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So many great stores on other platforms to borrow from, heck Zune desktop is a huge improvement over other MS stores.
The pin stuff needs a lot of work, they could use a scroll up/scroll down bar so you can see all your pins. Some of my pins "overwrote" others, yet they were there if I removed a more recent pin. Make sure to get Child of Light this month...great game.
I find the UI not so complex to navigate though. Add me please (my gamertag is on my profile).
iHeartRadio app now available on Xbox One.
http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2919473&spid=1314
XBone UI is a goddamn mess. I can't believe they went from the 360's sweet UI to this monstrosity. Anyway, UI navigation is much easier with Kinect voice.
I suppose the UI wasn't a concern when they imagined everyone talking to their console. Now there are lots of people not using Kinect, usability should be addressed from the sounds of it.
Rikimaru
Veteran
I think they are just incompetent. It's easy to see with Win8 desktop design fiasco. (fcking UPPERCASE MENU in Visual Studio, they are an idiots).
I does seem like the business software side got involved in the UI design. There is this persistent feeling that the UI designers 1) aren't gamers, 2) don't understand how gamers want to interact with friends/content, 3) are completely oblivious to what made the 360's Live experience so good.
I had a thing happen last night. I made a login for my son, which didn't go well I finally got to the end and it wanted $0.50 charge on my CC to verify that I'm the parent. I already didn't want a CC on file and this seemed like a slimy way to force me. Fine, I put the info in and then it fails because my address was old, but it didn't give me a way to change it.
So I log him in as a guest while I was playing Halo 4. First, when you turn a second controller on it doesn't want to know who that person is? It never prompts you? Fine, here is where it goes wrong. Both controllers kind of a lose control of the system and every now and then a window come forward or goes away, like the system was possessed. The long hold of the xbox button brings up the turn controller menu up, we turn both off. Then turned one on, but same thing we can control the game or OS and things kind of just randomly pop up. We also shut the system down and that didn't help. We finally resorted to a hard reboot. This was literally my second time in front of the system, not a good impression.
Back to Halo 4, we could not get split screen to work. My theory is I was not far enough into the story to add a player. Is that likely?
I do like the rumble triggers. I don't like the sticks and the D-pad, they both click too much. Forza was good from what I played, lots of DLC, but I assume you need it.
So I log him in as a guest while I was playing Halo 4. First, when you turn a second controller on it doesn't want to know who that person is? It never prompts you? Fine, here is where it goes wrong. Both controllers kind of a lose control of the system and every now and then a window come forward or goes away, like the system was possessed. The long hold of the xbox button brings up the turn controller menu up, we turn both off. Then turned one on, but same thing we can control the game or OS and things kind of just randomly pop up. We also shut the system down and that didn't help. We finally resorted to a hard reboot. This was literally my second time in front of the system, not a good impression.
Back to Halo 4, we could not get split screen to work. My theory is I was not far enough into the story to add a player. Is that likely?
I do like the rumble triggers. I don't like the sticks and the D-pad, they both click too much. Forza was good from what I played, lots of DLC, but I assume you need it.
ugg. It's a bit of a mess you're in, one that is not uncommon I feel.
With the controllers try updating them both. You'll need a usb cable for the updates, but that's about it.
The quick way to getting to the settings menu from the home screen is to just hit the 'settings' button on the controller. It's the button with the lines. From there click around until you get to 'update controller firmware' and plug in one to the usb. It will let you know if it requires updating. I had some of these issues at launch IIRC.
I really still don't know what causes the disconnect issue to happen. At first I thought it was because Kinect would lose LOS with my controller, but you don't have kinect so... ?
The other prominent theory online is that there are other strong radio frequencies riding the same as the controller, so people have been moving their routers and phones away from their xbox to stop that type of interference.
As for the guest halo thing. Yea it can be iffy. the KISS rule should have been applied by MS, and imo at times back fires in their face. MS uses a 'smart' login sort of system. Kinect is supposed to recognize who is holding the controller and instantly download and provide settings or switch screens based on where that person is sitting WRT to the tv. sounds great on paper, but most games have not implemented this correctly often causing in some quirks here and there.
I'm unsure as to why your son requires a CC to obtain a XBLG account. I think I made one for my wife and it didn't for her, so I'd say try again, and see how you can get around any of that. Make sure that the default account for the Xbox is now your account. Each xbox has a 'HOME' account. Similar to playstation. You might be suffering from weirdness because the home account is still your friends.
