Posts by Hooksie
147 posts • joined Wednesday 1st June 2011 13:43 GMT
Re: Erosion of PC market could be a death spiral
A lot of truth in there but a lot of balls too. MS make money every time an Android device is shipped so they could have quite a healthy revenue stream just from that. I agree thought that PC sales falling even a little, never mind the tumble they are taking, means that it won't be worth the time and effort of OEMs to build them.
Colour me shocked
So the vast majority of people prefer to have a mobile internet enabled device that they can use on their couch rather than have a desktop PC that does far more than they need? Well, who would have thunk it.
Of course it's all Microsoft's fault for releasing Windows 8. *sarcasm*
Re: Apps schnapps.
You might want to travel back in time a couple of year and buy an HP Touchpad then. Sounds like webOS is the OS for you :)
Re: Hmmm
You're a tube. And a troll. You just don't like Windows Phone 8 and I'll bet money you have an Android phone. If you spent all day, every day looking through the Google Play store and reporting every app that broke copyright or was a fake YouTube/Twitter/Facebook app you would be there for months if not years.
To say "Windows Phone is not really worth all this hassle tbh, better just going for an HTC One or similar" just shows your bias since Windows Phone is an OS and a platform whereas HTC One is a device. What if the HTC One was running Windows Phone?
And your comment about apps disappearing is bollocks as this has only happened once before. Basically, you're not a very nice person
Re: Ballmer desperate to copy Google
What in the name of all that's holy are you talking about Troll? What does that comment have to do with Microsoft doing something for their customers, something original by the way (if you had opposable thumbs you might be able to try it for yourself) Google don't want a good YouTube app on Windows Phone because the Windows Phone version is nicer than the one they have on Android and iOS. And yes, I have used all 3 so I'm not just saying that.
Re: Can I have some of what the author is having?
WTF is spot on my friend. Direct quotes from YOUR comment:
Slick experience on Windows Phone? - Suggesting sarcasm, as though it's not slick
It's easy to be slick when you run such a basic interface - suggesting it IS slick but you don't like the UI.
The article was about the separation on UI and UX so I don't see why someone who must work in the industry had difficulty grasping that. You may not like the UI in WP8, I do, but surely you can agree it's buttery smooth and doesn't judder the way iOS does or forked Android kernels are wont to do. I too have had Android phones a plenty and several iPhones yet I prefer WP8. Matter of opinion my good man, not a troll fest.
Re: To the author
What restrictiveness, specifically, are you referring to? Do you regularly write your own apps and want to install them? Because if that's the case you can get keys from MS that allow you to do that. I think you have a fruity based phone in your pocket and you're just trolling. There is the vague possibility that you just don't have a clue what you're talking about but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt.
How very clever of you to replace 'slick' with 'sick'. Genius.
Bear in mind that the article is based on the words of the guy who runs Android and the reviewer writes for The Register so they are hardly likely to love anything Microsoft :)
Re: You what?
Couldn't agree more but that's the point of the article. Stock Android is nice, slick and well thought out. I had the HTC Sensation and the HTC One S, both beautiful phones but both piss poor with Sense on top. Rooted, booted and running Cyanogenmod though they were excellent. It's the forks, overlays and fannying about that OEMs and providers do that sully the experience. I just couldn't be arsed with the constant wiping, updating, reflashing and changing all the bloody time. Went to Windows Phone 8 and after the initial pain and figuring out how to work it I'm very happy. My next phone will be another Windows Phone at this rate.
Re: Most people will just install or use the apps they like or are most comfortable using.
I have one and I'm 35, worked in IT for 10+ years and am married with no kids. If that means anything. Which it doesn't :)
But I would point out that half a million apps doesn't a small app store make.
Re: Yep, I agree
I know that this is going to invoke a large number of down-votes from the MS hating fraternity on here but I'm going to suggest giving Windows Phone 8 a try. iOS hasn't changed since the last iPhone you owned so I think you'll get sick of it pretty quickly, I know I did. I only tried Windows Phone for the first time with the HTC 8X (also have a Lumia 920 for work) and once I got over the "why doesn't this work" and found out HOW to use it, I have to say that it's been a revelation. I like it far more that Android and it's a very good competitor to iOS. Don't listen to anyone who whines about the applications available, I have everything I want on it. Try the timetoswitch stuff and see if your favourite apps are there or if there's an alternative.
