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Seven characteristics that make these apps shine By Dino Esposito
Unless you've spent the last few months in a cave, you've undoubtedly heard of Microsoft's Metro user interface and its revolutionary design principles. Metro is a new type of application that provides a Ul and user experience designed to run on Windows 8 devices.
Metro-style apps leverage several features specific to the new Microsoft operating system. They're touch-enabled (but not limited to touch) and display in a single plain borderless window devoid of adornment. They adapt to the screen's size and shape, and can offer a fluid rendering experience as the content adjusts smoothly and intelligently to whatever layout the physical screen has. Finally, these apps integrate with the surrounding environment via the app bar, which is a hidden top menu; live tiles, which are a smart replacement for desktop icons; and charms, quick buttons that let the application interact with other apps through well-known contracts.
The Metro Ul is just for Windows 8 Metro-style applications and can't be adapted to Windows 7, Web, or mobile apps, nor to Windows 8 apps that aren't designed for Metro. But a closer look at the design principles behind the Ul reveals Microsoft's application vision for the next few years.
Fluid Design
For too many years, users have been forced to think according to how an application was designed. Software is formalistic, with strict...