I'm impressed with CNET for once

[WillysJeepMan]

I don't see a recovery partition as a selling point. Its nice, but I just don't think people would think about it. Plus, its the same as how new iPads come with iWorks, so it meets it head on in that way, but with less apps.

That's what Apple's reality-distortion ray does. People hear that new iPads come with iWorks and they immediately assume that it is something noteworthy. I've owned iPads from day-1 of the 1st gen. I own iOS iWorks. Of all the productivity/office apps available for iOS, iWorks is the most simplistic in terms of functionality. iOS Pages (word processor) is not only inferior to MS Word, but even inferior to MS Works Word Processor module. iOS Pages is on par with WritePad. So Apple including it for free now is no big deal. It SHOULD be free for what little functionality it provides.

Having said that, only MS fans care about a recovery partition. Actually, it is a sad statement that anyone considers a recovery partition as a "feature". There should be no need for a recovery partition on a tablet device (RT / Surface 2). That's a throwback to notebook and desktop computers. MS should've created an alternative to a recovery partition... heck including a recovery USB thumbstick would've been preferable.

 

[Jas00555]

That's what Apple's reality-distortion ray does. People hear that new iPads come with iWorks and they immediately assume that it is something noteworthy. I've owned iPads from day-1 of the 1st gen. I own iOS iWorks. Of all the productivity/office apps available for iOS, iWorks is the most simplistic in terms of functionality. iOS Pages (word processor) is not only inferior to MS Word, but even inferior to MS Works Word Processor module. iOS Pages is on par with WritePad. So Apple including it for free now is no big deal. It SHOULD be free for what little functionality it provides.

Having said that, only MS fans care about a recovery partition. Actually, it is a sad statement that anyone considers a recovery partition as a "feature". There should be no need for a recovery partition on a tablet device (RT / Surface 2). That's a throwback to notebook and desktop computers. MS should've created an alternative to a recovery partition... heck including a recovery USB thumbstick would've been preferable.

I agree with you to a certain extent. While full office is way better than iWorks, the thing that really hampers on quality is the fact that they're desktop programs as opposed to Metro apps. Sure they said they're coming, but consider this: Microsoft's two biggest products, really the bread and butter of the company, are Windows and Office and you're telling me that they can't come together?

On the recovery partition side, I'm a Microsoft fan, and I just don't like the fact that a recovery partition exists. The thinking to me (and others) is "well that's nice, but why would I need one, would have to use it?". Now I realize that 99.9999% of us won't have to use it and the other .0001% will be grateful that its there, but it just doesn't seem like it should be a feature because (theoretically) it shouldn't be needed at all.

 

[SwimSwim]

Yes, Metro Office is a must have going forward. Honestly, the fact that it's taking them so long is a real blow to the face. Should've been there from the get-go.

As for the recovery partition, what is it and what does it do, and is it possible to delete for the sake of clearing up storage? I assume it's used for the sake of restoring your system to a stable version should any major crash, meltdown or corruption occur. I'm not sure how necessary I would find that. I could use a USB for the same purpose (and with things like SkyDrive, I don't use 'em anymore anyways), and, in recent years, Windows has become really stable.

No major crashes since XP and Vista, although my graphics driver did manage to cause a few blue screens on my current 7 laptop (but since I updated the bad drivers, it's been smoothe sailing).

Honestly, based on what I've seen, Windows 8 is incredibly stable, so assuming I don't visit any shady sites, I'm not sure how useful a recovery partition will be. I think the extra storage space would come far more in handy.

 

[Pete]

As for the recovery partition, what is it and what does it do, and is it possible to delete for the sake of clearing up storage? I assume it's used for the sake of restoring your system to a stable version should any major crash, meltdown or corruption occur. I'm not sure how necessary I would find that. I could use a USB for the same purpose (and with things like SkyDrive, I don't use 'em anymore anyways), and, in recent years, Windows has become really stable.

Here you go

Andy Rathbone ? Making a Recovery Drive for the Microsoft Surface RT

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Yes, Metro Office is a must have going forward. Honestly, the fact that it's taking them so long is a real blow to the face. Should've been there from the get-go.

As for the recovery partition, what is it and what does it do, and is it possible to delete for the sake of clearing up storage? I assume it's used for the sake of restoring your system to a stable version should any major crash, meltdown or corruption occur. I'm not sure how necessary I would find that. I could use a USB for the same purpose (and with things like SkyDrive, I don't use 'em anymore anyways), and, in recent years, Windows has become really stable.

No major crashes since XP and Vista, although my graphics driver did manage to cause a few blue screens on my current 7 laptop (but since I updated the bad drivers, it's been smoothe sailing).

Honestly, based on what I've seen, Windows 8 is incredibly stable, so assuming I don't visit any shady sites, I'm not sure how useful a recovery partition will be. I think the extra storage space would come far more in handy.

Metro Office being a no-show? And you call that a problem?
Metro-ify everything before you try to make RT a success.

As for that recovery partition, I agree. It shouldn't be there, since it is a tablet OS.

 

[Jas00555]

Metro Office being a no-show? And you call that a problem?
Metro-ify everything before you try to make RT a success.

As for that recovery partition, I agree. It shouldn't be there, since it is a tablet OS.

It just sends off a weird message to me. If they wanted RT to be a success and were committed to it, then they should've Metro-styled everything to show how committed they were

 

[SwimSwim]

It just sends off a weird message to me. If they wanted RT to be a success and were committed to it, then they should've Metro-styled everything to show how committed they were

I agree 1020% percent, one of the biggest quirks was how many settings were still stuck on the desktop's Control Panel. It's not a very seamless experience to keep having to jump back and forth between legacy and modern, just to change some simple PC settings. And we /still/ don't have Metro Office? Ridiculous.

Still, things are improving with Windows 8.1, and Metro Office is "coming." Of course, we can't keep use that excuse. The time to act is now, we can't gain market share on the "Always Coming" OS. I hope Nokia can help whip Microsoft into shape during the upcoming merger, they seem to be on top of things and respond quickly to changes in the market. After all, Nokia has many years experience in the mobile market, they know what they're doing. Meanwhile, Microsoft is a relatively new player, and while they're developing the right philosophy with the Metro interface, I feel they're letting legacy Windows stay too prevalent in their minds.