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Windows 8 brings a new app store for apps that are totally not called Metro. Basically they are full-screen (with option for split-screen, "Snap", where an app can take a 320px-wide sliver of your screen) apps that are simple, designed for touch but still  Mostly sparse, boxy, minimalist design. The "Snap" feature:  Generally the best apps take advantage of this, the worst just sort of show the name of the app and nothing else. The style has gone through more name changes than you'd believe. Currently the style is "Microsoft Design Style" while the actual apps are "Windows 8 Apps" Chat: First of all, the most obvious: Skype  Generally the same as the current Skype app for the desktop, with notifications, video calling, etc. Missing File Transfer and Group Calling, but otherwise identical. IM+  IM+ is generally known for their mobile clients, I've used their iOS and Android clients and they are top-notch and generally are pretty good about updates. Supports a plethora of networks including AIM, Gchat, MSN, Skype, Facebook, and a bunch of other ones I haven't heard of. Plus, it's free! Awful Forums Reader  Forums reader for SA. Made by fellow goon drasticactions. Thread here. For Twitter, we currently have 2 whole options! So much choice!  Tweetium  Tweetium is the best Twitter app that's currently out. Though multiple account and push support is $7/year, it's a really clean client that has good display of media in your timeline.  The official Twitter client.  Not much more to say.Entertainment Netflix  This is a really good Netflix app. Probably the best one I've used. Unfortunately doesn't support auto-playing the next episode in a TV series yet, but everything else is really well designed Hulu Plus  I don't have Hulu Plus so I can't really comment on it, but it's there. Xbox SmartGlass  Xbox SmartGlass. Provides a way of streaming videos to your Xbox 360, also lets you control your 360 from your PC/tablet. I don't own an Xbox 360 so I can't verify how well this works, but from everything I've read, it seems to work quite well. TuneIn Radio Radio for your tablet and/or PC! I've used TuneIn a couple of times, it supports background music and has a ton of radio stations. Utilities/Other Dropbox  It's Dropbox for Metro, what more can I say? WeatherBug  A really great looking replacement for the default Weather app. Free, ad-supported. Evernote  A decent note-taking client with cloud sync. What I'm writing this post in. LastPass  I love Lastpass, and I'm glad they have an app. Probably better to use on a tablet where you don't have the browser extension, as it is a bit more unweildly than the regular desktop app for the vault. But it's there. Kindle  Obligatory Kindle post. What can be said about Kindle? Bookviser  For sideloading books not from Amazon. Cocktail Flow  Drink recipes. Has tons of good word about it. A couple of other suggestions from forums poster tk: tk posted:I'm going to pretend that this is the best thread for an app dump at the moment. Thought some people might be interested in some of non-obvious apps that I have been using: All of these should be compatible with x86, x64, and RT. I'll make note of any exceptions for future updates. edit: Looking for the  Settings on an app? Open the Settings Charm from the Charms Menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-I.
Kazy fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Oct 27, 2012 05:24
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Kazy posted:TuneIn Radio This one is fantastic if you enjoy listening to online only stuff like SomaFM It's also perfect in snap.
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Oct 27, 2012 05:36
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As a twitter app, I'm currently using Rowi. There's also a Pandora app (not actually by Pandora) that I've been using, but I can't find it in the store at the moment.
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Oct 27, 2012 05:55
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I picked up a Surface tonight, and my first thought (other than "I wish I had a forums reader") was "I wish I had a VLC remote". So I'm working on a VLC remote app right now. I know there's probably already one out there, but having a personal project is always good. If/when I ever finish and publish it, I'll post something. I probably won't charge for it.
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Oct 27, 2012 06:38
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JPrime posted:As a twitter app, I'm currently using Rowi. There's also a Pandora app (not actually by Pandora) that I've been using, but I can't find it in the store at the moment. I really like Rowi on my phone, but sadly I think Metrotwit is probably the currently better option right now. As far as Weather apps go, I do like WeatherFlow, although the live tile appears to be busted right now. On a side note, how the poo poo do you get a good deep link to an app, is there some way other than sharing it to yourself? Is the Windows Store not browsable online? Maneki Neko fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 07:05
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Might as well post my poo poo here. A warning ahead, tho: They're not free. (Trying to make some buck here. Emphasis on trying.) DOF Calculator  A simple depth of field calculator. Either chose one of the camera profiles I painfully scraped from the web, or enter your custom sensor specs, then just play around with the sliders to get your depth of field and where it's at. 7 day trial. Audio Analyzer  This is a spectrum analyzer and sound pressure level tool. I made one a long while ago on the Windows Phone and it was mildly popular, so here's a port. Personally not too proud of, considering the spaghetti that ended up inside the source code. Trial's unlimited for now (when I feel like it, it will be disabled over two updates, first one to warn about it). x86 only until I can test it on ARM. Synth  A minipiano with 25 keys and one octave spread about the C4 note, backed by some sort of semi-modular software synthesizer. 14 day trial. x86 only until I can test it on ARM. Update with working multitouch is in certification. (As far as synths go, I have also this cooking.) There's also my BMI app "Weightless" on the store, that calculates BMI, bodyfat and base metabolic rate based on your age, weight and a very few body measurements. The BMI calculation itself is free, the silly graphs is an in-app purchase (the chart library costed some money). Apparently it's poo poo tho, because the first and only rating it got was an uncommented 1 star. Combat Pretzel fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Oct 27, 2012 13:17
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Maneki Neko posted:On a side note, how the poo poo do you get a good deep link to an app, is there some way other than sharing it to yourself? You can share it to Clipboard (http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/app/d12111fe-bfa8-4050-96c1-c6571e1f3230) for easy pasting onto the internet. Edit: Also, you can share either from the store or with an app selected on the Start Screen. Maneki Neko posted:Is the Windows Store not browsable online?
