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[Mar. 17th, 2007|10:54 am] |
I recently upgraded most computers at home to Vista, Microsoft’s latest operating system. Since some applications are still incompatible, especially those Adobe plug-ins I regularly use, I had to resort to dual-boot configuration for my video-editing desktop, running Vista alongside with Windows XP.
So, what’s new? One must have heard about AERO, Microsoft’s aesthetically pleasing UI (user interface) that features transparency effects and many eye candy features – you know, the 3D effects once exclusively available on the MAC OSX and some other effects probably in the works. Interestingly, Dave Vronay who used to work at Apple, became one of the lead developers of AERO. Go figure.
Anyway, one can’t argue that Vista was designed with the “visuals” in mind – things that "wow” the user. For me, it’s a good move for Microsoft, which has been working not only on functionalities or fancy visual effects but more importantly on the “user experience”. AERO is their starting point.
A lot of software companies before did not focus on user interface, or was it a big deal when it comes to putting it as measures of success in project management terms. User interface, clearly, wasn’t a big deal and so long as those bunch of menus, icons, mouse clicks, etc enable operations. In other words, a usable software was as good as its bug-free functionalities.
However, times have changed. Among other technological innovations, CPUs are becoming faster, graphic cards even more powerful, which result to the user’s thirst of an increasingly more visual experience. Fortunately, Vista adjusts to this trend. Third-party software developers are required to conform to the UX Guidelines (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx), a document which outlines general user experience practices when developing applications for Windows Vista. Look at the upcoming Yahoo Messenger(http://messenger.yahoo.com/windowsvista.php ,it now sports that same feel and look which is essential to a unified user experience. We’ll see even greater integration in the future.
However, let’s not confuse user experience with purely aesthetic matters as what I have been pointing out. In the larger scheme of things, it is about how user interacts with the interface, and how efficient and easy it is for them to get things done. A simple example is accessing a Windows application How does one usually access Windows Calculator? Normally, one goes through the process of “Start-Programs-Accessories-Calculator”, right? What if I tell you that after I click start, I can just type “ca” in the box above the Start button in Windows Vista and press Enter. That’s an easier process. At the end of the day, as processes become more streamlined, then the overall task becomes easier and enjoyable to the users. We owe to this to the great minds of designers, HCI people, and beta testers which enable constant improvement of our ‘user experience’.
I like to see how Dave Vronay’s visions for AERO would progress. In an interview, he shared that, “In the future, we really need to think of Windows’ UI as a large content-centric project, like a game. And manage the visual quality the same way. After all, we have about the same number of assets as a game; thousands of icons, bitmaps, etc. When we introduce new features to the OS, we have to take a very long term view. For example, if we want to move people from folders to queries, we can’t do that in one release - we need a 12-year plan. First we keep everything as is but promote searching and tagging, then 3 years later we add some persistent queries, etc. Then after 8 years we make folders no longer the default. Remove them after 10 years but make it so you can turn them on with an option. And finally kill them in 2020. Otherwise users and corporations cannot absorb the change.”
An interesting fact:
Two wallpapers in Windows Vista were done by Hamad Darwish, a 24 year-old Radiology graduate. He was one of the few photographers commissioned by Microsoft in 2005 to shoot photos to be used in Windows Vista's Wallpaper Collection. He had 6000 shots captured in his 12-day shoot, chose 15 to be sent and reviewed by the Microsoft MSX Group. Two came out in the final release of Windows. Before the end of the year, up to 90 million people will have the chance to see his work. Cool. |
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