Nerve Endings Firing Away

Chris Prillo’s dad, a Windows XP user is shown the Consumer Preview of Windows 8:

Change is good but as I mentioned in my quick review, it shouldn’t be that drastic as to alienate your base. It is like Google+ trying to imitate Facebook, Windows is letting Mac’s modest gains among consumers scare it into trying some radically different. Windows 8 would’ve been great on a MSFT-recommended tablet and once you get people used to the interface, you port it to the desktop. This also gives you time to iron out any usability bugs.

Taking cues from the feedback on his video and also from the last word by his dad, he gave his Dad a Mac to use for the first time. Although the following video is 30 mins long, it is fascinating to see someone who is not at all familiar with the Mac interface potter around trying to figure stuff out.

Like Chris says, “there’s no such thing as a perfect operating system. They all have their strengths and weaknesses; it’s how we navigate around them to suit our needs that makes the difference for each of us.” But it does matter if a computer works hard enough to make the user interface easier and more intuitive.