Flash Support in IE10
I have found that many sites that use Flash will refuse to play in IE10 in the Metro view, but will play back if opened in IE10 on the desktop. I don’t like the inconsistent flash support in Metro IE10. Here’s hoping that more sites port over from flash to HTML5, but until they do, this requirement to switch to the desktop browser version will be a pain. Here is an example of what happens in Metro IE10 when I go to the audio streaming page on my HP EX475 home server.
And the same page on the legacy side version of IE10.
I can use this Flash site just fine on the Legacy side, but the error message in RT will give users the impression that their computer will not work correctly with this site. Hopefully, as sites migrate away from flash and towards HTML5, this issue will reduce in scope, but it is a point of confusion now.
Sports App
The Sports app in Metro looks great. After telling the app the I like the Indians (and Browns, too, unfortunately), it knows to bring me articles about my favorite teams. In order to configure that, right-click at the top of the page in the app and select Favorite Teams. See the star icon second from the left? Click on it.
Here is what I have set.
Use charm bar (win+c) to search in store app
Thanks for the tip…still think they need to have a Bing Search link in the store app as most folks won’t want to use a keystroke combo, especially in a touch scenario.
While I like the underlying platform of Win8, the current state of Metro Apps is pretty abysmal. There are also some significant gotchas in the fact that the Win 8 environment and the Photo App don’t play nicely with WHS.
See http://gcoupe.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/whats-not-to-like-in-windows-8/ for more bugs, quirks and WTFs.
I also find it somewhat ironic that I had to post this comment using Google Chrome running in Win8. The Win8 desktop IE10 doesn’t work properly with Disqus.
Wow Geoff did not see that Disqus is not working. Another issue is that the FX app in Win8 may not be bringing in the right data…these are beta apps and those holes need to be closed.
I think there will be plenty of people who sit out this upgrade cycle. Personally, if they do a good job on the Surface, I’ll take the plunge. I can’t see most businesses going with this version though.
Overall, I like the Metro interface, and really expect it to play well with touch…but your point on unresolved issues with apps is a good one.