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Let’s talk about choice. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of Windows is choice – of how you want to use your PC, of hardware, of devices, of software and web apps. It is our amazing ecosystem of partners that brings choice to Windows 7 users with a vast array of products that extend and enhance their experience with their PC. If you want to experience that choice for yourself just visit any online retailer or search the internet with Bing. The choice is amazing and exploring the ecosystem just got a bit easier.
On behalf of the team here at Windows, I am pleased to announce Windows Product Scout launched last night.
Windows Product Scout is a new destination on Windows.com that showcases a selection of products scouted by our team for Windows 7. When I say scouted, I’m quite serious, the products featured on the site are limited to an intentionally selected catalog. Every week, we will feature a new set of products on the home page and will be updating the site every month with more selected products.
Windows Product Scout focuses on products that have earned the “Compatible with Windows 7 Logo”. These products have passed Microsoft designed tests for compatibility and reliability with Windows 7 including testing for common issues to minimize the number of crashes, hangs and reboots. The team also vetted products based on their experience and focused on products that support key features and technologies in Windows 7 – products that make it easy for you to get the very most out of Windows 7 (features like Windows Touch, Play To, Device Stage). We are also working with software developers and device manufacturers to build a pipeline of the new and exciting products coming in the near future.
Definitely take the time to explore the site. Click around to learn more about technologies, discover the great products that our partners have created, watch videos, get downloads, and more. I wanted to quickl7 highlight 3 things about the experience:
For launch we have selected and are showcasing 58 products including a range of apps optimized for Windows Touch, Touch monitors, cameras, TV’s, apps for creativity and more. Partners include Amazon, D-Link, WildTangent, Epson, Sony, Seesmic, Toshiba and more. We’ve also included a few of the latest and greatest apps from Microsoft: Windows Internet Explorer 9 Beta, Office Home and Student 2010, and Windows Live Photo Gallery and the other products in Windows Live Essentials 2011.
If you are looking for more products that work with Windows 7, we recommend you check out the Windows Compatibility Center. The Compatibility Center is still the best place to find objective information on the compatibility status of products on Windows 7 as well as links to support resources and drivers.
Our next update is November 1st and we will provide another update then. If you would like to give us feedback, leave a comment on the blog or hit the feedback button on the site. By the way, if you are looking for a new PC, we recommend you check out Windows PC Scout.
For now, please take a look at Windows Product Scout and enjoy the choice.
To be honest, this is a mess. Instead of just updating and really improving the Windows.com site you introduce a new special domain every other week. This time a Silverlight "webpage" with meaningless 3D effects that no search engine can find. Please don't get me wrong: i love Silverlight. But is such a website really the best way to promote products or even Windows itself?
As a consumer I really get confused with so many different sites showing just some features, just some products. There is not one very good stop I could go and find everything. Another example is the Microsoft Store website that is not linked to the other domains. Everywhere are videos in so many different formats (Silverlight, WMV ...) some do not stream on some Browsers, some are loading very slow (what about "Smooth Streaming"?!), we got webcasts or extremely meaningless mock-up videos not showing any bit of the actual products (like the new Windows 7 + Windows Live videos).
All this and Windows.com/products/ is still just a simple page with some links to other pages. It feels like it is from the 90s and there is no mention of the Windows Product Scout there (as on the whole Windows.com site).
I miss the simplicity that Windows.com had, when Windows 7 was released. But until now the team change the design quite often at least a bit but there is not one single improvement. It is a mess on it's own. No need for special website/domains to fragment the whole experience even more, IMHO
@tino - while we use a "special domain" www.windowsproductscout.com - it actually redirects like most windows.com sites do to www.microsoft.com/windows. So I am not sure I follow regarding special domains. We use redirects as windowsproductscout.com is easier to remember for users. And why wouldn't we use Silverlight to create a interesting and fun experience for people to discover products for Windows? We do appreciate the feedback about Windows.com and we do want to make the overall experience on Windows.com and Microsoft.com better for users.
I like the visuals of the Product Scout site. A few things that would make it more fun for me to use it is to introduce keyboard navigation. Perhaps up/down arrows to move between the categories that are in the perspective distance. And use Right/Left arrows to move within categories like "Printing & Productivity". The Enter key seems to behave differently then expected.
