14 DAY TRIAL // Users expect Windows 10 to be a really advanced product in terms of pretty much everything, starting with features and ending with design, so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that many call for the company to implement visual effects that would make the operating system a bit more eye candy.
One of the newest such requests asks Microsoft to implement “modern transparency” in Windows 10, a concept that would rely solely on the idea of transparency without other visual tweaks such as Aero.
At this point, this particular request alone has nearly 6,000 votes and is likely to get more in the coming months, as users clearly feel the need for a revamped interface that would include new effects and animations.
Simple transparency, no Aero
What users actually want to see in Windows is pure transparency without any other visual improvements, such as the Aero Glass effects that were available in Windows 7.
The post on UserVoice goes into details and reveals that the taskbar, title bars, and the Start menu should all stick to a flat design with transparency that would perfectly fit Microsoft's Modern UI released together with Windows 8.
Those opting for the Start screen instead of the Start menu could also benefit from transparency effects, and the user who first requested such a change knows exactly what it needs to look like, “like in Windows Phone 8.1, so they could blend perfectly with the background and with the desktop transparent objects previously mentioned, that will make the Modern UI objects in harmony with the desktop UI objects.”
New windows animations already available
In Windows 10 Technical Preview Microsoft has already implemented a new choice of animations when opening, minimizing, or closing windows, thus making work on the desktop a bit more visually appealing.
Build 9888 also brings some changes in this regard and makes all effects a bit smoother, which is clearly pretty important for users when it comes to the way the new operating system looks on their PCs.
By the time Windows 10 reaches the final stages of development, there's no doubt that new effects and animations could be added, but it all comes down to what impact they have on performance and usability of the desktop.
Windows 10 should be here by late summer/early fall 2015, but Microsoft is expected to actually share more details on its plans during several events that will take place in the spring.
