Windows 8.2 Wishlist

[Michael Alan Goff]

It might seem too soon, but it has been RTM'd.

What would you like to see within the next year from Redmond?

 

[realwarder]

The start menu back.

(Sorry, couldn't help it as I know some twit will say that.)

Better background app support. Apps tombstone and so cannot do background tasks that might be useful because backgrounding is limited.

Move to be able to remove the desktop entirely (on RT) as that confuses people - so Office RT as full touch apps, control panel 100% from charm.

What might be neat would be a Desktop WinRT container mode, where an RT app can run windowed in Desktop mode. That way for devs that write RT apps, users who only love desktop mode can still run them windowed as they like to. Yes, sounds backward moving, but I call it transitional as developers can target WinRT but desktop users can still enjoy.

 

[infinidim]

I would like to see the desktop totally removed from Windows RT and obviously Office RT being a full touch app.

A metro based file explorer (something like "File Brick") so you don't have to go into the desktop.

On my Surface RT I seldom go into the desktop with the exception of using Office.

The merger of Windows RT and Windows Phone so that apps could be used on either platform (possibly a container of some kind to handle small screen apps) and this would help the general app situation within the Windows store.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

>Fix the default apps a little
>Make Windows RT smaller
>Faster boot and shut down times
>Work on the store some more
>Move just about everything to the Modern UI and then remove the desktop on RT
>More optimization, maybe make it to where running Windows RT takes fewer background processes (the processes that are there regardless of what you do, they exist)

Those are the main ones I can think of.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

>Fix the default apps a little
>Make Windows RT smaller
>Faster boot and shut down times
>Work on the store some more
>Move just about everything to the Modern UI and then remove the desktop on RT
>More optimization, maybe make it to where running Windows RT takes fewer background processes (the processes that are there regardless of what you do, they exist)

Those are the main ones I can think of.

I agree with most of those items though I can't figure out why all the hate for the desktop. Maybe it's because I find the RT more usable with the keyboard cover than strictly as a tablet.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

I agree with most of those items though I can't figure out why all the hate for the desktop. Maybe it's because I find the RT more usable with the keyboard cover than strictly as a tablet.

I don't see what using a keyboard cover has to do with the desktop.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I don't see what using a keyboard cover has to do with the desktop.

Using the desktop in "touch mode" can be quite frustrating. The UI widgets are scaled for mouse usage. If all I had was the Surface without a keyboard cover I'd be ticked off at having to use the desktop on the RT too. But since 90%+ of my usage of the RT is with the touchcover (and sometimes a bluetooth mouse) I am not bothered by the desktop at all... it feels quite natural. On the contrary, using the Modern UI with the keyboard cover feels awkward... because the Modern UI was designed for touch.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Using the desktop in "touch mode" can be quite frustrating. The UI widgets are scaled for mouse usage. If all I had was the Surface without a keyboard cover I'd be ticked off at having to use the desktop on the RT too. But since 90%+ of my usage of the RT is with the touchcover (and sometimes a bluetooth mouse) I am not bothered by the desktop at all... it feels quite natural. On the contrary, using the Modern UI with the keyboard cover feels awkward... because the Modern UI was designed for touch.

I really don't understand how it can feel awkward to use the keyboard in the Modern UI. I use the keyboard all the time and it feels just as natural. I don't even find using a mouse awkward in some of the modern UI apps. Modern UI was made to work with either, and it works with either just as well. You're probably just overthinking things.

 

[spaulagain]

I'd like...

1. All the settings, control panel items, screen resolution settings, need to be moved into metro. They moved a lot with 8.1 but I still have to bounce back and forth for various settings. There is just no need for those items to still be in desktop.

2. Polished desktop UI. I love Metro so they need to embrace it 100%. This doesn't mean no desktop, it just means the desktop needs to adopt all metro UI elements. Things like the hold/right mouse menus should be identical. The Metro version is white, with 3-5px border and bold text. The Desktop is light grey, almost no border, thinner font, etc. These should look identical. The close, minimize/maximize buttons on Windows should look like the close app icons in Metro. Circular, etc. Buttons should be the same, thicker border, same font weight, etc.

