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OK folks, I bought a device from China to test a theory. I want music/videos/tinterweb etc in every room in my house. The plan was to have a docking station with speakers attached in every room. Then 4-5 tablets that I could plug in when I went into that room. So, if I'm in the shower, I can play death metal whilst my girlfriend watches Sex in the City in bed. That was the plan!
I got the Android tablet today and to say I'm not impressed is an understatement. The device is an unbranded tablet labelled as Mid & E-book. It's running Android 1.6.
My problem is this. Firstly I want to stream music and video from my network. It seems that all the Android apps I can find don't stream! They download to the device (with a 2gb memory this isn't practical). If there is an app that will stream properly, then great. Secondly, I want to be able to connect to my network at home. I have found an app called ES File Explorer that will connect, but I'd like to be able to login to my domain as I do with my laptop.
Maybe it's because I'm not used to it yet, but Android doesn't seem to be as good as Windows Mobile. It's quite clunky and the apps seem to crash like Windows CE!!
So, my questions are these:
If I stick with Android, can I get a media player that will stream music from the network?
Can I get an app that will let me log on to the network properly?
Can I upgrade the OS to a newer version of Android?
If I don't stick with Android, can I install Windows Mobile on this tablet?
If the company that created the table releases an upgrade then definitely you can upgrade it. I'm not so certain as Manuel updates for that particular device.
and I'm more than certain that it is not possible to install windows mobile onto your device.
as for the first two questions, apps like that may appear but have not recently.. :/
Hmmm. I thought Android was supposed to be the better version of the iPhone OS since they're both linux based. I was under the impression that there were thousands of apps to do everything. It seems that there are fewer apps than there are on Win Mobile and the ones that are available aren't as good as the the Win Mobile ones.
I hadn't even thought to check out the ability to stream music/video. Windows Media Player does this, as does every other music player on Windows. It seems ridiculous that this isn't an available for Android.
Anyone fancy writing a couple of apps?
timfoster said:
My problem is this. Firstly I want to stream music and video from my network. It seems that all the Android apps I can find don't stream! They download to the device (with a 2gb memory this isn't practical). If there is an app that will stream properly, then great. Secondly, I want to be able to connect to my network at home. I have found an app called ES File Explorer that will connect, but I'd like to be able to login to my domain as I do with my laptop.
Maybe it's because I'm not used to it yet, but Android doesn't seem to be as good as Windows Mobile. It's quite clunky and the apps seem to crash like Windows CE!!
]
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You bought a unbranded no-name device from China, at a very cheap price I'm guessing. What did you expect? You could have looked up if there were any apps that would do as you desire before you bought the device. I'm not sure what you mean with connecting to your network? As in a wifi connection? Does the device have a wifi adapter? The clunkiness is probably because of low level hardware specs, as you'd expect from a cheap product (assuming it's cheap now). The apps crashing is probably because the manufacturer did a quick and dirty android install.
madsborelli said:
You bought a unbranded no-name device from China, at a very cheap price I'm guessing. What did you expect?.
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I wasn't expecting a £500 device obviously. But I did kind of expect it to do what it said on the box!
madsborelli said:
You could have looked up if there were any apps that would do as you desire before you bought the device.
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I hadn't thought it would be necessary. Android is a standard operating system. I don't check to see if a media player on Windows actually plays media files. It's taken as read. With the marketplace as competitive as it is, basic media player capabilities are the minimum I would expect from a device.
madsborelli said:
I'm not sure what you mean with connecting to your network? As in a wifi connection? Does the device have a wifi adapter?
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On my HTC TP2 I can connect to my domain as I can on my laptop. This is the kind of app I was looking for. Again, as WM6 is considered to be the 3rd OS (behind iPhone and Android) and it can do this kind of thing, I would have thought that Android would do it too. Maybe not as a part of the OS, but since "there's an app for everything" I would have expected there to be an app for it.
madsborelli said:
The clunkiness is probably because of low level hardware specs, as you'd expect from a cheap product (assuming it's cheap now). The apps crashing is probably because the manufacturer did a quick and dirty android install.
