Microsoft to drop "Metro" name for Windows 8

[HarryT]

Touch screens don't really have the idea of a "right click". There's normally a "tap and hold" operation, which is kind of similar. Drag and drop is just that - tap it and, without letting go, drag it.

[Kumabjorn]

Doesn't a long tap then turn into a right click?

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

That's the *earliest* that even the most aggressive adopters can do the job right. Three years to move? Very likely. Five? That's pushing it for big companies but small ones that just migrated to Win7 may still be there in 5 years.
None of that will stop Windows 8 from selling 350 million copies or so in the first year.

BTW, here's another ZDNet article. This one is on why MS is dropping the start menu. Hint: it's to foster use of the Windows Key on your keyboard.
http://www.zdnet.com/why-windows-8-m...ey-7000000338/

Turns out Win8 is *very* keyboard friendly:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/santhoshonli...shortcuts.aspx
So far I see nothing to gripe about. I *like* keyboard shortcuts.

We made a Win7 image available early this year and have been rolling out Win7 clients for most of the year. Really no big deal. XP goes away when the last machines come off lease -- which just happens to be three years.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Retraining is a huge issue, and cost sink, for corporations so I don't really blame them.

I know this is the biggest issue I had when we "upgraded" to Office 2007 and my recent switch from XP to Windows 7.

I suspect they really are more intuitive and user friendly to the average computer newbie.

But I have so many OS's already floating around in my head! I learned on DOS, went to Win 3.1. Loved Windows 95, even more so Windows 98. I know how to function on my XP and just get things done. I no longer want to read through a 4-inch thick computer manual to re-learn what I've already had to relearn a half-dozen times over the years (when I factor in Windows CE and Windows Mobile 2003 on my still-used PDA; Android whatever on my current phone; Linux on a thumb-drive to play with on my netbook; and the old Mac 128 I first learned to use a GUI on!)

Plus, it seems to me that all this focus on image-based OS's means dumber and dumber users, in general. People have no clue how things really work. I know there are a lot of users who don't/didn't in ALL the various OS's I learned in as well....)

[teh603]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Plus, it seems to me that all this focus on image-based OS's means dumber and dumber users, in general. People have no clue how things really work. I know there are a lot of users who don't/didn't in ALL the various OS's I learned in as well....)

Have you thought that MS might be wanting less educated users?

Course the whole corporate sector has gone like that; businesses now only want specialists instead of generalists, so it isn't exactly surprising that MS would be trying to keep users more and more in the dark about what goes on inside their computers. Their business model actually seems to require it, because a more educated user would be more aware of the gaping security holes in any MS product and choose something better.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by teh603

Have you thought that MS might be wanting less educated users?

Interesting thought.
Might explain why they're going after iPad users.

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's also very touchscreen friendly, which not even its biggest fans could say of the "Start" menu. And, like them or loath them, touchscreens are where the future lies.

Touch screens are part of the future. Yet they won't be used much outside of tablets, phones, and kiosks.

Think of it this way: we've had touch based input for about 30 years, and similar input devices for about 60 years (e.g. light pens). Yet it didn't catch on outside of a limited range of devices. A big part of the reason is posture. It is difficult to hold your hand up to the screen for extended periods of time. Of course that doesn't matter for a lot of mobile devices, which is why touch is catching on now (we can finally build light weight devices with reasonable screen sizes). But office computers will be stuck with keyboards and rodents for a fairly long time to come.

[Antoinekamel]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Yeap. We have there in france too.

And "métro" also define the paris trains.

"Metrô" is the name of underground trains in Brazil.

We have the Metro news here in Brazil too.

Yes, we have bananas.

[rkw]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

Are we in danger of running out of names? All the good ones are already taken, especially if they begin with "I". I guess this is why Android releases have such "unique" names.

But Apple invented "i" didn't they?

Those code names are all horrible, once upon a time they were in-house only, dropped once the RTM final release was made in favor of the original OS name plus version number to preserve the brand as well as help keep consumers less confused.

I've long suspected the move to preserving these code names upon release is an attempt to keep shelf stock from appearing stale and outdated. These code names are worthy of being ranked up there with EULA's and cell plan contracts.

[Kumabjorn]

When I was young, my grandmother told me how she had to walk through the forrest for 4 miles to go to school, come storm, rain or sleet. I'm probably going to tell my grandchildren that I had to use a command line to copy files on my computer. "No sweety, we had to do a XCOPY C:/data/*.txt A:/ \V, not put our index finger on an icon".

[twobob]

Nails. Coffins. "Goodbye," Long-Term Friend-we-love-to-hate bastardised brainchild of a billionaire boffin; "Hello," Johhny-come-lately Windows Idiocracy Edition driven by focus groups and seemingly misguided sheep.

Banana Corp and Bony Inc. have done well, what can we do???

Let's just ditch all of our uniqueness and do what everyone else has already done!!!
Can you spell "marketing?" or even "late?" never mind...

'There's a tile for that' ™

For my part I shan't be be now bothering to take the relevant MS admin exams for this new 'thing'. I don't see the corporate value. I can kick myself in ten years (or maybe just feel smug about being able to run my own damn code on my own damn processor, meh).

[Cyberman tM]

[edit]Obviously I don't like the idea of Metro on PC. And I certainly don't like anyone (MS or otherwise) telling me how to use the PC and what I have to do, as if I'm not able to chose for myself. I should stop reading about it and simply ignore it, it gets me boiling all the time...[/edit]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Touch screens don't really have the idea of a "right click".

Which is the main reasons why they should stay away from desktop PCs where people might want to work.

There's normally a "tap and hold" operation, which is kind of similar.

And takes about thrice the time a simple right-click would do.

If MS ever takes away the right-click, I'm going to write my own Linux UI. Which is going to take a while because I have absolute no experience in Linux programming. But it's probably still less painful than having to do workounds like "tap and wait"...

[fjtorres]

Yup.
No more talk of Metro(poitan) design language or GUI.
The new name?
Windows 8.
http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-dont-...-8-7000002392/

Why confuse things, right?

More importantly:
At least one OEM is onboard with their first Win8 Tablet. Surface or no Surface.
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/ta...kpad-tablet-2/

[QuantumIguana]

Calling a product the Metro makes me think of the Geo Metro.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Calling a product the Metro makes me think of the Geo Metro.

In fairness, the product never was called "Metro". It was the name given to the new user interface, just as the Windows 7 UI was called "Aero". As I said earlier in the thread, these things always have development code-names; sometimes they live into the final product (as "Aero" did); sometimes they're dropped before the product was released (as "Chicago" - the code-name for Windows 95, was).