I think you entirely missed the viewpoint of the author
When people say that someone missed the point on HN, most of the time that means that they want you to read it the way they read it, and ignore those annoying bits that say something different.
Only this author not only undermines any disagreement with Windows 8 (just loss aversion), criticizes "old" interfaces (cars had 4 wheels in the 20s....give me my new style 3 wheel car), they specifically hold up its advantages on the desktop.
Not once do they mention the obvious solution -- that Microsoft should have gone separate directions on the desktop and the tablet -- but instead hold this as a cowardly backtrack.
When people say that someone missed the point on HN, most of the time that means that they want you to read it the way they read it, and ignore those annoying bits that say something different.
Hmm, you're commenting from entirely desktop machine perspective. He's talking only about tablet use perspective. I would say those are totally different viewpoints and more importantly, usage patterns?
Only this author not only undermines any disagreement with Windows 8 (just loss aversion), criticizes "old" interfaces (cars had 4 wheels in the 20s....give me my new style 3 wheel car), they specifically hold up its advantages on the desktop.
I think saying that those interface elements are objectively bad on tablets is not far from truth, so again, see my first point.
I specifically point out in the article that it is not just loss aversion, but that there are valid reasons to dislike Windows 8.
I also don't criticize old interfaces because they are old. I specifically point out that the desktop metaphor was created for use cases that are very different from how we use computers nowadays. Desktops are not problematic because they're old, but because what we use desktop PCs for has changed a lot.
I specifically point out that the desktop metaphor was created for use cases that are very different from how we use computers nowadays. Desktops are not problematic because they're old, but because what we use desktop PCs for has changed a lot.
Are you referring to the "launching applications and managing files are two different things" part?
Another explanation for the move to applications like iTunes that manage files outside the file manager could be that Microsoft's particular file manager is just terrible and unusable. (As is Apple's modern incarnation of the Finder, in mostly the same way – see Siracusa's explanation[1] for details.)
In OS/2's Workplace Shell, applications and files were just two among many of the kinds of objects you could manipulate. For instance, you could drag a document to a printer to print it, or to the shredder to delete it. You could drag template objects to create new files. You could drag colors to windows to assign that color to the window. (Some of these things are possible in Windows as well, but it's not emphasized and doesn't work as well.)
In BeOS, the Tracker, thanks to its support for arbitrary file metadata, could integrate with a mail or music application and allow you to manage its object hierarchy exactly the same way you managed your other files.
So, in my opinion, the old interface was just a half-assed implementation of a basically good idea. The new idea is to give up, throwing away the simplicity and flexibility of the old design, and reimplement file management in every application.
Comments
I think you entirely missed the viewpoint of the author
When people say that someone missed the point on HN, most of the time that means that they want you to read it the way they read it, and ignore those annoying bits that say something different.
Only this author not only undermines any disagreement with Windows 8 (just loss aversion), criticizes "old" interfaces (cars had 4 wheels in the 20s....give me my new style 3 wheel car), they specifically hold up its advantages on the desktop.
Not once do they mention the obvious solution -- that Microsoft should have gone separate directions on the desktop and the tablet -- but instead hold this as a cowardly backtrack.
Hmm, you're commenting from entirely desktop machine perspective. He's talking only about tablet use perspective. I would say those are totally different viewpoints and more importantly, usage patterns?
I think saying that those interface elements are objectively bad on tablets is not far from truth, so again, see my first point.
I specifically point out in the article that it is not just loss aversion, but that there are valid reasons to dislike Windows 8.
I also don't criticize old interfaces because they are old. I specifically point out that the desktop metaphor was created for use cases that are very different from how we use computers nowadays. Desktops are not problematic because they're old, but because what we use desktop PCs for has changed a lot.
Are you referring to the "launching applications and managing files are two different things" part?
Another explanation for the move to applications like iTunes that manage files outside the file manager could be that Microsoft's particular file manager is just terrible and unusable. (As is Apple's modern incarnation of the Finder, in mostly the same way – see Siracusa's explanation[1] for details.)
In OS/2's Workplace Shell, applications and files were just two among many of the kinds of objects you could manipulate. For instance, you could drag a document to a printer to print it, or to the shredder to delete it. You could drag template objects to create new files. You could drag colors to windows to assign that color to the window. (Some of these things are possible in Windows as well, but it's not emphasized and doesn't work as well.)
In BeOS, the Tracker, thanks to its support for arbitrary file metadata, could integrate with a mail or music application and allow you to manage its object hierarchy exactly the same way you managed your other files.
So, in my opinion, the old interface was just a half-assed implementation of a basically good idea. The new idea is to give up, throwing away the simplicity and flexibility of the old design, and reimplement file management in every application.
[1] http://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/04/finder/