Related
Is there anything, besides codeproject, that has a repository for source code for windows mobile 5/6/6.1? I am looking for something similar to planetsourcecode.com/.net so I can learn from sourcecode.
Also, is there any development tool I can use to program today plugins besides Visual studio? I know of basic4ppc. But anything else? Anything similar to appforge out there?
Try embedded Visual C++/Basic from the MS Websites. (it's free)
...or ic#code if you intend to write managed code. Hey moderators what about a new forum here in XDA for open source code / class libraries / etc for windows mobile and HTC devices?
jdiperla said:
Is there anything, besides codeproject, that has a repository for source code for windows mobile 5/6/6.1? I am looking for something similar to planetsourcecode.com/.net so I can learn from sourcecode.
Also, is there any development tool I can use to program today plugins besides Visual studio? I know of basic4ppc. But anything else? Anything similar to appforge out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently went through this when making Manilla2D Customizer.
I found a lot of very useful information at the pocket pc developers network http://www.pocketpcdn.com/
Code project also has quite a few decent articles
When you get truly stuck with a problem the community over at stackoverflow.com will usually have an answer for you
Feel free to download the source for M2DC at http://code.google.com/p/manilla2dcustomizer/downloads/detail?name=M2DC_v0.11.133-src.zip&can=1&q=
As far as development tools... I was unable to find anything I was happy with other than Visual Studio. Microsoft has a 90 day trial of Visual Studio 2008 Professional for free download... and that is what I have been using for M2DC, it has worked well for me, but I know in 2 months I need to buy the full version (nearly $700 ) or convince my employer or contracting employer to buy it for me ( )
good luck
I have a similar issue. I can code command line, I am just bad at picking the "correct" compiler, worse at setting it up and I don't really care for Visual coding and IDEs (am perfectly happy with Notepad or Nano).
I was surprised that there is no sticky on these forums, not even in the roll-up, that discusses "recommended" tools (or available combinations) for writing mobile applications.
The only one I am aware of is Visual Studio et al described on MS' site here -
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windowsmobile/bb264337.aspx
Now, obviously, I don't really like spending money, especially if I can do it for free (and legally, obviously), so I was pleasently surprised when I found that MS gives their tools away to students -
https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/Products.aspx
So this gets Visual Studio (I elected for 2005 rather than 2008) and the rest of the tools as a developer environment. I just installed all of this and it seems to be working ok with minimum fuss, so I shall be bastardising some MS sample project in the near future to create a template program and then I should be away....
Beyond that, there's the option of embedded visual c++ 4 (download and service pack 4). Only problem was getting this to compile properly (as I said, I have problems with getting compilers to work. They a nemesis of mine, along with printers).
If there are other options (like ic#code, gcc etc...) that are also easy to set up, but not attached to Microsoft, I would love to be told about them especially if there is a walk-through about how to put the pieces in the right place or an IRC channel I can ask silly questions in (like what .
If you don't require C++, check out PellesC.
It's very straightforward to get it up and going, it's using lcc modified compiler.
disable metro in cp ?
the other methods not working
maybe with DP files we can recover it ?
changing explorer.exe not going so well
metro disappear but start is not functional
also desktop is not working
explorerframe.dll not helping here
it might need more files from DP
Proz00 said:
the other methods not working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you be more specific which methods you mean?
i.e., the RPEnabled registry change, renaming shsxs.dll, third party tools, or something else??
i would like to know this as well, ive tried the small program download that does the registry entry for you.
Considering it's still a "preview" I'd assume the RPEnabled method will still work, only issue is because the start orb is gone would the start menu come back, etc.
The register and dll files changed so none of the previous methods I found work.
"RPEnabled" is gone and so is "shsxs.dll".
And also the little tool that does this for you from deviantart which just changes the "RPEnabled" and in Windows 8 consumer preview creates it since it's not there, doesn't work.
Hi everybody,
I've started a new Thread with a petition for Microsoft, to let us decide whether or not we want Metro.
Check it out, and sign it, please.
