2012
Metro seems to have a love-hate following. While some people enjoy the experience, others are left scratching their heads. This blog post will put into context some of the reasoning behind metro as well as my personal take on it.
Reason #1 ~ Simple, yet functional
Based on Bauhaus design principles, Metro screams “less chrome, more purpose”. The essence of Bauhaus is reductionism with a clear focus on function. This function is then made to be beautiful – but not overdone. When designing Metro applications, diligence should be used to ensure graphics and animations provide information and feedback to the user, rather than being a distraction from the main purpose of the application. Applications like this are just easier to use and more intuitive.
Reason #2 ~ Familiar and obvious
A Metro design borrows clean, clear and crisp typography and iconography from the International Typographic Style - also knows as Swiss Design that is used to clearly define the purpose of the application. The reasoning for this is to use everyday familiar imagery similar to transportation and safety signs so that the user feels familiar and can relate with the application. In the end, this also aids in application adoption as the simple graphics and clear typography lowers the barrier of entry as they don’t look or feel overly daunting.
Reason #3 ~ Fast, fluid and predictable
Metro applications are designed to be touch-first and gesture driven. This model, if you think about it, mimics real life and real physics and in turn automatically feels more natural for people. For instance, consider the activity of finding a specific paper in a pile of papers on a table. Chances are you would be moving and shifting many of these papers across the surface of the table – possibly even picking one up to get a better view. This type of activity directly relates to Metro design. As an example, tiles can be displayed to the user, each one representing a document. They are categorized into logical groups, and lined up in a grid-like form. Each tile is decorated with an image preview of the document along with labeled with other important information, such as the title. A swiping gesture allows the user to pan across large amounts of documents in an effort to quickly find the one they are looking for. A single tap can bring up a preview of the document and a tap of an open icon can open the document into full screen experience. The Metro interface in this case feels much more natural than searching through files all with the same icon, and having just the filename to go on.
Reason #4 ~ Completely immersive
Metro applications are primarily designed to be run in a full-screen mode – though you do have the option of snapping a couple applications when using the Metro experience in Windows 8. Under normal running circumstances, menus are hidden from sight and do not impede or clutter the application from it’s main purpose. The application bar and charms are still available in predictable and consistent locations brought to the fore-front by using consistent gestures (swiping from the right edge in a left-ward direction for charms, and swiping from the bottom-most edge upward for the application bar). The full-screen experience is important as this simplifies the usage of the device allowing the user to fully concentrate on the task at hand. Imagine for a moment playing Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies and all the while reviewing your latest blog post. Wouldn’t you agree that you could level up faster in Angry Birds if you weren’t so distracted? Playing the game in a full screen mode with no distractions leads to a much more intense experience.
Why Metro? Why Now?
The first motivator for this type of user experience is due to the explosive popularity of tablet devices today. These devices sport full-screen applications, a portable form factor and are undeniably extremely successful. It’s also time to prepare for the younger generation. Many children and younger adults have led a life completely engulfed in a digital world. Every day I hear my kids “pausing” and “replaying” in their make-belief adventures even if there isn’t a digital device anywhere in sight. My kids are already used to doing school research online instead of with an encyclopedia, they are used to having bountiful information that is easy to find and is quickly at their disposal. They are completely at home with Skype-ing instead of picking up a phone, they only know of streaming movies instead of renting one – my kids will never know the meaning of “Be kind, Please Rewind”. Times are changing and it’s time to get ready for the digital generation – after all, it’s all they know.
This post was a brief and not nearly all-encompassing introduction to Metro. Stay tuned fo rthe next blog post that will go into developing a simple Metro application using HTML5 and JavaScript. Remember, in all things Metro, simplicity, function and user experience are key! Until next time!
2012
In case you’ve been living under a rock, you should probably know that Microsoft released a Consumer Preview version of Windows 8 this week.
Now, Windows 8 has been a mixed bag as far as consumer/developer reactions go, and I would expect nothing less with the radical changes Microsoft has made. I’ve had a chance this week to download and install the latest preview in a virtual machine, and I have to say as a tablet operating system it’s quite impressive. I’m not completely sold on it as a desktop system, but this is an opportune time for Microsoft to get feedback from those of us outside the development community. Check out the preview and see what you make of it if you haven’t already.
