Getting to know the Windows 8 Charms Bar

So, I’m using Windows 8 on a Surface Pro, and I notice there’s no Start button. How am I supposed to shut down Windows without a Start button? The answer is the Charms Bar, and Day 12 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series takes a closer look at the features and capabilities of this Windows 8 tool.

To be honest, I never shut down Windows. That’s what Sleep mode is for. But, if I wanted to do so, shutting down Windows through the Charms Bar is still a simple process. It involves more steps than Windows 7, but after you do it a couple times it becomes second nature and you’ll never really notice.

The Charms Bar is about way more than just shutting down Windows, though. There are five charms: Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings. The Charms Bar, and these five charms, are the hub fr doing just about anything you want or need to do in Windows 8. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with the charms, because your Windows 8 experience will be much more efficient and effective once you’ve mastered the Charms Bar.

Read Surface Pro, Day 12: Getting to know the Charms Bar for more about my experience and how to use the Charms.

Using Microsoft Office on a Surface Pro

What’s the one thing that makes Windows 8 tablets like the Surface Pro unique among the tablet competition? Microsoft Office. For Day 11 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series I explore using Microsoft Office on the Surface Pro–both as a “desktop PC” and using the touchscreen interface of the tablet.

To be honest, using Microsoft Office while the Surface Pro is connected to an external mouse and monitor isn’t really all that different from just using Microsoft Office on a Windows 7 PC. However, Microsoft has added some new tricks for Office 2013 to make it more “touch-friendly”, and some of the Office tools–like OneNote and Lync–have apps developed specifically for the Windows 8 Modern / Metro interface.

With every other tablet and smartphone I’ve used, finding an adequate tool to replace Microsoft Office is one of the biggest challenges. There are a few options out there, and there are Web-based productivity suites as well. All of them have their strengths, and they do OK for lack of something better, but the compatibility and file fidelity with Microsoft Office is often questionable, and I’ve never found one I like as much as just using Microsoft Office.

I don’t agree that Microsoft should hold Microsoft Office hostage as some sort of blackmail to lure customers to Windows, but that is the situation for now, and I have to admit it probably would sway my purchasing decision.

Read Surface Pro, Day 11: Using Microsoft Office on a Surface Pro to learn more.

Multitasking on the Surface Pro

Most mobile devices are capable of some form of multitasking, but not many can do it as well as an actual Windows PC. Well, the Surface Pro is an actual Windows PC, so for Day 10 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series I dig into its multitasking capabilities, and see how well it performs and how efficient it is at running more than one program simultaneously.

The desktop mode of Windows 8 is essentially identical to Windows 7, so there isn’t much to get used to there. But, using multiple apps at the same time, and navigating between all of the apps currently open is a different story in the Windows 8 Modern / Metro UI. It’s not as functional as a traditional Windows 7 PC, but way more so than other tablets or smartphones. There are some conventions that take a little getting used to, though.

Read Surface Pro, Day 10: Multitasking on the Surface Pro for more details.

A closer look at the default apps in Windows 8

Microsoft would like me (and you, and everyone else) to embrace Windows 8, and do as much in the Modern / Metro interface as possible. For Day 9 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I am exploring a few of the primary default apps in Windows 8: Mail, People, and Calendar.

Modern / Metro will be the future of Windows. The “desktop” still exists for legacy software, but eventually–say by Windows 9 or Windows 10–Microsoft will phase that out. As more devices come out built with the Windows 8 touch interface in mind, and more apps come out designed specifically for the Windows 8 Modern / Metro interface, and more people embrace the new way of working with Windows, the old way will slowly fade away.

For now, though, that vision is a bit of a pipe dream. Windows 8 is more of a hybrid, dual-OS that often seems confused (and confusing) about whether it’s the new Windows or the old one. But, it’s a baby step, and it’s just the first step of a journey Microsoft has to go through in order to transition hundreds of millions of Windows PC users to a new way of thinking and working with their PCs.

Microsoft developed a variety of very nice apps for Windows 8, including Music, Messaging, and Maps, in addition to Mail, People, and Calendar. I chose to focus on those three apps in particular because they are the ones most vital to using a Surface Pro productively. The challenge is basically to determine whether or not I could, in fact, rely on Mail, People, and Calendar to get real work done, and function on a Surface Pro using these default apps rather than using legacy software like Microsoft Outlook that runs in the desktop.

For more, read Surface Pro, Day 9: A closer look at the default apps.

Configuring the Windows 8 Start screen on Surface Pro

I spent Day 8 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro experiment customizing the Windows 8 Start screen.

Part of the beauty and value of the colorful background, and large tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen is in arranging them the way you want. By grouping the apps in a way that makes sense to you, and by enabling Live Tiles where applicable, you can create a Windows 8 Start screen that is both visually appealing, and fosters efficiency and productivity at the same time.

