Switched On: Desktop divergence

Last week's Switched On discussed how Lion's feature set could be perceived differently by new users or those coming from an iPad versus those who have used Macs for some time, while a previous Switched On discussed how Microsoft is preparing for a similar transition in Windows 8. Both OS X Lion and Windows 8 seek to mix elements of a tablet UI with elements of a desktop UI or -- putting it another way -- a finger-friendly touch interface with a mouse-driven interface. If Apple and Microsoft could wave a wand and magially have all apps adopt overnight so they could leave a keyboard and mouse behind, they probably would. Since they can't, though, inconsistency prevails.

Yet, while the OS X-iOS mashup that is Lion exhibits is share of growing pains, the fall-off effect isn't as pronounced as it appears it will be for Windows 8. The main reasons for this are, in order of increasing importance, legacy, hardware, and Metro.
Legacy. Microsoft has an incredibly strong commitment to backward compatibility. As long as Microsoft supports older Windows apps (which will be well into the future), there will be a more pronounced gap between that old user interface and the new. This will likely become more of a difference between Microsoft and Apple over time. For now, however, Apple is also treading lightly, and several of Lion's user interface changes -- including "natural" scrolling directions, Dashboard as a space, and the hiding of the hard drive on the desktop -- can be reversed. Even some of Lion's "full-screen" apps are only a cursor movement away from revealing their menus.

Hardware. As Apple continues to keep touchscreens off the Mac, it brings over the look but not the input experience of iPad apps, relying instead on the precision of a mouse or trackpad. Therefore, these Mac apps do not have to embrace finger-friendliness. In contrast, the "tablet" UI of Windows 8 is designed for fingertips and therefore demands a cleaner break with an interface designed for mice (although Microsoft preserves pointer control as well so these apps can be used on PCs without touchscreens).

Metro. A late entrant to the gesture-driven touchscreen handset wars, Microsoft sought to differentiate Windows Phone 7 with its panoramic user interface. When Joe Belfiore introduced Windows Phone 7 at Mobile World Congress in 2010, he repeatedly noted that "the phone is not a PC." That's an accurate assessment, and perhaps one worth repeating in light of all the feedback Microsoft ignored over the years in the design of Pocket PC and Windows Mobile. It also of couse holds true beond the user interface for design around context and support of location-based services.

But now that the folks in Redmond have created an enjoyable phone interface, have things actually changed? Was it true only that the phone and PC shoud not have the same old Windows interface, or is it also still true that the PC and phone should not have the same new Windows Phone interface? Was it the nature of the user interface itself that was at fault, or the notion of the same user interface across PC and phone regardless of how good it is?

There is certainly room for more consistency across PCs, tablets and handsets. However, Microsoft did not just differentiate Windows Phone 7 from iOS and Android, it differentiated it from Windows as well. And that is the main reason why the shift in context between a classic Windows app and a "tablet" Windows 8 app seems more striking at this point than the difference between a classic Mac app and "full screen" Lion app. Lion's full-screen apps could be the new point of crossover with Windows 8's "tablet" user interface mode. Based on what we've seen on the handset side, it is certainly possible for developers to write the same apps for the iPhone and Windows Phone 7, but these are generally simpler apps (and then there are games, which generally ignore most user interface conventions anyway).

Apple and Microsoft are both clearly striving for a simpler user experience, but Microsoft is also trying to adapt its desktop OS to a new form factor in the process of doing so. The balancing act for both companies will be making their new combinations of software and hardware (from partners in the case of Microsoft) embrace a new generation of users while minimizing alienation for the existing one.

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期待小鸟的精彩翻译。。。。。。。。。。。。

附上谷歌的蛋疼翻译：

上周的交换评讨论如何狮子的功能设置可以感知不同，新的用户或那些来自一个相对于那些谁已经使用了一段时间的Mac iPad的，而一个以前的交换在讨论如何微软是一个在Windows 8类似的过渡准备。双方OS X的狮子和Windows 8寻求与桌面UI或元素混合平板UI元素 - 把它的另一种方法 - 鼠标驱动的界面友好手指触摸界面。如果苹果和微软能够挥动魔杖和magially一夜之间所有的应用程序采用，这样他们就可以离开，他们可能会背后的键盘和鼠标。由于他们不能，尽管有不一致之处为准。

然而，虽然在OS X - IOS的​​混搭，是狮子展品是成长的烦恼份额，脱落，效果并不像明显，因为它似乎将会为Windows 8。这种现象的主要原因是，在重要性日益增加，传统的硬件，和地铁秩序。
遗产。微软有一个令人难以置信的坚定承诺，向后兼容。只要微软支持较旧的Windows应用程序（这将在未来也），会有之间，旧的用户界面和新的更明显的差距。这将有可能成为微软和苹果之间的差异随着时间的推移。然而，就目前而言，苹果还踩踏掉以轻心，和几个狮子的用户界面的变化 - 包括“自然”的滚动方向，仪表板作为一个空间，和桌面上的硬盘驱动器的隐藏 - 可以逆转。即使一些狮子的“全屏幕”的应用程序只有一个光标移动远离揭示他们的菜单。

硬件。由于苹果公司继续保持关闭Mac电脑触摸屏，它带来的外观，但不iPad应用程序的输入体验，鼠标或触控板的精度，而不是依靠。因此，这些Mac应用程序没有拥抱手指友好。相比之下，“平板”Windows 8的UI设计的指尖，因此要求对小鼠设计了一个接口清洁的突破（虽然微软保留指针控制，以及使这些应用程序可以在个人电脑上使用无触摸屏）。

地铁。微软的后进入者的姿态驱动的触摸屏手机战争，试图区分其全景式的用户界面的Windows Phone 7。当Joe Belfiore在移动世界大会推出的Windows Phone 7在2010年，他多次指出，“手机是不是一台电脑。”这是一个准确的评估，也许是一个值得重复的所有反馈微软在掌上电脑和Windows Mobile的设计多年来忽视。职高还拥有真正beond的周围环境和支持基于位置的服务设计的用户界面。

但是现在，在Redmond的人们已经创建了一个愉快的手机界面，有事情实际上改变了呢？难道只有手机和PC应该不会有相同的旧的Windows接口，它也依然如此，PC和手机不应该有相同的新的Windows手机界面？是它的用户界面本身过错的性质，或横跨PC和手机相同的用户界面的概念，不管它有多好？

当然是有更多的跨电脑，平板电脑和手机的一致性。不过，微软并不仅仅是区别于iOS和Android的Windows Phone 7，分化以及从Windows。这是主要的原因上下文中的一个典型的Windows应用程序和“片”Windows 8的应用程序之间的转变似乎在这一点上更引人注目的比一个经典的Mac应用程序和“全屏”狮子应用程序之间的区别。狮子的全屏幕的应用程序可能是新的交叉点与Windows 8中的“片”的用户界面模式。基于我们已经看到在手机上侧，它是绝对有可能的开发人员能够编写为iPhone相同的应用程序和Windows Phone 7，但这些通常是简单的应用程序（然后有游戏，通常忽略了大多数用户界面反正公约）。

苹果和微软都清楚，一个简单的用户体验而努力，但微软也试图到一个新的外形，在这样做的过程中，以适应其桌面操作系统。两家公司的平衡行为将作出新的软件和硬件组合（来自微软的合作伙伴）拥抱新一代的用户，同时最大限度地减少现有的异化。