win8 Thoughts: Windows 8 should have eliminated the legacy right click menu.

[Torolol]

Metro allows for that

er no, that Desktop feature, not metro style feature.

with metro style, its not possible running browser, windowed not tabbed so i can view many sites at once,

and at the same time, viewing many conversation (& downloading files) using IRC

current metro interface cant do that.

[sc302 Veteran]

The idea was to integrate Desktop/Explorer right click functions into Metro. Not kill it.

As I said to my wife, first you take my computer area and shove it into the corner, next you take my tools out and make me get rid of them...the next thing is all of my crap out the door. Lets just move it to the side, then move it somewhere else, then kill it when there is almost nothing left.

right click menu isn't annoying, if you don't like it don't right click and go the long way. you can access all of that in the charms bar, in control panel, it is to the right.

[Active.]

I think it should be an OPTION for desktop users, but ENABLED BY DEFAULT.

(I know the startscreen was forced, but it needed to be

I'm pretty sure this absolutely needs to be forced, too, if MS wants it to have any chance of being adopted in the real world...

[Klownicle]

As long as the desktop ui exists, so will the right click. There is no right click in the modern ui as most will have noticed, it is a tap or swipe down on object to right click.

[Dot Matrix]

As I said to my wife, first you take my computer area and shove it into the corner, next you take my tools out and make me get rid of them...the next thing is all of my crap out the door. Lets just move it to the side, then move it somewhere else, then kill it when there is almost nothing left.

right click menu isn't annoying, if you don't like it don't right click and go the long way. you can access all of that in the charms bar, in control panel, it is to the right.

I never said it was annoying. If Microsoft wants to integrate the desktop into Metro, this is where to start.

Personally, I would still prefer the desktop to go away and develop something new to take its spot. It would take some work, but would eliminate so much garbage from the codebase that still plagues the OS. But the desktop can still me integrated into Metro. Not what you want to hear, but Metro isn't going away.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Replacing the right-click menu with the charm bar would be terrible for usability, especially when you're talking about multi-monitor setups. I already find the charm bar a nightmare and I barely have to use it - needing to use it for right-click functionality would drive me insane.

With regards to running apps in fullscreen, I have no problem with that being an option but it shouldn't be mandatory. I have a 30", 2560x1600 display and I rarely run any application in fullscreen. Most of the time I run desktop apps in side-snapped mode (taking up 50% of the screen), like Office and Chrome; some apps I run maximised but I still like the ability to use the taskbar to quickly switch between apps; the rest I run in windows sized appropriately to the content, often stacked to quickly switch between tasks (though this wouldn't be as much of an issue if Explorer was tabbed).

I only use a handful of Metro apps because I find the experience to be rather tedious and unnecessary. In fact the only apps I use are Steam Tiles, XE.com, Random Password Generator and Cocktail Flow - even then I find the experience to be awkward and I've been using Windows 8 since the Developer Preview. I'd use Metro apps a lot more if a) they could be run in a window, b) they appeared in the taskbar alongside desktop apps, c) the Charm Bar was replaced with a right-click menu and d) the taskbar was always visible (rather than the hidden Metro app switcher). Hopefully Windows Blue will address that, if not I'll be avoiding most Metro apps.

It's all too easy to blame everything on Windows 8, though. One of the things I disliked about Windows 7 was the way tabs were grouped, meaning you can no longer click an icon to quickly switch to it if there is more than one window open. Clicking on a taskbar icon should restore the most recently used window, rather than brining up the window previews. Unfortunately nothing was done about that in Windows 8. It also baffles me that IE has had tabs for years and yet Explorer still doesn't - juggling multiple Explorer windows is a nightmare, even when you have a large display.

[Dot Matrix]

As long as the desktop ui exists, so will the right click. There is no right click in the modern ui as most will have noticed, it is a tap or swipe down on object to right click.

Again, my idea was never to kill it off. Go back and re-read the original post.

[MFH]

Why do you need a desktop to code? You can still have open your project and a browser on Metro for your web development.

You may not believe it but not every developer is a web developer...

[Hardcore Til I Die]

I don't like it.

If they implemented something like that it should be an 'as well as' feature rather than 'instead of.' The increased travel time would annoy me and I don't see the benefits.

[Dashel]

Do you not think Metro won't evolve? What you're telling me with this comment is that Metro will remain the same forever, and won't adapt to new trends.

And by that you mean the old, outdated 'trend' of the Desktop (port the Desktop as a RT app)? If it does that then we're back where we started. There isn't a control replacement on the horizon for the precision of the mouse. And if you are keeping the paradigm (and not just targeting the new control/device formats), then why break compatability by dumping an API that has been polished (to Neo's point) over several decades?

Your solution just doesn't make sense. Evolution of Metro will require better optimizations for the primary control method present, which will always be the more precise one. Touch gets edgeswipes, mouse gets a proximal context (you know, just like Metro IE does).

