October 2012

Is the Microsoft Surface for Me?

In the last 2 days the biggest question I’ve heard is what makes this device good for me? The best response I’ve had for that is if you are a standard user, the Surface can be your only computer and you will not skip a beat with your day to day life.

Microsoft Surface with Cyan Touch Cover

First I would like to start out by defining what I consider a “Standard User”. A standard user is someone who uses a computer for email, social media, blogging, consuming media (Music/Video) and casual gaming. This user can potentially be on the go and doing all of these things but this is not a requirement nor does it hurt if they are. …

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Setting up a HomeGroup with Windows 8

While recently blogging about using my Surface to share media from my desktop to my Xbox it occurred to me. Some people may not know how to setup a HomeGroup, and it would be very useful to have step by step instructions to ease the adoption of sharing Music and Videos across all of you’re Windows 8 computers in your home.

This is very simple, just follow the steps below.

  1. Open your Charms Menu (bottom right corner using mouse | Swipe in from right side of screen using touch)
  2. Click Settings
  3. Click Change PC Settings
  4. On the left side of this screen scroll to bottom and click HomeGroup
  5. Under Libraries and devices select what you would like to share
  6. Under Membership if you do not already have a HomeGroup create one, if you have one go to the machine that host it and get the Password to join it and enter it there.

Once you have completed that you can access you’re shared content on any computer that is a member by simply opening the File Explorer and under Home Group you will see the users sharing content. You can also add additional files by modifying you’re libraries to include folders in other locations than the default.

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Windows 8 is here and so is the Surface

Today was a big day for Microsoft. Today was the release of Windows 8 and of the Surface RT. I have been using Windows 8 quite a bit already and so I wasn’t expecting much aside from my excitement for the Surface RT to show up.

My day started by as soon as I woke up I grabbed my phone and tracked the delivery of my Surface RT. I saw that it was on the truck for delivery so I decided for sure I was working from home in the morning. I had completed quite a bit of work and just finished up with a conference call when I heard a knock at the door. I rushed into the living room to find my Surface RT with Cyan Touch Cover waiting for me.

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Windows 8 is Nearly Here!

I personally have been using Windows 8 off and on since the Developer Preview was released over a year ago, more frequently after I received a Samsung Series 7 Slate in February to start working on it for work. I’ve been following all of the news articles about how this is going to change everything or how it is going to completely bomb. I’ve been in multiple conversations with co-workers, and friends from previous jobs about what will be changing and if it is an improvement or degrading and I’ve decided that I will share my point of view publicly.

The Good:

  • Word Processing on the Go
    • Windows RT (ARM Processor Devices) has Office 2013 built in.
    • Windows 8 (Intel/AMD Devices) can have any version of Microsoft Office Installed.
    • I’ve heard multiple coorporations wanting to implement Tablets, however the most frequent request is word processing.
  • Build in Hyper visor
    • I was thrilled to see that they included Hyper-V into Windows 8.
    • Gives me the ability to stay away from VMWare Player/Workstation.
  • Unified System
    • Home desktops, corporate desktops and tablets you can carry around with you all being the same.
    • Can also use cloud services to share files across all these devices.
  • Touch and Keyboard/Mouse Friendly
    • Throughout the preview the mouse/keyboard usage has improved. Overall I think they have made it seem less when using either touch or keyboard/mouse combo.
  • Better Performance
    • As hardware improves so does software, even running the same hardware I ran with Windows 7 I have a faster boot time, and I am seeing better overall performance.
  • Windows Live Login
    • Manage a single login across all of your Windows 8 devices
    • Manage basic settings and Metro apps across all Windows 8 devices
  • Improved Interface
    • My personal feeling is that the interface is aesthetically more appealing.

The Bad:

  • Harder learning curve
    • With the modified interface it will be much more challenging for people to learn the interface.
  • Limited Applications at Launch
    • Currently the amount of apps in the Windows Store is limited but growing.
  • Price
    • Some of the hardware I believe could be priced a little bit lower.
    • I do want to clarify the Microsoft Surface is competitively priced when comparing to an iPad.

Will it Succeed:

Overall with the amount of experience I have with Windows 8 I strongly believe that this operating system and tablet devices have the ability to succeed. I do see this being highly usable in enterprise environments using tablet devices. I’ve spent a couple days working purely using a tablet device and docking it at work. My main concern on if this will succeed or not will come down to the ability to properly train everyone on the new operating system and how to use it.

Some final notes I have on the up coming operating system and hardware that is coming out is to keep an open mind to using an entirely new interface, make sure you dedicate time into learning it and you will realize that it is a move in the proper direction.

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