Leaked Windows 9 screenshots show a work still in progress

Internet Explorer 12 is claimed to feature a new Chrome-like look.

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[Peregrine70]

Hrm... So basically windows 9 is a nice 64bit OS with Windows 3.11 progman on high contrast?

 

[JGoat]

chbrules[/url]":3ez3jk0v]This reminds me of the "playschool interface" from Win XP. I think it's time to just go to Ubuntu for me. I've been on the edge long enough. I'm not an Apple person, and Windows is great under the hood, but under the hood is not what I deal with day-to-day. I do web dev, gaming, and media. At this point, Windows is dying on all fronts and there is little to hold me back. I've been a linux server admin, and I use centos for all my servers, so what am I waiting for?

Dying on all fronts? If you don't need Windows/OSX for graphics programs for the development you do that's one thing, but the library of Linux games is far smaller than that for Windows. Obviously I don't care what you do, but Windows isn't likely going to fade away anytime soon.

 

[drfisheye]

If IE finally gets good add-ons and tabs above the address bar, I'd consider switching from Chrome.

I hope the Metro version of IE also gets the add-ons, so I can get lastpass integration on phone and tablet.

 

[drfisheye]

. The site says that Internet Explorer 12 [...] has a flatter look.

IE 11 is as flat as it can get. How can it get flatter?

 

[Static and Noise]

drfisheye[/url]":3or87vhf]If IE finally gets good add-ons and tabs above the address bar, I'd consider switching from Chrome.

Okay, I gotta ask: why do you want the tab bar above the address bar? Tabs being directly connected to the "content" window makes sense to me (though my tab bar is placed below it, not above). But separating the tab bar from the content window with the address bar... It makes no sense to me, but you seem to consider it crucial. I am very honestly asking you why?

 

[JGoat]

Chikahiro[/url]":1lebwn6m]I'm looking forward to the preview. I'm debating getting a SSD and just doing a complete, total wipe of my computer to go with it...

I love Windows 8, but realize I'm in the minority.

I love it too, I can't offhand think of a single thing I prefer about Win7 compared to 8. We may be in the minority, but we're certainly not alone, they've got what, ~10% of the market now? That's not bad, considering very few large corporations have likely upgraded past XP or Win7.

 

[Batmanuel]

drfisheye[/url]":2ehodyrg]

. The site says that Internet Explorer 12 [...] has a flatter look.

IE 11 is as flat as it can get. How can it get flatter?

None more flat.

 

[entropist65]

Static and Noise[/url]":b1v0plac]

drfisheye[/url]":b1v0plac]If IE finally gets good add-ons and tabs above the address bar, I'd consider switching from Chrome.

Okay, I gotta ask: why do you want the tab bar above the address bar? Tabs being directly connected to the "content" window makes sense to me (though my tab bar is placed below it, not above). But separating the tab bar from the content window with the address bar... It makes no sense to me, but you seem to consider it crucial. I am very honestly asking you why?

It makes sense to have the part of the browser showing the address of the content you're viewing to be part of the tab that is showing said content. Different strokes for different folks and all that, but that's the general idea.

 

[PervertRyan]

I actually kinda like IE11's tabs next to the address bar. It's just a shame that it doesn't save much vertical space because there's a big border above the address bar anyway thanks to the close/maximize/minimize buttons. If it could solve that then I'd greatly prefer the vertical space gained by keeping the tabs next to the address bar.

And while I'm not a big extension user, it'd be nice if IE12 sported a HTML5 UI that could be extended with Javascript.

 

[digitaljoel]

At first glance it reminded me of Windows 3.1 for some reason.

 

[Static and Noise]

digitaljoel[/url]":1kzumkbf]At first glance it reminded me of Windows 3.1 for some reason.

Windows 3.1 had far more depth and colour.

 

[Dark Empath]

Chikahiro[/url]":32z7hmr1]I love Windows 8, but realize I'm in the minority.

It's ok, everyone hated XP when it came out, too.

Once everybody hates Windows Windows 9, 10, and 11, and are calling for the return of Win8, we get to be the hipsters that "loved Windows 8 before it was cool".

 

[jdale]

Static and Noise[/url]":1bzwxm92]

drfisheye[/url]":1bzwxm92]If IE finally gets good add-ons and tabs above the address bar, I'd consider switching from Chrome.

