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The Metro Invasion!: A Supremely Brief Article About Microsoft’s Dream Interface

Posted by on June 9, 2011 at 9:56 pm

The Future – Windows 8 and Xbox 360

Anyone unconvinced about Microsoft’s commitment to Metro as their unifying interface language need to look no further than Microsoft’s two major announcements regarding within the past month regarding the new version of Windows, due out next year, and the recently unveiled Kinect-friendly dash for Xbox 360, coming this fall.

On the Windows 8 end, the new interface is tablet-friendly, ready to tackle Apple’s iPad share as more consumers are picking up tablets instead of notebooks. The large tiles benefit finger friendly scrolling and are large enough to reveal glanceable information. If you still want a more traditional Windows experience, it’s there, right underneath, but if you elected, you could use Windows 8 in such a way that you never see conventional windows. I have no doubt that most developers are going to be making Metro-friendly designs for Windows 8, hopefully before it releases.

A Windows 8 lock screen, designed for tablets. Just slide the image up. Notice all the information in the corner, including the time, the next calendar event, and how many new e-mails you’ve received. Just from the lock screen.

At E3, Microsoft unveiled their new Fall 2011 interface that looks like something much closer to the Zune software’s. Now you see how everything’s coming together…

Conclusion

At a time where Microsoft’s bread and butter is its Windows and Office products, with the Xbox having picked up a lot of steam over the past five years, it’s neat to see that, for the first time ever, they’re willing to unify their efforts. Even if people are largely indifferent to the inclusion of Metro on their system, having that design language carry between devices could introduce Xbox fans into Windows Phones (“Hey, there’s that Xbox phone!”). It might even get people excited about Windows again, which has long been the 800-pound gorilla people have had to ‘deal’ with instead of ‘experience’. Heck, Windows 8’s Metro interface makes Mac OS X Lion update, complete with lessons derived from their popular iOS mobile system, look incredibly old school.

Whether this works for them or not, it’s a leap of faith long past due.


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  • Great piece.

  • Anonymous

    Excellent Article.. This is how anyone should write article (specially so called tech journalist) , not to just put whatever comes in mind. Facts, figures everything is penned down beautifully.

    • Anonymous

      Thank you, sir!

  • Anonymous

    *Slow clap*

    The massive amounts of information and the fun and interesting style of the article made me want to read it all the way, even though it’s four pages. 

    It’s amazing to see the origins of the Metro design language, and how it became a reality. Personally, I think that with the Kinect, Windows 8 and WP7 Microsoft has a streak of hits on their hands. Let’s just hope they play it correctly.