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Thurrott.comThe Home for Tech Enthusiasts: News, Reviews & Analysis
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Avatar

TheJoeFin

Alpha Member Since Jun 2016

22 Posts
417 Comments
Upvotes 90%
Downvotes 10%
  • Subject Posted By Forum Category Last Activity Activity
    Why should Skype go away?
    By thejoefin, 1 month ago
    29 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Office
    thejoefin Microsoft Office 1 month ago 29 Replies
    No more Surface Pro copycat devices
    By thejoefin, 2 months ago
    10 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 2 months ago 10 Replies
    Outlook.com more top bar buttons
    By thejoefin, 3 months ago
    2 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Office
    thejoefin Microsoft Office 3 months ago 2 Replies
    The next generation of Windows Apps theory
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    45 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Dev
    thejoefin Microsoft Dev 1 year ago 45 Replies
    Microsoft announces Windows 10 will …
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    46 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 1 year ago 46 Replies
    Why I basically stopped being a Windows Insider
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    11 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 1 year ago 11 Replies
    19H1 Release Preview fails to install… but keeps trying
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    0 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 1 year ago 0 Replies
    Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    16 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 1 year ago 16 Replies
    Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring
    By thejoefin, 2 years ago
    27 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 1 year ago 27 Replies
    The Ambient Device Business Model
    By thejoefin, 1 year ago
    4 Replies
    Forum: General Discussion
    Category: Hardware
    thejoefin General Discussion Hardware 1 year ago 4 Replies
    An Outlook.com PWA could not replace the Windows Mail app
    By thejoefin, 2 years ago
    11 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 2 years ago 11 Replies
    Redstone 5 Big Feature(s)
    By thejoefin, 2 years ago
    1 Reply
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 2 years ago 1 Reply
    ARM64 Build 2018 Build Session shows a bright future for WOA
    By thejoefin, 2 years ago
    8 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 2 years ago 8 Replies
    I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I’m going to return it
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    29 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Hardware
    thejoefin Microsoft Hardware 2 years ago 29 Replies
    Paul is going to hate this line of logic
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    18 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Mobile
    thejoefin Microsoft Mobile 3 years ago 18 Replies
    Ink Calendar | Plan and organize your calendar with your pen
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    5 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Windows
    thejoefin Microsoft Windows 3 years ago 5 Replies
    Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    12 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Music + Videos
    thejoefin Microsoft Music + Videos 3 years ago 12 Replies
    Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    36 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Paul
    thejoefin Microsoft Paul 3 years ago 36 Replies
    iPhone and Bluetooth Xbox Controller
    By thejoefin, 4 years ago
    3 Replies
    Forum: Apple
    Category: Mobile
    thejoefin Apple Mobile 3 years ago 3 Replies
    Microsoft should do with Mobile what Google did with productivity
    By thejoefin, 3 years ago
    10 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Mobile
    thejoefin Microsoft Mobile 3 years ago 10 Replies
    What is happening with OneNote?
    By thejoefin, 4 years ago
    21 Replies
    Forum: Microsoft
    Category: Office
    thejoefin Microsoft Office 4 years ago 21 Replies
    Syncing contacts between iOS and Live.com account
    By thejoefin, 4 years ago
    8 Replies
    Forum: Apple
    Category: Uncategorized
    thejoefin Apple Uncategorized 4 years ago 8 Replies

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:Maybe Raf can do some reverse engineering

    Posted 2 weeks ago on Microsoft is Adding a News Feed to Windows 10 For Some Reason – 76 Comments

    comment
    This is a very unexpected feature to see come to Windows, but I hope this means there is a new API for buildin

    Posted 2 weeks ago on Microsoft is Adding a News Feed to Windows 10 For Some Reason – 76 Comments

    Forum Post

    Why should Skype go away?

    As recently as Windows Weekly on the 16th with Chris Capossela, the question was posed about getting rid of Skype in favor of Teams. While this seems like the kind of thing a big tech company would do, does it really make practical sense?


    Would it confuse consumers looking for a personal messaging/calling app to look for an app called Teams? It makes sense to me for Skype to be dedicated to individual conversations with anyone on the Skype platform, while Teams is for longer term groups.


    Microsoft should align the Skype client and Teams client to be so similar that maintaining two apps is non-material. Personally it would make more sense for Microsoft to use Skype as a brand to compete more with Discord (consumer and freemium) and use Teams to compete with Slack/Zoom (business and organizations) but the two clients are the same tech but different branding.

    Posted 1 month ago on Why should Skype go away? – 29 Comments

    comment
    My x360 recently stopped charging so I opened it and actually found the burnt up part. I then consulted my ele

    Posted 1 month ago on First Ring Daily 957: Schrodinger’s Fluent – 5 Comments

    comment
    I don't need a new computer right now, so no pressure to buy an M1 Mac or a PC any time soon. The M1 is i

    Posted 2 months ago on Impact of the M1 chip on Windows and PCs – 156 Comments

    comment
    In reply to crp0908:Oh yep, when on the 7210 product page for 12" and click over to 14" then clicking back to

    Posted 2 months ago on No more Surface Pro copycat devices – 10 Comments

    comment
    In reply to crp0908:Missed that one, but sadly it is still 8th Gen Intel. I wonder if Dell is going to keep th

    Posted 2 months ago on No more Surface Pro copycat devices – 10 Comments

    Forum Post

    No more Surface Pro copycat devices

    I was looking at the Surface 2 and noticed it has an 8th Gen m3 processor. I was curious what generation the Surface Pro 7 had (10th) and what other PC makers had in their tablet form factors. That is when I discovered nearly all of the major PC makers don't feature any detachable 2-in-1 PCs on their websites. Lenovo was the only one who had a new PC form factor (the Windows10X Folding device).


    Is this because:

    • PC makers are unhappy with Microsoft's direct competition with Surface Laptop and Surface Laptop Go?
    • Intel 11th Gen is right around the corner and PC makers are going to launch new detachables with new CPUs?
    • The "Surface Pro" formfactor has not been a big enough market for PC makers to continue the product lines?
    • Windows 10 has been stale in the tablet formfactor since launch?
    • Something else?
    • All of the above?

    Posted 2 months ago on No more Surface Pro copycat devices – 10 Comments

    comment
    In reply to rmac:Yeah complex girds or media queries in CSS sounds terrible, that's why I prefer desktop

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to blue77star:Microsoft's support of .NET Frameworks is "as long as .NET Framework ships with Wi

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to rmac:Blazor on WebAssembly is not slow. The initial loading of the Mono runtime is slow, but that

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to rmac:.NET 5 supports WinForms, WPF, (and kinda UWP). During .NET CONF today they showed a huge ran

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to rmac:How is .NET 5 like Sliverlight? They are both from Microsoft? They both enable .NET in the br

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to blue77star:The .NET release schedule is LTS every other year. So .NET CORE 3.1 is the LTS version,

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Andre_Kittler:Developers can bundle .NET with their applications, the fact that they require you t

    Posted 2 months ago on Microsoft Ships .NET 5.0 – 19 Comments

    comment
    I agree that the iPhone 8 is the ideal phone right now. I went with the non-Plus version, and it is really bee

    Posted 2 months ago on In praise of the iPhone 8 Plus – 7 Comments

    comment
    Do you have any tidbits to add to the "Sun Valley" Windows 2021 UI updates? Any news on the Windows 10X previe

    Posted 2 months ago on Questions for 10 / 30? – 8 Comments

    comment
    Ironically this statement by Mozilla is more evidence against Google. Google's search monopoly disrupts a

    Posted 3 months ago on Mozilla Says It Will Be Victimized by U.S. Action Against Google – 38 Comments

    comment
    Not enticed to upgrade my iPhone 8. No fingerprint reader, no Apple Pencil support. Nothing about these new iP

    Posted 3 months ago on Apple Launches New iPhone 12 Pro Line With Upgraded Cameras, LiDAR Sensor – 26 Comments

    comment
    In reply to fpalmieri:Surface Go 2 Wi-Fi Core M3 8GB RAM, 128 Storage $630, Surface Pen $72 (sale), Type Cover

    Posted 3 months ago on Looking for best OneNote "Surface" for College Student – 18 Comments

    comment
    As a heavy OneNote user and Surface Go owner, I'd recommend an iPad. The basic 10" iPad starts at $329 an

    Posted 3 months ago on Looking for best OneNote "Surface" for College Student – 18 Comments

    Forum Post

    Outlook.com more top bar buttons

    Recently saw that “Meet Now” was added to the top bar, then today I saw the OneNote icon which opens a pane showing Sticky Notes. At the bottom is says “Where are my OneNote pages?” and the more says OneNote pages and Samsung Notes will soon join the Sticky Notes in the “feed” 🤷‍♂️

    https://imgur.com/bTeRdeu

    Posted 3 months ago on Outlook.com more top bar buttons – 2 Comments

    comment
    In reply to proftheory:It seems like they are trying to move toward ARM, but it takes time.

    Posted 3 months ago on Surface Pro X Refreshed With Microsoft’s New SQ2 Processor, Platinum Finish – 23 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RobotRaccoon:There is a USB-C connector

    Posted 3 months ago on Microsoft Launches New $549 Surface Laptop Go – 31 Comments

    comment
    Tasks are in Teams in more than one way. The original way was via Planner. If you go to a Channel and click th

    Posted 4 months ago on Teams Tasks are where? – 5 Comments

    comment
    When it rains it pours right? So did you get any new Windows10X leaks?

    Posted 4 months ago on Questions for 9 11 20? – 21 Comments

    comment
    I don't know if this is a planned post, but I'd be interested to see what the best value for an XClo

    Posted 5 months ago on Microsoft Shows Off Xbox Mobile Gaming Accessories – 4 Comments

    comment
    Happy birthday Brad!

    Posted 5 months ago on Happy Birthday, Brad! – 35 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:Sure, but Microsoft products seem to succeed because they are practical not principl

    Posted 6 months ago on Windows 10X Delayed to 2021, Loses Win32 Support – 136 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jimchamplin:They are all already done. The icons were showed off with a blog post on medium months

    Posted 6 months ago on Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175 – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:There are so many small and medium sized business with LOB apps written in .NET whic

    Posted 6 months ago on Windows 10X Delayed to 2021, Loses Win32 Support – 136 Comments

    comment
    Losing Win32 support is a major feature miss. However if 10X has something to offer... like performance and ba

    Posted 6 months ago on Windows 10X Delayed to 2021, Loses Win32 Support – 136 Comments

    comment
    Adding to the confusion, could this have to do with Skype changing tech platform from React Native to Electron

    Posted 6 months ago on Ads in Skype – 5 Comments

    comment
    It seems like the hurdle has so far been making input device better than mouse and keyboard. Tablets are good

    Posted 6 months ago on have tablets plateaued? – 11 Comments

    comment
    Looking through those photos highlights to me that Big Sur is not a big visual change. Most of the buttons rem

    Posted 6 months ago on A visual comparison of macOS Catalina and Big Sur – 2 Comments

    comment
    While I generally agree with the sentiment of this article, the "lipstick on a pig" phrase could be used to de

    Posted 6 months ago on About That New Start Menu (Premium) – 73 Comments

    comment
    Do you have any Windows 10X information? (public beta? is progress looking good?)As a Windows fan watching the

    Posted 7 months ago on [CLOSED] Ask Paul for this Friday, June 25 – 23 Comments

    comment
    In reply to IanYates82:Hotel aggregator sites is a bad analogy, there are only 2 mobile phone app stores, and

    Posted 7 months ago on Our CEO’s take on Apple’s App Store payment policies, and their impact on our relationship with our customers – 2 Comments

    comment
    In reply to christianwilson:The store needs 100% trust and publishing any .msi or .exe would be troublesome. M

    Posted 7 months ago on Does anyone actually use the Microsoft Store? – 84 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jtemplin:I am in the same boat. I made a little app for myself, then published it to the store. I

    Posted 7 months ago on Does anyone actually use the Microsoft Store? – 84 Comments

    comment
    Good read. I do wonder how much of this could be summarized by "the grass is always greener on the otherside.

