• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Microsoft Announces Windows 10

LilJoka

Member
You can still resize the Start Menu to put more apps in the list. Small tiles don't work for you? Still two columns and more info.

For example, try to pin a shortcut to your User Folder, then reduce the size to Small Tile. All you see is a folder, now you do not know what folder is what when you have a few, such as User Folder, Documents and Music.

Also all these Folders have grey background in the tile, and visually it just looks bad. Th functionality is there for sure, just not optimum. We have forgotten the power of a simple button that is visually consistent.

I find this funny:

This PC - Sort of like All My Files on OSX. In Windows it shows Home Folders - Kind of OK
Home - Sort of like Home on Linux. In Windows it shows Favourites/Recent Folders. Makes the above not OK, when you have something called Home, 99% people will think its the Home/User Folder.

Except both on Linux/Mac make sense to their names, but on Win 10, no sense at all lol.
 

DarkFlow

Banned
Windows 7/8:
P5VvoLM.png

Windows 10:
dn8BYqC.png



This PC. This fuckin PC.

Of all the things to nitpick lol.
 

PensOwl

Banned
I really wish they'd get rid of the gradient in tiles.

The modern style of Windows Phone is so much more cohesive and attractive than on the desktop\

edit: I should probably specify that the gradient appears in tiles for applications that aren't modern/metro
 

Mr_Zombie

Member
For example, try to pin a shortcut to your User Folder, then reduce the size to Small Tile. All you see is a folder, now you do not know what folder is what when you have a few, such as User Folder, Documents and Music.

You can change icons on those tiles - after all, they are nothing more than simple shortcuts (located in C:\Users\$USER\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs; or you can simply right click them and click "Open file location"). It's not intuitive, though, and I really hope they will add an option to easily change icons/add images for app icons.
 

Guri

Member
Could someone using it please give a feedback about the shortcut arrows? I know we can remove them, but it's time to give an easier option for it.
 

LilJoka

Member
You can change icons on those tiles - after all, they are nothing more than simple shortcuts (located in C:\Users\$USER\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs; or you can simply right click them and click "Open file location"). It's not intuitive, though, and I really hope they will add an option to easily change icons/add images for app icons.

Yeah that works, atleast gets rid of the grey tile background, not ideal as you say though. Hopefully thats an easy fix. Would like to find the Home icon and put it in its place if i can.
 

maeh2k

Member
Haven't had time to really try Windows 10 and when I installed it in Virtualbox it ran rather slowly. But from what I've seen, it looks quite promising.

They are adding a lot of things I was hoping for. I looked up on of my old posts in an 8.1 rumor thread:

The leaked Windows 8 Blue improvements are interesting, but they don't quite go far enough.

I like that you can now use more than two apps side-by-side, but it's kind of weird to have three or more rather vertical apps. Will be interesting to see how that will work exactly, i.e. will they use the small view Windows 8 supports now, or just a narrower part of the full-screen view.

What I'd rather like to see is a Window management system like the view system in Visual Studio. In VS you get pretty good control of where you want to place the views, which don't overlap.
I think it would be neat if you could e.g. have one vertical view on the side of the screen and two horizontal views stacked vertically next to that view ( |= ). Or even ( ||= ) on a big screen.


Also I still have other issues I mentioned before: OS X Expose-like task switching because alt-tab sucks, pinnable task bar (e.g. the current bar on the left, but pinnable and ideally using program icons instead of small screenshots; also used for notifications and stuff like the task bar and the OS X dock).
At some point I'd also really like native virtual desktops in Windows.

Improved snap feature that allows layouts like =| -- check
Expose-like task view -- check
Virtual desktops -- check

Now I'm hoping they don't get rid of the hot corners, but make them configurable. I'd like hot-corner actions for switching virtual desktops, showing all open apps, search, and showing the desktop.
 
A comparison of sorts. ive uninstalled most of the Apps so it looks better than it would be in the Win 10 app tray.

GVUwmH9.jpg

Sorry, what is being compared to what in each of these screens? All four pics are different.

Also, if the tile sizes are a problem, why not make them the smallest size? AFAIK there are four sizes, unless it changed in W10:

Small
Medium
Wide
Large

You can fit four Small tiles into one Medium tile (the size there right now).
 

The Cowboy

Member
Anyone else find it kinda weird we can't have just 1 row of tiles (regular size)?, so we do something like this.
I don't expect this to change at some point, its the same in Windows 8/8. -, you can;t have just 1 row of tiles going down like this in that either
 

LilJoka

Member
Found the Home icon in SysWOW64 Shell 32 dll, applied it to the crappy grey folder tile for my user folder shortcut. Then i went and scouted the shortcuts for many of those Apps i didnt want to uninstall, but just remove them from the Start menu via Classic Shell. Deleted their shortcuts and now the Win 10 menu looks a bit better.

