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UI Expert Says Windows 9 Will Be Windows 8 Done Right

By - Source: Jakob Nielsen | B 112 comments

Jakob Nielsen, famous UI expert, has examined and concluded that the Windows 8 interface is "weak" on tablets and "terrible" for PCs.

In his opinion, the operating system interface is "a monster that terrorizes poor office workers and strangles their productivity." However, on a positive note, he stated that "there's nothing that a modest redesign can't fix".

Nielsen's analysis is based on a usability report he conducted with both inexperienced and experienced users that were confronted with Windows 8 for the first time and had to complete specific tasks. Much of his criticism is based on the notion that Microsoft went to an extreme approach to adapt a touch UI that we love to use on smartphones, but may not be such a great idea on a larger PC screen. "The new look sacrifices usability on the altar of looking different than traditional GUIs," Nielsen wrote.

From the post:

"Windows" no longer supports multiple windows on the screen. Win8 does have an option to temporarily show a second area in a small part of the screen, but none of our test users were able to make this work. Also, the main UI restricts users to a single window, so the product ought to be renamed "Microsoft Window. When users can't view several windows simultaneously, they must keep information from one window in short-term memory while they activate another window. This is problematic for two reasons. First, human short-term memory is notoriously weak, and second, the very task of having to manipulate a window—instead of simply glancing at one that's already open—further taxes the user's cognitive resources."

The designer also took issue with the fact that Microsoft chose a path to a flat surface and clickable icons are more difficult to identify, the fact that charms are integrated in an "out of sight, out of mind", which causes people to forget that they exist:

"In practice, the charms work poorly — at least for new users. The old saying, out of sight, out of mind, turned out to be accurate. Because the charms are hidden, our users often forgot to summon them, even when they needed them. Hiding commands and other GUI chrome makes sense on small mobile phones. It makes less sense on bigger tablet screens. And it makes no sense at all on huge PC screens."

According to Nielsen, touch gestures could also use another thought or two:

"The UI is littered with swipe ambiguity, where similar (or identical) gestures have different outcomes depending on subtle details in how they're activated or executed. For example, start swiping from the right to the left and you will either scroll the screen horizontally or reveal the charm bar, depending on exactly where your finger first touched the screen. This was very confusing to the users in our study."

To improve Windows, Nielsen suggested to revise application guidelines to promote a more restrained use of Live Tiles, consider higher information density, better visibility of key features, "and many other usability guidelines we've already discovered in testing other tablets."


 

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Top Comments
  • 36 Hide
    mikenygmail , November 26, 2012 12:09 PM
    "the main UI restricts users to a single window, so the product ought to be renamed "Microsoft Window."
    lol @ "Microsft Window" HAHAHAHAHA!

    So, no desktop and only 1 Window? Could it be any worse?
  • 36 Hide
    kellybean , November 26, 2012 12:05 PM
    Agree, someone who isn't a MS fanboy or bribed speaks the truth about 8.
  • 32 Hide
    omnimodis78 , November 26, 2012 12:10 PM
    Shinobi_IIIThe guy must be retarded, just click the application and run it on the desktop.

    Yes, you're right, he's "retarded"....but thankfully we have more qualified expertise, such as yours! I know you took the time to read his entire report (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html) and so you are in a good position to call others "retarded" and dismiss his findings. Of course, you also realize that he used real people as test subjects - so he was simply analyzing and reporting on their experiences. But, who cares, because apparently we can just click the application and run it on the desktop...
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    Display all 112 comments.
  • 36 Hide
    kellybean , November 26, 2012 12:05 PM
    Agree, someone who isn't a MS fanboy or bribed speaks the truth about 8.
  • 36 Hide
    mikenygmail , November 26, 2012 12:09 PM
    "the main UI restricts users to a single window, so the product ought to be renamed "Microsoft Window."
    lol @ "Microsft Window" HAHAHAHAHA!

