More Eye Candy Coming To Windows 10

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More Eye Candy Coming To Windows 10

Posted by timothy on Monday October 20, 2014 @09:47AM from the sincere-flattery dept.

jones_supa writes Microsoft is expected to release a new build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview in the very near future, according to their own words. The only build so far to be released to the public is 9841 but the next iteration will likely be in the 9860 class of releases. With this new build, Microsoft has polished up the animations that give the OS a more comprehensive feel. When you open a new window, it flies out on to the screen from the icon and when you minimize it, it collapses back in to the icon on the taskbar. It is a slick animation and if you have used OS X, it is similar to the one used to collapse windows back in to the dock. Bah.

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how pretty by CheshireDragon · 2014-10-20 09:49 · Score: 5, Interesting

I couldn't care less about how pretty it looks...I want it to WORK PROPERLY.
Linux back in the day looked like hell, but it worked.

--
"That's right...I said it."
1. Re:how pretty by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 09:53 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Linux back in the day looked like hell, but it worked.
  No it didn't, sound and graphics were a pain in the ass to get working!
2. Re:how pretty by pooh666 · 2014-10-20 09:53 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Indeed. I turn off all animations they waste time and resources. How about making it super easy for me not to have to do searches for files all of the time? More intelligent awareness of what I did last time when I opened a file from one folder vs another. LESS visual BS that just looks pretty but leaves me entirely confused as to how to do my work. FRICKN OFFICE MENUS MUST DIE.
3. Re:how pretty by DocHoncho · 2014-10-20 09:55 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  As long as you can still turn them off. Just one more thing to add to the post-install de-crapification checklist.
  
  --
  Celebrity worship is a poor substitute for Deity worship and costs more to boot.
4. Re:how pretty by Hognoxious · 2014-10-20 09:57 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Controls that you can actually see before you activate them.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
5. Re:how pretty by Mr_Wisenheimer · 2014-10-20 10:00 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Well, scientists for one. It might explain why so many of them have switched to OSX as their *NIX of choice. I remember a lot of Linux desktop managers struggled with doing basic things like properly rendering Mathematica and allowing it to accelerate graphics with open GL whereas on OSX and Windows, it just "worked" pretty much 99.9% of the time.
  Linux itself (the actual kernel) is very stable, maybe even more stable than the base Windows NT kernel. But as a desktop operating system? There's a reason why most people shell out good money for OSX or Windows, and it is not just because they look pretty (which many Linux desktops do these days as well).
6. Re:how pretty by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 10:12 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Well, I am a researcher, work with Mathematica, Acegen, C++11, OpenGL, Qt, some Fortran 2003, CEI Ensight and ParaView. I am slashdotting in my Mac but do all work in Linux. Basically, I use the Mac to read and write emails and to listen to music. All serious work is done in Linux.
  Actually, after OSX 10.9, most classical software like Xfig, Lyx, Gnuplot, etc became brittle, slow or simply stopped working.
  It is difficult to keep a straight face and state that OSX is stable. Xcode crashes all the time, Qt software crashes all the time, visualization software works much better on Linux. Keynote is ok though, but that's about it.
  What you are referring to is perhaps the 2006-2009 period.
7. Re:how pretty by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 10:25 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  There's also a reason that so many of the actual scientists I know come rushing back to Linux after playing around in MacOSX or Windows for a while. It's just not as good at SCIENCE. It wastes CPU and RAM for starters. And if you need a graph of 3d animation or other visualization, Linux can now do that just fine these days, much less annoyingly than it was even a few years ago. If you need to do serious work, it doesn't waste the system's resources as much, and it doesn't distract you into playing around instead of getting work done. It is also still more compatible with Unix-ish software without as much pain of setting it all up because OSX is so comparatively annoying to set up for software developer (I say this as a primarily-Mac dev who likes OSX, but let's be realistic now).
8. Re:how pretty by exomondo · 2014-10-20 10:26 · Score: 2
  
  I am talking about the system functionality. What the hell requires sound or serious graphics on a daily basis in Linux?
  Most things that people do with their computers, you know like web browsing, watching video, listening to music and then of course professionals want to do things like audio, video and photo editing/production, architectural, factory and product design/engineering/simulation/visualization.
  
