How Real People Will Use Windows 8

Chris Pirillo
4 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2012–2014
YouTube
1.9M views · 14 years ago · demo · dated

Chris Pirillo watches non-technical users try the Windows 8 preview, including an older relative commenters call the dad test. It shows them struggling with the new start screen and the missing start button.

HN people cite it as concrete evidence that Windows 8's interface confused ordinary users, and posted it before the release to warn of the usability problems.

“Be prepared to be your family's help desk if they're buying a new machine”
User research & usabilityInteraction design
#windows8#usability#startbutton#metroui#usertesting

9 comments from Hacker News

i
@ixacto2012 · in “How normal people will use Windows 8”
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a
@austenallred2012 · in “How Real People Use Windows 8 - Old Man Sees it for First Time”
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@primesuspect2012 · in “A real person uses Windows 8”
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@chakalakasp2012 · in “How real people will use Windows 8”
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@greatergoodguy2014 · in “Microsoft Will Soon Bring Back The Start Menu In Windows 8.1”
This WAS predicted by many users and blogs prior to the release of Windows 8. Criticisms started a year prior to the official release of Windows 8, with the consumer preview version. Here's one of the videos. ▶ this video This article was written shortly after the release but it does one of the best jobs of explaining how poor the usability of the OS is. link
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b
@brownbat2013 · in “Windows 8 more widely used than OS X, IE still on the rise”
Yeah, I was shocked by the "dad" test: ▶ this video And when Gabe talked about 8, I winced: link But watching a few "tips" / "best of new features" videos for 8.1... I start to feel a little left out. Just type to search. Re-engineered file copying. Hot corners make it seem like someone at least skimmed an article on Fitt's Law. And, ooh, Win + Print Screen? Just make the screenshot a file. Yeah, should have been fixed back in 95. So, er, maybe they got a few things right? I haven't upgraded yet, but... the dissonance is mounting.
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j
@jser2012 · in “Windows 8 RTM 90-day free trial available to all, but seriously, don’t do it”
Tried using it in a virtual machine, but was an endlessly frustrating experience in Windows 8 (Metro) UI. It's like going from an iPhone to a Blackberry -- you want to touch the screen, but can't. Be prepared to be your family's help desk if they're buying a new machine: ▶ this video
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v
@vibrunazo2012 · in “Windows 8 Release Preview ready for download”
Why exactly do you think it's easier to use when it's so different from theyre used to? ▶ this video
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w
@webXL2012 · in “Windows 8 Release Preview ready for download”
They didn't need to take away the start button, and it's going frustrate a lot of users. See: ▶ this video I've been running the preview in a VM, and getting back to the launcher frustrated me so much I had to install a small utility made by Stardock that makes a fake start button that takes you to the launcher: link I'm a Mac guy, but my job requires me to be in Windows half the time. I hope they take a hint from Stardock and that video and put the start button back in.
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