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Computers are an essential part of every day living in the 21st century. Especially if you are a software developer.

iPad is all about the apps

Posted on May 8, 2013 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

Apple iPad mini

I recently acquired an iPad mini for a reasonable price. I had been thinking for a while that if I had any iOS device it would have to be an iPad – simply for the apps. Having an iPhone would involve a major investment into an ecosystem that I have no interest of using. The iPhone is great for both the Apple and Google ecosystems, however am invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, and I already have my computing needs pretty much set.

Here are the devices I tend to use on a daily basis:

  • Surface – main computer
  • Laptop – development
  • Lumia – portable device
  • Xbox – entertainment

In addition to these, I do also have a couple of extra ‘dedicated’ devices:

  • Nintendo DS – Pokémon
  • Kindle – reading

So where does the iPad fit in? I see it as one of these extra devices, in the same league as the DS and the Kindle. What’s this devices dedicated purpose? Running apps that Windows doesn’t have*.

  • iPad – apps

Here are some examples of the apps I’ve installed so far, that don’t exist on Windows:

What am I specifically not using it for? No email, calendar or contacts – this is already on my Windows machines. No music or photos – I already use Xbox and SkyDrive for this stuff. No social networking – I get notifications for Facebook and Twitter on my Windows machines already. I simply do not need another device with these features.

Do I think I have too many devices now? Well no, not really. I’m ok with the amount of stuff I have – though I’m always looking to reduce things. To me, having an iPad is significantly more useful than having something like a microwave.

* Interestingly, since getting the iPad I’ve already been thinking about a time when I don’t need to have it, and all the apps I want are on Windows. That’s the dream.

Two Weeks with Microsoft Surface

Posted on November 14, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

Two weeks ago I finally got my Microsoft Surface for Windows RT. On the run up to the launch of the first Surface device, I started to think about if I’d actually be able to use the Surface for Windows Pro as my only computer as I had planned.

The trouble is that the form factor is not a laptop replacement, it’s a tablet which has a ‘ready to work’ mode which can be used easily on a desk. A laptop has a stable base and a screen which can be tilted to any angle – so getting real work done is still doable on your lap. I don’t have a desk at home, just a coffee table, so when I want to write some code or a long blog post – I tend to sit cross-legged on the sofa and type away. This is quite tricky to do with the form-factor that Microsoft has chosen for the first two Surface devices.

As a first time tablet owner there are a huge amount of benefits which are more related to the form-factor rather than the individual device, but for me having the Microsoft Surface has been a really fantastic and new experience.

Being able to surf the web and use application while laying down or standing up are pretty obvious, but there are more subtle benefits like being able to take it to work every day without my bag getting really heavy. Plus it’s always nice to have all your personal stuff available to use at lunch time, including emails and OneNote notebooks.

In the first two weeks have found a few suggestions for improvements to the design of the hardware:

  • The keyboard case should really have a magnetic grasp
  • Power Cable is a little short (though it can be extended)
  • Windows Phone earphones don’t work as expected

These improvements aside, the Surface has already proven to be a fantastic companion device, and due to the nature of the keyboard and kickstand design it has become my go-to device for email and instant messaging. In the last two weeks my MacBook has spent most of its time in a draw while the Surface has been my primary machine for personal use.

As someone who is a Windows developer and lives in a Microsoft ecosystem (Office 365, SkyDrive, Xbox etc.) it’s the ideal tablet for me, and I’m really pleased I got it.

Now if only I could find a Windows 8 laptop to replace my ageing MacBook and I’ll be sorted.

Surface for Windows 8 Pro

Posted on September 12, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

Originally I wanted to get Surface for Windows RT, but I’ve changed my mind about which Surface computer I want to get. Mostly because of two reasons.

