back to article Microsoft's Neon project to redesign Windows for nerd goggles – reports

Microsoft is allegedly revising its Windows 10 design language to embrace the brave new world of virtual reality viewed through techno-spectacles. Having first annoyed desktop PC users by forcing them to use a phone UI (Windows 8), and then annoyed phone users by forcing them to use a desktop UI (Windows 10 Mobile), perhaps …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They don't learn, do they?

    Microsoft: As hip, as happening, as current as any dancing dad. And like a dancing dad with a few drinks inside him, they just can't see it.

    Maybe they should hire Honey G as their brand ambassador?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: They don't learn, do they?

      Maybe they should hire Honey G as their brand ambassador?

      Who?

    2. Garfunkle

      Re: They don't learn, do they?

      Spot on!

      Microsoft's problem is that they let too senior executives decide too much when it comes to selecting new trends and technologies for the company to go for.

      They should let younger people within the company play a larger part in staking out the company's future, I think.

      Your comparison is apt, because the senior executives, like dads, will try to be hip. And they may think that "they still got it", even when it's obvious that they don't.

      There has been a few senior executives who still "had it", even at old age. I think Steve Jobs was one of them. But, generally, an executive's ability to "feel the pulse" of the technology world will sort of wane as he gets older. As a company, Microsoft should realize this, and be more wary of letting too senior board members be too key in deciding which new trends or technologies to go for. They should acknowledge that it's mostly a young persons game, even if it's not always the case.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's almost if Microsoft does it, it fails. I hope something comes from it to help VR, but this is still wearable tech, which rose and fell almost overnight. I'm not so certain Microsoft products have a longer longevity.

    VR without wearables is what we want, someone get on that.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      VR without wearables is what we want, someone get on that.

      Errrm, isn't that just, well, errrrr, reality?

      Or simply fantasy. They can be very pleasant. I recently had an all day meeting with my attractive opposite-sex boss. And whilst my mouth spouted the requisite corporate bullshit all day, in my mind things were different and much more steamy, all with no consequences, no downsides, no difficulty at home, and indeed no fall out at work. :)

  3. Captain DaFt

    Coming Next Christmas! (2030-2050-ish)

    If MS GUI twits were to design a construction toy, I get the feeling it'd involve a mix of oddly shaped Lego blocks, construction paper, erector set girders, Lincoln logs, and Tinkertoy sticks, packed with a blob of Bluetack and a roll of Duck tape, and call it Optimus Prime!*

    And they'd hail it as, "The only toy for all your needs!"

    *No scissors or tape for the paper, no nuts and bolts for the erector set parts, and no hubs for the tinker toy sticks unless you bought the "Factory production model" on a $10,000 a year (per family member) license.

  4. Ugotta B. Kiddingme
    Coffee/keyboard

    By Jove! I think he's got it!

    "Having first annoyed desktop PC users by forcing them to use a phone UI (Windows 8), and then annoyed phone users by forcing them to use a desktop UI (Windows 10 Mobile), perhaps Microsoft’s cunning new plan is to annoy everyone at once, instead."

    1. YARR
      Stop

      Not an "annoyed phone user"

      ... but the UI of Windows 10 Mobile is almost identical to Windows Phone 8.1.

      Has anyone who's criticising it actually used it?

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        Re: "Has anyone who's criticising it actually used it?"

        Because you have to go and shovel shit before being able to decide whether or not you like shoveling shit ?

        Since when ?

      2. RyokuMas
        Facepalm

        Re: Not an "annoyed phone user"

        "Has anyone who's criticising it actually used it?"

        Since when has anyone actually needed to use anything from Microsoft in order to criticise it?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The problem will be avoiding it

    Until now you could skip shitty Windows versions, like ME, Vista and 8, and go for the good enough ones like XP, 7 and 10* [*eventually, once 7 is no longer supported, 10 will have to be considered "good enough"]

    But Microsoft seems to be abandoning doing "versions" and instead going with a rolling upgrade scheme. Will it be possible to avoid whatever August update fucks up the Windows 10 GUI trying to cater to a few thousand pathetic fad followers who will use Windows via VR? Or would you have to set Windows to ignore ALL updates to avoid getting that?

    Microsoft pissed off people before, but at least it was possible to stay on a supported/updated older version and wait for them to come to their senses. That may no longer be possible.

