back to article 'Dated and cheesy' Aero ripped from Windows 8

Microsoft must really love Windows 8, or hate its legacy install base. The Aero interface introduced with the hated Windows Vista and perpetuated with the loved Windows 7 is being canned from Windows 8, the company has revealed. In another achingly long Windows 8 blog post, Microsoft called the Aero interface it once …

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  1. Turtle

    Well you have to be fair here...

    "Using journalists as your defence while expressing a problem with the negative comments of your actual audience on the Windows 8 blog? Things must be worse than we thought."

    Everything that I have seen about Win 8 simply tells me that I am going to have to stick with XP, but really, the people most moved to used forums are people who want to complain. So the prevalence of negative comments on the Sinofsky's blog has to be taken with a little grain of salt. I would hope that Microsoft, and devs in general, have better ways of judging the opinions of their actual paying users, than *simply* and *solely* judging by the responses on official blogs. (Not that I am all that enthused about relying on journalists and bloggers either...)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well you have to be fair here...

      I hope they put blanks in the gun, or they might really shoot themselves in the foot over this.

      However, sadly it will prevail as it will come standard on all new PC's.

      I have always upgraded, but not this time, I hate the look of a mobile phone on a PC.

      I shall wait for windows 9 which will, no doubt, put things right.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow, I think you noticed it...

    "Using journalists as your defence while expressing a problem with the negative comments of your actual audience on the Windows 8 blog? Things must be worse than we thought."

    My thoughts exactly. Is this not what happened with the Mass Effect Game? But that's ok, as MS can patch Windows with an extended ending too. :D

    (Anon, because it's only an opinion, the OS could end up good after all...)

    1. James O'Brien
      Thumb Down

      Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

      Lets see here:

      Windows 95 sucked

      Windows 98 was decent

      Windows ME sucked

      Windows XP good

      Windows Vista was the second coming of ME

      Windows 7 good

      Windows 8 I predict will suck worse than the other failures combined.

      And yes I know that there is more than good or bad with each of those OS but this list was to be general at best.

      Thumbs down for Microsoft on this one. They need to find something that people don't want to kill then for and nurture it instead of piss off their customer base. As a pc gamer the choice for me is ovbious but the time is going to come where an alternative is as good or better. Mark my words.

      1. Christian Berger

        If you want some sort of consistency with Windows

        Go to the server versions. From a desktop point of view you have everything you need, without all the crappy stuff in the "consumer" versions, like simplified access right dialogues which allow you to lock yourself out of your data.

        Just face it, Windows is legacy software, Microsoft won't make something affordable to replace Windows 2000 or XP. What they want to do now is consumer stuff.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: If you want some sort of consistency with Windows

          Except the makers conspire with MSFT to stop you

          Server will only run signed drivers and the HW makers only supply 'server' drivers for their 'server' HW - that's why the same PC from DELL costs 2x as much on the server page

          1. Tim Bates

            Re: If you want some sort of consistency with Windows

            What hardware is hard to get going under Windows Server? I've connected all sorts of weird stuff to Windows 2003 R2 and 2008 R2 servers without issue - including some obscure USB anti-piracy dongles and at least 2 Nvidia Geforce cards.

      2. Lee Taylor
        Windows

        Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

        havre to slightly disagree with that list

        Windows 95 pretty good

        Windows 98 buggy unstable mess

        Windows 98R2 was Decent

        Windows ME sucked

        Windows XP good

        Windows Vista was the second coming of ME

        Windows 7 good

        Windows 8 I predict will suck worse than the other failures combined.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

          I too disagree with that revised list

          Windows 95 Buggy

          Windows 95 OSR2+ not bad

          Windows 98 buggy unstable mess

          Windows 98se was Better

          Windows ME sucked

          Windows XP Buggy insecure mess

          Windows Xp SP2+ Good

          Windows Vista Good, but too demanding

          Windows Vista Sp2, Good and Not that different to Win 7 but to late to the game

          Windows 7 good

          Windows 8..... Im not going to comment because I think you should just use it for a few weeks are see for yourself, Love it or Hate it, I don't care but do yourself a favour and try the bloody thing yourself and don't just assume or take other peoples words for the whole truth

          So anyhow, this tick tock nature of Windows, good bad, that people seem to dream up is somewhat "rose tinted" with a couple of exceptions almost all Windows Major versions have been "fixed" and turned in to decent Operating systems after a service pack or two. Windows XP people was not good by a long shot to start with

          We also seem to have forgotten 2000, and Windows 3.11 Both of which are good, which doesn't fit with the tick tock. Of course there is some irony with 3.11 given hat we are essentially moving back to that style of UIin Win 8 but, its worth pointing out that people of the time were in uproar about the Win 95 UI, saying its slow and inefficient.

