What the Tech 155: Content Consumption

I'm a little surprised that Andrew is having trounle adjusting to Windows 8. My experience is that, while people find it confusing at first (I had no idea how to shut it down the first time I used it), after learning about the charms bar and the gestures it becomes quite simple to use.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear so much TV talk I am also watching the X-Files (a rewatch) and Lost (for the first time) on Netflix and think Netflix is great. I have also been a guest on podcasts about both series, and do my own podcast, The DexterCast, about Dexter, where two of the four hosts are watching for the first time.

I was interested to hear the discussion about how radio and the web might come together, especially having read this story on CBC a couple of hours before I watched What The Tech.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/story/2013/03/07/kitche...

I can relate to Andrew's problems adjusting to Windows 8. I used it on my PC day in, day out through the Consumer and Release Preview builds, and "upgraded" when it was released. It just never felt right on a "real computer". I tried various configurations and a couple of hacks, one of which eradicated Metro completely and installed the Explorer from Windows 7. Even so, it just didn't seem right somehow. At this point I boot Linux on the PC more often than Windows 8.

But a couple of weeks ago I got an Asus Atom powered Win8 tablet and suddenly it feels right. Having had a Mango phone for over a year I was pretty sure Metro would work well on a tablet but it is better than I had hoped. At least as long as I stick to the Metro environment - the desktop, while necessary for some set-up and configuration tasks - is pretty grim on a 10" touch screen. Even so, by comparison, the Nexus 7 I got Mom for Christmas feels about a decade behind the curve.