MY.L.O

Windows 8/.1 : Is possible to have ever your information at the palm of your hand?

Integration between devices that run windows 8.1, does the work more efficient?

Hello to all, in this first post I analyze a interesting point in our every day life, it's possible to have our personal information at the palm of our hands, really having devices that run Windows 8.1 in it's variants (PC/Tablet/RT and phone) does that our job and productivity be more efficient?

Meeting Windows

Since Microsoft launch It's Operational Sistem "Windows" this has been limited to live in our computers, back in time a computer was something that only you can find in your work or an University and it's use was limited to people who must know a series of commands to give a productive use to it, we are talking about the hera of "DOS".

Original Word running in a version of windows without graphic interface.

Some years later we met Windows 95 but even in that year while it's use wasn't limited to commands and it's had a graphic interface for applications that make more easy and intuitive the tasks still was a luxury that a small group of people and families could access.

Windows95 desktop showing some applications running.

The story continued with the pass of the years, you can read more in Wikipedia.

The windows family grows.

The October 29 of 2012 Microsoft launch windows 8 and for first time since 1995 the classic start button wasn't available (fact that annoyed many users of Windows, even the new Start become to be a Screen called "Metro" or "Modern" UI so many people started to thinking that Windows was actually more oriented to the tablets and touch screen devices market), in spite of its bad critics with the time began to appear the good critics, for example: the existence of a Store (windows Store) where the programmers can publish their apps and the users download them without any fear of installing malware (actually the programs like google earth or Adobe Photoshop still have the download links out the marketplace), the novelty was the "apps" that have "live tiles" these can show dynamic information while these are "pined to start" like the Weather app or finance app.

Picture of my start screen with the weather app, finace and healt pined, showing information of my interest.

Windows 8.1 Variants

Up today it's easy to find windows 8.1 in it's variants PC(x86 and x64), Tablet(x86 and x64 full vertion of windows), Tablet (windows RT that runs in ARM processors).
If I have one of the devices mentioned can I execute the same apps that runs in the others?
Answer: No you can't!, up today exist apps that are available for all the mentioned devices, to this apps we call "apps with multiple support" (translated from windowsStore.es) in this case we can get these apps in our pc, phone and tablet and it's functionality is the same but this app is not the same, I mean it's code is different for each device.

integrating inter-windows 8.1

The first integration that we can mention is the "User account".
Windows 8.1 PC: One of the first things that
windows ask to us when we buy or install a new windows product it's Microsoft account (Live, Outlook, Hotmail, MSN), this going to be used for sync our information related to our account like: Contacts, or E-mail.
Windows Phone: Also when we recently buy a Smart phone with windows 8/.1 this ask to us a Microsoft account to sync our contacts, apps that we buy, e-mail, and if we were check for save a security copy of our phone information.
Tablets RT and x86/64: Also ask the same account to sync our data.

Sky drive as a part of the integration.

Sky drive is a service provided by Microsoft (if you have Hotmail, Live or Outlook you already have sky drive like it happen with Google services, one account allows us access to the others services). Sky drive is a Storage unit in the cloud, as well you can save a document in your hard drive or a photo in your SD card you can do it in sky drive.
If for example you save a Word document in the Documents forlder of sky drive you can access to it from your computer, your phone or your tablet. (if you have an Internet connection).
The app Sky drive has a multiple support therefore you can download the App to manage your files in the cloud from your pc, tablet or phone. In the pc versions you can select a specific folder so it will automatically sync with sky drive.

Office the Achilles heel of the integration.

Possibly the Office part would be the weakest point when we want to integrate our devices to win productivity, be cause the office capabilities can be different depending the variant where it runs on.

