Enter Windows 8. The first “responsive” operating system that is flexible enough for users who want to use it on a tablet in a mobile (no keyboard or mouse) scenario and is also flexible enough for users who want to use it in a truly desktop (mouse-and-keyboard) scenario. But what is most amazing is that it is so flexible that if I am on a desktop I can use the mobile interface. Is it perfect? Absolutely not! But it is usable!! The problem with many Windows 8 reviews: they focus primarily on usage scenarios that are not quite ideal. Using a mouse and keyboard on an interface designed for mobile is not going to be perfect. It’s not always intuitive, but it is discoverable and learnable (more on that in a future article). The primary usage of the Modern UI is touch. The primary usage of the desktop is mouse and keyboard. Neither scenario is going to be perfect for the experiences they were not designed for (mouse in Modern UI and touch in desktop UI). So let’s stop reviewing the desktop interface as if it needs to be perfect for touch because it’s impossible. And let’s stop reviewing the Modern UI as if it needs to be perfect for mouse and keyboard, because it’s also impossible. Both interfaces are usable regardless. And there is absolutely nothing wrong about that. What Microsoft has done is meld touch and mouse into two interfaces that require the user to transition between the two at times. This transition may not always be ideal. I get that. Windows 8 is a massive undertaking and even for a company as big as Microsoft, there are not enough designer resources to transition every aspect of the desktop into a touchable interface. That’s why I’m willing to cut Microsoft some slack Windows 8 is 1.0 in this new transition, and it will not be perfect for any of us. It’s pretty good stuff. Read the rest here.]]>
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using mouse and keyboard on the metro ui is more usable than touch on the desktop. 😉