The Classic Control Panel In Windows May Be Gone

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Classic Control Panel In Windows May Be Gone

Posted by timothy on Wednesday October 22, 2014 @08:44AM from the good-riddance-or-sorely-missed dept.

jones_supa writes In Windows 8, there was an arrangement of two settings applications: the Control Panel for the desktop and the PC Settings app in the Modern UI side. With Windows 10, having the two different applications has started to look even more awkward, which has been voiced loud and clear in the feedback too. Thus, the work at Microsoft to unify the settings programs has begun. The traditional Control Panel is being transformed to something temporarily called "zPC Settings" (sic), which is a Modern UI app that melts together the current two settings applications.

30 of 347 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Please Microsoft... by __aaclcg7560 · 2014-10-22 08:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

It's one thing to abuse the users with interface changes, but don't make the job for I.T. techs any harder as it it. We already got a lifetime of job security because of Windows.
1. Re:Please Microsoft... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-22 08:57 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Don't fret. This shouldn't affect your daily routine of telling people to restart their computers.
2. Re:Please Microsoft... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-22 09:30 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  But after windows 8, the users need help even to restart their machines. Who would have thought at UX meeting, that people do not find the hidden shutdown option by moving mouse cursor to magic right upper corner.
3. Re:Please Microsoft... by PRMan · 2014-10-22 09:56 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Even worse. I RDP'ed into a Server the other day and nobody, even those running Windows 8 on their laptops could figure out how to do a "log out" on the server.
  
  --
  Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
4. Re:Please Microsoft... by FSWKU · 2014-10-22 10:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Maybe I am wrong, but over the years I have noted an increasing condescendension of IT people over "mere users". I wonder why that is. Bear in mind that IT typically isn't the company's cash cow, but "overhead", making this condescension rather inappropriate imho. Even on /. there are many "users" that are no IT people: designers, programmers, etc. I wonder why the interface they are using is apparently less important than computer maintenance software, or any other user experience, for that matter.
  The "overhead" designation is precisely the reason IT people tend to hate users (at least in my experience). The end-user sees the IT person as nothing more than an electronic janitor who's sole purpose is to clean up the messes that they, the user, were too careless or too inept to prevent from happening in the first place. Thus, they don't bother to learn how to do things properly, they don't learn how to keep from getting a virus, they don't learn how to do even the simplest of things because "That's IT's job. I shouldn't have to know computers!" No, they don't have to know the ins and outs of every modern OS, but they should know how to at least keep it from obliterating everything they're working on (meaning stop clicking "OK" on every damn thing that pops up!). Then to top it all off, they behave as if security policies, best practices, etc. don't apply to them, even though management approved them as being a site-wide mandate...
  
  So in short, users see IT as "the help" and treat them as such. And much like a janitor who is constantly cleaning up after idiots who have no concern for anyone other than themselves, the IT worker learns to hate certain users because they seem to have a mission in life to make IT's job as miserable as possible.
  
  --
  "So after all this, you make my case for me. To end this stalemate, you must die..."
5. Re:Please Microsoft... by __aaclcg7560 · 2014-10-22 10:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  whoosh!
6. Re:Please Microsoft... by __aaclcg7560 · 2014-10-22 10:28 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  My job as an I.T. technician is to console hurt computers and fix broken users. I console (or remote) into computers to find out what is ailing them, which can sometimes take a substantial amount of time because no one wants to reimage their five-year-old system. As for broken users, I try to instruct them on how to take care of their computers but most users don't care about their computers.
7. Re: Please Microsoft... by jd2112 · 2014-10-22 11:34 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Try fixing them in the veterinary sense...
  
  --
  Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
8. Re:Please Microsoft... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-22 17:39 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I work at a smaller company (~150 people) and regularly chat with the janitors. They get treated like utter trash by the white-collar workers here, to the point that people will spill coffee on carpets and hardwood floor and leave it to dry, only to later get very upset over the janitors who now have even more work than normally and stains that are near-impossible to remove. It's not the job of our janitors to clean up after every little accident that people are too lazy to take care of, nor is it their job to wash the dishes or tidy up trash that people are too lazy to throw in the garbage bin, but many of my colleagues think that they can do whatever the fuck they please.
  I'd say the same goes for IT. If my computer breaks I need the help of IT, but I shouldn't assume that I can break it through negligence just because we have IT staff. If I have a service contract on my car I still need to learn how to drive it to avoid unnecessary damages, for example by learning how to change gear and not hit other cars on the road.
9. Re:Please Microsoft... by bwcbwc · 2014-10-22 23:47 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Yeah, if they reorganize the "PC Settings" into categories where we have to read the minds of the MS development team to figure out what category the applet runs under,it'll be another C-F. How many IT folks here _don't_ switch the current control panel to "Classic" view on Win Server 2003/2008 or Win7? Don't force folks into an extra layer of memorization to figure out how to get to the WIndows Services dialog, etc.
  
