What’s coming from Microsoft in 2013, and a new theme for my blog

Firstly, there’s a lot coming from Microsoft in the New Year. Here’s the approximate timeline:

• Microsoft Surface for Windows 8 Pro - January
• Microsoft Office 2013 general availability – Q1
• Windows ‘Blue’* – Summer
• Xbox Next* – pretty much anytime; unlikely to be at E3
• Formerly-known-as-Windows Live-Calendar metro style update* – probably sometime in 2013, but no-one really knows. We thought we’d get this update back in August, then we thought we’d get it before Christmas, and now we hope we’ll get it in the New Year. Only Microsoft knows.
• And not forgetting the shutting down of Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger) in favour of Skype, and the shutting down of Windows Live Mesh in favour of the SkyDrive for Windows desktop app[lication].

* means that this has simply been rumoured, and not ben confirmed (yet) by Microsoft. But we’ll all be very surprised if we reach 2014 without the next version of Windows, the next generation of Xbox and we’re still stuck with Windows Live Calendar.

In other news, you may have noticed a more professional looking theme for my blog. I know I changed it recently to a fish theme, but I decided I needed a cleaner look. So here it is.

Happy New Year!**

**I know it isn’t 2013 yet, but this may be my last post before Tuesday, so I thought I’d say it now before I forgot.

Exactly how fast Windows 8 boots on an SSD and news of a TARDIS redesign

WOW! Mine will be a little longer because I will need to dismiss the lock screen and enter my PIN, it’s going to be amazing when I get my SSD. The BIOS will be the only thing slowing it down!

16 days until Christmas…

In a completely irrelevant topic (other than the fact that’s it’s to do with Christmas), the TARDIS interior is getting a redesign in the Christmas episode. What?! How can they do that? They didn’t change it that long ago… well, it was April 2010 when they last changed it, but the last TARDIS design lasted for five years. Plus, the new design looks kind of dull:

I suppose that they want to remove everything relevant to the Pond era, but that’s a lot. Will we never see River again? Will the sonic screwdriver be re-designed? Will they change the Doctor Who logo? Will they give the eleventh Doctor a different outfit (actually, we already know that’s going to happen)? I can understand that they want to show that it’s a new era, but it’s not all changed like it did when the tenth doctor and his companions left – the eleventh doctor is the same as ever, though a little scarred by the death of the Ponds.

I guess we’ll just have to see how much the BBC have changed, and whether the new TARDIS interior is as dull as the first image shows…

 

Hello, old friend (update)

Update: Both of these devices have since stopped working… again. The alarm clock still turns its alarm off, and the keyboard’s “B” key is faulty (just make sure you never buy any of these products, especially the keyboard). I’ve switched back to my old, boring alarm clock with a very long sleep period and I sometimes use my iPhone, and I’m back with my rubbish Dell keyboard for the time being. Maybe I’ll buy a better Microsoft keyboard at some point.

…and here we are, you and me, on the last page.

Well, not really. Since I stole part of a quote from Doctor Who, I just had to steal the rest. In reality, I hope to have many, many years left on this planet and I’m only half way through the book I’m reading currently. Moving on.

I’ve recently started using two old, ‘faulty’ products that have since been replaced. Products I never thought I’d use again. But I have, and I’d thought I’d tell you all about it. I must have such a boring life…

Exhibit number 1: faulty alarm clock

A long time ago, an alarm clock turned its alarm off automatically and so was replaced. Its replacement worked fine for many, many months. But there was a problem. There was only (shock horror!) one alarm on the replacement. Terrible for dog walking mornings. Also, there was no custom sleep time (the time before the alarm goes off again after you hit the sleep button on those early mornings). It was stuck at 5 minutes. And 5 minutes is long enough so that after pressing it a couple of times, you’ve lost half your reading time. Sorry, Kindle. So I recently decided to look at its predecessor, with two alarms and a custom sleep time (I choose 1 minute so at most I lose 2 minutes of reading time). To my surprise, the alarm hasn’t turned off by itself even once! It’s amazing what time can do to an item.

Exhibit number 2: (still) faulty keyboard

I actually wrote about the fun I was having with my Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 a little while back. Look there before reading here. So I replaced it with a basic Dell keyboard. But I’ve really missed the curve and the keys – they don’t press down as much and are a lot nicer than the Dell’s. Same story as the alarm clock’s – I dug it out recently, and checked if it worked. The caps lock is still dodgy, but Shift exists for a reason. I actually think that the Caps Lock should be removed from keyboards altogether – unless you’re really one for SHOUTING on Facebook, it’s just not needed. Anyway, you might think why switch from a working keyboard to a dodgy one? Well, I type quite a lot. Whenever possible, I type my homework (and not just because my writing can be terrible) and I also type on Facebook (more than you might think). Not forgetting here on All of Time and Tech. So the keys are just important, and I’ll use this keyboard for as long as possible – at least until more keys stop working. It’s a well known problem that this model of Microsoft keyboard has problems.

