Windows and how its never able to remember application sizes and positions..

Discussion in 'Windows 8' started by RamGuy, Jan 23, 2014.

  1. RamGuy

    RamGuy MDL Member

    Jun 27, 2009
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    I'm trying to give Windows 8 (now 8.1) a real chance to show me how and why I should be using all this new "fancy" Modern UI stuff and what it actually has to offer compared to the good old desktop way of doing things.

    I've been using Windows 8 since release, I did make the update to 8.1 at it's release as well but the only reason I've kept using Windows 8 since it's release have been Stardocks; Start8 so I haven't really been forced into the whole "lets cover your entire 27" display with a range of huge squares nonsense previously known as Metro. Today known as Modern UI."

    But as one of those who find the Modern UI UX from Windows Phone 8 to be the hands down most beautiful and most elegant approach to UX on any mobile operating system to date, and considering I love the look of the Modern UI UX on the Xbox One I figured I might give it a go as many claim they find this Modern UI approach to be quite useful and not such a hassle as one might be led to believe in the beginning. I've also noticed that Windows 8.1 have enhanced quite a few elements since I somewhat gave it ago back at the release of Windows 8. Things like the fact that Internet Explorer for desktop, and the one for Modern UI actually communicates, share the same history, saved passwords, favourites list and everything is a huge improvement over the inconsistent mess it was at Windows 8 release where nothing on the desktop would ever communicate with it's Modern UI siblings making for a huge mess overall.


    I uninstall Start8 yesterday, and also made the move from using Google Chrome to Internet Explorer 11 while I was at it. I have not been a huge fan of Google lately and all the nonsense they have served with YouTube, all the mess with Microsoft and their Windows Phone debate, they starting to require Google Plus for about anything Google related you are trying to do, making the move to integrate Android SMS through Google Hangouts and whatnot. I didn't like the fact that Google decided to dump WebKit as the engine in Chrome for their own special design and developed fork based of WebKit...


    Thus far things have been doing great. There are still some really awkward UX design decisions I can't really wrap my head around, there are quite a few things that simply does not make much sense considering I'm using a powerful desktop computer, featuring mouse + keyboard and a 27" large display but actually trying to utilise Modern UI to enhance my user experience have given some impressive results which I'm catching myself liking quite a lot.

    All my browsing and YouTube is now done through the Modern UI instead of the regular desktop. I just split the screen in half, or "snapping" as Microsoft like to call it and fire up Internet Explorer 11 (Modern UI) and MetroTube side-by-side and I find it to actually provide a very pleasant experience as a whole. The actual browsing experience form IE11 in Modern UI is surprisingly good. The scrolling experience is superb compared to both IE11 Desktop and Google Chrome, and the fact that it doesn't waste any space for any kind of UI elements feels very fresh. And watching YouTube by using MetroTube is hands down way better compared to using YouTube.com. The space is utilised in a much better way, you can actually scroll through the comments without leaving the video, you go HD automatically without relaying on any fancy browser add-on etc..


    But I'm having one really big problem.. And that's how Windows (desktop) has always been piss poor in remembering windows sizes and placement. I for instance got Skype running, set to the far right of my display 24 / 7. What do you think happens when I "snap" the desktop so I have MetroTube and my desktop running side-by-side? Windows rescales the desktop to fit only half the screen, that's logical. But when I finally goes back to running the desktop full-screen it wont move all my windows accordingly. So my Skype window for instance, or any kind of other window I had placed to the right hand side of my desktop is now suddenly located in the middle as Windows 8.1 don't remember to put the windows back to where they were before the resizing of the desktop happened.

    This is quite annoying as I'm running quite a few applications on the desktop, I have a specific orientation of how and where I want everything to be located so it's quite irritating to be forced into replace everything each and every time I decide to use Modern UI to snap my desktop side-by-side with something else. Which of course does not making it easier for me to actually utilise this new Modern UI at a regular basis if it will constantly keep putting my patience to the test.

    Do anyone else have this problem? If you do, have you figured any way to get around it? Secondly I noticed that IE11 Modern UI is piss poor at keeping me logged in on websites... I can login to a website, browse around, making some forums posts and everything is just fine. Then I might head over to the desktop, to MetroTube or something and when I'm back in IE11 Modern UI and refresh the website I'm suddenly logged out and have to login again? It's not that big of a deal considering it remembers my password and all that, so it's not that hard to log back in... But why on earth can't it keep me logged in like every other mobile and desktop web browser is capable of? Have anyone else noticed this?
     
  2. BigW

    BigW MDL Member

    Apr 25, 2010
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    THANK YOU FOR REALY TRYING THE MODERN UI AFTER 1,5 YEARS OF DISMISSING IT COMPLETLY.

    I'm seeing many people who realy try out the modern ui in Windows 8(.1) and they kind of see the benefits and usefullnes of it. Then they feel kind of stupid for following the "friend" or the fancy hip "coputer-mag" in bashing Win 8 and dissmissing it completely. If more people than you step out of this stupid herd-mentalitiy in bashing Win 8 and realy try it out by themselfe this poor view in the public never could have happened!

    To your problem with Skype: Skype has a MetroUI-App and in Windows 8.1 you can snap up to 4 I think. (I hardly use this feature)

    The missaligning Application-Windows is per se not a thing for the Windows OS. The reality is that the ability to handle such remembering of Windows-States can and should be handled by any application by the developer of the application. This ability isn't something new but can be done for ages only if the develpers of these application even bother to care about such situations. In the MetroUI these situation of snapping must be handled and the application have to look nice in this snap-views. A developer who dares to don't bother with the snap-views and the application doesn't look good get there apps rejected by the store.
     
  3. Helmutcheese

    Helmutcheese MDL Member

    Jul 29, 2009
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  4. murphy78

    murphy78 MDL DISM Enthusiast

    Nov 18, 2012
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    Let's see if we can put this old tired argument to bed.

    Modern UI (Metro) is fast and efficient at what it does, but tech-saavy people don't seem to like it.
    Here are my theories:
    1- It assumes touch-screen, and most tech-saavy people use keyboard+mouse.
    2- You have to download the apps through the Microsoft Store unless you deal with the hassle of sideloading apps and using a sideload key and supported os such as Pro.
    3- You don't need to have everything full screen, but don't know how to manipulate the apps or have no option to have more than one per screen.

    What old-school apps have right:
    1- It assumes nothing and will default to whatever you are using. (keyoard+mouse friendly)
    2- It will run basically any app you want to run that is compiled for the OS without any sideloading maneuvers
    3- Everyone already knows how to use the minimize/normal/exit buttons and how to drag the window around

    It comes down to whether or not you are going to use a keyboard+mouse and whether or not you are going to be downloading everything through microsoft IMO.
    I personally don't do either of those two things, so it's mostly useless for me.
    There is still a rare occasion when I'm interested in the outside weather and the little popup warnings on the weather app are interesting, but it holds no commercial value for me.

    I think that you'll find that with most people it's the same. If they type they won't like metro, and if they don't type and have a touch screen, they will use metro.
    MS is obviously trying to cash out on all the touchscreen craze. They'd be kind-of dumb to ignore it.
    We all know it's fairly useless when you can run any app in the world and type, but they don't.

    From this post you might think that I'm very against the metro, but I'm actually not. I see it as an inevitable market trend and for lack of a better option, here to stay.