Tiles gone wild at Microsoft

By | February 23, 2011, 8:27am PST

Summary: “Tiles” seem to be the new design metaphor — or at least the buzzword du jour — all across Microsoft as of late.

“Tiles” seem to be the new design metaphor — or at least the buzzword du jour — all across Microsoft as of late.

Windows Phone 7 has made extensive use of the tiles/Live tiles concept. The automatically updating tiles on WP7 devices are key to Microsoft’s design and its advertising strategy for the devices.

But it seems “tiles” also are coming to Bing, as first noted by Liveside.Net. Microsoft is in the midst of adding authority/reputation tiles to Bing to help users wade through search results to find the most accurate and trusted results. There will be close to 50 Bing tiles to start,with more to be added in the future. The Bing tiles are not sponsored/paid links and won’t affect “organic” search results, Microsoft execs told LiveSide.

There also was a report this week that the Windows 8 user interface for slate/tablet devices (referred to by some by its codename “MoSH,” for Modern Shell) may rely on the tile metaphor. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hinted this might be the case last year, as some may recall, when he hinted that Windows slates could make use of the “Big Buttons” concepts from Windows Media Center. Media Center is considered the first Microsoft offering to have used the typography-centric “Metro” interface that later made it onto the Zune HD and Windows Phone 7.

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Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Disclosure

Mary-Jo Foley

Freelance journalist/blogger Mary Jo Foley has nothing to disclose. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). I do not own Microsoft stock or stock in any of its partners or competitors. I have no business ventures that are sponsored by/funded by Microsoft or any of its partners or competitors.

Biography

Mary-Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 25 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She has kept close tabs on Microsoft strategy, products and technologies for the past 10 years. In the late 1990s, she penned the award-winning "At The Evil Empire" column for ZDNet, and more recently the Microsoft Watch blog for Ziff Davis.

Got a tip? Send her an email with your rants, rumors, tips and tattles. Confidentiality guaranteed.

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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
FAULKNE 13th Oct
Good day to confirm this comment I would appreciate T h e b e s t o f Z D N e t d e l i v e r e d your website very nice to everyone Yes, Oracle is the only one with shared-disk architecture, but that is there advantage. It means you can add or remove nodes and the database lives on. In a shared nothing architecture, if you lose a node, you lose the system. I'm sure Oracle appreciates EMC highlighting their advantage.I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate Awesome post! Thank you very much || thanks for nice content this is really benefit to me.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
bourgeoisie 23rd Feb 2011
The website redesign has a tile/metro aura about it also. have you checked it out?
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Rama.NET 23rd Feb 2011
@oli.burgess
You mean their new Microsoft.com preview site. Yes, that looks fantastic and not busy.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Loverock Davidson 23rd Feb 2011
Makes sense, its a lot easier to get the information this way.
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Surely it's more that
Richard Flude 23rd Feb 2011
7, Live and .NET have outlived their usefulness;-)
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Pete "athynz" Athens 23rd Feb 2011
@Richard Flude DonnieBoy is that you?
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
tonymcs@... 23rd Feb 2011
@Richard Flude

Sadly Richard, that's just projection on your part.
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Another poor UI design..
itguy08 23rd Feb 2011
Tiles solve what problem exactly? They are not efficient in the display of information. They don't look good.

So why?
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Socratesfoot 23rd Feb 2011
@itguy08 "Tiles = Glorified Screen Widgets" - Like all things MS, it's just re-branded so MS can own it.

@WinPhone7Users Yes! You're using screen widgets people!!! It isn't special, it isn't unique. Android and iPhone can have active updating content too.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
dvm Updated - 24th Feb 2011
@Socratesfoot,
"Android and iPhone can have active updating content too. "
The only "active" content I have seen on my iPhone is the quantity of unread email and text messages. Is that your meaning of active updating content?
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
ericesque 23rd Feb 2011
@itguy08 Tiles enforce white space. They bring visual order which allows people to process what they're seeing more quickly.
Android widgets vary widely in size, shape, and all compete visually for your attention. It's like looking into a sea of lightbulbs and picking out the right one.

