My SP3 thoughts

[Moonsurface]

I had a laptop with vista and apart from a small problem with music stuttering when 3D effects were turned on I had no issues with it, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about... Lol.

As for windows phone I am tempted by one but every time I hear an advert for apps like my banking app which are "only available on iPhone and android" I get put off its the biggest issue for me. I like my nexus phone but feel like s change next time I upgrade but it won't be to iPhone, I guess I'll see what android L offers while windows app store matures.

 

[malberttoo]

Win 8 is nothing like Vista. Vista was buggy, an insane resource hog, and annoying. Win 8 is IMHO an even more refined and better OS than Win 7, and I love Win 7.

It's just the interface of Win 8 that I think is causing the most grief for people.

 

[raqball]

I am finding some annoyances but nothing major.

Mail is horrible in metro. The font size for new mail is tiny and unreadable. Sure I can pinch to zoom but then it does not auto wrap the text. If you pinch to zoom you then have to scroll left to right to read (since it does not auto wrap / format text to the screen) and this is an impossible task on lengthy emails.

I am using Outlook 2013 and that is much better but pinch to zoom does not work and the zoom slider bar is tiny and impossible to get the zoom right with a single click on it. Also, using Outlook 2013 I do not get missed mail notifications on the lock screen.

Internet Explorer has 2 different versions. One for Metro and one for Desktop. If I save a cookie or a password in the metro IE it does not save it ion desktop IE.

When using the metro IE and I close it out by swiping down or selecting the 'x' in the top right corner is does not really close it down. It still shows as active in task manager and the next time I open it, the old tab is still active and it makes a new tab. If I do this several times I will have several active tabs.

That's about it for my annoyances with Windows 8. It's been a long time since I've used Windows and I do have some more learning to do with it.

 

[olimjj]

Mail is horrible in metro. The font size for new mail is tiny and unreadable.

In the Metro mail app press the windows key + I key. Choose Options , Message Font and Size

 

[Len J]

I am finding some annoyances but nothing major.

Mail is horrible in metro. The font size for new mail is tiny and unreadable. Sure I can pinch to zoom but then it does not auto wrap the text. If you pinch to zoom you then have to scroll left to right to read (since it does not auto wrap / format text to the screen) and this is an impossible task on lengthy emails.

I am using Outlook 2013 and that is much better but pinch to zoom does not work and the zoom slider bar is tiny and impossible to get the zoom right with a single click on it. Also, using Outlook 2013 I do not get missed mail notifications on the lock screen.

Internet Explorer has 2 different versions. One for Metro and one for Desktop. If I save a cookie or a password in the metro IE it does not save it ion desktop IE.

When using the metro IE and I close it out by swiping down or selecting the 'x' in the top right corner is does not really close it down. It still shows as active in task manager and the next time I open it, the old tab is still active and it makes a new tab. If I do this several times I will have several active tabs.

That's about it for my annoyances with Windows 8. It's been a long time since I've used Windows and I do have some more learning to do with it.

My ID desktop and metro have the exact same password saves and favorites. Don't know why yours isn't

Len

 

[raqball]

In the Metro mail app press the windows key + I key. Choose Options , Message Font and Size

That only changes the font for outgoing messages and it works just fine as the person receiving the email does in fact get the font and size you set but it does absolutely nothing when receiving new email..

 

[olimjj]

That only changes the font for outgoing messages and it works just fine as the person receiving the email does in fact get the font and size you set but it does absolutely nothing when receiving new email..

Sorry. Misunderstood your "new mail" to indicate outgoing

 

[raqball]

Here is my 2 week update.

I've been exclusively using the SP3 since selling my late 2013 retina MacBook Pro. I do not miss the MacBook one bit, not even a little. The Sp3 does everything I want and more. Microsoft hit a grand slam with this in my opinion.

I use it in metro / tablet mode probably 95% of the time and really only venture over to the desktop when running desktop programs which I only have a few of. So far just about everything I want / need can be found in the store for use in metro / tablet mode.

I am still learning Windows 8 and have a ways to go until I get it but it's been a fairly easy process. I assume that living in metro mode has helped as it's sort of idiot (me) proof..

I do like that I can put an icon for desktop application on the metro desktop and my only minor irritation is that when I close out of a desktop program it leaves me on the desktop. It would be nice if Windows 8 would notice I opened the program from metro and returned me there after closing it. This is minor as it only takes a second to return to metro / tablet mode.

I did purchase the keyboard and while I won't use it very often (I attached it to write this post) it's very nice when needed / used. I find the virtual keyboard to be adequate for most of my needs except when I need to type something lengthy.

I've had no heat issues, I've never heard the fan and the unit runs great! I did end up swapping over to the i5 256 with 8gb of ram. I do have the yellow stripe down the left side that many have talked about but I have to have the SP3 in the right lighting and view it from a specific angle to notice it.

Overall, after 2 weeks of use, I am thrilled with this purchase. It is exactly what I have been looking for and it has allowed me to ditch my previous laptop and my tablet. I now use the SP3 as a tablet most of the time but it's also a powerful PC when I need it be.

 

[kristalsoldier]

That only changes the font for outgoing messages and it works just fine as the person receiving the email does in fact get the font and size you set but it does absolutely nothing when receiving new email..

Yup...if I have peeve against the Mail app, it is this. In other ways, the app is OK - basic, but OK (barely so though) - though I am not sure why MS would not have an option for "cut" - they only have copy and paste. This is a problem of sorts because (1) Outlook (at least for me is overkill) (2) there is no other Mail app in the Store (I thought TouchMail would work, but frankly, I have not followed up with it. Any ideas, anyone?). I do hope that MS does something to the Mail app - and soon!!!

 

[raqball]

Yup...if I have peeve against the Mail app, it is this. In other ways, the app is OK - basic, but OK (barely so though) - though I am not sure why MS would not have an option for "cut" - they only have copy and paste. This is a problem of sorts because (1) Outlook (at least for me is overkill) (2) there is no other Mail app in the Store (I thought TouchMail would work, but frankly, I have not followed up with it. Any ideas, anyone?). I do hope that MS does something to the Mail app - and soon!!!

I am not hopeful that MS will fix the mail font size issue. I did a search and found some pretty old posts / complaints on the MS forums. It appears many have complained about the tiny font size in incoming email and MS has done nothing to resolve the issue.

I am however back to using mail as opposed to Outlook 2013 as I like the interface better and I like getting lock screen notifications. For now its fine for reading short emails as I use pinch to zoom then just scroll left to right to read. For longer emails I am just using outlook.com.

If MS does not want to fix the font issue they could at least have the font auto wrap (is that the right terminology?) when zoomed.

 

[jnjroach]

Office Gemini is supposed to have a MUI version of Outlook...

 

[kristalsoldier]

Office Gemini is supposed to have a MUI version of Outlook...

Now that would get me to use Outlook in a heart-beat!!!!