Well done! You’ve reached the end of the possibly most boring post I’ve ever written. And that includes Hi World, written back in September 2010 (!). As a reward to your patience, I shall leave you to do other things. But before that, comment this: have you ever re-used a ‘broken’ item again because it’s not so bad after all? Or do you just put up with the replacements, no matter how much worse they may be?

 

The technology I’d buy if I had the money

If I had an unlimited budget for technology, this is what I’d buy:

• Acer Aspire S7 13 inch with a Core i7 processor – this is what would replace my desktop machine. It’s portable, has touch and it’s got a 1080p screen. You may have seen an advert/commercial about it (think Megan Fox and dolphins)
• HTC Windows Phone 8X - this would replace my iPhone 4. I think Windows Phone is awesome, and this phone has a great screen and is at a great size.
• Microsoft Surface RT 64GB with black Touch Cover and Type Cover – mainly for testing and seeing how good Windows RT is. I wouldn’t use this as my primary device mainly because of the lack of offline SkyDrive file syncing (so I would have to be online to edit or view my files and photos), but it would certainly replace the iPad 2.
• Microsoft Surface Pro 128GB – it’s not coming until January, but this would replace the Surface RT.

Prices (excluding the Surface Pro):

• Aspire S7 – £1,395.21
• Windows 8 Pro Pack (because the Aspire S7 comes with just Windows 8 Core) – £44.98
• HTC 8X (unlocked) – £399.99
• Surface RT - £668.99

Total – £2,509.17

So if anyone has two and a half thousand pounds spare, do let me know.

What I think Windows Store/metro/modern/Windows 8 apps should be called – Live apps

It’s a well known fact in the technology world that you shouldn’t call Windows 8 apps “metro-style apps” as they were called for a long time by both Microsoft and others. Thanks to being sued, though, alternatives have had to be thought up. Many have called them “modern” apps – even Steve Ballmer at bit at Build 2012 – though Microsoft says these are not the new name. And a final often used name is “start screen apps”. The official new name(s) are:

• Windows 8 style apps – I don’t like this because the apps usually run on Windows RT as well, so it’s misleading. Also, what happens when Windows 9 comes out?
• Windows Store apps – This is a little better because it isn’t operating system specific – it will still be relevant when future Windows versions arrive. But some formerly-known-as-metro-apps aren’t in the Windows Store though. Like IE10, which has a desktop version and a Windows Store version… but, wait, it’s not in the Store! So this name doesn’t work that well.

My suggestion is “Live apps”. This works because:

• The ‘Live’ name is known from Windows Live, now a dying brand. It follows a trend at Microsoft of using old, well-known names in new products, like with Outlook.com (the successor to Hotmail)
• The apps themselves are live and always up to date
• It links to Live Tiles, which these apps have
• It doesn’t have any of the problems the Microsoft suggested names have – it isn’t operating system specific and it is still relevant to apps that can’t be downloaded from the Windows Store.

The one trouble is that Microsoft is already using the name “Live apps” for Windows Phone 8 apps that can be pinned as live tiles. So the same name is unlikely to be implemented as the new name for metro apps, but at least it’s an idea.

The best phones and tablets available in my opinion – late 2012

With the recent Windows Phone 8 launch and the new Nexus 4 announcement recently, I thought I would do a list of the best phones in my opinion. Usually, I’m not a big fan of Android but this has changed recently…

Smartphones

1. HTC Windows Phone 8X (Windows Phone 8)
2. Nokia Lumia 920 (Windows Phone 8)
3. Google/LG Nexus 4 (Android 4.2)
4. Apple iPhone 5 (iOS 6)
5. Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (Android 4.X)

I’m a big Microsoft fan and I am really integrated into their ecosystem, so WP8 devices are at the top of the list. The Lumia 920 hasn’t yet been reviewed (though it does support LTE in the UK, unlike the 8X) so it may be better than the 8X, but the 8X seems the best at the moment. After those phones, the Android powered Nexus 4 is next. Yes, really. I usually find Android really fragmented and that it does not work well with Microsoft services such as Outlook.com and SkyDrive (though the pretty rubbish Hotmail app and recently released SkyDrive apps can be used), but the Nexus 4 looks great aside from the fact that there is no LTE. I think that is basically unacceptable in late 2012, but I suppose it won’t make a different here in the UK because LTE is pretty rare – you have to be on EE, have a compatible phone and also pay a lot of money. It is certainly not as widespread as in the USA. Next up in the iPhone 5, mainly because of the impressive hardware (though a bigger screen that isn’t just taller would be nice). I find it to be very light, the camera to be awesome and the selection of apps unbeaten, but iOS is just so stale and boring, rubbish compared to Windows Phone and Android 4.2. Maybe the recent changes in iOS management (mainly a head person being sacked) means it will get better. It’s just a question of whether my ageing iPhone 4 will see the hopefull revamp. Last on my list is the GS3 LTE because, mainly, I love the hardware (the big screen is lovely – Apple, take note!) and it is one of the few phones supporting LTE on EE in the UK, alongside the Lumia 920 and a handful of other phones. What I don’t like is the fragmentation and the many OEM customizations - it will be forever before it gets Android 4.2, and I like stock Android thanks a lot. Other phones are not of interest to me at all.