3. Users should be able to choose the scale factor of the desktop. I should be able to choose a desktop UI with larger buttons, icons, etc for touch. But switch to smaller if I want to use it with mouse, etc.

4. Logging in and switching users should be practically instant. It's amazing how much this process lags sometimes.

 

[sahib lopez]

probably my biggest wish is for them to remove the start button ( I know someone will argure other wise) but after using windows 8 for a year and going back to windows 7 at school I can say that I don't miss it one bit and currently that I'm using the RTM version of 8.1, I can say that I am annoyed that there is no way to remove the start button so it can be like windows 8 again :unhappysweat:

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Why would you want the start button on Windows RT?

 

[errole]

With people saying they want RT without office and go metro why? How would I be able to do 2 things at once? Have PPT and word snap together or any other app on desktop while doing my school report and watching a documentary on it as well.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

With people saying they want RT without office and go metro why? How would I be able to do 2 things at once? Have PPT and word snap together or any other app on desktop while doing my school report and watching a documentary on it as well.

I haven't read anyone saying that they don't want Office on their RT. Where did you read that?

 

[errole]

I ment metro office

 

[errole]

And remove office desktop rt

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Well, yeah, they're going to be making a Modern UI Office. And if they can make a Modern UI Office that is just as good as Desktop Office, we don't need something redundant. Why would you want more space being taken up on your device than needed?

 

[jhoff80]

I already posted a long thing about this elsewhere, so I'll just quote myself here. Some of these are nitpicky, others are big things:

I want connecting and disconnecting from Bluetooth devices to be in the Devices charm.

Similarly, it would be nice to choose audio devices there as well, so that I can more easily switch from speakers to a headphone output when necessary.

I want Miracast to be working on the Surface Pro again like it was in the Preview build.

Global in-app search from the charms should still exist, and it should be an option under the Search charm, as the last option after web videos.

I know there are live tile clocks, but I still just don?t understand why Microsoft doesn?t get rid of the ?Start? text and add a clock instead. The clock from the charms bar is nice, but it?s an action that you have to actually perform to see a clock, instead of just being able to glance. At the very least, the ?Alarms? app needs to be changed to a ?Clock? app and add a live tile clock.

I?d like more consistency within Microsoft?s own apps. The new Reader puts its tabs at the top, which is great?. except the new Metro IE11 moves its tabs to the bottom. There?s a million examples of things like this, and it?s a shame because 8.0 was actually far better about keeping UI consistent.

Speaking of Reader, it needs more ink colors. At the very least, it needs a red pen.

I want the right click / press and hold ?Forget this Network? / ?Set as Metered Network? to be present right in the Wifi networks list.

Also, I want Wifi connections to be fixed again. I?m getting ?Limited Connectivity? constantly.

Photos needs to bring back its support for other services, like Flickr and Facebook. (Though the basic editing in it is nice, and removes my need for Photoshop Express or Fhotoroom).

I?d like to see the ability to move apps between monitors when using touch-only. For example, maybe a upward drag of a window could ?throw it? to the secondary display.

I?d like to see Metro IE11?s zoom controls not constantly try to outsmart me by changing the setting when I connect or disconnect another display.

The new Windows 8.1 autosuggest (including flicking to the side on the space bar to switch between suggestions) should work when using a Touch Cover, not just when using the on-screen keyboard.

The downward swipe selection on the start screen should come back; it?s so much faster than tap and hold.

The option for 4 rows of tiles on my start screen on the Surface Pro is great? but there?s no reason that it should be a simple toggle of ?show more/show less?. I should be able to explicitly choose a number anywhere from 1 up to at least 7 or 8. (Yes, that?d make tiles small, but people should be able to choose this for themselves).

I should be able to choose to remove some built-in stuff from my ?all apps? list in a supported way. I never want to see ?Windows Journal? for example, because I use OneNote. You can delete the shortcut? but then there was a recent Windows Update which refused to install because the shortcut was missing. There needs to be a selector for all of these built in things added to the ?add/remove features? option in Windows.

I?d like to see Microsoft port some of the games and apps from its ?Touch Pack? to WinRT. ?Surface Globe? was better than the new Maps app will ever be, for example. And I really miss Ink Crossword from my older tablets.