    Posted 7 months ago on Programming Windows: We Fought the Web and the Web Won (Premium) – 61 Comments

    comment
    My guess would be an obsessive focus on growth. If subscriptions are not growing then managers and investors f

    Posted 9 months ago on Is Office failing? Re: Microsoft’s Rebranding. – 11 Comments

    comment
    In reply to fishnet37222:When you have music playing, press play/pause, and the Windows 8 media controls say h

    Posted 9 months ago on Windows 10’s Volume Flyout Might Finally Get a Much-Needed Makeover – 8 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jimem1:I'm trying to find out when this was announced, but all the Skype blogs are just redir

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Reminds the World That Skype Exists – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Vladimir:Yeah absolutely. Computers are more complex than mobile devices. Skype cannot understand

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Reminds the World That Skype Exists – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wright_is:Exactly! This isn't a problem when a phone or tablet because they are simpler and u

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Reminds the World That Skype Exists – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to red.radar:This comment is absolutely the struggle Microsoft is up against. I bet Skype on a Surfac

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Reminds the World That Skype Exists – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to craigsn:From what I understand it runs in the browser, no login required

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Reminds the World That Skype Exists – 42 Comments

    comment
    This is a good outcome and hopefully will make buying things in apps more natural and less clunky (like Audibl

    Posted 9 months ago on Apple Makes First Major Concession to In-App Vig – 31 Comments

    comment
    In reply to sabarrett:A few of these PowerToys are actually other open source projects rolled up into the Micr

    Posted 9 months ago on Microsoft Releases PowerToys 0.16, Details Future Roadmap – 14 Comments

    comment
    For the Word Wrap option, you can use the ToggleMenuFlyoutItemhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/Windows

    Posted 9 months ago on The UWP Files: First Steps (Premium) – 12 Comments

    comment
    I think 3D Builder is a basic tool for previewing and tweaking 3D models and makes tons of sense to be include

    Posted 10 months ago on Windows 3D Builder – 1 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wright_is:Internationalizing strings in WPF/UWP isn't too bad. You need to generate a resourc

    Posted 10 months ago on The WPF Notepad Project: About Box and Edit Menu (Premium) – 4 Comments

    comment
    In reply to lwetzel:I think it is a great video too. I want to get excited and look forward to the awesome, cl

    Posted 10 months ago on Microsoft Shows off Windows 10 UI Updates In Milestone Video – 22 Comments

    comment
    Videos like this actually drive me nuts, because Microsoft shows the cool concepts then they never come to lig

    Posted 10 months ago on Microsoft Shows off Windows 10 UI Updates In Milestone Video – 22 Comments

    comment
    If the iPad could run VSCode then it would be a game changer. Until then speed doesn't really matter if y

    Posted 10 months ago on Apple Unveils Upgraded iPad Pro With Trackpad Support – 40 Comments

    comment
    Killing build would fuel the "nobody cares about Windows" feedback loop. If Microsoft stops having Windows dev

    Posted 10 months ago on The Future of Build? (Premium) – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to slbailey1:Right click on them > More > Turn Live Tile Off

    Posted 10 months ago on Microsoft Exploring Tweaked Start Menu Design in Windows 10 – 34 Comments

    comment
    I don't fixate on the icon too much. The mail icon looks like an envelope... so works for me. I am surpri

    Posted 11 months ago on New Windows 10 icons – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to thismarty:Task Manager has a Vista/7 era icon.

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Previews New Windows 10 Icon Design – 60 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Dan1986ist:There is an insider ring which is "App updates and fixes" which gets previews of the bu

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Previews New Windows 10 Icon Design – 60 Comments

    comment
    In reply to dell5050:I was wondering the same thing, but I'd guess it is a rendering

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Previews New Windows 10 Icon Design – 60 Comments

    comment
    In reply to DocPaul:If you mostly work in Work and Excel on bigger screen device and use your phone to review

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft’s Unified Office App for Android Now Available to Everyone – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to roykirk:Having sticky notes in there is probably the closest thing

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft’s Unified Office App for Android Now Available to Everyone – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Vladimir:Because of XAML? What?

    Posted 11 months ago on What I Learned Porting .NETpad to … UWP? (Premium) – 54 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:For some reason I thought the new Mail and Calendar apps were React Native and the o

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Releases New Windows 10 Build, Previews New Calendar App – 20 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MartinusV2:The complexity here with styling controls using a resource dictionary is a trait of XAM

    Posted 11 months ago on What I Learned Porting .NETpad to … UWP? (Premium) – 54 Comments

    comment
    This article nails a major complaint I've had with XAML as I've been learning it. I am not a profess

    Posted 11 months ago on What I Learned Porting .NETpad to … UWP? (Premium) – 54 Comments

    comment
    This is great! I love that Microsoft is still working on new ideas and new way to innovate on productivity. Ma

    Posted 11 months ago on Outlook’s New Spaces Feature Revealed, Lets You Organize Your Projects Better – 25 Comments

    comment
    The real question would be if it runs faster than Windows 10, then I'd give it a shot!

    Posted 11 months ago on Windows 10X can run on a Surface Go – 3 Comments

    comment
    Any feeling of how open Microsoft is going to be with Windows CoreOS? Will there be a general purpose insider

    Posted 11 months ago on Questions for 2/14? – 20 Comments

    comment
    Windows updates are so confusing. I'm running 1909; of the features listed below I can see:Notification i

    Posted 11 months ago on What’s New in Windows 10 Version 2004 – 33 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Simard57:Nah, OnePlus isn't going anywhere, they are owned by BBK Electronics which also has

    Posted 11 months ago on What mobile phone should die next? – 30 Comments

    comment
    As the maker of a pen first calendar app for Windows 10 (Ink Calendar), I'm glad to see Microsoft is rebu

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Releases New Windows 10 Build, Previews New Calendar App – 20 Comments

    comment
    In reply to gregsedwards:I think this is basically Outlook.com but the UI is built in React Native

    Posted 11 months ago on Microsoft Releases New Windows 10 Build, Previews New Calendar App – 20 Comments

    comment
    With the reorg of Windows under Panos have you heard anything from Windows team members? Do they view this as

    Posted 11 months ago on Questions for 2/7? – 15 Comments

    comment
    In reply to fishnet37222:Surely they will leave those alone, although I could see them getting a satire tag

    Posted 11 months ago on Twitter Will Start Banning Deceptive, Fake Media – 23 Comments

    comment
    Hopefully this is a baby step toward Apple bringing all of their services cross platform... including iMessage

    Posted 11 months ago on Apple Updates iCloud.com With Improved Mobile Support – 5 Comments

    comment
    I'm surprised it is that low!

    Posted 1 year ago on German Government Paying Microsoft Nearly $900,000 for Extended Windows 7 Support – 8 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Bats:This comment is so true that techie people (like myself) have a hard time accepting it. As lo

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft’s OS Nightmare. – 55 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RobertJasiek:You don't have time to file bugs with the team so it can be fixed, but you have

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Vitor_Canova_Weingaertner:Windows isn't one giant team working on one codebase one bug at a t

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Robert_Wood:nah, TI calculators are popular because they are the standardized testing standard, no

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RobertJasiek:Have you filed bug reports on the Calculator GitHub repo?

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build – 28 Comments

    comment
    From what I can tell on Windows Calculator repository on GitHub, the graphing feature will eventually be rolli

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:Windows usually doesn't bother me. Usually it is an issue where I go to play a game a

    Posted 1 year ago on Things I’d love to see in Windows 10 – 39 Comments

    comment
    One thing I keep thinking about which I would love to have added to Windows would be a button for "I'm do

    Posted 1 year ago on Things I’d love to see in Windows 10 – 39 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:There are many applications in Windows which are not used by 99% of Windows users and thos

    Posted 1 year ago on Things I’d love to see in Windows 10 – 39 Comments

    comment
    In reply to lwetzel:I think the File Explorer is pretty good as is, however it is a core app of Windows and do

    Posted 1 year ago on Things I’d love to see in Windows 10 – 39 Comments

    comment
    Love this time of year at Thurrott, thanks for putting this on and jumping through all of the hoops!

    Posted 1 year ago on [CLOSED] Microsoft’s Windows Weekly Giveaway: Surface Pro X, Pro 7, and Laptop 3 – 2573 Comments

    comment
    I just made this choice personally and I went for the Surface Laptop 3, a big reason was the 3:2 screen ratio

    Posted 1 year ago on Surface Laptop 3 (13.5 in) vs New Dell XPS 13 (7390) – 11 Comments

    comment
    Is Microsoft moving their top Windows feature requests into Power Toys?It seems like they are using the Power

    Posted 1 year ago on Questions for 12/20 – 11 Comments

    comment
    Reading this as a young millennial my initial thought is, "Okay, so how do I know what I'm good at? And w

    Posted 1 year ago on Today’s Premium newsletter (December 16) – 19 Comments

    comment
    When in Visual Studio, Excel, SolidWorks, etc. all of these applications have some toolbars on the top. In add

    Posted 1 year ago on 16:9 vs 3:2 – 24 Comments

    comment
    The Photos app is a wreck. At work we take high speed video and the easiest way to trim, crop, and skew the vi

    Posted 1 year ago on Why is the MS Photos app soooooo bad? – 31 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Pungkuss:SharePoint is a corporate intranet product and Teams is a chat application. They are not

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Teams Has Over 20 Million Daily Active Users – 23 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Nonmoi:So far the details are sparse. I bet they did it because people kept using 2016 and Microso

    Posted 1 year ago on Ask Paul: November 8 (Premium) – 14 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MartinusV2:I thought the point of the picture was because OneNote 2016 is coming back from the dea

    Posted 1 year ago on Ask Paul: November 8 (Premium) – 14 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Nonmoi:Microsoft announced the desktop 2016 version of OneNote is going to be developed and suppor

    Posted 1 year ago on Ask Paul: November 8 (Premium) – 14 Comments

    comment
    On the OneNote thing, I watched the video of the OneNote session and basically his report was that they are me

    Posted 1 year ago on The Sams Report: Cortana’s Last Ignite – 5 Comments

    comment
    In reply to briantlewis:Software can be upgraded but hardware cannot, so it obviously matters that this device

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft’s Surface Pro X Is the Most Repairable Surface Ever – 7 Comments

    comment
    In reply to briantlewis:if the iPhone could run the programs I need then that score would be relevant. Windows

    Posted 1 year ago on A Surface Pro X Benchmark – 11 Comments

    comment
    I still want the ability to have custom unified inboxes. One for personal accounts and one for work accounts.

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Announces Major Updates for Outlook on Apple’s platforms – 12 Comments

    comment
    Apple Pay uses existing card, does Apple Pay cash actually have more transactions than PayPal? That would be a

    Posted 1 year ago on Apple Pay Apparently Growing 4x As Fast As PayPal – 20 Comments

    comment
    Throw back to Homestar Runner!!!

    Posted 1 year ago on Google Will No Longer Index Flash-Based Websites – 13 Comments

    comment
    Seeing this documentation leak was exciting! I love seeing how these decision get made and discussed. Windows

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10X Details Leak, Confirm Laptop Support – 40 Comments

    comment
    Yeah they are confusing and I would guess people will be getting them confused for years after they get releas

    Posted 1 year ago on "Neo" and "Duo" are confusing names – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn:the Neo is the Windows 10X device, the Duo is the Android Phone, right?

    Posted 1 year ago on "Neo" and "Duo" are confusing names – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Hypnotoad:"confused cautious conversations"I don't think Google is concerned. I just think we

    Posted 1 year ago on was Microsft naive to adopt android for the surface Duo – 50 Comments

    comment
    In reply to bigbux:Blazor is just the web HTML front end of .NET. The future will be common logic core with a

    Posted 1 year ago on was Microsft naive to adopt android for the surface Duo – 50 Comments

    comment
    It is a strange new world we live in. As a UWP dev I can say today's announcement made me excited about h

    Posted 1 year ago on was Microsft naive to adopt android for the surface Duo – 50 Comments

    comment
    I don't like the look of that new Ergonomic keyboard, I was hoping for an update to the Sculpt keyboard.

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Event Photo Gallery #2 – 31 Comments

    Forum Post

    Microsoft announces Windows 10 will ...

    If you had one "headline wish" which would come true what would it be for Windows 10?


    Mine would be: "Microsoft announces Windows 10 will be receiving a native iMessage app"

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft announces Windows 10 will … – 46 Comments

    comment
    I'm in the market for a new dev laptop and I'm happy to see 10th gen devices come out.

