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Windows 8 / RT |OT|

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
So, just got done taking some notes in the OneNote Metro app this morning. The Office team has made a great metro app, the Bing team has been a number of very good apps, yet the default Windows apps remain pretty average.

I really hope the Windows team is hard at work on improvements to their apps.

Yeah. Have you ever tried the app Music Info? Much nicer than Xbox Music.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
For some reason Windows 8 seems to think my wireless keyboard is actually a... toaster?

Toaster_zps33917098.png
Waitaminute. The logic of this screenshot, based on the fact that the icon exists in Windows, would imply that there are actually toasters, in stores, that you can buy, that are USB or WiFi or possibly BlueTooth based, and can connect to your computer...

But WHY? Do we need a notification that our toast is ready? Is the time toast takes to cook really so long that we need to go back to doing our work and need to be told when our toast is done?

Can I give them names like Talkie Toaster?

And where can I buy one and do they work with OS X?

Also, I just noticed the name written on the toaster icon, and Googled it for shits and giggles...

What kind of wireless keyboard is it? The driver developer actually seemed lazy and just copied the driver packaging sample from Microsoft without changing the icon :)
Oh, this is less exciting. Bah.
 

MrBig

Member
But WHY? Do we need a notification that our toast is ready? Is the time toast takes to cook really so long that we need to go back to doing our work and need to be told when our toast is done?

Automated breakfast system? When you wake up just press a button on your desktop/laptop/tablet and your kitchen will start making your breakfast while you go take a shower or something, having breaking breakfast done without you ever leaving your bedroom.
 

railGUN

Banned
Automated breakfast system? When you wake up just press a button on your desktop/laptop/tablet and your kitchen will start making your breakfast while you go take a shower or something, having breaking breakfast done without you ever leaving your bedroom.

I have one of those, but she gets pissed when I call her that.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
Automated breakfast system? When you wake up just press a button on your desktop/laptop/tablet and your kitchen will start making your breakfast while you go take a shower or something, having breaking breakfast done without you ever leaving your bedroom.
And leave the bread out in the open all night to get stale? No thank you.

It's like the deliciousness of a McDonalds Egg McMuffin without the inconvenience of having to actually go to McDonalds. Do they have one for Sausage McMuffins?

Sausage >>> Canadian Bacon (IT'S JUST HAM GODDAMMIT)
 

NervousXtian

Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
And leave the bread out in the open all night to get stale? No thank you.


It's like the deliciousness of a McDonalds Egg McMuffin without the inconvenience of having to actually go to McDonalds. Do they have one for Sausage McMuffins?

Sausage >>> Canadian Bacon (IT'S JUST HAM GODDAMMIT)

Probably can just get those frozen sausage patties and then yes. Good to go.
 

JaggedSac

Member
Another Plex update today that fixes seeking on videos that are Direct Playing. This is great news and something I was waiting on. Was trans-coding everything on the server before and the W8 media framework uses up a lot of CPU to do that.
 
It's crazy that there still are no alternate browsers for metro. No chrome, Firefox, Opera, or even some new metro browsers. IE is good but I need extensions/add ons.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
It's crazy that there still are no alternate browsers for metro. No chrome, Firefox, Opera, or even some new metro browsers. IE is good but I need extensions/add ons.
google has a metro browser (it sucks) and last i saw firefox was developing one.

there is also the google search application which is essentially a browser.
 
google has a metro browser (it sucks) and last i saw firefox was developing one.

Firefox seems to constantly be late to show up with updated browsers. They *just* released a Retina version of their browser for the Retina MacBook Pros. Those laptops have been out like 6 months.
 

Pooya

Member
It's crazy that there still are no alternate browsers for metro. No chrome, Firefox, Opera, or even some new metro browsers. IE is good but I need extensions/add ons.

if you set Chrome as default browser it has a metro UI. it looks same as desktop though.

Firefox nightly builds work same way but they have proper metro UI there, looks pretty nice.

I'm not sure about addons in this mode though, haven't used it much.
 

dLMN8R

Member
It's like the deliciousness of a McDonalds Egg McMuffin without the inconvenience of having to actually go to McDonalds. Do they have one for Sausage McMuffins?

Sausage >>> Canadian Bacon (IT'S JUST HAM GODDAMMIT)

You can put whatever you want on it! Just not raw stuff, since it doesn't cook for that long, that hot. But I use frozen cooked sausages all the time.

It's wonderful.
 
Yeah the chrome metro is awful. And I know there wouldn't be browsers for metro for awhile but its been almost 3 months and still none. Also I hate how IE does bookmarks and tabs. If they fixed that and I used Adblock I would be fine.
 