Okay, I gotta ask: why do you want the tab bar above the address bar? Tabs being directly connected to the "content" window makes sense to me (though my tab bar is placed below it, not above). But separating the tab bar from the content window with the address bar... It makes no sense to me, but you seem to consider it crucial. I am very honestly asking you why?

I prefer the tab bar below the address bar as well. Visually, it creates a clearer distinction between the tabs and the page if everything below the tab changes when you click a new tab. Also, I click the tabs much more often than the address bar, so it's convenient to have it closer to the content (which also gets clicked).

In FF, if you use the bookmarks toolbar, and have the address bar below the tabs, the bookmarks toolbar also appears below the tabs, which makes no sense.

 

[drfisheye]

Static and Noise[/url]":140z0de7]

drfisheye[/url]":140z0de7]If IE finally gets good add-ons and tabs above the address bar, I'd consider switching from Chrome.

Okay, I gotta ask: why do you want the tab bar above the address bar? Tabs being directly connected to the "content" window makes sense to me (though my tab bar is placed below it, not above). But separating the tab bar from the content window with the address bar... It makes no sense to me, but you seem to consider it crucial. I am very honestly asking you why?

1. Every tab has it's own address bar, so placing the address bar below the tab is a logical hierarchy.

2. Far more important for me is that IE wastes space with an unused title bar. A laptop doesn't have much screen space, having an empty window title is just waste.

3. Tabs next to the address bar leaves far too little space for my tabs. I always have loads of them open. I need the horizontal space.

 

[drfisheye]

Oh, and IE add-ons currently use an extra bar just for themselves. That's a full bar of wasted space for displaying a couple of icons.

 

[Dark Empath]

Joriarty[/url]":55jelivc]Why do Microsoft persist with forcing a touch-optimized interface upon keyboard and mouse users?

Yes! Forcing! With jackboots and chemtrails!

althaz[/url]":55jelivc]If you are using the keyboard to shut down, why not use Alt-F4?

Now, come on. Using Alt-F4 to close or shutdown has only been a part of Windows for 24 years, how is anybody supposed to know about that shortcut?

 

[Dark Empath]

mrsilver[/url]":2hyj9uk7]To be honest it depends on how much he likes backing up everything, reinstalling his operating system, reinstalling and reconfiguring his apps and migrating back his data.

This is Ars, of course he enjoys it.

 

[Dark Empath]

Static and Noise[/url]":jeteehtd]

digitaljoel[/url]":jeteehtd]At first glance it reminded me of Windows 3.1 for some reason.

Windows 3.1 had far more depth and colour.

If memory serves me correctly, back in 1994 I was able to run Win3.1 in either 640x480 with 16 million colours, or 1024x768 with 256 colours (Tseng Labs ET4000 video card with 1MB of RAM!).

I generally ran in 1024x768. So no, my Windows 3.1 didn't have more colour

(Definitely more depth, though.)

 

[Marcos2247]

I like the general design philosophy behind Metro.

Microsoft just needs to finally implement it consistently in the desktop environment. The easiest and biggest example of what I mean currently is the folder icons in Windows Explorer. Still those ugly yellow icons that I hated in Vista.

There's tons of other inconsistencies. Windows Explorer looks pretty bad altogether. Calculator is a joke.
Also, while I think the ribbon interface in Office is actually good, I HATE it in Windows Explorer.

But when done right, Metro-inspired Windows can look surprisingly good. Like SublimeText with the Metro theme (if only we could finally get rid of the non-functional title bars).

 

[schizrade]

I don't give a crap what they do with the start menu (never used the old one, don't use the new one) as long as they leave my right click on start button for admin tools alone. God send.

 

[Findecanor]

Solomonoff's Secret[/url]":3264hzc3]Hot damn that's ugly. Windows 9 Fisher Price Edition.

"Looks like a Fisher Price toy" is precisely what people said about the look of Windows XP...

Yet, even though you could revert the look of XP to that of Win 95 most people didn't, not even power users.

 

[gigaplex]

Dark Empath[/url]":2hg0a1cs]

Joriarty[/url]":2hg0a1cs]Why do Microsoft persist with forcing a touch-optimized interface upon keyboard and mouse users?

Yes! Forcing! With jackboots and chemtrails!

althaz[/url]":2hg0a1cs]If you are using the keyboard to shut down, why not use Alt-F4?

