Life with Microsoft Surface: Day 6
Thursday, November 8, 2012 by Frogboy | Discussion: Personal Computing
Yesterday I mentioned that there's no Metro version of the Windows essentials utilities. This remains a baffling issue as a Live Movie Maker and a Live Writer would be very nice to haven.
I will say that the Metro version of Skype is nice. Which brings me to today's observation: Microsoft has got to come up with a distinct classification for WinRT apps because it's impossible to do a decent search on the terms Modern and UI. As in, what is the best Modern UI Facebook client.
The nice thing about the term Metro is that it's distinct. Like iOS or Android, it lends itself to being easily searchable and instantly recognizeable as being different from a normal Windows app. Modern UI won't cut it. We need a term or else we'll end up stuck with something like WinRT which in itself is problematic. I think Microsoft should have just bit the bullet and paid whatever they had to pay to keep referring to these apps as Metro apps.
Surface isn't competing against my iPad for use right now. Instead, it is competing for use with my MacBook Air. It's ironic that Surface shines the most as a notebook rather than as a tablet. I can, and have, used it as a tablet but I find it most useful in using the upgraded keyboard with it. Frankly, if it didn't have so many rough edges (not the hardware, but the software) I'd be tempted to recommend it over any ultra portable out there. It's that good.
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Reply #2 Friday, November 9, 2012 8:18 PM
Damned Apple... getting a mention just about everywhere these days.
Geez, have they got a lot to answer for. 
On a serious note, I really hope that MS irons out these issues with Surface by the time I'm ready to purchase one. I currently have a 10.1" Android pad with a protective leather case/come keyboard and find it quite useful, but I'd rather have a Surface with Win 8 Pro on it, me thinks. I figure it would allow me to achieve more on the actual device itself plus I could sync it with my Win 8 PC to open up ever greater posibilities.
Reply #3 Friday, November 9, 2012 8:41 PM
For the price, I'd probably go with a laptop-tablet hybrid... Dell's looks cool, Toshiba's and Sony's look good too.
Reply #4 Friday, November 9, 2012 9:05 PM
There's been reports of audio corruption and teh keyboard splitting. Seen that yet?
Reply #6 Monday, November 12, 2012 8:22 AM
Reply #10 Monday, November 12, 2012 9:27 AM
you mean Android (Linux-Kernel)?
there's a chance that you will be able to run a desktop-Linux on the Surface, if the Surface get's popular enough to among hackers.
would be the about the same ux-horror as a desktop-Windows on a tablet though, not sure why anybody would want that.
Reply #12 Monday, November 12, 2012 5:46 PM
Quoting Island Dog, reply 6Why would you want to ruin it?
Running Linux on it would not ruin it. It would enhance it. Using an OS that is immune to spyware, malware, and viruses has some advantages.
Reply #13 Monday, November 12, 2012 6:15 PM
Driver support for Linux has gotten better. I've never had any issues installing or running Nvidia or ATI drivers.
Reply #14 Monday, November 12, 2012 6:28 PM
Using an OS that is immune to spyware, malware, and viruses has some advantages.
Say what? You must be on some special edition, if you're talking about Linux.
From the last link:
Shall I continue?
Don't be daft. No OS with a connection to the interweb is immune to vira or spyware.
Reply #15 Monday, November 12, 2012 6:41 PM
Well let me restate my opinion. Linux is more secure than Windows ever will be. It is harder to infect a Linux machine versus infecting a Windows machine. Not that it matters. I'm back to using XP until Linux gets better support for games. May be a long time.
Reply #17 Monday, November 12, 2012 9:43 PM
It is not harder to infect a linux-based machine, it is only easier to infect a windows-based machine (mostly due to user ignorance). Most linux users have at least dabbled in user-priviledge and wouldn't run things using ADMIN credentials, while on the flipside most windows users have no idea what user priviledge even is. Windows with the advent of 95 was tailored for user-ease-of-use. User-ease-of-use and the indiscriminate use of things like UPnP makes for an inherently insecure operating system. Once MS turned that around and began leaning towards "least-priviledge", things changed drastically. Of course if every user disables the UAC, runs everything from the browser to their smiley-downloader with ADMIN credentials who is really to blame? The OS I suppose? 
Also, XP? You're talking about the world's most attacked OS platform there........you sure you wanna stick with your choice? I mean, after MS retires it you're going to be "in the wild" on your own! No more patches....Get ready to feel really really naked.......
@ Phoon
I couldn't agree more.
Reply #18 Monday, November 12, 2012 11:30 PM
The continuity of Brad's thread went south at an early stage....around response #1 [yes, my fault]... but somehow has become Linux-is-better-than-windows-because....
It isn't, really. It's just mainly because no-one in the Virus-making game can be bothered ruining the computer experience of the three users of it when there are millions of Windows users to torment instead.
There are idiots using BOTH platforms [or all three to be closer to the mark]....the difference is ONLY that the idiots using Linux actually look the part with their propeller hats....
Kona....you tend to change your opinions of what-OS-is-best-for-me-now more frequently than you change your undies.
It'd be a safe bet that the LEAST 'secure' OS currently in use is XP, and the LEAST 'practical' OS currently in use is Linux [so much stuff people will 'want' to run is windows-specific].
Give up....go out and smell the roses.... and save up for the time/chance to run a system with Win7 [or 8, once Stardock has fixed it]...
Reply #20 Tuesday, November 13, 2012 12:04 AM
I don't really have a choice. No funds for a new machine and this one would not run Windows 8 or 7, let alone Vista.
Kinda hard when you have ZERO income. And yes I have been looking for work for years now.
Why would I need to run Stardock software to fix Windows 8?
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Reply #1 Thursday, November 8, 2012 11:11 PM
....or take a leaf out of Jobs' book and simply 'take' the name.....like Apple....then make the agreement NOT to overstep into the music genre with the name....then break/ignore that too....iTunes.
The hypocritical company who is always hell-bent on THEIR IP..... one rule for them....one for the rest...