If you’ve used Windows 8 on a standard non-touch desktop or notebook (especially with a large monitor) you’ve probably come to the same conclusion I have: Whoever made the decision that this “Modern UI” (Metro) should require apps to be full screen on a non-tablet device is a complete moron. I actually had to connect a second monitor to my home system just so that I could perform a very normal use case – watching a web cast while playing Microsoft Free Cell. Yes, it is true. You can’t do that with just one monitor because Free Cell is Metro and the 80 – 20 Metro snap doesn’t fit well with either app having the 80%.
At work, it is worse. I have a 27” 2560 x 1440 monitor. I don’t want anything to ever be full screen.
Well, Stardock to the rescue. They have a new product in beta called ModernMix that does exactly what Microsoft should have done. It allows you to run Metro apps in a Window on the desktop. Beautiful! I installed the beta today and it is working great so far. I’ll absolutely buy it when it ships.
Way to go Stardock. Taking a simple concept that Microsoft completely missed and making it work.