FORUM THREAD
i think its dead end with win7 style on windows 8 cp
DWM is not longer normal service its hidden in the kernel i think
maybe install the old DWM of DP will do the trick
So any progress?
I somewhat assumed that CP will be the same as DP so just overwritten the sys...
And boy what a mistake that was :'(
Tried every possible prog, reg out there and nothing works
Try this http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2460-start-menu-toolbar-create-windows-8-taskbar.html
I also replaced developer Preview with consumer preview, what a mistake!
If there will be way to enable the classic start menu or to disable Metro it is time to say goodbye to Windows. Since Unity is unusable too, Linux Mint will be the system of my choice. But especially for corporate use there must be a hidden option since I cannot imagine being productive with metro at all.
gpedit.msc brings hundreds of options, maybe something is hidden there?
maybe there hide link like god mode ?
I hope that in some time, we still have a choice, to use a touchscreen, or a mouse/keyb.
We SHOULD have the choice! (So any luck on finding a hidden start orb?)
Yeah I just installed Windows 8 to a work computer for testing and I don't see it being a productive tool at all. I can already hear the complaints and see the trouble tickets being put in by freaked out and irate end users. WT? is Microsoft thinking? Don't get me wrong, I would use it on a tablet or a home computer but this will just confuse people who have been using a traditional desktop with icons and a start menu since like Windows 1.0.
---------- Post added at 03:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------
xatornet said:
Hi everybody,
I've started a new Thread with a petition for Microsoft, to let us decide whether or not we want Metro.
Check it out, and sign it, please.
FORUM THREAD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just signed it because if we don't voice our opinion then they will dictate what we can and can't do on Windows 8 just like they did on Windows Phone by locking it down and make it almost useless.
http://www.eightforums.com/customization/4182-missing-start-button-workaround.html
Try this
Hi there people,
I've started a petition in Change.org hopping that Microsoft listen to it.
Let me be clear about it:
I am not asking to neutralize Metro, as I understand it is the only way to have a proper Windows, fully funtional, into a Touch device, such tablets or laptops.
I am only asking to let us decide if we want Metro activated or not in Desktop PCs. Today's world is made of decisions. Let us decide on our own what we want.
We will all have the same Kernel, same core and same quality and performance, and being able to choose interface, will add the best experience for each one of us: the one we trully want.
Please sign the petition, and make it reach Microsoft.
Thank u very much.
http://www.change.org/petitions/microsoft-company-allow-to-disable-or-decide-whether-we-want-metro-interface-or-not
PS: I couldn' find Microsoft e-mail from Redmond or similar, if anyone has it, please PM me, and I'll add it to the petition.
Thanks. I've tried the Consumer Preview and couldn't agree more. Signed.
nodjack said:
Thanks. I've tried the Consumer Preview and couldn't agree more. Signed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Little by Little, lets change it and improve Windows! thanks!
If you can't accept Metro then stay with Windows 7, simple as that. Support for Win7 has been extended till 2020 so there is no need to move on to Windows 8 if you don't like its interface.
I am not against Metro, I like it, but against HOW they implemented it for desktop PCs. For tablets and netbooks or smaller notebooks with touchscreen it's actually realy great.
The point is the missing harmony between the old styled windows desktop you are using the most time if you are at home or at work and the new Metro UI, espacily the switching between the two modes and the implemantation of elemental functions like the system settings.
It's like an interuption if you "click" start. I am not against a new type of "start menu/screen" but it should fit the design and "feeling". It should support the (desktop)user in his work. In the current way this is not possible. The Metro surface allows to pin this realy nice live tiles (I realy like them!)... but if I push the start button I want to start a new application to do some work.
Ok, I can pin my favourite applications on the screen like I did with Windows 7 by pinning my mostly used programs to the start screen. But some applications I am using are changing by time so i enjoy the feature of the dynamical menu entries of frequently used programs like in vista and 7. If I want the same quick program launch on Metro I have to pin a lot of tiles to the screen and the live tiles become obsolete because they are somewhere right out of the screen.
They could have done it so much better...
the best way (in my oppinion) for desktops would have been to
a) chose between metro on - metro off
or
b)go much further:
1. consistent design (colors, icons, fonts,...)
