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Comment by amirkhella | Hacker News Reader

From a UI design perspective, I think this will alienate lots of existing Windows users, which might lead them to sticking with Win7 (XP anyone?) or moving on to OS X Lion (to which Win8 is surprisingly similar).

Microsoft is taking their phone UI and scaling it to the desktop, which is a big risk given how many people use that phone.

I give them credit for taking a risk, but IMO, this is the last nail in the coffin of Windows.

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So you are saying that when people see that Windows 8 is different to what they currently use, they won't buy it, and instead they'll purchase a whole new, even more different operating system (OSX Lion)? I'm not sure I agree with that train of thought.

I'll reserve my judgement about OSX Lion until Monday when Apple talks about it along with iOS5 but I'd take this windows interface over the iOS like Icon Grid in Lion any day.

> moving on to OS X Lion (to which Win8 is surprisingly similar)

in what way is Lion surprisingly similar to win8?

My guess is both are bringing mobile UI constructs to the desktop.

Isn't taking a phone UI exactly what Apple is doing with Lion too? The large icon matrix and "full screen apps" are exactly what you see on an iPhone/iPad. Though it does feel more "optional" on the Mac relative to this video.

If Apple didn't have large multi-touch trackpads on their macbooks with a slew of natural gestures for navigating things like launchpad and mission control they WOULD be mindlessly scaling the iOS UI to the desktop... but alas, they have discernment and strong design.

Yes but Apple does not want you to poke the screen, similar interface cue but different interactivity.

Touchpad and touchscreen are comparable but not equal.

based on the demo, underlying it is still the same old Windows. At the point where he fired up Microsoft Words, it actually pulls up the usual desktop view. So it is basically adding another layer of Metro UI to adapt to touch devices. But yeah i guess you are right, if that's the only new thing in Win8, then perhaps some may consider sticking to Win7..

Another Windows Media Center. It was nice, but it seemed always a little weird to reduce the functionality when there is the normal Windows underneath it. In the end did i click my videos in the normal mode.

It's not that bad, but just a little layer over their Win7 is a little disappointing. There will still be the annoying virus scanner in the background who makes noises and you will browse the files the same way like you did in 3.11.

I looked at the video without sound, but from visuals alone I never got the impression that this was intended for the desktop.

In the demo when he switched to the "desktop" it looked pretty much like any desktop OS to me.

From the end of the video: "This is the new version of Windows. It's gonna run on laptops, it's gonna run on desktops, it's gonna run on PCs with mouse and keyboard, it's gonna run on touch slates, it's gonna run on everything. Hundreds of millions of Windows PCs powered by this new interface and new platform."

If people are swtching because the UI alienates them then I understand them sticking to Windows 7 but why would anybody switch to Lion given that its even more alienating than Windows 7.

Besides, it looks like the OS will still have the old UI if people need to use old apps.

If people are swtching because the UI alienates them then I understand them sticking to Windows 7 but why would anybody switch to Lion given that its even more alienating than Windows 7.

If you're being forced to basically adopt a new product, then you start to consider all the possibilities.

But that doesn't mean when people want to buy a new car they go out and get a boat instead. Change from Windows 7 to Windows 8 is a marginal one. Change to another platform is much larger.

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