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Also, the free Windows 8.1 update will probably bring some new enterprise and networking features
http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/06/03/modern-business-in-mind-windows-8-1-at-teched-2013.aspx

about 10 hours ago on Advice for Surface in education

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I’ve been using a Surface as my primary machine for months, and I use it for writing a scientific paper.

• Performance: After installing all available system and Office updates, there are no significant performance issues. The overall experience is more fluid than with most average Windows 7 devices i have used.
• Keyboards: I would highly recommend getting Type covers instead of touch covers. Longevity doesnt seem to be a problem with any of the two covers, but a lot of people have trouble getting used to typing with the touch cover. And even if you do get used to it, typing on it is noticably more tiring to your brain and your fingers.
• Office and IE on the Surface are great. OneNote (metro or desktop version) is especially useful for educational purposes.
• I would recommend setting the scaling of the desktop to 125% to improve readability and touch input.

All in all, and given the excellent price for schools, I think the Surface is a great choice for you. Performance and battery life are good, Office included for free. Just don’t make the mistake of getting touch covers – they are well built, but not suited for productive usage.

about 11 hours ago on Advice for Surface in education

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I’m not sure about that – i think they just said “apps”, not distinguishing between metro and desktop. My guess is that you will have to reinstall both, but I’m not sure.

BTW, I hope that the reinstalling process will be as easy as reinstalling apps after refreshing the system in windows 8/RT. I recently did that, and all the metro apps were automatically reinstalled, app settings and app data were restored, as well as the start screen layout. If that’s how it will be when you upgrade from preview to 8.1, then it will be really simple (for metro apps)

2 days ago on Will the Windows 8.1 preview be available to anyone?

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(if you want to access the link i posted above, remove the bracket at the end of the link…)

2 days ago on Will the Windows 8.1 preview be available to anyone?

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Here’s all we know about availability and installation so far (taken from http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/31/4384476/complete-list-of-new-features-in-windows-8-1)

Preview: June 26th
○ For both Windows 8 and Windows RT
○ Users will get a notification for an update, which will make the preview availabe in the Store app
○ Installation requires 4GB of free storage

Final version: “later this year”
○ For free
○ Via Windows Store
○ Users can decide if and when to upgrade
○ Users will get the same kind of notification for the final version as they did for the preview
○ Preview testers will have to reinstall the apps after installing the final version (data and accounts are preserved)
○ Users who didn’t install the preview will not have to reinstall apps (data, accounts, settings and apps are preserved)
○ Recovery partition will not be replaced if you deleted it in Windows 8

2 days ago on Will the Windows 8.1 preview be available to anyone? 2 replies

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Your argument doesnt make sense – hybrids cant be used for work related stuff because you need mouse and keyboard for that? That’s what hybrids are all about, they offer a mouse and keyboard experience additional to the tablet experience!

I do anything I do with my hybrid device – from writing a scientific paper to watching youtube in bed.

• If you publicly judge products and other people’s way of thinking, you should know what you’re talking about
• It’s hard to take your forum post seriously when you write it with the intention of sarcastically pointing out the readers’ inferiority (“Good luck waiting for that in 2045. Meanwhile I will enjoy my notebook and iPad mini while you are enjoying your 3 device”).

3 days ago on People who Buy Hybrid as Their only One Device End up with Three 1 reply 7 recommends

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i was surprised to read that news. MS hasnt commented release date, apart from saying it will be “later this year”.

3 days ago on Rumored 8.1 release date August 1st

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why october 1st? what’s on october 1st?

3 days ago on Rumored 8.1 release date August 1st

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I agree, but please let’s not call it “flat design”, because metro/modern/microsoft design is so much more than just flat

4 days ago on Xbox Music redesign revealed alongside new Windows 8.1 apps 1 reply 2 recommends

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the “reading list” icon in this build is different from the one in MS’s official 8.1 demo at computex.

4 days ago on Xbox Music redesign revealed alongside new Windows 8.1 apps

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right, but you shouldnt underestimate the role of the desktop in RT – it comes with office preinstalled, so users will expect a good desktop experience with RT as well.

4 days ago on Readability on small Windows tablets?

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On my surface rt device, all apps load within 1 to 3 seconds, i don’t think there’s a problem

4 days ago on Xbox Music redesign revealed alongside new Windows 8.1 apps 1 recommend

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I’ve just seen a demo from techEd, where the start screen had a “skydrive pro 2013” tile, with a darker version of the skydrive logo. Does anyone know what that might be? Maybe the enterprise version of skydrive?

4 days ago on Complete list of new features in Windows 8.1 [UPDATE: added demo of enterprise features]

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great post, i did the same thing.