  Of course, an admin only needs command line ;)
  And most people don't get a computer just to administer it.
9. Re:how pretty by Tablizer · 2014-10-20 11:32 · Score: 2
  
  Linux back in the day looked like hell, but it worked.
  Now it's reversed
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
10. Re:how pretty by arth1 · 2014-10-20 13:57 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Ah. Mystery meat navigation. Got to love it.
  The real killers with Windows 8 and 10, though, are
  1: Edge detection. Edge detection only works well on single monitors. It really doesn't work at all if you run a VM in a window.
  2: Apps that automatically go full screen, and many of which don't even have a windowed mode. That's a huge productivity killer, and source of errors. It kills drag/drop, but even worse, you can't have source and references visible at the same time, nor copy/paste between multiple windows.
  3; No activate without auto-raise. Which now is auto-raise-and-zoom. Why won't you let me type in or paste into a window that isn't on top? It makes no sense. Do people really like to bring an entire IM session to the foreground, and, depending on the program, obscuring everything else, just to type in "ok"?
  4: Inconsistent menus and windows, self-organizing depending on use. It's a support nightmare when you can't tell someone how to do something, because the menus and windows are going to be different on each user's machine. You have to shoulder-surf people to support them.
  5: Dumbing down DPI support. In W7 and to a smaller extent W8, you can set the DPI correctly and control the physical (as opposed to pixel) size of what you display. in W10, scaling changes on you as you try to work. it doesn't matter if you actually want a 10 dpi font to be, you know, 10 dpi in size. No, what matters now is how to scale a random amount to fit a full-screen window with huge unused borders, and your own settings be damned.
  It's like they have looked at Gnome 3 and iPads, and taken all the worst "features", making an unparalleled productivity killer.
  Eye candy doesn't make up for that. Sorry.
  Aero was at least semi-useful, as you can see other windows through the borders. But W8/W10? It's looks for the sake of looks. And bad looks at that.
11. Re:how pretty by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 14:35 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  1: Edge detection. Edge detection only works well on single monitors. It really doesn't work at all if you run a VM in a window.
  It works fine on multiple monitors as you have that couple of pixels at the top to "catch" the mouse as you move between displays. It also works in VM windows if you do manual mouse capture, obviously it isn't going to work if you do automatic mouse capture.
  
  2: Apps that automatically go full screen, and many of which don't even have a windowed mode. That's a huge productivity killer, and source of errors. It kills drag/drop, but even worse, you can't have source and references visible at the same time, nor copy/paste between multiple windows.
  In Windows 10 they can all be run in windowed mode.
  
  3; No activate without auto-raise. Which now is auto-raise-and-zoom. Why won't you let me type in or paste into a window that isn't on top? It makes no sense. Do people really like to bring an entire IM session to the foreground, and, depending on the program, obscuring everything else, just to type in "ok"?
  It's there, and it's simple to configure it. Most people don't want that as default behavior.
  
  4: Inconsistent menus and windows, self-organizing depending on use. It's a support nightmare when you can't tell someone how to do something, because the menus and windows are going to be different on each user's machine. You have to shoulder-surf people to support them.
  Yes we should eliminate customization so everything is the same on every system because allowing people to customize their system is too confusing for "support" to understand ... heaven forbid they use this thing we've had for years called "remote desktop".
  Standard modern geek mentality "if it doesn't work the way i like it out of the box it's crap, i shouldn't have to do scary things like change settings to make it work the way i want, that's too hard".
12. Re:how pretty by cyn1c77 · 2014-10-20 18:13 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  "It is difficult to keep a straight face and state that OSX is stable. Xcode crashes all the time, Qt software crashes all the time, visualization software works much better on Linux."
  I play with the same tools - and I experience no instability like this on OS X. Xeon and Core Ix series hardware.
  Agreed. Same here.
  If you are having serious instability issues, you have something wrong locally with your machine.
  Especially if it is crashing with that "classical" software.
13. Re:how pretty by jcupitt65 · 2014-10-20 20:14 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I'm a working scientist. I have a Mac at home for playing, but work is all Linux. OS X has a very slow filesystem, no working package manager (or rather it has at least four, none of which are much good) and only runs on relatively expensive hardware. Good luck building a compute cluster from imacs. Windows is even worse, of course.
I want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 09:52 · Score: 2

wobbly windows. Where ARE my wobbly windows??
1. Re:I want by Tteddo · 2014-10-20 10:38 · Score: 2
  
  KDE has that. Also the rotating cube.
Will Microsoft ever learn? by whizbang77045 · 2014-10-20 09:54 · Score: 2, Interesting

