Win 10 without the taskbar on Tablets?

[swanlee]

Ok so I've been running Win 10 on my Surface for awhile now and honestly I totally hate it. The current Win 10 release is HORRIBLE for a tablet. I HATE DESKTOP ON TABLETS!!!

 

So I was told continum is the answer? Well that seems to suck to, screen space is limited but yeaterday I'm seeing full screen apps but the Desktop Taskbar is still at the bottom taking up valueable screen space even in Tablet mode.

 

WTF?

 

In Win 10 is their going to be a way to have a Surface or 8 Inch X86 win tablet act like win 8.1 does? IE full screen apps no taskbar stuck at the bottom?

 

I know people flipped their crap about Win 8 but it worked really well for Tablets and it seems Win 10 is going to stick portions of the desktop in plain sight even on tablets.

[DConnell Member]

Ok so I've been running Win 10 on my Surface for awhile now and honestly I totally hate it. The current Win 10 release is HORRIBLE for a tablet. I HATE DESKTOP ON TABLETS!!!

 

So I was told continum is the answer? Well that seems to suck to, screen space is limited but yeaterday I'm seeing full screen apps but the Desktop Taskbar is still at the bottom taking up valueable screen space even in Tablet mode.

 

WTF?

 

In Win 10 is their going to be a way to have a Surface or 8 Inch X86 win tablet act like win 8.1 does? IE full screen apps no taskbar stuck at the bottom?

 

I know people flipped their crap about Win 8 but it worked really well for Tablets and it seems Win 10 is going to stick portions of the desktop in plain sight even on tablets.

 

We'll see where they're headed when the next build comes out sometime in the next week. I'm not hugely thrilled with the direction so far either - I like how 8.x works, both on tablets and stationary computers. I don't want to be forced back to the Windows 95 way of doing things.

 

Yes, address the complaints, but don't forget those who like the new direction as well!

[TAZMINATOR]

You have two modes on all devices...  you can switch back and forth depends on what you are doing on the said device..

 

You can use keyboard/mouse if you want to. Otherwise you can use tablet mode on the device.

 

It's your choice. The desktop is there for whatever you need to do such as remote desktop, Photoshop, etc.

[siah1214]

Yeah I'm not happy with what looks like the removal of charms and an always visible taskbar.  I have a feeling 10 will be a step back for tablets but I'll save the feedback til I install the new build on my t100. 

[vcfan]

I read an article yesterday where they said on 7 inch and smaller devices, the taskbar is not visible, and on 8 inch and bigger, its an oem option. there will probably be a setting to toggle this on or off. cant you already do that anyway in current windows 8.1??

 

edit: found a different article from the verge also talking about this(not the original I read)

 

 

 

 

The exact way it will work will vary from OEM to OEM, in some cases you will still have a persistent task bar in tablet mode, but on some smaller tablets you won't.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/21/7863711/windows-10-tablet-hands-on-photos-video

[George P Global Moderator]

The demo they showed on what looked like a 8" dell tablet was telling. If you look at the video they did have sort of a taskbar visible in tablet mode but it wasn't the whole taskbar either, it was like a mini version with a few buttons left and some info to the right.

 

But then Joe turned it to landscape and turned on desktop mode, that gives you the full taskbar. I'm on a tablet at home so I can't post pictures from the video, if anyone here can that would be great.

[swanlee]

I just want win 10 to work Like win 8.1 does on my Siurface pro and my Acer 8 inch tablet. Right now Win 10 is AWFUL on my surface pro so I'm really looking forward to the updage next week. I certainly hope it is at least an option for a real fullscreen mode on tablets.

[swanlee]

You have two modes on all devices...  you can switch back and forth depends on what you are doing on the said device..

 

You can use keyboard/mouse if you want to. Otherwise you can use tablet mode on the device.

 

It's your choice. The desktop is there for whatever you need to do such as remote desktop, Photoshop, etc.

 

 

But what we are seeing is the taskbar stuck at the bottom even in Tablet mode and even on an 8 inch tablet. I do no want the taskbar visible in tablet mode on my Siurface or acer 8 inch tablet. It takes up screen space and is not needed if Win 8 like swipe commands are available to use.

[Unknown_97784568745]

The demo they showed on what looked like a 8" dell tablet was telling. If you look at the video they did have sort of a taskbar visible in tablet mode but it wasn't the whole taskbar either, it was like a mini version with a few buttons left and some info to the right.

 

But then Joe turned it to landscape and turned on desktop mode, that gives you the full taskbar. I'm on a tablet at home so I can't post pictures from the video, if anyone here can that would be great.

That was actually an 8.3" Thinkpad 8 tablet (I have one) that was shown during the event. It did indeed have a (limited) taskbar visible. I'm afraid that since the removal of the charms bar, the only way to see the time/date and battery status is by displaying a taskbar at all times or by adding this info to the notification/action thing that you see when you swipe in from the right. I hope they end up doing the latter, since I also don't like having a taskbar at all times in tablet mode.

