Control the Win8 metro interface with the mouse

Computer store news: PCWorld website author Ian · Ian Paul published an article recently, introducing himself to a notebook without a touch screen control function, giving up the traditional Windows desktop, completely adopting the new Metro interface of Windows8 Personal experience. Paul said that this modern user interface is easy to get started, and the operation after the habit is not difficult to imagine; but due to the lack of office applications in the Windows store, there are many difficulties in working. In addition, the design of this interface also has some inconvenient places.

Paul concludes that this modern UI is very efficient, even with a mouse. And non-touch screen operation. However, users need to rely more on web applications in social, office, communication, and video.

The following is the full text of the article:

Can the modern user interface of Windows 8 (hereinafter referred to as UI) replace the traditional desktop? Since Microsoft introduced Win8 last October, everyone is asking this question.

So far, people generally think that the answer is no. Critics point out that there aren't many modern applications in the Windows store, and the full-screen display of the application's modern style is not conducive to PC-style multitasking. In addition, they said the control panel is still on the desktop!

Is this the case?

Despite a lot of complaints, no one can answer such a basic question: Despite these limitations, can you imagine spending all your time on modern UIs when you completely turn off your desktop?

Although it was a desktop operation control, I decided to answer the above question before Windows Blue came out. The enhancements to Windows Blue depend entirely on the modern UI, which means that Microsoft wants to “start” the screen, not the desktop, to be the future of Windows.

With these considerations in mind, I completely shut down the desktop in the past week and lived a purely “modern” life. This kind of UI is just an extension of my normal life. I use a Lenovo X220 laptop that is still trustworthy. There is no touch screen, only an external mouse and a built-in keyboard.

Getting started: Unexpectedly simple

After my exile, the first accident was that no touch screen didn't become a burden.

Before I started my experiment, switching apps or using the Snap feature was always cumbersome, and I had to always think about navigation instructions. Starting the system menu from a hidden corner requires great patience: when the pointer is swiped up, if it is too far left or right, the selection bar will disappear and I have to come again. This makes me very annoyed, so I often choose the Alt-Tab shortcut on the keyboard to switch applications.

But after a day of dedicated use, I was able to use the modern UI skillfully, and the thoughts when I opened the app bar disappeared, and the inaccurate mouse travel no longer existed. I can switch apps as fast as desktop, even faster.

For modern UI experiences without a touch screen, keyboard shortcuts are very important, especially if the Windows key can be returned to the "Start" screen, and the Windows-C key can open the Charms column. Even with very skilled mouse-handling skills, opening the Charms bar and clicking the "Start” button will be very slow.

You can also adapt to full-screen applications in a short time. Of course, at the beginning, there is no Windows taskbar and desktop that feels limited, but it also allows you to concentrate on using an application. In my opinion, there is no difference in switching windows between the desktop and the modern UI, but modern applications require more scrolling because of the lack of space.

Multi-screen stubborn users may disagree with me, but for more common multitasking users, they can use the Windows 8 Snap split-screen display feature.

Putting it to work: Unexpected difficulties

The first important obstacle is finding a tool for work. I need three simple applications: text editing tools, spreadsheet programs, and pure photo editing tools.

Windows has more than 50,000 apps, but almost no useful office apps. There are plenty of apps in the store that provide the so-called “uninterrupted” writing environment, but it's almost useless. There are also some Markdown editing tools, but I need a word processing software that can add links to the text without the need for HTML tags.

After a few hours of fruitless search, I gave up looking for effective text editing tools and spreadsheet programs. The only acceptable application is TabularApp, which lets you create your own tables and even export them as Excel files. Unfortunately, it can't import Excel files, which kills its purpose.

The lack of effective office applications in the Windows store clearly threatens Microsoft Office applications. In fact, many office application developers have revealed that if you are a small Windows 8 application developer, the last thing you want to do is to compete with the world's most popular office applications, especially the developers of this application. Control the platform you need to participate in.