1 – I’ve seen no Windows 8 Ultrabooks I like

I have been looking around for a good Ultrabook for a while now, and I had pinned high hopes on Vizio, but lacklustre scores on the touchpad and keyboard have tarred that machine. I have recently had a look at many of the machines shown at IFA – including the Acer Aspire S7) but none have them have really grabbed my attention like Surface.

The Aspire S7 has some fantastic Windows-friendly features, but in terms of traditional laptop design, the MacBook Air still has the edge for me. But I don’t want to have to hack around with a MacBook to get Windows to run well again. True I have enjoyed using Windows on my current MacBook, it’s just such a pain to set up just right.

2 – I really like using Windows 8

Windows 8 became available as an evaluation recently, and I have taken advantage of that to try out this new operating system in day-to-day use. I love how the operating system really does have this no compromises feel to it. It works extremely well on a laptop* and better than Windows 7 when used with a mouse and keyboard.

This has made me think that the best (and cheapest) option is to get one machine rather than two: a tablet that is a PC.

One PC

My experience of Windows 8 has been through the 90 day enterprise evaluation, and I’m still using Windows 7 on my MacBook. Before the Surface was introduced, I set out that I wanted to have only four machines (Xbox, Ultrabook, Phone, Tablet) but now I’m leaning toward having only Xbox, Surface and Phone for personal use.

It’s going to be interesting to see how I tackle the smaller screen size with productivity for personal tasks, but making things as simple as possible is what I always strive for. Though I do get the feeling that there’s room for a device around the 7″ mark to take the number of machines to four at some point in 2013. (NewCo?)

  • Processor: Intel Core i5
  • Weight: 903g
  • Thickness: 13.5mm
  • Display: 10.6″ ClearType Full HD (1080p) capacitive touch screen
  • Battery: 42Wh
  • I/O: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, 2×2 MIMO antennae
  • Software: Windows 8 Professional
  • Case: VaporMg Case & Stand
  • Accessories: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
  • Capacity: 64GB / 128GB

* Unfortunately the touchpad in my HP Laptop doesn’t have very nice support for Windows 8. Hopefully that’ll come soon.

Using Windows 7

Posted on July 11, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

I have used Windows 7 since the early betas, as is always the case with new Windows releases – I was very interested in what new features were coming. Over the years I’ve come to rely on these features quite heavily, and like millions of other people I’m currently use it as my primary operating system.

My use of Windows 7 has changed quite a lot over the years – from simply changing themes to using totally different applications. But as Windows 7 is coming to the end of its life (for me anyway) I’m interested to see how my computer usage will change and evolve when Windows 8 takes over as my primary operating system.

So I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on how I’m using Windows on my MacBook today…

I like to keep things simple, a trend that will no doubt continue to Windows 8. As part of this I usually keep the number of applications I pin to the taskbar to absolute minimum. On my home computer this is PowerShell, Outlook and OneNote.

In the notification area I tend to have only power, networking, and volume icons, as well as the awesome Process Explorer. This is pretty much all I want to see down there, and everything else gets hidden away. (Remember when we couldn’t hide stuff down there? Ugh!)

Because this is a laptop, I tend to run a lot of my programs either maximised or side-by-side using Aero Snap. This is by far one of my favourite features in Windows 7, and I use it all the time. Just grab the title bar of any window and drag it to the top, left or right of the screen to snap the window into place.

Windows itself is just the shell that works around the applications, and right now the applications I tend to use the most (other than the web browser) are:

  • PowerShell
  • Office
  • Visual Studio
  • Expression Studio
  • WebMatrix
  • Windows Live Essentials
  • Zune
  • WorldWide Telescope

All of these applications are made by the same company as the operating system they are running on, so you’d think that they’d all behave exactly the same. This is not the case – each one tends to have its own UX and personality. Something that’s probably going to change in Windows 8 thanks to the advent of the Metro design language.

