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They don't: there are different UIs for different screen sizes. Your data is in the cloud (eg a Word Document in OneDrive on on Azure) and you can access it fr

by scholia 10y ago

They don't: there are different UIs for different screen sizes. Your data is in the cloud (eg a Word Document in OneDrive on on Azure) and you can access it from a full desktop program on a PC or Mac, from an app on iOS or Android, or via a web browser on any device that has one. This is a cross-platform vision that works both online and offline (unlike Google) and that ultimately doesn't care which device you use (unlike Apple).

criddell 10y ago
But that's not the vision from the article ("Microsoft is about to turn a phone into a real PC") or this thread. Take a phone and plug in a bigger display and keyboard and mouse and suddenly it's a desktop computer. So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse.
- scholia 10y ago
  > So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse. Yes, it reflows. You use the app when it's in phone mode, and you get the full desktop-style UI when in Continuum mode. There are several demos online. See for example, from April 2015 (so it's surprising you haven't seen it before): Windows 10 Continuum for Phones LIVE DEMO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1efHpPIVo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1efHpPIVo More recently: Enhanced Continuum For Phones demo (Build 2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5Y9vNOSMc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5Y9vNOSMc
  - flukus 10y ago
    Sounds good in theory, but so far the real world results I've seen from the windows app store haven't worked out in practice.
- int_19h 10y ago
  > So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse. Only if it makes sense for that application. It doesn't mean that every desktop app would be usable on the phone. Or vice versa, for that matter; although it is much more rare for a phone app to not be useful on the desktop.
  - criddell 10y ago
    Admittedly, it is getting better on the desktop. As a desktop user, Windows 8 seemed ludicrous to me. Fire up a 4-function calculator or start the weather app and it gave me a full-screen view. Windows 10 is far better although they still show UI elements sized for touch even though I don't have a touchscreen. > It doesn't mean that every desktop app would be usable on the phone. The base computer should probably be a watch, not the phone.
    - int_19h 10y ago
      I think the baseline depends on the type of app. For something like an alarm clock or calculator, yeah, it should probably be a watch. For something like maps, a phone makes more sense. For an office suite, I would expect the phone to have full viewing functionality, but editing should probably require at least a tablet (not to say disable it on the phone... just that it doesn't matter much if UI is awkward). Something like an IDE? Laptop/desktop, with mouse-centric UI.

by scholia 10y ago

criddell 10y ago

But that's not the vision from the article ("Microsoft is about to turn a phone into a real PC") or this thread. Take a phone and plug in a bigger display and keyboard and mouse and suddenly it's a desktop computer. So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse.

scholia 10y ago
> So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse. Yes, it reflows. You use the app when it's in phone mode, and you get the full desktop-style UI when in Continuum mode. There are several demos online. See for example, from April 2015 (so it's surprising you haven't seen it before): Windows 10 Continuum for Phones LIVE DEMO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1efHpPIVo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1efHpPIVo More recently: Enhanced Continuum For Phones demo (Build 2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5Y9vNOSMc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5Y9vNOSMc
- flukus 10y ago
  Sounds good in theory, but so far the real world results I've seen from the windows app store haven't worked out in practice.
int_19h 10y ago
> So a single application is going to need to cope with a 4" touchscreen display with no keyboard or mouse as well as a multi-monitor setup without touch, but with a keyboard and mouse. Only if it makes sense for that application. It doesn't mean that every desktop app would be usable on the phone. Or vice versa, for that matter; although it is much more rare for a phone app to not be useful on the desktop.
- criddell 10y ago
  Admittedly, it is getting better on the desktop. As a desktop user, Windows 8 seemed ludicrous to me. Fire up a 4-function calculator or start the weather app and it gave me a full-screen view. Windows 10 is far better although they still show UI elements sized for touch even though I don't have a touchscreen. > It doesn't mean that every desktop app would be usable on the phone. The base computer should probably be a watch, not the phone.
  - int_19h 10y ago
    I think the baseline depends on the type of app. For something like an alarm clock or calculator, yeah, it should probably be a watch. For something like maps, a phone makes more sense. For an office suite, I would expect the phone to have full viewing functionality, but editing should probably require at least a tablet (not to say disable it on the phone... just that it doesn't matter much if UI is awkward). Something like an IDE? Laptop/desktop, with mouse-centric UI.