Win 8 - How do I multitask?

[TeeJayHoward]

I figure I'm gonna be required to support Windows 8 in the future, so I might as well learn it myself. So far, the Metro UI isn't bugging me too much, but I have encountered a bit of a snag. One of the things I like to do is chat with my friends via IM while looking at something on the internet. Normally, I have two windows open for this - Say in this case, IE and Windows Messenger. How would I do this on a single-monitor system using Metro app things? Each app monopolizes the entire screen space from what I can see. How would I know if a message has been sent without alt-tabbing?

 

[odditory]

for that you need Windows 8 Multitasking Edition. It's two Metro's side by side.

 

[ComputerBox34]

for that you need Windows 8 Multitasking Edition. It's two Metro's side by side.

This supposed to be sarcasm?

OP - you'd have to open up the desktop and open IE and windows live messenger from there. You might need to install the messenger from MS.

 

[bigdogchris]

You'll have to use the desktop versions to multitask. Microsoft thinks we're all to stupid to do more than one thing at a time so you only get one window at a time in Metro.

 

[Q1DM6]

<heatlesssun> you really shouldn't be doing more than one thing at a time anyway.

This whole OS is a train straight to oblivion. Killing the ability to effectively multi-task is just unreal.

 

[Shadowe]

Unfortunately I'm on my desktop and don't have the laptop which has win8 installed. I noticed that you can dock a window to the left side of the screen and it will stay on with whatever else you are doing with the rest of the screen. I was doing it earlier with chat docked on the left and the app store open scrolling through so I know it can be done. You do have to be using a widescreen resolution, though.

If I'm remembering it correctly, mouse up to the top LEFT corner of the screen and somewhere around there a preview of the stuff you have open should come up. Right click on the one in question and hit the dock option.

If I've got something mixed up here, forgive me. I was only tinkering with it for a little bit about 12 hours ago during a downtime at work.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Unfortunately I'm on my desktop and don't have the laptop which has win8 installed. I noticed that you can dock a window to the left side of the screen and it will stay on with whatever else you are doing with the rest of the screen. I was doing it earlier with chat docked on the left and the app store open scrolling through so I know it can be done. You do have to be using a widescreen resolution, though.

If I'm remembering it correctly, mouse up to the top LEFT corner of the screen and somewhere around there a preview of the stuff you have open should come up. Right click on the one in question and hit the dock option.

If I've got something mixed up here, forgive me. I was only tinkering with it for a little bit about 12 hours ago during a downtime at work.

I was trying to find a way to do it using the fullscreen apps. I was hoping that the messenger app had a way to pop on top of the existing app, and that I just couldn't find it. (Similar to how it works if you receive a text message while playing a game on iOS)

 

[chinesepiratefood]

Go to the upper left corner and drag one app onto the other (to the side) and they will snap side-by-side. *Note* the graphics are a little wonky in Virtual box on some apps.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

[.IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/5cnalu.jpg[.IMG]

Go to the upper left corner and drag one app onto the other (to the side) and they will snap side-by-side. *Note* the graphics are a little wonky in Virtual box on some apps.

That looks to be exactly what I want! Thanks!

Is there a way to do this with dual monitors? When I try to snap the two side-by-side on my left monitor, it just replaces the existing app. When I do it on my right monitor, everything is perfect.
edit: Looks like it can only snap to the right side?

 

[chinesepiratefood]

You can have 2 apps on either of the monitors, but I don't believe Metro apps can be across separate monitors. Make sure when you drop the app on top of the existing one you move your mouse to one side of the screen, the existing app should shift over to show where the new app will be placed.

 

[Bash]

It a not so distant future........

(Bash using his windows 8 desktop in 'classic' mode with 4 apps open in windows on top of the desktop)
Wife: Omg how do you have so many windows open at once?
Bash: Magic.

 

[oldpablo]

Metro is basically a closed environment. One screen, full screen. And nobody forces you to stay in Metro either, there's no reason you can't just do it the way you've always been doing it on the desktop. But no you can't multitask apps (separate from regular programs) per se other than what is shown above.

 

[heatlesssun]

That looks to be exactly what I want! Thanks!