    Posted 1 year ago on HP Revises Spectre x360 13 with 10th-Gen Core Processors – 14 Comments

    comment
    In this episode you talked a little about Blazor. I'm no expert but here is what I understand to be the c

    Posted 1 year ago on A Billion Pages – Windows Weekly 640 – 2 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Bob Nelson:There have been doom and gloom predictions since the dawn of time. That doesn't me

    Posted 1 year ago on Why are people not buying electric cars – 161 Comments

    comment
    In reply to illuminated:You can open files with UWP; you can save files with UWP.Opening files is not a pain;

    Posted 1 year ago on The next generation of Windows Apps theory – 45 Comments

    comment
    In reply to illuminated:UWP provides APIs to access user data from the signed in Windows 10 account stuff like

    Posted 1 year ago on The next generation of Windows Apps theory – 45 Comments

    comment
    In reply to longhorn:UWP is a brand name to make it easy when discussing a specific type of application. Micro

    Posted 1 year ago on The next generation of Windows Apps theory – 45 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Usman:What kind of API mixing and matching do you see happening? Will anything get pulled in from

    Posted 1 year ago on The next generation of Windows Apps theory – 45 Comments

    Forum Post

    The next generation of Windows Apps theory

    With all of the changes to Microsoft's developer story it is hard to tell where they will land and how it will affect different developers. But for an educated guess here is my theory on the next generation of apps for Windows.


    Windows Core Apps

    • Running on .Net Core 3, eventually .Net 5
    • XAML UI with first party controls built in WinUI
    • Targets Windows 10, Lite OS, HoloLens, Xbox, IoT, and Xamarin
    • Similar APIs to UWP, limitations on background running, runs in sandbox, suspend/resume, etc.
    • More Windows APIs like the running in System tray, create and manage windows and panes etc.
    • New APIs to manage 2 screens, rotating screens, machine learning magic
    • Packaged to MSIX
    • Optional distribution through the Microsoft Store


    Migration Paths

    • UWP apps are probably more strict than Windows Core Apps will be so they can be migrated with some package manifest changes.
    • WPF apps would need to target .Net Core instead of .Net Framework, also if they are making use of now restricted APIs they will have to swap over to new APIs if possible. then package to MSIX
    • WinForms apps probably similar to WPF, target .Net Core, ensure no restricted APIs are used, and package to MSIX


    That's my theory. I think most of it is pretty obvious, I'm curious what everyone else will think is the next step for Windows Developers, and what they want in the next generation of Windows apps.

    Posted 1 year ago on The next generation of Windows Apps theory – 45 Comments

    comment
    Any idea why Microsoft is being so secretive with Lite OS? Is it still undergoing major changes? Waiting on th

    Posted 1 year ago on Questions for 8 30 19? – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jules_Wombat:The fact that Microsoft is focusing its attention to the cloud could also be a reason

    Posted 1 year ago on Why I basically stopped being a Windows Insider – 11 Comments

    Forum Post

    Why I basically stopped being a Windows Insider

    When Microsoft announced the Windows Insider program I was super excited. I enjoy playing with beta software and giving feedback on what I think works and what needs more work. I use Windows all day at work and at home. At the time the Insider program launched I was a Windows Phone users and excited to see how Microsoft would improve their mobile platform and how they might build cross device experiences between Windows and Windows Phone.


    Obviously today Windows Phone is gone and now Microsoft has hitched their wagon to Android. This strategy makes sense, but I use an iPhone so I've been watching the desktop and phone synergy from the sidelines. Now a big reason why I'd get and Android phone would be due to all of the Windows 10 integrations.


    Even with activity around Your Phone it feels like the Windows Insider program is a shell of its former self. No major features, no serious redesigns, A/B testing everywhere, and most of the features which fill the blog posts these days are incredibly minor. For example: Optional Feature list Multi-select, Zooming on Snip & Sketch, Toast Notification icon on the toast, etc. These little improvements are important for users of Windows, but this isn't my idea of the Windows Insider program.


    Perhaps this is a transitional period for Windows. With leadership changing and shifting, new Edge being developed, a refocus on productivity and stability. I hope Microsoft keeps trying to improve how millions of people everyday use Windows for work and play. And if the Windows team gets the green light to build bigger features, maybe the insider program will become interesting again.


    But for now there isn't enough in the Windows Insider program keeping me interested to wade through all of the confusion and minutiae.


    Does anyone else feel the same? Will the excitement every return or is it a slow march toward the sunset?

    Posted 1 year ago on Why I basically stopped being a Windows Insider – 11 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:They seem pretty similar. Google obviously doesn't have any of the Microsoft do

    Posted 1 year ago on What happens the first time you start up Chredge – 10 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:The same guy does a similar thing for other browsers

    Posted 1 year ago on What happens the first time you start up Chredge – 10 Comments

    comment
    1.) Sure podcasts are popular and it makes sense to bring people using Bing to find podcasts the podcast quick

    Posted 1 year ago on Ideas and Features that should be implemented into some of Microsoft’s services – 7 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:They are building a graphing function. look at the GitHub repo: https://github.com/Microso

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows Calculator Getting New Mini and Always-On-Top Modes – 9 Comments

    comment
    I would like to win a Huawei MateBook 13. 

    Posted 1 year ago on [CLOSED] Win a Huawei MateBook 13! – 769 Comments

    comment
    This looks like an Xbox version of the Nintendo Switch JoyCon, but with a bigger grip so I could play for long

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Just Patented Potential Mobile Xbox Controllers for xCloud – 10 Comments

    comment
    This could be an issue with apps using old versions of Electron. VS Code is currently on Electron 4 which is 2

    Posted 1 year ago on Only Microsoft… – 13 Comments

    comment
    I am also having issues updating my custom PC to 1903. Unfortunately the dialog boxes and popups are not helpf

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10 Upgrade – 13 Comments

    comment
    More accurate title: "Xbox’s Backward Compatibility Stops Adding New Titles"

    Posted 1 year ago on Xbox’s Backward Compatibility Comes to an End – 24 Comments

    comment
    This controller looks awesome! I'd love to have a high quality controller for laid back PC gaming and wit

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Finally Announces Next-Gen Xbox Elite Controller – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Hifihedgehog:iOS is first and foremost a mobile OS which means it needs to be touch first. Again y

    Posted 1 year ago on Hands-On with iOS 13 Beta – 36 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ghostrider:I see people make this general argument all the time, but I do not understand what spec

    Posted 1 year ago on Hands-On with iOS 13 Beta – 36 Comments

    comment
    This change is happening to the Extension Platform in Chrome. Microsoft's new Edge already has some uniqu

    Posted 1 year ago on Google proceeding with adblocker-crippling V3 changes unless you pay – 27 Comments

    comment
    I like the idea, but with the Trackpad pushing the keyboard to the left I can't see myself considering th

    Posted 1 year ago on Asus Put Two Large Displays in One Laptop – 8 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ShadeTC:This is super interesting! It seems this would prove that Google (at least the YouTube Tea

    Posted 1 year ago on Google Now Forces Microsoft Edge Preview Users to Use Chrome for the Modern YouTube Experience – 49 Comments

    comment
    Google has explained this before. Teams at Google use a whitelist of supported browsers. Since the new Edge ha

    Posted 1 year ago on Google Now Forces Microsoft Edge Preview Users to Use Chrome for the Modern YouTube Experience – 49 Comments

    comment
    The inconsistency is painful coming from Microsoft's apps. The apps which really stand out are the single

    Posted 1 year ago on Redmond, We Have a Consistency Problem (Premium) – 33 Comments

    Forum Post

    19H1 Release Preview fails to install... but keeps trying

    My custom built desktop PC is on the Release Preview ring and it has seen the 19H1 build which is was recently pushed to that ring. It tries to install but fails when it does some compatibly check. Sadly this process further highlights the Windows team's knack for building software which confuses and frustrates users.


    Here is the process:

    1. Open Settings app and check for updates
    2. Update found 19H1, begins downloading
    3. Downloading compete, begins installing
    4. "Install unable to compete" so I click the button which says "Fix Issues"
    5. A traditional desktop window pops up and tries to install the update
    6. That window fails and says there are compatibility issues


    At this point there is no clear path forward do I click "refresh" on this new window? There are no indications of what is causing the error, is it the webcam or my mouse or my video card? No clues.


    So then I click X to close the window but a message pops up saying "updates have not been installed are you sure you want to exit the installer?" Now what the heck?? No, I'm not sure I want to close the installer. I want to install the updates but apparently they won't install... so what am I supposed to do leave this window up until Microsoft fixes the mysterious compatibility error?? To add to the stupidity of this situation Windows Update apparently has no way of registering that there is an error with this update and will try to install it over and over and over with the same error.


    This is the kind of half-ass software development Microsoft is famous for which normal people bump up against and end up with a bad taste in their mouth.

    Posted 1 year ago on 19H1 Release Preview fails to install… but keeps trying – 0 Comments

    comment
    The big phone companies are rolling out a system to identify callers and trace the origin of calls. It is call

    Posted 1 year ago on Just lost my temper with a tech support scam caller – 40 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn:the problem is they use number spoofers so a police report would probably be useless. Wit

    Posted 1 year ago on Just lost my temper with a tech support scam caller – 40 Comments

    comment
    In reply to simont:when they ask for my card info I say, "yeah one sec I need to go get my card from upstairs.

    Posted 1 year ago on Just lost my temper with a tech support scam caller – 40 Comments

    comment
    I used to work in the induction industry and this all makes sense. We were designing industrial inductors, and

    Posted 1 year ago on AirPower Was Likely Doomed by Electromagnetic Interference – 20 Comments

    comment
    2 questions:1.) VS Code is an electron app, is Microsoft thinking about bringing a VS code editing experience

    Posted 1 year ago on Questions for 3/29? – 25 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wright_is:iOS only saw the Outlook icon update as well. I've also not gotten the new icons on

    Posted 1 year ago on New Icons on Android – 12 Comments

    comment
    Sweet. Apparently this was Apple hardware week.

    Posted 1 year ago on Apple Announces AirPods 2 with Wireless Charging Optional – 12 Comments

    comment
    It has been interesting watching the issues list on the Windows Calculator Github repo. There are some trolls

    Posted 1 year ago on Questions for 3 15? Drop them here – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ghostrider:These services are mostly web-first and frequently web-only. Windows 10 does not get pe

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn:So you think Microsoft ToDo, Planner, Outlook.com, etc are just incubation projects?

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wright_is:I am aware Microsoft is making many minor tweaks and improvements to these services, but

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Minke:I'm sure Microsoft is continually updating their web products with stability and bug fi

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services – 16 Comments

    Forum Post

    Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services

    Microsoft is a strange company. It blows my mind how much work they put into Windows for their two major feature releases a year. Also bug fixes every month (if not every week). Even though most Windows users don't seem to be asking for updates and would prefer a slower update schedule Microsoft insists on marching onward with their two updates a year.


    Yet on the other end of the product development continuum is the lightweight, always fresh cloud services. Products like Microsoft ToDo, Planner, Skype, OneNote, Outlook.com, OneDrive, etc. all seem to get a major update every five years or so. It is crazy to me how slowly Microsoft updates their new products. For example Planner has been pretty basic for a long time; Microsoft ToDo is still not as capable as Wunderlist; OneDrive online UI still uses the old app switcher and hasn't added user requested features for years (i.e. more storage).


    Am I missing something or does Microsoft update their old legacy products so much it is a problem while at the same time ignores user requests for updates/features on their new products? I feel like I am taking crazy pills!

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft updates Windows more than its online services – 16 Comments

    comment
    Finally this did install on my laptop! Passed the 48% mark! I believe this was the fix: We fixed an issue in m

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18353 Heads Out to the Fast Ring – 7 Comments

    comment
    Do you think the Windows reorganization under Azure people will make it easier or harder for Microsoft to attr

    Posted 1 year ago on Questions for 3/8? Drop them here – 13 Comments

    comment
    Still fails to install. Freezes at 48%. Maybe I'll try the ISOs or just wait for GA

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Finally Releases a Windows 10 19H1 Build to the Slow Ring – 7 Comments

    comment
    This fast ring build still fails to install on my laptop. Freezes at 48%

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Releases Two New Windows 10 Insider Builds – 4 Comments

    comment
    Paul, you mention how you "Can't help obsessing over what's being lost as well" but you don't r

    Posted 1 year ago on Use the Inner Source, Luke (Premium) – 27 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Dan1986ist:It is during the final install phase (solid color screen, spinning dots, and "Configuri

    Posted 1 year ago on Can’t Get Latest Insider Build – 6 Comments

    comment
    Even if you can see the fast ring it might not install. I've been having issues with the install freezing

    Posted 1 year ago on Can’t Get Latest Insider Build – 6 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Darekmeridian:Microsoft said Trident and EdgeHTML will remain in Windows 10 for Native app compati

    Posted 1 year ago on Microsoft Releases a Windows 10 Build from its 2020 Branch – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to simont:Have they released recent ISOs?