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Oct 27, 2012 15:00
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Ithaqua posted:I picked up a Surface tonight, and my first thought (other than "I wish I had a forums reader") was "I wish I had a VLC remote". That sounds cool but...how about vlc itself?! I've found this thing plays back a number of codecs just barely above zero. I've got iPad apps that can play/stream most of my library to an iPad, but my poor surface is dead in the water for media playback 😞
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Oct 27, 2012 16:50
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What sort of videos do you watch? MPEG-2, Xvid, AVC, MP3 and AAC are supported.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:01
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Combat Pretzel posted:What sort of videos do you watch? MPEG-2, Xvid, AVC, MP3 and AAC are supported. It doesn't do the mkv container, for one. Or m2ts.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:03
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A lot of mkv I have from disks. I have a media center setup in my living room with most of my movie collection set up that way so I was bummed out to find the surface can't handle any of it since I put a lot of work into my library. Also, since IM+ seems to be the only game in town for multi protocol IM, hopefully they can clean up that interface! Anyone else notice the comically large name gadgets in message windows make it impossible to see more than 3 or so messages at a time? I'm really digging my surface. With a few more apps, and some improvements to apps existing, this could be the coolest tablet I've ever touched.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:06
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I haven't followed Windows 8 at all because for most of the past two years I've been using OSX and Linux. Is there some reason a person with a tower PC and a 40" HDTV display wants a Twitter client to take up their entire screen? Serious question, I don't understand the value of that.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:10
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I don't think that's the point of windows 8 for desktop users, which is why the desktop version let's you use normal desktop apps from anyone, no Microsoft approval needed. Most of what we are all getting excited about in this thread is for tablets running windows 8, where Microsoft doesn't permit full access to the desktop for third party devs, and honestly one's finger works a lot better on interfaces designed for tablets anyhow. Windows 8 doesn't bring a ton of change to how I use my laptop. I use Firefox and thunderbird and openoffice and all the normal desktop apps I always have. It is, however, slick as hell on my tablet.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:16
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Might be worth pointing out that the built in Xbox Music app comes with free streaming with ads, like pandora, as well as an ad-free paid option.Craptacular! posted:I haven't followed Windows 8 at all because for most of the past two years I've been using OSX and Linux. Is there some reason a person with a tower PC and a 40" HDTV display wants a Twitter client to take up their entire screen? This isn't the thread for that discussion.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:19
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I kind of like it for dual monitor use, where Chrome or something else will take up an entire screen anyway. Also I can't seem to find a non-Metro IM client that isn't bloated trash. And someone from the SH/SC thread recommended Modern Reader. It seems to work better than Readiculous, which hasn't been updating with my new items.] Aatrek posted:I can't find a way to pay for the ad-free version of MetroTwit. Settings Charm > General Settings, it should give you the option in there. Kazy fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 17:19
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I can't find a way to pay for the ad-free version of MetroTwit.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:20
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Aatrek posted:I can't find a way to pay for the ad-free version of MetroTwit. Settings -> General Settings. There's an upgrade button that does an in-app purchase, I think. I want to like MetroTwit, but I find myself having to restart it all the time because it "loses its connection" and just completely stops updating.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:23
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Can you pin IE bookmarks as tiles? I imagine Metro IE is pretty usable even if there aren't great Twitter/Facebook/etc apps yet?
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Oct 27, 2012 17:27
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Yes, you may use web based 'apps' in place of actual apps by pinning them to the home screen much like in ios. This is useful for stuff like the fact that I use icloud calendar. Save my login in ie, pin it to home screen, boom. It works nearly like there's a real app for it.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:39
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Everybody needs to download the Big picture app right now because it is goddamn gorgeous.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:43
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keyframe posted:Everybody needs to download the Big picture app right now because it is goddamn gorgeous. It is really awesome. I just wish it got push notifications for the live tile to notify you when there is a new post.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:50
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tk posted:Settings -> General Settings. There's an upgrade button that does an in-app purchase, I think. Found it, thanks. I have it pinned to the right side of my second monitor, and it's updating just fine. I wish I could add a Facebook feed to it, to display both in-line, but for now, I'll take it!