Is there a way to do this with dual monitors? When I try to snap the two side-by-side on my left monitor, it just replaces the existing app. When I do it on my right monitor, everything is perfect.
edit: Looks like it can only snap to the right side?

Not sure what you're doing, I have no problem snapping to the left or right on either monitor. And I can drag back and forth to each monitor with the apps staying in their snapped positions, that's actually pretty cool.

 

[heatlesssun]

<heatlesssun> you really shouldn't be doing more than one thing at a time anyway.

This whole OS is a train straight to oblivion. Killing the ability to effectively multi-task is just unreal.

Wow. If this were actually true then yes it would be a problem. But since it's not there's no issue.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Not sure what you're doing, I have no problem snapping to the left or right on either monitor. And I can drag back and forth to each monitor with the apps staying in their snapped positions, that's actually pretty cool.

I definitely can not snap anything to my secondary monitor. Turns out I CAN snap it to the left side of the primary monitor, though. If I drag the app to the left on the secondary monitor, it puts it in the taskbar-thing. If I drag it to the right, nothing happens.

 

[heatlesssun]

I definitely can not snap anything to my secondary monitor. Turns out I CAN snap it to the left side of the primary monitor, though. If I drag the app to the left on the secondary monitor, it puts it in the taskbar-thing. If I drag it to the right, nothing happens.

That's odd. Wonder if it driver related.

 

[Tawnos]

I definitely can not snap anything to my secondary monitor. Turns out I CAN snap it to the left side of the primary monitor, though. If I drag the app to the left on the secondary monitor, it puts it in the taskbar-thing. If I drag it to the right, nothing happens.

Invoke start or charms bar on the other monitor to make that your metro screen. You can then snap there as you need. Should also be possible to just grab the top of a metro app and drag it over.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

That's odd. Wonder if it driver related.

I didn't even think of that... I have yet to install the drivers for my 6970.

edit: Wow, they STILL have the 16-character limit on passwords? I figured they'd have that fixed by now.

 

[Veilrap]

Are you using Release Preview? The multi-monitor metro capabilities have been improved.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Are you using Release Preview? The multi-monitor metro capabilities have been improved.

Yup, Release Preview. And even with the AMD drivers installed, my left monitor still has no snap capabilities.

edit: Also, IE10 in Metro mode looks like this anytime I scroll in a thread with pictures:

 

[heatlesssun]

You've got to be having driver issues, seems a lot of things aren't working for you that should. I think AMD has beta Windows 8 drivers for their DX 11 parts I believe.

 

[Tawnos]

Yup, Release Preview. And even with the AMD drivers installed, my left monitor still has no snap capabilities.

edit: Also, IE10 in Metro mode looks like this anytime I scroll in a thread with pictures:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk310/TeeJayHoward/Untitled.png[IMG][/QUOTE]

Have you tried launching an app from your left monitor yet?

Also, I believe that scrolling issue is known, thanks :)

 

[heatlesssun]

Have you tried launching an app from your left monitor yet?

Also, I believe that scrolling issue is known, thanks

I've not seen this scrolling issue on three different machines. I have noticed a problem in textboxes in both desktop and Metro IE where text in textboxes doesn't always refresh properly and a line of text is duplicated until I manually scroll in the texbox to force a refresh.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Have you tried launching an app from your left monitor yet?

Also, I believe that scrolling issue is known, thanks

Yup. If I drag an app to the left monitor and hit the windows key, the start screen pops up on the left monitor. From there, anything that launches, launches on the left monitor. However, I can't use that snap thingie of the left monitor, regardless of which monitor the app was launched from.

You've got to be having driver issues, seems a lot of things aren't working for you that should. I think AMD has beta Windows 8 drivers for their DX 11 parts I believe.

I have the beta drivers installed. Didn't fix the issue, unfortunately.

New bug I've encountered: Copy/Paste doesn't work in IE10 Metro. Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V does nothing. Right-click, copy/paste does nothing. Works fine in Desktop mode.

 

[oldpablo]

New bug I've encountered: Copy/Paste doesn't work in IE10 Metro. Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V does nothing. Right-click, copy/paste does nothing. Works fine in Desktop mode.

