What's wrong with Microsoft, summed up in a single screenshot

This is a screenshot from an official promotion video of Outlook 2010. Seriously, what a trainwreck. I still remain a Microsoft fan, but this screenshot just shows the lack of any intelligent design direction anywhere in the company.

I previously wrote about the design disconnect at Microsoft here.

Upvote Upvoted 17

Comments

Paul Shipper
I recently attempted to navigate this on a Clients computer not so long ago - instant migraine material!
Suyash Sonwalkar
I think messy interfaces make some people feel as if they're getting more work done.
Cory Watilo
That's why I never clean my desk. =]
matt adams
I have no idea how people work like this. I have friends who came from PCs to mac and they complain that mac mail is too simple. When i dig deeper, it seems the app is fine, but the user doen't feel like there is enough stuff at their fingertips.
massivevector
LOL. Needs more buttons.
John C. Randolph
This lack of design sense comes from the top:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/28/58697220_0f5db5fe00.jpg

-jcr

Alex Schleber
Looks like a Tweetdeck screen, and not in a good way... ;)
Jeff Stevens
Pretty much totally not true. Whether Outlook is a bear or a great console of useful information at a glance is up to the user to configure. I find it's a fantastically fast and easy way to manage my work email. I'd use it at home if I had an Exchange account. Instead I use GMail, which is good, but not as effective as Outlook for keyboard users. Heck, in GMail you can't even sort mails by Subject or Sender. (Yes, I know you can search by them, but that's a search for each Subject and each Sender. INSANELY inefficient.) Also, GMail is doing substantially the same thing, by adding Calendar and Agenda and Task and Contact previews directly into GMail as well.
Tobias
Yes, this screenshot is cluttert and should never been used to advertise office. But apart from that, outlook 2010 has a great UI. – The new GMail theme on the other hand doenst work for me at all. Having no visual context but a clean UI dies make it look simplerer but makes it impossible to focus and work with.
R P
Jeff Stevens
found at: http://watilo.com/whats-wrong-with-microsoft-summed-up-in-a-sin#pcomment_comm...

* you are very right in ny opinion.

Quote:
'
...Whether Outlook is a bear or a great console of useful information at a glance is up to the user to configure {sic!}
I find it's a fantastically fast and easy way to manage my work email. I'd use it at home if I had an Exchange account.
Instead I use GMail, which is good, but not as effective as Outlook for keyboard users.
'

I use both Google and Outlook, and what concerns real efficiency with a lot of data to be handled and combined, Outlook is lightyears ahead.

That MS does a bad job using a screenshot with such an ugly and 'anarchistic' GUI example is quite a different issue.
Maybe their default GUI is too coplicated for a 'casual user' anyway, it's suited for rather complex office projects...

darlaimports
I work from home selling export goods and I think MS is doing just what a company does, that is trying to make money. We still have a lot of other options, but right now MS is it.
Rybak
Yea, there are not enough buttons!

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