Worth a try, trust me.
An idea wo good Microsoft already had it
Windows Blue is, I believe, Microsoft's attempt to do what they didn't have time to do before which is to integrate the 3 code bases so that you can write an app for one that will work on the others. I do agree that RT is a bit dead in the public consciousness but I see no reason why Windows Phone 8 wouldn't work very well on smaller tablets (8" form factor and below). BUT. I want a Windows 8 tablet. I have an iPad and I can't do everything I want to do with it. Equally, I don't want an Atom powered 1366x768 screen, I want a 1080p screen (for videos, not for working on before you say anything) and just for giggles I'd rather have an attachable keyboard. So, basically, I want the Surface Pro, Asus Transformer Book, Samsung Ativ PC Pro or one of the other devices that will be coming out soon. I want to be able to work and play on the same device, not have to take both.
Just out of interest, since so many people slag off Windows 8 for being unintuitive (it kind of is but once you get it, you get it) hands up who knew about the 4 finger swipe to change apps, four finger swipe up to see current apps and the 5 finger grab back to home on the iPad? Was that intuitive? No, you had to be told and then once you were told and got used to it you thought it made sense. Same with Windows 8.
Re: ha ha
He probably did that because TheReg USED to be a good tech site but slowly it has descended into madness and they do seem to have a bias against Windows 8. NO idea why. The article was actually one of the better ones believe it or not but it did categorically fail to point out the Microsoft had to publicly rebuff the FT for printing an article that has little or no relevance to the information Microsoft gave to the press. It was sensationalist claptrap that talked of U-turns and New Coke despite Microsoft simply telling people that they are listening to feedback and making appropriate changes. Unlike the great fruity one who piss on people and then people thank them for it because it's warm. Idiots.
Re: Windows Update
Sorry dude but what the fuck has that got to do with jack shit of what the article is about? If you read, you'll see that Windows Blue (8.1) is coming around soon and that prior to that Windows Phone 8 will have GDR2 and GDR3 as incremental updates which only download over wifi.
Hope that helps.
Re: @The Original Steve
I have to say my friend that I think you just haven't given the phone or the OS the time it deserves. You're going to have this thing for about 2 years and you've come from a completely different OS and way of doing things. It's like an experienced ZX Spectrum user trying to boot up on an Amiga and wondering why things aren't working.
I saw your list and I'm afraid most of it is either nonsense or stuff that you can't do on any other platform hence not really valid in this discussion (though perfectly valid to you as a reason you are unhappy). I too went through some pain initially and I completely agree with you about the volume rocker, it's a complete pain in the tits having a phone on vibrate but still pumping out full volume when you try to load a game in the toilet! :)
Yes, there are files you can't download. I found that too with a relatively simple mp3 file that I had to download on my pc and then transfer over. Not a huge problem but one that should be looked at.
The OS needs work but then it's still better than iOS. Windows Blue should solve a lot of your problems but in the meantime may I respectfully suggest that you avail yourself of some of the tutorials online or even the Hints and Tips app that's built into the handset.
p.s. why in the name of the wee man would you want to uninstall Games or Calendar? Games is a portal link and nothing more (a glorified folder) and calendar is kind of integral. Just wondering.
Re: The problem...
Couldn't agree more; although I personally had fuck all to do with designing the thing :)
Keyboard shortcuts and all the stuff that you, and in this case I do mean YOU added in to Windows 8 have been a revelation. I have railed and railed about how great W8 is and I just don't get how so many people don't get it. EVERYTHING I do with my computer is faster on Windows 8 and while I'm working I don't think I even see the Metro interface. All the programs I use most often are pinned to the taskbar or the desktop and if I do want to open something else I usually just hit win then the first three letters of the app and it's there. Less mouse clicks, less faffing about.
I can, begrudgingly, understand why some people don't like to have the Metro interface foisted on them and if MS do, as is planned, unify the code bases and allow boot to desktop then I think that will be a huge boost. Please don't get rid of Metro altogether though because it's the most fun my PC has ever been.
Re: Windows 8 is good for something
They give you an internet browser.