2. pin live tiles on the desktop (like on metro start screen, maybe with a smaller size) or the taskbar (only with the notification, no messages, like it's done on MacOS or the IE9)
3. run Metro styled apps in a new kind of window including the buttons from the charmbar (share, search, settings). so all this "swiping" (with a mouse!) is not necesary but you get some kind of consistence between the usability of tablets, deskopts, and phone but keep the simple task management from windows.
4. a start menu mix between the old one and the search dialog from Metro.
Hm... just noticed my english sucks to express my rage about win 8 xD
Maybe I should run Photoshop and make some concepts how it should look
morpheuszg said:
If you can't accept Metro then stay with Windows 7, simple as that. Support for Win7 has been extended till 2020 so there is no need to move on to Windows 8 if you don't like its interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it so hard to add an option to get both interfaces ? Just to keep everybody happy and updated.
I don't think so.
I like the new kernel, about a 25% smaller, very fast and better working. I don't wanna miss that, but I am totally against buying a new Touch Monitor only for using Win 8.
That's too much for me. And if u take a look over some forums, we are many who think the same.
plus there are some nice new features in windows 8
Plus, I'd love to be able to sync between Win 8 without Metro on my desktop and Win 8 on my future tablet with Metro.
So yeah, staying on Windows 7 is a poor solution.
lol...trust me, this won't make any difference. Half of the internet doesn't like Metro (myself included).
Microsoft know this...they are aware of what people are saying, but they won't change it.
the_scotsman said:
Microsoft know this...they are aware of what people are saying, but they won't change it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I (and others) will vote with my wallet. Hopefully Microsoft will change it for win9. I don't see how win8 is better than win7. Anything new is metro related, which is useless for desktop.
P. S.
I switched to Kubuntu on one of my computers already. It has all I need.
I find Windows 8 is boooting up and running faster than Windows 7.
There is a lot more than just Metro that's changed. The kernel has been improved for one thing.
Yeah.. Voting with my wallet sounds about right. Not digging the demo builds right now.
Microsoft has this knack for screwing the pooch on revolutionary software. Lets face it, 2002 was basically updated NT4 and XP took that and stuff that ACTUALLY work from WinME.. Not there was. Vista was the first "new" Windows in a while. And Win7 is still version 6 [dot something]. Any OS that has been successful also had decent hardware to back it up.
That being said... This is a preview build. MS have heavily inferred they are giving someyhing that is nothing like the RTM. Well for PCs at least.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
What I cannot understand is why Microsoft, in the past, launched about 10 or so versions of windows 7 ( Enterprise, Home Premium, Starter, Profesional, Ultimate, Enterprise N, Home Premium N, Profesional N, Ultimate N... etc ) and now, when they really need to add One more version with Normal Desktop added in kernel, they decide not to do it.
It's a pity, but there's going to be a lot of people staying in Win 7 or migrating to Linux or Mac.
You know Metro isnt your only option right, you can go to desktop mode as well?
I haven't tried the consumer preview, but I used the developer preview extensively, and I remember that there was a registry key you could modify and get the win7 interface back...
krapplejaxx said:
I haven't tried the consumer preview, but I used the developer preview extensively, and I remember that there was a registry key you could modify and get the win7 interface back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't work on the Consumer Preview. All the Windows 7 Start Menu bits have been removed from this build.
andrew2163 said:
You know Metro isnt your only option right, you can go to desktop mode as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a white lie. When you pick desktop mode you dont get same desktop as always. You get a reduced version without stat button.
And in new desktop you get instead 4 motion-reactive corners that, for instance in some FPS games just sucks and bothers all the time.
Thats the desktop you get: a reduced, corner-active,weird version of what real desktop was.
Lie to yourself not to us.
i dont get it,
the desktop is still there , right? so why this petition.
dont like metro, dont use metro apps!
---------- Post added at 06:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:54 PM ----------
xatornet said:
That's a white lie. When you pick desktop mode you dont get same desktop as always. You get a reduced version without stat button.
