Over the last several weeks, reviewers, analysts and reporters seem to have forgotten the very raison d’être for being in the technology industry in the first place – “to go boldly where no man has gone before.” This is especially true when it comes to Windows 8′s user interface.

Certainly, the Windows 8 UI is a very distinctive departure from the previous versions. However, Microsoft was very clear about why it undertook such an initiative. The company wanted to bring the world of mobile, touch and traditional clients closer together. And this new “modern UI,” as I understand is the proper nomenclature for the new interface, achieves Microsoft’s goal very well.

First of all, Windows 8 finally legitimizes the poor Windows key that has sat mostly in the proverbial wilderness of the 104 keys on a keyboard for over 17 years. It operates much in the same aspect as the Windows key on a Windows 8 Phone, the home key on an Android-based phone or tablet, and the home key on an iPhone or iPad. This is smart!

While I must admit that the left-to-right scrolling of the Start screen takes a little getting used to, it’s not exactly taxing my cerebral capabilities. That said, the outcry from critics over the loss of the Start button is a mere distraction. Essentially, the Start screen is the first true progression in the Windows user interface since 1985, when the original Microsoft Windows was first introduced.

And if the absent Start button is the only thing critics can gripe about, then frankly, Microsoft has done a magnificent job. For those die-hard needy users who won’t use their computers without a Start button, there are solutions. Microsoft has generously promoted a cottage industry and micro economy for Start button replacement applications to be developed.

I encourage everyone to try the new interface for a couple of days, and then go back to Windows 7 or XP (or Vista – ugh!) for a couple of days before writing off Windows 8 — which is what I did. And although I have been accused (and probably rightly so) of being a power user, the way I utilize my computer is not much different than most other people. My primary applications are the Microsoft Office applications (namely Word and Excel), web browsers, email clients, instant messaging clients, and Evernote.

For me, Windows 8 has a very careful balance between those of us who prefer the use of a keyboard rather than a mouse, as well as those who are progressing toward using tablets and touchscreens more often. I found the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 completely seamless. Some of the personalization applications that I have installed to make my life easier have no issues running in Windows 8. All my peripherals such as webcams, printers, etc. all work without modification or fuss.

Do I question some of the UI decisions Microsoft made? Yes! However, it is a case of getting used to the new interface. I like the Windows Store concept Windows 8 employs, which aligns very closely to the way I use my tablet and smartphone.

In fact, as a result of Windows 8, I have been able to uninstall several applications because the functions are now native to Windows 8. These included my full disk encryption application as Windows 8 Pro comes with BitLocker — a program that I encourage everyone to use.

I have barely scratched the surface of Windows 8, and there are many more things to get used to. But this is absolutely no different than getting a new laptop and adjusting to the new configuration of the Home/End, PgUp/PgDn, Insert/Delete keys. It is no different to adjusting between a touchpad, a pencil eraser top-style mouse on a laptop, or a new shape of a mouse.

Once more, to all the reviewers, analysts, and reporters out there, this is a call to action for you to help users evolve and progress. I want to understand how to take advantage of Windows 8, not read multiple pages of rhetoric of why Microsoft ruined your life because you can’t find the Windows button on keyboard.

Hulk artwork via el-grimlock/deviantart

Benjamin Woo is the founder and Managing Director of Neuralytix, Inc. He frequently speaks at industry and customer events worldwide and is often quoted by leading business and technology press. Prior to founding Neuralytix, he was the Program Vice President of IDC’s Worldwide Storage Systems Research, where he led a team of analysts responsible for advising clients on the evolution and trends related to data storage system.

Microsoft already made controller-less motion interaction popular with Kinect, so why not try to revolutionize other kinds of sensor and interaction technology?

A new video from Microsoft Research details a project called Digits, a hand sensor that projects your motions accurately on a screen. Ideally, Digits will be able to provide interaction for gaming, augmented reality, apps on mobile devices, and more.

The main components of Digits are an infrared camera, infrared laser-line generator, diffuse illumination, and an inertial measurement unit. While it’s not quite as cool as Google Glass, Digits is still a fascinating way advanced technology could change how we interact with digital and real-world objects.

Check out the video above for more.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Touchscreens may have completely changed the mobile phone interface, but tomorrow’s phones will go even further, responding to grip, squeezing and other input on the sides and back of the device. This, at least, is the vision of  Swedish interface designers TAT (The Astonishing Tribe), which recently demoed a concept phone called Fuse at the Mobile World Congress.

Fuse was created for Texas Instruments together with partners Synaptics, Immersion and Alloy. The phone demonstrates multiple interface technologies. The entire phone — back, sides and screen — is touch-sensitive. The interface responds to grip — squeezing the sides of the phone, — and users can navigate through the on-screen interface without obscuring their view by touching the back of the phone. The phone also gives tactile feedback so that, for example, you can feel objects bouncing off the side of the screen.

TAT also got a lot of attention for its demo of a multiple screen display on the Blaze mobile development platform, another project for TI based on the OMAP 4 platform. That demo used one screen for navigation and the other for viewing content.

TAT is based in Malmo, Sweden, employs 150 people and is privately funded.