Large tablets

1. Microsoft Surface RT (Windows RT)
2. Samsung Ativ Smart PC Pro (Windows 8)
3. iPad (4th generation, iOS 6)
4. Google/Samsung Nexus 10 (Android 4.2)

Not as much to say here. I love the Surface because of the awesome hardware (I wish the screen res. was higher though) and the even more awesome Windows RT software, especially with Microsoft Office 2013 preinstalled. If you’re going to get one make sure you get a Touch Cover as it’s pretty useless without it. After that is the Samsung Ativ Smart PC Pro, because I think it’s the best PC replacement available. Next is the iPad 4th generation, the version just announced at the recent Apple event. I don’t really like iOS, and the only reason the iPad is really on here is because of the best and large amount of tablet optimized apps – sure, Android has loads, but many are not optimized for a large, ~10 inch screen. Finally, the Nexus 10. The screen looks amazing (a higher dpi than the iPad!!) but it needs more apps to beat the iPad. Another awesome feature of this tablet is multiple users – though Windows 8 and Windows RT handles multiple users better, this is still a welcome feature.

Smaller tablets

1. Amazon Kindle Fire HD
2. Google Nexus 7
3. iPad mini

I’m quite integrated into Amazon’s ecosystem, so I think the Fire HD is the best 7 inch tablet for me. Next up is the Nexus 7 – the hardware seems great and the app selection is decent. The final one is the iPad mini. The good points of this tablet is the sheer amount of apps available – all iPad optimized apps – and the build quality. Bad points include an unreasonably high price, a low screen resolution (it’s significantly lower than the Fire and the Nexus, even though these tablets are nearly an inch smaller) and the fact that iOS is so very stale.

So those are my favourite phones, tablets and smaller tablets. If I could have all of them, I would.

What are your favourite devices at the moment?

The Nexus 4 – a cheap, awesome Android phone that unfortunately lacks LTE

My favourite phone at the moment.

Great Windows 8 review by The Verge

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3537710/windows-8-review

Windows is Coming Soon – video

A video posted today by Microsoft – Windows 8 is coming soon. It’s interesting that the Surface (Microsoft’s own tablet lineup; the RT version is launching on October 26th) but that they instead just showed their partner’s products – they’re probably trying to keep their partners happy even though they’re competing with them. You can see the video below:

Using Windows 8 when you have a Google account

Windows 8 – shipping later this month on all new PCs – works best if you have a Microsoft account (formerly known as a Windows Live ID) and you are integrated into their ecosystem (e.g. you use Hotmail/Outlook.com, SkyDrive, XBOX Live etc.). But what if you are, like many others, integrated into the Google ecosystem, and you use Gmail, Chrome etc.? Well, Windows 8 can work great for you too.

When you first create your Windows 8 account, you’re asked to log in with a Microsoft account. If you already have a Hotmail/Outlook/XBOX Live etc. account, then just log in with this. Or you can create a local account. Or, as I recommend,you can create a Microsoft account using your @gmail.com address (probably the best option because you will have your desktop background, settings, start screen synced even if you don’t use IE, plus you can then download apps from the Windows Store).

Once your account is set up, download Chrome and set it as your default browser. Now Chrome metro Windows 8 style will be launched when you click Chrome from the Start screen, desktop Chrome can be launched from the desktop and Windows 8 style IE won’t exist. You can unpin it from Start and replace it with Chrome.

You can always access your Gmail via Chrome, but there are advantages to setting it up with the communication apps built-in to Windows 8. Advantages include easily being able to see whether you have new mail, what your next appointment is etc. from the Start screen, as well as getting notifications throughout the OS. If you signed into Windows 8 with a Microsoft account with an @gmail.com address, the apps may already be set up, but if not launch Mail, add a Gmail account and check the box to sync Calendar and Contacts as well. Now these apps will sync with your Google account. There are some settings you may want to change in Mail, though – by default it only syncs the last 2 weeks of Mail, doesn’t display pop-up notifications and has a stupid “Sent from Windows Mail” signature. You can change these settings by going to:

Charms – Settings – Accounts – [Your Gmail account]

That’s about it. Now you can use Windows 8 with all the features people get if they use Microsoft services. Each time you set up a new Windows 8 PC, follow these same steps and, if you do sign in with a Microsoft account (be it @hotmail/live/outlook or @gmail.com) you’ll find that a lot of things sync between your PCs, like your desktop background.

Enjoy using Windows 8!

For more info, see ZDNet’s article (with pictures!)

Comparing Windows 7 Professional (SP1) and Windows 8 Pro about Windows dialog boxes

Just a random post comparing the About Windows info boxes for Windows 7 Professional Service Pack 1 (build 7601) and Windows 8 Pro RTM (build 900).

Windows 7 Pro (left), Windows 8 Pro (right)