software design

  1. Windows 11 SCOOBE Redesign: Less Intrusive, But Still Frustrating for Users

    Logging in to Windows 11 after setup should be the start of a smooth PC experience, but for many users, it’s felt more like a gauntlet of annoying popups. For months, Microsoft has been bombarding users with the “Second-chance Out-of-Box Experience” (SCOOBE): an intrusive string of prompts...
  2. The Enduring DNA of Windows: How Core Features Persist Across Decades

    From its earliest days as a revolutionary graphical shell for MS-DOS to its current incarnation in the sleek, AI-augmented interface of Windows 11, Microsoft Windows has evolved on nearly every front—yet, remarkably, certain core elements have endured across every era of its existence. While the...
  3. Microsoft Edge 138: Loss of Windows 11 Blur Effects Sparks User Outcry

    The latest update to Microsoft Edge has sparked significant frustration among design aficionados and devoted Windows 11 users, who have long prized the browser's alignment with Microsoft's modern user interface philosophy. With the rollout of Edge version 138, a seemingly minor tweak—the...
  4. Windows 11’s New Black Screen of Death: A Modern Makeover for Error Reporting

    For nearly four decades, encountering the notorious Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has signaled a critical system failure for Windows users. This quintessential blue error screen, often appearing at the most inopportune moments, has become engrained in both tech culture and the collective memory of...
  5. Windows 11 Replaces Blue Screen of Death with Black Screen for Better UI Clarity

    Here's a summary of your article about the change from the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to a Black Screen of Death in Windows: Why Microsoft is Retiring the Blue Screen of Death Windows’ iconic "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD) is being replaced with a black screen in Windows 11. Microsoft’s reason...
  6. Microsoft Announces User-Friendly Changes to Copilot Key—A Win for Windows Users

    The unmistakable, slightly metallic clack of another bafflingly labeled keyboard key—a veritable harbinger of yet another Microsoft experiment—has become an all-too-familiar sound for those of us who spend our days patrolling the digital frontlines of Windows innovation and user revolt. Yes, I’m...
  7. Windows 11 File Explorer Gets Subtle Visual Updates: A Closer Look

    It’s not every day you wake up, groggily reach for your coffee, and feel a trembling in the very fabric of your digital universe—yet today, that’s exactly what’s happened if you’re a dedicated Windows user. Or, more specifically, if you’re one of the rare but intrepid souls who keeps a keen eye...
  8. Windows 11 Calendar Flyout Reintroduces Seconds Clock: Balancing Nostalgia and Modern Design

    Microsoft Reincorporates the Clock into Windows 11 Calendar Flyout: A Balancing Act Between Legacy and Modernity Microsoft's journey from Windows 10 to Windows 11 has been a tale filled with ambitious design shifts as well as some contentious user experience decisions. One of the recent...
  9. Microsoft Officially Phases Out Windows Control Panel in Favor of Settings App

    In a significant shift in its software design and user experience strategy, Microsoft has officially confirmed that it will be phasing out the Windows Control Panel, an integral part of the Windows operating system since its initial introduction in 1985. This decision comes after nearly 14 years...
  10. Windows 11 Introduces Category View for Streamlined App Management

    Windows 11 has unveiled an exciting new feature for its Start menu— a Category view that promises to enhance app management for users. Recently, participants in the Windows 11 Beta program received a first look at this feature, which is inspired by the layout simplicity found in iOS’s app...
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    Windows 10 Reserved file names.

    People at various times run into mysterious problems that have no apparent source but are eventually found out to be caused by the innocent use of a file named "aux.txt" or any one of the other reserved file names. It isn't realistic to expect that all users of such an ubiquitous system as...
  12. How to Restart your App Programmatically

    For some apps (especially games) it is not uncommon for the app to get into a state where it needs to restart – perhaps after a license update, after installing downloadable content, its caches have become corrupt or unwieldy, or for any other reason where the app needs to refresh state from...
  13. VIDEO [C#] Reversi Program - Using GDI With Fully Integrated Logic Class

    Probably one of the most advanced games I've tried recreating. I don't make a lot of games, but the logic here on a matrix was a little convoluted through the development stages. What I mean by fully integrated logic is that the control itself does absolutely everything for you. You can...
  14. Windows 8: the lovechild of Windows Phone and Windows 7

    By Tim Conneally, Betanews Microsoft has given the public its first glimpse into how it plans to tackle the problem of an "interface agnostic" Windows OS. Link Removed - Invalid URL Link Removed - Invalid URL Link Removed - Invalid URL Link Removed - Invalid URL Link Removed - Invalid...
  15. Windows 7 Hanselminutes on 9 - Digging into Entity Framework 4 Code First (Magic Unicorn Edition)

    Scott is in Redmond this week and talks to Jeff Derstadt, the Lead Developer on Entity Framework Code First (or, as Scott says, EF Magic Unicorn). What's the deal with this new feature in Entity Framework? What about the bad rap that EF got back in the day? What's new in EF4 and how does EF Code...
  16. Qualcomm plans to support Windows 8 on Snapdragon chips

    Software design efforts stepped up to support more operating systems Qualcomm on Tuesday said it is stepping up its software efforts as its chips begin supporting more operating systems, including Microsoft's upcoming Windows OS, which will be targeted at mobile devices, tablets and PCs. Link...
  17. Windows 7 Win 7 Task bar = counter productivity

    I wonder if anyone tried this with the new task of win 7 1. open 2 windows of firefox/internet explorer 2. open another 2 documents of word 3. minimize all of them now, how do we get to the first opened firefox window? or any of the word document? i have to move the cursor to the firefox icon...