R1CHO

Member
So, Windows 8 has in theory an improved multi monitor support.

For example now you get the windows task bar on all the monitors... BUT, there is still the priority of monitors, so it will open the stuff on the main monitor instead on the screen where you actually launch an application of the task bar.

This fucking sucks!!! It's not a big deal when you are using multiple monitors on the same place, but when you are using the tv on another room is a pain in the ass... and also i don't find any option like "send to monitor b" on the right click menu.

This doesn't happens with metro apps, in fact i am very happy with the metro interface on my tv... but the multimonitor support of the desktop environment is still shit.

Any third party option to improve this kind of thing? Back when i had a nvidida gpu, i remember that the nview options gave you the "send to..." option on the windows, but i can't find that on amd.

Maybe i am doing something wrong, and there is in fact some option on windows to enable this kind of thing, i would appreciated the help if that is the case.

Regards.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
win key + Left/Right arrow works well on sending windows back and forth between monitors.
 
And leave the bread out in the open all night to get stale? No thank you.


It's like the deliciousness of a McDonalds Egg McMuffin without the inconvenience of having to actually go to McDonalds. Do they have one for Sausage McMuffins?

Sausage >>> Canadian Bacon (IT'S JUST HAM GODDAMMIT)

As a Canadian, I know the truth to Canadian bacon, or as we call it, Back bacon. Its a totally different cut and lean-ness. Bacon is cut from the belly, ham is cut from the leg, and back bacon, the back or loin, and brined. STOP CALLING IT HAM DAMMIT!

Just jailbroke my Surface. Nice little tool released over at xda that does it in one or two steps via a powershell script. Really nice running PuTTY. Cant wait to see what's ported in the future.
 

Alx

Member
win key + Left/Right arrow works well on sending windows back and forth between monitors.

Shit, does it work with Win8RT too ? I needed that feature just 1 hour ago for my weekly meeting, for some (resolution-based) reason it didn't want to display IE in "duplicated screens" mode, and I had to struggle in extended mode to have it on the right display. Only took a few seconds, but it's always awkward...
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
As a Canadian, I know the truth to Canadian bacon, or as we call it, Back bacon. Its a totally different cut and lean-ness. Bacon is cut from the belly, ham is cut from the leg, and back bacon, the back or loin, and brined. STOP CALLING IT HAM DAMMIT!
Hey, Tom Green himself said it was just ham. And he never lies.
 

dLMN8R

Member
So, Windows 8 has in theory an improved multi monitor support.

For example now you get the windows task bar on all the monitors... BUT, there is still the priority of monitors, so it will open the stuff on the main monitor instead on the screen where you actually launch an application of the task bar.

This fucking sucks!!! It's not a big deal when you are using multiple monitors on the same place, but when you are using the tv on another room is a pain in the ass... and also i don't find any option like "send to monitor b" on the right click menu.

This doesn't happens with metro apps, in fact i am very happy with the metro interface on my tv... but the multimonitor support of the desktop environment is still shit.

Any third party option to improve this kind of thing? Back when i had a nvidida gpu, i remember that the nview options gave you the "send to..." option on the windows, but i can't find that on amd.

Maybe i am doing something wrong, and there is in fact some option on windows to enable this kind of thing, i would appreciated the help if that is the case.

Regards.

Applications launch on whatever monitor they were last used.
 
Anyone know off-hand if there's an app that can be installed that simulates the multiple desktop experience that OSX and Linux have? I really like being able to separate my work space from my play space on OSX and Linux, and since I'm not running multiple monitors on Windows (seemingly the default way to do it), it's not as easy to replicate.

Anyone use anything like that they can personally recommend?
 
Samsung getting cold feet on Windows RT, ATIV Tab not headed to the U.S.

It appears that Samsung will not be launching the companies Windows RT tablet, the ATIV Tab, in the U.S. market and the future doesn't look bright for other markets as well.

The reason behind the cold feet? Feedback from Samsung's retail partners indicated demand for Windows RT tablets is modest at best and the investment to sell the importance of Windows RT's benefits was too great.

Mike Abary, Samsung's Senior Vice President over PC and Tablets, stated,

"When we did some tests and studies on how we could go to market with a Windows RT device, we determined there was a lot of heavy lifting we still needed to do to educate the customer on what Windows RT was. And that heavy lifting was going to require pretty heavy investment."

Ouch.
 
I mean, it's a reasonable concern and subsequent position to take. Especially with Atom processors getting much better in performance and power savings nextgen. I don't want to say, "why bother"...but why bother?
 