 

Pic:

[+Ryster Subscriber²]

Ok so I've been running Win 10 on my Surface for awhile now and honestly I totally hate it. The current Win 10 release is HORRIBLE for a tablet. I HATE DESKTOP ON TABLETS!!!

 

So I was told continum is the answer? Well that seems to suck to, screen space is limited but yeaterday I'm seeing full screen apps but the Desktop Taskbar is still at the bottom taking up valueable screen space even in Tablet mode.

 

WTF?

 

In Win 10 is their going to be a way to have a Surface or 8 Inch X86 win tablet act like win 8.1 does? IE full screen apps no taskbar stuck at the bottom?

 

I know people flipped their crap about Win 8 but it worked really well for Tablets and it seems Win 10 is going to stick portions of the desktop in plain sight even on tablets.

 

What build are you using? 

 

That was actually an 8.3" Thinkpad 8 tablet (I have one) that was shown during the event. It did indeed have a (limited) taskbar visible. I'm afraid that since the removal of the charms bar, the only way to see the time/date and battery status is by displaying a taskbar at all times or by adding this info to the notification/action thing that you see when you swipe in from the right. I hope they end up doing the latter, since I also don't like having a taskbar at all times in tablet mode.

 

Pic:

 

The concept of a "charms bar" hasn't gone entirely. Sure the actual charms have been relegated to a hamburger button inside each app (not overly pleased at this, charms were handy when holding a tablet at the sides), but there's still the concept of a swipe in from the right that will reveal the notification/action centre, and I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up showing power state, time, etc. If it doesn't already of course... haven't had chance to have a good look at it yet.

 

Also having the taskbar on the screen as it's shown above is akin to windows phones showing windows, back and search keys on screen. Perhaps Microsoft plan to make tablets have the same option so manufacturers can drop the physical buttons?

 

Anyhow, let's reserve judgement until we see the final product shall we? There are several months to go before it's released. Just look at how much it has changed in just 3 months so far.

[Kyang]

 

Also having the taskbar on the screen as it's shown above is akin to windows phones showing windows, back and search keys on screen. Perhaps Microsoft plan to make tablets have the same option so manufacturers can drop the physical buttons?

 

To go a little further, it's more like having both the phone's status bar from the top, and the main buttons from the bottom that you mentioned, all in one bar.

 

It's pretty good, and addresses complaints about having the swipe around all the time to see critical information like battery level or the time.

 

I'm kind of curious what happened to the back button that used to appear in tablet mode.

[swanlee]

The silly thing is on a tablet SWIPING is a perfectly good solution to limited screen space to open more options and the concept of full screen apps. On an 8 inch tablet having that much room being taken up by a static taskbar is just not good. Fully screen metro and metro apps work great on Surface and my 8 inch Tablet why screw with that just to apease the desktop start menu folks who flipped out over Win 8?

 

Tablet mode really should be tablet mode not desktop taskbar + apps in maximized mode.

[TAZMINATOR]

If you HATE the taskbar on your tablet, all you do is set it on auto-hide by right-click on the taskbar..

 

you should know this auto-hide feature has been around since Windows 95.

 

As you see why people complain over the little thing without reading the dang manual that comes with the Windows. Or looking up online for help.. such as tips & tricks.

 

Put the app in the full screen mode. so it will cover the whole screen to hide desktop features including taskbar.

[Kyang]

The swiping gestures that matter, like swiping in from the left to switch between apps or swiping down to close apps are still there.

 

Looking at bb10's screenshot, the visible taskbar is just like having the on screen buttons on Windows phones, which obviously also have small screens anyway.  It works there, so having that here on tablets with even bigger screens won't ruin the "tabletly" parts of of tablet mode.

[swanlee]

If you HATE the taskbar on your tablet, all you do is set it on auto-hide by right-click on the taskbar..

 

you should know this auto-hide feature has been around since Windows 95.

 

As you see why people complain over the little thing without reading the dang manual that comes with the Windows. Or looking up online for help.. such as tips & tricks.

 

Put the app in the full screen mode. so it will cover the whole screen to hide desktop features including taskbar.

 

 

How is auto hide going to work on a touch screen tablet? Won't it re apear any time I touch near the bottom? or if not won't it be difficult to get to pop up if I actually needed it?

 

Seems to fix the complaints of the Desktop people complaining they gimped the tablet use which is dumb. Win 10 in tablet mode should work like Win 8.1, it's that simple

[swanlee]

The swiping gestures that matter, like swiping in from the left to switch between apps or swiping down to close apps are still there.

 

Looking at bb10's screenshot, the visible taskbar is just like having the on screen buttons on Windows phones, which obviously also have small screens anyway.  It works there, so having that here on tablets with even bigger screens won't ruin the "tabletly" parts of of tablet mode.

 

 

Point is WHY have a visible nearly static taskbar that always takes up valuable screen always stuck to the bottom on a tablet?

 

On the Win 8 start screen you can easily have live tiles show you Time/Battery/Disk usage/Power Button without having to hog a section of the screen at the bottom. You have a dedicated Windows button on Win tablets that can be used to access that data to.

 

It just does not need to take up screen space, when you are using a smaller tablet that space is important.

