bigkevbosky
New member
For some reason, USA Today was a pain in the butt to stop with the live tile. i tried numerous times, even uninstalled and reinstalled, and eventually just had to un-pin it as it never turned off for me.
'People' tile question
- Thread starter jdd77
- Start date
For some reason, USA Today was a pain in the butt to stop with the live tile. i tried numerous times, even uninstalled and reinstalled, and eventually just had to un-pin it as it never turned off for me.
Nataku4ca
New member
dear god, anybody feel there is alot of anger this new year?
any way i just want to say a few little things on my mind about this thread.
firstly, no os is really unfinished/complete, there are always things to add, but even without them they still do work lol
second thing, windows phone is a year old, don't be too hard on it, MS already said they are prioritizing features to implement so I think this is just a matter of your needs are not in high priority as some other things so may be it will get implemented later
now i agree options are good, but how they are presented is also very important, i didn't like how the list of things to change are so long in android, but then again i hope there were more settings to fiddle around with, so lets just hope when they do come up with more options they are better presented
sooooo, jdd77 you don't seriously hate everything about the phone right? i think it's worth while to see if there are any tricks to help with the issue he is having instead of bashing him for not liking live tiles (not saying the other guys are wrong since i do believe live tile is one of the biggest feature i like... but to each of its own)
oh and... happy new year?
any way i just want to say a few little things on my mind about this thread.
firstly, no os is really unfinished/complete, there are always things to add, but even without them they still do work lol
second thing, windows phone is a year old, don't be too hard on it, MS already said they are prioritizing features to implement so I think this is just a matter of your needs are not in high priority as some other things so may be it will get implemented later
now i agree options are good, but how they are presented is also very important, i didn't like how the list of things to change are so long in android, but then again i hope there were more settings to fiddle around with, so lets just hope when they do come up with more options they are better presented
sooooo, jdd77 you don't seriously hate everything about the phone right? i think it's worth while to see if there are any tricks to help with the issue he is having instead of bashing him for not liking live tiles (not saying the other guys are wrong since i do believe live tile is one of the biggest feature i like... but to each of its own)
oh and... happy new year?
But the crux of the matter that's being discussed is that you CAN'T turn off the core live tiles, such as People and Me.
It's these tiles that people have been complaining about because they are constantly flipping between pictures and are either distracting or possibly a battery drain. The 3rd party live tiles normally do much less changing yet are the ones which can be toggled on or off.
ok then unpin them, the reason they flip is to show information. There isn't any significant battery drain.
But, why should people have to sacrifice ease of use in order to stop the aggravation/distraction of incessant movement.
Why should users be forced to swipe to the right, tap on a random letter, tap on the letter P to pull up the apps, then select the app they want to check as opposed to just tapping on a static tile? There should be an option within the People app for the tile to be live or not. It detracts from nobody, but allows people who have issues with the tile to have peace of mind.
Again, all it takes is a single check-box on the settings page for the People app.
Personally I like the pictures on the Live Tile but I will fight for peoples right to dislike the pictures but want access to the app.
What I can't stand is the dialer on here. I know it's personal preference, but I hate how it only shows the call history. I think the diminutive circle icons are more trouble than they're worth. At the very least the Dialer app should follow the rest of the Metro UI. You should be able to swipe between call history, dial pad, contacts, and possibly visual voicemail. Personally I'd rather it default to the dial pad, and I know there are others like me, but at the same time there are many people who prefer the call history.
The OS should be smooth and easy enough for ALL people to use, and sometimes you need at least a few settings/options to make people happy. I'd say that's why Android is so much more popular, even though I love so much about the clever feature integration within WP7 it just isn't easy enough to mold to the majority of people.
Big Supes
New member
I'm finding it difficult to relate this "incomplete" argument to our conversation. No OS is 'complete'. Completion is an illusion that technology chases.
As stated previously, I really don't see how you're "someone off the street". For starters, you never made it off the coach and into the street, or even tried the phone/OS before purchasing it. Putting it loosely (and I always trust my gut), knowing you're a big fan of Android, I suspect WP generated enough noise for you to want to compare the two. I see so many Android fans 'comparing'... I guess it's natural to do so, but you loose all objectivity when the ante is set by something you favour.
Okay, I stand corrected; I forgot "IMO". Kinda took a leap of faith...
So, please, enlighten me... how does that work, exactly?
*Walks into phone store*
"Hmm... what's this? Ohh, it's that Windows Phone I've heard about. Damn, those tiles flipping around are distracting. I'LL TAKE IT!".