If you've never updated your system, now might be a good time to see if there are any updates as well, the OS was fairly unstable imo at launch, and if your friend never used it, they could have missed some updates.
I'd say your son should have his own account, it should address some weird guest issues you are having, and it will also save his key bindings and configs for next time.
Thanks for the info on controller update, I'll give that a go. My friend wiped the system, so it booted fresh and updated. The CC thing is due to my sons age and MS wants to validate an adult is authorizing it. Your wife is probably over 18 
I don't think think the OS is good or even fine. I've used Windows since 3.1, iOS, Android, various distros of Linux, etc. and the XB1 OS is a mess. It feels like some art major first year intern made it. At first glance it is slick, but usability is very poor. I'm sure it will get better with Win10.
I don't think think the OS is good or even fine. I've used Windows since 3.1, iOS, Android, various distros of Linux, etc. and the XB1 OS is a mess. It feels like some art major first year intern made it. At first glance it is slick, but usability is very poor. I'm sure it will get better with Win10.
I've been wanting to write up about the dashboard for awhile. It wasn't until I saw DrJay's post that I got the writing bug.
The UI has a little bit of a learning curve even for 360 users. This is all due to it's modular & multitasking design built around voice navigation. Those without Kinect will find it's not as easy to navigate, but so was the 360. If you are able to navigate the 360 without Kinect it's not much of a stretch on the XB1 either. So I don't think there's much need to address the usability for non-Kinect users. They have already added the necessary controller shortcuts for the stuff you couldn't do without Kinect(more later).
The one thing that makes it slightly confusing is that every function is considered an app. Take away all the apps & there's not much to the dashboard. "Settings" is an app, "Friends" is an app, "Messages" is an app, Then you have to understand there is basically only 3 permanent tiles on your Home screen: "Snap", "My Games & Apps" and "Disk Drive/Bluray". These are always available. You'll use the "My Games & Apps" the most. There you will not only find your installed games & apps there but also any games you own but have not downloaded plus your download queue. This is where pinning comes into play. If you're not using Kinect you'll want to pin your most used games & apps to keep from having to dig through the "My Games & Apps" section every time.
You also have 2 other permanent functions always available in the upper left part of your Home screen: Notifications & the currently logged in profiles(s). I can't comment on logging in more than one wireless controller, but I have a 2nd controller but it's a 3rd party wired one. And I can see where it's confusing. On the 360 it has support for 4 controllers with each having separate assignments based on the lighted quadrant of the Xbox Guide button & the Ring of Light on the console. Microsoft got rid of both of these on the XB1 & instead relied on the official wireless controller's infrared emitter to tell the console via Kinect which controller went with which person. Don't have Kinect or using a 3rd party controller? Then the system relies on you to tell the console & the game on which controller goes with which person. Another problem is there are no longer local profiles. You are either a Guest or signed in with a Microsoft Live account. It would be nice to be able to bring back local profiles, but I understand why they don't. Too bad since it's best to sign kids into the console using a local profile then upgrade them to a Live account when they are older. Oh well.
Back to the dashboard... The other thing you need to understand is the multitasking functionality. On your Home screen the largest tile is your current game or app that is minimized. It continues to run in the background. Gone is the Guide Menu & now your whole dashboard is always accessible. The 4 tiles below are the 4 most recent apps or games you ran. These are in standby mode & it's always changing. So you can't depend on these all the time(that's what the pins are for). They are there for easy task switching. That's why DrJay saw his Settings one minute & a minute later it disappeared. He must have launched more apps or games until it fell off the list.
One thing most people forget to use are the new "View" & "Menu" controller buttons. These were the "Back" & "Start" button respectively on the 360. With the "Menu" button or as most will call the "Hamburger" button, you always have access to the "Settings" at the bottom of the pop-up. No need to pin it. The "Menu" button is like the right mouse button click in Windows. It's context sensitive according to which tile is highlighted. In the dashboard it gives you the ability to "Manage" your game or app where you can delete it or your game save, "Pin" it, "Snap" it, "Go Full Screen", "View in Store" or "View Game Hub". When used in your Pins it gives you a way to organize them by "Moving to Front". Smartglass gives you an easier way to organize them by dragging & dropping them where you want. The "View" button is mainly reserved for use by the game or app. I have not seen it used in the dashboard yet.
