MS Mobile Show - A Microsoft Enthusiast Podcast Vernon E. L. Smith

While we discuss our initial thoughts on Fluent, we also look at specific examples of it already seen in several core apps available on Windows 10 Insider Fast Ring. 
02:27 Tip of the Episode
OneNote Mobile has now got a ton of new features, and one of which is the ability to use multiple windows (shift click on the launch icon in taskbar or Start Menu), and also the ability to manage page versions. This follows up on previous comments about how we want to see Office Mobile get multiple document support. Word Mobile in the Store Excel Mobile in the Store PowerPoint Mobile in the Store OneNote Mobile in the Store  
14:03 The Mobile Minute
A quick follow up on our discussion about Windows 10 S. BIG apps are coming to the Store! Adobe Creative Cloud, iTunes, WhatsApp, Spotify, and let's hope this is the beginning!
16:00 Fluent Design Language: This gets a little ranty.
25:21 Grab your Windows 10 device running Fast Ring and follow along as Aaron walks us through good and bad examples of Fluent design. Groove, Movies and TV, and Voice Recorder.
38:12 Insider Feedback Item
Every week, we like to pick a feedback item to highlight that we think represents what the Insider program is all about. Whether it's an obscure bug that needs addressed or a feature request for something awesome, we want to get some eyes on it and help boost those upvotes! Add Push Notifications for Package Tracking!
Personal Media Picks
39:53 App -- Grapholite - This is a nice alternative to Microsoft Visio and can even view/edit Visio files
41:44 Music: Ready, Aim, Rock playlist, Guardians of the Galaxy, Sweating to the 90s
43:24 Book: Canon EOS Rebel T6i The Expanded Guide
44:56 Podcast - YouTube Channel Tony and Chelsea Northrup and podcast "Picture This"
46:17 Movie Pick: Guardians of the Galaxy
48:07 Vernon's personal YouTube channel Why Porter Needed Stitches
Thanks for joining us again this week, friends! If you'd like to continue the conversation, you should follow us on Twitter: @MSMobileShow, @GoodThings2Life, and @VernonEL If you feel the need to communicate more formally with us, you can email the show at Contact@MSMobileShow.com
And, you know the drill, be sure to subscribe if you want to hear more, and submit a review if you want others to hear more!
Have a great week, and stay mobile!
 

We are finally able to get fellow podcaster, mobile historian, and friend of the show, Clifton Thomas, on the show! 
The two spend the first 10 minutes catching up and talking about how podcasting and "internet friends" have impacted their lives.
10:20: Cliff compares the "death" of Windows Phone to the end of webOS.
23:11: Then he shares with Vernon what he would like to see if Microsoft makes a new style of "mobile" device.
27:33: We learn more about Cliff, as he shares stuff that TekBeard listeners don't get to often hear about.
35:00: Cliff's education and income are inquired upon.
36:30: The two get serious, as Vernon asks about how Cliff's baby was made.
38:20: Cliff's top three (four) pieces of technology.
Electrovoice RE 20 Surface Book Amazon Echo Phillips Hue Starter Kit 47:43: What does the Harmon Kardon Invoke need to do to complete with the Echo and the Google Home?
51:34: Cliff shares his all-time favorite Windows Phone.
53:48: "Is Windows Phone coming back?"
Be sure to follow Cliff on Twitter at @CliftonMThomas, and to check out his podcast, Tekbeard.
If you'd like to continue the conversation, you should follow us on Twitter: @MSMobileShow, @GoodThings2Life, and @VernonEL
If you feel the need to communicate more formally with us, you can email the show at Contact@MSMobileShow.com
And, you know the drill, be sure to subscribe if you want to hear more, and submit a review if you want others to hear more!

Microsoft May Event had a strong emphasis on Education and all the ways Microsoft was working to improve technology in the classroom by providing schools with inexpensive, secure tools that empower schools, teachers, and students to do more.
 
Primary Focus was on Windows 10 S And S stands for School edition? Secure edition? Store edition? Something for people to be confused and argue about edition? Try all of the above, because there's definitely some confusion out there about what this thing is, but the one thing to know it's NOT "limited" or "stripped down" or "watered down" in any way. In fact, it's much more like Windows 10 Professional than Home.
 