Unfortunately, Microsoft does not offer a modern version of the Office suite. The Windows RT system comes with a desktop version of the Office software, but the Windows 8 system does not come with any Office software. Therefore, there is no reliable text or spreadsheet program in the Windows Store. The only way is the desktop or web application. I use Google Docs.

Finding a photo editing tool is much easier. All I need is a tool that can take screenshots, and the $2.5 Clever Photo is worth the money.

Peripheral Applications

For anyone who wants to use a modern UI for a long time, it's important to choose the right browser. Of course, choosing the right operating system is also important, but modern UI browsers are either based on a touch screen or a traditional PC browser. The choice of interface has a lot to do with your device and input method.

If you don't have a touch screen, the modern version of IE10 is very frustrating. Full-screen browsing mode forces users to have to click the right button frequently to open a tag or address bar. For the mouse user, the modern version of the Google (microblogging) Chrome browser outperforms IE because its interface is very successful in mimicking the desktop version. In addition, the Chrome browser extension extends to modern interfaces.

The Windows 8 version of the Twitter app that recently entered the Windows Store has made the user's Weibo willing to be satisfied, but Facebook has not yet launched the official Windows 8 app. Therefore, I have to log in to the web version of Facebook, but the Windows Store still has some Facebook apps.

The social features of the People app are the same. The Windows 8 schedule and email app is also good, just a little monotonous and simple. The calendar app is not comparable to the Google Calendar app and does not have some features of the Microsoft Outlook.com calendar. The email app does not support POP3 accounts. If possible, try to use Internet services, because the communication applications in the Windows store are just like office applications, and the options are very small.

The office is said enough, how can it be done without music.

Spotify is my favorite music software in desktop mode, but since Spotify didn't launch a modern UI version, I started looking for a replacement. Many of the most popular streaming music services have not yet entered the Windows Store, but the Xbox Music service that comes with Windows 8 (a $10 per month can also enjoy an ad-free version) meets the requirements, and it offers on-demand delivery of millions of songs. With intelligent DJ function, you can play all the music related to a certain singer.

There is no YouTube app, you can only log in to the web version.

Inconvenience: Unexpectedly

An important part of the operating system experience is the ease of use. Unfortunately, after a week of use, I found that Windows 8 has some inconveniences in some details.

Many modern UI controls are hidden under the right mouse button, as some UI experts point out, which makes the learning curve extremely steep. For example, when I first started using the Windows Store, I didn't know that I could right click to see the link back to the home page. Even after I know this, I can't help but constantly click on the back button of the website page to continually return to the previous page.

Snap split screen display is quite good, but its screen can only be limited to 75-25 scale, 50-50 proportional allocation is more conducive to multitasking. It is reported that Windows Blue will add this feature, but so far, there are a lot of inconveniences in this aspect, because many applications lose navigation function on the screen panel that is too small.

Windows 8 also has a long way to go in terms of overall system compatibility. For example, when I want to add some Android APK files to the SkyDrive network disk, I click the upload button of the app and navigate to the “Download” folder where the file is located. But there are a lot of things in my download folder, and finding these APK files can be cumbersome.

Initially I wanted to search, but after clicking the search button on the Charms sidebar, Windows brought me back to the file selection dialog and then back to SkyDrive, which of course my files are not here.

Later I wanted to search through the “start” screen, hoping to import the file into the SkyDrive network disk. This method does not work either. Finally, I had to scroll through the download folder to find the APK file I wanted. This is not a big problem, but it will waste some time and bring some inconvenience, because the user may have to repeat this process many times in a day.

Can you adapt to the Metro environment?

After running for a week in the modern UI, I can say exactly that you can survive without a traditional desktop. In fact, once used, modern UIs are very efficient, even with mouse and non-touch screens.

But this modern life is not easy. Currently, the Windows Store doesn't support every application you work all day, which means you need to rely more on web applications: in social networking, basic office, communications, video, and more.

There is another question: Is it really different to use a cheaper modern UI with a network-centric approach? This may be the issue we should discuss on the day.