I mean, it's a reasonable concern and subsequent position to take. Especially with Atom processors getting much better in performance and power savings nextgen. I don't want to say, "why bother"...but why bother?

Pretty much. We're in a world where x86 is faster and almost as energy efficient as ARM. Current Clovertrail tablets can already last 8-10 hours and Intel Android smartphones are stomping the ARM counterparts into the ground. The only thing ARM has going for is the price and that's where Windows RT tablets are failing in every possible way, because manufacturers are trying to rise the base price with these new devices, after they basically gave Netbooks away. The Asus Vivo RT tablet for 599 is a joke.
 

maeh2k

Member
To me that just says they don't want to and would rather focus on the galaxy line in the lower price segments.

Most new tablet customers have absolutely no idea about any of the tablet operating systems. If I asked random consumer about Android tablets I'd have to do some heavy lifting as well to educate them.

"company’s retail partners indicated demand for such products was modest at best" -- no surprise that people don't demand stuff they know nothing about. If only it had the Galaxy brand.

It really isn't that hard to show customers the value proposition. Just make an RT tablet for $400 and tell people it comes with Office. That would surely be interesting to a lot of people.
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
Anyone know off-hand if there's an app that can be installed that simulates the multiple desktop experience that OSX and Linux have? I really like being able to separate my work space from my play space on OSX and Linux, and since I'm not running multiple monitors on Windows (seemingly the default way to do it), it's not as easy to replicate.

Anyone use anything like that they can personally recommend?

It's not quite what you asked for, nor do I know exactly how OSX or Linux do it, but I have a second account on my computer for my work stuff. There I have visual studio and stuff in my start screen, and took out hulu and the like. Worked ok for me, but it might be a few more steps to switch between the two then you're looking for.
 

Azih

Member
Just make an RT tablet for $400 and tell people it comes with Office. That would surely be interesting to a lot of people.

I think that's why MS threw up their hands and decided to go into hardware. A lot of these hardware manufacturers have no idea how to appeal to anyone post PC/laptop. Too bad MS made the Surface a 'premium' line. They should make a Surface Lite.
 

Nokterian

Member
Another leason learned..do not use Firefox Nightly as default browser. Because that made my pc crash. Removed it and i will stay with the normal firefox.
 
To me that just says they don't want to and would rather focus on the galaxy line in the lower price segments.

Most new tablet customers have absolutely no idea about any of the tablet operating systems. If I asked random consumer about Android tablets I'd have to do some heavy lifting as well to educate them.

"company’s retail partners indicated demand for such products was modest at best" -- no surprise that people don't demand stuff they know nothing about. If only it had the Galaxy brand.

It really isn't that hard to show customers the value proposition. Just make an RT tablet for $400 and tell people it comes with Office. That would surely be interesting to a lot of people.

The problem is that people have certain expectations when they buy a Windows device. You can't expect them to pay 499 or 599 for a devices that looks like the device next to it, but does less and nothing else better.
 
It's not quite what you asked for, nor do I know exactly how OSX or Linux do it, but I have a second account on my computer for my work stuff. There I have visual studio and stuff in my start screen, and took out hulu and the like. Worked ok for me, but it might be a few more steps to switch between the two then you're looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtMMMgnelWo

explanation at 1:00, demonstration at 2:15-2:30. It'll make complete sense when you see it in action.

having to log out to switch accounts is what I'd want to avoid because it would mean having to close things or re-open them. in Linux and OSX, you have behaviors like you see in that video. You can simply swipe right to left (or left to right, depending) and access a separate instance of your desktop where you have a completely different set of applications open.

For example, on my Mac right now I have:

Desktop 1 (randomness): Chrome (maybe 15 random tabs), Imageshack Uploader, Acrobat, iTunes

Desktop 2 (work): Chrome (and maybe 15 business-related tabs open), e-mail client, Photoshop, FTP app, Word

Desktop 3 (all play): Chrome (and maybe 10 gaming website tabs open), Steam, some text documents with some random notes


I swipe to go from one of those "desktops" to another. My work and play stay isolated from each other without the need to log in or out. I vaguely remember having something that simulated this in Windows many years ago (maybe made by Stardock), but I didn't use it much. But now that I've grown accustomed to it, not having it makes me feel less productive on my Windows 8 desktop and everything feels constricted. Spaces is like having 3 or 4 screens on Windows that you used to separate things...then going back to just 1.

