We spoke to a Microsoft insider who wished to remain anonymous. He admitted that Windows 8 for PCs and also the Surface RT and Pro tablets it runs on aren't selling well, which is pretty much what everyone knows anyway. However, he admitted that two of the big reasons for this are due to the removal of the much-loved Start menu to be replaced by the unpopular Metro/Modern UI interface and the desktop Aero theme first seen in Windows Vista and later refined in Windows 7.
Well, that's interesting: the unnamed rep is talking about "easing the transition". So, does this mean that these features will be pulled again in later versions of the operating system? We'll just have to wait and see.We have put a lot of effort into the development of Windows 8 to try and bring our customers an improved user experience ranging from an innovative touch-centric user interface providing a consistent experience across PCs, tablets and smartphones, to the many under-the-hood features, including security and stability improvements.
Unfortunately, it appears that our customers are taking longer to adjust to the new touch-centric interface than we expected, which appears to be putting people off purchasing the product. Therefore, to help ease the transition, one part of the Windows Blue initiative will be to restore the Start menu and the elegant Aero interface missed by so many to the legacy desktop and allow booting straight into it. The new touch-centric interface will remain available however and improved further. Microsoft will be releasing official details about this within the next few weeks.
And what about the third feature? He really surprised us with this one, saying that the "intelligent" pop-up Office Assistant - often dubbed Clippy, from the default animated paper clip character - first introduced with Office 97 and last seen in Office 2003, will be making a return to the latest Office 2013 and Office 365 productivity suites.
So, why was it dropped? Because everyone hated it, basically. It had a tendency to pop up at awkward moments, such as when giving a PowerPoint presentation for example, had some annoying animations (especially the damned paperclip) and really wasn't all that intelligent in the end, making it of limited use. In fact, people hated it so much, that parodies like the ones below were often made of it.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Cruel, but funny, isn't it?
However, Microsoft believes that the basic concept of an intelligent pop-up assistant is sound and just needed improvement. Therefore, they have now refined it to be less intrusive and more "intelligent", increasing its usefulness:
Can't wait indeed. The rep also told us that there's a possibility that it might be backported to Office 2007 and Office 2010.The Microsoft Office Assistant is coming back to Office! It will feature as a free add-on to our latest Office 2013 and Office 365 products.
Microsoft continues to believe in the concept of an intelligent Office Assistant, always there just when you need it most. Unfortunately, the first version wasn't received too well due to a number of design shortcomings. To address these, we have developed new, proprietary technology to make it more useful than ever and will be formally revealing it at the same time as the return of the Start menu and Aero, in a few weeks. We can't wait!
It remains to be seen whether the new version is really much better than the old one, however. Even if it is, once a reputation is tarnished, it's hard to get it back, so we'll wait and see with this one. Watch this space.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
All the Microsoft Office Assistants available for Office versions 97-2003. What's your favourite?
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