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Microsoft's move to horizontal scrolling

Sat, Dec 1 2012 0:14:01 PST - [Permalink] - Category: tech - by: Patrick Lambert

So I have to ask something. Why is Microsoft going all in with horizontal scrolling, and can they please stop it?

If you've used Windows 8, you know that the new start screen doesn't use vertical scrolling anymore. As you add squares to your screen, you start having to scroll from left to right. This is a concept used throughout the new OS, both on tablet and desktop. But it doesn't stop there. If you download the Microsoft Bing app, you see the exact same thing. Whereas Google will scroll from top to bottom while displaying your search results, Bing will show results in little squares, and makes you scroll to the right.

But wait, there's more! This week the company released TouchDevelop, a web based tool to create web and Windows 8 apps through your browser. Again, you're greeted with horizontal scrolling. It really does seem like Microsoft is intent on making us go from vertical to horizontal. On a tablet, that might make sense. It's debatable what is more intuitive when scrolling on a touch screen, whether going up and down or left and right.

But on a desktop or laptop, it makes no sense at all to use horizontal scrolling. Not only does it go against what every computer user is used to, but there are less options available to us:

* Many people use the scroll wheel on a mouse to scroll. This isn't available for horizontal scrolling.

* The page up and down keys are also popular options, again not something that can be used in most situations.

* Many laptops have keys next to the touch pad dedicated for up and down scrolling.

While it could be debated that from a user interface perspective, it may be better for people to scroll horizontally, right now it makes no sense to do it on a desktop or laptop.

Microsoft's move to horizontal scrolling

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