unity-design team mailing list archive

[Gregory Merchan <gregory.merchan@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, Aug 5, 2012 at 10:36 AM, Chad M. Germann <cgermann@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> You must not read to much tech news

Maybe I read more, or deeper, or between the lines. Maybe like the
people writing the news, I go out there, look around, and decide for
myself.


> Both Blizzard and Valve have called Windows a "disaster"
> http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8202/article/windows-8-is-a-disaster-for-pc-gamers-blizzard-and-valve-devs-voice-concern/

They are not talking about the user interface. Except for the
comments, there's nothing there about the user interface at all. They
are talking about business decisions.

Which is not to say that the opinions of game developers about the
desktop interface would carry any weight with me.


> Now the real telling one is that John C Dvorak  who is normally a
> Microsoft apologist called windows 8 " an unmitigated disaster; unusable
> and annoying; it makes your teeth itch"
>
> http://macdailynews.com/2012/06/03/dvorak-windows-8-an-unmitigated-disaster-unusable-and-annoying-it-makes-your-teeth-itch/
>
> tech componies and reporters are turning there nose up in droves at win
> 8's interface (no longer called metro due to trade make issues) I am
> willing to bet people will as well.

Here we have something that is actually about the user interface,
and--my gods--if the website stops throwing ads in my face I might be
able to reply to it . . .

OK. I think I'll agree with the site's author on this, "However, since
Dvorak is almost always wrong, the chances of Windows 8′s success just
went up dramatically."

The article quotes Dvorak, "There is an old-fashioned desktop you can
visit, but whenever the OS gets the chance, it throws you back onto
the Metro interface."

So, that matches what I said, pretty much. Maybe it's hyperbole or a
buggy copy, but I imagine if we went back 30 years we'd find Dvorak
complaining, "whenever you leave the OS alone for a few minutes, or
lock the screen, it throws you back onto the 'screensaver' interface."
The man just doesn't get it, as evidenced by the next line:

"For those of us who thought we could avoid Metro and live on the
desktop screen, we are going to be sorely disappointed."

Cry me a river.

Again quoting Dvorak, " . . . the unsuccessful user interface used by
Windows Phone . . ."

Bzzzzt! Windows Phone has been unsuccessful. It has been remarkably
unsuccessful despite, not because of, the Metro interface.

And I've now spent far too much of my life responding to this blowhard Dvorak.

BTW, I really hate how every time I cut and paste from this site, I
have to go over and delete the extra crap it added to the clipboard.