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This is why I thought I could upgrade the OS. To my mind this is no different to my laptop. If I want to run Windows XP or Windows 7, I simply upgrade. Why would this tablet be different? I know it runs on solid state memory, but so does my phone. Low level specs shouldn't be an issue either. Wifi and media players have been around long enough now for the components to be cheap. The components in HTC phones are no different and they work just fine.
The fact that the tablet was cheap shouldn't enter into it. I need it to do one simply task. I'm not looking for a tablet that I can use as my primary machine. I need a simple device for a simple task.
RANT
timfoster said:
I hadn't thought it would be necessary. Android is a standard operating system. I don't check to see if a media player on Windows actually plays media files. It's taken as read. With the marketplace as competitive as it is, basic media player capabilities are the minimum I would expect from a device.
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the market place on this device isn't android market place it is a c****y alternative with no where near the amount of apps on the official one, it would be better for you to browse the web and try to find the plain APK files
timfoster said:
This is why I thought I could upgrade the OS. To my mind this is no different to my laptop. If I want to run Windows XP or Windows 7, I simply upgrade. Why would this tablet be different? I know it runs on solid state memory, but so does my phone.
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theres a massive difference between your laptop and a tablet running android. i mean its completely different windows the operating system will install onto your laptop and grab all the necessary drivers(unlike vista). android is nothing like this, with android you first have to work out how to get to the boot menu. unlike windows its not going to come up and say would you like to boot from cd? they will try and hide the boot menu to stop you the consumer messing up the device and claiming for a new one on the warranty. and when you've got there you then have to try and find how to install the packages. often with the new device you first of all have to load on a new boot menu, because the manufacturer has locked the first one only to flash encrypted files.
timfoster said:
Low level specs shouldn't be an issue either. Wifi and media players have been around long enough now for the components to be cheap. The components in HTC phones are no different and they work just fine.
The fact that the tablet was cheap shouldn't enter into it. I need it to do one simply task. I'm not looking for a tablet that I can use as my primary machine. I need a simple device for a simple task.
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look sorry dude but buying a cheap device means a hell of alot of trouble adimtadly the "specs" are the same as an entry level htc phone, but the hardware is not the phones will come with decent porcessors and, these things come with cheap processors. If you want to get a decent "hardware" tablet get a apad irobot with the rockchip processor, it gets the best reviews.
look sorry if i sound a bit rude through out this but please have a read around and you will find, android isn't just a simple insert the cd upgrade process. if your wanting something that hasn't been released by the manafacturer yet, you are gonna have to rely on this community to help you get what you want. and trust me saying all this s*** is simple isn't going to get you much help. i started a thread a while ago about this exact device. GO AND READ IT, it contains info about how to re-flash a much better rom from my understanding, i don't own the device. of course if you would have search you would have found my thread.
/RANT
slaming said:
the market place on this device isn't android market place it is a c****y alternative with no where near the amount of apps on the official one, it would be better for you to browse the web and try to find the plain APK files
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Really?? That's outrageous. It says it's the Android marketplace. I assumed that as the majority of apps were chinese, it was just a case that I needed to change the locale somehow. I hadn't looked properly as the wifi failed over the weekend. I've tried it this morning at work and it can't connect to the wifi here either so it's going back anyway now.
slaming said:
theres a massive difference between your laptop and a tablet running android. i mean its completely different windows the operating system will install onto your laptop and grab all the necessary drivers(unlike vista). android is nothing like this, with android you first have to work out how to get to the boot menu. unlike windows its not going to come up and say would you like to boot from cd? they will try and hide the boot menu to stop you the consumer messing up the device and claiming for a new one on the warranty. and when you've got there you then have to try and find how to install the packages. often with the new device you first of all have to load on a new boot menu, because the manufacturer has locked the first one only to flash encrypted files.
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I understand that manufacturers of handhelds (tablets and phones) don't make it easy to change the OS. Quite why is beyond me, but there you go. That said though, the guys on this forum are usually brilliant in being able to cook up upgraded ROMs for every device almost as soon as it's released. I don't profess to know how they do it, I'm just grateful that they do.
slaming said:
If you want to get a decent "hardware" tablet get a apad irobot with the rockchip processor, it gets the best reviews.
