This is something I didn’t see coming!
For one thing, Microsoft is not known as a company which creates upgrades that completely mess things up further. Which makes the new Microsoft News app even sadder.
If you overlook the one-time misstep that was Windows Vista, you really wonder how Microsoft got here.
For years, especially since Windows 8 dropped, the MSN News app plodded along.
The app was never improved upon. Not a single iota.
Even the basics people want in their news apps, weren’t there: customizations were not possible, news sources were limited, and the UI sucked major.
However, there were two things the app excelled in: it was relatively quick, and no matter what the prevailing thought of the day was, the news was laid out chronologically.
Over the years, it became quite useless, and most folks moved away from it.
However, it was sorta crammed down your throat when you initiated a new Windows ‘X’ install, and also when you used any Microsoft property in iOS. After a while, you got completely worn out by the nag screens asking you to install the News and companion MSN Sports app, that you basically capitulated.
I actually liked the Sports app because it was about the only app that would bring me timely Formula 1 news. Apart from that, it was rather useless for every other sport. Or, I didn’t even try after version 1; I don’t remember which….
My greatest pet peeve with this app was that it would neither let you select news sources, nor let you block and/or deprecate news sources.
What good is that?
Worse yet, you couldn’t even make the minor customizations allowed without creating a Microsoft Account, signing in to MSN.com from a [desktop] browser, and making customizations there. Which would then be propagated to all devices and apps linked to your Microsoft account.
Yes, some Redmondian Mensa came up with this merde!
Totally, uncharacteristic for Microsoft, if we discount the one-time swill called Windows ME.
Since Microsoft is integral to my business life, I had to dogfood it, so to speak.
So, with apps like Apple’s formerly excellent News, and Flipboard, I was able to endure.
Sadly, Flipboard removed their little news age notification, so I don’t know, at-a-glance, how old the proffered news tidbit is without reading the entire article. And iOS News app has resorted to some algorithmic kaka in order to bring you Siri “AI-powered” news. Moreover, on my ipad, iOS News seems to trail my iPhone in synching/updating the news. Crazy, right?
Aaaah! I almost forgot my 3rd pet peeve with the old MSN News app: you can’s select an news article for sharing without opening up the story.
And since I’m here: 4th peeve: you cannot dislike any story. 5thpeeve: you cannot dislike, downvote, or block a story topic.
Yes: why bother [with it], right?
Well, I still maintain that this is very unlike Microsoft, especially if we ignore the abominable Windows 8.
A week or so ago, Microsoft fanboy sites started shillin’ about the Microsoft News app which was going to replace the MSN App.
I took the bait, and installed it on two iOS devices: an iPad and an iPhone.
Incredibly, this product has gotten worse!
Wow!
Where can I start?
- It now has ads embedded into everything, completely FUBAR’ing your reading experience. I am talking about ads at the top, the middle, and everywhere else within a story!
- It is no longer chronological, with stories coming at you from whenever.
- You still cannot select a landing tab without signing it.
- You still cannot restrict news sources.
- You still cannot block or deprecate a news topic.
- You still cannot select your desired news sources.
- It now has infinite scrolling! Either in the headlines, or after a story!
The graphics are blocky, and all over, sadly, eerily, and scarily reminiscent of the Duplo-esque UI that was the failed Windows Phone/Windows Mobile debacle!
People, this is Windows 98 all over again!
If this, after a decade or more, is the best Microserfs can do, I shudder.
© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited
Follow @johnobeto