Windows 8:
Windows 8 is Microsoft’s next generation Operating System
that has been completely rebuilt from the ground up and is primarily aimed at
touch enabled desktop / laptop and tablet devices. It still provides the
ability to work using a mouse but to take full advantage of the Metro style
interface, a touch device is required. Windows 8 also provides the regular
desktop interface which feels and functions very similar to the familiar
Windows 7 desktop.
The Metro interface is different from the regular desktop in
many ways. The main theme is that of
pages (like browsers) with square and/or rectangular tile which have the
ability to provide Live information pertinent to the specific app it belongs
to. Apps are launched by touching/clicking the tiles and only the app active in
the forefront is functional, other apps that have lost focus go into a suspend
status, which is actually a snapshot view of the app from the moment it lost focus. Switching to a suspended app resumes
the app from the very same point it was suspended at and the current app goes
into suspended mode. Apps are not normally permitted to function in the
background and there are other very strict requirements for getting an app certified,
including the ability to launch within 15 seconds, otherwise the app is kicked
off. The App function in full screen modes and the other mode is the snapped
mode which snaps the app to the left or right edge of the screen and this is
the only way to have two apps active simultaneously. Due to very stringent
design specifications for Metro apps, the Windows 8 OS performs very
efficiently of various devices and the user experience does not suffer on less
powered CPUs on Tablets compared to the laptops or desktops.
Metro Interface:
The Metro Interface is composed of Live and/or Dead Tiles in
square or rectangular shapes. The inspiration behind this UI is the road or
guidance signs in a Metro city/location. For examples signs in a subway station
or an airport which provide relevant information at a glance in a precise
manner. This was first introduced on Windows Phone 7+ devices and same concept
has been upgraded for larger screens. Having used Windows Phone for about 5
months, I am familiar with the MUI and have developed a liking for it based on
the productivity improvement. The Live Tiles provide upto date information and
one can delve deeper into the information if desired. I have also used the
Windows 8 Metro UI on my laptop and although it isn’t a touch screen, but even
with a mouse it works very well. It takes a week or so to discover the
functionality and also to get used to the paradigm shift from the GUI to MUI,
but once I discovered the ins and outs, and used it for a few weeks, it becomes
a much more enjoyable experience, especially when I have the same UI on my
phone and hopefully on my next tablet. It does take some effort initially to
continue using and learning the MUI, but that’s a very short and shallow learning curve and very quickly
one would start realizing the benefit of shifting from traditional GUI to MUI.
Visual Studio 11:
Metro Apps Development: The IDE (Integrated Development
Environment) for developing Metro style Apps is Visual Studio 11 on a Windows *
device. VS 11 on other versions of Windows do not have the ability to develop
Metro Apps at this time. Several prebuilt templates are available to get
started quickly with most of the functionalities built-in. Until now most of
the developers have focused on using the templates and app using the Metro UI
in a more creative way may start cropping up soon. One thing to keep in mind is
that MUI is primarily a touch enabled UI and designers/developers are
encouraged to keep that in mind when coming up with ideas for MUI apps. Most of
the current apps being developed in Metro style are more for information
consumption and not information/data manipulation. Next version of Office suite
is supposed to have a MUI mode and that would provide guidance to
developers/designers on developing such content development apps. The potential
is there and is pretty huge so the early developers of such apps would
certainly have the first market advantage. Due to the strict design and
performance specifications by Microsoft, the developers do not have the freedom
to go about designing apps to do whatever they want to, and that should in fact
serve as a positive move towards a more stable and efficient experience.