        2. Keep Refrigerated
          Linux

          Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

          Here's my experience:

          Windows 95 pretty good

          Windows 98 buggy unstable mess

          Windows 98R2 was Decent

          Windows ME sucked

          Windows XP good

          Windows Vista...

          Ubuntu 6.04

          OpenSUSE

          Fedora

          Ubuntu

          Linux Mint

          etc...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

            im not sure what you mean by those lists of Linux Distros, with out version info I assume That's your experience and your trying to be funny about ditching MS and moving to Linux after Vista? So since Vista was released, you've changed your OS at least 6 times?

            give than Vista is what.. 5 an a half years old? and lets also assume that you actually tried out the OS for a while before binning it, means you have changed your OS once every few months. The really funny thing is that XP was like that, after a year it tended to grind to a halt oh the good old days ;) I upgraded my Vista PC to 7, vista in turn hadn't been reinstalled since 2008, so essentially ive not clean reinstalled for over 4 years and yet you feel the need to reinstall every few months a new distro…

            Curious, but I cant say your selling the idea of Linux very well though.

            apologies if I got you all wrong, but your list makes no sense.

          2. NogginTheNog
            Go

            Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

            Actually:

            Windows 98 SE ok, but Windows NT 4.0 much better.

            Windows ME pile of poo, Windows 2000 much much better.

        3. Joey

          Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

          I was at the UK launch of Windows 95 way back then. It was gratifying to hear the Microsoft presented say how bad Windows 3.11 was and how much better '95 was. So, that is their sales strategy. Tell the punters what a load of c**p they are using and promise them something, err, different!

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Facepalm

        Re: Wow, I think you noticed it...

        My colleagues are working on a suboxone/methadone treatment for win-doze recidivists.

  3. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Everything is supposed to look grey, flat and boring instead now?

    This is part of the problem with Windows. It's can't simply evolve gradually, Microsoft have to keep knocking it down and rebuilding it all the time. Have they not learned from Facebook that a good number of people don't like drastic change?

    1. Norphy

      If we're still using Facebook as an example, that probably means that people will bitch and moan for half an hour then actually notice that yes, the extra functionality that's been introduced in the new UI is actually quite good and then just get on with it.

      Not to say that this'll happen with W8 but stranger things have happened.

      1. Piro Silver badge

        That would require..

        The presence of said functionality.

        I don't think Windows 8 has any.

    2. Vector
      Childcatcher

      You know, reading these comments and having seen a thumbnail preview of the "new" look, it seems Microsoft is going back to the future since Win 8 looks like Win 3.1 without the window borders.

      1. AZComicGeek

        except that with Win 3.1 you could actually get to the programs you wanted with a few simple clicks, and not have to do away with the main interface to find anything. Aero is dated and cheesy, lets go back to big color blocks instead.

  4. Thought About IT
    Thumb Down

    Tail wagging dog

    I don't care whet they do with Aero, as long as I can run my desktop apps without having to find the right pixels at the bottom left of the display to start them!

  5. LinkOfHyrule
    Paris Hilton

    "dated and cheesy"

    This is why I love MS - they just can't help but embarrass themselves time after time after time. Ohh Microsoft what are you like!

    Paris as she also seems to get off on public humiliation!

    1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
      Paris Hilton

      Re: "dated and cheesy"

      Embarrassment? The only embarrassing thing I see is a tacit admission that Aero Glass, Windoze 7, and the "Ribbon" interface are just MickSoft pricking around with the interface, making changes for the sake of change.

      Paris, also attracted to bright shiny new things.

  6. David Webb

    Win 7

    I'll be sticking with Windows 7, I just don't want to have to get used to the way Windows 8 works, it feels overly complicated, having to go through a billion windows just to add a user (who needs a windows live account) is a pita. Can see it being good for touch screen though but touch screen for a desktop isn't exactly an upgrade over a mouse.

    Gnome Locker on Youtube though seems to detest Win 8 on tablets, got his father using it and his old man was all "yeah, if it's the same price as an iPad I'll go Windows on a tablet" so he led with questions where the only answer would be "oh, I'd go iPad". So, if a tablet comes with Windows 8 and is the same as or cheaper than an iPad, get it.

    1. h4rm0ny

      Re: Win 7

      "Can see it being good for touch screen though but touch screen for a desktop isn't exactly an upgrade over a mouse."

