If you were MS, how would you do it?
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Microsoft’s problems are self inflicted. They are their Ego and Greed. The greed: They have been slowly divesting themselves of their “Free” software in favor of “Paid” versions and buying up the competition. Look at Winternals, they bought them up and scrapped their offering and put some of the technology into their products so they would get the money instead of someone else. Skype with all of the paid add-ons, they bought Skype and scrapped windows messenger. Office 360, they scrapped the free small business model (That I was in on from the beta) in favor of the paid version. Windows 8 and the new “App” store. Get developers to build lots of apps and give you a small portion of the money, while they set back and collect on all sold there. How many more I can’t think of offhand? Ego: They are trying to dominate in every arena, PC and Server OS, Productivity, Mobile Phone, Cloud, App store, Gaming, Music ….. I believe I have read somewhere that they were going to try and get things to market quicker. Just because something is new doesn’t mean everyone will Want or Needs it. They “Needed” Windows 8 to help drive the “App Store” to compete with Apple’s store. I was in on the beta test of Windows Vista and hated it, but now (that I use a Quad core system) prefer it to Windows 7 because it is closer to what XP was. Windows 7 has several more cool things in it but some things are harder to find and parts of the UI were starting to turn ugly. Those that wrote the menu items for Windows 8 must have been some of the same people that wrote the menu items for windows 7. Stop burying the common items. Like shut down?? So why does windows 8 run faster? Less intense graphics like Windows 3.1? They suspend (some) processes instead of stopping them. Possibly better optimized base OS or less things running in the background? BTW buy up your Win 7 Licenses before they stop selling them : ) you may dislike 9 even more. What would I do different?? Stop ticking of the people that make the company what it is today. They start things off as a beta test and then dump them for a paid version that is totally different or if it was paid Didn’t make “Enough” money after getting a following. People will stop wanting to keep trying new things if they keep getting dumped. It is easy to armchair quarterback and second guess the decisions made. Without being on the inside and knowing what the real driving force is then a real answer could not be formulated
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I will probably get more out of Surface when the app ecosystem matures a bit. For instance, Microsoft's Mail app doesn't support POP (seriously?) and there's not much else out there. Tons of RSS readers, most of them bad. I thought the killer aspect of Surface was the keyboard, which I still think is brilliant.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Touch cover or type cover? I've got the touch cover (64GB Surface RT) and love it. I can't go as fast on it as on a regular keyboard, but I do pretty well. :) The lack of POP support in the mail app doesn't bother me as my email accounts are all on outlook.com or are hosted gmail (don't get me started on google's decision to kill off EAS support).
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Why did they try to break into iPhone/iPad market place with hardware that has a higher price tag? I would lose money on the hardware for an iteration or two, until you win over the user (and developer) base (Isn't this how they did it with XBox?) Entering the market with a new unproven product that costs more than the beloved competition is how they ended up with a warehouse full of Surfaces that they can't unload, and hardware mfg's bailing left and right... Windows 8.1 should bring the causal PC users back on board, but it's probably already too late to try and win over the tablet/phone market with this product
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one.
Not really. Phone will always be different from a desktop computer. One is small, the other is big. The usability in business of tablets versus phones depends on the work being done. A tablet is unsuited for the sort of work that desktop computer is - despite what techno enthusiasts might claim. A phone might work as well as a tablet but that is probably actually a case of where one or the other should have been used in the first place and the alternative is a less than ideal stand in. Not to mention of course that the vast majority of businesses are not going to invest in all three just because they can. They will pick one and that is what the employees use regardless of their personal preferences. Once you move outside of business needs then you are in the realm of consumer fads. So for example although someone might read a book on either phone or tablet they are more likely to prefer one or the other. So it isn't interchangeable and they wont interchange them (excluding again fads and techno enthusiasts.)
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Maybe that's the ticket. Stop trying to put Windows on a tablet. Come up with something completely new for tablet and leave Win on the desktop.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Good idea! They could call it DanDroidOSi so as not to get sued...
This message is manufactured from fully recyclable noughts and ones. To recycle this message, please separate into two tidy piles, and take them to your nearest local recycling centre. Please note that in some areas noughts are always replaced with zeros by law, and many facilities cannot recycle zeroes - in this case, please bury them in your back garden and water frequently.
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Good idea! They could call it DanDroidOSi so as not to get sued...
This message is manufactured from fully recyclable noughts and ones. To recycle this message, please separate into two tidy piles, and take them to your nearest local recycling centre. Please note that in some areas noughts are always replaced with zeros by law, and many facilities cannot recycle zeroes - in this case, please bury them in your back garden and water frequently.
