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Comment An important correction/update (Score 1) 663

This needs an update thanks in part to this comment, but also because upon further testing tonight it appears Windows 8 simply couldn't understand me saying "Power".

When using speech recognition in Windows 8 the fastest way to shut down your PC that I now know is this:

"Press, Hold Windows, I"
"Power" (Accessibility hooks are present and correct, but recognition required further training)
"Shut down"

This still leaves the issues of an incorrect, outdated and misleading tutorial; breakage of the "See and Say" model (due to the required hidden menus); and the need for mysterious undiscoverable keyboard shortcuts. This final sequence is however far shorter and more manageable than my earlier attempt, so I'll document it here...

Comment Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score 1) 663

Pressing Windows+I brings up the sidebar with the power button. Very easy...

This allows me to improve my method, but this new improved method still shows how broken the whole thing is.

The tutorial stresses that interactions are largely based around a "see and say" model. Hidden bars invoked with magic keyboard are not discoverable and don't fit that model.
Issuing combination key presses is covered, but the Windows+I combination is never mentioned, nor can it be expected that it should be innate knowledge (I'm a case in point, random Slashdot comments are really not the place to be learning something this essential).
The tutorial gives shut down instructions that don't, won't and can't work causing unnecessary confusion.
Even taking into account this new (to me) shortcut the speech interaction becomes:

"Start"
"Press Windows and I" (Woo magic)
"Show Numbers, Five, OK" (Woo "See and Say" doesn't work. Also it might not even be "Five" any more - the actual number will probably vary by the number of pinned tiles visible, so any customisation of the start menu means your memorised instructions become wrong.)
"Turn off"

This is a great improvement granted, but vastly inferior to:

"Start"
"Shutdown"
"Turn off"

So no, still not "Very easy".

Comment Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score 3, Interesting) 663

they should've added hearing, not touch.

Actually WIndows 8, like it's predecessor, includes speech recognition - and it's a perfect example of how half arsed the update is.

The first thing you'll notice when setting it up is the tutorial. It's entirely unchanged from the Windows 7 version, and includes diagrams showing the Windows 7 Start Orb and Start Menu that no longer exist. You're told how to turn off the PC by issuing the commands:

"Start"
"Shut Down"
"Turn Off"

If you try this however you'll find that Metro has completely buggered this up. The actual sequence as near as I can tell is now this:

"Start" (Return to metro start screen)
"Press T" (To start a search)
"Settings" (To search settings)
"Delete All, Turn Off Your Device" (To search settings for the correct item - it's easier to just delete the original T)
"Show Numbers, Two, OK" (You can't select the search result any other way. Saying "Turn Off" etc just adds the text to the search again)

At this point you now finally have the settings side bar up with the "Power" button available. You might think saying "Power" will get you there. It won't - apparently the side bar doesn't have whatever accessibility hooks are needed by speech recognition, so it's back to:

"Show Numbers, Five, OK"
"Turn Off"

Comment Re:Nifty (Score 1) 104

I'm using Unity right now on my Samsung NC10. Not touch, but it's the same interface.

Hopefully we can configure the icon bar on the left to hide by default the same way you can hide the task bar on any desktop.

Right now you can't. It's a little annoying because it means I have to left-right scroll on some websites (1024x600 screen).

Speaking of the task bar, how is task switching accomplished on this thing?

Apps that are opened appear in the left hand dock (if they aren't there already because you've locked them as a launcher). If there are a lot of apps open some are "collapsed" at the base of the dock. You can scroll the dock up or down by click (touch) dragging up/down.

Open apps get a little triangle to the left of their icon in the dock. The foreground app gets a triangle on the right of it's icon. If you have more than one window of a particular app open, clicking it's icon gets you an exposé style animation that shows you all windows of that particular app. Using the workspace switcher icon in the dock shows you all workspaces and each app open on each workspace. The video seemed to show a way of viewing all the apps open on one workspace - I don't know how to do that - I just Alt-Tab to them.

My biggest concern, what happens when you want(yes, want) to use the terminal?

I added the terminal to the Unity dock launcher. I assume there's some sort of on screen keyboard available for touch devices.

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