I think you've answered your own question (I'm going to guesstimate). Metro is supposed to be a simple interface for apps that is the same across the desktop and tablets. You wouldn't do a ctrl-v on a tablet because you wouldn't generally have a keyboard hanging off of it. I don't know why anyone would use IE10 in Metro over the regular desktop version personally, but I haven't spent a lot of time with it myself. IE in either mode is not the same IE.

 

[heatlesssun]

New bug I've encountered: Copy/Paste doesn't work in IE10 Metro. Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V does nothing. Right-click, copy/paste does nothing. Works fine in Desktop mode.

Hmm, there's got to be some issues with the RP and your hardware, that supposed to work obviously. But it work in the desktop version correct?

 

[heatlesssun]

I think you've answered your own question (I'm going to guesstimate). Metro is supposed to be a simple interface for apps that is the same across the desktop and tablets. You wouldn't do a ctrl-v on a tablet because you wouldn't generally have a keyboard hanging off of it. I don't know why anyone would use IE10 in Metro over the regular desktop version personally, but I haven't spent a lot of time with it myself. IE in either mode is not the same IE.

I actually use the Metro version a lot especially on my tablet and laptop, it really does seem save on battery and it is VERY zippy. But on a desktop it doesn't make much sense.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Hmm, there's got to be some issues with the RP and your hardware, that supposed to work obviously. But it work in the desktop version correct?

Yup, both methods work in the desktop version. I can understand ctrl+c/v not working in Metro mode, but why on earth would the right-click menu version not work?

edit: Now the Metro right-click works. Go figure!

My hardware's not anything terribly complex. It's a Z68 board, an i5, 8GB RAM, a 650W PSU, and a 6970, all name-brand stuffs. Everything works in and Win 7. No clue why it's not working with 8.

 

[Tawnos]

What graphics card are you running? I'd like to try for a local repro.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

What graphics card are you running? I'd like to try for a local repro.

XFX 6970 (second revision) with the cooler replaced with an Antec KHULER 620 and some of those little heatsinks on the RAM.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

That was a short experiment. Spent several hours trying to get the vSphere client to work in Windows 8. Doesn't look like it's possible. I've got to have the ability to access my VMs. Looks like I'm back to Windows 7.

 

[DualAmdMp]

Since Windows 8 was designed to be used as touch screen, I believe you need to use your finger to make things work in Windows 8. lol

 

[Skids1]

Why the heck they cant have a disable metro option is just stupid... maybe if Windows 8 sales tank like vista... oh wait... the general public will love it cause its so simple... GRRR year right, cant wait to fix one of these machines... *HAMMER it like the Phantom*

 

[MrGuvernment]

<heatlesssun> you really shouldn't be doing more than one thing at a time anyway.

This whole OS is a train straight to oblivion. Killing the ability to effectively multi-task is just unreal.

no such thing as "effective" multitasking....multi-tasking kills performance unfortunately, but many of us are forced to do it anyways.

 

[MrCrispy]

no such thing as "effective" multitasking....multi-tasking kills performance unfortunately, but many of us are forced to do it anyways.

What is this nonsense? Every single cpu (mobile or desktop) is designed to multitask, and so is the OS. If you don't want to multitask no one is forcing you to. Most people DO want to multitask.

 

[heatlesssun]

What is this nonsense? Every single cpu (mobile or desktop) is designed to multitask, and so is the OS. If you don't want to multitask no one is forcing you to. Most people DO want to multitask.

The term multi-tasking though is very vague and it isn't necessarily connected to home many programs are running on a screen simultaneously. The vast majority of people I see using a workstation have on program full screen per monitor. Very few people, even people doing main stream productive work have more than on program on a screen at a time. In Windows it was always a very cumbersome to do until Windows 7. And most people with one screen just switch back and forth between apps. But that's all multi-tasking isn't it? The biggest issue with Metro to me is the lack of multi-monitor support. But there's always the desktop. Actually the more I use Windows 8 and now with the multi-monitor enhancements, I think multi-monitor users my like it more than single monitor folks for desktops.