    Posted 1 year ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    comment
    18334 still does not update

    Posted 1 year ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    comment
    In reply to TheJoeFin:this build still does not update on my HP x360

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18334 Arrives with Gaming Improvements – 8 Comments

    comment
    We'll see if this build gets past 48%

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18334 Arrives with Gaming Improvements – 8 Comments

    comment
    Ooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah!

    Posted 1 year ago on OneNote Is Getting a Native Dark Mode – 19 Comments

    Forum Post

    The Ambient Device Business Model

    Paul has mentioned a couple of times on podcasts how with each new tech 'revolution' the boom and bust seems to happen bigger and faster, and I would venture to guess this new ambient computing revolution will follow that trend.


    What made me think of this was the dip in iPhone sales for many reasons, but one of them being consumers are holding on to their devices for longer. This is the same problem the PC industry has encountered where the computers they make are so good most people don't need to replace them.


    With Amazon Echos, Google Homes, HomePods, and Invokes there may never be a good reason for most people to upgrade them. Since they are so simple, there is very little which can be improved from a hardware side. More accurate microphones and better sounding speakers are about the only consumer facing improvements which could be touted.


    So if these ambient devices are:

    • Not going to be replaced every few years
    • Not require a monthly subscription
    • Don't currently push ads


    Where will companies find the justification for keeping these devices supported? I would guess since Amazon might sell some things via their Echos they are the only company with some sort of related revenue stream. I personally would be super unhappy about Google pushing ads through my Google Home.


    What do you think will be the long term life of these devices? Will Google and Amazon press Spotify and Apple for some portion of the streaming revenue? Will ads become a more major source of funding? Will the smarts be turned off and all of the speakers turn into Alexa and Google Home branded Wi-Fi speakers?

    Posted 1 year ago on The Ambient Device Business Model – 4 Comments

    comment
    In reply to CrownSeven:To me the biggest selling point is the cross device consistency. One app on desktop, la

    Posted 1 year ago on Popular Email Client Newton Mail Makes a Comeback Following Essential Acquisition – 15 Comments

    comment
    I love how Newton Mail has better OneNote integration than Outlook.com

    Posted 1 year ago on Popular Email Client Newton Mail Makes a Comeback Following Essential Acquisition – 15 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MacLiam:It freezes during the actual install process. The entire screen is blue and it says "Worki

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10’s Latest Build Brings Win32 App Support to Windows Mixed Reality – 15 Comments

    comment
    18329 STILL does not install.

    Posted 1 year ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    comment
    This build still fails to install at 48%.

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows 10’s Latest Build Brings Win32 App Support to Windows Mixed Reality – 15 Comments

    comment
    It doesn't work for me on my HP x360

    Posted 1 year ago on Windows Insider Builds don’t configure updates? – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to maethorechannen:Sure. And if the Chinese/Russian/Iranian news guard published a list of criteria t

    Posted 2 years ago on Hands-On with Microsoft Edge’s Fake News Warning – 96 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Darekmeridian:I have no 3rd party AV/Malware installed. I never have on this device

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Ships Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18323 to Fast Ring – 12 Comments

    comment
    Well... 18323 Still does not update... freezes at 48%. Very disappointing.

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Ships Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18323 to Fast Ring – 12 Comments

    comment
    18323 Still does not update on Jan. 24th 2019... freezes at 48%. Very disappointing.

    Posted 2 years ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    comment
    In your opinion is Microsoft spread too thin? They have so many products in so many different directions which

    Posted 2 years ago on Questions for 1 25 19 Podcast? – 15 Comments

    comment
    In reply to markbyrn:If you read the list of criteria that News Guard has for reputable websites, it isn'

    Posted 2 years ago on Hands-On with Microsoft Edge’s Fake News Warning – 96 Comments

    comment
    Short answer: People should choose the tool which best meets their needs. Microsoft To-Do is a consumer &

    Posted 2 years ago on MS To-do list, consumer failure and trust – 13 Comments

    comment
    Whoa that is a big flaw. Is it possible it was a Man-In-The-Middle attack?

    Posted 2 years ago on MSN showing malware ads – 12 Comments

    comment
    The latest build 18317 still does not update from 1809. It does say in the build notes: "We fixed an issue whe

    Posted 2 years ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    Forum Post

    Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring

    I am a cautious tester of the Insider Builds. Since it has been a steady stream of primarily bug fix builds, I thought I'd try out the latest fast ring build.

    Unfortunately for me Windows had other plans. I cannot install the latest build. The install process freezes at 48% and does not complete. I hold down the power button on my HP laptop and reboot and Windows repairs and works fine again.


    This has happened with the latest build (18312) and the previous build (18309). I'm worried that Microsoft is in store for another botched update roll-out.


    I did find this support post, which did not help in any way.

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/all/windows-10-19h1-insider-preview-build-18298/659ee81d-49f5-48a9-9c1a-81c64b178934


    Has anyone else seen update problems with the Insider builds? Any suggestions for how to fix this issue?

    Posted 2 years ago on Unable to upgrade to latest 19H1 Fast Ring – 27 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Usman:That is a good catch! I never noticed that. You're right that it is never finished, but

    Posted 2 years ago on An Outlook.com PWA could not replace the Windows Mail app – 11 Comments

    Forum Post

    An Outlook.com PWA could not replace the Windows Mail app

    As Outlook.com stands today it could not be packaged as a PWA and replace the Windows Mail app. Outlook.com is an email service, but the mail app is an email client. There is no way to connect multiple email accounts through Outlook.com similar to how it is done in Windows Mail.


    Microsoft could obviously update Outlook.com to become a mail client which works to display and manage any email service, but right now that is not how the web app works.


    Am I missing something here? What do you think, should Microsoft convert Outlook.com into a universal web based email client?

    Posted 2 years ago on An Outlook.com PWA could not replace the Windows Mail app – 11 Comments

    comment
    Surface GoSurface HeadphonesUgly Windows sweater (Large)

    Posted 2 years ago on [CLOSED] Microsoft’s Windows Weekly Giveaways, Part 3: Surface Hardware – 2088 Comments

    comment
    Office 365 or Xbox Game Pass

    Posted 2 years ago on First Ring Daily Live: The Giveaway [GIVEAWAY CLOSED] – 663 Comments

    comment
    In reply to christian.hvid:VSCode updates are done automatically and in the background. Even if it was updated

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft executive boasts that even Google employees are adopting one of its products – 8 Comments

    comment
    As Paul mentioned this is in 1809, but as of today it is not in SwiftKey (iOS). And no word from Microsoft on

    Posted 2 years ago on When is Cloud Clipboard Coming? – 4 Comments

    comment
    It says it has a Core m3 7Y30 processor. That isn't the Surface Pro 6 process or is it? Is that a mistake

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft – Surface Pro 6 – 12.3" – 128GB – With Keyboard $599 – 8 Comments

    comment
    the 2018 MacBook Pro Multi-core score should be: 16464,

    Posted 2 years ago on Our First Peek at New MacBook Air Performance Isn’t Pretty – 38 Comments

    comment
    Looks cool... but isn't available for Firefox, yet

    Posted 2 years ago on Skype Comes to the Web in Preview Form – 4 Comments

    comment
    no TouchBar??? COMPLETLY UNUSABLE! /s

    Posted 2 years ago on Apple Finally Launches the MacBook Air Upgrade You Have Been Waiting For – 24 Comments

    comment
    Going the other way, are you aware of the updated "Attached File" drop down in Outlook grabs your recent files

    Posted 2 years ago on Today I Learned – 8 Comments

    comment
    As far as I'm aware there is no way to animate in Paint 3D

    Posted 2 years ago on Paint 3D: First time user. Can I make a 3D biped walk? – 3 Comments

    comment
    Both are already out of stock in the US

    Posted 2 years ago on Harman Kardon Invoke $50 at Microsoft Store online – 10 Comments

    comment
    In reply to thespecificocean:Microsoft had this on their PWA via Edge roadmap for 1809, but it never happened.

    Posted 2 years ago on Google Chrome Now Lets You Install PWAs As Regular Apps on Windows 10 – 53 Comments

    comment
    I am still not a fan of using websites for my work. Google Docs has always been fine, but it does not have any

    Posted 2 years ago on Grammarly on Google Docs – 1 Comments

    comment
    Build 2018 had lots of announcements surrounding app development on Windows 10 to make UX easier and better li

    Posted 2 years ago on Questions for 9/6 – 13 Comments

    Forum Post

    Redstone 5 Big Feature(s)

    I have been running regular Windows 10 for a while, but I recently jumped into the fast ring last week and was very disappointed.


    New Features in RS5:

    • Cloud Clipboard


    Improvements/tweaks

    • More fluent around the shell
    • Edge menus redesigned, added jumplist support
    • Dark mode for Windows Explorer



    Am I crazy or does RS5 look more like RS4.1 than a full new feature release.


    Also I see so many issues with this build, slow performance, buggy UI, still very inconsistent design language. All the first party apps are still under-powered and under-featured and lacking support for core OS features like Timeline.


    Has anyone else been disappointed with this version of Windows?

    Posted 2 years ago on Redstone 5 Big Feature(s) – 1 Comments

    comment
    I am seeing the tagging support in the iOS beta app too.Also this is so sad to see how poorly To-Do still lags

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft To-Do Gets Tagging Support – 6 Comments

    comment
    Many people don't like programs running in the background. Also it sounds like this is a great opportunit

    Posted 2 years ago on Why can’t Edge download files when it’s closed? – 7 Comments

    comment
    Microsoft has to protect themselves as a the host of content and ensure it obeys the law. I wonder if they got

    Posted 2 years ago on Azure & Gab – 5 Comments

    comment
    This is interesting and not how I'd integrate inking into a email client. I see people at my company prin

    Posted 2 years ago on Mail for Windows 10 Picks Up Ink Support – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to gregsedwards:it is not Thunderbolt3, is that a deal breaker for eGPU?

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Engineer Dives Deep Into Surface Go’s Design – 15 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:Exactly. I would think Microsoft knows they need a device which can convince some people

    Posted 2 years ago on why I believe Andromeda is important and needed – 52 Comments

    comment
    In reply to maethorechannen:well eventually it would be great to be in every country, but you have to start so

    Posted 2 years ago on why I believe Andromeda is important and needed – 52 Comments

    comment
    Microsoft does not need Andromeda the device; Microsoft needs Andromeda the OS. The problem with Windows on sm

    Posted 2 years ago on why I believe Andromeda is important and needed – 52 Comments

    comment
    In reply to will:The Outlook brand is strange because these apps are clearly not branded like Outlook 2016 or

    Posted 2 years ago on Windows 10’s Mail App Tests New Inking Features – 9 Comments

    comment
    As the developer of Ink Calendar I'm nervous to see if/how Microsoft adds inking to the built-in calendar

    Posted 2 years ago on Windows 10’s Mail App Tests New Inking Features – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to SherlockHolmes:Microsoft needs to get their UWP Office apps standardized. It is so strange how the

    Posted 2 years ago on Windows 10’s Mail App Tests New Inking Features – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to PeterC:I have dreamed of having a mobile device which I could connect to a Tower and use that for

    Posted 2 years ago on New Surface Studio’s soon? – 7 Comments

    comment
    If this whole thing is new to you then there will be a learning curve. I'd suggest starting with a single

    Posted 2 years ago on XBox Adaptive Controller – 1 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:TypeScript is JavaScript.Office Online is surely being rewritten in TypeScript becau

    Posted 2 years ago on All of Office 365 being rewritten in React Native and Javascript? – 16 Comments

    comment
    TypeScript is Microsoft's tool for making JavaScript strongly typed. It transpiles to JavaScript. React i

    Posted 2 years ago on About That Office 365 and JavaScript Thing – 29 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jimchamplin:As computers become more powerful people demand more from them. My work PC frequently

    Posted 2 years ago on All of Office 365 being rewritten in React Native and Javascript? – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jimchamplin:What is your point? Because new CPUs are faster performance doesn't matter?

