- On this episode of Ask Dan
I'm talking about what apps
and gadgets I use for exercise and fitness
and whether or not Microsoft should make its own
Apple iMessage competitor.
All that and much more on this weeks episode of Ask Dan.
Stay tuned.
(upbeat music)
Is turning the Store-app restriction on
for Windows 10 the same as using Windows 10 S?
First of all, lets define what were talking about.
So this app restriction is found under
apps and features under settings
and all versions of Windows 10.
What it allows you to do
is select a little checkbox
and you can basically turn off the ability
to install apps from anyplace except the store.
And that's a pretty good restriction
so yeah in theory you can kind of
create your own version of Windows 10 S
by just enabling that.
Of course you could also just not install
executable apps and get the same result.
But technically speaking
while that is the main feature of Windows 10 S
that's not all the restrictions that Windows 10 S has
so there are a few other things.
For instance, you can't run a lot of the executable apps
that are built into Windows.
So Bash, Command Line, Reg Edit.
Yes Registry Editor is not available in Windows 10 S.
You also can't join a domain.
There are other restrictions too
including not being able to install drivers
or even change the default browser or search engine.
Now the default browser kind of makes sense
after all you can't install Chrome.
But the search engine is a unique restriction as well.
So if you throw all that together
on your Windows 10 Pro machine
now you have Windows 10 S.
So at the end of the day
using that Windows settings feature
is close to Windows 10 S
but it's not quite the whole story.
I hear you enjoy fitness.
Can you please recommend a good app
for tracking progress like weight?
So, guilty as charged.
I'm a big fan of exercising,
in fact I hit the gym between five and six days a week.
I've been doing that for about the last decade or so
I'm always improving so there's a lot of discussion here.
Let's talk about smart stuff
and smart devices you can use.
I'm a huge fan of the Fitbit
and the reason is
they focus primarily on fitness
as their name implies.
Now, the Ionic is what I use
and it's not exactly a smart watch
though it has some smart watch features.
But it's really good for fitness
mostly because it's what most people will be using
and it has a great social network.
So you can follow your friends on it
you can tag them, you can do all sorts of stuff
And that's what a lot of people like about Fitbit.
Is that is has a really good network built into it
and also does great stuff for sleep
and heart rate stuff that is really unmatched.
Now, I should point out
everybody's goals are different
and everybody's strategies are different.
If you're very much into running,
well I would have to say
Garmin is the best name in the business.
Their apps and their devices are way more sophisticated
and geared towards that.
I don't really do a lot of running
besides some light cardio
so that device, it's really nice
it's just not for me.
Now when it comes to something like the Apple Watch
I've had the series two.
I absolutely hated it for fitness.
That's not to say it's a bad device,
it's a very good smartwatch
that can do some fitness stuff
but when it came to sleep analysis
and heart rate stuff I just found it very much lacking.
So pick your goals and what you want to do.
If you want the best all around fitness stuff
with the social network go for Fitbit.
You could check out their new Ionic
or the brand new Versa which is coming to market
and I think it's actually a nicer looking device.
When it comes to tracking meals and your progress
I have to give a shout-out to My Fitness Pal.
One of the best in the business.
It's a really powerful app for logging in your meals
and your calories.
You can even do macro counts
which is what I do.
And their catalog for food is just off the wall.
Everything you want is scanned already into that system
it's really kind of cool.
Plus you can plug it right into Fitbit
so your Fitbit steps will count against your calorie goals
it all works together.
Really beautiful system
highly recommend it.
Whether or not you need the Pro version
well maybe, maybe not.
It's nice to have though.
Finally, check out getting a smart scale.
I once again use a Fitbit Aria
and there's also an Aria 2 that's now out.
There's also the Withings
which was taken over by Nokia Health
but I'm a little hesitant to recommend
as Nokia Health has been a little bit on the rocks lately.
Still, it's really nice hardware
Smart scales are really nice
they measure your weight
they sync automatically to your account
so you don't need to type in anything.
It gives you a running record of your weight
plus it measures your body fat composition.
