Windows 8 Release Preview

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The bad thing about that is that some apps hide options behind a button on the lower label (when you swipe down-up, or click RMB). The worst offenders are those that use both an in-app button and the button on the Charm Bar for different settings. There's no consistency.

There are guidelines for that. But yeah, they are some terribad examples in the store... And i guess despite the guidelines Ms won't reject apps for not meeting them.

That's exactly my problem. I always check the app bar for settings. The charm bar is basically non-existent in my desktop use. It might be different on a tablet, since it's easier/quicker to access.

Win + C helps a little :P

Or if you want to go straight to settings, Win + I.

You will have to force yourself a lot to use those... But after a while becomes more natural...
 
There are guidelines for that. But yeah, they are some terribad examples in the store... And i guess despite the guidelines Ms won't reject apps for not meeting them.



Win + C helps a little :P

Or if you want to go straight to settings, Win + I.

You will have to force yourself a lot to use those... But after a while becomes more natural...

I know about the shortcuts, but it feels unnatural to me to access program settings over a system wide menu. The inconsistency in some apps doesn't help.
 
Okay, so i got the email client update, but i still can't add my work email account... Previously i got an error, now it says i must install a digital certificate on my Pc to use it. It's a zimbra account... Anyone knows how can I add it?

Edit: Nevermind, i had to disable SSL for the connections and it works now.

The app itself still needs a few improvements... Small improvements such rich text signatures, dragging support to moving folders, having a default send and reply account would improve it a lot, but now it's actually usable to read and organize email :P

I know about the shortcuts, but it feels unnatural to me to access program settings over a system wide menu. The inconsistency in some apps doesn't help.

I see, and agree... It's not my first impulse either, sometimes i even forget there are that settings flyout XD
 
I swear, I'll never get used to the Charm Bar for app settings.

Once I got used to it, I really like it. The uniform design of the charms for Windows 8 apps is something that I welcome.

In other news, the first major update to Windows 8 is out today:

Update info

This is an update that in the past wouldn't have been available until a service pack, and signals the change in the way MS is going to do updates for Windows 8.

“Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 General Availability Cumulative Update”

Description:

Windows 8 Client and Windows Server 2012 General Availability Cumulative Update is available. This cumulative update package provides a collection of performance and reliability improvements that are designed to improve the Windows 8 experience. We recommend that you apply this cumulative update as part of your regular maintenance routines.

Improvements:
•Increased power efficiency to extend battery life
•Performance improvements in Windows 8 applications and Start screen
•Improved audio and video playback in many scenarios
•Improved application and driver compatibility with Windows 8

Known issues:
•When you turn a Windows feature on or off, the computer may require a restart. For example, this action may be necessary when you turn Remote Access on or off.

It should be available via Windows Update now. I just checked mine and it's there, it's a 170MB update.
 
I've had the weirdest problem today with an even weirder solution. All day when opening a video it was stuttering. I noticed some strange processes in my task manager taking up high CPU usage... "System", "System Interrupts" and "Antimalware Service Executable".

They're there every time I restart, constantly at the top of my CPU usage aside from when Chrome is open. I spent hours Googling, tried using Process Explorer to find the root of the problem, the thing making these programs use up so much CPU. I did multiple virus/malware scans and updated/reinstalled my video drivers. Eventually I realised that video playback went back to normal and CPU usage for these tasks dropped when I turned my second monitor (HDTV) off. I was so close to just giving up and re-installing Windows 7.

Still at a loss, I noticed as a video was playing back on the TV (and still stuttering) that my HDMI cable was a bit loose. I pushed it in and the stuttering stopped instantly and the CPU usage dropped with both monitors on. I don't know how a loose HDMI cable can have a direct effect on the computer like that, but I'm glad it's fixed. I'm still not sure why these processes are still running constantly using CPU (not much; dancing between 2 and 17% or so usually). I guess I'll just put up with it til I upgrade/downgrade in a month or two.
 
Microsoft actively scans and censors Skydrive accounts, even private folders and files. If it finds something it doesn't like, it can and will ban you. Google and Dropbox don't care what you store on their services, unless you share something illegal publicly.

I'm not sure about dropbox but a friend's google account was banned because of having books on his account. Books he obtained from a torrent.

He actually tried to contact them about it but they never replied about the reason they banned him so he just assumed it was because of that (that was the only different thing he had added to the account recently).

So keep in mind that if you go the Google route, it's better to use another account... Just in case.
 
Some nice Windows 8 peripherals from Logitech: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3482312/logitech-announces-touchpad-t650-zone-touch-mouse-t620-t400-hands-on

The touchpad seems great. Three finger swipe up to go to start screen, three finger swipe down to go to the desktop. Nice.

The mice are nice too, though I'm not yet convinced you don't accidentally scroll and swipe all the time.

I like the trackpad, but it wouldn't be necessary for me, if Wacom would support Windows 8 gestures with the Bamboo Pen & Touch ...
 
Some nice Windows 8 peripherals from Logitech: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3482312/logitech-announces-touchpad-t650-zone-touch-mouse-t620-t400-hands-on

The touchpad seems great. Three finger swipe up to go to start screen, three finger swipe down to go to the desktop. Nice.

The mice are nice too, though I'm not yet convinced you don't accidentally scroll and swipe all the time.