Dot, seriously, go Mac and buy a bigger monitor.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Most things are used a lot by users when they are removed. The Start Menu was used a lot by users, but it was removed and replaced with an improvement :) Dot Matrix's suggestion isn't to remove the right-click menu and not replace it with anything; it's to remove the right-click menu concept and replace it with something better :)

Please can you explain why it's better?

Also, I'm failing to understand how the bar illustrated in the OP will actually replace contextual menus. How do you click on a link, button, etc and access the menu? Would it use the same right click as the OS currently does? If so, why would it be better to travel to the right hand side of the screen rather than have a menu pop up right where the mouse is, and right on the button/link you just clicked? That kind of visual clue makes it very clear the menu relates to what you just clicked.

I actually cannot see a single benefit to the proposed menu.

[Active.]

Dot, sriously, go Mac

With his fixation on full screen computing, a Mac is kind of the opposite of what he wants - although admittedly Apple's recently added (at last) an option to let developers implement a fullscreen mode for their applications.

[Dashel]

With his fixation on full screen computing, a Mac is kind of the opposite of what he wants - although admittedly Apple's recently added (at last) an option to let developers implement a fullscreen mode for their applications.

I think its more of their 'document-centric' way of looking at things, fascination with keyboard shortcuts, and an aversion to mice (and actions) that require the use of more than a single button.

[Rickkins]

Do you not think Metro won't evolve? What you're telling me with this comment is that Metro will remain the same forever, and won't adapt to new trends.

When did productivity and/or multitasking become "new trends"....??

[Dot Matrix]

When did productivity and/or multitasking become "new trends"....??

That's not what I meant by new trends. New trends = new technology.

And by that you mean the old, outdated 'trend' of the Desktop (port the Desktop as a RT app)? If it does that then we're back where we started. There isn't a control replacement on the horizon for the precision of the mouse. And if you are keeping the paradigm (and not just targeting the new control/device formats), then why break compatability by dumping an API that has been polished (to Neo's point) over several decades?

Your solution just doesn't make sense. Evolution of Metro will require better optimizations for the primary control method present, which will always be the more precise one. Touch gets edgeswipes, mouse gets a proximal context (you know, just like Metro IE does).

Dot, seriously, go Mac and buy a bigger monitor.

I'm kinda confused why you still need the precision of a mouse?

[Hardcore Til I Die]

That's not what I meant by new trends. New trends = new technology.

I'm kinda confused why you still need the precision of a mouse?

Anyone who works in design needs the precision of a mouse.....

Your signature would make sense if non-desktop OSes were better for getting tasks done than desktops, but they're not. Tablets and laptops are great because they're portable and allow us to work when we wouldn't otherwise be able to, but they're no match for a desktop when one is available.

[Dot Matrix]

Anyone who works in design needs the precision of a mouse.....

Your signature would make sense if non-desktop OSes were better for getting tasks done than desktops, but they're not. Tablets and laptops are great because they're portable and allow us to work when we wouldn't otherwise be able to, but they're no match for a desktop when one is available.

Graphic designers are more than likely using tablets to draw, not mice. It's what I used in my CAD classes. Mice are too unsteady, especially is you have hands like me.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Graphic designers are more than likely using tablets to draw, not mice. It's what I used in my CAD classes. Mice are too unsteady, especially is you have hands like me.

My fiance? does a lot of photo manipulation and, to a lesser extent, graphic design using photoshop with a mouse.

[abysal]

Hehe what a funny thread. I hope MS decides to implement this, and or goes further down the Metro rabbit hole. Some times you have to fail to succeed and thats the path I see MS heading down.

[Dot Matrix]

Hehe what a funny thread. I hope MS decides to implement this, and or goes further down the Metro rabbit hole. Some times you have to fail to succeed and thats the path I see MS heading down.

Why will Metro fail?

[Dot Matrix]

My fiance? does a lot of photo manipulation and, to a lesser extent, graphic design using photoshop with a mouse.

Photo Manipulation doesn't require the precision drawing does, You can do most manipulation with a finger nowadays, or simply at a press of a button.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Photo Manipulation doesn't require the precision drawing does, You can do most manipulation with a finger nowadays, or simply at a press of a button.

Why do I get the feeling you have an answer for everything... :p

[MFH]

Why do I get the feeling you have an answer for everything... :p

Because he has the same answer for everything...

[Dashel]

Graphic designers are more than likely using tablets to draw, not mice. It's what I used in my CAD classes. Mice are too unsteady, especially is you have hands like me.

A digitizer is a long recognized Desktop input type and is in the more precise control category, whereas touch is not (Surface RT vs Pro). Again, completely missing the point. Designers have dense toolbars and canvases, they need access to tons of controls at a glance. If the minimum size of each is enlarged enough to be touch friendly, it will necessarily be less dense than its predecessor unless they demonstrate a way to add that quickness to tools back.

He simply doesn't understand the need for mice. If it wasn't for that ancient UI putting its nose in his future, they would disappear overnight.

[seta-san]

i can only agree with the OP in the way that i agree that having two different paradigms for the desktop is stupid. The start screen isn't a replacement for the start menu.. it's a replacement for the desktop itself. Pick one or the other. Thus dual paradigm setup is bullcrap.