And why so many people are hung up on a 13 year old OS that's literally past its sell by date is beyond me.
Re: They don't JUST need a roadmap...
See, now THAT ladies and gentlemen is what we call an INFORMED OPINION. Well done that man. (or woman, I'm not judging)
Re: Metro always looked useless to me as a desktop UI.
So, as with so many other commentards on here you're willing to denigrate something you haven't actually used? I have Windows Phone 8 on an HTC 8X and a Nokia Lumia 920 and having had several iPhones and Android phones I FAR prefer WP8. It's slick, smooth, fast, fun and it has all the apps I need.
Oh, and just as a :p to the writer, there IS an Instagram app just not an official one, it's called Itsdagram and it was developed by the peeps at wpcentral.com
What phone do you use just now? A Nokia 3210? I'll bet real money it's a touch screen device.
Re: Oh Belgium...
Yah. Hilarious. Except that those of us who actually use Windows 8 (or 7) haven't seen a BSOD for YEARS. Literally, years. Well, except in XP, it's riddled with them.
Posted in Movie review: Star Trek Into Darkness
Re: What does god want with a starship?
Ok, who are you and why are you in my head? That could have been written, word for word, by me.
Posted in Movie review: Star Trek Into Darkness
Re: The first movie of the reboot did it for me....
I can't believe that got 2 thumbs up. Go read a book! A singularity has, by definition, close to infinite mass and a gravitational force that even light can't escape. That's why they are traveling at light speed and going nowhere. By your logic when any star collapses under its own weight and becomes a black hole there would be no change? Help me out here, if I'm wrong and being a dumbass then someone please explain it to me.
Posted in Movie review: Star Trek Into Darkness
Re: The first movie of the reboot did it for me....
Feel better now that you got all that out? Nitpicking?? Nah, you just picked apart the whole fucking film you tube! :) Allow me to throw my tuppence worth (might not even be worth that much) and see if we can't calm you down a little.
Timelines - If you don't understand temporal physics and the paradox theories then who am I to fill you in but think of it the way Doc Brown explained it in Back to Future - in the future a star exploded (and for some fuck brained reason somehow threatens the whole galaxy even though it's only one star - you should have moaned about that one and I would have agreed!) Spock is it the middle of trying to save the star when it all goes tits up and Romulus goes Kaboom. Nero and Spock fall into the black whole and thanks to time dilation (this part is in line with current theory and actually quite clever) Nero arrives 27 years before Spock even though it was only seconds between them entering it. This one act irrevocably alters the timeline. The reviewer said that Cumberbatch's character shouldn't have been affected by this change but how do we know that? Spock being different as you say is clearly a factor of his not having met Kirk until much later; the two of them had been friends since early in their Academy days. So you have a completely different timeline for most of the crew but the rest of the universe should just keep going the way it would have, save for a few other changes. If you really want to get your head around it you need to watch Star Trek Voyager's two parter called the Year of Hell. It helps explain how a small change in the timeline can lead to entire civilisations never existing. And, final point on this one, you talk about setting precedent, Star Trek TOS and Voyage Home both contained time travel and the perils of changing things. So the time travel element is not tacked on as you said.
Red Matter - Totally with you; BUT it's a made up substance that creates black holes, maybe he needs such a big lump because in smaller amounts it's unstable. Maybe when you take it in smaller pellets that's when it becomes dangerous, unstable and explodes?
As for the Ice Planet - Yep, utter balls. Were it in the same solar system as Vulcan it would, at that moment, be being drawn inexorably towards the newly created black hole (singularity). There's no reason for the planet itself to be a problem geologically, if Mars had significant water content and a thin atmosphere it may well have similar conditions but the fact that the same little Ice Planet not only provided an excellent viewing platform for old Spock to watch the destruction of his planet, it also housed Scotty and a pointless alien that couldn't speak, both of whom (Spock and Scotty) meet the new Kirk within 5 minutes of film and then are somehow able to beam aboard the enterprise from said Ice Planet from which the Enterprise had no doubt left, let's say an hour previously. Do you know how far light travels in an hour? Voyager 1 left here 40 years ago and it's still only 17 minutes of light travel time away.
That cover most of it?