And in new desktop you get instead 4 motion-reactive corners that, for instance in some FPS games just sucks and bothers all the time.
Thats the desktop you get: a reduced, corner-active,weird version of what real desktop was.
Lie to yourself not to us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
, desktop is there, window app function like it always has , start menu is there, just lil a bit hidden and replace with metro theme. OMG you sound like whining for nothing.
dialupboy said:
desktop is there, window app function like it always has , start menu is there, just lil a bit hidden and replace with metro theme. OMG you sound like whining for nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start menu? No. Metro is not start menu. And the petition is to ADD a selection of kind of interface, not to erase Metro. Read it first, and then start spitting your thoughts.
I do not want to have a "bit hidden and replaced" start menu. I like it as it was before, because it defined Windows as Operative System. What we are having now is a weird mixture of Windows Phone and Xbox Dashboard, which is wonderfull for Tablets, but a complete sh*t for Desktops with keyboard and mouse.
If you like metro, allright, keep it, but why not having an option to get traditional start menu? Would it be so hard to get questioned at installation whether I want it or not?
I am asking to add something more to the OS, not to erase something from it.
And if my whining bothers you, feel free to get out of this thread and visit different ones. Thanks.
have you tried using the hot key short cuts? or navigating metro by typing the app name you are looking for? I take it both are likely no. I'm telling you Metro isn't just for touch screens, a power user can navigate it quickly with no trouble, and it's a lot easier than searching through an endless list of programs in the start menu. If you want 8 and the start menu just add http://www.vistastartmenu.com/ MS shouldn't stop trying to revolutionize the way we use computers over people who want to hold on to the old way. Touch screens are becoming increasingly more common, smart phones and tablets are changing the way people learn to interact with software, and Microsoft is headed in the direction it should be.
I'm a major power user of Windows. At work, I am a sysadmin, managing hundreds of Windows servers (from 2003 to 2008 R2). Exchange servers, Citrix/Terminal servers, Active Directory are my specialties. I have experience with programming .NET, VBScript, php, and a bit of Java. I would say I have about 18 years of computing experience, the first problem I had to fix myself was DOS6.22 not locating my CDROM drive, the issue turned out to be an mscdex problem
I'm pretty good with *nix as well, though not as good as my Windows skills, I am pretty good with my way around command line on bsd and linux. Although I have a passion for PCs, I have also dabbled with macs, and can manage and repair them as well. Oh I completely forgot to mention my hardware background, but I don't really do too much with that nowadays, so might not be that relevant.
Over the last year I have started to play with Android devices, I have a Motorola Droid4 as my phone, and a Nexus 7 as my tablet.
My PC usage habits have changed since I got my first tablet, I use my PC for what I would consider, advanced tasks. Things like building ISOs, and bootable USB sticks, repairing/managing my android devices (things like moto rsdlite, or factory restore on my nexus 7), banking, deep research, and working from home (which includes a variety of management of system utilities using RDP to the office). I have been using Windows 8 for about a day and like to new interface of the desktop but find the "Windows 8 Style" (formerly known as metro) pretty disappointing since it's a 1 app at a time thing, NOT something I would want to do on my PC (I mean how often do you have only one thing up on the screen, that's fullscreen??). Is there a way I can use Windows 8 in desktop only mode? I don't know about you, but doing development in Metro doesn't seem very smart to me...
and your point being? cannot believe i wasted my time reading this post...
http://google.com/search?q="windows+8"+desktop+mode+default
e.mote said:
http://google.com/search?q="windows+8"+desktop+mode+default
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is so experienced, yet he does not know how to search? you should not feed the trolls
nitr8 said:
He is so experienced, yet he does not know how to search? you should not feed the trolls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent about 2 hours searching last night with no success. But to desktop mode had been disabled in RTM, which is why I've posted a thread on this forum. Xda always has ways around things.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
>But to desktop mode had been disabled in RTM
You're saying that the methods in the below link (2nd link in above Google search) no longer work?
http://blog.laptopmag.com/6-ways-to-totally-avoid-metro-and-use-only-desktop-mode-in-windows-8
I'll have the RTM installed this weekend and will find out first hand. My real interest in Win8 is Windows-to-Go, and I'll see if it can be done with the Pro edition. If not, then we'll need to get more creative.