Lots of questions about what this is trying to accomplish, so let's talk about what this is really trying to address. K-12 running ChromeBooks and University students flocking to MacBooks, and Microsoft is drawing a line in the sand to say those options are yesterday's news! Now you can get $200-300 systems that are well-featured but locked down for security and performance for the student experience. We discuss:
 
State of Educational Technology Google and Apple have taken over, and this is MSFT fighting back.
What this OS can do that addresses concerns of tech admins and teacherslocked down to prevent malware and put the emphasis on the education tools.
Limitations. It ALWAYS comes down to apps. The number one goal here is to drive developers and users into the Windows Store for apps and content. Drive them into the store for apps, books, and other resources.
 
Here's a great in-depth rundown of what we know and don't know by Richard Hay (@WinObs) from the Windows Supersite
 
Also announced was Microsoft Surface Laptop, which is a flagship quality traditional laptop device that is touch+pen enabled, features high quality materials, and outstanding battery life.
 
Microsoft Surface Laptop Sizzle Video
 
And of course, here's the specs comparison with its direct competition, the MacBook series.
 
Vernon managed to get a very quick and low-quality video thrown together as he gets his hands on the new device.
 
We also talk about our concerns: No SD/microSD, no USB-C, and of course, price. But we admit that we can see a LOT of potential for this and similar types of devices running Windows 10 S outside of school.
If you'd like to continue the conversation, you should follow us on Twitter: @MSMobileShow, @GoodThings2Life, and @VernonEL
If you feel the need to communicate more formally with us, you can email the show at Contact@MSMobileShow.com
And, you know the drill, be sure to subscribe if you want to hear more, and submit a review if you want others to hear more!
 

Sean Michael shares a bit about the journalism industry, university in the 'States versus the UK, married life, American football, horseback riding, and some favorite pieces of tech. Plus, it wouldn't be a show without a bit of Windows Mobile discussion on episode 085 if the MS Mobile Show.
You can follow Sean on Twitter @Sean_Michael_UK
Thanks for joining us again this week, friends!
If you'd like to continue the conversation, you should follow us on Twitter: @MSMobileShow, @GoodThings2Life, and @VernonEL
If you feel the need to communicate more formally with us, you can email the show at Contact@MSMobileShow.com
And, you know the drill, be sure to subscribe if you want to hear more, and submit a review if you want others to hear more!
 
 

Ep 84 is the one where we speculate, as wildly as humanly possible with no basis in reality, whether or not there's a future for Windows 10 Mobile after being announced that it was being tossed out an airlock into the cold, dark, vastness of space... or something like that. Pandemonium! The Sky Is Falling!
But first, we start off with a public service announce as the tip of the week, discuss some candid feedback about Skype Universal's SMS Relay, and if we can't keep Windows 10 Mobile, maybe we can at least get its keyboard on PC and tablets!
Tip of the Episode If you have just 10 minutes for this podcast, we want you to at least get a piece of information which you can use immediately in your everyday life. Today's tip is: Stay Calm and Don't Be a Jerk.
-- Reminder to be critical of problems but be respectful to the team members you are speaking with about your feedback.
The Mobile Minute We spend a few minutes talking about a wonderful Skype Engineer who contacted me directly about feedback I posted regarding the state of SMS Relay, and the response from the team about that feedback. See the link below for more information in Beyond the Podcast!
Microsoft responded to 7 complaints I had with Skype SMS Relay
Insider Feedback Item Every week, we like to pick a feedback item to highlight that we think represents what the Insider program is all about. Whether it's an obscure bug that needs addressed or a feature request for something awesome, we want to get some eyes on it and help boost those upvotes!
Bring the Windows 10 Mobile Keyboard w/ Shape Writing to Windows 10 desktop -- https://aka.ms/hdypyg
And here's a sample of what I'm looking to have… https://twitter.com/GoodThings2Life/status/852881674744549377
Top News What is the future of Windows 10 Mobile? Is it really dead? Well, Aaron has a theory on this…
The long and short of it… It's worse than dead… it's brain is gone! Haha, no but really, let's start with the supposed controversy:
Announcing Windows 10 Build 16176 for PC and 15204 for Mobile
We are also releasing Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15204 to Insiders in the Fast ring. As we release new builds from our Development Branch for PC, we will also be doing the same for Windows 10 Mobile just like we have been in the past. However, Windows Insiders will likely notice some minor differences. The biggest difference being that the build number and branch won’t match the builds we will be releasing for PC. This is a result of more work we’re doing to converge code into OneCore – the heart of Windows across PC, tablet, phone, IoT, HoloLens, Xbox and more as we continue to develop new improvements for Windows 10 Mobile and our enterprise customers.
From
This statement is in stark contrast to what her predecessor Gabe Aul had to say back in January 2016 with Build 14251…
Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14251
Sharp-eyed Insiders likely noted the big jump in build numbers from our last preview build (11102). Historically, the codebase for mobile had a different OS version than the codebase for PC because they were developed by different teams on different schedules. With Windows 10, we became one Windows team and brought these two codebases together. We started by changing the version string displayed in the UI to be consistent, which is why you saw similarly labeled builds over the past year for both Mobile and PC, but the underlying binary version numbers were still different. As part of our work getting the common codebase ready for the next release, we decided to complete that work and sync the build numbers between mobile and PC. Because the mobile codebase used higher build numbers than PC, we needed to jump ahead a bunch of build numbers to ensure updates to future builds will continue to work. So that’s why build numbers went from 11105, 11106, and 11107 to 14251.
From
Clearly Dona is telling us the sky is fa