Posted in Movie review: Star Trek Into Darkness
Re: I might have thought this was a good review until I got to this bit:
Right, you lot are just out to piss me off aren't you?? Not only do we have the "reviewer" (not actually a film review in the slightest) denigrating the wonderful and hugely successful Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (aka A bit of Light Relief) but then this clown tries to tell me that Undiscovered Country is anything less than the best film of the lot??
I worry about this new Star Trek film. This whole "the ship nearly gets destroyed" pish is part of what killed off the TNG movies. Another couple of films and they would have run out of letters for the 1701! And even as a fan I would prefer they went off in a new direction instead of introducing a character that those who have watched the series will know. But, they wanted to do a reboot which means they are very constrained for baddies. You can't have the Borg because that would be fucking stupid; you can't have the Romulans because nobody is supposed to have seen a Romulan warbird for decades (if ever) and even the Klingons, in the original series, were in a sort of Cold War state with the Federation. If you're going to constrain yourself within a particular story telling paradigm and it has its own internal logic and timeline then you just have to stick to it.
But yes TMP was balls. Final Frontier, interestingly, may be a bad film from a plot point of view but it's a really nice, light character piece.
Re: So
Dammit! Beat me to it. But to be pedantic it's transparent aluminum :)
Pity Americans can't spell though, should be aluminium.
Weird
I can only assume that Microsoft don't really care that much about the Surface but insist on talking a good game over it. I really like the Surface, a few people at work have them, but it is too heavy and I have no idea why it's not a 1080p screen at least. The Surface Pro is heavier again but more powerful though battery life is supposed to be utterly pish. The concept is great, it looks and works brilliantly but the marketing of Surface and the international release and information has been ridiculous and almost arrogantly derogatory.
Maybe it's deliberate, maybe it's to assuage the concerns of the other OEMs and give them a chance to step up but so far none of them have. The Acer W700 is weird, the Samsung Ativan PC Pro is lame and plasticky and the Asus Transformer Book seems to only exist in their website and some YouTube videos. The current crop of laptops and tablets for Windows just aren't good enough and in my opinion they are the reason that PC sales have dropped, not Windows 8 itself. We are already in a post PC era since the vast majority of people, present company definitely excluded, have realised thanks to Apple that they don't NEED a PC, they need something to watch videos, play games, check their emails and browse the Internet on. Surface and Surface Pro do that with the Pro being able to do all the other things like video processing etc too.
I warned the Surface Pro when I first heard of it but now I'm just going to wait for Surface 2 which will be Haswell, lighter, running Windows Blue and last for 15 hours on a single charge. Why waste the £900 now when 4 months from now you'll regret it majorly.
Re: Hmmm....
Can anyone smell that?? I'm sure I can smell bullshit.
If you don't think that particles and antiparticles appearing and annihilating each other out of a quantum soup of pure energy is spooky as well as being scientifically intuiging then you either don't understand it or you think you understand it. Which is not the same as understanding it.
I call bullshit.
I think I might cry
An article on the register that is about iPads and Apple products that doesn't fall over itself to fawn on the big fruity one. Kudos to the author for pointing out the fallacy of using iPads for IT education - it's an absolute nonsense.
Windows tablets would be of some use but they too are prohibitvely expensive so I would have thought that if you were going to use tablets for IT education then Android would be the way to go. Cheaper, open source, can be rooted and booted as many times as you like, you could even install Ubuntu on some of them. Coding should be fine and you can even get kids to write their own apps, sideload them and possibly submit them to the Play Store, maybe do a class project to fork a ROM. Even showing kids the coding behind some of the stuff they take for granted is bound to open their minds to new possibilities. Unlike the aforementioned iPads which only serve to open your wallet!
First El Reg article I've read in ages that didn't make me want to shout at the computer.
WTF
These are the same idiots who fine Microsoft for including a browser but allow Apple to do what they like. They are nothing short of talking arseholes.
If it wasn't for porn there wouldn't BE an internet. Why do you think we have smart phones with bigger screens, iPads, Flash player, online video etc, all innovations either designed BECAUSE of porn or designed with porn in mind. Porn PAID for the fledgling internet before it because commercialised for goodness sake. Can't see the germans agreeing anyway, they love a bit of titlation.
Seriously
And people have the gall to slag off Microsoft for the Surface??? What a pile of shite.