The Xbox button is treated just like the Windows Start Menu button. Pushing it once gives you the Start Menu or Home screen. Holding it down for longer than a few secs works just like on the 360: powers on your console if not on, turns on your controller if not on or gives you the chance to turn off the console or controller if they are both on. The one thing I found confusing is that on the 360 the Xbox Guide button was used to activate certain things based on the pop-up toast notifications. If you had an achievement toast then a quick press of the 360 Guide button at the same time brought up the achievement info in the Guide. On the XB1 you have to press & hold the Xbox button for a few secs in order to get the same thing to show. A simple quick press just gives you the Home screen. It's been difficult to relearn that but I'm getting better at it. They also implemented a double-tap. Before the new Snap Center(somewhat replacement for the Guide menu on the 360) the double-tap switched focus between your main app & your snapped app. Now it's used to switch focus between apps, snap a different app, unsnap your app altogether, take a screenshot or "Record That"/record video. All these functions are mainly used for non-Kinect users. With Kinect you can use your voice to handle all of them.
So far I've pretty pleased with the dashboard. It's pretty powerful with it's multitasking capability. It's pretty cool being able to snap Skype & video chat while playing a game or watching a video. I have been using it to talk to friends before we start our game. The Party app has basically been relegated to a way invite each other into our game. We continue to use Skype in the background for voice chat. We switch to it in snap mode for video chat during our breaks. If you haven't got the double-tap of the Xbox button down(to use Snap Center) to switch between apps then it can somewhat daunting, but that's why I like using the voice commands more: "Xbox Snap Skype" "Xbox Switch". Also learn to use "Xbox Select" to get a list of voice commands you can currently use. Helps when you're not sure what voice commands to use.
Lastly, DrJay, they didn't give Forza 5 away to everybody. I assume the previous owner still has your console listed as his Home Console. He probably owned it & that's why you were able to download it for free. If he ever buys another XB1 & sets it as his Home Console you'll won't be able to play Forza 5 anymore.
Tommy McClain
The UI has a little bit of a learning curve even for 360 users. This is all due to it's modular & multitasking design built around voice navigation. Those without Kinect will find it's not as easy to navigate, but so was the 360. If you are able to navigate the 360 without Kinect it's not much of a stretch on the XB1 either. So I don't think there's much need to address the usability for non-Kinect users. They have already added the necessary controller shortcuts for the stuff you couldn't do without Kinect(more later).
The one thing that makes it slightly confusing is that every function is considered an app. Take away all the apps & there's not much to the dashboard. "Settings" is an app, "Friends" is an app, "Messages" is an app, Then you have to understand there is basically only 3 permanent tiles on your Home screen: "Snap", "My Games & Apps" and "Disk Drive/Bluray". These are always available. You'll use the "My Games & Apps" the most. There you will not only find your installed games & apps there but also any games you own but have not downloaded plus your download queue. This is where pinning comes into play. If you're not using Kinect you'll want to pin your most used games & apps to keep from having to dig through the "My Games & Apps" section every time.
You also have 2 other permanent functions always available in the upper left part of your Home screen: Notifications & the currently logged in profiles(s). I can't comment on logging in more than one wireless controller, but I have a 2nd controller but it's a 3rd party wired one. And I can see where it's confusing. On the 360 it has support for 4 controllers with each having separate assignments based on the lighted quadrant of the Xbox Guide button & the Ring of Light on the console. Microsoft got rid of both of these on the XB1 & instead relied on the official wireless controller's infrared emitter to tell the console via Kinect which controller went with which person. Don't have Kinect or using a 3rd party controller? Then the system relies on you to tell the console & the game on which controller goes with which person. Another problem is there are no longer local profiles. You are either a Guest or signed in with a Microsoft Live account. It would be nice to be able to bring back local profiles, but I understand why they don't. Too bad since it's best to sign kids into the console using a local profile then upgrade them to a Live account when they are older. Oh well.
Back to the dashboard... The other thing you need to understand is the multitasking functionality. On your Home screen the largest tile is your current game or app that is minimized. It continues to run in the background. Gone is the Guide Menu & now your whole dashboard is always accessible. The 4 tiles below are the 4 most recent apps or games you ran. These are in standby mode & it's always changing. So you can't depend on these all the time(that's what the pins are for). They are there for easy task switching. That's why DrJay saw his Settings one minute & a minute later it disappeared. He must have launched more apps or games until it fell off the list.