The toast comes in handy when it's locked, for example, tonight I was sat in the theatre watching M.I 4, my phone vibrated, I took a sneaky look and saw it was a text, who it was from, and the start of the message. If I hadn't looked, I would have unlocked my phone and checked the live tile.
Like I said before, I'm all up for customising tiles with different colours, etc. I just don't see any sense in having an option to disable the core functionality of the home screen.
Options are great, I agree, but where does it stop? Just an option to turn off live tile. Just an option for a different notification system. Just an option for different dialler settings. Just an option for folders and sub-folders. Just an option for different size tiles. Just an option for different colour tiles. Just an option for background wallpapers... and the list goes on. Suddenly, WP has gone from being a cleverly thought out OS that anyone can pick up and get along with, to being a minefield of configuration and options.
IMO, options need to be factored and prioritised by MS from people who have a genuine interest into the OS. People who pick up the phone and love it for what it is; not from Android fans who order it without seeing it, purely to compare.
bigkevbosky
New member
My Focus can easily do internet sharing with a simple hack. I don't need the function, because I never plan to use my phone that way. Some people do. Live tiles are simply a fun option of the OS - the "experience" of WP7 is in no way degraded by not having them. You think its fun and not distracting to have live tiles, I prefer them non-live. And the great thing would be, for MS to make simple options, not complicated with hacks etc, to turn off the live functionality.
A perfect example - the Zune tile. For some reason, you can't get it to go back to a static "Zune" logo once its synced and you have your music in there. I don't need to see a picture of the Foo Fighters zooming in and out on my home screen. So now I have to unlock my phone, download Supreme Shortcuts or Themes, and get my Zune tile back. Or I can wipe my phone and on new install simply not connect with Zune. Or, I guess, I could unpin my music player from my home screen, and have to swipe then scroll down to launch the app. Why is all this necessary? Can't there just be ONE simple "off" toggle switch in "Zune" settings?
But the core functionality of the home screen is the TILE, not the "live" nature of it. Does it separate WP7 from the other OS options? Sure. When you take the "live" aspect away from tiles does it just become an iOS like icon launch pad? Sure. But either way, that doesn't affect YOU and how you use the phone. It affects ME because I'm the one choosing to lose the functionality. You know what I mean?
Not really - I'd argue that iOS has tons more options when you go into the settings menu, yet most people would say its the simplest OS to use.
And, again, I'm not trying to be a prick, I just don't understand how having options to customize the phone in the way I want hurts YOUR experience. I'm really trying hard to see your point how more options are bad, but I can't. The option is there, its your choice to utilize it. If turning off live tiles is an option deep in the settings menu, how does that ruin your phone or suddenly make WP a "cleverly thought out OS" to a "minefield"?
I haven't really been involved in this argument, just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
I understand everyone's wants and needs are different and it'd be nice to meet everyone's. Unfortunately, software development is an act of balancing cost, schedule, and resources. Them spending time to implement and test options for the 1% that want that option takes away from the resources that could have been used to implement and test options that are desired by 90% of users.
Would you say that an option to turn off tile animation is as important as the ability to control volume separately for music and ringer? how about more important than integrating new services into the people hub?
Live tiles are what separates WP from the others, that and its stability and integrated services that other OSes still do not have. These complaints are by far very minor,haven't certainly seen any of these in the cons of the reviews of these phones on carrier sites. In fact the only bad reviews I see are from those who simply do not understand the OS and have not researched /tried it out before buying it. We as a forum are supposedly more advanced than the average world when it comes to buying and owning smartphones, so since they don't complain about it we most definitely shouldn't . Also complaining in a forum about this won't do anything, Microsoft created a site specifically for this.
Big Supes
New member
I wholehearted disagree. Live Tiles are a key component to the Metro UI. They're also unique and separate WP from all of it's competitors.
I just don't see why the 95% of people off the street would want or need this option. Hackers and people who blindly order with zero research don't fulfil the demand criteria.
Or... you could just leave it.
Forgive me for my lack of empathy, but I find it really quite odd that you would want to make such changes. Honestly.
The two go hand-in-hand. The tiles are live; "Live Tiles".
I'm with you, but I don't think many others are (IMO). Live Tiles are the selling point of WP. Having an option to disable them is like asking for an option to incline a car seat. Sure, a minority of folk may like to "lose functionality", but that doesn't mean that anyone should or 'would' recognise them.
Personally, at the moment, I like it when I go into the settings to change something and - wallah - I can instantly see the option I need. No messing around. No clutter with needless settings geared towards an extreme minority.
