I am new to Win 8, (used to Win 7 on desktop computer). Purchased a Surface-RT and am painfully pecking through touch screen interface. The desktop is almost impossible to use because the screen is too small to be able to hit the correct item with my fat finger. So I am forced to use the main screen. Three very basic queries: 1) I get the strong impression that M-S wants me to store everything in the cloud, and wants to make it as difficult as possible to store data locally. I have no desire to give my data to M-S, (or the NSA, or hackers). Is there an easy way to create folders, and create tiles which point to them? 2) It also appears that M-S wants absolute control of what programs I may want to use - if it isn't in the Windows Store, it isn't usable. Correct? (We use a POP-3 mail client normally. If I am correct, we cannot do so with the Surface - correct?) 3) The damn thing died completely when my wife took it with her on a trip, anxious to use it to show hundreds of pictures to some long-lost relatives. We have manged to get it going again with frank voodoo, (hold the + volume button down, press the power button, hold both for 20 seconds, release both, and then press the power button again within 2 seconds!). But this has brought home to me the fact that we have no way of backing this thing up. (And, of course if everything is being stored on M-S servers, there is no need to do so in the first place.) I have regular system images of all my Win-7 computers so that when, (not if) ,they get screwed up, I can revert to a backup to recover both data and programs and O/S. Can I make any form of system image on this Surface? If not, what happens when it dies and voodoo doesn't fix it, or when it catches CryptoLocker or something?
Use Surface WITHOUT cloud
- Thread starter maxwelldm
- Start date
The Surfaces with Windows RT are really resigned to use the Metro interface anyway. It's how they work best, so I would recommend you use Metro anyway.
Microsoft want you to use the option which provides the best, most seemless user experience possible, across multiple machines and devices. This inherently means using a web based storage location. This is a methodology which was brought about by the quickly evolving and dispossible mobile device market, where everyone wants to quickly, painlessly and seemlesly upgrade devices. It is also something that is born from the change in methodoligies of the OS where Apps are now the objective. These OS's are designed around the idea that Apps, not files, are the most important. It's Apps that you see and touch and use, and the files are hidden away behind the scenes.
All of this goes hand-in-hand with the relatively limited space that is available in most portable/mobile devices. Cloud based storage means devices need less inbuilt space, which overall reduces their initial costs.
As for your fears of data being hacked or stolen, my advice is that it is far easier for anyone to hack and grab your files from your local drives than it is for them to hack a reputable (Microsoft, Google, Apple etc) cloud service and get your data.
Not to mention that the majority of the websites and internet activities you perform are in a non-secure environemtn, so it is very easy for peoplemto sniff your packets and see what you are doing.
I suggest you sit back and relax. I wouldn't get too worked up about the security of your stuff in the cloud. If you follow some simple, common sense approaches to what is synced to the cloud (such as do not store your web banking details, credit card details, or passwords in cloud documents. But none of this should be stored in any document you have stored anywhere) there really isn't anything to be concerned about. After all, who out there would really want to hack and look at your family holiday photo's?
No, not really. This really comes down to the version of Surface you have, and therefore the version of Windows 8 you have. Windows 8 RT is a cut down, mobile version of Windows. It does not have the full functionality of Windows 8. Windows 8 RT is effectively Microsofts compeditor to Googles Android operating system and Apples iOS.
Because of this apps need to be specially designed and coded for Windows 8 RT, normal Windows programs don't work. For this reason yes, you are limited to what you can get in the Windows Marketplace.
But Microsoft wants more apps in the Market. The more apps, the more attractive the platform is for people to choose. The problem is that there isn't anywhere near as many people using Windows RT, so there are less people developing for it. It's a hard cycle, but as time goes on more apps will become available.
And this is where the benefits of Cloud Syncs and backups come into play even more. Your device is broken so you replace it with a new one. You log in to your Market place and all your apps are there, and their data too. There is no need to worry about backups or images as the apps sync and the cloud storage takes care of this.
I have not ever looked into backup/image options for Windows RT. There might be something around if you do a quick Google, but I do think that the Cloud Sync options are the best.
All up, switching to ANY mobile OS requires a change in mindset. Gone are the days of files, manual backups and images. The methodologies for how to do things have shifted greatly and we need to start thinking how we can work with the technology so we can work better, rather than trying to force the technology back to what we used to do and how we are used to completing things.