Now, come on. Using Alt-F4 to close or shutdown has only been a part of Windows for 24 years, how is anybody supposed to know about that shortcut?

It's also really inefficient if you have apps open. I could press Alt-F4 a dozen or more times before it triggers the shutdown dialog. It's often faster to launch cmd via Win-R then type "shutdown -s -t 0". And before you tell me to minimise to desktop first, that occasionally doesn't work - some apps can still catch Alt-F4 when minimised.

 

[Travis Griggs]

It's like some big collective joke is going on in the design community: "I know, let's design computer interfaces with Elmer's glue, some scissors, and a stack of construction paper. We'll see how long they just go along with it. (snicker, snicker snicker)"

My colorblind dog could make stuff that looked like more attention to detail was given than this stuff.

 

[schizrade]

Dark Empath[/url]":2ar5rp9v]

Chikahiro[/url]":2ar5rp9v]I love Windows 8, but realize I'm in the minority.

It's ok, everyone hated XP when it came out, too.

Once everybody hates Windows Windows 9, 10, and 11, and are calling for the return of Win8, we get to be the hipsters that "loved Windows 8 before it was cool".

This is true. The gnashing of teeth over how much windows XP was the DEVIL was very loud. That and it was pretty jacked up on release. SP1 fixed many issues. Kinda like VistaR2.. err I mean Windows 7 fixed a lot of issues.

 

[schizrade]

Marcos2247[/url]":rfxa54lq]I like the general design philosophy behind Metro.

Microsoft just needs to finally implement it consistently in the desktop environment. The easiest and biggest example of what I mean currently is the folder icons in Windows Explorer. Still those ugly yellow icons that I hated in Vista.

There's tons of other inconsistencies. Windows Explorer looks pretty bad altogether. Calculator is a joke.
Also, while I think the ribbon interface in Office is actually good, I HATE it in Windows Explorer.

But when done right, Metro-inspired Windows can look surprisingly good. Like SublimeText with the Metro theme (if only we could finally get rid of the non-functional title bars).

SBB Clock is an example of an amazing Metro app. I use it on my 3rd monitor when not using it.

 

[jdale]

Dark Empath[/url]":1uaklk0q]

Static and Noise[/url]":1uaklk0q]

digitaljoel[/url]":1uaklk0q]At first glance it reminded me of Windows 3.1 for some reason.

Windows 3.1 had far more depth and colour.

If memory serves me correctly, back in 1994 I was able to run Win3.1 in either 640x480 with 16 million colours, or 1024x768 with 256 colours (Tseng Labs ET4000 video card with 1MB of RAM!).

I generally ran in 1024x768. So no, my Windows 3.1 didn't have more colour

(Definitely more depth, though.)

16,777,216 colors doesn't mean much for the UI if 16,777,212 of them are unused.

 

[grumpy2]

Dark Empath[/url]":1kkkkpfx]

Chikahiro[/url]":1kkkkpfx]I love Windows 8, but realize I'm in the minority.

It's ok, everyone hated XP when it came out, too.

Once everybody hates Windows Windows 9, 10, and 11, and are calling for the return of Win8, we get to be the hipsters that "loved Windows 8 before it was cool".

You mean, just like everyone's calling for the return of Vista today?

Yeah, that's exactly how it works...

 

[Dark Empath]

gigaplex[/url]":zliqk4ki]

Dark Empath[/url]":zliqk4ki]

althaz[/url]":zliqk4ki]If you are using the keyboard to shut down, why not use Alt-F4?

Now, come on. Using Alt-F4 to close or shutdown has only been a part of Windows for 24 years, how is anybody supposed to know about that shortcut?

It's also really inefficient if you have apps open. I could press Alt-F4 a dozen or more times before it triggers the shutdown dialog.

If you have a dozen or more apps open, why wouldn't you Alt-Tab to the desktop first?

And before you tell me to minimise to desktop first, that occasionally doesn't work - some apps can still catch Alt-F4 when minimised.

Maybe, but that's still only two Alt-F4's instead of a lot of dicking around.

Seriously people, it's not that fucking hard.

