BUILD 2015 Continuum features

So taskbar all the time is pretty much guaranteed now, as they're going ahead with the idea to put a back button on the taskbar.

On an 8" portrait device at least, the side menu of the start screen is hidden behind a menu button though, which helps a little bit.

 

I have to say that after Belfiore's demo, I feel slightly less anxious than before.

Good to see semantic zoom added to the All Apps list.

 

The Continuum for phones stuff actually seemed more interesting to me. I feel like the PC version will be tweaked (like with the menu button thing I mentioned) but it feels like a lost cause to me. The extra capabilities added to phone look nice though (despite the fact that I do prefer the PC version in 8.1.)

 

Yes, but you'll need new Phone hardware to take advantage of it (Phone needs to support dual screen display). I can see it being of great interest to Businesses. Me, I'm retired, so I'll carry on using my Lumia 1020 until it breaks.

 

The lead of the design team just made this post - well worth a read. It mostly talks about the phone, but demonstrates there are still some sensible people working there, that they do in fact take critique seriously and act on it - and finally, what we see in the public builds as far UI is still pretty far from the final product.

For the longest time I really thought anyone with any form of talent had left the company, and as the supposed release grew closer lost any hope it could be rectified in time - but this, at least partly show there still might be some hope : )

... still, there HAS to be an option to swipe that taskbar in and out, and a full-screen mode in Edge. Give me that though, and I think I can manage to move on.

 

FYI, as far as I can see on my 10.6" Surface Pro 2, the hiding of that side bar isn't in the start screen yet on build 10074 released today.

Snap works a little tiny bit more like it did in Windows 8.1, though resizing apps is still broken. I'm frequently left with empty white space instead of sections of the app.

Also, way too much empty space at the top of the start screen.

 

OMG! They're bringing back jump lists on the start menu. Woohoo! Screw tablet mode, I'm in!!

Anyway, back to the topic of discussion: continuum.

Edit: for fun while I have the link in my clipboard, here is the simulated demo of continuum for phones.

 

Ah, afraid my optimism was way premature.
They released their design guide today (parts of it at least) - looks like the old stuff. Have no clue why they would advice people to start designing applications based on this if they're going to change it. Digging for some upside, the ToggleSwitch looks better.

Played around a bit with the latest build on my Vaio 15A today. As much as I try, I really can't find anything good about it. The general interface being used on a tablet still thoroughly sucks, the visual design language is many steps backwards, and the redesigned applications mostly looks like poor responsive websites masquerading as apps.

 

The really sad thing is there is just a TON of under-the-hood stuff that I'm loving in watching some Build sessions (DirectInk, device casting stuff I just watched a session about, the Win32-in-store/Project Centennial stuff, etc.). If tablet mode doesn't work well for me though, it's all for nothing as I'll be staying on 8.1.

 

Same here, it's really a lot of fantastic stuff on the technical side - even more so when you consider the ground work they're putting in place for the coming years. When they can't put the same amount of care, effort and ambition into the user-interface and presentation of content it really comes up short though.