Windows 8 Feature: Storage Spaces

So the news isn’t all bad with Windows 8. Peeking under the hood I came across a feature that may come as a delight to the disk space challenged among us. Storage Spaces is a feature in Windows 8 that allows multiple disks to be pooled and configured as one large storage space. The configuration also allows for setting the type of “resiliency” (data protection) you would like within the disks in the pool. You can select resiliency levels of none, two-way mirror, three-way mirror, or parity.  Basically, plug in two or three of those one terabyte USB drives you have laying around and launch Storage Spaces from the Control Panel. The wizard guides you through configuration of the storage space size, what type of resiliency to provide, and assigns a drive letter. After that you have a large volume that serves as storage and protection for your data. If one drive fails in the storage space it can easily be replaced with a new drive without any data loss (provided you selected a type of resiliency). One caveat is that you cannot use your system drive (usually your C: drive) as part of the drive pool. Storage Spaces is a great solution for those of us who have collected USB hard drives over the years and often wonder how we can continue to get use out of them or for those who still aren’t quite ready to spring the dollars for a Drobo system. If you would like to read more about Storage Spaces Paul Thurrott over at the Supersite for Windows has a complete review.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

I still have my eye on Windows 8 and what Microsoft is attempting to do with its latest operating system. The consumer preview was released a few weeks ago and I’m a bit disappointed. I had hoped that with this release Microsoft would have given us reason to put our minds at ease regarding some of the keyboard mouse navigation concerns. It’s obvious that Microsoft had touch navigation in mind when they built this interface because navigation stills feels clumsy with a mouse and keyboard. The word in the blogosphere is that Microsoft went back to the drawing board after the developer preview and rebuilt the keyboard/mouse navigation from scratch. Too be honest I’m not really seeing it. I still find myself “stuck” in certain areas with no idea how to back out to previous screens or return to key menu areas. Sometimes the system simply won’t respond to any of my mouse movements. To make matters worse many of the applications that come with this release aren’t ready for prime time, adding to the already confusing issue of navigation. Microsoft has put together a video attempting to sell us on navigating Windows 8 with a keyboard and mouse. It’s actually called “Rediscover your mouse and keyboard”. Despite how smooth it all looks in the video the true test will still lie with millions of users who are stuck or trapped in the Windows eco-system because of work or legacy apps. If they become frustrated with this release and decide to ditch the operating system because traversing it is only suitable on touch screen devices then Microsoft will have an even bigger problem to solve.

Test Driving Windows 8

I’ve been playing around with the developer release of Windows 8 for a couple of weeks now. I have to say that my first impression was not that great. I’m slowly warming up to it although it hasn’t totally won me over.

 To test drive Windows 8 I installed it on a VirtualBox virtual machine. The installation process is very quick and easy. No big changes from Windows 7. The installation only took a few minutes.

One of the first differences that I encountered was the ability to choose to log on to the system using a local account or a Windows Live account. If the Windows Live option is utilized, user preferences are sync’d across all Windows 8 computers accessed by the account.

Another difference is the main screen that loads after logging on. It’s a huge wallpaper image that needs to be swiped up to access the main Start screen. Swipe up and the Start screen is revealed which has a series of tiles that take you to what Microsoft is calling “Metro Style” apps. The preview version has a number of apps preinstalled to show off the new Metro style applications. Developers writing Metro Style apps can code them in C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, HTML5/JavaScript and/or using XAML. There are apps for weather, stock quotes, social media, and games. Supposedly these apps were built by Microsoft interns to demonstrate how easy these applications are to build. By the way, have you ever met a technology intern? I find them pretty sharp. Never the less, Microsoft states developing for Windows 8 will be a breeze.

 To access what we all have come to know and love as the classic Windows desktop you need to click on the associated tile. Here lies another little surprise… the ribbon interface. That’s right. Love it or hate it Microsoft has replaces the classic tool bar with the Ribbon interface.

The other big change is the Start menu. Microsoft has done away with the classic nested fly-out menu. To get to what’s left of the Start menu in Windows 8 you place your cursor on the lower left part of the screen, you then receive a pop up menu with options to go to: Settings, Devices, Share, Search, and Start.