      I was having this conversation with a colleague and made more or less the exact same point as the above. I said that I thought it was absolutely great on a tablet, but that for a desktop, whilst it wasn't exactly a disaster, was definitely a bit of a downturn.

      They replied that the future was tablets and that desktops were on their way out. And I suddenly realized they might be right. In business use, people still want a monitor and keyboard. But outside of developers, most users would probably be happy just having Metro launch their "apps". They're not power-users. For leisure, browsing, etc. people are increasingly just wanting something they can lie on the sofa with and surf or ping friends or whatever. For which a tablet is better. There are a dozen scenarios where a proper desktop is better than a tablet. But they only add up to a smaller fraction of the total times a computer is used compared to when people are just surfing, doing v. light email and whatever. I was sure Metro was a real mistake. Now, I'm starting to wonder if MS have actually just skipped forward and taken things to their logical conclusion.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. dogged
          Meh

          Re: Win 7

          @AC -

          Your response indicates you think developers are too stupid to use a launcher.

          Actually, most responses in this thread seem to be "I am too stupid to use a launcher".

          And requiring business software means using the launcher to launch the business software. It's not rocket science, unless you're absolutely retarded.

          I can't believe how many people commenting on the Reg forums consider themselves to be stupid and incompetent.

  7. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Linux

    Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

    Please?

    1. Bill Neal
      Linux

      Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

      Have you seen Gnome3? They just tried the same "Radical" "Innovative" & "belongs-on-a-damn-tablet" changes we see in Win8. I hate it just as much as Balmer's Metrosexual CP. I hope people have some choice other than what the Metro Consumer Preview looks like. At least with 'nix you have MANY choices for appearance.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

      Kde3 TO kde4 - cough sputter, cough sputter... Gnome2 to Gnome3, cough, sputter, bleah... where did the vomit bucket go.

      Windows is actually late to the "let's through decades of productivity research out of the window and make everything Tablet/Phone-like" party.

      KDE and Gnome tried to get there first. KDE is also the worst of the two by far because it tries to retain some backwards compatible look while replacing old UI concepts with "Activities" and other similar iPhonesque/Androidesque abominations in their APIs.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

        At least with KDE you can spend ten or fifteen minutes turning it back into something nicer. With Unity, I was pretty much stumped as to what I could do to improve it.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. FrankAlphaXII

          Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

          With KDE on Fedora its pretty stripped down straight off the USB Drive, cant speak to how it is on any of the other distros, but you dont even really need the 15 minutes trying to make it not look like some kind of mutated android-satan spawn.

          In regard to unity, I think the only thing that can save it is a mercy killing. And Canonical seems to behave like Microsoft, if people hate it, they spend time, money and development resources on fixing it instead of making something right the first time.

          In regard to Windows, whoever said buying the server versions seems to have it dead on, though from what I understand they're taking the GUI out of Server in the next version, which isnt the end of the world, but it will slow many many users, technicians and admins down, and honestly Id rather train to be more proficient in Bash than have to get pissed off that the Windows Shell doesn't do the same things.

          1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
            Pint

            Unity? Gnome 3? KDE4? Metro/WinRT?

            Cinnamon. Problem solved.

            For Debian base: http://linuxmint.com/

            For RedHat base: http://linuxfordummies.org/installing-the-cinnamon-desktop-environment-in-fedora-16/

            (Please also contribute to the Fedora bug here https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=771252 to help push the Fedora maintainers to include Cinnamon as a first class desktop environment in FC17!)

      2. TeeCee Gold badge
        Thumb Down

        Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

        Er, nothing wrong with KDE4 now.

        When it first came out though........OMFG.

      3. bean520
        FAIL

        Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

        I don't know where you get your information on KDE from but it is seriously misinformed

        KDE defaults with a traditional-Windows feel with a slightly Mac-ish aesthetic, aand a lot better than that sounds. Unlike either of them two (or Gnome 3/Unity for that matter), KDE is infinitely customisable. That's where the whole Activities\Widget thing comes into it. Activities gives you a way to predefine what is displayed on the desktop (alongside desktop icons, you can get KDE to display other useful items too)

        Put simply, Activities is not about redefining the desktop by any stretch, but allowing the end user to do so for their own needs if the traditional desktop doesn't work so well for them. The whole thing is about choice. Something Win8 won't give us

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Can we get Gnome and KDE to do three-point-turns, too, now?

      Fluxbox.

      *waves*

  8. johnnytruant

    Er

    wasn't highly rendered glass and graphically complex textures cheesy and dated when Aero was launched?

    has it ever been anything other?