We get a deeper insight into not only the Cerulean Moment, but a few new surprises from WhartonBrooks as well! Join us for episode 083 as Vernon and Aaron chat with Greg Murphy.
Diving into the interview, we discover all the details of how the Moment came to be and learn that the Moment isn't the only phone model on the agenda! whartonbrooks.com/ourmoment
 
01:01 - We start out with some getting to know you details about the man behind the dream and find out that he and Aaron have a similar past with Healthcare IT!
06:38 - All-time Favorite Windows Phone/Mobile device: It's no surprise that a certain Lumia takes the crown here, but turns out there's a special place in Greg's heart for more than just one Lumia and a few non-Nokia phones as well.
09:24 - Why did you want to make a Windows Mobile device? They always say necessity is the mother of all invention, and this is one of those scenarios… 
11:25 - What did you learn about the ODM industry? Why do you have to go and make things so complicated? 
14:10 - Who is taking this journey with you? It takes a village to build a phone…
16:03 – iSkin – Rishi – VR headset in the works, going with the name Zyphyr
19:40 - Who did you want to make a phone for? The fans. It's always about the fans! But turns out there may be room for more than one group of fans… 
26:07 - How is this going to replace multiple computing devices? Continuum is a bridge to a more unified computing paradigm…
27:49 – Greg defends his use of the term “Disruptive” when describing Continuum.
30:13 - Does the Snapdragon 617 have enough power? In a word. Yes! But don't just take our word for it, the proof is in the pudding! Check out Greg's demo of the Moment running Continuum: My Cerulean Moment At Play 
31:30 – Wired versus wireless
32:56 - What about the future of the Cerulean product line and your plans for Windows Mobile? What's this?! More than one model is planned and might there be another surprise by way of some VR support?
“We have a slate of five phones that we want to bring to the market.
The CEO phone – The elegant masterpiece, where is does everything well, and looks good, too.
The Allegro – A music and musician phone, which has high-end audio capability for recording and playback. We thought it should have multiple inputs for multiple microphones, and multiple USB ports. It should be able to accept different types of peripherals and external storage.
The Mountain – a rugged phone for the outdoor adventurer type smartphone.
The Moment – Was originally planned to be a camera-centric phone, which would replace the 1020. We have some work yet to do there, but we have to start somewhere.   
The Capsule – Compact without compromise (which Greg’s wife desperately wants).
We will be accepting input from the Windows Phone community regarding which phone they should pursue next.”
 
37:34 – Aaron shares his experiences of how he uses Continuum in both wired and wireless configurations.
40:33 – Vernon makes a case for the Cerulean Moment as a solid device for Windows Mobile enthusiasts.
43:17 – Greg discusses the after-the-purchase support set up for the Cerulean Mobile devices.
47:01 – Full specs of the Moment detailed.
57:23 Why did you need to choose Indigogo to crowdfund this device? This is an expensive endeavor and for it to work, the initial target is the masses that loved the more mass-appeal devices like the 640 and 830 class devices. Next up, if successful now, will be the "CEO" hero phone and the specialty phones.
1:00:15 – We can expect a separate funding campaign in Brazil, which may extend the end date of the current Indiegogo campaign.
1:02:07 - How long must Windows Phone fans wait to get in on this device? Act now-- offer ends May 15th! Visit IndiGoGo to preorder! Seriously, just do it… buy one for a family member who needs a good budget phone and has simple needs, or buy one for yourself an Insider Builds