In windows 8.1 these settings probably be in the settings app as well

4 days ago on Customize Windows Low Battery Levels and Actions 1 recommend

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I think it could be region specific in the sense that the default privacy settings might be region specific, or in the sense that FB’s privacy “campaigns”, as you called them, are regionally different. There must be some reason why >90% of my FB friends have app support disabled, vs close to 0% of American users.

Anyway, to me issues like this indicate that the whole “people first instead of apps first” approach will never fully catch on.

5 days ago on Facebook integration outside of the US

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In my country, Austria, the equivalent of Best Buy is called “Saturn”. They have huge areas dedicated to Apple, beautifully designed and well located, sort of like the central part of the store. It’s not an official “store in store” though, it’s just the way Saturn displays the most popular products.

So I looked for the Surface, and I found a tiny 100×50cm table with 2 Surface devices, at the backside of the backmost shelf, next to USB cables and other accessory, visible only for people who happen to pass that table. Of course not a single customer was paying attention to it.

So I think shops-in-shops are a great thing for marketing the Surface ;)

5 days ago on Microsoft and Best Buy team up to create a 'Windows Store' inside 600 retail locations

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yes of course, but my point is that you can’t compare the beauty of the two OSs without considering that the aesthetics of WP depend on the content that it displays. In other words: due to the way WP is designed, it can be ugly or beautiful or anything in between, depending on how you use it. That’s not the case with iOS7, where the beauty is pre-defined by UI design. That’s why a direct comparison does not make sense to me.

6 days ago on IOS 7 looks great, but do you guys think it looks better than Windows phone?

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As far is I know you can adjust scaling only for the desktop.

From what we can tell from the Iconia w3 images, the scaling doesnt seem to be higher by default – the startscreen looks like it does on the surface, just tinier.

7 days ago on Readability on small Windows tablets?

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I don’t get it – are you talking about desktop apps vs metro apps, or about Windows 8 vs RT?

• Desktop vs metro: Yes, of course readability is more of an issue with desktop on small screens than with metro apps on small screens.
• Windows 8 vs RT: As far as i know scaling is the same with 8 and RT, regarding both metro and desktop apps.

Since both 8 and RT run both metro apps and the desktop, the experience regarding readability would be the same whether the device is running windows 8 or RT.

7 days ago on Readability on small Windows tablets? 1 reply 1 recommend

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Why do you think there’s a difference in text size between RT and 8? It should be the same.

7 days ago on Readability on small Windows tablets? 1 reply

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I don’t think you can compare the visual aspects iOS7 and WP, because those two OSs are built with completely different design principles in mind.

• In iOS7, the UI itself is made to be visually pleasing by itself
• In WP, the UI is made to serve as a stage for content and functionality, with as few visual focus on the UI as possible.

So since the aesthetic principles are completely different, it’s impossible to tell which one looks better – WP is not meant to look good by itself, the content is supposed to make the experience beautiful.

7 days ago on IOS 7 looks great, but do you guys think it looks better than Windows phone? 1 reply

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I like it cause design-wise and UI-wise WP is all about what you use it for, not about the OS itself.
So if you want a simple and fluid experience focussed on functionality and content, WP is the perfect choice.

Using WP for the first time felt like clearing out your room for the first time – you realise how reduction and focus can enhace everyday life.

I think that’s a huge benefit that doesnt get pointed out a lot because it’s not a technical feature.

8 days ago on Why do you use Windows Phone? (Updated)

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I havent used Launcher 8, but as far as I can tell from your description it is not representative at all.

• The mail tile in WP does show a preview of your inbox
• WP is full of toggles
• There are several ways of having “favourite” contacts – creating a group of contacts, or pinning contacts to the start screen

Keep in mind that something like Launcher 8 cannot reproduce a whole other phone OS. If you want to know what WP is like, you should watch an in-depth demo/review video or visit the official WP website.

8 days ago on Windows Phone-like Launchers for Android 1 reply

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You can disable the top-right and top-left corners in Windows 8.1! :)
(you can see the option in the Computex demo video)

8 days ago on Complete list of new features in Windows 8.1 [UPDATE: added demo of enterprise features]

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I wouldnt say it was apple like – it was a traditional (what I would call “normal”) presentation plus some wanna-be apple-like elements. Can’t compare it to the Apple’s presentations though, which are generally much more “revelational” and dramaturgically tought-out. I hope MS will stick with their presentation style – I loved their Windows 8.1 presentation at Computex, very detailled and down to earth. I hope they’ll do it like that at BUILD conference.

9 days ago on Apple WWDC - things to learn (and one thing to avoid)

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I actually prefer the way MS do their presentations. They present themselves as what they are (tech professionals, not messias) and their products as what they are (tech products, not world wonders).

9 days ago on Apple WWDC - things to learn (and one thing to avoid) 1 reply 1 recommend