Window8 looks promising from this video. The interface is 100% different from Window 7 and makes it look out-dated. The most drastic improvement is the the use of “tiles” which is definitely influenced by the Window7 phone UI. Jensen Harris, the Director of Program Management from the User Experience team of Microsoft, explained the benefits of “tiles”. From the UX perspective, it offers a larger area for displaying information. In the video, Jensen Harris explained that many apps can benefit from the larger display. For example, user can view the weather from a weather app without opening it. The apps that are running on Window8 uses HTML5 and Javascript. The benefit is that it is easier for developers (especially web-developers) to develop apps, which will benefit the users because of more selection.
Another improvement that Window8 has made is multitasking. The “docking” is completely different from the MacOSX. Activating the function is simple. It only requires to the user to side-swipe the app and hold. Once the app is “docked”, the users can switch the applications back and forth while the dock program is running. Check the video for the demo. It is very cool.
Although Jensen Harris discussed Window8 is designed to work with different platform and input method, it seems the new functionalities are best benefited by touch interaction. Better yet, it would be the best if Kinect is the input medium.
Thanks to Stanley, a fellow friend who is in my Design program at SFU, for sharing this.