>Xda always has ways around things.
XDA is strong with Android, but there are better forums for Win8 info.
e.mote said:
>But to desktop mode had been disabled in RTM
You're saying that the methods in the below link (2nd link in above Google search) no longer work?
http://blog.laptopmag.com/6-ways-to-totally-avoid-metro-and-use-only-desktop-mode-in-windows-8
I'll have the RTM installed this weekend and will find out first hand. My real interest in Win8 is Windows-to-Go, and I'll see if it can be done with the Pro edition. If not, then we'll need to get more creative.
>Xda always has ways around things.
XDA is strong with Android, but there are better forums for Win8 info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding boot to desktop review the following link:
http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-said...-straight-to-desktop-in-windows-8-7000002219/
Don't waste your time with pro, you'll need enterprise for Windows-to-Go.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
desktop is there, click desktop or hit the win button,
use metro as a start menu, apps are apps, wee programs to run on metro, applications or programs are big programs to run in desktop
in short, consider getting used to it. as you at length told us, you know a great deal, and pulling out the mscdex issue suggests....very little actually, as to know what you were doing with that would have required you to learn how to use it and know that was only one half of the potential issues with cd drives.
so my point being, try it, learn it, get used to it, and i can promise you, you'll go back to win 7 or xp one day and think is like stepping back in time to some god forsaken inefficient decade of OS design,
>Don't waste your time with pro, you'll need enterprise for Windows-to-Go.
That's the official line. The imagex route worked for the CP, so I'll try that for the Pro and see what happens. Else, we'll see.
In any case, I've no doubt that the WTG feature will be hacked out and made available as a standalone before long. It's the cherry on top of Win8, and a bull's-eye for every hacker.
As dazza said: Search. Try different things. And have patience and wait for solutions. Remember that Win8 isn't officially released yet.
MS can block certain methods, but it cannot block everything, like setting up a task or a keyboard macro to bypass the UI on boot-up. Here's one method (yes, this came up in a search):
http://pureinfotech.com/2012/08/14/script-bypass-start-screen-windows-8-desktop/
Anyway, your disdain of Metro is a common refrain, and there'll be solutions to address it.
I need to get a good ebook on Win8 nuts & bolts. Any recommendations out there? OK I'll take my own advice and search before ask..."Windows 8 Unleashed"..."Windows 8 for Dummies"
Thanks, that's a good suggestion; creating the scheduled task. At this point a lot of the OS is pretty much what I would consider "half baked". Reminds me of a Blackberry situation, where they have this grand OS, with not a lot of developer support. I'd like to get my google apps into the metro portion, and I am hoping in the future something will come along to replace the desktop without the start menu (seems sort of like a silly solution to force people to use metro). I'm not against the metro UI, for what I use PCs for it just doesn't really work that well.
I'm planning on continuing to use it for another month, and since I'm an MS admin, it's something I'll have to get used to whether I like it or not, that's why I came to this forum to ask around.
Again, thanks for the searching on the issue. I'm sure this will help others in their search for a boot to desktop solution.
danifunker said:
Thanks, that's a good suggestion; creating the scheduled task. At this point a lot of the OS is pretty much what I would consider "half baked". Reminds me of a Blackberry situation, where they have this grand OS, with not a lot of developer support. I'd like to get my google apps into the metro portion, and I am hoping in the future something will come along to replace the desktop without the start menu (seems sort of like a silly solution to force people to use metro). I'm not against the metro UI, for what I use PCs for it just doesn't really work that well.
I'm planning on continuing to use it for another month, and since I'm an MS admin, it's something I'll have to get used to whether I like it or not, that's why I came to this forum to ask around.
