Windows 8 on my new HP laptop was not really an option but a mandatory upgrade to a system that unifies the dashboard screen of the Windows Phone and the Xbox 360 and now PC computers.
Microsoft wanted to improve its user experience on mobile devices which led it to develop this new user screen that implements many tiles that probably grab the interest of anyone with severe ADHD or consumers who have become so vested in their internet accounts that they have a constant need to restructure their Facebook status and communication profiles.
The tiles do allow the user to instantly find and connect to the device or application they wish to use. I can easily access my email, internet, photos, games, local and national news updates, weather, stores, Skype and desktop items.
The most irritating thing about Windows 8 is the disappearing screen affect that I guess was part of this design to resemble the Windows Phone screen. The user can just touch the face of the phone and drag the screen until it gets to where the user needs it to be. This is a great feature for a phone but for someone who is attempting to write a 750 word article about how much they hate that particular feature and then their finger accidentally hits a key too fast and presto, I am completely somewhere else with no idea of how to get back to my Microsoft Word Document that I also paid good money to use on this laptop. So, I have basically discovered the old desktop screen and this key that resembles the Microsoft logo sign. That takes me back to my original screen where I was working so pleasantly until my last laptop exploded leaving me at the mercy of Windows 8.
Entertainment media combination and unifying those popular phone applications in an attractive package that is user friendly and quick to learn is probably the underlying principles of the design of Windows 8. There is a lot of competition with Apple in its designs and ease of use and unification process with its screen designs. Plus these ideas must transfer to a global market and be attractive to its consumers all over the globe. I realize that American consumers are no longer the number one driver of the design of electronics anymore.
But doesn’t texting and all those applications on the phone kind of ensure that we are no longer a society that reads anymore? With all these unemployed people who own cellphones and computers and live in a world where celebrities have all the money and fame and importance and are easily recognized on the streets, it makes it a whole lot easier to stalk other people and create an entire industry based on taking photos of celebrities and any random citizen who breaks the law as well.
There are plenty of complaints about a society where everyone has a cellphone. For one thing they all have cameras installed making it pretty easy to stalk anyone. Ask Amanda Bynes or Scarlett Johansson how they feel about the safety and security of their day to day routines with regards to being stalked by some fan with a cellphone.
In some cities, people with cellphones have simply turned themselves into another form of news reporter by following would-be criminals and recording their acts with a cellphone camera. One such incident happened in Philadelphia at www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/breaking/Beating-on-Camera-135632483.html.
They even have websites that encourage the posting of these photos of celebrities http://www.holytaco.com/category/galleries/ is one place where you can access an entire gallery of photos taken by random users.
http://www.thesnitcherdesk.com/ is another place where any random stalker may sell their celebrity photo online.
In essence, having a unified operating system exist on a computer and a phone makes it a lot easier and quicker for anyone to upload a video or photo or article to any news source that has a demand for such media. Thanks Microsoft, you made my life a whole lot easier.
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