I wonder when Microsoft will learn that a lot of us would rather use our CPU and GPU cycles for something other than eye candy? While computers can be used for fun purposes, we shouldn't all be left with the feel that what we have is little more than a technotoy.
1. Re:Will Microsoft ever learn? by Dutch+Gun · 2014-10-20 11:45 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  My computer has had CPU and GPU cycles to burn for the past decade, and while my machines are typically reasonably powered, they're not exactly considered monsters either. For all the complaints I hear about wasting cycles, I have yet to see OS-level effects or window animations seriously slow down my computer in any measurable way, even on specialized workstations I optimize for performance, like my digital audio workstation.
  Animation actually has a real purpose in terms of UI design. For instance, an animation between a window in it's normal state and the minimized state is not just aesthetically pleasing, but helps the user to mentally connect those windowed positions, making it less likely for people to be momentarily confused about where their window disappeared to. Moreover, people generally like eye candy, and they like to be able to customize their system. It simply serves to make people more comfortable with the OS environment, but I'd argue that's actually important of any tech product intended for the masses as well.
  Adding animations or some virtual gloss doesn't devalue an operating system and turn it into a tech toy, nor does making a product boring and dull enhance it's functionality in any way.
  
  --
  Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
2. Re:Will Microsoft ever learn? by JDG1980 · 2014-10-20 11:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I wonder when Microsoft will learn that a lot of us would rather use our CPU and GPU cycles for something other than eye candy? While computers can be used for fun purposes, we shouldn't all be left with the feel that what we have is little more than a technotoy.
  Windows has always offered the option to turn off animations. (System Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Performance gives a bunch of checkboxes for this on both Win7 and Win10.) Flip it around: why shouldn't those of us with good mid-range or high-end desktops be able to use a small portion of our CPU and GPU power to make things look nicer? Why should we be hamstrung to what the crappiest tablet with a half-dead battery can handle?
3. Re:Will Microsoft ever learn? by Jake+Dodgie · 2014-10-20 13:39 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  This, This, this, I liked Aero, I had a PC that could run it, I like buttons that look like buttons that click whan you push em and have a bit o shiney hi-light.
  I like translucent effects and stuff showing through.
  Who really likes flat blah square windows with little indication as th who has focus and whats on top.
  
  --
  Drunkeness is an electron free version of virtual reality.
4. Re:Will Microsoft ever learn? by KozmoStevnNaut · 2014-10-20 21:19 · Score: 2
  
  I have some of the animations in KDE 4 enabled, stuff like opening/closing windows, minimizing/maximizing, switching desktops and the like. I also have them set to "fast" rather than "normal". The animation is still clearly visible, but it's quick enough that they don't get in the way. Nothing at all like that horrible Crazy Compiz video linked in the summary.
  Animations are perfectly OK, as long as they don't get in the way of actually using the system.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
form over function? by dAzED1 · 2014-10-20 09:57 · Score: 4, Interesting

Given the type of IT consulting I do, I have to stay comfortable with Windows - I've been trying out Win10 on my fairly new high-end gaming laptop, installed on a SDD, and have been amazed at how often a seemingly menial task can lag - or even hang up the entire UI. For instance, I started up IE a bit ago - while using a blank default/home page - and it froze up the entire desktop for a few seconds (even briefly sputtering the audio of a movie I had playing in another window). Seems to me like they have more to work on than animations - maybe they should focus on usability for a bit first.
1. Re:form over function? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 10:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  To be fair, this is a Technical Preview, and I wouldn't be surprised if these are "checked" debug builds, which are always going to be slower than a highly optimized build.
  Captcha: OVERFLOW
2. Re:form over function? by ljw1004 · 2014-10-20 12:03 · Score: 2
  
  Seems to me like they have more to work on than animations - maybe they should focus on usability for a bit first.
  You think they should focus first on the things where the desired user experience is well understood, so leaving the unknowns and exploratory experiments to be done much closer to ship time?
3. Re:form over function? by ILongForDarkness · 2014-10-20 13:37 · Score: 2
  
  Not saying there isn't work to do but I think betas/previews are debug builds with a lot of optimizations turned off. There is a minimum bar on all features I think before people start saying you don't look cool/add features etc. It is a constant battle as a developer pushing for a balance between new shinny and performance/maintenance.
The flat thing needs to go away by ErichTheRed · 2014-10-20 09:59 · Score: 4, Insightful