[Kyang]

How is auto hide going to work on a touch screen tablet? Won't it re apear any time I touch near the bottom? or if not won't it be difficult to get to pop up if I actually needed it?

 

Well...

 

The silly thing is on a tablet SWIPING is a perfectly good solution to limited screen space to open more options and the concept of full screen apps.

 

 

It could work with a swipe...?

[swanlee]

Well...

 

 

 

It could work with a swipe...?

 

It would have to trigger off to the side or some place different than the actual location of the taskbar otherwise you'd trigger it to much during normal use.

 

It wasn't broke in win 8 for tablets so them attempting to fix it is just making it worse. From what they have shown the Desktop modes for Win 10 have addressed the complaints from Desktop users pretty well but why go backwards in tablet mode? It really did not need this kind of tweaks.

 

Tablet Mode in win 10 should simply = Win 8.1. Visually

[TAZMINATOR]

How is auto hide going to work on a touch screen tablet? Won't it re apear any time I touch near the bottom? or if not won't it be difficult to get to pop up if I actually needed it?

 

Swipe, hotkey, or mouse. I don't have windows tablet to test it.  Only desktop.

 

 

Seems to fix the complaints of the Desktop people complaining they gimped the tablet use which is dumb. Win 10 in tablet mode should work like Win 8.1, it's that simple

 

No.. the taskbar is needed on the tablet because the advanced users will use it for remote desktop, photoshop, etc. 

 

You are the one is complaining about taskbar..  you should set it auto-hide or put the apps in fullscreen... either way works.  People who have iPad/iPad Mini that they have dock at the bottom, they don't complain about it.

 

If not happy, then get an android tablet that does not have a taskbar.

 

MS is doing the right thing with Windows 10.. there are many type of people to use the tablet for... which is why MS put 2 modes in OS for all devices ... so the developers can create apps for the specific uses or business.

[swanlee]

The taskbar simply does not need to be their for tablets and especially smaller tablets. Gimping tavblet for the sake of desktop users is silly especially when you have Two modes at your disposal. Tablet mode should REALLY be tablet mode IE just like Win 8.1.

 

"No.. the taskbar is needed on the tablet because the advanced users will use it for remote desktop, photoshop, etc."

 

All can be accomplsihed just like win 8 with start menu tiles

 

It's silly to put TWO modes on devices yet the so called Tablet mode is gimped for tablets. You got two modes Tablet mode should really be for Tablets and accessing desktop feature should be done like now with the Windows Button on Win Tablets.

[Kyang]

It would have to trigger off to the side or some place different than the actual location of the taskbar otherwise you'd trigger it to much during normal use.

 

 

No it wouldn't.  Most apps in 8.1 swipe left/right, and swiping from the left/right currently switches app or the charms bar respectively.

 

Unless you're saying you often trigger either the app switcher or the charms bar too much during normal use, then there won't be a problem with swiping up from the bottom to open the taskbar either.

 

 

People who have iPad/iPad Mini that they have dock at the bottom, they don't complain about it.

 

App on iPad run full screen without the dock.

 

 

Gimping tavblet for the sake of desktop users is silly especially when you have Two modes at your disposal.

 

The Windows 10 taskbar doesn't gimp tablets any more than the onscreen buttons gimp phones

[TAZMINATOR]

App on iPad run full screen without the dock.

 

I know.   I run apps in windowed.  

 

I don't have dock anymore. 

[swanlee]

So I put the new build on my Surface and tried the auto hide option othe taskbar and just as I suspected this does not work well. The taskbar pops up at imporper times due to normal touch navigation it does not disapear quick enough and when you actually want it to pop up is buggy. If the new notification area was more refined you would not need the taskbar in tablet mode.

 

I think MS is really over thinkingthings here

 

Just like forcing the start screen on desktop users was bad forcing the desktop to tablet users is equally bad.

 

Thier is now a desktop and Tablet mode however tablet mode just makes app full screen by default, you are still stuck to the desktop screen and taskbar, and stupidly the desktop is non touchable in this mode it is just their with no real purpose.

 

 

Why can't they just do this

 

 

Desktop mode = win 10

 

Tablet mode = Win 8.1 with refinments and new features like Cortana.

 

Tablet mode should give you the full screen Start screen and enable win 8.1 swipe commands, the nofication screen is fine but needs some things added for touch like brightness controls and the time and various status info, this would eliminate the need for the taskbar to stick around all the time taking up screen space in tablet mode.

 

 

They are essentially making it more difficult for tablet users by appeasing desktop users when they do not have to.

 

You have Desktp mode and Tablet mode each mode can very easily make each type of user happy, right now they have totally gimped tablet mode compared to how Win 8.1 worked on Tablets.

[Aergan]

Not sure if this helps but "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties > Use small taskbar icons" will take up less space. it doesn't obey autohide though.

[swanlee]

Their is currently no real fix for Win 10 to make it behave as well as Win 8.1 on tablets. From the way MS is talking about it Tablet users are going to be on the short end of the stick. It is pretty sad how much worse Win 10 is on a tablet compared to Win 8.1 talk about regressing.