There are plenty of other smaller applications that I also use, including (but not limited to):

  • Paint.NET
  • EOS Utility
  • FileZilla
  • Flux
  • KatMouse

Oh and as for the browser? My current choice is actually Google Chrome. Mostly because of the spell checking functionality. I’ve used Internet Explorer 10 pretty extensively on the preview versions of Windows 8 and I quite like it, so the chances are I’ll probably move back to IE when it comes out at the end of the year.

Finally I also spend a large amount of time in PowerShell console windows. I have a lot of applications and scripts that I use in this environment, and I’m really hoping we get some kind of full screen Metro treatment to PowerShell – until then I’m probably going to have to use the Desktop to run these kinds of apps.

Windows 8 will definitely let me work in exactly the same way I do today – you can get access to all of the desktop and features of Windows 7 (with more stuff) so there’s no doubt about that. But will things change?

Eventually Metro-style applications will take over from the desktop applications we are using today. It just might take a while.

Digital Junk

Posted on July 10, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

I know a lot of people who are file collectors, ranging from keeping every possible bit of information which has a memory attached to it, to keeping all their emails even though they’ve dealt with them.

I personally feel that a lot of this stuff can weigh us down, so I try to keep it all to a minimum. But there is always going to be a lot of ‘digital junk’ that has to be dealt with – even if you are careful about what you keep.

The ‘Spam’ folder

One of the biggest sources for digital junk is obviously spam, by letting email into your life you’re opening yourself up to all kinds of rubbish. Because email was essentially invented by hippies, there’s no system in place to force users to prove who they are – this means you can send an email from Bill Gates without any email servers batting an eyelid.

Yea sure things are better these days, but I still tend to get quite a lot of spam. I also have a policy where any email address that isn’t trusted is automatically put into my spam folder. Because of this I tend to check my junk email at least a few times a day. Oh the joy.

The ‘Junk’ folder

I tend to make a folder called Junk inside my profile (C:\Users\Julian\Junk) where I stick any files that I haven’t yet decided where they should be (or if I need them at all!) Usually I just chuck everything from my Desktop into this folder when I’m done with it.

Saying that, I don’t usually keep anything on my Desktop at all. I only tend to use it for creation of content that is about to be uploaded or put into another project folder that I’m working on.

The ‘Downloads’ folder

Downloads probably the ‘buit in’ Windows folder that gets the most junk I have to sort out. Downloads tend to be a mixure of stuff you want to keep, stuff you wanted to just open to view, and (in my case as a developer) millions of documents that I’ve downloaded from one of Branded3′s internal tools.

Ahhh first world problems.

These Vizio PCs look fantastic

Posted on July 9, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

Apparently Vizio make televisions – but I have only heard of them since they started building personal computers.

They’ve split it into three categories:

It’s the Light + Thin Ultrabook that has my attention though.

Obviously there is a comparison with another American company who makes aluminium products, and I would say that their are certainly a lot of design similarities with the MacBook range, but the operating system choice is what’s exciting for me.

Plus with the Microsoft Signature configuration by default, I know the operating system will run really well without the typical bloatware that the likes of HP and Dell preinstall on their computers.

Vizio are very new to the PC market and definitely one to watch. I can’t wait to see how well their touchpads work with Windows 8, and I look forward to seeing what their next generation machines will bring. You can find out more information in Vizio reboots the PC – a brilliant article and video combo produced by the team over at The Verge.

At the moment, this machine is at the top of my list for most desirable Ultrabook.

Update…

After publishing this post I started wondering if they would ever see the light in the UK. After doing some looking around I managed to find this post on Facebook that does not look very promising. The search continues…

Microsoft Surface for Windows RT

Posted on June 20, 2012 at 14:15 by Julian Kay

Yesterday I wrote an article for Branded3 entitled Meet the Microsoft Surface as well as my thoughts on Microsoft as a Hardware Company. Now I wanted to write a little about my thoughts on the Surface itself, and which one of the two that I have chosen to be mine!

