If you thought that Windows 8 would improve the personalization features of Windows 7, then you are only half-right. While the operating system certainly offers its fair share of customizations, it has now been confirmed that Windows 8′s new Metro start screen will not offer as many customization options as users may have hoped for.
Instead of allowing users to pick the color scheme or background image they want, selection is limited to eight different styles currently. While it is fairly certain that we will see custom hacks to overcome the limitation, it is likely that many users will be disappointed by the lack of options.
Windows 8 director of communications Chris Flores mentioned in a Tech Radar interview that users would not want photographs as the background, as the photo would not stretch or scale with the start screen, and that it would be covered up mostly as well so that it would be barely visible.
He is basically saying that Windows 8 users lack the intelligence to make this personalization decision on their own, and that Microsoft has to step in to protect their Metro interface from ugliness.
We here at Windows 8 News do not like this restriction at all for a number of reasons. There is certainly nothing wrong with offering official styles that users can switch to. But offering eight styles, and maybe more when the final version comes out, is not enough from a personalization perspective. What if I want to have a photo as the background and do not care if it is repeated or stretched out? What if I have configured Metro for a set amount of apps that won’t change in the near future? Why would Microsoft block the use of a fitting wallpaper image or photo?
What Microsoft should do to resolve the issue? Add a switch to the Control Panel so that users can remove the restrictions, or even better, remove the restriction completely and let users personalize their desktop the way they want to.
What’s your take on the issue? Lets discuss in the comments.
I respectfully disagree, Martin. With a desktop with perhaps some icons on it, it makes sense to allow a picture as a background. Any picture will work, and it defines the look of the screen. With the Metro interface, it just doesn’t make sense. The apps define the look of the screen, and app developers will want to know if their live tile will fit in.
I have photoshopped a best-case scenario and common-case scenario to demonstrate my point. The point being that the live tiles already ask so much attention that to also include a background image that’s not just a solid color (or very much like it) would be to create a mess. The first image included would on a desktop look very clean, here it looks like a mess. The second image would be very much acceptable on a desktop screen, here it’s horrid.
With your reasoning, Microsoft should also include the possibility to have a background image for Windows Explorer, and the Control Panel, and everywhere else. It doesn’t add anything and just make everything look cluttered, but hey, customization!
Excuse me for the tone of this post. I’ll try to be more civil next time.
Personally I couldn’t see myself changing the background of the metro UI to a picture or photo and I’ll probably keep to a colour scheme. The only thing I might like to do is change the background to a pattern or fancy graphic which wouldn’t matter if it was scaled or stretched. I think Microsoft should at least give users the option to do this
Hello,
That’s the most crazy thing i’ve heard from Microsoft.
How
to not be able to change your desktop wallpaper!!!!!! The background
its an important thing, i change mine frequently because it’s F******G
BORING to see every day, week, month the same old picture.
Microsoft WAKE UP, don’t make stupid mistakes like “Vista”!!!
PC and NOTEBOOKs are not TABLET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s better not to allow photos on the start screen if they can’t be scaled to fit. People will start complaining that photos look odd and too stretched. Even if someone has only a few apps, it doesn’t make sense to allow photos for a smaller start screen and not allow the same for a larger start screen. It should be ALL or NONE.
Windows 8 isnt even in beta yet. When microsoft gets feedback, they may decide to enable background changes. Its too early to tell.
Honestly, I can see this being a major problem. I know a lot of people that love having their family as their wallpaper. Being told they can’t do that may be the thing that get’s them an iPad or an Android Tablet.
I tend to use abstract art or patterns as backgrounds which I could see fitting the Metro UI nicely and with no scaling issues. Why artificially limit our choices we can see if things work for us or not.
i also do think that they should leave that decision for the user.
that’s a gift to apple and android : look at windows 8, they can’t even fit an image on their background!
i do not agree also with their statement about stretched images. look at android : when you select an image which is not at the size of your screen, you simply select the area you want to see. it works perfectly, why this couldn’t be done on windows 8?
now, i wish them good luck to explain this to customers that are used to set their wallpapers since almost 20 years….