DACS General Meeting
December 2012
Meeting Review:
Windows 8 Meeting Review

By Richard Corzo

Jay Ferron, former APCUG president and our dynamic speaker when Windows Vista came out and again with Window 7, was our scheduled speaker for Windows 8 at our December 4th general meeting. Usually arriving early for past presentations, he was nowhere to be seen during the first hour, which was packed with the Ask DACS Q&A session, the annual board election, and a brief introduction to the Microsoft Store services by their representative Carolyn Bighinatti. Just a few minutes before the 8 o’clock presentation was supposed to start, I asked Carolyn if there was any way she could step in at the last minute and talk about Windows 8. Thanks goodness she agreed and gave us a great impromptu talk for nearly an hour.

We didn’t have a Windows 8 machine handy, so with just a Microsoft web page on Windows 8 as a backdrop, she proceeded to introduce us to Windows 8. It is Microsoft’s attempt to handle traditional PCs and laptops, along with new touch-screen tablets, with one operating system. Carolyn started by asking us if we were familiar with or had seen the tiles on the new Windows 8 start screen. These can be simply icons that start a program, or be live tiles that update with a new status like the weather or updates to our contacts or photos. She humorously explained that although Windows 8 is designed to work with a touch interface, as well as a keyboard and mouse, it doesn’t magically turn your existing screen into a touch screen.

She then let the audience drive the discussion with questions. One person asked about whether the new Microsoft Surface RT tablet had a USB port. It does and therefore supports input devices, external drives and other devices that you might expect to plug in to your PC. Another person asked if there was an advantage to having a touch screen with Windows 8, for example in using Office applications like Excel. She explained how it was possible to use the touch interface to switch between applications, or even to manipulate cells within Excel, but that it didn’t necessarily afford an advantage over a mouse and keyboard. She noted that the Surface comes with a new version of Office preloaded. It is currently a preview version of Office 2013.

This is a good time to mention that there are actually two Microsoft operating systems out now, Windows 8 and Windows RT. Windows 8 only runs on machines with Intel processors. Windows RT runs on new machines with the ARM processors that are typical in mobile devices. These include the new Microsoft Surface RT tablet that has a touch screen and an optional keyboard cover. The Surface RT tablet can only run apps from the new Windows 8 Store, and not traditional Windows applications. The version of Office on Windows RT devices includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote, but no Outlook. Early in 2013 Microsoft plans to release a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet that will have an Intel processor and therefore can run both Windows Store apps and traditional Windows desktop applications including Microsoft Outlook.

I had my own question about what input device was recommended for the horizontal scrolling I encountered in the Windows 8 Store apps (as opposed to the vertical scrolling typically found in traditional Windows applications). She pointed out that existing scroll mice would automatically work for the horizontal scrolling of the new apps. (I later tried this at home and found it worked.)

More questions ensued and Carolyn tried to assuage a certain level of anxiety that had arisen from people hearing about this radically new Windows.

We want to heartily thank Carolyn for being a hero and saving our meeting when our scheduled speaker was unable to make it. (We later found out that Jay had been out of town and his return flight was delayed so that he was unable to make it back in time for our meeting.)

Since we didn’t get a live demo during the general meeting, DACS is scheduling a Windows 8 workshop at the Microsoft Store in the Danbury Mall on Monday, January 7, at 7 p.m. This should be good timing for people who may get a new Windows 8 or Windows RT machine over the holidays.