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I've looked at the reviews of the apad and it seems fine. I suspect I'll get one to replace this one when it goes back. What exactly is the difference between the rockchip processor and the other one? The price of the different devices indicates that the rockchip is better (as everyone says), but why? Is it just a bit faster?
slaming said:
look sorry if i sound a bit rude through out this but please have a read around and you will find, android isn't just a simple insert the cd upgrade process. if your wanting something that hasn't been released by the manafacturer yet, you are gonna have to rely on this community to help you get what you want.
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slaming said:
trust me saying all this s*** is simple isn't going to get you much help.
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I wasn't trying to say "this is easy, anyone can do it". Far from it. I work in software development and understand the complexities that go into developing apps. I also understand that developing an OS of whatever degree is ten times harder. The point I was trying to make is that Android is now an accepted mainstream OS. Most people will have little understanding of what goes into developing an app. The majority won't even care. But becuase it's a mainstream OS, the majority (including me) would expect the same functionality as provided by another OS. Maybe not out of the box, but I would have thought that someone, somewhere, (not necessarily here) would have gone to the trouble of developing a media player that will stream from the source location, and a domain login app. Android is becoming more prevalent in the corporate environment and so you would have expected somebody (or some company) to have developed such apps. People will pay for quality apps (me included). I'm sorry if you felt that I was slagging off this board. I wasn't. I was simply asking the questions (surely the point of this board?)
slaming said:
i started a thread a while ago about this exact device. GO AND READ IT, it contains info about how to re-flash a much better rom from my understanding, i don't own the device. of course if you would have search you would have found my thread.
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Click to collapse
I did a search again today (as I did before posting the original message) but still can't find your thread about re-flashing this device. If you could point me in the direction of it, I would be grateful. Chances are I won't be flashing it now (since it's going back), but useful to read.
timfoster said:
Really?? That's outrageous. It says it's the Android marketplace. I assumed that as the majority of apps were chinese, it was just a case that I needed to change the locale somehow. I hadn't looked properly as the wifi failed over the weekend. I've tried it this morning at work and it can't connect to the wifi here either so it's going back anyway now.
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yeah i know but google isn't releasing the files for tablet yet only phone.
timfoster;7151107
I did a search again today (as I did before posting the original message) but still can't find your thread about re-flashing this device. If you could point me in the direction of it said:
UMM here we go http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=675603
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iOS and Android are "smartphone" Operating Systems, Windows Mobile is a Pocket PC Operating System
That's why you're able to do almost anything and hack to your heart's content in Winmo but the other OSs seem so lacking.
WinMo is not for everyone, mostly because most people are ignorant to what it is truly capable of doing, they just want a phone that runs apps, thats thats why they flock to iOS and Android...Which in turn means less and less people using Winmo thus less support for it since phone companies are a business and they care about their bottom lines, more people in adroind = more money.
I love windows mobile and wish a HD2-like device would be available for CDMA
sp1kez said:
iOS and Android are "smartphone" Operating Systems, Windows Mobile is a Pocket PC Operating System
That's why you're able to do almost anything and hack to your heart's content in Winmo but the other OSs seem so lacking.
WinMo is not for everyone, mostly because most people are ignorant to what it is truly capable of doing, they just want a phone that runs apps, thats thats why they flock to iOS and Android...Which in turn means less and less people using Winmo thus less support for it since phone companies are a business and they care about their bottom lines, more people in adroind = more money.
I love windows mobile and wish a HD2-like device would be available for CDMA
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Forgive my ignorance then, but what's the difference between a smartphone and a pocket pc os?
Since my primary use for this device is to stream media from my network, and it seems finding a media player that can do this on Android is going to be difficult to say the least, can I upgrade the apad iRobot M to run Win Mobile? I have just brought one on AliExpress.
timfoster said:
Forgive my ignorance then, but what's the difference between a smartphone and a pocket pc os?
Since my primary use for this device is to stream media from my network, and it seems finding a media player that can do this on Android is going to be difficult to say the least, can I upgrade the apad iRobot M to run Win Mobile? I have just brought one on AliExpress.
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you will not be able to install winmo to an android tablet, its kinda like trying to install mac onto an AMD machine.