:laugh:
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
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Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
You're hired. :-D
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
- Add to the right swip bar, a real help system. Once you get used to the swip controls they do make controlling the phone / rt easier. It's just a matter of figuring out where they hid everything. 2) The way the tiles work on my Nokia, I can easily move them around to my liking on the phone. For some reason on the RT, they pretty much do not do move where I want them. grrr 3) Move the right side swip bar to the bottom, I think more poeple would be able to figure it out if the location was in a more natural place. At least a place that people are used to. 4) Over the weekend I installed Server 2012, the new UI when used through a RDP session really makes navigating difficult. Admins every where are going to go nuts when they see the UI. 5) Maybe a double tap of the windows button to bring up the search? That would realy be handy prety much bypass the whole thing then :) 6) Some of the people at RT hardware support are good, others........Fire them. Send them back to McDonalds. (I've had to call in a couple of times due to patching breaking WIFI)
Common sense is admitting there is cause and effect and that you can exert some control over what you understand.
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It's a good idea but you're still faced with the same fundamental problem. How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street? Windows desktop is tedious beyond belief on the Surface. Metro would be a challenge to port a full featured desktop app to without it being equally tedious. Not an easy problem to solve, to be sure.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone ...
The question I would ask is Why? The two operating systems are used in different contexts (I think on different CPU hardware?) and I see no need to force them to be the same. Making desktop/laptop and phone the same to me is like forcing MS Word and Excel to be the same program. It could be done, but things are just fine with them separate. Windows 8 is the second coming of Microsoft Bob. The only thing they left out is the Fisher-Price logo.
-- Harvey
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It's a good idea but you're still faced with the same fundamental problem. How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street? Windows desktop is tedious beyond belief on the Surface. Metro would be a challenge to port a full featured desktop app to without it being equally tedious. Not an easy problem to solve, to be sure.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street?
You don't. They are completely different devices that are only related by the fact that they have an operating system. So does a TV. So does a DVD/BluRay recorder. So does a microwave oven. So does a one-armed bandit. So does everything else that contains computer technology. Forcing a wrong OS/user interface onto a wrong device is a mistake that only a complete idiot could make. "Hey! Computers and microwaves and phones all have numeric keypads! Let's give 'em all TV remote controls!" [edit] For some peculiar reason, I had typed "keyboards" instead of "keypads".
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
Sounds about right.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
The concept of one OS for all platforms is also spreaded by canoncial with their new concept of Ubuntu. But I cannot see that many advantages of it, as their is the trend of "consumers" to buy smartphones and tablets rather than computer which is fine, as a computer and espacilly Windows is designed for business applications, working, doing stuff. iOS and Android were designed to be used by consumers, surfing, chatting, social media, taking a quick photo, always have it at hand. So why should someone try to make a common look and feel for two very different systems? How am I supposed a UI which is optimized for touch operation with my keyboard? If I were MS, I would offfer two Windows versions: Windows Consumer and Windows Business, one with the fancy looking tiles and stuff for the phones, tablets and those who want it on their computers and one robust edgy Windows for those, who want to be productive, to build, design and work!
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Scrap the lot and bring out a Linux distro.
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Initially I would have focused on one os in phone sized hardware with a strong focus on docking at an external screen. This would have failed though because none of the hardware guys would have had the hardware or any incentive to make it possible. So plan two would be, leave Windows 8 as it is today (with the planned future updates still to come of course) because Windows 8 is fine. I would have focused on tablets and docking. When a tablet is docked at your screen(s) then pressing the windows key would switch focus to the tablet with its start screen so that searching is still facilitated but any app that runs gets run on the attached monitor. The app can then be positions on the monitor just as they can today with the same rules for classic programs and modern apps. Basically the start screen would constantly be visible on your docked device and you could use the attached monitors like a regular desktop today. I would kill off Windows RT because at this point in time it is the dumbest thing ever (although probably gave Intel a kick in the bum). I would maintain the compatibility with ARM though for Modern apps so that options are open for the future.
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street?
You don't. They are completely different devices that are only related by the fact that they have an operating system. So does a TV. So does a DVD/BluRay recorder. So does a microwave oven. So does a one-armed bandit. So does everything else that contains computer technology. Forcing a wrong OS/user interface onto a wrong device is a mistake that only a complete idiot could make. "Hey! Computers and microwaves and phones all have numeric keypads! Let's give 'em all TV remote controls!" [edit] For some peculiar reason, I had typed "keyboards" instead of "keypads".
