One of the things I missed most when I made the switch from a Windows laptop to a MacBook Air is Aero Snap. I really love the Windows 7 operating system, and I got to the point of unconsciously using Aero Snap almost constantly to work more efficiently. So, for Day 10 of 30 Days with Surface Pro, I am exploring how the Surface Pro–or Windows 8 in general–handles multitasking, and the ability to use more than one application simultaneously side by side.
From a business perspective, the desktop mode of Windows 8, and traditional, legacy Windows software is more important than Windows 8 apps designed for the Modern / Metro interface–at least in the short term. Over time, the Modern UI will become more familiar, and Windows 8 apps will increase in both volume and capabilities, and the desktop will fade away.
Thankfully, the desktop mode in Windows 8 essentially is Windows 7. It looks and acts almost identically to the former operating system–except that the Desktop is actually also an app that runs from the Windows 8 Modern UI. While in desktop mode, though, things work the way you’d expect them to work in Windows 7–including Aero Snap.
Read Surface Pro, Day 10: Multitasking on the Surface Pro to learn more about my experience using multiple applications on the Surface Pro.