    Posted 2 years ago on All of Office 365 being rewritten in React Native and Javascript? – 16 Comments

    comment
    Very interesting stuff. However I wonder what Sean Larkin means by "All of Office 365" does he mean all of the

    Posted 2 years ago on All of Office 365 being rewritten in React Native and Javascript? – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to DrPRW:Unifying their applications across platforms. Currently the number of different Office ribbo

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft is Redesigning the Office User Interface – 68 Comments

    comment
    My first reaction was, NOOO!! Then I thought about how I use the Office ribbon and realized I click maybe 5% o

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft is Redesigning the Office User Interface – 68 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:In the 850 teaser video they show the device receiving a Skype call with the lid clo

    Posted 2 years ago on Always Connected PC – 9 Comments

    comment
    From what I understand the difference would be an Always-Connected-PC can receive notifications/calls etc. eve

    Posted 2 years ago on Always Connected PC – 9 Comments

    comment
    The Windows Community Toolkit has been nice to get up and running fast. Also implementing standard design patt

    Posted 2 years ago on Announcing Windows Community Toolkit v3.0 – 4 Comments

    comment
    I've never seen or heard of anything like this. Are you sure it was from Microsoft? Do you have any scree

    Posted 2 years ago on Ads in OneDrive Web Application? – 2 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Chris_Kez:I would love a 6" foldable pen device from Apple which can run all iOS apps. I'd pr

    Posted 2 years ago on OneNote as the backbone of a Surface Mobile Device – 10 Comments

    comment
    My first reaction to the idea of a OneNote heavy mini tablet is, "Sweet! Yes that sounds awesome!" Then I star

    Posted 2 years ago on OneNote as the backbone of a Surface Mobile Device – 10 Comments

    comment
    This video might be interesting to you, it is all about modern app packaging from Build 2018.https://youtu.be/

    Posted 2 years ago on I wrote an app, to make using Microsoft’s converter tool easier – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jimchamplin:I don't like the look of it, but it does serve 2 purposes.1.) Privacy 2.) Thinner

    Posted 2 years ago on Huawei MateBook X Pro First Impressions – 54 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Dan1986ist:I don't know if Microsoft has published a list of requirements, but if your applic

    Posted 2 years ago on Hands-On with Redstone 5: Sets – 56 Comments

    comment
    I love the idea behind sets. I'm excited to see Microsoft slowly tweak and improve the UX and add feature

    Posted 2 years ago on Hands-On with Redstone 5: Sets – 56 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:not any UWP can get system wide file access, there is a special approval process for apps

    Posted 2 years ago on I had a crack at dark mode for File Explorer – 20 Comments

    comment
    this is where I've been getting the sessions I wanted to see:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMica-v34I

    Posted 2 years ago on Anyone know where to see the Build 2018 Sessions – 4 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:? It's never too late, it's never too late, it's never too late for n

    Posted 2 years ago on I had a crack at dark mode for File Explorer – 20 Comments

    comment
    In reply to illuminated:Microsoft enabled full system wide file access for UWPs (they need to get a special bl

    Posted 2 years ago on I had a crack at dark mode for File Explorer – 20 Comments

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    In reply to paul-thurrott:There were a lot of sessions at Build highlighting new features coming to UWP and fr

    Posted 2 years ago on I had a crack at dark mode for File Explorer – 20 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Dan1986ist:You can change the theme of word to be dark in Word today, under options -> General

    Posted 2 years ago on ARM64 Build 2018 Build Session shows a bright future for WOA – 8 Comments

    Forum Post

    ARM64 Build 2018 Build Session shows a bright future for WOA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdYIaUeZnqc

    This is the session on the Windows 10 on ARM and it is pretty crazy how apps can be recomplied with VS17.8 preview and be ran on ARM. There is a demo where he recompiles a VPN driver with zero code changes and runs it on ARM. Pretty amazing.



    Posted 2 years ago on ARM64 Build 2018 Build Session shows a bright future for WOA – 8 Comments

    comment
    This is awesome! I have always wondered why Microsoft was not being more competitive with their developer shar

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Store Revenue Changes – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jboman32768:Microsoft chose Electron for Teams and Code because they want those apps to be super c

    Posted 2 years ago on Build 2018: What I Expect, What I Hope For (Premium) – 45 Comments

    comment
    I think Paint 3D is fine. It crops photos, and can export .png files with a transparent background. I don'

    Posted 2 years ago on Is Paint 3D so bad? – 26 Comments

    comment
    Paul, why do you think UWP apps can't have the command density of Excel 2016? There are no limitations to

    Posted 2 years ago on Build 2018: What I Expect, What I Hope For (Premium) – 45 Comments

    comment
    I wonder if the whole PWA story is just too confusing and odd for the majority of consumers. Like oh check out

    Posted 2 years ago on Thanks, Microsoft (Premium) – 26 Comments

    comment
    In reply to SvenJ:These are features which are missing from OneNote all together, but have been top requests o

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    Do your best to organize them into groups of users. Then organize the documents per those groups and make a &#

    Posted 2 years ago on SharePoint and Teams – 5 Comments

    comment
    I understand the need to have different app designs, but Microsoft needs to make 3 or so basic app templates a

    Posted 2 years ago on Consistency, Thy Name is Not Microsoft (Premium) – 48 Comments

    comment
    In reply to nerocui:maybe, but they have been talking about how OneNote 2016 is not getting new features for y

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    In reply to zself:Ah right, starting in Outlook and launching OneNote for meeting notes is not in the UWP vers

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    I thought this was old news? Microsoft has not updated OneNote 2016 for years. In their support forums they ha

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    In reply to moogleassassin:Are you talking about section groups? You can create new section groups in the UWP

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RossNWirth:You can already insert meeting notes with the UWP version. Was there some other integra

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Demotes OneNote 2016, Moves Forward with Modern OneNote – 83 Comments

    comment
    I think the complexity comes when using the web. Native apps usually have that ability, but cross-platform sol

    Posted 2 years ago on Is it really that difficult or are developers just lazy – 16 Comments

    comment
    Someone posted a photo on reddit or maybe twitter of this same message on paper coffee cups at Microsoft. Soun

    Posted 2 years ago on Meanwhile outside the Microsoft cafeteria… – 17 Comments

    comment
    I hope this means Microsoft is focusing their product strategy. They have too many versions of their products.

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft’s Pushing More Engineers to Edge – 39 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator:I'd suggest you contact your third party tool maker and see if they have a wo

    Posted 2 years ago on Well, Microsoft’s done it. – 5 Comments

    comment
    I'm so excited to have Timeline on my main PC. I think it is the biggest and most important feature Micro

    Posted 2 years ago on Here Comes Windows 10 Version 1803 – 39 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:Could we set up new Microsoft accounts and share/communicate content which would be inap

    Posted 2 years ago on New Terms & Services for May 1, 2018 – 10 Comments

    comment
    Let's wait and see if people get banned, then freak out about it. Terms of Service always have a bunch of

    Posted 2 years ago on New Terms & Services for May 1, 2018 – 10 Comments

    comment
    I know this isn't a database, but a shared OneNote notebook might work well for organizing and cataloging

    Posted 2 years ago on Office 365 Home Online Database? – 5 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Chris_Kez:That's a good point. Also with Azure offering many of the same cloud services it wo

    Posted 2 years ago on EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Chris_Kez:You're correct they don't dominate in retail yet, but they could get there soo

    Posted 2 years ago on EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to red.radar:I don't believe walled gardens and lock-in have anything to do with anti-trust. Tha

    Posted 2 years ago on EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google – 13 Comments

    comment
    It is crazy that there is talk about breaking up Google and not talk about breaking up Amazon. It seems to me

    Posted 2 years ago on EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jeffery_Commaroto:I agree 100% that Apple is making pretty good profits, but they are not putting

    Posted 2 years ago on Designed in California, made in China – 7 Comments

    comment
    This is pretty exciting. The idea of a Windows computer which can last that long is hard to believe. Devices l

    Posted 2 years ago on HP Envy x2 (Qualcomm) Review Check-In: Battery Life – 54 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:If you don't use the store a UWP appx doesn't require you to write an installe

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    I call bullshit on that $370 number. One of the biggest costs in products is labor (unless you make the produc

    Posted 2 years ago on Designed in California, made in China – 7 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:It really seems like you're being overly defiant here.> I don't see how UWP

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    In reply to longhorn:I think everyone agrees UWP has not been very successful and it has always been a crazy v

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:UWP apps are easy to distribute and monetize. They are lightweight and run fast too. Due

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:Microsoft has absolutely failed to make a case for UWP. If I was a successful Win32 dev I

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:I agree with you. Microsoft needs to do more to make Windows secure. It is strange how lit

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:No analogy is perfect, but if I were to make it fit for UWP, perhaps it could be like

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    This is an interesting post, but it reads like it was written from an Ivory Tower. Companies who make products

    Posted 2 years ago on Win32 and misconceptions – 108 Comments

    comment
    For me the saddest thing about this announcement was the list of things Microsoft touts about Edge are almost

    Posted 2 years ago on Here’s What’s Really Happening with Windows 10 (Premium) – 132 Comments

    comment
    In reply to marmantrout:Timeline, Sets, UWP, and soon C-Shell will be some of the biggest Windows features in

    Posted 2 years ago on Questions for 3/16? – 14 Comments

    comment
    With more Windows 10 devices coming with cellular connectivity do you think Microsoft will ever turn Skype int

    Posted 2 years ago on Questions for 3/16? – 14 Comments

    comment
    Oh man, if you were given free ice cream you'd complain that it isn't the flavor you want and it

    Posted 2 years ago on STOP SPAM – 19 Comments

    comment
    Paul, have you tried the markdown editor in Appy Text?

    Posted 2 years ago on First Ring Daily 346: The benefitS – 4 Comments

    comment
    Is Microsoft aware of how feature fragmented so many of their products are? For example: Skype has a UWP versi

    Posted 2 years ago on Questions for 3/9? – 11 Comments

    comment
    In reply to mrdrwest:How often are you walking around inside buildings of Fortune 500 companies?

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Confirms Next-Gen Surface Hub – 24 Comments

    comment
    I find it amazing Microsoft makes a new mode of Windows, and charges people to switch from it. Their goal shou

    Posted 2 years ago on Windows 10 in S Mode Confirmed, Coming Next Year – 35 Comments

    comment
    There was a chance with Waze, but then Google acquired them... then HERE was a long shot, but it was bought by

    Posted 2 years ago on Nobody Wants to Let Google Win the War for Maps All Over Again – 5 Comments

    comment
    These three changes to UWP are a big deal for more powerful apps. I wonder if this is the ground work first pa

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Introducing Multi-Instance Support for UWP Apps in Windows 10 – 30 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ZeroPageX:It is mentioned in the first part of the community stand up. The embedded video in this

    Posted 2 years ago on Microsoft Introducing Multi-Instance Support for UWP Apps in Windows 10 – 30 Comments

    comment
    I would think the performance gains would be greater when the tech ability of the user goes down. It would be

    Posted 2 years ago on What Windows 10 S Means for Laptop Buyers – 3 Comments

    comment
    I think you forgot to paste the snippet from the blog, unless that was intentional.

    Posted 2 years ago on – 2 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wright_is:It will be interesting to see how these devices cope with laws and social norms, but I d

    Posted 2 years ago on Intel AR Glasses – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to shameermulji:Yeah, I agree these have the look of something which could go mainstream, but I don&#

    Posted 2 years ago on Intel AR Glasses – 9 Comments

    comment
    When I switch over to the non-premium comments I'm usually greeted with something, off-topic or just clas

    Posted 2 years ago on Feedback on Comments Being Split – 37 Comments

    comment
    They are interesting no doubt, but there are 2 huge differences between these and something like HoloLens. Sti

    Posted 2 years ago on Intel AR Glasses – 9 Comments

    comment
    I want to buy a Surface Book 2. The i7, 256GB SSD, and 16GB RAM model would be awesome.... but it doesn't

    Posted 2 years ago on New Model Shifts Hint at Surface Turmoil (Premium) – 62 Comments

    comment
    Something which Paul didn't mention was Microsoft has built some unique experiences and technologies into

    Posted 2 years ago on Lead by Example (Premium) – 62 Comments

    comment
    Brad and Paul talked about this on First Ring Daily today (Friday) and mentioned how this story seemed odd, pe

    Posted 2 years ago on Windows "Polaris" – 53 Comments

    comment
    In reply to brad-sams:Updated.

    Posted 2 years ago on Building a PC: Chasing The Performance Dragon (Premium) – 24 Comments

    comment
    Here is a PC Part Picker build of this layout for all new parts. Does not include Keyboard, Mouse, or Monitor.