One interesting new feature that users should check out is the Skydrive integration available in this new build. By associating your Windows Live ID, you can do all sorts of neat things like:
- Save/load files from Skydrive right from the file picker or Explorer
- Synchronize your settings and files between PC’s
- Seamlessly set up new PC’s with your settings and files with almost no effort
- Integrate Skydrive with share charms and contacts
- Save/load files from any application to Skydrive
- Access files from any of your computers, anywhere, even if you haven’t uploaded them to Skydrive
For those of you who are developers, and have tried the version of Windows 8 that Microsoft shared at BUILD, there have been a number of exciting changes since then. These include:
- DirectX support in XAML
- XAML support in Blend
- Improvements to navigation API’s in WinJS
- PlayReady DRM support
- Animations can now be run independent of the UI-thread, directly on the GPU
- Debugging improvements for COM and Async, as well as the Simulator
There has been some grumbling as of late from the developer community about the new UI changes to Visual Studio 11, even from voices within Microsoft. Neil McAllister shares his thoughts on the changes, and whether the public outcry is justified, or just the same sort of vocal minority who have spoken out against other advances such as the ribbon control. I personally like the ribbon control, perhaps not in every application, but I think it was certainly a better solution than the endlessly complicated submenus in Office. I also like some things about the new VS11 UI. I do think that it’s going to cause usability issues for developers with less than perfect eyesight. My main gripe is with removing all color from the UI. I think that color accents on buttons and other key, interactive pieces would go a long way in quieting dissenters and improving usability.
Let’s take a look at OS X: some would say it’s pretty drab compared to the colorful UI’s of Windows XP/Vista/7 and Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010 (though nothing again will ever be as colorful as the default XP theme). It’s important to note that the use of color is minimal, but purposeful. It’s used to provide stark contrast without burning your eyes out. In the default OS X theme (not the graphite theme) the highlighting blue color practically jumps at you off the gray background. That’s the sort of color accents I’m referring to.
If you’re simply a designer looking to get your feet wet and create beautiful applications for the new Metro UI, take a look at this set of assets for Photoshop for designing Metro applications. Surely it will get your creative juices flowing!
Finally, regardless of your field of interest, you can get all your Windows 8 related goodness right here. Give the new build a shot and please let us know what you think of it in the comments!
2012
You’ve probably been hearing all the buzz about Windows 8. With the first public beta set to release this month it’s difficult not to be excited about it. There are many things that entice me surrounding Windows 8 and I feel that it will revolutionize personal computing above and beyond the current tablet revolution (made popular by Android-based tablets and iPads).
This is because Windows 8 pairs tablet technology alongside the traditional desktop operating system. This gives consumers the best of both worlds all in one device, thus eliminating the need to have two separate devices in order to reap the benefits of each form factor. A Windows 8 tablet with docking functionality is a consumer dream, if you are heads-down working at your desk, feel free to have it docked and use it as you would a normal PC with a keyboard and a mouse. If you have a meeting to go to, simply undock the device, flip to the Metro experience and go. Even when in tablet mode (Metro) the regular desktop operating system is fully accessible to the user, using slick touch responsiveness and an easy to use on-screen keyboard. Just think, you will never have to return to your desk during a meeting to print a copy of a document you have on your PC because you have all your information with you at all times! Check out details on an early Windows 8 machine by following this link.
While consumers have everything to be excited about, developers on the other hand are a bit glassy eyed as they watch their workloads double. This is because developing for the desktop OS and developing for the tablet Metro experience utilizes two separate API’s. Developers can continue to develop desktop applications as they normally would using .Net, but if your users are requesting a Metro experience, developers must dive into WinRT (albeit a subset of the .Net framework is available to Metro applications). Even though WinRT is a new set of API’s, all familiarity is not lost. WinRT utilizes many common programming languages that developers use today, including XAML/C#, C++, and HTML5/JavaScript.
Developers will also have a world of opportunity open up for them with Windows 8 due to the Windows Store being fully integrated into the operating system. Developers can develop and sell applications through the Windows Store that will gain a wide reach that includes all Windows 8 consumers. Windows is the most popular operating system in the world, just think of the possibilities! Developing for Windows 8 will follow the same methodology as developing for Windows Phone 7 or the XBox 360 does today. Developers will register for an account on AppHub located at http://create.msdn.com. It is also on AppHub where they will submit their application for verification and certification prior to it being made available to the masses in the Windows Store.
This blog was created to show you how to develop applications specific to features of Windows 8, as well as keeping you up to date on all the exciting Windows 8 buzz!