  --
  We are the 198 proof..
Just keep it off the servers.... by Kenja · 2014-10-22 08:47 · Score: 5, Informative

Had to maintain a Windows 2012 Server system last weekend.... dealing with the Windows 8 configuration interface on a server makes me very angry.

--

"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
1. Re:Just keep it off the servers.... by TWX · 2014-10-22 08:52 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Had to maintain a Windows newer Server system last weekend.... dealing with the Windows newer configuration interface on a server makes me very angry.
  Said every Windows admin, ever.
  
  Though all joking aside, changes should make the job easier, or more intuitive, or more cohesive. The change from the 3.1/NT3.5 interface to the Windows 95/NT4.0 interface was an improvement, but slowly fragmented as the GUI design kept changing over time (I dare not call it evolving!).
  
  It's already awkward enough having separate control panels, one for most functions, the other for "Administrative Tools - Computer Management". That needs to be addressed, along with reconciling between two separate GUIs.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
2. Re:Just keep it off the servers.... by epyT-R · 2014-10-22 09:28 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  The reason is because the old panel had everything in front of you. There was no guesswork where to go. It was either the control panel or one of the mmc snapins, with regedit as the worst case scenario. The tablet interfaces are too simplified to be of much use beyond basic settings. Their full screen nature is also irritating on a desktop.
  Hell even the changes they did in vista are clunkier than 2k/xp was. Awkward, hard to remember phrases replaced one or two word descriptions, and a lot of the options were hidden, leaving the user to guess where things are, and no, searching for everything is NOT a solution. At least it was still possible to get a compact, complete list in vista through 8.1. If they plan to remove that in 10 and replace it with some stupid touch interface, I will avoid the os.
3. Re:Just keep it off the servers.... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2014-10-22 09:32 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Prepare for the steering wheel in new cars to work in exactly the opposite way, and for the brake pedal and accelerator to be active when released rather than pressed. Surely you won't get into much trouble on the road now that I've told you about that in advance.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
4. Re:Just keep it off the servers.... by TWX · 2014-10-22 09:38 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Why is there a resource-intensive GUI on a server anyway? Is the server supposed to be able to play Solitaire or World of Warcraft? Or is the server supposed to, oh, I donno, serve files and applications to client stations?
  
  That's one thing I never understood, why Microsoft went GUI with the servers like they did, other than to know that they sold a lot of server OSes to people that had no business running servers in the first place...
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
And... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-22 08:48 · Score: 4, Insightful

It will have even less functionality than before. Because they keep trying to "simplify" things for the dumb users out there, by removing any type of "advanced" feature. Which means you will be stuck having to manually edit the Registry or gpedit or through some third party software that allow access to those now "hidden" features.
1. Re:And... by newcastlejon · 2014-10-22 09:36 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Removing control panels isn't MS's style. If past experience is anything to go by, the same ones that were in 98/NT will still be there in 10, they'll just be buried under yet another layer of new stuff. Seriously, try find network adaptor settings in 7. After you've navigated through the morass of the network and sharing centre you'll see that it's practically the self same advanced dialog that was there in 95.
  Personally, I'm not averse to change but it's well past time MS just started over again instead of tacking on useless, obfuscating fluff over the top of controls that I actually need to get use.
  
  --
  If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
2. Re:And... by sexconker · 2014-10-22 11:22 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  So that multiple programs can share the same settings system-wide. The worst thing about Linux is that every program works in a different non-standard way.
  Like putting system config in /etc and user config in $HOME, you mean?
  Like putting system config in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and user config in HKEY_USERS, you mean?
  The registry is trash, but so is a mish-mash of non-standard textfiles strewn about.
  The problem that's specific to Windows is that programs can decide to use the registry, text files, or both, and when they use text files they can be in my documents, (which is now a library with no fixed location), the program's installation folder, the system-wide application data folder, or a user-specific application data folder. When using an application data folder, you have the choice of using Local, LocalLow, or Roaming. No one in the world understands the difference between these folders or why some programs use one over another (or use multiple!).
  It wouldn't be a problem if everything was relegated to living in one of:
  A: The application's install directory
  B: A single directory (one per application) in a specific user/system directory (or both)
  C: Living in the registry (again, user/system/both as appropriate)
  But when applications can choose A, B, C, A & B, A & C, B & C, or A, B & C it's a fucking nightmare.
Non-Microsoft Items by darkain · 2014-10-22 08:51 · Score: 3, Insightful