    Posted 3 years ago on Building a PC: Chasing The Performance Dragon (Premium) – 24 Comments

    comment
    Microsoft continues to say To-Do is the future of their task tracking products. However To-Do only has a tiny

    Posted 3 years ago on Wunderlist and ToDo – 5 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jean:It did cross my mind, however there are two issues I have with that solution.1.) Windows is a

    Posted 3 years ago on I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I’m going to return it – 29 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator:True that most of the criticisms are of Windows 10, but the Surface is sold as a t

    Posted 3 years ago on I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I’m going to return it – 29 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Bats:Yeah the price was high, so my expectations were also high and the Surface Pro did not meet e

    Posted 3 years ago on I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I’m going to return it – 29 Comments

    comment
    Do they update via the store too or do they use the custom Office updater?

    Posted 3 years ago on Office 365 Apps Now Available to Everyone in the Windows 10 Store – 47 Comments

    Forum Post

    I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I'm going to return it

    Ever since Surface was announced I loved the idea of a single device which could be powerful and flexible. When the Surface Pro was announced I was interested in the low latency pen input, so I went to my nearest Microsoft Store and played with one.

    The pen experience was amazing. The device was thin, not as light as I thought it would be, but overall stunning. I decided I would save and eventually buy one. Last week the wait was over and I stopped by the same Microsoft Store and bought an i5 with 8GB RAM and 265GB Storage.

    I rushed home and eagerly waited as the ‘Update Assistant’ downloaded the Fall Creators Update. The Update Assistant failed to install for unknown reasons, so I went through Windows Update which had a bunch of updates, then 1709, and a couple of hours later it was all up to date.

    Using the Surface Pro was fast, responsive, quirky, buggy, and quickly began to feel like just another a half-baked Microsoft product. I should have known the failed update assistant was a bad omen, but the experience did not improve from there.

    Disclaimer before I begin describing all the factors leading me to return the Surface Pro. I’m a big Microsoft fan. I used a Windows Phone longer than I should have, I develop UWP apps in my spare time, I was a Groove subscriber, I have been using O365 for years, I use Edge as my primary browser, I have multiple Windows devices in my house, I use Cortana, I use Bing, and OneNote is my favorite piece of software ever to be created. So to say the least I was excited to finally have this Surface Pro.

    A big reason why I wanted to get a Surface Pro over the laptop or book was because I wanted a single device I could use as a tablet and a laptop. I’m an engineer during the day so I do a fair amount of sketching, annotating, and marking up on paper and PDFs. I use OneNote all day every day. I thought the Surface Pro would be the ideal device for me.

    At first everything was going great, but as soon as I began using the Surface as a tablet the cracks began to show. Tablet Mode in Windows 10 is broken. The experience is terrible and there is no way to master it. Apps would routinely crash, only viewing two apps at once seemed pointlessly limiting. The compact keyboard and the pen input panel just float wherever, over the app you’re writing in or whatever it has no idea.

    I have some content in the Movies and TV app, and I was playing Futurama in Compact Overlay while I browsing with Edge. When I would activate the Task View via the left edge swipe, Futurama would pause, then not be able to resume and when I switched to the Movies and TV app the episode would jump to the end and the next one would play. This bug was easy to replicate, a pain, and made the experience feel cheap.

    Listening to music while in tablet mode was also painful. If I wanted to pause, play, next track, or previous track there were two options. First I could switch over to Spotify (which is a pain to use with touch) and then have full control. The other option was to bump the volume rocker and get a Windows 8 overlay from which I could control the music. Neither are too bad when you are using the device, but they are clunky, not ideal, and cheap feeling.

    If you are listening to music on the Surface and not also working on the device the music situation is a blast from the past. Inline headphone controls do not work on the Surface. Also pressing the lock button after setting your music stops the music. When the screen times out and goes off the music will keep playing, but the keyboard pause button does not respond until the device has been awakened. This made me prefer to use my iPhone for music over my fancy new Surface.

    The Taskbar is a core and essential tool when working on Windows . In tablet mode it is a sloppy mess. When there are too many icons Windows just mushes them all together and gives a dinky scrollbar to cycle through the app icons. So naturally they are hidden by default. Which means you must use the Task View to switch between apps, which as I mentioned does not work great with all apps, and requires you to take one hand off the device to pick the app to switch to.

    The touch keyboard experience continued the disappointment. There was odd lag between tapping a text field and seeing the keyboard; when it decided to pop up at all. Also I never knew what keyboard I was going to get, pen input or small keyboard? To me those are the only two keyboards worthwhile when using the Surface as a tablet because they don’t take up 50% of the display like the standard and the split keyboards do.

    Using Microsoft’s first party apps in tablet mode are a non-stop disappointment. For example, Mail and Calendar are so basic and are hard to use with touch and have zero awareness of pens. This is so surprising that Microsoft wouldn’t think to make their built in apps the best mouse, keyboard, touch, and pen apps the world has ever seen. Unfortunately they are a disappointment for every input method other than mouse. Maybe the people who build these apps were told to keep them dumbed-down and basic to avoid competition with Outlook 2016, but that would be sad if true.

    Honestly I do not know how Microsoft can look at the Surface Pro and in any way suggest it should be used as a tablet. The device is essentially a super expensive weird laptop. I would be willing to live with all of these oddities and quirks if the device was $800, but clocking in at over $1,600 with pen and keyboard I cannot pretend this is a good value.

    If you are a high paid, high visibility executive and are avoiding using an iPad in meetings then the Surface Pro is a really cool looking device. However, for 99.9% of everyone else either stick with laptops, or find a Windows tablet as cheap as the Tablet Mode experience.

    As for me I’ll be returning the Surface Pro and going back to sharing the three year old HP x360 with my wife.

    TL;DR Tablet Mode is broken, the touch keyboard is inconsistent and odd, nearly impossible to be productive in Tablet Mode. Built in apps are not aware of the pen. Bad media experience. Found myself just using the device as a laptop.

    Posted 3 years ago on I bought a Surface Pro (2017) and I’m going to return it – 29 Comments

    comment
    I want to believe this, but these utopian ideals never quite seem to happen. Sadly one big barrier to this fut

    Posted 3 years ago on PWAs are the Future of Apps. Period. (Premium) – 52 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jr.flynn:Have you tried to use Paint3D for the same stuff you used classic Paint to do? Paint3D ca

    Posted 3 years ago on Windows 10’s Paint 3D App is About to Get a Whole Lot More Useful – 19 Comments

    comment
    This is a big step for Paint3D. This is still more of a fun app rather than a productivity tool. To move into

    Posted 3 years ago on Windows 10’s Paint 3D App is About to Get a Whole Lot More Useful – 19 Comments

    comment
    I don't care about a check in the mail, I want a checkbox in the settings.

    Posted 3 years ago on Apple faces lawsuits after saying it slows down aging iPhones – 3 Comments

    comment
    On Windows 10 there is an amazing UWP app called Drawboard. It is not free, but it is the default reader on my

    Posted 3 years ago on PDF Reader – 6 Comments

    comment
    A significant marketing point of some Android phones has been the removable battery. Some people sell this as

    Posted 3 years ago on Yes, Apple Slows Down Older iPhones on Purpose. Now What? (Premium) – 35 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Nonmoi:I'd be happy with a headphone and USB-C or 2 USB-C. Then get a USB-C dock with a dGPU

    Posted 3 years ago on Our Best Look at Microsoft’s Foldable ‘Androdmeda’ Device Yet – 42 Comments

    comment
    I really hope a device like this comes to light. I'd love to have a Windows 10 device I can take with me

    Posted 3 years ago on Our Best Look at Microsoft’s Foldable ‘Androdmeda’ Device Yet – 42 Comments

    comment
    For Microsoft the financials didn't work out. It seems like Microsoft has been rallying around products w

    Posted 3 years ago on Why ecosystems reallly matter – 7 Comments

    comment
    It seems like WTS is a slowly rising tide bringing easy standardization and consistency to UWP apps. I like th

    Posted 3 years ago on Windows Template Studio 1.5 released – 1 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Bats:There should be at least 3 Thurott.com enterprise versions and a Thurrot.com for workstations

    Posted 3 years ago on Is there room for Ultra Premium? – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to anchovylover:FRD is now free for all and is no longer a premium only benefit.Do you think communit

    Posted 3 years ago on Is there room for Ultra Premium? – 21 Comments

    comment
    So I had an idea in this same category. On NPR you can buy ads which are read on air. I think it would be cool

    Posted 3 years ago on Is there room for Ultra Premium? – 21 Comments

    comment
    Desktop: Edge, Excel, OneNote, Tweeten, Skype, Steam, Visual Studio 2017, Slack, Spotify, Mail & Calendar,

    Posted 3 years ago on What Apps do you use every day? – 22 Comments

    comment
    In reply to xapache:If you can take it to a Microsoft Store that would probably be your best chance at getting

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 12/1? – 7 Comments

    comment
    It is interesting that these insider builds keep refining the Pen + Touch modality... maybe there will be a he

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Adds a Few New Features in Latest Windows 10 Redstone 4 Release – 13 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Michael Rivers:I recall seeing that Tom Warren said that if you keep it in a tight space like a st

    Posted 3 years ago on Xbox One X First Impressions: The 4K Era Arrives – 50 Comments

    comment
    I think making FRD open to all is a great idea. I'm excited to see more premium content from Paul. I hope

    Posted 3 years ago on Premium Changes – 29 Comments

    comment
    My HP x360 cannot maintain a Skype call for more than 10ish minutes before the call becomes intermittent and d

    Posted 3 years ago on We Help Wednesday 11/1 – 21 Comments

    comment
    Sign me up!Reason this is better than Windows 10 Mobile: Pen support, full UWP support, full Win32 support emu

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s Andromeda: A Folio of the Future – 97 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MutualCore:When I see USB-C on something I think, "well I know it'll plug in..." but that is

    Posted 3 years ago on Perhaps this is why Microsoft hasn’t embraced USB-c – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to SherlockHolmes:That doesn't even make sense. PWA's isn't very new and it isn't

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s Bold Plan to Bring PWAs to Windows 10 – 69 Comments

    comment
    Dominate the consumer space on what type of device? Laptops and desktops will continue to be dominated by Wind

    Posted 3 years ago on Next Consumer OS – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to matsan:The suspect could look away or close their eyes and the phone should not unlock until they

    Posted 3 years ago on X-Cuses: iPhone X Facial Recognition Will Not Meet Expectations – 130 Comments

    comment
    I am a PC gamer, but seeing this makes me want to get an Xbox to play these old games. So many fond memories.

    Posted 3 years ago on Original Xbox Games Arrive on Xbox One – 17 Comments

    comment
    I remember this happening and it was related to Office 2016. Maybe check this article out?https://mspoweruser.

    Posted 3 years ago on Command Line PopUp after boot – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator:Yeah for sure. Also Windows 8 changed too much with no logical transition for trad

    Posted 3 years ago on Tablet mode – 12 Comments

    comment
    I got it right away day one from Windows Update on my custom built desktop.

    Posted 3 years ago on The "Who got 1709" post – 32 Comments

    comment
    In reply to brad-sams:haha now that would be confusing naming

    Posted 3 years ago on Surface Book 2: Microsoft, You’re Naming It Wrong – 26 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jeff.Bane:I think this is surely the situation. With new product lines you need to establish a suc

    Posted 3 years ago on Surface Book 2: Microsoft, You’re Naming It Wrong – 26 Comments

    comment
    Yeah that blog post is a pretty good analysis of why USB-C is still largely a dream and has a lot of complexit

    Posted 3 years ago on Perhaps this is why Microsoft hasn’t embraced USB-c – 17 Comments

    comment
    Tablet mode in Windows 10 is not good. There is no clear focus or design around how it should work. With Windo

    Posted 3 years ago on Tablet mode – 12 Comments

    comment
    After the Google Pixel 2 event I found it so exhausting to hear people freak out about the bezels. To me a nor

    Posted 3 years ago on OMG teh bezzals – 18 Comments

    comment
    I think Groove was cut because Spotify was an alternative on Windows, Xbox, and Web. As far as I know there is

    Posted 3 years ago on What will be the next cut for Microsoft? – 4 Comments

    comment
    In reply to dave0:Apple is probably the closest to MS with very few loss leaders, however MacOS and iOS are &#

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Winner:Yes they did cheat to get where they are. And all the examples you listed are either where

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Chris_Kez:A lot of good thoughts in there. Good catch about how Google is refocusing their busines

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to PincasX:I'm not a lawyer. The legal definition of anti-competitive is not black and white. Al

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to PincasX:Google uses their revenue from their search monopoly to prop up their other services which

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    Forum Post

    Microsoft isn't cheating as good as its competition

    With the unsurprising announcement that Groove Music Pass is being discontinued it makes me wonder if Microsoft is too strict or fearful to cheat like everyone else.