    Maybe 2021 finally WILL be the year of the Linux desktop - after Windows 7 support ends in 2020 and people find Windows 10 saddled with phone/tablet crap, VR crap and whatever shiny object they chase after that. Assuming some distro could finally get things together enough that it can be easily installed/used by an average user, without hand holding from a Reg level friend/relative.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The problem will be avoiding it

      *eventually, once 7 is no longer supported, 10 will have to be considered "good enough"

      As a reluctant 10 user, I have to say that's rubbish. 10 isn't good enough in either absolute or relative terms. Sadly there's some really good technical bits to it, some people should be proud of their work. But the W10 UI and indeed UX remain the work of multiple lunatics, and that will never be good enough, whether alternatives exist or not.

      Only a UX fundamentalist can sort this out, and the last one I can thing of is sadly deceased.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Facebook Flat Web Design.

    A rewrite of Flat Design History to big up MIcrosoft...

    Flat Web Design was first used by Facebook, from which others followed. Facebook didn't follow Microsoft. Microsoft + others followed Facebook's design cues. i.e. Facebook set the trend.

    1. Len Goddard

      Re: Facebook Flat Web Design.

      I don't really care who was responsible for Flat Design. I just hate it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Facebook Flat Web Design.

        Flat design, used properly, works well on small screens. It's an utter failure on the average PC monitor. But I believe that flat static monochromatic ads should be made mandatory...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Facebook Flat Web Design.

      I find it difficult to believe that anyone is looking to take credit for that particular abomination.

  7. Sebastian A

    I'm almost certain that any VR or AR developed by Microsoft will be stealth-patched to include advertising on any available space. They've demonstrated with Windows 10 that they have zero respect for privacy so there's no chance in hell I'd ever let them augment *my* reality thankyouverymuch.

    1. Captain DaFt

      "I'm almost certain that any VR or AR developed by Microsoft will be stealth-patched to include advertising on any available space."

      You mean like this?

      Yeah, The future's really looking rosy, ain't it?

  8. a_yank_lurker

    Point?

    Other than keeping PR flacks busy, has anyone thought of the use cases for VR? I can see some games and certain types of designs possibly benefitting but for most uses nothing. Also, the history of 3D whatever has been littered with failures partly because it is aggravating to use (special glasses).

    1. Sven Coenye
      Coat

      Re: Point?

      Office VR

      So you will finally be able to flip through your virtual documents in the same frantic manner as you do with the stack of paper on your desk, looking for than one important sheet you know has to be in there somewhere...

      1. Tim Seventh
        Thumb Up

        Re: Point?

        "Office VR"

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK37NHk-pqU

    2. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: Point?

      Porn, of course.

  9. veti Silver badge

    Fire and motion

    Microsoft are past masters at this sort of thing. They keep launching new - shit, quite literally for no other reason than to trick their competitors, and potential competitors, into spinning their wheels for, potentially, months or years on end, trying to understand and match it.

    Don't fall for it.

    If you really, really want this kind of interface - roll your own, it'll be cheaper in the long run. For the other 99.7% of us, it's of even less relevance.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: Fire and motion

      From 1st link, 2004

      It has a long way to fall. It could do everything wrong for a decade before it started to be in remote danger, and you never know...

      Strangely it was about 2003 - 2004 MS started losing the GUI Plot (Ribbon, Vista development etc).

      They now claim Aero was a mistake, but have jumped to the other extreme. Win 3.1 3D effects and Win95 desktop was their GUI pinnacle. except they messed up explorer and still didn't fix it. Nice that Caja has dual windows (F3 I think?)

  10. Teiwaz
    Devil

    This should be fun

    I kind of hope they are mad enough to try rolling a VR UI into the current design.

    The sensible option would be a separate UI for VR/AR from desktop (and probably tablet/phone).

  11. Dwarf

    You lucky, lucky windows users, Its time to re-learn your user interface again.

    I wonder if they will do away with keyboards and perhaps have wink and blink as the option to choose things, after all, left wink, right wink, and double wink can all be used to select things. Lets see who's good at the stare game (to not select things) and how many people end up looking like Inspector Dreyfus from the Pink Panther.

    Can anyone make sense out of having a flat 2D desktop and wanting to have 3D glasses to look with ?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Flat design in HoloLens will eventually lead to...

    Some bright spark writing a gui for dosbox to run on it, with a VGA display.

  13. User McUser

    TaskGallery

    Microsoft has been working on new 3D interfaces for Windows since at least 2001.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-mhqYBm7Xo

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