I really love the lock screen in 8.0, and being able to do a slide show in 8.1 makes it better? but when I?m connected to a 27" display (hell, even on a 10.6" display), why should I be limited to only 6 applications and 1 detailed notification to display on the lockscreen?

And removing Messaging to only have Metro Skype is probably the right idea. However, Skype now needs to have more services plug into it. Outlook.com already works with Google Talk, so should Skype. Facebook IM needs to be brought into it. And it should even work with AIM and Yahoo IM for any stragglers still out there. Hell, for that matter, it should also sync my text messages from my Windows Phone, and let me send an SMS using my Windows Phone paired via Bluetooth.

And that brings up another thing. It?s great that now Windows 8.1 recognizes Skype as a dialer to dial phone numbers on websites? but how about just dialing to my phone (again, connected by Bluetooth) instead?

On the desktop, Microsoft needs to better optimize the default sizes for everything to work better for touch. There?s no reason they can?t tweak the size of the caption buttons (minimize, maximize, close), for example, to be better suited for the interfaces they?re pushing. You can do stuff like this manually now, but since nobody knows how to do this, it gives a worse experience for the majority of touch-based users on the desktop.

I?d like the option to remove the start button from the taskbar. I know, everyone wanted it back, but now that I?m used to it, it feels weird to press Win+1 and have it actually open the second (after the start button) icon on the taskbar. Having it be optional, like all of the new options they added related to the start screen / desktop, would make more people happy.

The context sensitive tablet input panel needs to come back. Even on the desktop, if I tap on a text entry box, it should give me a button to pop up the onscreen keyboard (like it did in 7). If I do the same with a pen, it should give me a button to pop up the handwriting recognition panel. And similar needs to happen in Metro too- it should remember the last option I chose for the pen, and the last option I chose for touch, and stick to those. (and maybe even have a separate setting for portrait mode of each too).

And also, similar needs to happen for unlocking the device. Is it so hard for Microsoft to understand that when I?m using the touchscreen, I want to use picture password, but when I?m using a keyboard or mouse, I want to use a PIN instead? Currently, whichever you choose, you?re stuck with for all input methods.

Xbox Live integration needs to be system-wide like it is on Windows Phone. There?s no reason I should be sitting and waiting sometimes for nearly a minute (or have to give permissions each time, too) while each individual app signs in. Making it app-based is a step back.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

IE 12 needs a lot of work. I'm starting to get annoyed at random crashes and random tab deaths (where it refuses to scroll and I have to close/reopen it to get it to do anything). These might seem like small things, but they're big to me. And it would also help if I could mess with all of the IE settings in the Modern IE. That includes compatibility mode settings and the tracking protection lists and any add-ons that do work in the Modern IE. I know Flash does, not sure about if any of the others do.

And click to flash built in might be nice. At this point, ActiveX filtering seems to be an all or none solution. I don't want to not have Adobe Flash, I just want to be able to choose when I want it to start.

Also, IE 11 re-arranges the order of my tabs. That's slightly unpleasant. And that's when it opens up with all of the tabs from before. Sometimes it eats some of them.

 

[spaulagain]

IE 12 needs a lot of work. I'm starting to get annoyed at random crashes and random tab deaths (where it refuses to scroll and I have to close/reopen it to get it to do anything). These might seem like small things, but they're big to me. And it would also help if I could mess with all of the IE settings in the Modern IE. That includes compatibility mode settings and the tracking protection lists and any add-ons that do work in the Modern IE. I know Flash does, not sure about if any of the others do.

And click to flash built in might be nice. At this point, ActiveX filtering seems to be an all or none solution. I don't want to not have Adobe Flash, I just want to be able to choose when I want it to start.

Also, IE 11 re-arranges the order of my tabs. That's slightly unpleasant. And that's when it opens up with all of the tabs from before. Sometimes it eats some of them.

IE12? I'm pretty sure IE11 is the only one that's made it to beta.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

IE12? I'm pretty sure IE11 is the only one that's made it to beta.

You misunderstand. I mean that 12 will be coming with 8.2 and they need to work on it a lot before they ship it. Saying IE 11 needs a lot of work is pointless on the fact that IE 11 won't be the thing that ships with 8.2, 12 will. And they're probably already starting to work on 12 right now, since 11 is part of the RTM'd 8.1.