As a Windows Phone 8 owner.....
The problem has nothing to do with the OS or its abilities. Yes, it has a couple of minor annoyances but then so do iOS and Android. The problem is a marketing/image one and partly down to API's not being exposed to developers. There are some glaring app problems and missing apps but realistically, the OS itself and the browser make up for a lot of the missing apps. This is an individual choice though, for me the only things missing are iPlayer and SkyGo but others will have different lists.
One thing though, Bing is fucking awful. The number of times I've searched for something on Bing only to have to re-search on Google instead is unbelievable. They should keep Bing for the good stuff like translating live text (awesome!!!) and leave searching to the guys who know how to do it.
MS need to behave like a start-up when it comes to mobile. They need to drop any charges for the OS to get it on more hardware and they need to liaise with app vendors to build quality Windows Phone versions of their apps, pay them if you have to but just get it done.
Surface would have been a success at a $100 or £100 discount and a better explanation of RT use case, Surface Pro would have been a success if they had done an Apple and released it 3 weeks after the launch event. What are we now, 6, 7 months from when it was announced and you STILL can't get a release date? Idiots. They still have the "we are Microsoft, we're awesome!" attitude then act surprised when people aren't interested.
Execs in a bubble that needs to be burst
So anyone who reads any of my posts will know that I am a technology and platform agnostic, that is to say that I don't prefer any particular OS, they all have good points and bad points. But I would dearly love to find one of the execs or the marketing bods that are involved in Surface, Surface Pro and Windows Phone 8 and smack them upside the head. They seemed to think that just because it's Microsoft that people will trust it and buy it. Well, that's balls. For a start most people associate MS products with work or with 'getting stuff done' at home; not with frivolous usage of some tech or some browsing, that's what Apple is for. So let's look at them briefly:
Surface: Beautiful product, too expensive and with a use case identical to the iPad except with Office on it. But they shat out of it. All they had to do was suck a £100 or $150 per unit price cut over the equivalent Apple product and they could well have had a very big winner on their hands. Instead they went with "we're Microsoft and it's a premium product so we'll charge a premium price". Not the way to get into an established market with another huge player who is dominant. Cut the price, explain the use case better and it has a chance, otherwise it's dead in the water.
Surface Pro: Again, looks amazing but since you can't actually buy one what is the point?? At least with Apple they have a product launch event then 3 weeks later at most it can be bought all over the world. MS first mentioned this device about 6 months ago and it still hasn't materialised anywhere outside of the US; any questions to the Twitter accounts are met with silence and as such I for one started looking elsewhere. (Asus Transformer Book in case you're wondering, which looks WAY better than surface but is also not available yet :-/ )
Windows Phone: This is the one that gets me most. I just bought into Windows Phone 8 with the HTC 8X and it's absolutely BRILLIANT. It has some minor flaws and annoyances, OOBE could be tweaked etc but overall the OS is slick, very well integrated to Social Media and has an excellent browser etc. The apps are coming along but there are some glaring ommissions. What MS SHOULD be doing is going to these major vendors like the BBC and Sky (iPlayer and SkyGo) to get Windows Phone 8 versions created, pay for them if need be, and then advertise better. When you see Sky adverts for SkyGo and it says iOS and Android it REALLY HAS TO SAY WINDOWS PHONE TOO. Sorry, had to shout that part. People (as in muggles, not us lot of whiny tech fiends) know FUCK ALL about computers, computing or OS's. All they want to know is does it work and is it shiny. WP8 is definitely shiny and it definitely works but until you start seeing "Windows Phone 8" next to "Available on iOS and the Android Marketplace" this is going nowhere. If they want WP8 to succeed they need to do what they did with Xbox and discount the fuck out of it, make it free to manufacturers and spend time and money with developers. Once there's a user base then fine, it should take care of itself but until there are enough people using it why the hell should developers spend time, money and effort porting their apps across???
Re: Big updates?
Tell you what, let's set up a race. You use Windows 7, I'll use Windows 8 and we''ll see who can open several applcations, switch between them for various tasks and record how many mouse clicks and how long it takes. I bet money Windows 8 is faster.