    So, no desktop and only 1 Window? Could it be any worse?
  • 32 Hide
    omnimodis78 , November 26, 2012 12:10 PM
    Shinobi_IIIThe guy must be retarded, just click the application and run it on the desktop.

    Yes, you're right, he's "retarded"....but thankfully we have more qualified expertise, such as yours! I know you took the time to read his entire report (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html) and so you are in a good position to call others "retarded" and dismiss his findings. Of course, you also realize that he used real people as test subjects - so he was simply analyzing and reporting on their experiences. But, who cares, because apparently we can just click the application and run it on the desktop...
  • 23 Hide
    mikenygmail , November 26, 2012 12:17 PM
    Forget Windows 9, Windows 7 SE would be Windows 8 done right.
  • 5 Hide
    deadlockedworld , November 26, 2012 12:21 PM
    Seems logical and very basic/expected. MS has a cycle of introduce, improve, introduce, improve.
  • 28 Hide
    LORD_ORION , November 26, 2012 12:23 PM
    "so the product ought to be renamed "Microsoft Window""

    That made my day...

    Bwhahaha

    I am sure they have learned their lesson and windows 9 will "get it right".
  • 25 Hide
    boyabunda , November 26, 2012 12:39 PM
    Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
    Windows 95 (1995) - Mixed bag, at the beginning it sucked
    Windows 98 (1998) - Good
    Windows ME (2000) - Sucked (hard)
    Windows XP (2001) - Good
    Windows Vista (2006) - Sucked although not as hard as ME
    Windows 7 (2009) - Very good
    Windows 8 (2012) - Not good
    Windows 9 (2015?) - ?
  • 11 Hide
    Anonymous , November 26, 2012 12:49 PM
    Wow... A LOT of windows 8 fan boys on this site, I'm shocked. How many of you guys are payed by M$ to promote Windows (failure) 8, I wonder.

    Anyways, Tried both per-releases of Winblows 8, and all I can say is "It's absolutely horrible, unusable, not user friendly, and is a mess". I've been in the IT world for many years, my first computer I started on was a Xerox Star, and I've never seen such a POS as Windows 8. It. Just. SUCKS!

    I'll be sticking with XP for non-direct X 10/11 needs and Windows 7 when I need to play direct X 10/11 games.

    I seriously hope M$ learns from this colossal mistake.
  • 24 Hide
    bucknutty , November 26, 2012 12:54 PM
    I have been using windows 8 since the first consumer preview as my main OS on my work laptop. Its been about a year now and I still don't like it. I use a lot of key board shortcuts which makes it alot more usable but all and all its not as easy to use as Windows XP or 7. I acually find confusing ubuntu easier to use then win 8 for basic tasks like spread sheets and e-mail.

    I hope Windows 8 Service pack 1 adds the win7 style aero glass UI as an option. Having the ability to turn that on and run that along with the windwos 8 start screen, tiles and charms would be the best of both worlds. The windows 8 control panel, resource manager, and task manager are huge improvments, however no one even knows they are there.
  • 14 Hide
    mt2e , November 26, 2012 1:09 PM
    Microsoft is notorious for hiring people to crowd-surf and post positive MS stuff....its blatant are factually incorrect information they spout and they talk like idiots (prolly because their postings per hour are huge). They do this because there is such a slant againt them the only thing they can do is fight back via the comments sections on tech sites hoping that they spout enough garbage that somebody will believe them. Slashdot gets them all the time. They always say things that are out of touch as if the electronic doggie door at Microsoft turned green and they were allowed contact with the real world.
  • 5 Hide
    FunSurfer , November 26, 2012 1:09 PM
    One Windows 9 + DX12 for me, please
  • 13 Hide
    cookoy , November 26, 2012 1:41 PM
    I have no problem getting a tablet with win8. I kind of enjoy playing with win8 on a tablet. But i will definitely hold back using win8 on a desktop with much larger screen or a laptop without a touch screen. Each of us has our own preferences.
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