Whether you love an operating system or you hate it, there is always room for improvement and the grasp of perfection is always one step further ahead than you are. In a video recently posted to YouTube by Interface and Branding Architect, Jay Machalani, he proposed how he would “fix Windows 8”.
Jay stated that “Windows 8 is [his] favorite OS to date, but that [it] is filled with massive flaws”. The one word he uses to describe Microsoft’s latest operating system is “confusion”.
“Microsoft has a lot of great ideas and they smashed them together to create Windows 8. They have some pretty amazing blocks, it’s just a matter of arranging them the right way.”
Machalani set five rules for his “W8.2 prototype design”. First, he believes that Microsoft needs to create a unified store and ecosystem for the platform based within the Windows Store. Second, Jay believes that it is “Microsoft’s job to make sure that [Metro and Live Tiles] are relevant and useful”. Third, the operating system has to work on both touch screen devices and with a mouse and keyboard flawlessly. Fourth, Microsoft has to accept the idea that “users with mouse and keyboards do not want a touch-optimized experience”. And finally, that those who do choose to use a tablet don’t want to see the desktop or “go through a Desktop interface.”
His solution is presented in the video above. His research and personal design rules have come down to the solution of simply separating the Desktop and Metro “as completely different environments you can switch between.”
The included concept video shows a full desktop interface including a modern UI style start menu. Holding down the Windows button for a few seconds then transfers you to a familiar Windows 8 style Start Screen. Working with this idea, a user can switch between the Desktop and Modern UI when needed – and all applications can work seamlessly throughout both.
For more details and to see the complete set of screenshots and videos, you can visit Jay's blog by clicking here.
What do you think of Jay Machalani’s design? Personally – this is the Windows 8.2 I want to use.
Source: Machalani; Lead image courtesy of Jay Machalani