I spent Day 8 removing apps I didn’t want cluttering the Start screen, regrouping the apps the way I prefer them, resizing the tiles as needed, and changing the background color and image for the Windows 8 Modern / Metro interface to make the Surface Pro setup uniquely mine.

Read Surface Pro, Day 8: Configuring the Start screen for more about how to customize the Windows Modern UI to be uniquely yours.

Installing software on a Surface Pro

Pop quiz: How do you install software from a DVD on a device that has no DVD drive? Day 7 of 30 Days with Surface Pro is dedicated to answering this very question. Actually, I examine the broader issue of installing applications on a Surface Pro–not necessarily just from a DVD.

The preferred method for Windows 8 apps is to just use the Windows Store and download / stream software to the Surface Pro. However, I also have a variety of legacy Windows software on discs, and I needed to find a way to get it from the disc to the Surface Pro.

Read Surface Pro, Day 7: Installing software for more details about my experience acquiring and installing software on a device with no CD or DVD drive. There are a variety of options: connect an external DVD drive via USB, copy the installation files to a USB thumb drive, external hard drive, or SD memory card, or use another computer that does have a DVD drive and share the drive or folder across a network.

Good, bad, and ugly of Windows 8 Store

Is there a great way to filter and organize tens of thousands–or hundreds of thousands–of apps? It’s an elusive goal, and I’m not sure it’s even attainable. For Day 6 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I examine the Store app, and take a closer look at the Windows Store.

If you have a Surface RT (or other Windows RT-based device), the Windows Store is the only way to get new software. On a Surface Pro (or other Windows 8-based device), you can install legacy Windows software and full applications designed for Windows PCs, but you still have to use the Store app to find apps designed to work with the tiled Modern / Metro Start screen in Windows 8.

For example, I have OneNote 2013 installed on my Surface Pro because I installed Office 2013. When I use that application, though, it takes Windows 8 into Desktop mode. I also have OneNote MX installed on my Surface Pro. It is designed to be used with the touch-enabled Windows 8 Modern UI. They both work fine, but I actually prefer OneNote MX when using the Surface Pro as a tablet because it was designed with touch input in mind.

What about other apps, though? How are they organized in the Windows Store. How do I find new apps that might interest me? To learn more about Windows 8 apps and the Windows Store, check out Surface Pro, Day 6: Good, bad, and ugly of Windows 8 Store.

Tweaking the Surface Pro to work with an external monitor

For Day 5 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I had to make some changes in order to use the Surface Pro as a “desktop PC” connected to an external monitor.

Because I am using the Type cover of the Surface Pro as my keyboard while sitting at my desk, it means I have to have the Surface Pro set up like an ultrabook–open on the desktop, propped up on the kickstand. However, because I’ve connected it to an external monitor, I find it distracting to have the display mirrored on the Surface Pro at the same time. I also ran into some issues trying to get the resolution of the external monitor configured properly.

Read Surface Pro, Day 5: Tweaking the display for more details on the issues I encountered, and how I set things up so I can use the Surface Pro with an external monitor.

Navigating Windows 8

Diving in to the 30 Days with Surface Pro experience requires figuring out how to get around in Windows 8. Windows 8 was designed from the ground up for touch, so the conventions for getting things done are different than the point-and-click menus I’ve been used to for decades with all of the previous versions of Windows.

I won’t lie, I was not a fan immediately. I’m apparently not alone. I have seen a barrage of articles from tech sites, and tools developed specifically to “help” people get Windows 8 to look and act like Windows 7 and make all this new stuff disappear. But, if I wanted all of the new stuff to disappear, I would just stick with Windows 7 rather than upgrade to Windows 8 and try to make it be Windows 7. That’s just silly.

An additional challenge for Windows 8 and working with the Surface Pro is how to get around the OS when I am using the tablet as a “desktop PC”. It took a bit to get used to the touch and swipe gestures for navigating Windows, and then I had to go through a whole learning curve again to figure out how to do those same things using a mouse.

Eventually I got it all worked out. Read Surface Pro, Day 4: Navigating Windows 8 for more details.

Logging in to Windows 8

You’ve probably heard by now that Windows 8 is the most dramatic overhaul of the operating system since the inception of Windows. That’s true on many levels, one of which is how you log in.

For Day 3 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I explore the different methods of logging in. You can log in using a local account that exists only on that specific PC, or you can log in with a Microsoft account, or you can connect the Surface Pro (or a Windows 8 PC in general) to a Windows network domain. The features and capabilities of Windows 8 vary greatly depending on which of these methods you choose.

Many of the features of Windows 8 rely on the Microsoft account. If you log in locally, or connect to a network domain, you eliminate some of the best benefits of using Windows 8 in the first place. With a network domain login it’s still possible to also connect with a Microsoft account, but that option has to be sanctioned and managed by the IT admin through network policies.

To learn more about the pros and cons of the various ways of logging in to Windows 8, read Surface Pro, Day 3: Logging in to Windows 8.