In Full Windows (x86 & x64) we have the possibility of install any version of Office we want, however for tablets that runs Windows RT (ARM processors) there's a specific version, Microsoft Office team says "Office RT shares the same source code with Office Pc for Windows with minimal changes to have less battery consumption in tablets an a better touch screen support, and its a office Home and Student version".
In the case of Office for Windows phone is where our integration is weakest (personal opinion: I think is the more disappointing point when I come from Symbian from Windows phone be cause even in my 2005 phone I had the Quick Office which I can create and open full documents of power point).
In the Windows phone devices the power point part only works for open and edit .pptx files but not create.
In the part of Excel mobile we also have limitations of capabilities like in the word mobile part.

Windows 8/.1 does the work more efficient?

We could say that in the productivity part windows 8.1 it's better on pc and RT but we can't say the same in the windows phone part as a participant in the practice (editing and creating files), one even feel clumsy writing or editing a whole Word document from any windows phone even in the Lumia 1520 phablet.

But where we find synergy is when we create a documente in pc or tablet and we upload to sky drive and we can read it comfortably in our tablet or phone ( the possibilities of editing and correcting we found in windows phone are too basics).

Remote desktop: It's an app with multiple support whit which have access to a remote desktop (another computer in the same network or and external network with fixed IP), I personally use to control mi windows 7 in my old desktop pc and I can connect and see the same windows desktop on my windows phone 8 and I can control from the chess titans game to google chrome and see my download progress on Ares. (the possibilities are almost unlimited).

Icon of remote desktop app (available on the windows store for windows phone and windows).

Reading list: it's another app with multiple support which we can download on any windows 8 device, this app help us have synced a list of things we want to read in another time, the practice example would be: "we are surfing on the web from our windows phone while lunch time or coffee break but we're run of time, ad we need to back to work, so with a touch in the browser we select to share with and we select reading list, the app automatically will sync the link of the web page and then let's say we are at home already and we don't want to read from our phone anymore and we chose for the pc, we go to the reading list app and the link automatically will be available to read again the web page.

Reading list icon in the windows store showing the multiple support icon.

Office lens: is an exclusive app of windows phone, the same works taking a photo of documents, white boards and hand writing and then converts it an re arrange the photo to be legible and add it to a one note sheet that automatically will sync with the cloud to be available for the others devices like tablets and pc's.

Office remote: is another Exclusive app for windows phone, this app works as remote control when we for example we make a power point presentation so in our windows phone screen we will have the directional arrows for go forward or back our slide, we also have the "laser" option which in this function will appear the slide in our windows phone screen and with our finger we can draw a red point in the slide simulating a laser pointer. we also have a button to go to the end of the presentation or start, even end the presentation ( is necessary have the controller installed on our computer that is mentioned in the windows phone app at the start, also is necessary to have Bluetooth in the pc we want to control.

One note: Up today we can deownload from the windows store (if not pre installed), this app is for taking notes, list's an wath we imagine or have in our minds, we can add images, voice notes, add check boxes and more, whe can creathe a super marker list (already exist an app for that) an then when we end we just exit the app and it will sync with the cloud and we would have available our notes in every device (it's really good but in windows phone lacks the draw option or hand writing to use at the university, I think this function is supported in tablets)

One note running on any device.

It's possible to have your information at the palm of your hand?

If you have an internet connection the answer is yes, but it depends of the app we are using, for example we ever going to have updated our note of One note even if we decide otherwise work one day from our Tablet and the other day from our Windows phone, we could have our important files in the cloud and have these available in any device if we want, but in windows phone editing them for making a review could be really basic (in any case it justified if it is really urgent), and like a plus we are going to have our contacts list and calendar always synchronized (if we use the same account in all our devices) and have access to them from our PC or even tablet, in this case is more comfortable the phone to take notes.

The Future and Windows 10

Microsoft in its last Conference showed the Windows 10 running in different devices and working in almost a similar way in all the devices, also the showed Office and said it would be an Universal app, the difference in the multi support app is this going to have the same source code in any device, it's mean it would be the same app in all devices , also they promise better integration with Xbox and even games streaming in windows 10 ( in smart phone they only mention the Xbox app but they don't mention anything about gaming streaming and we don't know that part).

Only one Windows and only one Store, it's mean the same productivity experience in all the devices.