blog

Windows® 8

Posted October 29, 2012 by Dawn

On October 26, 2012, Windows® 8 officially launched.  On October 12, two weeks prior to the anticipated release date, I began using the new operating system.  As a developer, XLDent gains access to beta and final release versions of Microsoft® products before they are publicly distributed.  Our research and development teams were actively engaged in both the 2012 version of Windows Server and Windows 8 long before October

Up until the 12th, I had not experienced Windows 8 except in development meetings and the occasional test drive on our evaluation systems.   Let me tell you…it was a great experience!  Truth be told, the Modern UI caused me some confusion in my general Windows navigation initially, but once I got over the fact that the Start button was gone I quickly adjusted.  My acclimation to the new platform was very natural and intuitive.

Microsoft completely rethought the initial experience – the way in which we start interacting with a computer when the screen comes on.  The “desktop” has been replaced with a series of large tiles which you swipe from side to side with your finger (or mouse if you don’t have a touch screen).  “Modern UI”, as it’s called is tile presentation without the “close”, “minimize” or “maximize” buttons.  The touch interface allows you to use gestures on the screen, which enhances the user experience even more. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen and you get five icons known as charms:  Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings.  Swipe from the left to switch between open apps.  Swipe from the top or bottom to get app-specific options, such as the address bar in Internet Explorer.  It works smoothly and after a few days, the old way of using Windows started to seem slightly cumbersome to me.

Our testing continues through our entire dental practice management system and we anticipate having our compatibility statements online in the near future.

 

Posted in: Dental Technology, XLDent Company,
Tagged : ,,,,