You mean like Apple have done since the dawn of their company? People seem to forget that sometimes innovation comes from replication. You copy something you like and make it better/prettier/more useful etc. Microsoft "invented" and "innovated" tablet computers for years but nobody wanted one. Apple copied it, gave it a stripped down OS and made it slimmer, et viola, market goes wild. But they didn't invent, they copied and improved upon.
Re: I hope a kind of homeostatis kicks in
Yes my friend, yes they do think that they have something special to say - just like all of us on here :) But at least here it's a specific debate with like minded individuals and I have no idea what your real name is and don't see any photos of you. I have a Facebook account but it's set to private and all my photos are set to friends only. I have a Twitter account but I'm aware that i'm shouting into the ether and it's very rare anyone will pay attention, even my actual friends - and I slightly object when a friend asks me a question on Twitter rather than call or send a text.
The craziness that I just don't understand is younger people (under 25, possibly under 30) who think it's perfectly fine to put their entire lives on Facebook for everyone to see. They have no concept of a private life and don't VALUE having privacy. I don't know what the answer is; better education, self consciousness and self awareness courses at school, helping raise kids' self confidence, giving them something to strive for other that the most views on fricken YouTube or most retweets maybe?
Re: Negative Kinetic Energy but Positive Virtual Power?*
What in the fuck are you talking about? Is that some random word generator??
Re: I know I'm going to be unpopular but what the heck...
No wonder you were AC on that comment. You think it should be ok to sack people because managers like you continue to ask them to do things that they aren't trained for, don't have the time to finish, isn't their responsibility and that you already outsourced or downsized the team that was SUPPOSED to do that job. Oh, and on top of that you give them a 2.5% pay 'increase' then blame the market conditions.
To err is human, to really fuck things up requires a computer, a tired engineer and piss poor management.
Re: This can only be a good thing
You know, you made a lot of interesting arguments that I may disagree with but respect. But you should know that your 'killer feature' that others will 'copy' is a staple of the very Surface you were deriding. Surface is a premium device too and unless you've used one I don't think you can appreciate that.
Re: Fighting over Surace RT?
Good information mate and thanks for pointing that out. We're a Microsoft partner so yes, there will be appropriate licenses but your point highlights my main problem with the Windows 8/Surface and that is consumer education. Too many people jump on a bandwagon without using the OS or hardware but Microsoft have failed miserably in explaining the differences between the platforms and the UI.
But I have used an iPad 3 for quite some time and my wife has an iPad 2 and they both have performance issues of their own. Apps on the iPad can be slow to load and crash too, it's not some mythical, ethereal device, it's a computer with limited processor and memory like every other.
Re: Internet Explorer? Oh, yes ...
You're right, it isn't. He's lying. Or he doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it's the latter ;-)
Re: Fighting over Surace RT?
*cough* bullshit *cough* apple fanboi *cough*
Pish. Absolute bullshit. Have you even used one?? Or are you just regurgitating the same tired old propaganda arse biscuits as everyone else? I know 3 guys who have the surface and use it every day for work. You know, real, actual work, not just watching porn and playing pointless games. From their experience the only real problem with the Surface is the lack of 3G. Big, big mistake from MS there. Yes, there will eventually be 3G dongles etc but it's a bit stupid and smacks of "look what improvements we've made in version 2"
So yes, there are problems with Surface that can be discussed but please, don't talk drivel just for the sake of it.
Re: Windows 8 is still getting flak
Yup. I have, as any commentard who has seen my rants will tell you, 3 machines all happily running Windows 8 and I wouldn't go back to Windows 7 if you paid me. In fact, currently at a client site using Windows XP and it's amazing to see how dated it has become. Like if you saw a picture of Maria Whittaker as she is now.
Anyway, back to the 'debate', this supposed security flaw is, as others have pointed out, not a security flaw. There is not a chance in hell of anyone gaining any meaningful or useful information and certainly no chance of giving away any password information.
