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Aero Glass UI No More On Windows 8
New submitter closer2it writes with news of interface changes in Windows 8. From the article: "Microsoft has revealed that it has made some big changes to its desktop UI for Windows 8, which includes moving away from Aero Glass — the UI first introduced with Vista. According to the company, this means visual changes that include 'flattening surfaces, removing reflections, and scaling back distracting gradients.' Despite all of these changes with the interface, the company doesn't appear to be worried about the issue of 'learnability.' Instead, Microsoft believes that with a little help it won't take long for users to adapt to the new operating system."
There's an option in Windows to adjust the border width (it defaults to 4 but can be lowered all the way to 0).
Appearance -> Window Color -> Advanced appearance settings.. -> Border padding
The biggest improvement in Windows 7 (or rather Vista) is the sudo-like interface for running things that require elevated permissions. It is much better than the su-like interface in Windows XP which doesn't always work, or having to log out and log in as administrator.
I believe the point is that GUIs no longer provide an advantage. The first rule of good GUI design is that good interfaces are intuitive—i.e., learning is minimal and discoverability is maximized. There are only a few circumstances under which this rule should be broken, like a safety-critical system where mistakes and assumptions are dangerous.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
But don't take MY word for it, download the free Win 8 consumer preview yourself. Just fire up a VM and give it a spin if you don't have a spare machine to try it on
I don't have a spare machine to try it on, so I did try to test it in a VM. Turns out, it requires hardware virtualization features which I don't have in my Core Duo laptop, which has otherwise been adequate for my needs for the past several years. Which pretty much negates any chance of me buying Windows 8 for the computer I've been planning, because I can't give it a thorough test run.
Anyone know why the CP requires hardware virtualization, or is it just a quirk of VirtualBox?
I vote based on politicians' actions, unless contrary to my preconceptions. Often wrong, never uncertain. #iamthe99%