"They don't look good" is subjective-- and you're wrong wink
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Mythos7 23rd Feb 2011
They really hit onto a good thing with tiles. Don't over do it though because then they won't be special. The animated Xbox avatar that pops up and disappears on my Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live tile cracks people up. Live tiles are well worth the juice.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Ron Burgundy 23rd Feb 2011
@Mythos7 No, they are laughing at you for having a piece of crap for a phone.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
tonymcs@... 23rd Feb 2011
@Ron Burgundy

And they must just be lying to save my feelings when they all say they'll be buying one as soon as their iToy and Android contract's run out. In fact, some of them have already done it wink

Keep staring at your crowded desktop UI with static icons Ron, you obviously don't appreciate change.
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It makes sense for tablet U.I
timiteh 23rd Feb 2011
The first thing which went through my mind when i saw WP7 Metro U.I is that it could be great for Tablet.
Thus i will not be surprised if Windows 8 Tablet U.I use tiles. Though i expect that those tiles will be significantly more eye candy than those of WP7.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Cylon Centurion 23rd Feb 2011
A lot of folks here like to make fun of the tiles, but guess what, tiles are simple and relay a lot of information back to you.

I'll take a dynamic start screen of a screen of static icons anyday.
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hahahahahaha
Hasam1991 23rd Feb 2011
HUGE GIANT ICONS FOR YOU WP7 USERS... they just look weird who wants a UI with giant buttons... it's like a phone for children.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
ericesque 23rd Feb 2011
@Hasam1991 I do!
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Ron Burgundy 23rd Feb 2011
@Hasam1991 Yep, and Ballmer the Dinosaur is marketing to all the little children...

I love you,
You love me,
We're a tiled family
With a retard color scheme and a bricked update pushed to you
We want you to own a Windows phone too
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
jaykayess 25th Feb 2011
@Ron Burgundy

Ron you're lame,
But I guess you're not to blame,
Jobs pays you well
To try and sell
His fruity phones
To rich boy clones.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
tonymcs@... 23rd Feb 2011
@Hasam1991

I do too.

The only children involved are the ones who designed Apple and Android's UI. I say "designed" but they just copied their own crowded desktop.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
patchman 23rd Feb 2011
@ron burgundy
why such an A$$...People have choices. Just because you feel threaten for some reason for many loving the wp7 you bring your childish contents to an wp7 article..I am sure you have never used one or you would see a great ui that is very smooth and very quick...Ms nailed the ui imo. Do yourself a favor and try one..I used a iphone and switched, just like some of the bloggers here at zdnet....Take care
@patchman
He hates Microsoft. He hates anything made by Microsoft. It's his personal mission in life to spew his hatred of Microsoft all over ZDNet and who knows where else. Maybe he'll one day give up spewing his venom long enough to move out of his mom and dad's basement - but don't hold your breath. Just acknowledge him as the troll he is and move on with life.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
jogentripathi 24th Feb 2011
You are kindly requested to go through the proposal and help me find out a suitable collaboration that would create millions of job opportunities in and outside USA. This is a research and innovation in the field of internet, that has capacity to change the way people acquire knowledge and earn money.
Thanks in advance..

Jogen Tripathi- an avid reader and researcher
Personal Profile in brief

Let me first introduce myself as Jogen Tripathi (male -35 years) from Ahmedabad- India. I am working as Professor with a B-School in Ahmedabad. Apart from handling teaching assignments, I also handle Research & Development projects. I incessantly keep myself update with latest information and have to search out facts, figures, conclusions, opinions etc. Right from childhood, I have developed hobbies of reading informative literature and then internet surfing. Hence, my USP lies in Knowledge sector. Even during my professional career starting from the year 2000, I have got associated with knowledge sector.

Problem- Shrinking job opportunities in USA

We know very well that the job opportunities have been shrinking in the US market since BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) and LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing) activities have become a common practice among the US companies. The situation has worsened since the financial crisis have hit the US economy in September 2008. The US economy is mainly a service sector economy. As a result of vanishing jobs, innumerable social as well as economic problems have enthralled the country. The inflow of qualified manpower has slowed down, and also those not able to find satisfactory opportunities, might think of relocating to other countries or returning to their original countries.