    If you look at how Amazon runs Amazon Prime it is clearly anti-competitive behavior. They are using their dominance in online commerce to fund their side services like Prime Streaming.


    Microsoft seems to be the only one of the big 4 tech giants to be concerned with every single service being separate and individually profitable.


    What do you think? Should Microsoft use more loss-leaders like Amazon, Apple, and Google do? Will Microsoft’s current strategy continue to be successful long into the future?

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft isn’t cheating as good as its competition – 12 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Orin:There are a few options I've thought about looking into. One is syncing via OneDrive. Th

    Posted 3 years ago on Ink Calendar | Plan and organize your calendar with your pen – 5 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Orin:Thanks for checking it out! There is currently no syncing across devices. It is something I w

    Posted 3 years ago on Ink Calendar | Plan and organize your calendar with your pen – 5 Comments

    comment
    Looks good to me. Now they need to bring it to their UWP and Web clients.

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Unveils a Skype (Re)redesign on iOS – 13 Comments

    Forum Post

    Ink Calendar | Plan and organize your calendar with your pen

    I’m the developer of Ink Calendar and I just pushed a big update over the weekend. I was looking for a calendar app on Windows where I could draw on the days like a paper calendar. When I couldn’t find one I decided to make one myself!

    Ink Calendar is great for small notes, drawings, and planning. I just connected to the Windows 10 calendar data so your events can be displayed while you ink over or around them.


    Let me know what you think! I am a new developer and will continue to add more features. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them!


    You can get it here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/ink-calendar/9pgpbwm9nfzc


    -Joe

    Posted 3 years ago on Ink Calendar | Plan and organize your calendar with your pen – 5 Comments

    comment
    In reply to skane2600:My previous company bought smartphones for employees they thought needed them. If those

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul is going to hate this line of logic – 18 Comments

    comment
    In reply to hrlngrv:yeah I was going off Microsoft's claim that they were able to 'emulate' (or

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul is going to hate this line of logic – 18 Comments

    comment
    Keyboard: Microsoft ergonomic keyboard 4000Mouse: soon to purchase the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic

    Posted 3 years ago on What keyboard & mouse does everyone use? – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Finley:Logitech just came out with a new one, did you get that one?

    Posted 3 years ago on What keyboard & mouse does everyone use? – 28 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Roger Ramjet:Agreed. To me, Apple is treading water with design. Their new AR push is already bein

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul is going to hate this line of logic – 18 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:haha I agree 100%but a 6in Windows 10 ARM based device which can power a docking sta

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul is going to hate this line of logic – 18 Comments

    comment
    I want to agree wholeheartedly with you... But the answer is that Windows Phones are not good phones or good d

    Posted 3 years ago on The biggest reason Microsoft should NOT give up on Windows Phone. – 26 Comments

    Forum Post

    Paul is going to hate this line of logic

    So it is no secret that Progressive Web Apps are the future for the majority of development. Most major popular applications are looking for how they can implement their app as a PWA. It obviously saves lots of money and time because their is only one target platform with one set of tools.


    The really interesting thing to me is how PWAs are beginning to eat into mobile app development. There seems to be a movement where tech companies are trying again to move back to using their website as their only product. I've seen demos from Twitter and Lyft where their entire app happens through a browser. If this trend continues then Microsoft's position to break back into mobile is looking better and better.


    What do you think, do PWAs give new life to a mobile device from Microsoft?


    (sorry for the click-bait headline. I just thought Paul would cringe at the thought of PWAs being used as an excuse that Windows Mobile is not dead)

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul is going to hate this line of logic – 18 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator:Microsoft should start selling the same devices they sell in their physical stores

    Posted 3 years ago on It Looks Like Microsoft Will Rename Windows Store to Microsoft Store – 61 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jbinaz:That is a real fear, but personally I expect this to happen. Mostly because Microsoft annou

    Posted 3 years ago on PWAs are Coming to Windows Store in Windows 10 Version 1803 – 35 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Finley:I was curious about this too. Like who will be the publisher of the app? Microsoft or the P

    Posted 3 years ago on PWAs are Coming to Windows Store in Windows 10 Version 1803 – 35 Comments

    comment
    Do you think Microsoft might use the new Outlook.com as a PWA to replace the Mail and Calendar apps on Windows

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 9/22? – 21 Comments

    comment
    I have an HP Spectre x360 which I love, but I've had persistent issues when trying to connect to some Wi-

    Posted 3 years ago on We Help Wednesday 9/20 – 19 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jimchamplin:If there was some Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Discord integration it would be us

    Posted 3 years ago on Fall Creators Update Feature Focus: My People – 31 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator:I'm afraid Microsoft will never be able to figure this out. They are disappoi

    Posted 3 years ago on Fall Creators Update Feature Focus: My People – 31 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jules_Wombat:A communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer

    Posted 3 years ago on Take the Bus to NYC – 9 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wunderbar:Because for most people the ROI per dollar after $500 is not very good. Just because som

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MattHewitt:Your point about getting more features with Android is true, but for most normal people

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wunderbar:Well the $1000 was in reference to the rumored cost of the iPhone X, and the actual cost

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to jr.flynn:The extra year of support is nice, but for most normal people who buy their phones from c

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Sprtfan:This is an excellent point! Paul even mentioned how most people get their phones from carr

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to wunderbar:Nearly all my friends are 'normals' when it comes to technology. Not one of th

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Bats:I'm not trying to say $1000 laptop is better than a $1000 phone. I'm saying a $500

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    In reply to paul-thurrott:To be clear I'm not advocating that people buy laptops instead of phones. I

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    Forum Post

    Paul's technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC

    Many times Paul makes the case that it makes more sense for people to spend $1,000 on a phone and $500 on a computer or tablet or whatever because you use it more, and derive more value from it. Most recently he said this on GFQ but I've heard him say it many times: https://youtu.be/IOZwt6AX5CE?t=28m16s

     

    This logic doesn't make sense to me at all. So, you should spend more money on a device you use more often, even if spending more money on it doesn't return more value to you?

     

    For example. I can go buy a 32GB iPhone 6s for $549 or I could go buy a 256GB iPhone 7 for $849. When it comes down to my return on investment, they have nearly the exact same return with one requiring a much larger investment. The iPhone 7 might be a bit faster and obviously has more storage, but in all my time using my iPhone I've never needed more than 32GB thanks to the cloud.

     

    Furthermore, both devices are great build quality, good warranty, great customer support, and on and on. When buying a PC that is not the case. A $300 HP stream does not have the same level of build quality as a $1500 HP x360. Also for the additional price you get a more flexible device, which pen and touch support, more ports, faster ports, better quality screens, and of course faster components.

     

    It seems like the justification for spending $1000 on a laptop far outweighs the justification for spending $1000 on an iPhone.

     

    What do you think? Did I miss Paul's point? Do you agree/disagree with Paul? How do you decide how to allocate your tech budget?

    Posted 3 years ago on Paul’s technology budget theories: $1000 Phone VS $1000 PC – 34 Comments

    comment
    As an avid OneNote user I would love an 8" device I could take with me everywhere and take notes with a pen, s

    Posted 3 years ago on Nothing (New) to See Here: Surface Mini Marketing Materials Leak – 35 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Michael_Pierce:I don't have Bluetooth issues, I just want to know if anyone has used the Xbox

    Posted 3 years ago on iPhone and Bluetooth Xbox Controller – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ibmthink:It did look like a Surface Book... but marketing material is always disconnected from rea

    Posted 3 years ago on Intel (Sort Of) Launches 8th Generation Core Processors – 23 Comments

    comment
    Do you think Microsoft will update the Surface ergonomic keyboard to include a fingerprint reader? Also have e

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 8/18 Podcast – 11 Comments

    comment
    In reply to kshsystems:Microsoft has said they are planning on bringing all the features from OneNote 2016 int

    Posted 3 years ago on OneNote for Windows 10 August 2017 Feature Update Begins Rolling Out – 12 Comments

    comment
    I am a big Excel user so personally I could never use Google sheets, but if the only thing you are using O365

    Posted 3 years ago on Office 365 free subscription ending, switch to Google? – 6 Comments

    comment
    In reply to madthinus:4 Threadrippers would be pretty interesting though

    Posted 3 years ago on Windows 10 Pro for Workstations: If You Wanna Play, You Gotta Pay – 47 Comments

    comment
    In reply to harmjr:It has been in the insider builds

    Posted 3 years ago on We Help Wednesday 8/9 with Rafael – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Rick:Check your resource monitor after applying a cumulative update. Is any component being maxed

    Posted 3 years ago on We Help Wednesday 8/9 with Rafael – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to bubble am:SPAM

    Posted 3 years ago on Recent Insider builds – 9 Comments

    comment
    Hopefully Coffee Lake delivers on the promise to integrate Thunderbolt 3 into the CPU so new mobile devices ca

    Posted 3 years ago on 8th Generation Intel Core processor family debuts August 21 – 1 Comments

    comment
    This tool is a godsend for beginner developers who need some help getting started on UWP. I've used it my

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Releases Windows Template Studio 1.2 – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Narg:The propped up keyboard is for more stability when using it on a lap, you can bring it down t

    Posted 3 years ago on HP Spectre x2 (2017) First Impressions: More Pro Than Surface Pro – 52 Comments

    comment
    Do you know if any examples of good AI in popular Microsoft products? (obviously not in their spam detection)

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 7/7 Podcast? – 22 Comments

    comment
    In reply to gardner:I'd like to see a tick tock cycle with the updates. Spring update has new features an

    Posted 3 years ago on Yes, Microsoft Did Promise Timeline for the Fall Creators Update – 95 Comments

    comment
    When the demo at Build was a video instead of an actual product I think we all knew this would happen.

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Delays Windows 10 Timeline Feature, Won’t Ship with Fall Creators Update – 68 Comments

    comment
    The sad thing about the coverage is this is a great opportunity for news outlets to drive people to update the

    Posted 3 years ago on MS needs a media spokesman to appear on CNN etc to clear up ransomware FUD – 5 Comments

    comment
    That is strange that the mobile Word for Android and Windows have that feature but iPad doesn't. I wonder

    Posted 3 years ago on Word for iPad Embarassing – 1 Comments

    comment
    In reply to komalvarshney:SPAM

    Posted 3 years ago on You don’t like what Microsoft is doing. What should they do instead? – 78 Comments

    comment
    Microsoft needs to focus on their users and consider how they use all of Microsoft products together or not an

    Posted 3 years ago on You don’t like what Microsoft is doing. What should they do instead? – 78 Comments

    comment
    So if consumers' PC needs have plateaued (ram, CPU, storage) should Microsoft continue making all version

    Posted 3 years ago on There Should Be Only One Windows 10 Product Edition – 90 Comments

    comment
    In reply to evox81:When it comes to productivity tools you have to consider the ecosystem of compatibility. If

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft should do with Mobile what Google did with productivity – 10 Comments

    comment
    I use Groove. It a decent experience all around. The OneDrive integration is nice for those oddball albums you

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Groove – 14 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Nonmoi:5 years ago it would have been unthinkable that businesses would switch to a productivity s

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft should do with Mobile what Google did with productivity – 10 Comments

    comment
    I'm looking forward to this update! I hope they bring these features to all platforms right away instead

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Announces the New Skype – 60 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Ron Diaz:If anything they acquired it and did nothing with it. Then Skype stumbled around and its

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Announces the New Skype – 60 Comments

    comment
    In reply to bbold:I see the value as having a stable, secure, and reliable connection anywhere. That is a big

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s “Always Connected PCs” Initiative Brings eSIMs to PCs – 45 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn:Oh on. That is going to be a pain. ARM based laptops with USB-C ports but no Thunderbolt

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s “Always Connected PCs” Initiative Brings eSIMs to PCs – 45 Comments

    Forum Post

    Microsoft should do with Mobile what Google did with productivity

    Recently Paul wrote a post about how it is embarrassing for Microsoft to keep failing at mobile and they should give up. Personally I don't think they should give up.


    Currently Microsoft has nothing to lose when it comes to mobile. No market share means more flexibility to do whatever they want. In the same way Google uses profit from search to fund all their other projects, Microsoft should use their profits from Azure, Windows, and Office to fund their mobile experiments.