I really like how Windows 8 really is causing lots of cool hardware innovations.
 
Some nice Windows 8 peripherals from Logitech: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3482312/logitech-announces-touchpad-t650-zone-touch-mouse-t620-t400-hands-on

The touchpad seems great. Three finger swipe up to go to start screen, three finger swipe down to go to the desktop. Nice.

The mice are nice too, though I'm not yet convinced you don't accidentally scroll and swipe all the time.
That touch mouse has an incredibly flimsy and cheap feel to it. The surface feels coarse and not that friendly to use.

Same goes for Microsoft's own touch mouses.
 
The track pad is nice! Though 30 day battery life seems short...

Seems to have a Micro USB port. So charging it just means you have to plug it in. If you don't care about the cable, you can probably keep it plugged in at home. But on the go it's nice to have it wireless.
 
Some nice Windows 8 peripherals from Logitech: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3482312/logitech-announces-touchpad-t650-zone-touch-mouse-t620-t400-hands-on

The touchpad seems great. Three finger swipe up to go to start screen, three finger swipe down to go to the desktop. Nice.

The mice are nice too, though I'm not yet convinced you don't accidentally scroll and swipe all the time.

:(

I was really hoping for more. A a mimum, something with all four edges active but ultimately, I secretly wanted a full digitizer.
 
close the app and start it up again. (close as in really close it. Drag down from top)
Yea i already did. I want actual updates though :D

Edit: i actually did have 10 updates but i had to do it manually by clicking on an app that needed updating.
 
close the app and start it up again. (close as in really close it. Drag down from top)

Bug still persists for me after that. There is something a bit wonky about the notifications in the Store altogether. If I manually check for app updates (Settings -> App updates), I will sometimes get updates that I haven't been notified of yet (This has happened a couple of times this week with all the app updates coming out).

IMO, there is noticeable performance bump in the Metro Windows 8 apps after the update to Windows itself yesterday, and the updates for many of these apps. I think the entire OS feels a tad snappier after yesterday's update as well, but I may just be imagining that one.
 
That trackpad is pretty nice. Sort of a weird grey palette scheme logitech is going with with their win 8 stuff.
 
I installed the preview on my HTPC...will I have the option of "unlocking" that machine for $40? Does anyone know how that program will work yet?
 
I installed the preview on my HTPC...will I have the option of "unlocking" that machine for $40? Does anyone know how that program will work yet?
Nope, they decided that you need to have XP, Vista , or 7 installed and activated in order to receive that $40 offer. so if you want that offer re-install the previous Windows OS to qualify.
 
Could someone clarify if what I've heard is correct. If a site will run on the full screen with black borders version of IE on Windows 8, then it means that site will run on the RT version hardware?
 
Could someone clarify if what I've heard is correct. If a site will run on the full screen with black borders version of IE on Windows 8, then it means that site will run on the RT version hardware?

Yes.

I suppose the only question i am unsure of is the flash whitelist and whether that is used on the desktop IE on Windows RT.
 
dLMN8R, and other secret MS employees on GAF:

Weather app hourly forecast should not grab control of the scroll wheel when I'm going horizontal. Pretty much everyone agrees with this.

Are we doing it wrong, or is this app still in the works? I love the simplicity, but radar could be better. Maybe severe weather alerts similar to calendar reminders.
 
dLMN8R, and other secret MS employees on GAF:

Weather app hourly forecast should not grab control of the scroll wheel when I'm going horizontal. Pretty much everyone agrees with this.

Are we doing it wrong, or is this app still in the works? I love the simplicity, but radar could be better. Maybe severe weather alerts similar to calendar reminders.

I agree with this, and seems to be the behavior among others apps as well.

Dunno if they are willing to change that, since its one of those things that works this way since a long time ago...
 
Yeah it's a known issue both from external customers and lots of internal feedback. I don't think it's "by design", but I'm not sure if they've crafted a fix yet or what the plans are.

Thing is, something like that might be better fixed at the app platform level rather than a per-app basis, so they're probably still figuring out the best way to fix it.
 
I was reading an old article about how ugly the new windows logo is and i just realized i don't care anymore. It looks completely normal to me now.

By the way, has the windows logo in the charms bar always glowed? i barely noticed it has a horizontal gradient glow for a quick second.

Also: I get to post the |OT| in a couple of days :D
 
So, do you guys think IE10 will get a mobile agent? While it's great that Windows 8 has a full desktop browser out of the box, some pages have a great mobile layout and I can't access them, because they only see "IE" and redirect me to the desktop page. GAF Mobile doesn't work on IE, because it doesn't know if you're on a tablet or on a stationary PC. Not to mention that browsing full desktop pages all the time can kill your data cap pretty fast.
 
So, do you guys think IE10 will get a mobile agent? While it's great that Windows 8 has a full desktop browser out of the box, some pages have a great mobile layout and I can't access them, because they only see "IE" and redirect me to the desktop page. GAF Mobile doesn't work on IE, because it doesn't know if you're on a tablet or on a stationary PC. Not to mention that browsing full desktop pages all the time can kill your data cap pretty fast.

I was looking at the user-agents my work site gets. Most Win 8 UA's return a "touch" parameter if it's a tablet.

Might be worth asking Evillore or whoever to include that in the ruleset that presents the mobile site.
 
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