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Oct 27, 2012 17:54
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Is there any way to get the "View in Store" option to show up in Chrome? I don't want to have to switch back to Firefox 
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Oct 27, 2012 17:56
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Tedronai66 posted:It doesn't do the mkv container, for one. Or m2ts. I wanted to post that you may aswell just remux them to MP4, since neither MKV nor M2TS have any real value at this point, but then I remembered how horrible most tools are, and the whole transcoding bullshit sometimes involved. Especially hilarious, when it's easy as poo poo on commandline with ffmpeg.exe, even tho most tools are actually just a front-end to it (and a bunch of other tools).
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Oct 27, 2012 18:01
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keyframe posted:Everybody needs to download the Big picture app right now because it is goddamn gorgeous. Yeah okay. Could you link the store's URL when you suggest apps please? I had trouble finding this.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:03
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Aatrek posted:Found it, thanks. I have it pinned to the right side of my second monitor, and it's updating just fine. I wish I could add a Facebook feed to it, to display both in-line, but for now, I'll take it! It usually works fine when its just up and chilling. Its on suspend/resume that it dies (for me at least).
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Oct 27, 2012 18:17
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Anyone having issues with app updates? I've currently got 7 apps that have needed to be updated since last night (Games, Mail, News, Bing, Sports, Weather, and Maps). No matter what I do I can't get them to update. I try clicking install, nothing. I try clearing the list and doing them one by one, nothing. Everything else is working fine with the exception of those issues.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:18
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Dracon Wolf posted:Anyone having issues with app updates? I've currently got 7 apps that have needed to be updated since last night (Games, Mail, News, Bing, Sports, Weather, and Maps). No matter what I do I can't get them to update. I try clicking install, nothing. I try clearing the list and doing them one by one, nothing. Everything else is working fine with the exception of those issues. Install the latest Windows Update.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:20
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Is there any way to make the Netflix Metro App work in the 2nd display?
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Oct 27, 2012 18:22
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Lilleput posted:Is there any way to make the Netflix Metro App work in the 2nd display? Drag down from the top and drag it to the other monitor. With the keyboard, Win+PgUp/PgDn. If you are asking if you can have a metro app up on monitor #2 and the start screen or another metro app up on monitor #1 at the same time: nope.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:27
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Factor Mystic posted:Drag down from the top and drag it to the other monitor. With the keyboard, Win+PgUp/PgDn. If you are asking if you can have a metro app up on monitor #2 and the start screen or another metro app up on monitor #1 at the same time: nope. Ah! That's great, thanks!
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Oct 27, 2012 19:11
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Kazy posted:Install the latest Windows Update. Perfect -- thanks!
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Oct 27, 2012 19:42
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The ABC app is worth mentioning.  http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/en-US/app/abc-player/a37e096c-df78-4e91-b1c6-5bb400df2087 It has access to full episodes for free.
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Oct 27, 2012 20:28
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Kazy posted:I kind of like it for dual monitor use, where Chrome or something else will take up an entire screen anyway. Also I can't seem to find a non-Metro IM client that isn't bloated trash. Kind of off-topic, but: http://www.miranda-im.org/
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Oct 27, 2012 21:00
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Dead Man Posting posted:Yeah okay. Could you link the store's URL when you suggest apps please? I had trouble finding this. Sorry I don't know how to link store url how do you do that?
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Oct 27, 2012 21:13
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keyframe posted:Sorry I don't know how to link store url how do you do that? Get the Clipboard app mentioned in the OP.
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Oct 27, 2012 21:20
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Kazy posted:Get the Clipboard app mentioned in the OP. Thank you. If anybody is looking for a IRC app, I just tried this and it seems pretty good: http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/en-US/app/irc-explorer/c210318f-2ec5-4ebf-ac55-87641b4a7733
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Oct 28, 2012 00:30
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keyframe posted:Thank you. I tried this out, but it doesn't convert links into URLs. Which seems like a really huge oversight to me.
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Oct 28, 2012 00:44
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As a cable cutter, the Xbox SmartGlass intrigues me but everything I see just mentions purchased (I assume from the Xbox store) videos, does anyone know of you can add the media collection you have to stream to an Xbox?
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Oct 28, 2012 02:50
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GoatSeeGuy posted:As a cable cutter, the Xbox SmartGlass intrigues me but everything I see just mentions purchased (I assume from the Xbox store) videos, does anyone know of you can add the media collection you have to stream to an Xbox? Unless I misunderstand you, there are a few ways to do this really both already built into the Xbox. Two easy ones are you can configure Media Center on your PC and set the Xbox to be an extender for it (even if you do nothing TV related), or you can just share out a folder on the network and browse to it via the Xbox media player. It's been that way for years and it's how I serve up all my videos/movies to our Xboxes. (Xboxi?)
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Oct 28, 2012 03:10
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