The return is a compromise but not the general trend

Computer store news: Microsoft Windows 8 user experience director officially confirmed and the user's long-lost start button will return to the Windows 8.1 operating system, can be said to officially end the long-term start button for half a year Go and stay in dispute. At the same time, it also reveals Microsoft's emphasis on user opinions, but this is not too optimistic, because the end of a dispute marks the beginning of a new dispute —— the start button in Windows 8.1 will only be used for switching To the Metro interface, without the features of previous versions.

Having said that, I am reminded of a historical record recorded in Mr. Gu Cheng’s "Nan Ming History" recently. The content is that during the early years of the late Qing Dynasty, Dolce led the Qing Dynasty to ride the city and ordered the people. The event of cutting the dice. This move was met with the unanimous resistance of the Central Plains bureaucrats and the civilian class. In a complaint, Dolce had to take back his life and appease the people to call the scorpion to identify the needs of Li Zicheng’s Dashun army. So, you have to keep your nephew or cut your throat, whatever you want, how to love it.

This historical fact may be a bit far from our topic today, but the similarity is that two things are also unfortunately terminated in an objection, but what is the result of the previous one? Presumably everyone is no stranger to Qing history, that is, all the people of the Qing Dynasty have all shaved their haircuts. Then, back to the original topic, the return of the button in Win8.1 is like suspending the policy of cutting the scorpion, or just temporary compromise and appeasement, does not represent the final trend. In the Windows operating system, the start button does not play a decisive role.

The question is why are there so many people biting the start button? Really because there is no start button and start menu, it can't be used? The answer is no, the start button dispute is just a microcosm of the user's incompatibility with the different user experiences of Windows 8 and previous versions. In other words, when the user criticizes the start button is missing, it actually expresses dissatisfaction with the need to increase the learning cost for the Win8 user experience. But this dissatisfaction does not mean that there is no possibility of resolution, time can eliminate all doubts. You may think this is nonsense, but the fact is that no one will use the touch screen by nature, and it is not so much that Apple has brought people from the era of physical button phones into the era of touch. How strong is it after a long time of use? People have long been accustomed to the new touch experience. Windows 8 is just an innovation of the existing touch experience, incorporating more new touch gestures and ideas. Previously, many people said that they used PC for many years. After the Windows 8 era, they completely lost their way, not to mention the older users. But the fact is that many children who have not yet gone to school can play the new operating system. Smooth and smooth, so use this to prove that the Windows 8 user experience is untenable because of common sense. It can only be said that you have developed a touch of thinking and are unwilling to accept new design concepts.

Going back to the trend we talked about earlier, the Windows 8.1 Start button is determined to return, but it does not represent the final direction. First of all, Microsoft has been preparing for touch in the Windows 7 era. The rapid development of mobile Internet has reduced the cost of touch-screen devices. This has become the best time for Microsoft to promote the touch concept from the Windows 8 era. In the era of touch, will the button be the mainstream? Obviously not. Or we can say that the button is the compromise product of the physical button to the touch era. Users who are accustomed to the button are not confused and confused because of the button in the touch era, but it is a very low-level touch. Level, because the button occupies a large amount of screen space, not only can not maximize the effectiveness of the small screen size, but also affect the accuracy and accuracy of the touch, and even affect the visual designer and interaction designer Play horizontally. On the other hand, look at the excellent mobile application products in recent years. How much is it because of the buttons? How many of them are stars because of touch, this ratio does not seem to be too much, the latest iOS app "Knowledge Daily" can be regarded as a typical, this application has been maximized to reduce the proportion of buttons. And the transition to touch gestures gradually, the purpose is very simple, since it is a touch screen, it is natural to play the advantage of touch, abuse of the button is not the best solution.

How does Windows 8 implement touch? The answer is also very clear, in addition to the most prominent Metro interface, which is a variety of interactive gestures, including sliding the screen to the left to call the Charm Bar, dragging down to close the current application, dragging the outgoing application menu, etc. These are Microsoft After a long period of cultivation, I entered what I wanted to express in the Windows 8 era. Not to mention the user's needs is the first, then if this, Google pushes Chrome OS, Apple's Mac OS X is not against the sky, because these products and the Windows operating system experience is completely different, but why some people use it, and will Does anyone feel good? Are these products starting from the user? Don't think about yourself as important. Although companies will take care of users' ideas when they push new products, care is what they mean. That's it. In the end, more of these products should be the core of the company. Appeals and design concepts, you, users, do not play a decisive role in this.

Microsoft is promoting the dynamic tile based on touch optimization in Windows 8, and introduced the design philosophy of “Glance to Go”. The implication is that “look at it, the next step is to go Do, & rdquo;, this kind of concept to do at a glance is finally achieved by means of buttons? Impossible, because the button like the start menu does not play a decisive role in the design philosophy of Glance to Go, because touch gesture interaction is the most direct solution, it does not require absolute positioning such as buttons, it can pass Click to implement, you can also use gestures to complete, and the button is fixed in one position, you have to do a task, you have to move the cursor or put your finger on a specific button. This old thinking is indeed more clear in logic, but if it is important to irreplaceable, why bother to implement touch products?

So, the button represented by the start menu is just a product of compromise. Touch is an inevitable trend. Maybe in Windows X, the start button will be completely removed, maybe it will It has been coexisting with the Windows operating system for a long time, but its importance is no longer obvious. Microsoft's current attitude is very clear. It only provides the function of switching to the Metro interface, and there is nothing else.