Comments on: Is the Windows UI Important?

By: State of the Taskforce - istartedsomething

State of the Taskforce - istartedsomething — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:23:59 +0000

[...] a number of requests to deploy the same website/application for other Microsoft softwares and even Mac OSX. All of which are under consideration, but I might need some extra [...]

By: Shay

Shay — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:01:20 +0000

I really want to keep Vista installed on my new laptop. I have switched to Windows XP Professional with SP2 a while back, but I have switched back to Vista Home Premium. I prefer to keep Vista because of the Windows Sidebar (better than Google Sidebar for example), the UI/Aero theme (isn’t perfect on WindowBlinds), the new features, and of course SECURITY! I keep wanting to switch to XP again for some gaming problems, but still I might need DirectX 10.

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:58:46 +0000

I’m a bit ashamed to be posting on this since I have never taken the leap to Vista as XP does the trick at the moment, but my past experiences have been similar with various os and apps. The developers might listen to the feedback that they initially asked for but the changes don’t actually come out fully fixed until the next version of the os/app and by that time they have added more stuff the counteracts the good they have done by fixing the initial bugs. This is an area that will always be plagued with bugs and users that are never 100% happy, that’s the nature of the beast. It will be a cold day in hell when the vendors release and os that is met with 100% approval from all its users.

By: wowpeople!

wowpeople! — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:18:54 +0000

Why does this guy always brag and rave about how ms should have listened to him. I bet ms is like “who the hell is this chris pirillo dude and why the hell do we care about him?”. He’s not exactly the biggest name in the tech industry or anything. Yeah, he may have some good points but why does he have to act like he is gods gift to ms like holly crap.

By: nev

nev — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:23:32 +0000

…it’s all about $$$. That’s why they are already “claiming” about windows 7. They know vista is a screwup… But as long as they make users “think” they are getting something better it will sell. THAT”S ALL IT MATTERS.

BTW.. IF they ever read any of the forums about windows they don’t even need a their own feedback. Obviously it never includes the people that know how to make post on the Internet and complain about the issues in the first place.

BTW..M$ is using Longs as a marketing tactic. If you ever used Vista… it does NOT take 2 YEARS to realize how annoying it’s UI is?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 05:32:18 +0000

Yes, UI is very important! Vista has a horrible UI (IMO)

Some of my rules for UI are:
-Never use black or other [very] dark colors (Unless the theme of the UI is darkness)
-Don’t make it too flashy, but make it still look nice. (Like Leopard)
-Never make anything complicated or exceedingly small.
——
Darn! It seems like Vista breaks all of my rules :(
——
You should get Ponzi to use Leopard. There is no reason why she shouldn’t try it :)
——
Also, Vista’s “Aero” interface is pushing it on the complicated, flashy, hideous, CPU GPU and memory hogging side. Keeeep it simple, nice, and not so darn distracting! Take Leopard for example. I’d say Leopard is filled with eye candy, but it’s not distracting or complicated.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:11:33 +0000

The UI is extremely important, and it is the little things that make the difference between a great UI and an annoying one. Stability, usability and looks are important, but Windows developers seem to forgot the importance of consistency, especially between different tools, and programs. With that said, I switched to Mac a few months back, this being one of the reasons.

By: Alup

Alup — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:07:16 +0000

i like xp’s gui better for production but i like the look of vista i agree with ponsi though it makes me feel inferior as i am soo used to windows xp and vista is really changed up

By: Backlin

Backlin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:44:12 +0000

It seems to be unanimous, there are some good and bad things about Vista. I, personally, like the utilities and the Aero User Interface (except for the fact that the fonts are off, apparently). But the inconsistencies between XP and Vista that were supposed to help people work faster actually hindered my personal performance, like the way the Start Menu is rearranged. I’ve been going to that “Programs” element in the Start Menu since the days of Windows 95, and now that they changed it, in my mind, I have to think, “Oh yeah, this is right here now.” Not good as Chris mentioned. Also, another thing I had to get used to was the absence of the Run Command. I spent minutes searching for the Run Command before remembering “Oh yeah, I have to type my command in the search bar”. I never would’ve dreamed about typing a command into a search bar. Another poor design element of Vista.

By: Ookami

Ookami — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:42:16 +0000

For me, I do rather like the new features with Vista. Although I am not a fan of how it came out and it is far from perfect. But it is very dependent on the computer, and if it works out just fine, than great.

I am still a fan of XP and will be one for some time. I do realize at one point I will be moving to Vista, and hopefully there will be enough tools and things added that it will work just fine.

By: Commodore256

Commodore256 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:38:28 +0000

I don’t care what a GUI looks like, just as long it’s. stable (knowing Microsoft, they don’t care about stability)

By: Lucas

Lucas — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:32:10 +0000

Chris, you’re a cool guy. Personally I do think all the little things in vista make it special.

By: alex228

alex228 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:32:02 +0000

yea yea

By: compman77

compman77 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:13:23 +0000

Hey chris, I just wanted to say that your videos are awesome and I learned a lot by watching this video. I wanted to know if there is any way to convince my dad to allow me to get a mac. He says that Windows is the way to go but I want to expand my knowledge of both operating systems please help.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:36:36 +0000

That’s why I like Gnome in Ubuntu. The programmers who make things for Gnome actually FOLLOW the UI guidelines. Microsoft often doesn’t even follow their own guidelines. It’s sad really. I feel sorry for Windows users. Being subjected to that kind of disregard for their desires is something people shouldn’t have to deal with these days.

Also I like that I can talk to the people who develop Ubuntu and Gnome. Whenever I talk to a Microsoft support person, I feel like I know more about their product than they do.

The only real UI consistency problem I have is with Wine, but I only use that to run a couple Windows programs I couldn’t live without. (Including some I wrote.) And it’s only inconsistent because I’m too lazy to install a Gnome theme for it.