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
Mark_Wallace wrote:
"Hey! Computers and microwaves and phones all have numeric keypads! Let's give 'em all TV remote controls!"
Well, don't mind me, but i would looooove a remote control for my microwave...The more buttons the better too.
Full-fledged Java/.NET lover, full-fledged PHP hater. Full-fledged Google/Microsoft lover, full-fledged Apple hater. Full-fledged Skype lover, full-fledged YM hater.
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Mark_Wallace wrote:
"Hey! Computers and microwaves and phones all have numeric keypads! Let's give 'em all TV remote controls!"
Well, don't mind me, but i would looooove a remote control for my microwave...The more buttons the better too.
Full-fledged Java/.NET lover, full-fledged PHP hater. Full-fledged Google/Microsoft lover, full-fledged Apple hater. Full-fledged Skype lover, full-fledged YM hater.
Really? I don't much see the point. You'd still have to go to it to put stuff in and get it out. Besides, some bluddy woman would probably monopolise it.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Really? I don't much see the point. You'd still have to go to it to put stuff in and get it out. Besides, some bluddy woman would probably monopolise it.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
Mark_Wallace wrote:
Really? I don't much see the point. You'd still have to go to it to put stuff in and get it out.
Yes, that is true, and I failed to explain why I would love that. I used to fight with my former girlfriend over how much time popcorn should stay in the oven. She always kept it about one min further than detailed in the instructions (she liked them well burned), and I would always go and stop the microwave, to which she would go and start it again, and so on. In that case, I was actually praying for a remote.
Mark_Wallace wrote:
Besides, some bluddy woman would probably monopolise it.
As well they should.I'd rather not respond to that, temptation for a sexist joke is almost unbearable...
Full-fledged Java/.NET lover, full-fledged PHP hater. Full-fledged Google/Microsoft lover, full-fledged Apple hater. Full-fledged Skype lover, full-fledged YM hater.
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
It was the right idea to rewrite the kernel for use with all types of devices. Win 7 and earlier still carries too much legacy code and the older mobile Windows OSs carry too much desktop baggage. It was the wrong idea to do the same for the GUI however. Screen sizes, input devices, and usage patterns are too different between a desktop workstation and smartphone. Similarly, the majority of professional users will not obtain their software through app stores. Not any time soon. So an app-centered GUI interface is entirely pointless for these users. Win 8.1 featuring boot into desktop is the right step, but it isn't enough. I don't care that it brings back the start button, I can live without it. But I do care that a lot of important functionality in Win 8 is optimized for touch based input and small screen sizes, both of which I don't have on a desktop: 1. I want a taskbar, and I want it to be always visible. Make it a ribbon if you must, but do not hide it! 2. Give me dialogs with clearly discernible actionable elments. Don't make buttons look like labels! Don't make labels look more important than buttons! 3. Don't require swipe gestures when you're not 100% sure the user uses and wants to use touch! This is only a real issue with apps, but vanilla Win 8 did replace a number of utilities with apps (see below), forcing even desktop users back to Metro and touch-style. 4. Don't require users to use Metro for functionality that is considered part of Windows such as music player or image viewer. Yes you can replace these apps with some free or commercial desktop programs of your choice, but a desktop user should be able to use an OS out of the box without the need to do so! To me, Win 8 is lacking media player, image viewer, mail program, and many other tools. No, I don't want to use the apps MS provided instead. No I don't want to be forced into Metro one-window-touch-mode everytime I do need one of these. No, I don't buy an OS that requires me to spend a lot of time to find and setup suitable replacements. P.S.: 5. Don't use aggressive default power saving settings in desktop mode. Working on a computer as a professional often does require staring at the screen for minutes without touching the mouse, or walking off checking an offline reference. It is the exception rather than the rule that I interact with the computer continuously. Blacking out the screen is ok. Powering down a device is not! I experienced and keep experiencing crashes with programs that don't respond well to s
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
I'd blow the Surface RTs out the door for $99. They've already taken a writedown because of the warehouses full of them. This would put them into the hands of more users and get them used to the interface. When a newer, better, version comes out, they may upgrade because they've gotten hooked on the features and want better speed and battery life. It would give developers an incentive to develop for the product since the pool of potential buyers would be larger and possibly worth pursuing.
Psychosis at 10 Film at 11 Those who do not remember the past, are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember the past, cannot build upon it.
