This blog post is more or less a response to this post written by dubious and self-proclaimed user interface “expert” Jakob Nielsen. Even though I think his post has already gotten more attention than it ever deserved, it unfortunately appeared on social media and technology web sites quite often lately. Therefore I as well have to give it the undeserved credit of mentioning it publicly - but for the one and only reason of getting things straight and cleaning up this mess of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) that this biased and dubious post created. So let’s have a look at the findings and points of criticism:

"Double Desktop = Cognitive Overhead and Added Memory Load.” That is just wrong in so many ways I almost don’t know where to start. First and most importantly: there is no such thing as a second desktop! Yes, there is a new start screen but that’s no additional desktop. It’s simply a place to start your applications from. I really don’t see a possibility for cognitive overhead there, as even my mom got that concept on first explanation: “For launching programs you have to switch to the new start menu (= start screen)”. ”Lack of Multiple Windows = Memory Overload for Complex Tasks” Here the author clearly demonstrates that he simply didn’t get the concept behind Windows 8 and its ability to run a variety of different device factors. He himself admits that the single window strategy works nicely on tablets and phones (generally: small, touch-based screens). So, that would cover the Surface / Windows 8 tablet scenario: Everything works fine here. Case closed. No problem … one should think: only, the author forgets to mention this scenario and instead focuses on high-end PCs and multiple running applications. That’s e.g. exactly the environment I am working in right now and guess what: I am running in traditional desktop mode with multiple windows opened on my 3 screens. And that’s a perfectly valid thing to do in Windows 8. Depending on the device you are running, use the paradigm that works best for you. Or even switch between paradigms on a touch-screen laptop if you like to (touch-based web browsing is a uniquely great experience on laptops!).

“Flat Style Reduces Discoverability” This is clearly a case of “who moved my cheese?” Users have certain assumptions of how user interfaces look like because of the way they looked in the past. But here’s the thing: stuff changes and it changes for good. Clearly, this usually involves a bit of learning and getting used to new paradigms but honestly: how hard or how big a problem is that really? (Hint: my mom got it).

“Low Information Density” That’s a highly subjective area. Some users like these kind of user interfaces that start with really low-dense information first and lets them drill into the information more deeply later on - others don’t. This is something the marketplace and the apps’ downloads will definitely regulate over time. So you don’t like these apps? Fair enough, but do not put that into a Windows 8 review.

“Overly Live Tiles Backfire” So there are apps that display to much or wrong (in your opinion) information on their live tiles? Go figure! Who would have thought that there will be apps that are not 100% useful? (hint one: irony, hint two: don’t install them)

“Charms Are Hidden Generic Commands” Again the author admits that charms are a really good and innovative user interface paradigm (which they are – one of the best Windows 8 features IMHO) but again he focuses on points of criticism that miss the actual point. E.g. “Users sometime forget about the availability of the charms and don’t use them.” Of course they do! Because they are probably working with Windows 8 the first time in their lives! There is no thing as a 100% intuitive user interface (ever tried to create folders in iOS for the first time?) – there simply isn’t! But here’s the thing: humans are capable of learning and a thing as simple as the charms bar will be part of their interaction metaphors pretty quickly.

“Error-Prone Gestures” ’Another highly subjective conclusion which I have to contradict definitely. The same principle as above applies here: some interaction metaphors may be easy, trivial and intuitive for person A, but complicated and (at first) error-prone for person B. But again for trivial tasks like these gestures we are able to learn and adapt quickly. And even though first-time experience is quite relevant, what is even more important is usability and productivity in the long term and that is where gestures like fast app-switching really light up.

“Windows 8 UX: Weak on Tablets, Terrible for PCs” Summing it up already, this “review” of Windows 8 is based on one fundamentally wrong assumption and that is that each and every task in the OS has to be achieved through the new modern UI (formerly Metro) applications. The author simply refuses to acknowledge the existence of the traditional desktop paradigm and the possibility to switch into it and stay there for certain tasks or on certain devices. The worst thing is that the review does not even acknowledge the fact that these touch-based applications actually work nice and smooth on touch-enabled devices and provide a great user experience there. “I Don't Hate Microsoft” For this last point: Yes you do, and your so-called “review” clearly underlines that. You probably reached your goal of getting lot’s of attention recently, but that’s what trolls do, right?

Apparently today everyone is free to consider and announce themselves a usability expert, therefore I will happily follow this trail. I too have done usability studies of Windows 8 on traditional desktop and laptop PCs and Windows RT on Surface devices. These usability studies involved a quite varied audience ranging from developers and technology geeks (even apple enthusiasts) to my mom and my wife. And – lo and behold – the reaction has been a very positive (I am tempted to say fantastic) one. Even the apple guys had to admit teeth-gnashingly that Windows 8 / Surface provide a great user experience.

So today – in my new role as usability expert – I must say that Windows 8 delivers the richest and most innovative user experience across all platforms and devices I have witnessed so far:

1. Windows 8 is the first operating system that has managed to bridge the so far segregated worlds of mobile and touch-based devices and traditional PC experience. All other attempts in that direction simply have failed horrifically. As of today there is no single device on earth running a different OS than Windows 8 that lets me interact in a playful touch-first manner and just minutes later allows me to “quickly fix that Excel sheet for work” after attaching the type cover.
2. Windows 8 adapts to your needs and the capabilities of your devices. This translates to: “If you don’t want to use the new start screen or the touch-optimized apps on your desktop PC then don’t”. It is that simple – really! And actually that’s exactly what I do at the moment working on my 3 screen non-touch desktop environment. After booting into the start screen I switch into desktop mode and stay there usually until I shut the PC down. But the nice thing is: If I decide to pick up work later on my Surface I will make use of touch – because I can. So Windows 8 is about choice. No one is forcing anything on you.
3. Microsoft has clearly led the way of how to bring mobile and touch based devices into the world of business and corporate networks by incorporating the BYOD (bring you own device) idea deeply into their operating system. So we will hopefully see more and more touch-based laptops being used in enterprise environments.
4. And finally - what many reviewers blindly ignore in their hateful rage against Windows 8 – the OS itself (meaning the classic desktop OS) has been greatly improved in speed, memory consumption and start up time and offers many new features making it a pleasure to work with. One of the test users I asked about their Windows 8 experience even mentioned that “the new task manager alone makes it worth switching to Windows 8”.