 

[xnef1025]

Good to see the reports of Charms and Start Screen completely dying were exaggerated. Both appear to be options that can be turned on and off, as they should be. I actually wouldn't mind if the only way to get the Start Screen from default settings would be the Start Charm. The Charm only makes sense on touch screens anyway where it is the most convenient way to the Start Screen (when you don't have a mouse/keyboard). I rarely ever use the taskbar Start button on my DVP and the physical button even less.

I like the removal of the left and right window borders. Very Apple-y (or insert your "OS of choice that did it first" in Apple's place if you prefer).

 

[TrellyTB]

It's software. I should be able to skin the entirety to my own liking, easily and simply. Give me 20 or so choices as a base, then let me build from there.

 

[Dark Empath]

grumpy2[/url]":d4t9va0i]

Dark Empath[/url]":d4t9va0i]Once everybody hates Windows Windows 9, 10, and 11, and are calling for the return of Win8, we get to be the hipsters that "loved Windows 8 before it was cool".

You mean, just like everyone's calling for the return of Vista today?

Yeah, that's exactly how it works...

 

[Dark Empath]

57FF-2287-AQ57[/url]":2r89l2iy]It's software. I should be able to skin the entirety to my own liking, easily and simply. Give me 20 or so choices as a base, then let me build from there.

Yeah, who needs needs consistency in a user interface anyway?

 

[drfisheye]

Static and Noise[/url]":w80li1l0]

digitaljoel[/url]":w80li1l0]At first glance it reminded me of Windows 3.1 for some reason.

Windows 3.1 had far more depth and colour.

Which depth? The window borders didn't have any shadow.

 

[hecate.]

Probably something minor, but I miss translucent window borders. I don't really care if it's glassy or not, but a clean translucent effect would be very nice - there's no reason why they can't have flat and translucency.

 

[WaveRunner]

I think they are fake images. Not only do they look horrible, I just don't think Microsoft would make those changes to WinRT and still expect to compete in the mobile space. Not only that they just go against the WinRT style of things. Looks to me someone edited the start menu, remote desktop'd into Windows 8 and composited everything in photoshop.

 

[afidel]

I've got MSDN at work and I just got a new workstation last week and haven't even set it up yet so I'm now planning to put the tech preview on it. 8.1 is OK but after 9 months with it I'm still finding myself annoyed at modernui on a fairly regular basis and know there's no way most of my users would cope well with it so I'll be interested in how 9 progresses as there are a lot of tech improvements under the hood of 2012 that we can't take advantage of because of the broken ui in 8.

 

[drfisheye]

WaveRunner[/url]":2m8h1d0f]I think they are fake images. Not only do they look horrible, I just don't think Microsoft would make those changes to WinRT and still expect to compete in the mobile space. Not only that they just go against the WinRT style of things. Looks to me someone edited the start menu, remote desktop'd into Windows 8 and composited everything in photoshop.

WIndows 9 will behave differently on different form factors. On a tablet the desktop will be gone. Only Store apps in full screen or snapped, not windowed. On a laptop/desktop the store apps will be windowed and there will be a start menu instead of start screen. At least that's what the rumors say at this point. What convertibles will do, I don't know.

 

[drwellingtonyueh]

57FF-2287-AQ57[/url]":3pfxphc6]It's software. I should be able to skin the entirety to my own liking, easily and simply. Give me 20 or so choices as a base, then let me build from there.

Yep. Should be a nice API for skinning. Then I can have my KDE For Windows!!!

(Then I woke from my slumber to hear Mr. Waters singing something about fantasy, yada yada yada...)

 

[drfisheye]

afidel[/url]":2szo3v76]I've got MSDN at work and I just got a new workstation last week and haven't even set it up yet so I'm now planning to put the tech preview on it. 8.1 is OK but after 9 months with it I'm still finding myself annoyed at modernui on a fairly regular basis and know there's no way most of my users would cope well with it so I'll be interested in how 9 progresses as there are a lot of tech improvements under the hood of 2012 that we can't take advantage of because of the broken ui in 8.

Is it so hard to click on a tile? Most users don't even know they can search in the Windows 7 start menu. Windows 8 isn't optimal for sure, but when you stick to desktop apps, disable the corners and boot to the desktop, why wouldn't regular users be able to use it? And then there are plenty of free or low cost start menu replacements.

 

[dribble]

Windows 9 and Yosemite 10.10: UIs designed for children.

When can we get a return to UI design for adults?