If nobody uses anything like this, I'll just do some digging. I was hoping someone had some experience in this and could just recommend their favorite app for this function. I'm sure there are options out there.
 

maeh2k

Member
The problem is that people have certain expectations when they buy a Windows device. You can't expect them to pay 499 or 599 for a devices that looks like the device next to it, but does less and nothing else better.

RT devices wouldn't have to cost 500-600. The Acer W510 without the keyboard dock was sold for $400 and that's not even RT. And they'd come with Office, which a lot of people would value and if they bought an Atom tablet most of them wouldn't buy an expensive Office license.
The Surface is more of a premium product. The price is not jut about capabilities but also about design and build quality. It's the same in other product categories; you could make the same argument about a Nissan GTR and a Porsche.
 
RT devices wouldn't have to cost 500-600. The Acer W510 without the keyboard dock was sold for $400 and that's not even RT. And they'd come with Office, which a lot of people would value and if they bought an Atom tablet most of them wouldn't buy an expensive Office license.
The Surface is more of a premium product. The price is not jut about capabilities but also about design and build quality. It's the same in other product categories; you could make the same argument about a Nissan GTR and a Porsche.

Surface is only a premium product on the outside. It might look like a Porsche and might feel like a Porsche, but it has the engine of a Civic.
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtMMMgnelWo

explanation at 1:00, demonstration at 2:15-2:30. It'll make complete sense when you see it in action.

having to log out to switch accounts is what I'd want to avoid because it would mean having to close things or re-open them. in Linux and OSX, you have behaviors like you see in that video. You can simply swipe right to left (or left to right, depending) and access a separate instance of your desktop where you have a completely different set of applications open.

For example, on my Mac right now I have:

Desktop 1 (randomness): Chrome (maybe 15 random tabs), Imageshack Uploader, Acrobat, iTunes

Desktop 2 (work): Chrome (and maybe 15 business-related tabs open), e-mail client, Photoshop, FTP app, Word

Desktop 3 (all play): Chrome (and maybe 10 gaming website tabs open), Steam, some text documents with some random notes


I swipe to go from one of those "desktops" to another. My work and play stay isolated from each other without the need to log in or out. I vaguely remember having something that simulated this in Windows many years ago (maybe made by Stardock), but I didn't use it much. But now that I've grown accustomed to it, not having it makes me feel less productive on my Windows 8 desktop and everything feels constricted. Spaces is like having 3 or 4 screens on Windows that you used to separate things...then going back to just 1.

If nobody uses anything like this, I'll just do some digging. I was hoping someone had some experience in this and could just recommend their favorite app for this function. I'm sure there are options out there.

Awesome. I haven't used anything like this on windows, nor have I seen anyone use something like this, but I will ask around work.
 

Tek

Member
Anyone having issues trying to stream media from Windows 8 to their Xbox 360? I know that the extender option is gone from Windows 7, but isn't there a way to stream it like before?

I'm not really a fan of Smartglass....Basically my experience with Smartglass works like this.

I connect to my xbox and then I try to play my media...Play to option is greyed out, I disable/re enable my NIC - reconnect to SG - play to option is now available.

Its just annoying to have to do that and I can't figure out why.

What is weird is that I run Plex Media Server for my Roku box in my bedroom. Now in the Music/Video 360 player it comes up and I can use that to stream, but why doesn't my computer?

I've set up sharing via homegroups, I've done everything that I always did before...but no matter what it will not show my computer for streaming options like it always did with Windows 7 & XP

I searched on google and found people having various issues like mine...but I kind of left it alone since I do have SG and Plex as an option...its just not as easy as just having my libraries on my computer shared direct to my xbox.

Any ideas?
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Really getting fed up with Windows 8. Applications are so unstable. Steam and Firefox are constantly freezing. XSplit is sluggish as hell (known issue).
 

railGUN

Banned
I'm kind of torn on what I think about RT. I would think MS would want to really push RT and regular tablets over this "Pro" approach. RT devices force you into the MS app store and ecosystem, and are / should be touch based consumption devices. iPads are flying off the shelves, and the best competitor to the iPad is a Surface RT type device, not a pricier, touchscreen ultrabook hybrid.

I really get the appeal of hybrids running full Windows 8, but it seems far more niche, and not really something that the general public would embrace for their tablet needs - and if the public did embrace the full Windows OS hybrid, then I would guess their Metro app ecosystem would not be nearly as profitable. I would think app developers would be far less inclined to make apps if everyone has the option to use pre-existing (x86) software. You're now competing with all metro apps, and all existing Windows software.

Having said that, I'm more and more intrigued by the Surface Pro, and it's what I would buy if I ever bought a Windows tablet of any kind.
 
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