you want certain programs to automatically run when you log on? I wish you luck trying to figure out how to make that happen!

In fact, I wish you lots of luck trying to figure out how to accomplish many things in Windows 8…

For example, suppose you were one of those people who took Microsoft up on the limited time offer of Windows Media Center for free. Microsoft would have sent you an email spelling out six steps you need to take. However, the moment you do step 1, the remaining steps are no longer visible – including the 25 character product key you need to enter. There is simply no way to have the six steps visible on the left side of your screen while you perform them in a window on the right side of the screen. You must either resort to getting out pen and paper to write down the steps, or print them out.

There are numerous scenarios as frustrating as the example in the previous paragraph… I initially thought Microsoft must have done little user testing of Windows 8. But the more I use Windows 8, the more convinced I've become that they must have done extensive user testing. And as soon as they observed someone ascertaining how to be productive in Windows 8, they went back and modified the code. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.