Our Windows staff rota app has been officially launched and is now available from Microsoft’s online Windows Store. The app is called Staff Rota-8 and is published by easyLog Ltd. Go to the store to download the app (to login, insert the username ‘user’ and leave the password space blank).
Overlaying the ideal rota over the main rota
Touchscreen technology has already revolutionised mobile phones and will soon be coming to a desktop or laptop computer near you – which is why easyLog is shortly releasing a rota management app specifically designed for Windows 8 touchscreens.
The Windows 8 app has been created with speed and ease of use in mind. There are minimal menus and pop-ups and no setting-up screens are required, because the rota is based on existing e-Log+S core user functionality defined on the main system. So, whoever is setting the rota just selects the relevant job function and shift, then taps on where they want it to go.
As well as tablet PCs, the app can be run on a traditional PC – desktop or laptop – with a touchscreen monitor. Although the computer must have the Windows 8 operating system installed, the monitor does not need to be W8 compatible – a Windows 7-combatible monitor is equally suitable.
“We wanted to take advantage of the user-friendliness of touchscreen technology to make rota creation even easier for everyone – and the new Windows 8 environment has enabled us to do that,” explains easyLog marketing manager Nicola Clark.
“We realise that few of our clients are using tablets and other touchscreen devices right now. But it is the technology of the future and we strongly believe it will transform the way people use computers in their working lives in a very short time.”
easyLog’s W8 rota app at a glance
Please contact easyLog for more information about the Win 8 app. You can see more images of the W8 touchscreen rota on our Facebook page.
Windows 8 is out on Friday 26 October and it is quite a gamble for Microsoft, because it also appears to be launching a fundamental change to the look and feel of its desktop software for the first time since Windows 95.
Over recent years we have seen the growth in tablet and smartphone software, led predominantly by Apple and subsequently developed by Google, both to great effect. Many people feel we are now at a seminal moment in personal computer development, when tablets, laptops and eventually desktop computers will merge into one.
Microsoft has now taken the plunge with this theory and launched Windows 8, which is effectively two user interfaces in one. We have the conventional Windows 7 along with the new tablet-style swipe-and-touch Windows App Store environment. Microsoft no doubt views the second of these as the long term future, when one day it will be able to remove the desktop as we know it.
Personally, I think the concept is correct, however MS may have a few problems along the way. For initial Windows 8 users who will probably see this operating system from the desktop environment, there are many problems:
However, the positives are there as well but they might take longer for people to appreciate:
I guess the most likely scenario in the short term is that we are at another Windows Vista moment. Although I’m sure the reliability of Windows 8 will be a great improvement on the original Vista, I’m equally certain that W8 will not impress Windows 7 desktop PC users and there may be problems getting users to move across, resulting in the launch of a tweaked version – Windows 9? – in a year or so.
Also for this to be a success, Microsoft must get a better hold on the tablet market. Apple has incredible brand loyalty, and so you feel that Microsoft must look to make ground on Google and its Android OS. Android tablets sit at the lower end of the market, so the pricing of Microsoft’s new Surface tablet is going to be extremely important to its success. If the price is too high, ultimately it won’t matter how good Win8 is because it won’t find a place in the broadest market. Read more about Surface here.