    Mobile is like web search, it'll be around forever. The same reasons Microsoft held on to Bing are why they should hold on to mobile. Hopefully with Windows on ARM Microsoft can differentiate themselves and offer a compelling mobile strategy.


    We'll see what the future holds. What do you think?

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft should do with Mobile what Google did with productivity – 10 Comments

    comment
    Will the Qualcomm based PCs have Thunderbolt 3?

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s “Always Connected PCs” Initiative Brings eSIMs to PCs – 45 Comments

    comment
    In reply to prettyconfusd:I also still want a Surface Mini, I actually made a site dedicated to thinking about

    Posted 3 years ago on Thinking About Microsoft’s Mobile Fantasy (Premium) – 111 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ncn:This is 100% what happened. MS decided to wait for TB3 to be standard. More USB-C peripherals

    Posted 3 years ago on Intel to Integrate Thunderbolt 3 into Future CPUs – 42 Comments

    comment
    I agree Microsoft should be talking this improvement up, but personally I expected this to happen earlier. Her

    Posted 3 years ago on New Surface Pro Offers a Faster Inking Experience – 26 Comments

    comment
    I totally agree. People just like to hate on stuff. Also they seem to be incapable of saying "oh cool, that pr

    Posted 3 years ago on I don’t know how Paul deals with the comments – 15 Comments

    comment
    Same here

    Posted 3 years ago on No episodes since Friday? – 8 Comments

    comment
    In reply to dcdevito:Windows 10 S is the Chromebook competitor, this is the College MacBook competitor

    Posted 3 years ago on A Closer Look at Surface Laptop Configurations – 38 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ponsaelius:no, it is launching in 20 countries according to MS, I can't find the list though

    Posted 3 years ago on A Closer Look at Surface Laptop Configurations – 38 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Oasis:I missed the memo where they merged the Skype and Edge teams

    Posted 3 years ago on Shoulder Tap Internals in Redstone 3 Build 16184 – 35 Comments

    comment
    This is a welcome feature, assuming it respects Quiet Hours and can be disabled.

    Posted 3 years ago on Shoulder Tap Internals in Redstone 3 Build 16184 – 35 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RobertJasiek:There are things that Microsoft can do to make Windows and their users a bigger targe

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s New Privacy Tactic: (Even) More Transparency – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Jaxidian:Yeah it really is confusing how people are giving Microsoft a hard time and not Google, A

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s New Privacy Tactic: (Even) More Transparency – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to BoItmanLives:I doubt if this is as important as you make it out to be. Windows 7 didn't do a

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s New Privacy Tactic: (Even) More Transparency – 42 Comments

    comment
    In reply to RobertJasiek:I wouldn't want that. It would make it way to easy for some malicious program or

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft’s New Privacy Tactic: (Even) More Transparency – 42 Comments

    comment
    it was mentioned on First Ring Daily, but a road trip from Boston to Seattle for Build would be cool. You coul

    Posted 3 years ago on If you could send Brad and Paul anywhere to do anything. – 39 Comments

    comment
    In reply to peterh_oz:You got me! Of all the hemispheres I've grown up in I can confidently say that the

    Posted 3 years ago on It’s a Date! Windows 10 Creators Update to Ship on April 11 – 44 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn:haha that was a pretty easy prediction. Do you also predict that it won't snow this

    Posted 3 years ago on It’s a Date! Windows 10 Creators Update to Ship on April 11 – 44 Comments

    comment
    It is worth noting that if anyone wants a "music maker" FL Studio Mobile seems to be a pretty good UWP for exa

    Posted 3 years ago on With Creators Update Completion, Groove Music Maker is MIA – 18 Comments

    comment
    Paul, you might be thinking of Google Latitude which was Google's location sharing service. Personally,&n

    Posted 3 years ago on Real-time location sharing is coming to Google Maps – 3 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Tina:I have not received the email from Xamarin.

    Posted 3 years ago on Take the Xamarin Challenge! – 32 Comments

    comment
    I signed up on Friday and I didn't get a follow up email; how long should it take? I did try to sign up a

    Posted 3 years ago on Take the Xamarin Challenge! – 32 Comments

    comment
    What is Microsoft doing with their built in app strategy? Do you know how those teams are organized? Are they

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 3/17 Podcast – 5 Comments

    comment
    I personally agree with your sentiment here Paul but this article poses a few simple questions and gives

    Posted 3 years ago on Creators Update Will Not Fix Windows 10’s Biggest Problem (Premium) – 100 Comments

    comment
    In reply to allanwith:From what I can tell Project Chesire uses Exchange Tasks on the backend

    Posted 3 years ago on Gmail for Android Now Supports Exchange Tasks – 7 Comments

    comment
    I would be happy with just dropping the price of V1 in the meantime. Looking forward to some serious improveme

    Posted 3 years ago on Microsoft Accelerates HoloLens V3 Development, Sidesteps V2 – 48 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Fusciacastle:Project Sienna got released as Microsoft PowerAppshttps://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-

    Posted 3 years ago on Questions for 2/17 Podcast – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to dcdevito: It seems to me that Waze serves a different purpose and has a more advance set of t

    Posted 3 years ago on Google Maps for Android is Getting Real-Time Traffic Updates, More – 16 Comments

    comment
    In reply to BoItmanLives: I don't think it is UWP only, where do you see that? You can bring up the game bar i

    Posted 3 years ago on Windows Insiders Will Get Game Mode This Week – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator: Surely there are some things that have been held over from previous product relea

    Posted 4 years ago on Sorry, What Exactly is the Point of Windows Defender Security Center? – 50 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Polycrastinator: The Windows Insider program frequently releases products as work in progress. Sur

    Posted 4 years ago on Sorry, What Exactly is the Point of Windows Defender Security Center? – 50 Comments

    comment
    In reply to karlinhigh: Microsoft has said many times they are migrating the control panel over to the setting

    Posted 4 years ago on Sorry, What Exactly is the Point of Windows Defender Security Center? – 50 Comments

    comment
    Is this an article being critical of Microsoft's beta Windows build not being completely polished?

    Posted 4 years ago on Sorry, What Exactly is the Point of Windows Defender Security Center? – 50 Comments

    comment
    For standard not tech savvy users I see how these popups could be a helpful nudge to use features that would h

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft Has Added Another Advertisement Inside of Windows 10 – 58 Comments

    comment
    Could Microsoft's new cellular PCs open the door for Skype to become a mobile virtual network operator?

    Posted 4 years ago on Questions for 12/16 podcast – 6 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ncn: Excellent point. I want to see Cortana added as a bot too.

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft: The Future of Skype is Conversational Bots – 13 Comments

    comment
    "a Marvel bot that hopefully explains why your fixation on comic book movies is unhealthy and childish" This s

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft: The Future of Skype is Conversational Bots – 13 Comments

    Forum Post

    iPhone and Bluetooth Xbox Controller

    Has anyone connected their iPhones to the Bluetooth Xbox controller? How did it work? What apps did you use it with?

    Posted 4 years ago on iPhone and Bluetooth Xbox Controller – 3 Comments

    comment
    Excellent point. Last year I finally dumped Windows Phone for the iPhone. It had to do with the terrible state

    Posted 4 years ago on Thank you Paul Thurrott for showing me the LIGHT – 17 Comments

    comment
    In reply to madthinus: It seems like Microsoft has a mandate that every product must be profitable in some way

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft Solitaire Collection Comes to Android and iOS – 15 Comments

    comment
    In reply to MikeGalos: This comment is what this article should have been lol

    Posted 4 years ago on Netflix 4K Video Comes to Windows 10 … Sort Of – 55 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Waethorn: But theoretically... it could... that would really be a game changer and a serious leg u

    Posted 4 years ago on Xbox Scorpio Will Be a Premium Console. Obviously – 30 Comments

    comment
    In reply to DBSync: If you added OneTastic it give cropping, but it is not native and the images loses resolut

    Posted 4 years ago on What is happening with OneNote? – 21 Comments

    comment
      1 USB Type A 2 or 3 USB type C (one on clipboard, one (or two) on base) 1 SD card slot 1 Surface conne

    Posted 4 years ago on What do you want to see in a Surface Book 2 – 26 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Edward_Grego: The Add-in model was changed on all the Office programs except OneNote, No image cr

    Posted 4 years ago on What is happening with OneNote? – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to djncanada: I want to believe that this is Microsoft's plan to unify their task trackers... but it

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft’s Project Cheshire Heads To Private Beta – 14 Comments

    comment
    In reply to NazmusLabs: I know they are focusing on the Win10 app, which is fine. However there doesn't seem t

    Posted 4 years ago on What is happening with OneNote? – 21 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Wizzwith: Except it is not completely mature when compared to all other Office programs. Word, Exc

    Posted 4 years ago on What is happening with OneNote? – 21 Comments

    comment
    Apple was wrong to switch so quickly on their pro line of devices. Remember this is MacBook Pro, not MacBook p

    Posted 4 years ago on Welcome to the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 Era – 69 Comments

    Forum Post

    What is happening with OneNote?

    It seems like OneNote has been put on life support. Microsoft hasn't added any new features to the product family in like 5 years! Also there is no clear vision for the future of the product. Is Microsoft moving away from OneNote or are they working on it all behind the scenes? It is getting insane photo cropping is still not an option.

    Posted 4 years ago on What is happening with OneNote? – 21 Comments

    comment
    It seems like Microsoft is waiting for something before jumping into the 'headless devices' categories. Maybe

    Posted 4 years ago on The Big Picture. – 11 Comments

    comment
    In reply to Smidgerine: Are any of the USB 3.0 ports Thunderbold capable?

    Posted 4 years ago on Surface Studio – The Day After – 28 Comments

    comment
    I appreciate that they spent some attention on the power cord. The last gen was sloppily done. This new power

    Posted 4 years ago on HP Spectre x360 (2016) First Impressions – 33 Comments

    comment
    I'd like the watch

    Posted 4 years ago on Everything Must Go: Windows Server 2003 Ship Gift – 93 Comments

    comment
    Personally I use Excel and Outlook a lot and 2016 is a pretty big improvement. They added a bunch of new chart

    Posted 4 years ago on Office 365 is it necessary – 15 Comments

    comment
    If I was buying a new gaming PC now here is what would guide my search for value vs performance: Nvidia 10 se

    Posted 4 years ago on Console Style PCs – 1 Comments

    comment
    In reply to scumdogmillionaire: The worst part is I don't know what is causing the problem, iOS 10 or the new

    Posted 4 years ago on Syncing contacts between iOS and Live.com account – 8 Comments

    comment
    In reply to ianceicys: This post was founded upon a crazy assertion. Microsoft stores cannot possible be profi

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft Store (Not the Online One…the Physical Ones) – 15 Comments

    comment
    The audio is low and unbalanced. Also the backgrounds and desks are so similar that there should be some kind

    Posted 4 years ago on Episode 3: Zero Day In The Blurry Bunker – 58 Comments

    comment
    I like the new Outlook Mail and having a single web mail platform makes so much more sense. After seeing how t

    Posted 4 years ago on Hands-On With the New Outlook.com – 34 Comments

    comment
    The Microsoft Stores are a great tool for Microsoft to ensure consumer confidence. By having physical stores t

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft Store (Not the Online One…the Physical Ones) – 15 Comments

    comment
    When I replied to a comment my reply went to a different comment. I tried it again with the same result, issue

    Posted 4 years ago on ATTN: Please post all forum bugs here – 21 Comments

    comment
    I added my Live account in settings and checked 'Sync Contacts'   I can tell there is an issue because I'

    Posted 4 years ago on Syncing contacts between iOS and Live.com account – 8 Comments

    comment
    Overwatch, Cities: Skylines, Stardew Valley, Fallout 4 (just started on survival mode)

    Posted 4 years ago on What games are you playing? – 10 Comments

    comment
    F#

    Posted 4 years ago on Microsoft ABCs – 12 Comments

    Forum Post

    Syncing contacts between iOS and Live.com account

    I recently got the new Outlook Mail experience and updated my phone to iOS 10. Now I am having strange issues with contact sync where every once and a while my iPhone will not be able to see any of my contacts on my Live.com account.

    Has anyone else had this or similar issues? Did you fix it? Is the problem on Microsoft's or Apple's end?

    Posted 4 years ago on Syncing contacts between iOS and Live.com account – 8 Comments

    comment
    Is the support section intented for personal tech support questions or just forum support?

    Posted 4 years ago on What features are we missing, what do you want to see added? – 82 Comments

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