QLNRTTa.jpg
 

LilJoka

Member
Also anything that is Tiled and is an App also has to reside in the Apps list in the Start Menu. Oddly though the custom icon and shortcut ive made to my user folder as a Tile has to also reside as an App... Just more duplication for no need.
 

The Cowboy

Member
Also anything that is Tiled and is an App also has to reside in the Apps list in the Start Menu. Oddly though the custom icon and shortcut ive made to my user folder as a Tile has to also reside as an App... Just more duplication for no need.
I can agree with this, they should make it that if an app is in the start menu as a tile - it shoudl no longer show up in the all apps list (then if you remove the tile, it shows back up in the all apps list)..
 
It looks like metro apps don't stream files from onedrive like they used to on 8.1. Every type of file I tried with many metro apps all went to the previous behavior of downloading everything first, then playing...

Hope it's just a temporary change, wouldn't like to see it gone from Win10.

But they definitely should improve sync speeds for this to be useful, it's a joke how long it takes to download a 50k text file using the desktop sync client.
 

LilJoka

Member
Sorry, what is being compared to what in each of these screens? All four pics are different.

Also, if the tile sizes are a problem, why not make them the smallest size? AFAIK there are four sizes, unless it changed in W10:

Small
Medium
Wide
Large

You can fit four Small tiles into one Medium tile (the size there right now).

Comparison of opening start menu in Win 7 vs Win 10. The available shortcuts on the right hand side for fast Explorer navigation, which IMO are more important then Live Tiles. You could create a Tile for each option like Win 7, but that is not efficient use of screen space. my point was a huge Tile is only good for Live data. And that if you choose to use small tiles, its impossible to distinguish between folders such as Documents/Music since all the icons are the same and no text.

The size of Tile depends on the type, if its a shortcut to a folder or program, it can only be small or medium. Only Live tiles have the options you mention.

On the All Programs Vs App photos, we see the spacing is increased on Win 10, meaning a lot less programs or entries are visible at first glance. Around 10 less.
 

smurfx

get some go again
alright screw this i can't get this crap to work properly. i'll just wait until the real version comes out. -_-
 

LilJoka

Member
8 was the new 7 but people were too stubborn or ignorant or both to realize that. It only took a single program to make all of Metro entirely optional.

This was only half the problem with 8. See my other posts, Win 8 has a dual environment feel to it even with the start menu back. MS even admitted that in their conference saying that they dont want people to feel they are in 2 environments.
 
Comparison of opening start menu in Win 7 vs Win 10. The available shortcuts on the right hand side for fast Explorer navigation, which IMO are more important then Live Tiles. You could create a Tile for each option like Win 7, but that is not efficient use of screen space. my point was a huge Tile is only good for Live data. And that if you choose to use small tiles, its impossible to distinguish between folders such as Documents/Music since all the icons are the same and no text.

The size of Tile depends on the type, if its a shortcut to a folder or program, it can only be small or medium. Only Live tiles have the options you mention.

On the All Programs Vs App photos, we see the spacing is increased on Win 10, meaning a lot less programs or entries are visible at first glance. Around 10 less.

Thanks for explaining!

As for the tile size, I was just noting that, given your concerns about UI space, you look to be using the Medium tile size instead of the Small ones for apps that don't need larger tiles.

All four tile sizes are shown here:


Any app should be able to go to Small or Medium sized. Win 8 apps can typically utilize Wide and Large, but of course, for yours, you probably wouldn't need that.
 

Shiina

Member
This was only half the problem with 8. See my other posts, Win 8 has a dual environment feel to it even with the start menu back. MS even admitted that in their conference saying that they dont want people to feel they are in 2 environments.

I have not seen anything metro looking ever since I installed start8 about a year ago. My OS looks and behaves exactly like 7 but with all the under-the-hood improvements of 8.What MS said about the 2 environments is only true if you don't have start8/classicshell (or are actually using the metro apps) so you're constantly juggling between the two interfaces.
What dual environment feel are you talking about? Provided you have one of the many start menu programs installed and are not using the metro apps, which part of the interface looks different to you compared to 7?
 

LilJoka

Member
Thanks for explaining!

As for the tile size, I was just noting that, given your concerns about UI space, you look to be using the Medium tile size instead of the Small ones for apps that don't need larger tiles.