A little while ago I detailed my plans for the computers I wanted to have to replace my aging setup. Essentially it is as follows:

  • Xbox
  • Laptop
  • Phone
  • Tablet

So which of these two Microsoft Surface computers fits in with this array of devices? I must admit, the Intel version – Microsoft Surface for Windows 8 Pro is a much better device on paper, and also includes some features that the Windows RT version does not have – more pixels, more storage, Wacom digitizer (as well as touch) and the all important ability to run existing Windows apps.

One of the core selling points of the Windows 8 Pro version is that it would actually be more of a laptop replacement than a simple tablet – which is why it is just off the mark for my use. Seeing as I want as little computers as possible, I’d like to be able to have a full keyboard and touchpad that is integrated into a more traditional laptop design – or more correctly – an Ultrabook design to replace my MacBook.

What I really want from a tablet is a thin, battery friendly device for running Metro apps both at home and on the go. I think the Microsoft Surface for Windows RT would actually be the better option in that case.

What is Windows RT anyway? Windows RT is very similar to Windows 8 – but it is not Windows 8. They both share a lot of heratigate, and both share a lot of new Windows features, but the biggest change is that Windows RT breaks the line from previous versions of Windows by limiting the ability to run traditional desktop applications (except for a select few Microsoft titles, like Office).

For me this is fine, I want to have a Ultrabook computer for writing, desktop computing, using Vim and Visual Studio and Outlook and all that existing Windows software.

By having a tablet and an Ultrabook I know all my Metro style apps are going to sync on both machines through the Cloud. I can read mail, manage my time, surf the web and consume entertainment on both machines in exactly the same way. But when I’m using the Ultrabook I also get full access to all my existing applications. The best of both worlds.

For me this is exactly what I want my tablet device to do, and the main reason I’m going to choose the Windows RT version of Surface over the Windows 8 Pro tablet.

Microsoft the Hardware Company

Posted on June 19, 2012 at 19:41 by Julian Kay

Warning: I sound like a gushing fanboy on this post. Oh well.

I have used Microsoft hardware for a long time – from the original optical mouse and Natural Keyboards to pretty much every version of the Zune.

My friends and I often said “If only Microsoft would make X” where X has been everything from laptops to phones. One of the devices that has had these attention the most was actually the Zune HD. Many people have said to me “just imagine if it was a phone” – and while Windows Phone has exceeded this dream in terms of software, I’m still running a Samsung phone rather than a Microsoft phone*.

Simply because I thought it was the best at the time.

Back when Microsoft were trying to push manufacturers into producing high end Tablet PCs – they were recommending the Toshiba R400 as the best Windows Vista laptop (it had Wacom pen digitizer, sideshow, and much more) but I soon ended up replacing it with an Apple MacBook because their hardware was better.

Running Windows on a Apple machine because that’s the best PC I could get at the time. Yay for Apple, Boo for Microsoft.

So here is why the Microsoft Surface is different – it’s PC hardware. Not an accessory, not a games or entertainment machine, it’s an actual general purpose computer. And it’s designed and built by Microsoft, not some old OEM that can produce 100s of crappy plastic laptop designs and live in mediocrity. They’re only producing the very best equipment they can with the resources they have. And boy what resources.

The Microsoft Surface PCs dare other hardware manufacturers to do better, and as a consumer – I want to invest the best I can. For me that’s going to be Microsoft software on Microsoft hardware.

In this way my view is fairly selfish – I don’t care what it means for HP or Dell, the thing I care most about is the software and hardware tools I use every day. I believe that by taking this step into producing PCs, Microsoft is doing the right thing – giving Windows 8 a platform for it to perform exactly the way it was designed to.

* Actually a Nokia would do just fine!

Computers for 2012 and beyond

Posted on May 9, 2012 at 08:16 by Julian Kay

Because I got all my computers around the same time, they seem to have aged at same time. This year I plan on replacing all of the general purpose computers in one fell swoop that should keep me going until then next generation.

