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Activity Centers Preview
In early 1999, Microsoft began work on a new user interface paradigm for Windows, dubbed "Activity Centers," that is designed to facilitate a task-based approach to personal computing. Though a large number of Activity Centers were originally slated for inclusion in Windows Millennium Edition ("Windows Me", see my review of Beta 3), Microsoft quickly realized that it would need to scale back these plans due to problems implementing the feature, which is based on a melding of the traditional Win32 API and HTML. So though Windows Me includes a couple of Activity Centers (Help & Support and System Restore), it won't be until the Whistler release (see my exclusive Preview), due in Q2 2000, that Microsoft will fully realize the Activity Centers vision (see my introduction to Activity Centers for more information). (Originally, the company planned for this feature to appear in "Neptune"--as seen in this design mockup, courtesy of ActiveWin--but that project was scrapped in lieu of Whistler.) This showcase focuses on Microsoft's internal design goals for Activity Centers and provides a preview of the functionality we'll see somewhat in Windows Me, but more fully next year in Whistler.
Design Goals for Activity Centers
Activity Centers are single-window applications, written in a combination of HTML and the Win32 API, that facilitate easy ways to complete common tasks (Figure). They are designed primarily for new and inexperienced users. Activity Centers facilitate the completion of common, infrequently repeated tasks, a design goal that may confuse some. The theory here is that if is task is repeated infrequently, then the user will need to relearn the steps needed to complete that task every single time they attempt to perform that task. So an Activity Center should present a simple, clear user interface that will help the user quickly complete specific tasks without going through this relearning process. Tasks that are repeated frequently, however, are not appropriate for Activity Centers because these new user interface elements stress simplicity and discoverability over efficiency.
Activity Centers are based on the following design principles:
- Provide a seamless user experience across all tasks for a few key feature areas
- Be task oriented so that options are phrased in terms of goals, not in terms of tools
- Focus the user on a single task per "page" and clearly state that focus
- Always make the next navigational step obvious
- Enumerate the user•s options for doing something other than the main task
This is known as inductive navigation, and it stands in sharp contrast to the more traditional tools-based approach used in previous versions of Windows. The goal is to give the user an easy way to complete tasks, not present them with a bewildering array of tools. Advanced users, of course, will naturally turn to these tools, but Activity Centers will give new users an entry point to become more proficient with the OS.
Activity Centers and Windows Me
The original vision for Windows Me, then known simply by its code-name "Millennium," was that the OS would include a suite of Activity Centers, including:
- Photo Center - Scan, modify, and manage digital images (Figure)
- Music Center - Record, play, and manage digital music (Figure)
- Gaming Activity Center - Configure and manage games and gaming devices
- Help Activity Center - Replacement for online help that includes Web links (Figure)
- Home Networking Configuration Center - Setup home networking, Internet Connection Sharing, and other dial-up and networking connections
However, by the release of Beta 1 in the fall of 1999 (see What happened to Millennium Beta 1?), it was clear that the underlying Activity Center technology wasn't going to be far enough along to provide the needed HTML hooks into the more traditional Win32 interface, so the plans were scaled back dramatically. Microsoft axed Photo Center, Gaming Activity Center, and the Home Networking Configuration Center before ever releasing them publicly to beta testers. Instead, these features are exposed through more traditional UI elements in Windows Me. For example, Microsoft provides traditional Windows Wizards for Home Networking and Internet Connection Sharing. An Activity Center-like AutoUpdate feature was also scrapped for a more traditional version.
However, some Activity Centers do remain in Windows Me. Microsoft had forged ahead with its Help Activity Center (Figure), which was soon renamed to Help & Support to decouple the program from the "Activity Center" moniker, as that was quickly de-emphasized in Windows Me. Microsoft was able to continue with Help & Support because it didn't require any serious hooks into the OS: Online Help was already in HTML format anyway, and the improvements expected in Windows Me--largely links to online help and support resources, were already feasible with the current generation Internet Explorer technology. In late 1999, the company curiously added a second Activity Center application, System Restore, which appears to run off of the Help & Support platform (Figure). It's unclear at this time why they did this, or what sort of integration with the traditional Win32 API this required; I'll examine System Restore more closely in an upcoming Showcase.
There's a third surprise Activity Center in Windows Me as well, though it's pretty stealthy: Music Center has been lightly redesigned and recast as Windows Media Player 7 (Figure), which now features all of the functionality originally expected in Music Center. For example, Windows Media Player plays virtually any kind of digital media, includes an online Media Guide, manages stored media with playlists and search capabilities, includes Internet Radio support, connects to portable devices such as Windows CE-based PocketPCs and RIO-style MP3 players, and is even fully skinnable so that the user might easily customize its look and feel.
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