And how exactly do they plan on dealing with Non-Microsoft items in this new settings environment? A huge part of why Windows has always won the OS wars was due to 3rd party extensibility and backwards compatibility.
This is forcing things to become non-standard, where programs are going to have to start having their own "control panels" in their own hard to find locations, rather than having a single place we all know and rely on to administer machines.
This looks familiar by ArcadeMan · 2014-10-22 08:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

As a Mac user, I find the "zPC Settings" categories quite similar to what Apple uses in OS X.
It's not about "dumbing down" features, it's about having clear categories at the first level. If Microsoft hides settings from level 2 and up, then it does become a problem.
Also, I find the look of those GUIs horrible, even more so than OS X Yosemite. Where did the latest GUI designers graduate from? Both OS X and Microsoft look more plain than twenty-five years ago, surely that can't be a coincidence. Are they preparing us to go back to monochrome displays?

--
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
1. Re:This looks familiar by ArcadeMan · 2014-10-22 09:11 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I don't recall any design from the past 50 years that looked as plain and boring as OS X Yosemite and Windows 8/10.
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
2. Re:This looks familiar by Mr_Wisenheimer · 2014-10-22 09:21 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  That's one of the most frustrating things about OSX, is that they try to make it as difficult as possible to actually make meaningful modifications to your system.
  Microsoft isn't quite as libertine as Linux's, "if you don't like our billion options, then compile your own version of KDE or Gnome," (unless you are the US government or another big contract holder with access to MS source code), but it has always been power-user and system-administrator friendly by giving straightforward tools to micro-manage system settings that were just a step or two behind the "friendly" interface.
  We'll see if that changes in Windows 10. I doubt it, but you never know.
3. Re:This looks familiar by jones_supa · 2014-10-22 09:31 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Me neither. Even the crusty-looking desktops of old UNIX workstations, such as 4DWM or CDE, begin to look professional and attractive when compared to Win10 and Yosemite.
Environment Variables by Rejemy · 2014-10-22 09:00 · Score: 5, Insightful

As long as they leave intact the ancient, tiny, unresizable Environment Variables window that hasn't been updated since it was first introduced in Windows NT, I'll be happy. Who doesn't like editing a huge path in a tiny 40 character single-line text field?
1. Re:Environment Variables by neilo_1701D · 2014-10-22 09:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  You just reminded me about that.
  I looked in my Build 9680. There, in all it's annoying pop-out glory and quite tasteful shadow (but minus any discernible windows border) is the Environmental Variables window in all it's NT 3.1 glory!
2. Re:Environment Variables by jones_supa · 2014-10-22 09:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Guys, this is a perfect opportunity to use the Windows Feedback tool.
Why a GUI? Well, back in the day.... by MasterOfGoingFaster · 2014-10-22 10:45 · Score: 4, Informative

That's one thing I never understood, why Microsoft went GUI with the servers like they did, other than to know that they sold a lot of server OSes to people that had no business running servers in the first place...
Simple. Most business people had been exposed to DOS, then moved to Windows and found it much easier to use and understand. The Novell guy comes in and tries to sell a Netware server. Yep - looks like DOS. I came in with a Windows server. Looks just like his PC. He sees File Manager, drive letters, Notepad, Paint, and suddenly he feels like this is the more advanced system, and he is far more comfortable with it.
A lot of the Netware guys around my area were extremely arrogant, and treated their customers like crap. Once they got a server installed, the customer was clueless and the vendor would abuse that. Our business model was to be open with the system and point out that we can easily be replaced, keeping us focused on their satisfaction. With NT Advanced Server (the correct name), the business owner could actually watch us and understand what we were doing with his system. We replaced a fair amount of Netware servers in those days. And you can see who won.

--
Place nail here >+
Screw this. I'm sticking with Windows 9. by mmell · 2014-10-22 11:08 · Score: 3, Funny

(N/T)
Re:Monochrome, Yes by ArcadeMan · 2014-10-22 11:20 · Score: 3, Funny

And yellow can be replaced by blinking. Hell, the speed of blinking could even be a better indicator of how much time is left before it turns "red". Epileptic people would love it.

--
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
WHY by FhnuZoag · 2014-10-23 01:16 · Score: 3, Interesting

This is a terrible idea. The point is that the 'Modern UI' is designed around full screen apps. But system configuration is one thing that enormously benefits from opening up windows alongside the control panel (for example, to follow a set of instructions), opening up multiple control panels to refer to each other, and so on. Microsoft is basically directly removing usability.