There are tablets like the one you purchased that run WinMo if your interested.
why on earth would you want a non windows device to log onto a windows domain?
The only valid reason I can come up with is to acces your shares or printers on the domain. You can't apply machine and or userpolicies like you would to windows clients.
I work in a large company with +/- 9000 clients and +/- 800 servers as a sysadmin and I never understood why some people use dc @home
but to answer that question, you can logon to a windows domain with a linux client using a samba client ed. But you might have to compile them for arm against the kernel version running on your device. Don't know whether there are packages available for android out of the box. But for your needs (especially) the domain logon, I would go for a windows based tablet.
This happened before. Someone bought a knock-off Android. They all worked together and got it rooted. it was beautiful-er then this girl I'm liking right now.
hey there guys.,
i got a new Samsung B6520 Omnia Pro 5 ( running Windows Standard 6.5) a couple of days back.
It's basically a non touch phone( 320 x 240 pixels, 2.4 inches, QWERTY) and I'm looking for apps / themes/ and stuff in general for my phone.
i tried looking around the forum, but in vain.. so somebody Plzzzzz help...!!
i really think i made a mistake getting a WinMo
~Hbk~
Return it......... get an Android based phone the problem with the 6.5 it will not update to win7 so this op system is a dead horse. Sorry but yes you did make a mistake.
If you were going WM then you should have gotten a touch screen phone, there are loads of themes etc to try, or you could have installed SPB MS3.5 and had the best OS and interface a business/general use phone can have at the moment.
If you wanted games though, as oka1 said, android is better suited while still managing to be an ok business phone (htc sense makes this better I've found)
From an applications developer's point of view, programming for WinMo Standard can be a bit of a pain. You have to decide whether or not your program is going to run on it, or not, at design time. It may end up as a completely different release of the program.
Having said that, it is possible to make a single .exe run on both WinMo Professional and Standard, but the program has to look at which platform it is running on, and then behave accordingly. On WinMo Standard, there is no Touchscreen/Mouseclick input, only the keyboard and the D-Pad/Enter buttons. The interface has to be designed to work with both from the outset, or both interfaces must be included in the same program, then it decides and uses the correct one at runtime.
It can be done but it is a lot of extra effort. As an example try the 5x5 or Peg Solitaire puzzles in the signature below.
thanks for the inputs guys
i really wish some one could just write a program to port android onto a windows phone keeping in mind the hardware changes too. ..
But my question is, " When we are seamlessly able to install / un-install OS's on our desktops/ laptops, why not on a mobile phone?!"
I REALLY think mobile phone manufacturers should give the consumers that flexibility to chose what OS they'd want running on their devices. .
Who knows?! maybe they'd think on these lines in the future perhaps?
~Hbk~
Get a HTC HD2, it can run WM, WP7 (why you'd want to I don't know), Android, Win95, Win98, Ubuntu and a few others.
ya get HTC its awesome machine and it also works on each and every window whatever it is window vista or whatever it window 7.. ya YOu made a mistake but now dont waste time if you want winpro
I really hope some philanthropic people come forward and donate what ever they can..
Coz i really can't afford an Android right now..
I shall officially kick start "Project Andriod 2.2" A Donation Drive to help people who are stuck with symbian/winmo and want a serious upgrade to ANDROID..
~HbK~
I shall post the default/original wallpapers of Samsung B6520 Omnia here in this thread later..
Is it possible to boot another OS like..idk, ubuntu or windows without having to boot up android? Something like direct boot? Just like our PC's do. Is it possible?
Since this question seems to burn on your poor soul ...
NO ... at least NOT for as long as you don't...
- ...write a fitting boot loader for the intended OS to kick-start its kernel and boot-strap the OS.
- ...find a way to re-partition the internal phone storage (aka "NAND") to meet the demands of the OS.
- ...wrote drivers to support the hardware (USB, Camera, Sound, WiFi, et al)
It may be possible to somehow directly boot a made-for-the-X8 Linux, but then the idea is rather pointless anyway as you would also need to code up the required applications to actually use the device as a phone (in case you missed it, you're holding a phone in your hands, not a tablet computer).
