Rich’s Random Podcast Generator – Windows 8: Start Screen, Charms, Keyboard Shortcuts, Reset and Restore, File History, and the Splashtop app – RRPG016

Jim Collison is off today, visiting family in Kentucky. Mike Howard of jpeg2RAW joins Rich O’Neil as co-host for the show, and joining those two are John Stutsman, Paul Braren, and John ‘Diehard’ Zajdler. Discussions center on Windows 8 – Start screen and features such as Restore + Reset and File History, plus the Splashtop app for iPad and Android, and more.

There’s been some push back on the new W8 user interface – the Start screen in particular. The community is not exactly feeling all cuddly about it, yet I think it has possibilities; folks just have to get used it. To know is to love, no? Like, then… ok..tolerate… maybe. Knowing about screens that pop up when you mouse over the edges of the Start screen, and knowing the keyboard shortcuts goes a long way towards getting acclimated. I like the ability to search from the Start screen – no need to hit a search box or anything like that, just start typing and results pop up on the left and right. Very nice. Other tweaks and improvements in W8 include the use of the context sensitive ‘ribbon’ in Windows Explorer. So ya, I know we can get used to this new look, and of course we can still access the normal looking desktop. But then this UI was designed with a tablet in mind.

And speaking of that, John Stutsman is running W8 on his 1^st gen iPad. He’s doing it with Splashtop, an app that’s also available for Android devices. John says it makes the UI come alive, so you can really see and understand what Microsoft was thinking when they made this radical departure.

Paul Braren digs into a W8 feature called File History. Though versioning has been included in Windows OS’s going back to Win2000, it’s essentially been buried until now. W8 puts a UI on it that an average guy can make use of. We think…

John Zajdler reports that the next and last pre-RTM version of Windows 8 will be released in early June. He hints that the Windows Store should have a lot more offerings by then. John also talks about the Reset and Restore features, something that should cut down on visits to the local computer repair shop. See this AnandTech article for a nice summary: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5290/windows-8s-refresh-and-reset-functionality-detailed The short story is this: Reset brings your OS back to a fresh install state while Restore preserves user files, settings, and any apps you’ve downloaded from Windows Store. Unfortunately, non-Windows Store apps need to be reinstalled,. But hey, it’s a lot better than nothing, right?

-Rich O’Neil

Rich’s RPG is a show hosted by Jim Collison and Rich O’Neil in Google+ Hangout. We talk tech with like-minded folks, covering whatever’s interesting – hot or not, current or historical. No outlines, no agenda, no worries. We welcome newcomers. Got a headset and a bit of free time? Join us on the show by contacting us at: podcast@theaverageguy.tv or rich@theaverageguy.tv

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