Again, thanks for the searching on the issue. I'm sure this will help others in their search for a boot to desktop solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my point is, you dont have to use it other than for a fancy start menu, and even then you dont have to use it, pin a folder to the task bar and you have an instant ld fashioned start menu.
think of it this way, turn PC on, up pops metro giving you at a glance a little bit of info on everything you have setup, pop in to desktop and get on with work, every now and then you can flick to metro to get a little update, if you want to read more without opening the full blown program an app may do the job, if you need to do a bit more work with the item in question then you can fire up the main program, its just a different way of thinking, but i can assure you, if you put in the effort, you will find your productivity measurably improved!
>At this point a lot of the OS is pretty much what I would consider "half baked"
I see Win8 as work in progress, which probably means the same as yours. Yes, desktop/Metro integration is poor. But MS had to implement a touch UI, integrate it with existing WIMP UI, set up an app store infrastructure, and support the ARM platform. That's a lot for one rev, so it'll take two (or more). I think of RTM as Release Preview 2.
My SWAG is that Win8 will have a mixed reception, and MS will quickly push out a service pack next year to address the shortcomings.
x86 aside, I'm interested in how WinRT will fare. As do MS, no doubt. The rumor of $199 RT toy has at least a whiff of truth to it.
Classic Shell now supports RTM, and has options to bypass Metro UI & disable hot corners
http://www.overclock.net/t/1295961/sf-classic-shell-is-officially-released-for-windows-8-rtm
For those who have Synaptic touchpads, you can use the latest Win7 drivers, although edge-swipe functions aren't implemented:
http://www.synaptics.com/resources/drivers/
Win8 beta Synaptics driver w/ edge-swipes below. It works, but is a little buggy. Left-edge swipe (task switch) gets activated at odd times.
http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDo...161811-for-Windows-8-x64-Download-172310.html
Frankly, for non-touchscreen PCs, you won't miss the Metro UI or the edge swipes. Will have to know your shortcuts, though.
Better yet,
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/157302-windows-7-explorer-for-windows-8/
danifunker said:
I'm a major power user of Windows. At work, I am a sysadmin, managing hundreds of Windows servers (from 2003 to 2008 R2). Exchange servers, Citrix/Terminal servers, Active Directory are my specialties. I have experience with programming .NET, VBScript, php, and a bit of Java. I would say I have about 18 years of computing experience, the first problem I had to fix myself was DOS6.22 not locating my CDROM drive, the issue turned out to be an mscdex problem
I'm pretty good with *nix as well, though not as good as my Windows skills, I am pretty good with my way around command line on bsd and linux. Although I have a passion for PCs, I have also dabbled with macs, and can manage and repair them as well. Oh I completely forgot to mention my hardware background, but I don't really do too much with that nowadays, so might not be that relevant.
Over the last year I have started to play with Android devices, I have a Motorola Droid4 as my phone, and a Nexus 7 as my tablet.
My PC usage habits have changed since I got my first tablet, I use my PC for what I would consider, advanced tasks. Things like building ISOs, and bootable USB sticks, repairing/managing my android devices (things like moto rsdlite, or factory restore on my nexus 7), banking, deep research, and working from home (which includes a variety of management of system utilities using RDP to the office). I have been using Windows 8 for about a day and like to new interface of the desktop but find the "Windows 8 Style" (formerly known as metro) pretty disappointing since it's a 1 app at a time thing, NOT something I would want to do on my PC (I mean how often do you have only one thing up on the screen, that's fullscreen??). Is there a way I can use Windows 8 in desktop only mode? I don't know about you, but doing development in Metro doesn't seem very smart to me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, good ol' MSCDEX . Anyway, I've been an IT guy for about the same amount of time as you (16, just shy of 17 years) and personally, I love Windows 8. My suggestion is this: use the desktop for desktop things, and use Metro for Metro things. Revolutionary advice, I know . To answer the question of "when would I use an app full screen?" the answer is simple: When you want to be *productive* in that app. Studies have shown that people working in clean, full-screen workspaces get more done because they have fewer distractions.
Metro, to be sure, is not a "one size fits all" solution. It does certain things exceptionally well, and others are best left to the desktop. And honestly, that's OK. I'd rather have an OS that can handle both worlds than have two distinct and separate OS's for different devices.