The Surfaces with Windows RT are really resigned to use the Metro interface anyway. It's how they work best, so I would recommend you use Metro anyway.
I would suggest that this is precisely where the problem arises - the system is designed for a small touch screen, but is also trying to run applications designed for a large screen, in an operating system developed for a large screen, (Windows)
Microsoft want you to use the option which provides the best, most seemless user experience possible, across multiple machines and devices. This inherently means using a web based storage location. This is a methodology which was brought about by the quickly evolving and dispossible mobile device market, where everyone wants to quickly, painlessly and seemlesly upgrade devices. It is also something that is born from the change in methodoligies of the OS where Apps are now the objective. These OS's are designed around the idea that Apps, not files, are the most important. It's Apps that you see and touch and use, and the files are hidden away behind the scenes.
All of this goes hand-in-hand with the relatively limited space that is available in most portable/mobile devices. Cloud based storage means devices need less inbuilt space, which overall reduces their initial costs.
Makes absolute and eminent sense. Basically, I guess I am trying to do something the system really wasn't designed to do
As for your fears of data being hacked or stolen, my advice is that it is far easier for anyone to hack and grab your files from your local drives than it is for them to hack a reputable (Microsoft, Google, Apple etc) cloud service and get your data.
Not to mention that the majority of the websites and internet activities you perform are in a non-secure environemtn, so it is very easy for peoplemto sniff your packets and see what you are doing.
I suggest you sit back and relax. I wouldn't get too worked up about the security of your stuff in the cloud. If you follow some simple, common sense approaches to what is synced to the cloud (such as do not store your web banking details, credit card details, or passwords in cloud documents. But none of this should be stored in any document you have stored anywhere) there really isn't anything to be concerned about. After all, who out there would really want to hack and look at your family holiday photo's?
Here we may want to differ. There are almost weekly reports of major data breaches in "the cloud", (problem is one has no idea just where this "cloud" is physically - could be anywhere around the globe). But this is not the main issue. What is stored on some anonymous server is accessible not only to Russian hackers, but also to security services around the world, as well as Microsoft themselves, (who are not in any way averse to mining the data in order to "monetise" it. (They paint this as "providing a personalised user experience".) You are correct that email is readily intercepted, (and I have experienced this myself), and web browsing is extensively logged. But as long as my data are stored in my computer, those who want to steal them have just that one chance to catch them as the packets whizz by; they can't go back at their leisure and mine the data storage.
No, not really. This really comes down to the version of Surface you have, and therefore the version of Windows 8 you have. Windows 8 RT is a cut down, mobile version of Windows. It does not have the full functionality of Windows 8. Windows 8 RT is effectively Microsofts compeditor to Googles Android operating system and Apples iOS.
Because of this apps need to be specially designed and coded for Windows 8 RT, normal Windows programs don't work. For this reason yes, you are limited to what you can get in the Windows Marketplace.
But Microsoft wants more apps in the Market. The more apps, the more attractive the platform is for people to choose. The problem is that there isn't anywhere near as many people using Windows RT, so there are less people developing for it. It's a hard cycle, but as time goes on more apps will become available.
And this is where the benefits of Cloud Syncs and backups come into play even more. Your device is broken so you replace it with a new one. You log in to your Market place and all your apps are there, and their data too. There is no need to worry about backups or images as the apps sync and the cloud storage takes care of this.
I have not ever looked into backup/image options for Windows RT. There might be something around if you do a quick Google, but I do think that the Cloud Sync options are the best.
Here you missed my point. I am not concerned about my data backup. What I was asking about was the O/S. Windows, for all work they have done, still periodically goes awry. In the present instance the tablet would not even turn on - not because of a hardware failure, (which indeed requires intervention by M-S), but because the O/S got confused. I have found out that there is in fact a perfectly good backup provision built into the tablet, (search for "recovery"), and I have now made a recovery USB stick, which will permit my getting the thing going again the next time it craps out.
All up, switching to ANY mobile OS requires a change in mindset. Gone are the days of files, manual backups and images. The methodologies for how to do things have shifted greatly and we need to start thinking how we can work with the technology so we can work better, rather than trying to force the technology back to what we used to do and how we are used to completing things.