Throw away your hopes to see Windows 8 running on the X8 ... the device is not suited to run that OS at all (EDIT: or are you going to port the required Secure Boot enabled UEFI Firmware to the X8?).
Your best shot would be (after some intense development work) to get Linux or Windows CE up and running.
bogdan_mihai554 said:
Is it possible to boot another OS like..idk, ubuntu or windows without having to boot up android? Something like direct boot? Just like our PC's do. Is it possible?
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Click to collapse
Yes its possible you can run Windows 95 on X8 . Search on you tube for videos. After that search in Android development section/
But it will work partially
B.Jay said:
Since this question seems to burn on your poor soul ...
NO ... at least NOT for as long as you don't...
- ...write a fitting boot loader for the intended OS to kick-start its kernel and boot-strap the OS.
- ...find a way to re-partition the internal phone storage (aka "NAND") to meet the demands of the OS.
- ...wrote drivers to support the hardware (USB, Camera, Sound, WiFi, et al)
It may be possible to somehow directly boot a made-for-the-X8 Linux, but then the idea is rather pointless anyway as you would also need to code up the required applications to actually use the device as a phone (in case you missed it, you're holding a phone in your hands, not a tablet computer).
Throw away your hopes to see Windows 8 running on the X8 ... the device is not suited to run that OS at all (EDIT: or are you going to port the required Secure Boot enabled UEFI Firmware to the X8?).
Your best shot would be (after some intense development work) to get Linux or Windows CE up and running.
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Click to collapse
Ok, you're right ) windows 8 and ubuntu and too complicated for X8 to handle, but Windows CE would be really nice
Also, i've found an really small linux(Slax) and it would be really cool if we can get it running on x8
bogdan_mihai554 said:
Windows CE would be really nice
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Many years ago (2002? 2003?) I had a COMPAQ iPAQ 3660 (which I even mod-updated from PocketPC 2000 to PocketPC 2002) - and a friend of mine had a 5xxx series iPAQ which where the first ones to come with a GSM slot.
Take my word that Windows CE would be pointless. Compared to Android Windows CE is not only hopelessly outdated but also the same crap as WP7.
If _I_ would want to have Windows CE/Windows Phone 7 device and be tortured to the ninth circle of hell by that steaming-pile-of-sh** Metro UI I would have gotten a brain removal surgery and bought one.
Having a true Linux up and running would be nice, but also pointless for as long as the apps to make calls and send/receive SMS/MMS are missing.
B.Jay said:
Many years ago (2002? 2003?) I had a COMPAQ iPAQ 3660 (which I even mod-updated from PocketPC 2000 to PocketPC 2002) - and a friend of mine had a 5xxx series iPAQ which where the first ones to come with a GSM slot.
Take my word that Windows CE would be pointless. Compared to Android Windows CE is not only hopelessly outdated but also the same crap as WP7.
If _I_ would want to have Windows CE/Windows Phone 7 device and be tortured to the ninth circle of hell by that steaming-pile-of-sh** Metro UI I would have gotten a brain removal surgery and bought one.
Having a true Linux up and running would be nice, but also pointless for as long as the apps to make calls and send/receive SMS/MMS are missing.
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Click to collapse
Windows 8 has Metro UI...I hate it )
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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
i am using nokia lumia 720, is it possible to install android os on my phone. if so what are the procedures
Wrong question. Here's the right one:
[Q] Using the Internet, is it possible to search for the answer to a question that has been asked (and answered) dozens if not hundreds of times already?
[A] Yes it is! In fact, it's actually the number one rule of this forum to do so!
Oh, a few other important points for you:
1) There is no such thing as "windows8 phone" (is your Shift key broken or something?) or even "Windows 8 Phone". It's called Windows Phone 8. (The OS family in general is called Windows Phone. It has very little to do with the OS family called Windows, although the next version of each is expected to bridge that gap somewhat.)
2) You are not on the forum for Windows Phone 8. You are on the forum for Windows 8. They are almost completely different things.
3) There is actually a forum on XDA for WP8. In fact, it's easier to find than this one...
4) Your question has been asked and answered many times there alone (to say nothing of the many other places around the Web). Short version: NO