The PC Tech Guy's Blog

Monday, September 21, 2015

Thoughts on Windows 10, blog redesigned

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I've finally redesigned my blog. After a year of using, tweaking, and testing this template on other blogs, I have finally converted this blog's template. I'm pretty sure there's a few nuances to work out, such as the ad covering the date of the second post and comments slightly overlapping some elements, but other than those few things, it looks like everything else is working well. Posts now use more of the screen instead of being restrained to a fixed-pixel width, and can adapt to mobile browsers. I've also changed the logo to match a more Metro/Modern-ish look - however, I have yet to settle on a final design.

Going forward, I most likely will be reviewing Windows 10 universal apps, as well as developing one of my own.

Speaking of Windows 10, it's been quite an experience. I was a part of the insider previews, which was nice since we got to see builds of Windows in development, and provide feedback. I particularly liked Cortana and the ease of developing universal apps. However, one thing kept seeming to not get very many improvements - the Metro version of Windows 10, also known as "Tablet mode." Many of the things that débuted in Windows 8, such as the charms bar and customizable Start screen backgrounds, were stripped in Windows 10 with no or a few crude alternatives. This situation continues to exist in the final version of Windows 10 today, which is a disappointment.

While I understand that the desktop and gaming crowd, which could care less about Metro apps or Windows tablets is quite vocal, I'm not sure that this should lend to simply removing time-saving, touch-friendly actions. Nonetheless, in the name of consistency, Microsoft has turned on their own Metro design principles.

Much of this could be solved by focusing more on either restoring or improving upon the touch-centric UI from Windows 8 into Windows 10's tablet mode. The only thing that appears to have a bit of thought into this was the Start screen, which weirdly attempts to emulate Windows Phone, with the exception of jamming as many columns that will fit the width of your screen - which, I'm sorry - just doesn't work with Windows tablets, which are primarily in the landscape orientation. Trumpet "consistency" all you want - but for a full-screen area filled with tiles, Windows 8 did this right - and was much more personal, too.