I'm all for more options, but I could pick a handful that would be more of a priority over disabling core Live Tiles.
This is all merely my opinion on how I see the demand from the target demographic.
bigkevbosky
New member
You're right on that, 95% of people don't want or need it. But then, 95% of people don't research which phone they're going to buy either. That's why WP7 has something like 6% of the market. Pretty much all of us are the people who researched. If you're just one of the "uneducated masses" you go with an Apple device, because everyone else has an iPhone, or you go with an Android device if you want to save some cash. Seems to me very few people walk in off the street with no research and pick up a Windows Phone.
Again, you're right, and I get why MS is pushing it, as its unique to the OS, but my original point was you can lose the "live" part and still get mostly the same experience. If you lose the "tile" part, that's the core functionality. There's no real way to navigate the main screen without the tile.
I also think that live tiles are, at this point, used poorly. It seems only Microsoft themselves has really done a great job incorporating information you'd actually want to see into a live tile. Most 3rd party live tiles are pointless and flip just for the sake of flipping. I would argue that the people tile flips just for the sake of flipping, without adding any additional helpful information. You could convince me its useful to see upcoming calendar appointments and missed calls and texts and such, but I think the Zune tile and the People tile and the Xbox Live tile are animated pointlessly. But that's really me being picky, I understand that.
I agree. For example, why can't I pin "podcasts" as a group instead of each individual podcast? Or, even better, pin "new" so I could just click it and see all my new content. Why is it when I make a new note with Office its friggin purple? I don't want a purple tile. But what I really like about the OS is that all my complaints are minor. I've used iOS and Android both for years and I had MAJOR problems with the core of those operating systems. I have no major problems with WP7. I just think this is an interesting and fun debate we're having.
It's actually one of my favorite things about the OS. If you pick up a Windows Phone it just feels personal. You see me, my friends, the last artist I listened to, my calendar, pictures I took or saved, my avatar, and so on.
It gives it a personality where the most you can do in something like iOS is arrange icons (and add wallpaper, which i'm sure we'll get soon enough).
I think it will be really interesting when people see live tiles everywhere, windows 8, Xbox 360, windows phone...., I'm pretty sure MS will keep pushing them. Personally I like them and they really do make everything feel more personal
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
On top of everything else, this is the most aggravating thing: its MICROSOFT. A software company that has developed many user interfaces, and has been around long before Google and the iPhone. The argument that "its only a year old, give it a chance" just doesn't cut it. Weather your part of the 1% or 99%, its most likely that 100% have used Windows at some point in their lives... so would be expecting much more.
How could a company that has created the Xbox, set the standard for writing documents, and developed Internet Explorer..release a device that lacks things like separate volume controls or more customization in its UI? Who was on the Microsoft developing team upon the release of Wp7...people that never used a cellphone before? And who are these people..8th grade school girls? What business man is gonna want to pull out this phone among his colleagues, with a magenta or baby-blue interface? What business man wants to look at their home screen full of applications that move up and down or flip and spin? Its like a playground.
So yes, it is more important to spend the time and energy to implement the option to turn off live tiles...to include 100% of the demographic. Unless of course you're ten years old.
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If you could release software that did everything the first go around there would be no need for updates, yet... most software gets updates. Look at the evolution of iOS and Android, equally obvious functionality has been left out of those operating systems but we expect Microsoft to be where they are with a fraction of the development time.
Regarding business, Windows Phone is a consumer product as it is. Apollo (per Microsoft's own leaked slides) is where it will become more business oriented. We'll have to wait and see what that means (though I doubt it means turning off live tiles).
You just need to understand that this option is something an overwhelming majority of people don't need and thus it won't be a high priority. You can say they should cater to everyone, but they need to catch up in core functionality first.
jaja does having a purple tile make you feel less of a man?
once again look at the customer reviews. You don't see the things you're complaining about, WP7 has the highest satisfaction rate among it's customers and it made it here without separate volume controls and customization. You represent 0.000001% of the demographic that MS is targeting if that,the rest of us simply could careless and your complaining will do nothing about it so just stop.
bigkevbosky
New member
jaja no I just don't really like the color jaja jaja
Seriously, after the decent discussion we have going on here, that's something you actually took the time to respond with?
That would have been nice, but what would have happened if Microsoft had to wait for the equivalent of Apollo (2012) for that? They would have had even less of a chance to gain marketshare from iOS and Android than they do now. At some point you gotta put out a v1 product and get it out in the market, unfortunately.
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