Metro? Just Call It Windows 8
Written by Lucy Black   
Friday, 10 August 2012

We've waited a week to discover the new name for all things  "Metro" - user interface, style, design and apps. And now we know it's something of a letdown.

Despite the fact that the name "Metro" was introduced to refer to the Windows Phone 7 interface, it was the name adopted for the Windows 8 interface with a good deal of pride about the statement this made about its design principles:

 

metropride

 

This was the official philosophy until suddenly last week "Metro" became a banned word, see Microsoft Drops Metro Name.

So what catchy name would Microsoft choose as a replacement?

A week down the line, and according to Mary Jo Foley who has lots of inside contacts in Microsoft, the name that has been selected is ... cue drumroll .... Windows 8 - a bit of an anti-climax we think.

And a bit of a missed opportunity if it turns out to be true.

 

windows8logo

 

It's also a bit of a mouthful - especially when referring to the Windows 8 Phone interface as "the Windows 8 interface on Windows Phone 8". And what about the Windows Phone 7 interface, which was the interface originally, officially dubbed "Metro" in 2010. Is that now to be referred to as "the Windows 8 interface on Windows Phone 7"?

Personally, I prefer "NUI" which was proposed in a comment to last week's new. This stands for "New User Interface" which is allegedly what Microsoft told its developers to use while it debated the alternatives. At least it would have the advantage of brevity.

So now we know - in place of Metro Style we say Windows 8 Style, in place of Metro App we say Windows 8 App and so on... Presumably a Windows 8 Desktop App isn't a Windows 8 App but a Windows 7 App that just happens to run on Windows 8.

It's a bit of a mess.

I'm going to call it "The User Interface Formerly Known As Metro", TUIFKAM

Related Articles

Microsoft Drops Metro Name

Metro Revealed (Book Review)

Three Windows 8 Editions Clarify the WinRT Position

How Microsoft Could Have Done Metro

Dumping .NET - Microsoft's Madness

 

picobook

 



 

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 August 2012 )