The biggest flaw with the Windows 7 taskbar

Mike Halsey | May 27, 2009 | Comments

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I have been a big critic of the new ’super’(yuk!)bar.  Looking at things from an end-users point of view there are many things about it’s use and functionality that are just plain dumb.  I could rant on for ages about this but for this article I want to focus on the biggest single flaw…

taskbarproblem1

Look at the screenshot (above) and tell me what’s wrong with it.

In this screenshot we’ve got an active download started through Internet Explorer but no open Internet Explorer Window, that’s been closed, we’ll say accidentally.

What happens when we click the Internet Explorer icon to open another window?  Nothing!  At the very best all you’ll succeed in doing is minimising and restoring the download window.  You won’t be able to open another Internet Explorer window until closing this download box.

Now readers of this site will all know that you open the IE jumplist and select “Internet Explorer” to open a new instance of the program, but what about a novice user?  The average person sitting at home or in an office will be completely confused by this as, while the jumplists are a good idea, there’s still a learning curve associated with them and, as we all discovered when businesses took a look at Vista, people don’t like learning curves.

Before you criticise me there, I would point out that the breadcrumb bar, one of the things businesses said would be confusing for their staff, has the same type of learning curve as the jumplists.

Then things get worse.  Let’s say you want to open two Windows Explorer windows to move or copy files between drives or folders.  How do you open two windows?  Without knowing about the jumplists it’s impossible to do.

It’s precisely this type of serious usability oversight that will cause many people to avoid Windows 7 and stick with XP.  People, remember, often believe the horror stories about Windows that their friends tell them.  This will be a crying shame as Windows 7 is otherwise an excellent operating system, and anyone who sticks with XP in preference to it is setting themselves up for a security nightmare.

Microsoft need, and quickly, to implement a fix for this.  Something along the lines of clippy the paperclip saying “I see you’re trying to open a new program, WOAHAHAHAHA!” simply won’t be good enough.

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About the Author: The author of the new Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Twitter or on his own website The Long Climb

  • you click up and drag you dumb shits.
  • Yes, I do believe that novice users might need a little more of a hint to figure this one out.
  • Novice Users ???, guys, its windows 7, just the way people learned to use the Windows key to open the start menu, they will learn to push shift and the IE and it will open a new browser window instantly without using the jumplist

    BTW, i have very dumb users in my company, they are the ones who told me about the shift button + the IE, imagine that !!!.
  • senorm
    this is the most ridiculous critique I've heard about the new taskbar.
  • jaws
    also u can middle click i know not everyone has that old apple mouse but it's an option
  • Ah, I see. So your suggestion is to make the buttons on the breadcrumb bar launch a new instance EVERY time you click it?

    How are we supposed to quickly/easily minimize windows? I minimize windows at least ~50 times a day. I only need to open multiple instances of the same program about once or twice.

    This idea is one thing: silly.

    If you want to use XP, then go back to XP. This is Windows 7, it has a slight learning curve, get over it. It's a new OS. This kind of stubbornness and closed-minded view is the same reason that people choose to insult Linux.
  • Alex
    Whats wrong with simply right clicking the icon and clicking new window? Gees it might be hard for a 5 year old novice user. Someone who actually has a drop of common sense would not find it hard to work out.

    Windows 7 rules!
  • Martin
    Jeez, Shift-click, Middle-click or Click-up, what else do you need?
    Dumb article.
  • Brenda
    This is the DUMBEST article ever written. Just right-click and open new window. Holy jeez...
  • mp
    what a dumb shit
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