 

[MrGuvernment]

i do multi-task, but fact is most people who think they multi-task and get more done are wrong, simple as that.

just start reading https://www.google.co.cr/search?rlz...&ie=UTF-8&q=humans+are+not+good+a+mulitasking

Research on human multitasking

Since the 1990s, experimental psychologists have started experiments on the nature and limits of human multitasking. It has been shown multitasking is not as workable as concentrated times. In general, these studies have disclosed that people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action (e.g., (Gladstones, Regan & Lee 1989) (Pashler 1994)). Many researchers believe that action planning represents a "bottleneck", which the human brain can only perform one task at a time.[3] Psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell[4] has gone so far as to describe multitasking as a &#8220;mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously as effectively as one.&#8221;
Others have researched multitasking in specific domains, such as learning. Mayer and Moreno[5] have studied the phenomenon of cognitive load in multimedia learning extensively and have concluded that it is difficult, and possibly impossible to learn new information while engaging in multitasking. Junco and Cotten examined how multitasking affects academic success and found that students who engaged in more multitasking reported more problems with their academic work.[6] A more recent study on the effects of multitasking on academic performance found that using Facebook and text messaging while studying were negatively related to student grades, while online searching and emailing were not [7].

If you, not your computer, you as a person, were to solely be able to focus on 1 task at hand you would get it done faster and better than trying to do 10 things at once, this has been proven time and time again in various studies, the human brain is not good for multi-tasking believe it or not.

As heatlessun said, just because you have a bunch of programs open doesn't mean your a multi-tasker,

Etymology

The term "multitasking" originated in the computer engineering industry.[1] It refers to the ability of a microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously.[2]
Computer multitasking in single core microprocessors actually involves time-sharing the processor; only one task can actually be active at a time, but tasks are rotated through many times a second. With multi-core computers, each core can perform a separate task simultaneously.

sure the processors are doing many things at once, they have to run alot of things at anyone time just to keep your OS running even, and then factor in perhaps that 1 program your using that can use more cores to make it faster.. that isnt you multitasking at all.

I have 4 monitors on my work computer, and i have something on them all, less time opening and closing windows is nice, but i do know for a fact when i can focus on 1 task i get it done allot better, as do the 9 people who work under me.

 

[nOrVow]

for that you need Windows 8 Multitasking Edition. It's two Metro's side by side.

lmao

 

[MrCrispy]

I know most people prefer doing one thing at a time, and research backs this up. However there is a huge difference between actual multitasking, and just being able to do multiple things easily.

e.g. Have a web browser open, a music/video player, and a chat window. This is a scenario 90% of people will encounter. It's impossible in Metro. You could dock the chat window (the example they like to use) but that isn't enough. This doesn't even require multiple monitors, all this is perfectly doable on a single monitor - e.g. a laptop. It's ironic that the target segment for Win 8 (tablets and laptops) will suffer the most.

And I like the new Start screen. It's useful and most people will like it. I hate the fact that it forces a context switch. If I'm watching a video and need to launch a program, I don't want the whole screen to be taken over while I search for what I need in the terribly designed search screen. So now I'm forced to pause the video, search, then resume. With Win 7 the search happens in the start menu itself in the corner, disrupting nothing.

Its easy to justify taking away features with the 'most people don't use it'. Which is just marketing speak for 'dumb down the UI'. A proper design will make the UI easier for most people, while still allowing power users to use it as they wish.

 

[heatlesssun]

Its easy to justify taking away features with the 'most people don't use it'. Which is just marketing speak for 'dumb down the UI'. A proper design will make the UI easier for most people, while still allowing power users to use it as they wish.

But nothing has been taken away, you can still do the same things with multiple windows on the desktop as always. In a way Metro adds to having multiple programs on screen, even a single screen because the desktop snaps in the big side of side by side Metro and it's done without having to anything but drag the desktop over a Metro app and it snaps in place, presto. I think a lot of people that never ran desktop apps side by side will do this more than they every would have in the desktop world if for no other reason many Metro apps automatically present themselves in an effective manor automatically when name to the small side in Metro, no resizing or horizontal panning, none of that.