OK guys, We all welcome Microsoft innovation on the new Windows8 platform, we all think its going to be a success and give the competition a run for their money. However, I have two points to gripe with, things that are getting me worried about what MS has shown so far about Windows8:

1. Portrait Mode:
I guess this is still too early to bitch, but I have a nasty feeling Windows8 is being designed Landscape-centric. This will be a big put-off on Tablets which is made for data consumption. I.e. browsing and reading. Like Arguino said in the Computex video, the browser is most used App; 60% of computing time is done in the browser, and browsers are made for reading like a paper, i.e. portrait mode! I hope they come clean quickly on Portrait mode. I don’t care how they handled tiles in portrait, maybe reflow them or something, but please give a great portrait experience.

2. 16:10 Docking:
I hate the fact that Windows8 SNAP will not support 16:10 screens. What is wrong with a 1200×800 resolution? It is bridge between 16:9 and 4:3 screens, and perfect for portrait computing! Anyone ever held a 16:9 screen in portrait mode? It feels out of place, it doesn’t obey Fibonacci numbers, the shape of nature. Its like you are holding a slab instead of holding a slate. And they are horrible for pen-computing. I’ll prefer 16:10 screen anytime over 16:9 because I have more portrait screen estate. Your printing paper format is in 16:10(Fibonacci compliant, very natural). So why Microsoft? What is so bad about docking apps on the EP121 slate? Give us a break here will ya? We all agree that 4:3 screen have no place for docking but, please reconsider docking for 1200×800.

What about Larger Monitors?
And while we are still at it, what happens if I have a ginormous monitor, even a 4:3 at that? I consider it a waste of screen estate if I can only dock vertically on a larger screen. Anything above 20 inch should dock both vertically and horizontally! Why can’t I have some kind of a ticker app running horizontally at the bottom of my screen and have my main window in the middle. What if I have a 30 inch screen? Please let Windows8 adapt for more docking possibilities.

[Update: 2012-06-15] For those of you reading this piece after such a long time of its original publication, I have confirmed Windows 8 supports Portrait mode, and like someone commented here below, SNAP is supported on any screen with Horizontal resolution greater than or equal to 1376. Also I have concluded that Windows 8 is primarily built for Horizontal mode. No doubt we will see 4:3 portrait Win8 tablets, but they are all primarily 16:9 designed. I have in meantime gotten used to using Windows 8 in its horizontal mode. It took getting used to, but now I enjoy the horizontal panning on the OS.

For Fibonacci natural shapes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F…