Windows 8 Start Screen: Boring UI or F****n’ Sweet?

On Friday Microsoft revealed a video demonstrating Windows 8 booting up from post in just 2 seconds. You can watch the video here.

What is not so exciting is Windows 8’s Start Screen which was revealed at the end of the video. Now don’t get me wrong, I am definitely liking the new design approach, it’s just that knowing Microsoft they are not going to consider every small detail when it comes to the design, even if what they release is not final code.

What I hope has been done is allow the Start Screen to be fully customisable (not merely changing tile layout). But similar to the ‘advanced’ controls under Appearances in the legacy environment, these new controls will enable options such as:

  • Adding a background image from the computer
  • Adjusting the tint level added by default onto every background (the tint is to separate the background from the tiles to avoid them conflicting visual)
  • Adjusting the opacity level to all or only specific tiles and an option to reveal tiles (revert to 100% opacity) on mouse-over or touch
  • Allowing users to select any tile colour, not just a list of pre-chosen swatches


People love Windows because of this level of personalisation. In the image below you see an example of how I drastically enhanced the UI by simply adding a background image and reducing the tile opacity. This is the small detail I referred to earlier.



I am hoping Steven Sinofsky does not let everyone down by revealing unfinished code because they have had plenty of time since AllThingsD to consider every aspect of the OS.

What are your thoughts. If you walked into a store which UI would catch your eye first and would you want to see on your computer or TV? 

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