I did something new this week as fellow apprentice Eric Koslow and I tackled a day of Internet Explorer 10 testing for a client. The client had an existing site, that included some new code written by 8th Light, and they wanted us to go through their user scripts and check compatibility with Microsoft’s newest browser. Since IE10 requires Windows 8 that also meant we got a taste of Microsoft’s newest operating system and it’s “Metro” interface.

The really good news for developers and UI/UX designers is that out of over 1500 lines of user script there were only two instances when something looked off in IE10. On a couple of pages the space disappeared between two input boxes. The boxes were on top of each other and instead of their being maybe 5 pixels of spacing between the two, they butted up against each other. (I unfortunately don’t have access to the source code or I would share exactly what style attribute was used that didn’t persist.)

As for Windows 8 and “Metro”, it’s a really bold move for Microsoft and is very different from any previous desktop OS. Windows 8 has a traditional “desktop” mode which looks something like Windows 7, Vista [shudder] or XP—but lacks the iconic “Start” button. However, Window 8 defaults to using the Metro UI, which is much more like a tablet interface. There are tiles that represent the apps or actions you want to use, and once you select an application it immediately goes full screen. In order to close apps, bring up options, or switch between apps you have to drag or hover over the various edges. When Eric and I couldn’t figure out how to do what we wanted to, we would do our best to try and remember certain Windows key combinations (which after a few tries usually got the job done).

Metro could be a cool interface, but it’s currently toeing the line between intuitive and maddening. I think that Microsoft really needs to invest some resources in a user education campaign the way that Apple did with iOS. As intuitive as the pinch to zoom and cut-copy-paste actions seem now, users still had to be educated when they were first introduced.