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Stardock, creators of start menu replacement Start8, is introducing its latest Windows 8 app today: ModernMix. Windows 8's Metro environment, or however you refer to it, has been the source of focus for Microsoft and also a source of criticism around the way you interact with it. Unlike typical Windows apps, ones built to run in the Windows 8-style environment are designed to run fullscreen or as a snapped application to the side, but there's no other options for windowing. ModernMix aims to change this. Bringing windows back to Windows.
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I was hoping they would do that. I didn't care much for Stardock's alternative interfaces on earlier Windows versions. Although they were fine pieces of software and neat ideas as such, I didn't see the point as the existing interface was adequate to the task. With Windows 8 and Metro however, it is a vastly different story.
I have installed, tested for a couple of months, and then uninstalled and deleted Windows 8 in disgust. It provided nothing better than Windows 7 except faster start-up - which I do once a month, maybe saving a huge 30 seconds-ish each time; big deal! If it performed better in my real-world applications it was not by a measurable amount, but it did slow me down enormously every time I tried to change applications or run multiple things at once with having to screw around, switching between Metro and Desktop to try and get it the way I wanted. ...and I don't want to hear "you just need to get used to it" - I tried hard to get used to it and it just endlessly annoyed me! It didn't get any better with time - and I hated the compromises I kept making just to get through a development session.
If I ever get forced into using Window 8 again, then I am sure ModernMix will be the very first app I purchase - or something just like it.
I hope to god that Windows 9 (if MS is still in business) is better.
- Life in the fast lane is only fun if you live in a country with no speed limits.
- Of all the things I have lost, it is my mind that I miss the most.
- I vaguely remember having a good memory...
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Here is a link[^] to the application itself!
(instead of a link to someone talking about it...)
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I spent the day with the founding members of the Street View team to learn about how it went from a gimmick in someone’s mind to a utility that we use without thinking, and in some cases, wouldn’t want to live without. Starting out as a camera strapped to Page’s car, Street View technology has been added to vans, cars, tripods, backpacks, bikes and even a snow mobile. It has become the eyes of all of Google’s vision for how we view the world after launching on May 25, 2007. While the product has had its fair share of controversy, Google has forged ahead. This is Google's strength: more data than even they know what to do with.
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Now it’s five years later and things aren’t so great. More than ever I’m having issues with general slowness in the browser. Memory usage is off the charts and I frequently have tabs become completely unresponsive. Moreover there seems to be a general lack of QA these days. The “disable cache” checkbox in the developer tools seems to do nothing and JavaScript errors occasionally disappear into the void instead of logging to the console. Chrome is starting to feel a lot like Firefox did in 2008. Mozilla is improving performance. Chrome is pulling a Google.
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"Technology innovation in this country is somewhere between dire straits and dead," said the PayPal co-founder, later adding: "The solution is actually very simple: You have to aim almost ridiculously high." Late last month, Levchin began his latest venture, Affirm, which lets consumers buy things online using their Facebook profile. That follows his previous business, Slide, a photo-sharing service that also allowed people to take care of their virtual "SuperPoke! Pets." Neither, it's fair to say, is exactly the moon shot of our age. Short-term profits versus long-term thinking.
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node.js (the other cool kid toy) has a new version[^] out. I have to admit, I didn't notice their version numbering scheme before (they've just moved from 0.8 to 0.10). Looks like it's mostly a perf upgrade, but nice to see it progress, for those who *really* like their JavaScript.
--------------
TTFN - Kent
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Sh*t!
I've only just finished compiling v0.8.22 on a Raspberry Pi. (2.25hrs)
Q. Hey man! have you sorted out the finite soup machine?
A. Why yes, it's celery or tomato.
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At the Microsoft store in Austin, the last 3 times I stopped by they were moving Surface Pros as fast as they could write invoices. I wonder if that's the exception or where Samsung got their information.
Personally I love mine and Samsung can't hold a candle to the capabilities, because I compared before buying the Pro. Or was he talking about the regular Surface RT? That wasn't doing too well.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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Walt Fair, Jr. wrote: Austin
Cool... a fellow Austinite.
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Yeah, I think there are at least 2 or 3 of us here. We should have an Austin CP meeting or beer or something. I'm up north next to the IBM complex off of Burnet, but when I'm not working from home, I'm at UT most days.
I'll be here at least until the end of the year, but my wife and I are looking for an excuse to stay.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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Walt Fair, Jr. wrote: Austin CP meeting
Yeah... dang it could have had a CP SXSW day. I am in S Austin. I actually just moved here from SA. Hopefully not moving again any time soon.
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And another, if the Round Rock area counts.
Every time I've been in our MS store it's been fairly busy with sales. I'm trying to hold out for a Gen 2 Pro to replace my ultrabook, but we'll see...
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And, heading still further north, I'm in Kempner. :p
EDIT: And I somehow managed to log in with the "wrong" account.
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I know 3 people (myself included) who are very happy with their Surface Pro8.
<sig notetoself="think of a better signature">
<first>Jim
<last willyoudomyhomeworkforme="false">Meadors
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I actually kind of like it too... but it does seem like MS is coming in late in the game on this. We'll see if they stand the test of time or flop in the tablet market. It's not good news to have a major hardware manufacturer(s) say your OS isn't good.
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I expect that if MS deals with the complaints department the rest will catch on. It's a great toy tool for all kinds of things!
<sig notetoself="think of a better signature">
<first>Jim
<last willyoudomyhomeworkforme="false">Meadors
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The only reason I haven't bought a Surface Pro is because I'm perfectly happy with a Lenovo Yoga 13 running Windows 8.
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I think they could have handled the switch to the metro UI a bit better. At this point it's almost like they're trying to force desktop users to use it. It is sad to see it compared to Vista so much...
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I compare it more to Windows ME. Vista wasn't that bad...
- Life in the fast lane is only fun if you live in a country with no speed limits.
- Of all the things I have lost, it is my mind that I miss the most.
- I vaguely remember having a good memory...
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Forogar wrote: Windows ME
THAT was a serious catastrophe...
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Yes. They are trying to ram Metro down their desktop users' throats. Big mistake. Vista is an apt comparison, as it was trying to ram UAC and a major device driver change down users' throats.. and it wasn't too successful at it. We had to wait till Windows 7 before users accepted those changes. Fortunately for Vista, it was at least useable without significant user retraining, which isn't the case for Windows 8.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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