  9. Version 1.0 Silver badge
    WTF?

    Dated and Cheesy

    Nope - it was that when it was released ... seriously - does anyone think that metro is going to make inroads into the main commercial installed base?

    The UI is getting to be really stupid for many applications - I was watching the teller at my bank entering a deposit last week ... keyboard, mouse, keyboard, mouse, keyboard, mouse, cashdraw, mouse, keyboard, mouse .... print receipt ... duh!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not necessarily the UI

      Are you sure it wasn't just because the teller didn't know to use the tab key and shortcuts?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Dated and Cheesy

      * cash DRAWER

  10. Stig2k
    FAIL

    This is not a title

    I went from being a die hard Amiga fan to a die hard windows fan and wouldn't have anything to do with the hated and mysterious Linux.

    Then I installed the Win8 developer preview on a spare laptop. What the f*** are they thinking? I stuck with it for a few weeks but it was utter garbage. And this was a touch screen laptop too. Now (thankfully) I've seen the last of it and, though I never thought I'd ever say it, I have Linux Mint running on the lap top.

    When Win8 is out and is the only option on new machines I'm pretty sure there will be an awful lot more people switching to a familiar windows based interface too.

    1. Bill Neal
      Unhappy

      Re: This is not a title

      Balmer is probably going to try anything he can to make people turn to Mac for business applications instead of overpriced children's toys. Hasn't the company lost enough followers? When will he leave?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Paul 135
        Linux

        It's not bullshit, rather will be the mainstream pattern

        My own usage pattern would be similar, except I was an Atari ST fan and never the evil Amiga! :P

        After >20 years of loyal Windows usage, Windows 8 is a sign that I no longer trust Microsoft in terms of competency and judgement. I am now making plans to switch all my PCs to a KDE-based Linux distro as the main OS, possibly OpenSUSE.

        KDE 4.8 >> than Windows 7 too.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. The Baron
            Happy

            Re: It's not bullshit, rather will be the mainstream pattern

            > I've been platform-agnostic for years now

            You assert not only that you don't know what platform you're running on, but that ultimately it's not even possible to know? Fair enough, but you do then go on to refute your own assertion using several counter-examples...

      2. Stig2k

        Re: This is not a title

        "I call bullshit"

        You can call whatever you like, doesn't stop it being 100% true. The laptop is a touch screen acer that I picked up ex display. The win8 developer preview was highly anticipated specifically because of the touch screen capabilities of the laptop. A week after I began using it, the compulsary Metro interface was pretty much impossible to navigate. I had office, visual studio, numerous IDE's and the CS suite installed, along with lots of other tools. every single Metro panel was identical. A typical installation that might result in a folder containing 5 or 6 easily identifiable icons in the old windows start menu will result in another half screen of virtually identical plain coloured metro panels. I haven't 'run off' to anything. I have a spare laptop that I couldn't wait to get the Win8 preview off so thought I'd try Linux. I'm baffled by the complexity of Linux for the most part but since every other machine I have is running Win7 I think it'll be nice to stick with Linux on the laptop for now and see how it goes.

        My point was that when Vista came out there was a huge number of people who decided to 'upgrade' their new computers to WinXP. This time I think things will be far worse for MS. Non-technical users who have become accustomed to the look of Win7 will be more open to the idea of switching to Linux than ever before.

  11. Dr. Mouse

    Microsoft: Please U-turn!

    I was at a recent tech expo and a bloke from MS previewed a load of their up-comming technologies. For a start, I was very surprised that they worked, and worked well, even though they were all in preview state.

    Beyond that, I thought they were great ideas, even though they had all been done before (in other OS's etc), with one exception: Metro. It is great on a "slate" or anything with a touch interface. Using it with a mouse feels clunky and awkward, a bit like using Windows without a mouse attached. I could see the benefit of a single interface accross all their consumer platforms (phone, "slate" and PC), but this is not the way to do it.

    I for one will be giving Win8 a miss till touch screen monitors for PCs come down to a reasonable price (and I've tried it out to make sure it's not too awkward).

    1. MCROnline

      Re: Microsoft: Please U-turn!

      Even if they are cheaper than a normal monitor are you really going to be comfortable keep moving your hands from the keyboard/mouse to the screen every few minutes... and if you are okay with this, do you think this is an example of really good computer interface design?

      1. The BigYin

        Re: Microsoft: Please U-turn!

        Not at all. Basic ergonomics relating to the prevention of eye-strain gives a rather amusing rule-of-thumb; have the monitor beyond arm's reach.

        How the heck does one use a fangly-dangly touch interface on a fangly-dangly touch monitor in that case?

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