Solution- Project ASE (Ahead of Search Engine)
Creating millions of job opportunities through innovative ideas and technology

Before explaining the project, I will talk in brief, about innovation in the Information Technology sector. The launch of Personal Computer, Web-based email, Blog, Social Networking sites, Software Programming etc. have added much to the comfort of mankind and most importantly, created billions of job opportunities.
I want to add one more innovation to the list mentioned above. My concept is?Using Information Technology for Spreading, Serving and Sharing Knowledge. The name of the proposed project is ASE ? Ahead of Search Engine.

Limitations of search engine

Search Engines have indeed revolutionized the web world, and thereby the knowledge as well as IT sectors. However, like any other product of any age, it is not invincible. Modification and value addition will surely take place by some one, some day. For instance, several new features and facilities have been added to the web-based mail, since its first launch in nineties. Several companies have plunged into providing web-based mail services, thereby creating plentiful job opportunities. Still the search engine has not proved to be a one stop solution for knowledge seekers. Currently the search engines cater plethora of information in a disorganized manner or provide millions of links, from which the researcher is supposed to find out the required information. This exercise is time-consuming and sometimes the researcher ends up getting insufficient information or nothing at all. Being an avid reader and researcher, I have faced such hurdles several times. Same is the case with millions of internet users. We can never replace search engine, but can surely provide a better and powerful alternative; and thereby challenge its supremacy. For example, Tele Vision posed a challenge to the supremacy of radio, but has not been able to replace radio. Search Engine is like radio and I propose to offer TV to the world. I strive to give something innovative and unparallel to the world.

ASE Overview (ASE is a bunch of 11 Knowledge-cum-IT services)

ASE is a combination of Knowledge and IT sectors- the biggest one stop solution for net users and especially the knowledge seekers as well as knowledge sellers. A relevant example here would be a sea port that facilitates both the importers and exports. Same way, the knowledge sellers and knowledge seekers will come under single roof. Hence, it could fondly be called Research Port. It could become a melting point of catering all knowledge-based services. It could also open new ways of income for billions of people across the globe. It would cater knowledge in an unparalleled way and thereby generate innumerable employment opportunities. Around one million job opportunities could be created in USA in two years. In long run, ASE will make USA the hub and pioneer in Knowledge and IT sectors.

Objectives- Think BIG (Better, Innovative, Global)
(a) Changing the way people acquire knowledge, through the use of IT
(b) Establishing and strengthening knowledge-based economy
(c)Facilitating the knowledge seekers through fantastic knowledge-cum-IT services
(d) Creating billions of job opportunities across the world.

My Vision

I am sure that if the current age is called ?Age of Information?, the forthcoming age would be called ?Age of Knowledge?. The fast growth of KPO industry beacons the advent of Age of Knowledge. If a professional working in any sector or if a businessman doing any business, want to earn out of their knowledge- by selling the knowledge- it is not possible now. People are hardly able to utilize all their knowledge, because no such facility is available. With the use of Research Port, they would be able to do the same easily; and also the precious knowledge will be spread thereby bringing money. The one who captures the boom of knowledge industry early, will rule over the IT industry and also give the same a new identity as well as respect. Moreover, if the IT industry has to spread its wings up to the common people in the developing countries, it should provide more of knowledge, rather than the current areas of focus such as entertainment, information, news, data, music, e-commerce, games, images etc. In future the day might come when children would stop going to schools and get better education through internet. Researchers would submit their Ph.D. thesis to Research Port instead of submitting the same to universities. Several such astonishing phenomena could take place. I can foresee that ASE project has the capacity to beat all search engines. A whole new genre of fresh IT and knowledge services could be created further. For instance, after the success of Orkut, several other social networking sites were launched. Following the phenomenal success to Google search engine, several other search engines have been launched. Hotmail could also be added to the list of pioneering IT services. ASE will work as a revolution, both in the IT and Knowledge sectors. After all, innovative ideas decide who the winner is ? the conventionalist or the revolutionist. Here, the million dollar question is- Who will work for innovative ideas? Who will take risk? Who will invest for it?

Knowledge is industry

I view information and knowledge as two different entities- ?Information impacts your action, while knowledge changes your vision?. I take knowledge as an Industry- world?s oldest and biggest industry; covering everyone and everything. So far the industry has developed in a scattered way, now it is high time it should be developed in a structured and organized way.