Personally I've used Chrome for a few years now, pretty much since it came out, but all the tracking and tracing it does scares the crap out of me. Would you rather trust MS or Google? Tough question. But I have to say that since upgrading to Windows 8 I've found myself using IE again. It works fine, it's fast, doesn't crash and ive had no issues at all. This bullshit post and all the Linux dribblers have done nothing to convince me otherwise. I know Linux/UNIX is great and has its place but seriously, how many non technical people would have a shit clue what to do with it? By all means criticise when necessary and point out flaws where they exist but this is just bollocks scare mongering. I'm starting to think TheRegister was bought by an Apple owned company :-)
Ok, here goes, one more time:
For those who missed the bit at the start that tells you how to work the damn thing, which I'm guessing this tool didn't let the users see before unleashing them. (I mean, really, without instruction how many people would figure out that four finger swipes on the iPad will either bring up recent applications or scroll between open apps?)
Swipe in from the right (or win+c) - brings up charms bar from which you can search any application, get to devices, context sensitive settings I.e. in app settings
Swipe in from the left will scroll between open apps
Swipe up will bring up an options menu (or right click) on Start a screen this takes you to all apps
Windows key will swap between desktop and Start Screen
Win+W - search settings
Win+F - search files
Win+D - takes you to desktop from anywhere
Start Screen - type and search
And most important for admin users Win+X or right click on the start button brings up the Admin menu where you can get to Control Panel, run,command window, admin command window, Event Viewer, Services etc - great menu for admins.
Oh, and if you swipe from the top you can either throw away a TIFKAM app or use the really cool function of having 2 apps open side by side, eg Facebook chat in a small window while you work on your desktop or email
Holy crap balls
Seriously?? This is the website of the guy slagging off Windows 8 and the guy who couldn't figure that bringing up the charms bar in ANY Metro app allows you to search? You would be as we'll listening to the Mary Whitehous review of Saw for fooks sake. Usability expert?? My hoop he is.
Re: @Hooksie Dinosaurs
What you have to remember though is that this is stage 1 of a long process for Microsoft. They are trying to consolidate 3 use cases into one code base with laptops/desktops, tablets and phones all having the same look, feel and development process. This will inevitably lead to compromises but its the level of the compromise and what gains you get that are the trade off. For example, as a developer it must be satisfying to know that you can write one app that will reach across all three of those platforms without the need to recode. For a user it means that you can buy an app for your desktop and use it on your tablet and phone seamlessly. This can only be a good thing.
But yes, some of the element of TIFKAM can be annoying, Windows update doesn't show optional updates by default, opening a PDF in the built in PDF reader is pants, the picture viewer is a bit gash if you don't have your libraries set up etc. BUT, you also get hugely improved performance, faster start up and restore times, built in PC rebuilding for when things go totally tits up, synced setting across all you devices (if you want) and the ability to customise the UI to what makes you most productive. For example, on my work PC the ModernUI start is littered with RSAT and server based admin stuff as well as my office apps but they are also pinned to the taskbar so I rarely have to go into to ModernUI. At home though it's all different and the IE, games, El Reg, BBC apps are all to the fore with live tiles showing me all the stuff from Facebook etc and eventually Twitter or whatever.
You also get hugely improved Task Manager, much better reporting and event viewer information as well as many other under the hood improvements that make this version of Windows even faster than 7 was. I just get so irked that people overlook all of this and go for the "aargh, it's different, I'm scared" viewpoint. As I've said in other posts it's not for everyone and it's certainly not for me to tell you if 8 is better for you or not but for the love of all that's holy can we avoid knee jerk reactions and I'll informed content from people who have never even used it? Let's not forget that even though people slag off Vista it's that same code that runs Windows 7 and Server 2008, both of which are rightly lauded. And guess what's under the hood in Windows 8? on, guess....
Re: Dinosaurs @hooksie
Ps, the Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 keyboard is excellent if you like ergonomic keyboards. Great build quality, lots of nice little shortcut keys and very comfortable to use. Highly recommend.
Re: Dinosaurs @hooksie
My most sincere apologies Fihart, I was, as previously mentioned, just having a rant and I apologise to directly sir for any offence caused. I am frustrated at the fact that many of the concerns people have are based on the Vistaesque "I haven't used it but I'm told it's crap". Yes there are a multitude of minor issues that need worked on with Windows 8 but people seem to focus on those and not on the improvements. All that aside, I again apologise for name calling, that's not cool :-)
Re: Dinosaurs
Grown ups my arse. Most if not all of what I wrote was wrong? Like what? Examples please?
Re: J.H.Christ!!!