From a non-keyboard navigation perspective, I'd like to be able to know what category I'm clicking that are in the distance. Because of the level of zoom and positional changes as I click, I get lost. I am especially lost when I don't know what categories are physically near me since I can't determine what they are.
Perhaps with the high number of categories and sub-items, something like the Xbox Live menu-scheme might work better. You can keep the unique transitions/flow and visuals. I need a better sense of where I'm going, what's behind me and an easy way to go back and forth.
Let me know if this is helpful.
vinh.
http://thechroniclesofvinh.com
I don't know, while I like the ability to drill down to specific Windows 7 features that a product takes advantage of and the transitions used during product exploration...there are some serious issues.
- Generally I think you can take advantage the screen width much better for both list and grid views.
- The fonts used in product descriptions are small and worse blurry.
- List thumbnails are way to small
- Photo/Video previews are too small as well. I think there is no need to have photo zoom...just display it at that zoom level. And at the full zoom level, let folks navigate to the next/previous image.
Followup comment...when I click on a product from the carousel type of UI it scales up really large and then shrinks.
@JohnCZ: On hi-res screen (1080p for me) the fonts do look more blurry because they're so small. However, onced zoomed in, via the IE9, it looks fine. However, IE9's CTRL and + to zoom doesn't work in Silverlight apps. I can still adjust the zoom level from the menu.
I agree the list thumnails are very small but again, it's because the site is designed for lower-res. However, it seems like this is something that can be adjusted via resolution/window detection and zoom/scale the items.
---------------
@WindowsTeam, let me add that perhaps this can be taken "Up Another Notch!" as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is fond of saying. Why not offer to scan user's Installed Apps/Hardware (anonymously) and make recommendations such as new versions, upgrade options, discounts/sales in their area and offer downloadable apps/Marketplace. If you have this, you might want this. Think Zune MixView (music explorations) or Amazon, where the system can determine how many people view vs. how many purchase and ratings.
Additionally, why have this a separate site users have to visit? Why not have the Windows Product Scout, run natively, do the "window shopping" (pun intended) if users opt-in like Windows Update in terms of presenting users with useful, cool things they can do with their Windows system (based on information users allow)? I think people would opt-in if it is useful. Think Facebook. Facebook knows more about me than my real and "Facebook" friends!
Alright, back to the technical: For laptop users without mouse, how about implementing the scroll up/down and left/right for the trackpad.
Finally, just for fun, implement a Silverlight Deep-Zoom of the OS/application/hardware ecosystem where it starts at the top with all the Windows OSes (and WP7), with Win7 more prominent. Mouse over and zoom in we get Apps/Hardware/Accessories. Zoom in to Apps, category (clusters) appear, then tons of apps, etc... All done with mouse pointer and scroll wheel or equivalent to zoom in/out. And this all ties back to products that are recommended and rated and easily downloadable or purchased in nearby stores, plus discounts. Of, being able to bookmark the zoom location would be idea.
LOL! Just figured out what those colored blocks at the bottom do :-) Discoverable? Yes. Obvious? Not necessarily.
Looks like a great way to get out of the chaos when trying to find great products to run on Windows 7, especially free ones. The Windows 7 Taskbar integration is fantastic! I hope more developers focus on integrating Click and Run Technology, its such a great experience when installing apps.
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I've elaborated my view on this further in a blog entry, "What Windows Product Scout Could Be When It Grows Up" - thechroniclesofvinh.com/.../what-windows-product-scout-could-be-when-it-grows-up
In this, I share an idea I had in 2008 ...
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I agree, Windows gives us a Choice, I'm currently using Windows 7 and checking on compatibilities.
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what i love about Windows is yes, it gives us a Choice. Windows Product Scout gives us an easier way to check out the products that are compatible with my Windows 7
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The Windows 7 Taskbar integration is fantastic!
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let me add that perhaps this can be taken "Up Another Notch!" as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is fond of saying. Why not offer to scan user's Installed Apps/Hardware (anonymously) and make recommendations such as new versions, upgrade options, discounts/sales in their area and offer downloadable apps/Marketplace. If you have this, you might want this. Think Zune MixView (music explorations) or Amazon, where the system can determine how many people view vs. how many purchase and ratings.
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I really get confused with so many different sites showing just some features, just some products. There is not one very good stop I could go and find everything. Another example is the Microsoft Store website that is not linked to the other domains.
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In my opinion, this is a great example of why Microsoft are always one step ahead of the game. They give choice, and they give great information.
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