I’ve found Windows 8 to be snappy and it seems very light weight and easy on resources – that all while running in a virtual machine environment with just the minimal resources dedicated to it. I’ve been able to install standard Windows applications without any issues. This developer preview release is a bit buggy but it’s a pretty solid first out of the gate effort from Microsoft. The jury is still out for me as far the keyboard mouse experience. I’m still learning the tricks of navigating the system with peripherals. I imagine that on a dedicated touch system the usability experience is much better. I credit Microsoft for their effort with Windows 8, despite my concern for its usability in the enterprise. It’s been my experience that any small change in the computing environment tends to throw enterprise users for a huge loop, taking them out of their comfort zone. I don’t foresee IT folks, especially those who support end users, looking to implement Windows 8 any time soon and especially without enterprise tools to control the user interface.

Leaving Facebook? Don't Forget Your Data

Depending on what report you hear Google+ now has somewhere between 18 and 20 million users. I'm seeing lots of friends hanging up a "Moved to Google+" sign on their Facebook walls. If you do the same, don't forget to pack your stuff and take it with you. Facebook allows you to download your data. All packed in a nice .zip file.

Log on to your Facebook account. Go to Account > Account Settings. On the bottom of that page you'll see "Download a copy of your Facebook data". Click on the link and follow the instructions. No muss no fuss.

You won't get a nice file of your contacts, but just about everything else gets pulled down into the .zip file. This isn't the perfect mechanism for transfering data to Google+ but it's a way to get a copy of all that data you've been handing over to Mark Z. all these years. 

Test Driving Google+ (Plus)

I've been really lucky to have received an invite to Google's new entry in the social networking space, Google+ (Plus). I have to say, Google is doing a lot of things right with this effort and I'm finding it a very interesting alternative to what Facebook is doing. The concept behind Google+ is based on how we conduct our relationships in real life. We interact differently with different people in different situations. To attempt to replicate this real life experience Google has introduced the concept of "Circles". Circles allow you to place different people in different groups. This allows for controlled sharing of your information. You can have a circle for friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, or customize a ring for any group you desire. When you post content you then can decide which circle receives access. It's a lot easier than the lists in Facebook and one gets a much better feeling of control.

Another feature in Google+ is Hangout. This feature allows you and up to nine other members of your circles to do simply that. Hangout on a video chat. Your circle members drop in and out at their convenience. The software detects who is speaking and immediately switches the focus to that participant’s camera. This helps maintain the normal flow of real life conversation.

A concept known as Sparks is also being introduced. Sparks allows you to search on just about any topic and have that information flow directly to your Stream (think Facebook wall here). You can then consume the info or share it with others in your circles using it to “spark” a conversation.

In addition to the aforementioned features there are the usual suspects - photo sharing, chat, +1, and a really interesting mobile phone concept called Huddle which allows for group chat and decision making i.e. "What are we all doing for lunch?”. One word of caution is that instant uploading is available for photos and video within the phone app. With this turned on media is immediately uploaded to a private folder and you can decide later to share it and with whom. Fortunately you can disable this feature to have more control. The interface on the phone app is simple and elegant. It does remind me a bit of the Windows Phone 7 hub interface, but hey that interface is pretty nice as well. From the main screen of the app you can access your Stream, Huddle, Photos, Profile, Circles, as well as Notifications.

I really like what Google has done with this application. They seemed to have taken care with the user interface; something Google has received criticism for in the past. It feels light and fresh. The privacy and sharing controls are obvious and accessible. Also, it's not so "in your face" like the failed effort Google Buzz. Buzz was everywhere prompting you to sign up or give it access to this that or the other. There is none of that with Google+. Simple, elegant, and smooth are the words that come to mind. Navigating the site and using the mobile app is a truly fun if not addictive experience. It's too early to say if this is going to be a serious threat to Facebook but I really don't see why it wouldn't at least be a serious alternative. At this point, I'm not seeing a whole lot to dislike. I’m excited for the beta testing to increase so more of my real world friends will have access and then we will know which direction this project will take. Great job Google, no matter the end result.