Seeking Collaboration

Like a script writer, I have conceptualized the ASE Project; it needs the expert director to craft a super hit movie. Apart from my ideas and determination, I have nothing else. I seek collaboration with an IT company to launch the project. The investor company needs to provide active support, guidance, resources and finance to turn my ideas into reality. Above all, the investor company must be ready to be a pioneer in a new genre of knowledge-based services.

Stage One- Year One
Brief outline of Research Port- a Pilot Product under Project ASE

The researchers, scholars, scientists, professors, doctors belonging to different sectors would put their introductory/pilot/sample article-presentation-report-views-research papers on the site for the target users to see. The target users could be other researchers, corporates, universities, governments, etc. (Currently the scholars and researchers publish their articles in journals or periodicals or newspapers or websites that reach to few others in the same circle. The writer gets almost nothing.) The report would include names, contact details, areas of specialization and profile of the researcher. On the basis of the sample report, the user or user group would contact the researcher and ask for the whole detailed report or also place an order to prepare another such research report. This way the scholars, business entrepreneurs, corporates, students etc. would be in better position to take wise decisions. Details of market scenario, latest trend, history, and other such relevant information would be easily accessible to them.
Everything related to a particular sector would be available on Research Port, the users would not have to surf through thousands of links or sites. However, this will not work as news updates. Each section on the site would be assigned to a separate sector. I know how to segregate the sectors and how to popularize the concept. The various sections on Research Port would be sponsored by the companies engaged in same or related operations. Also, the Knowledge sellers will pay some nominal amount for placing their sample assignment on Research Port. Knowledge seekers will pay only to the sellers and not to Research Port. This will work like online consultancy. So far those who are spreading knowledge, get a nominal amount or fame. Now they will get much more, and would be prompted to conduct more research or write more. Sellers will not hesitate in paying some nominal charges to Research Port when they are sure to get big deals.
Many a time the consulting companies or group or individual consultants charge so high that small scale companies or middle class individuals can?t afford to hire their service. Here, everyone is a target user as well as contributor. Currently several scholars cant work in the field of their interest as they don?t get opportunity. They also don?t get proper guidance and information. Research Port will popularize the concept- ?Knowledge is Money?. The writers, designers, researchers and knowledge sellers would be prompted to utilize their intellectual property thoroughly. One need not attain any license from any university or organization to have a tag of ?Researcher?. However, this new concept will of course take some time to be popular, like for example; people across the world gradually shifted to e-mail and blog. The response to Research Port will give valuable inputs to launch the subsequent services- which are also a part of ASE.

Stage Two- Year Two
List of subsequent knowledge-cum-IT products under Project ASE
To be launched after reviewing the response to Research Port
(1) Government Watch
(2) Smart Surveyor
(3) Mother Nature
(4) Toppers Tell
(5) Foretell Frontier
(6) Idea Trade
(7) Kids? Castle
(8) Net Novel
(9) Language Law
(10) University Research

Guiding Principle for ASE
New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become. ---- George Bernard Shaw.

Awaiting Response from interested organizations, towards building a better, richer and healthier society. For further details regarding estimated investment and implementation process, please contact me; details are given below. Only few choose to be trendsetters.
Thanks and Regards,

Jogen Tripathi (Project Innovator- ASE),
B/27, Navkar Apartment,
Near Monapark Society,
Vejalpur, Ahmedabad- 380051.
Gujarat, INDIA.
Contact-091-09998502915
Email- jogentripathi@gmail.com
jogentrip@aol.in
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
jaykayess 25th Feb 2011
@jogentripathi
What is this crap? Do yhou know what a forum is and what it's meant for? You should delete your blatant ad immediately - you are hurting your country's reputation.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
Major Plonquer 27th Feb 2011
Why not tiles? As Steve Jobs never ceses to point out the old desktop'n'icons metaphor is dead. Then again, you look at WP7 and it makes Jobs' iPhone look like the old desktop'n'icons metaphor he is so vocal about. So yes, it has its place. But don't think for a minute that MS will get any credit for innovation, no. Somebody will turn up with a notebook to show that tiles were actually invented at Xerox in 1776.
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RE: Tiles gone wild at Microsoft
scottmace2002 1st Mar 2011
Shades of Windows 1.0.
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