Here’s what I had at the start of the year:

  • Desktop – a 2008 beasty Dell XPS with two graphics cards and lots of fans
  • MacBook – a 2008 MacBook running Windows 7
  • Phone – a Windows Phone
  • Tablet PC – a 2007 Toshiba Tablet PC running Windows 7 that didn’t get much use

Here’s what I have planned for the end of the year:

  • Xbox – a living room entertainment system, mostly for music and video
  • Laptop – a Windows 8 laptop, probably around the 13 inch mark
  • Phone – a Windows Phone
  • Tablet – a Windows RT* tablet

I hadn’t really used my Toshiba Tablet PC a great deal in the last couple of years, mostly due to the fact I started using Windows 7 full time on my MacBook and the Tablet PC was only really used for drawing with the Wacom screen. Thankfully, I’ve already handed this computer on to a friend of mine who will no doubt make much better use of its capabilities.

Replacing what was essentially a laptop with a general purpose tablet will definitely be beneficial. As well as enabling new forms of mobility I haven’t really had before (yes, I’m totally jealous of my fellow astronomers with their iPads), it will also sync with my Windows laptop so that all the Metro-style applications are ready to go on either machine. I’ll probably go for whatever tablet most takes my fancy before the Windows 8 launch, but to be considered they’d have to be capable of having mobile broadband, GPS and sensors including accelerometer and compass enabling some of the more exciting Metro-style apps that are expected.

Picking a Windows 8 laptop might be a little bit harder, as I have been spoilt by the excellent craftsmanship in the MacBook. I know that manufacturers like HP and Dell should be capable of making such a machine, but deciding which one is a lot harder than simply choosing another Apple. But – Apple are not going to be an option, unless they include all the new Windows 8 goodness like touchscreen and sensors mentioned above – and going by Apple’s history of ‘quality’ Windows drivers, I’m not holding my breath.

As for right now – the Xbox has been a good replacement from my old, loud desktop computer. People who know me will know that I don’t watch television, so getting a TV screen and an Xbox in the living room is not probably not going to make me start wasting vast amounts of time by sitting in front of the screen, it’s more about simplifying what I was doing on my desktop computer: Surfing the web, doing emails, listening to music and watching video. Surfing the web and doing email can be done on either a laptop or a tablet just as well as on the desktop, so it made much more sense for the entertainment uses to take primary focus.

The Xbox is more than capable of looking after the music and video in my flat, and I’ll write up some of my thoughts about this shortly.

As with everything, I’m always trying to simplify. This solution is definitely simpler than previous setups, thought we’ll see if the numbers will eventually go down. I wouldn’t be shocked to be rocking a tablet/laptop hybrid with a docking station in a few years, reducing the number of computers even further.

* Windows RT is the name of what was previously known as WOA or Windows on Arm. Not to be confused with the WinRT development platform. Or something.

Microsoft Future Vision

Posted on February 13, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

Every so often Microsoft make ‘Future Vision’ videos, and while both of the ones I have posted here were produced some time ago, I stumbled across them again recently so I thought I’d share them for anyone who hasn’t spotted them yet.

The basic concept is for the Office division to imagine where productivity will be in the next 5-10 years, without having to actually create the products today. Both of these videos have a similar feel (I actually prefer the 2011 video) and the technology in them is smart and subtle. Some of the technology is even starting to become real.

It’s this smart yet subtle concept that really connects me to the modern Microsoft design language, including Metro on Windows Phone and Windows 8.

2009

My favourites from the 2009 video have to be the smart school room, and the flexible newspaper display. Fantastic ideas.

2011

There are so many parts of the 2011 video I like, but most of all I like the way the devices work together. The taxi windows and hotel room computers become personal once hooked up to the smaller devices. A very powerful concept.

You can watch a few of the Microsoft Future Vision videos on the Office YouTube page, but I don’t think we’ll see a new one until next year.