---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
e.mote said:
Classic Shell now supports RTM, and has options to bypass Metro UI & disable hot corners
http://www.overclock.net/t/1295961/sf-classic-shell-is-officially-released-for-windows-8-rtm
For those who have Synaptic touchpads, you can use the latest Win7 drivers, although edge-swipe functions aren't implemented:
http://www.synaptics.com/resources/drivers/
Win8 beta Synaptics driver w/ edge-swipes below. It works, but is a little buggy. Left-edge swipe (task switch) gets activated at odd times.
http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDo...161811-for-Windows-8-x64-Download-172310.html
Frankly, for non-touchscreen PCs, you won't miss the Metro UI or the edge swipes. Will have to know your shortcuts, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank goodness there are options for people who can't bring themselves to move forward with the times .
>My suggestion is this: use the desktop for desktop things, and use Metro for Metro things.
That's the problem. Many desktop users would just want to do desktop things and ignore Metro altogether, but Metro is mandatory for apps navigation.
I understand MS' motivation for pushing Metro, although I don't have to like it: It wants to get Metro (and App Store) as many eyeballs as possible, to get people used to the notion of "buying apps" for desktops. It needs to do this to kick-start Metro apps, and thereby give WinRT a boost. The change is for MS' benefit more than the users. As you said yourself, Metro can't do desktop duties, and it only ends up annoying desktop users.
>To answer the question of "when would I use an app full screen?" the answer is simple: When you want to be *productive* in that app. Studies have shown
This is a bad blanket statement in that it assumes everybody works (or should work) the same way. People don't. It also ignores the reality that people are used to certain ways of getting things done, and resent being forced to relinquish those routines for purportedly "better" ones. That's a recipe for wholesale userbase loss.
BTW, a tip: Don't use the phrase "studies have shown." Any time you have to reach for "scientific surveys/studies/experts," it's already a losing argument.
I'm a proponent of Windows 8. I think it's a step in the right direction. But I recognize it's a love-hate relationship with Metro, and both sides have their justifications. It's a subjective thing, and appealing to authority (studies) isn't the answer. The only verdict that matters is from Win8 PC and tablet sales, and we'll know in Oct how Metro will fare.
I found something...
Interesting that I found it in the forbes.com website, I didn't even know they had technical articles!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adriankingsleyhughes/2012/08/23/restore-the-start-menu-in-windows-8/
In the article it mentions something called Start8. This program is pretty much what I wanted.
http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/
I'll follow up after I've used Start8 for a little while longer.
just found this app in the store... http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/phone-insider/ed2b1421-6414-4544-bd8d-06d58ee402a5 published on 12/11/14
Looks like we will be seeing things soon on the Windows Technical Preview front!
And before anyone asks the obvious questions:
1) Can we hack this to get us new pre-release software?
No. It's pointing at the an Azure AD server that only allows for internal Microsoft domain users to sign in to it. It's also determining whether that user is in the Insiders program. Also, the web requests that show the available software and data to the user are authenticated requests which means that unless we have a valid auth token with Microsoft's Azure server they are using for this, we aren't getting anything.
It's assumed that they will possibly update this app before/on/maybe a little after the 21st and point it to the same server that's used to verify that your Live account is in the Windows Insider program (again, don't even think about logging in with your live account to this program because IT WILL NOT WORK).
I will say that this IS INDEED the app that will allow us to update to the Windows 10 for Phone Preview when it appears.
Damn I need to turn my Windows phone and check out that app in the store.
Sent From Windows 7 On HTC Droid DNA
I hope the older Lumias like 520/620 will be upgraded to windows 10, so there won't be a situation like when they introduced Win Phone 8 which wasn't available to Win 7 owners.
It will be for all devices as mentioned earlier
seems like there is also an update:
http://wmpoweruser.com/phone-inside...ng-out/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
surya467 said:
It will be for all devices as mentioned earlier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I really like my Nokia Lumia 620, also my relatives have 2 WinPhones. Hope MS will continue to follow "client oriented approach", only this can help it increase its marketshare.
UPDATE