Anything to base your supposition of my stupidity on? Why is that someone too dense to find any one of the three (or more) ways to get to control panel is worthy of high praise but my pointing out the flaws in several arguments enables you to call me stupid? I don't claim to be an all knowing omnipotent IT god but I do despair at the ill informed musings of some or most of the commentators in this forum, the vast majority of whom either haven't used Windows 8 or haven't taken the time to get to know HOW to use it. I had teething problems too but once I played about or searched on the ubiquitous Google I found answers to all of my questions.
In fact, let's just try that out; tell me your specif gripes about Windows 8 and I'll see if I can help put you at ease. I've already converted several haters, myself being one of them. When I first used Windows 8 I didn't like it and couldn't see why you would want it on a desktop. Now that I'm used to it I really like it, so come on, IT first level support is now open, what can I help you with?
P.s. thanks for the original compliment, it was intended to be a mildly humorous rant :-)
Dinosaurs
Why don't you all just shuffle off back to 1985 where you were clearly happiest. I'm surprised that Mr Sinofsky replied at all to such a terse and clearly wanky email. And I genuinely don't see what the fuck he's complaining about. The explorer changes in Win 7 were great, you didn't have to go back 3 layers, just click on the address bar where you want to go back to and it lists the directory structure below that. And as for right click on start and select Control Panel in Windows 8, or just hit the windows key and type con and its the first thing that comes up, how is that rucking difficult?? It's not, it's just that all of you fucktards can't be bothered to find a new way of doing things. Will Godfrey, DR-DOS? Seriously? Give Dignitas a call for fucks sake, time for you to go beddy-bies.
As a 10 year IT professional I'm used to everything changing and having to catch up with it, you lot clearly haven't, especially the twat with the 20 year old keyboard. It's not Microsoft's fault that you're a cheap ass whiny bitch, don't blame them for you not having a Windows key. Mr Potts, I understand you have genuine concerns and the issues you raise around licensing are spot on but you have to remember that if Microsoft DID provide everything then developers would be out of a job and the EU would nail their balls to a post in Paris. Remember the whole 'you can't include a browser in the OS' stuff?
Seriously, you people are all finished if you don't keep up with the changes. Linux can suck my hairy balls for anything OTHER than professional or asbergers sufferers to use and Apple can't even design an email client that allows to attach more than one picture at a time for fucks sake. We don't use Windows 95 anymore so get on board or get the fuck off the train cos it's moving on whether you want it to or not.
Bunch of whiny fucking children.
Fuck it
I'm out. I've decided neither to read the Register any more or to read the comments section because it just depresses me. I thought the article about people getting less intelligent was wrong but regularly reading any of the comments on Windows 8 makes me fear for the future of the world if most people on here, who claim to be intelligent, techies or both, can't figure out Windows 8. The chap who let his wife use it sums it up - stop expecting things and try it out to see what's different. Having used Windows 8 for some time now I go back to Windows 7 and wonder where all the good stuff is. Honestly, it's like Apple hires a bunch of fucking retards to comment on every Windows 8 article to say how shit it is. The only decent article the Reg has done (by decent I mean one that wasn't totally fucking biased) was the one where they got 6 n00bs to try it out and guess what, every one of them got used to it quickly and came to like it. So a 6 year old can figure out Windows 8 and the ribbon interface (seriously, how fucking hard is it?? It's got titles for where everything is you bunch of Neanderthals) but you, as a technically astute and learned individual can't?? Go and sit the fuck down.
Opinion is one thing, if you just don't like it or prefer something else then that's perfectly valid, but to bang on about how it's so bad and unusable and all the other fucking bullshit that you retards come out with it makes my fucking blood boil. The arsehole who talked about the car analogy (no wonder you were AC, with a brain your size it must be difficult to remember a password) should really take a look at themselves. Just think about when the flappy paddle gear box was first introduced, different yes, takes a while to get used to yes but makes sense and once you are used to it then it makes sense and works well. They wouldn't have put it under the seat.
Honestly, fuck it, you lot can continue to throw your faeces at each other, I'm off to find a technology site that actually talks about technology.
And as for Mr Sinofsky, I hope that whatever has forced the man to leave immediately with no hand-over isn't too serious. I doubt it's just because he didn't like Ballmer, nobody likes Ballmer, the man's an ape with shoes.