Which is not always accurate
but it's consistent
so if you use it frequently
you at least have a guideline for how much fat you're losing
which is not necessarily correlated with weight.
It's an important thing to learn about
also just go on Reddit
there's a lot of good groups there.
Why are you not recommending or pushing Samsung phones
despite Microsoft selling them?
So recently I did a video talking about
my three favorite Android phones
that I recommend for Windows phone users
who are looking to switch.
That will probably change in a couple months
I'll revisit that video
but in there I talk about Samsung phones
and why I don't really recommend them
or at least not for me.
And I love their hardware
it's really the best in the business
but I don't like their software at all.
It's a personal choice
I know you can disable a lot of it
I know you can hack everything
I don't have the time for this folks.
I just want to use a phone without going on the internet
looking on XDA how to hack this thing.
That said, they're good phones
I can still recommend them.
Reason why we don't push a lot of that on Windows Central
First of all, Samsung doesn't need our help.
I don't know if you checked,
they're doing pretty well without our assistance
on Galaxy S phones.
We have Android Central for that
so they can handle it.
And just because Microsoft sells it
doesn't mean I agree with it.
I've already given my recommendations on Android phones
and I'm sticking with that.
How is Microsoft using the space for the fan
on the Core i5 non-LTE version on the Surface Pro?
Alright so this question's a little confusing
if you don't know
on the core i5 version of the Surface Pro
there's no fan involved there.
So we've already covered that before
in previous video
you can go check those out.
So there is a gap there in the board
and what Microsoft did was
drop in their LTE modem in that space
for the new Surface Pro with LTE
which only comes in the core i5 model.
And that's the reason why the core i7 model
doesn't have LTE's
because there's no space to put that modem.
So the question is
how is Microsoft using that space
on the non-LTE version of the Surface Pro?
Well if you cracked it open
it would just be a space
as far as I know.
There is just air in there.
And the reason they did that
was to cut down on costs and redesign.
They didn't really have to redesign
or make the Surface Pro with LTE
any thicker, larger, heavier
or any of that stuff
because the space was there.
So it was a nice method for cutting
down on costs
as well as engineering.
But as far as I know
on the Surface Pro core i5 model
there's just a gap there, nothing there.
I don't know maybe you can put your change in there
if you could find space.
Should Microsoft launch an iMessage competitor?
Okay I really like this question
cause it's really pertinent.
Microsoft is doing a lot of work with Android and iOS
and there's a lot of possibility there
for getting those devices to work better with Windows 10.
Microsoft has actually talked about this strategy a lot
as their main goal to make all your devices work together
and they do have some of this already in Windows 10
with the ability to share links
and other things with your phone.
So it sort of makes sense that they would pursue this.
Now I say makes sense
but we are dealing with Microsoft here
so as much as I would love to see them do this
I don't think they are.
I think they could do some more work here
with getting your phone to work better.
if you watch my Dell XPS 13 review
for the brand new 9370 model
you'll see what Dell has done.
Which has basically made it
so your phone works completely with your PC.
You can even take calls on the PC which is amazing.
It absolutely works beautifully
I would love to see that built into Windows 10.
As to Microsoft building this out
as another messaging solution
now I don't see it happening
and I think part of that is
we just have messenger fatigue.
There are a lot of options on the market
we personally use GroupMe here at Windows central
but everybody else loves WhatsApp
and of course overseas they have a bunch
of other options as well.
There is a lot of competition out there
but I do agree.
Microsoft's actually in a unique position here
where they could roll out their own messaging app
on iOS, on Android,
make it work on Windows 10 PC's
and make it work as a universal system.
You think Skype would be able to do that
but Skype feels like it's more just a voice thing
as opposed to messaging
and I think that's a problem.
I'd love to see Microsoft do the right thing here
and pursue that strategy
but I don't see any evidence that they are.
So that's it for this weeks episode
and remember if you have a question
use #AskDanWindows on Twitter
or go to our forums at WindowsCentral.com
You can also drop me an email
at AskDan@Windowscentral.com
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Thanks for watching, take care everybody.