Windows Server 2008

I was logging on to a Windows Server 2008 box for the first time recently, and was tripped up by 15 years of routine. I entered my login information, and clicked a large button below the entry fields. Take a look:



















I expected to see a desktop, but was surprised to see this:

It happened once more before I realized that I was hitting a button that said "Switch User"; the action I was seeing was entirely normal. However, it was so difficult for me not to hit that button! Not only is it a big button, and not only is it located right where the "OK" button is located on all previous server login screens, but it is designed with a half-glare effect that makes reading the light text/dark background instruction effortful.


The correct action is to hit the little circle with the arrow in it, seen just to the right of the entry field in the top image. It has taken me several days to get used to that. I wonder what drove Microsoft to change their design for logging in? There's no apparent benefit, and the seemingly-minor problem that it caused adds to a probably-undeserved bias against the company.

It seems obvious, but routine governs so much of what we do that to ask users to reset a routine that they have developed in the course of using your product or interface should not be undertaken lightly. In the coming weeks, I'll be writing about steps I took recently with a major non-profit to mitigate the effects of change.