Any app should be able to go to Small or Medium sized. Win 8 apps can typically utilize Wide and Large, but of course, for yours, you probably wouldn't need that.

The issue is ill have a few tiles that are just the same icon but lead to different things. Custom icons is the only solution, that what ive done with the Home Tile. Its a shortcut to my user folder, then ive manually changed its icon to the new Home icon in Windows 10. Without that the icon would be a empty folder on a grey background. And if you made a shortcut to say Documents, it would look the exact same. So small tile fails here, for now.
 

LilJoka

Member
I have not seen anything metro looking ever since I installed start8 about a year ago. My OS looks and behaves exactly like 7 but with all the under-the-hood improvements of 8.What MS said about the 2 environments is only true if you don't have start8/classicshell (or are actually using the metro apps) so you're constantly juggling between the two interfaces.
What dual environment feel are you talking about? Provided you have one of the many start menu programs installed and are not using the metro apps, which part of the interface looks different to you compared to 7?

Heres a few examples in both Win 8 and Win 10
- Right click User Picture in Start menu -> Metro style menu. Right click any file or shortcut -> Normal menu.

- Right click Open With.... a file (all desktop menus) -> Metro menu opens

- Half the settings in PC Settings. Half your settings in Desktop Control Panel.

- Calculator App, Desktop Calculator in Accessories etc.

And one ive noticed just now in Win 10
Tooltips on Start Menu Tiles -> Metro style
Tooltips anywhere else -> Desktop style

I will let icons slide for now, since im sure they will get updated.

All this reminds me is of my youth messing with Windows Blinds, after a day you get over the stuff that may look cool, then realise the lack of consistency really just ruins it all.
 

Mohasus

Member
A tip to people complaining about This PC, computers have a function called rename (Shortcut: F2) so you can change the name back to Computer.

But the real question is why does anyone have a my computer icon on the desktop when win+e exists?
 

diaspora

Member
A tip to people complaining about This PC, computers have a function called rename (Shortcut: F2) so you can change the name back to Computer.

But the real question is why does anyone have a my computer icon on the desktop when win+e exists?

You changed my life.
 
A tip to people complaining about This PC, computers have a function called rename (Shortcut: F2) so you can change the name back to Computer.

But the real question is why does anyone have a my computer icon on the desktop when win+e exists?
I'm not even sure how people never knew they could rename just about anything on windows. While keyboard shortcuts may be superior, many casual users still prefer mousing around to open programs. I'm not to bothered by it.

I'm also not so bothered about the redundancy in this current build. It's still a long way off before release. Just use that feedback guys. Let them know and maybe you'll see it resolved in the next build.
 

Shiina

Member
Heres a few examples in both Win 8 and Win 10
- Right click User Picture in Start menu -> Metro style menu. Right click any file or shortcut -> Normal menu.

- Right click Open With.... a file (all desktop menus) -> Metro menu opens

- Half the settings in PC Settings. Half your settings in Desktop Control Panel.

- Calculator App, Desktop Calculator in Accessories etc.

And one ive noticed just now in Win 10
Tooltips on Start Menu Tiles -> Metro style
Tooltips anywhere else -> Desktop style

I will let icons slide for now, since im sure they will get updated.

All this reminds me is of my youth messing with Windows Blinds, after a day you get over the stuff that may look cool, then realise the lack of consistency really just ruins it all.

I guess I never thought about the duality that way. The way I saw it was that it's metro if the UI changes and that huge colored screen appears with that metro "app" that takes up the entire screen. Not if the UI that pops out (while you're still on your usual windows interface) looks a bit different.
 

LilJoka

Member
I guess I never thought about the duality that way. The way I saw it was that it's metro if the UI changes and that huge colored screen appears with that metro "app" that takes up the entire screen. Not if the UI that pops out (while you're still on your usual windows interface) looks a bit different.

Yeah, thats what i meant by classic shell doesnt solve everything since the problem was not just about jumping in and out of the actual metro start screen, which like you say can be solved easily. Its everything surrounding metro UI. Win 8 works 100% if you stick to Metro based use, but in Desktop based use, it feels like you are using a Frankenstein build, for me it screams amateur theme modding.

From all the reading ive done, this hasnt come up much since the largest debacle has been the loss of the Start menu, and now the revival of the Start menu, so maybe im ahead of the game, or just a minority. It bothers me nevertheless.
 

LeleSocho

Banned
A tip to people complaining about This PC, computers have a function called rename (Shortcut: F2) so you can change the name back to Computer.

But the real question is why does anyone have a my computer icon on the desktop when win+e exists?

Mind blown, used to OSX i always use enter.
 
Top Bottom