One thing most people forget to use are the new "View" & "Menu" controller buttons. These were the "Back" & "Start" button respectively on the 360. With the "Menu" button or as most will call the "Hamburger" button, you always have access to the "Settings" at the bottom of the pop-up. No need to pin it. The "Menu" button is like the right mouse button click in Windows. It's context sensitive according to which tile is highlighted. In the dashboard it gives you the ability to "Manage" your game or app where you can delete it or your game save, "Pin" it, "Snap" it, "Go Full Screen", "View in Store" or "View Game Hub". When used in your Pins it gives you a way to organize them by "Moving to Front". Smartglass gives you an easier way to organize them by dragging & dropping them where you want. The "View" button is mainly reserved for use by the game or app. I have not seen it used in the dashboard yet.
The Xbox button is treated just like the Windows Start Menu button. Pushing it once gives you the Start Menu or Home screen. Holding it down for longer than a few secs works just like on the 360: powers on your console if not on, turns on your controller if not on or gives you the chance to turn off the console or controller if they are both on. The one thing I found confusing is that on the 360 the Xbox Guide button was used to activate certain things based on the pop-up toast notifications. If you had an achievement toast then a quick press of the 360 Guide button at the same time brought up the achievement info in the Guide. On the XB1 you have to press & hold the Xbox button for a few secs in order to get the same thing to show. A simple quick press just gives you the Home screen. It's been difficult to relearn that but I'm getting better at it. They also implemented a double-tap. Before the new Snap Center(somewhat replacement for the Guide menu on the 360) the double-tap switched focus between your main app & your snapped app. Now it's used to switch focus between apps, snap a different app, unsnap your app altogether, take a screenshot or "Record That"/record video. All these functions are mainly used for non-Kinect users. With Kinect you can use your voice to handle all of them.
So far I've pretty pleased with the dashboard. It's pretty powerful with it's multitasking capability. It's pretty cool being able to snap Skype & video chat while playing a game or watching a video. I have been using it to talk to friends before we start our game. The Party app has basically been relegated to a way invite each other into our game. We continue to use Skype in the background for voice chat. We switch to it in snap mode for video chat during our breaks. If you haven't got the double-tap of the Xbox button down(to use Snap Center) to switch between apps then it can somewhat daunting, but that's why I like using the voice commands more: "Xbox Snap Skype" "Xbox Switch". Also learn to use "Xbox Select" to get a list of voice commands you can currently use. Helps when you're not sure what voice commands to use.
Lastly, DrJay, they didn't give Forza 5 away to everybody. I assume the previous owner still has your console listed as his Home Console. He probably owned it & that's why you were able to download it for free. If he ever buys another XB1 & sets it as his Home Console you'll won't be able to play Forza 5 anymore.
Tommy McClain
Silent_Buddha
Legend
I believe he's located in Europe. As such, Forza 5 came bundled with launch XBO's I believe. I'm not sure how that would be handled WRT home machines. Is it locked to that machine? Or is it locked to the user's account?
Regards,
SB
It's locked to both. The profile that "purchased it"/downloaded it his console(even if it was free/bundled) could still play it on another machine as long as that profile was logged in & connected to the Internet.
Tommy McClain
My buddy did not have an account on the system, it came up as if it was the first time. I also had to download FM5, it wasn't on the hard drive. I'm in N/A.
I figured out Halo co-op. Wow, Google did not help. You cannot simply join mid game, you have to be at the main screen and add a player. Not very intuitive.
I figured out Halo co-op. Wow, Google did not help. You cannot simply join mid game, you have to be at the main screen and add a player. Not very intuitive.
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Somebody had to have an account to get the game digitally(even if it was free/bundled). Either you purchased it yourself without knowing it or your buddy either purchased it or redeemed a digital code for it on that system. He still could have wiped everything off the hard drive & a copy of the game would have still been associated with that console ID.
Tommy McClain
What I truly consider a puzzling design screw up in the XB1 isn't the app concept but the implementation. If it takes seconds for a small app to be usable with a simple functionality it smells like a complete top level over designed mess. I *assume* it's that slow because all these apps are more or less browser apps and each time they load a new web browser instance is created with some heavy setup cost and then some expensive web access through MS slow web services. Every time I use MS web page for simple operations I'm always surprised how slow they are.
As if nobody there really looks at their systems from top to bottom and considers the latency. They are just building on existing technology and in the end you get a slow mess with hundreds of abstraction layers which do nothing worthwhile.
As if nobody there really looks at their systems from top to bottom and considers the latency. They are just building on existing technology and in the end you get a slow mess with hundreds of abstraction layers which do nothing worthwhile.
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