CIS 512 Week 8 eActivity Discussion Operating Systems

From the first e-Activity, examine two (2) of the most common reasons that some users are avoiding Windows 8. Determine whether Microsoft has taken any steps to address these user concerns and, provide at least one (1) example if they have taken action. If Microsoft has not taken any steps to address these user concerns, recommend at least (1) course of action they could take in order to address the concerns. Justify your response.

Windows 8 is an operating system that was developed by Microsoft for personal use and was released in the year 2012. Microsoft had made major changes in Windows 8 operating system by changing the user interface to enhance user experience especially for the users who are using touch screen interface devices such as a tablet.

Though it was built to keep itself in sync with the hardware changes such as touch screen devices; but it failed to persuade the some user and it lacks the popularity amongst them. The most common reason that was reported by the users was the absence of the famous Start Menu which has been the integral part of Windows since the beginning. The mere absence of the menu created confusion and forced the user to relearn the entire operating system.

Users found it very discomforting that Microsoft has made such a drastic change where the Start Menu is replaced by tablet-friendly tiled user interface that is quite difficult to use on the desktop. Microsoft has been upgrading its operating systems for better user experience for giving a fresh look on the user interface but at the same time it has failed to address the issue/complaints by the user regarding the absence of Start Menu. The alternate that users can utilize in order to get the old look and feel of the Start Menu is to download third party apps (such as Start8, Classic Shell, RetroUI Pro etc.). These apps are easily available and give the user the famous Start Menu, though Microsoft has tried to give the users a Start button in its latest release of Windows 8.1 operating system but Start button does not take the users to the start menu instead it again opens up the modern UI’s start screen.

The second issue that has forced the users not to upgrade to Windows 8 and completely avoid it is the Explorer.exe stops working or sometimes the users are greeted with blank Explorer.exe window when the computer boots. For both issues Microsoft has provided solution but these issues are of recurring nature. It is quite infuriating when the Explorer Window stops working when the user is performing some important task on the computer but Microsoft has provided a fix wherein the user needs to use the “Refresh My PC” feature, which reinstalls windows without affecting the files. Also the blank Explorer issue can be resolved using the “regedit” which opens the Registry Editor where the user needs to delete the “Load” entry which is causing the blank explorer window to appear when the computer boots itself.

There are several other issues that hog the Windows 8 operating system such as incompatible apps; the OS was developed with the concept of new touch based hardware devices kept in mind but the OS completely ignores the legacy devices that are running on older version of Windows and may require an upgrade. So it would be wise to buy new hardware with touch screen capabilities to use the Windows 8 OS to achieve maximum utilization.

From the second e-Activity, examine the ease of use and the pros and cons of three (3) types of user interfaces available to the user today. Determine the user interface which is the most efficient and user friendly. Provide a rationale for your response.

User Interface or UI is a term used to denote human and machine interaction. With the help of an UI, humans can interact with the machine wherein the machine presents humans with textual, graphical and/or audio-visual information for communication purpose. This interaction can be commenced in various different ways:

1. Command-Line Interface (CLI): The user can provide input to the computer by typing in a set of commands with the help of the keyboard and the output can be seen on the monitor. This is the oldest type of UI that is being used since the dawn of computing.

2. Graphical User Interface (GUI) : This type of UI is the most common now-a-days where use of pictures is commonly seen, the user mostly needs to click with the help of a mouse to perform any desired action that needs to be done by the computer and result is displayed on the screen. This type of UI is prevalent in mostly all desktop PCs.

3. Touch User Interface (TUI) : This type UI is now gaining popularity as it is very easy to use, the old fashioned text typing (CLIs) and point and click (GUIs) are being conquered and replaced by touch based user interface where the user can actually make selection and play with the menus with the help of finger sensitive touch-screen display and supporting operating system such as Windows 8 where the entire operating system is built with the ease and comfort of the touch-screen device kept in mind.

User Interfaces are being developed and re-vamped since the birth of computing with the aim of ease of use by the user, no matter the user is a novice or an expert. The most comfortable and easiest UI is the Touch User Interface (TUI) as it gives the freedom from typing and point and click style interaction with the machine. It creates more personalized look and feel with the help of touch screen panels. The user feels empowered as he/she can easily control the functionalities of the system on his/her fingertips. With intuitive learning technique that can only be used with touch screen panels where even the beginners can learn the OS and become expert easily without being guided or taught. The only plus point in favor of GUI and/or CLI as against TUI is that in case there is a hardware failure where the touch screen calibration goes out of order then the user can save his/her precious data or information with the help of keyboard commands and/or mouse point and click.

References:

How to bring back the Start Menu and button to Windows 8, http://www.extremetech.com/computing/141702-how-to-bring-the-start-menu-and-button-back-to-windows-8/2

Windows 8.1: Improved but still an OS of two halves, http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/windows/3456551/windows-81-review/

With Windows 8.1 All that is Old is New again, http://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybradley/2013/05/14/with-windows-8-1-all-that-is-old-is-new-again/

5 reasons not to upgrade to Windows 8, http://features.en.softonic.com/5-reasons-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-8