Like any new user interface, the designers of Windows 8 had to make compromises. The Windows 8 UX leads had some particular conflicting requirements to deal with: make it work on the desktop and on a tablet. Sometimes the reasons for decisions are not obvious. Many decisions are controversial. One implementation in particular, the decision to display shortcut menus / toolbars at the bottom of the screen in Windows 8, baffled me at first. Toolbars are supposed to be at the top - point final.
When I first tried Windows 8, it was with a laptop with no touchscreen and no touchable mouse. There was no reason to have the menu at the bottom. Later I discovered that on a Windows 8 tablet, sliding your finger up from the bottom would display this shortcut/right click menu. Since your finger is already there, it makes sense to put it there. Also, if you are holding a tablet with two hands, your thumbs are close by. But I stumbled onto another reason, and whether or not Microsoft did it on purpose, it makes total sense to me now.
Recently I started using two touch screens with Windows 7 with my main desktop at work. I plan on upgrading to Windows 8, but was leery about committing without having used it first; so I installed Windows 8 on a laptop and connected the touch screen. The first app I tried was don't-call-it-Metro Internet Explorer.
I can't slide up from the bottom with my touchscreen (it has a thick bevel), so I triggered the bottom menu using a right-click of my mouse. I then realized I was supposed to be trying to use Windows 8 with touchscreen, so I tapped in the address bar. It was then that it hit me.
My monitor is a 22" wide screen on the top part of a 2-shelf desk, my keyboard underneath. If I had to reach up to the top of the monitor all the time, my arms would get sore in a hurry. But with the toolbar at the bottom, buttons were much closer and did not require me to lift my arm so much. The change, while perhaps aimed at people using a tablet, is also hugely beneficial for those of us who are trying to use touchscreen with a large, table-bound monitor. I don't say this often, but well done, Microsoft.
Now if only Office 2013 were to have its toolbars at the bottom...