I know, I know, Apple did it so it must be cool right? I really want the ability for people to change themes as they see fit come back. If you are on a low spec phone, tablet or PC, or just don't like effects, you should be able to turn them off. But if you want more effects, you should have the option. You could easily turn off the Aero Glass effect in Windows 7 and either stay with the less-transparent Windows 7 GUI or even go all the way back to Windows Classic. Why can't we have that option again?
1. Re:The flat thing needs to go away by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 10:34 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  This would add more work for Microsoft. Microsoft has been struggling with ever increasing monitor resolutions, i.e. the HighDPI issues that todays display cause. They have designed the Modern UI to be mostly resolution independent, whereas their own software sometimes broke with the "make text larger" solutions they had employed since XP.
  There new UI for the desktop is designed to scale better, but they would need to redo all the assets and possibly reprogram the old code that makes up those old UI choices, which would almost certainly cause compatibility issues with older software.
  Now, I give Microsoft some credit for being able to run software written for Windows 98, but seriously, sometimes they need to let go. One of the major sources of program bloat in Windows is from its compatibility layers. We went from an OS that could be striped down to a 500MB install with Windows XP to the very next version needing 15GB with Vista. And it hasn't gone down since, even when they put Windows 8 on a 32GB SSD in the SurfaceRT.
  This is what I say needs to be fixed. Have a compatibility layer that is optional for users to install, but don't put it in by default. They already have an equivalent with .Net. Windows 8 comes with .Net 4, but the user can install a compatibility layer for .net3.5 for older software. It is even downloaded from the Windows Update service, so it takes up little space unless needed.
  OS X had Classic and Rosetta that did similar things, allowing running OS 9 and earlier code or PPC code respectively. After the first few versions, both had to be installed explicitly by the user, thus was not taking up space or holding back newer OS features and newer Programs. Both were discontinued after a few generations of hardware that decreased the burden on Apple to produce better OS/Programs without as much concern for backwards compatibility.
  And no, I don't care that you want to run your Windows 95 games in Windows 2020, Windows has the advantage of being one of the two most widely virtulizable OSes in production, so download Virtualbox and have fun.
Re:Fucking hell by Luckyo · 2014-10-20 10:13 · Score: 2

I think the default animation time in windows 7 menus is 200ms. Or at least that's what ClassicShell claims it to be in advanced mode that lets you adjust the timing.
If they actually push animation time as far as you suggest, I think that would just become another reason why people will stick to 7. OS needs to be functional first and foremost. That's why 8 failed, vastly impaired desktop desktop functionality. Too pronounced/delayed animations would likely fall in the same category.
Aero? by SeaFox · 2014-10-20 10:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

Can we have our transparency back?
Re:Ridiculous by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-20 10:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

Dude, 'grok' has been around since 1961. Where the fuck have you been? It's over half a century old. Additionally, it's pretty damn standard amongst folks with half a brain.
Still more work to be done by JDG1980 · 2014-10-20 10:42 · Score: 2

This is a good start (assuming you can turn these animations off if you don't like them). Hopefully they'll bring back Aero Glass-style transparency soon.
There are also a lot more substantive flaws that need to be addressed. The Start menu (which is Win10's big selling point!) doesn't currently do DPI scaling properly. It's disappointing enough to see this flaw with third-party software, but for a core part of the OS, it's inexcusable. And there is still no way to remove the obtrusive Search and Task View icons from the taskbar. (Both of these issues have hundreds of votes on Feedback; hopefully they will be addressed.)
There are also a bunch of smaller annoyances – unlike in Win7, I can't get the useless "Homegroup" option to disappear from the left panel of File Explorer, even if I leave all homegroups completely. They also shove OneDrive down your throat. And if I rename "This PC" back to "My Computer", it displays under my preferred name in most places, but not in the tile half of the Start menu – it appears fine in the left-hand list portion, but the tile always says "This PC" no matter what it has been renamed to.
There are some encouraging signs, but this is definitely an alpha-class release in my experience. Glad I installed it in a VM.
Helpful to newbies by Tablizer · 2014-10-20 11:38 · Score: 4, Insightful

If done right, such animations can be helpful to newbies, showing the relationship between the icon and the newly opened window (versus say a randomly popping message or spam). But after a while such "training wheels" get annoying and slow you down.

--
Table-ized A.I.
1. Re:Helpful to newbies by exomondo · 2014-10-20 11:58 · Score: 2
  
  But after a while such "training wheels" get annoying and slow you down.
  At which point you turn them off.
Re:There's a reason... by chihowa · 2014-10-20 11:41 · Score: 4, Insightful

If you're visualizing large or dynamic datasets, a hardware accelerated animation adds all sorts of value. Not everyone can produce meaningful conclusions from screenfuls of cascading text.

--
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
Sigh by ledow · 2014-10-20 21:47 · Score: 2

Because what I want in an enterprise-class operating system, what I desire more than anything else, what I cannot live without, what my users are crying out for, what I will pay good money just to have... ... is more shit jumping out at me on the screen for no good reason.
Gimme WinFS and we'll talk. Gimme complete application isolation and I'll think about it. Otherwise, honestly, you're just papering over the cracks.