Six applications to take advantage of modern UI multitasking in Windows 8

With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has improved the multitasking view for Modern UI/Metro apps, allowing us to choose the width of each app to our liking. In Xataka Windows we are going to review a few applications to make better use of this multitasking mode

Why use ModernUI apps and not regular desktop apps? Although it may seem easier to open a regular desktop window and set it aside, we will run into issues when switching to Modern UI apps or maximizing windows on the desktop.With the approach we see in this article we don't have to worry about anything because the application will always remain anchored to the side In addition, we will gain in simplicity and cleanliness of the interface.

The only problem most of these applications have is that they don't support variable width well, so in many cases they don't take advantage of all the space they have. Despite this, we wanted to include them in this compilation. If you have suggestions they are welcome, of course.

Rowi, always visible Twitter

Let's face it, having Twitter open is not the best option if we want to finish what we have to do. But it's fun to keep an eye out every once in a while to distract ourselves, and if you're looking to quickly catch up on the news, having a small Twitter window on your screen is the best way to do it.

There are several Twitter apps in the Windows store, but the one I liked best to have pinned to the side is Rowi . Fast, with good design and also free.

Download | Rowi

Keep track of tasks with Effectual

We now move on to productive mode. We want to have a list of tasks always at hand so we don't lose sight of what we are doing, and for this Effectual is a good alternative. It is free and is also available for Windows Phone 8.

The organization of tasks is quite useful: we can order by priority, date or by value of the tasks. From the pinned view we can also quickly add tasks to the list. I just miss a faster way to mark tasks as done - otherwise great.

Download | Effectual

Evernote, your notes always at hand

If we talk about productivity we also have to talk about Evernote, one of the best applications for taking notes. I would have mentioned OneNote instead, but the Microsoft app is unusable when pinned to the side of the screen.

It has a good number of features, easy to use, and also syncs through the cloud on the rest of our devices. An excellent solution to have our notes always accessible.

Download | Evernote

Reading in other languages? Bing Translator

Little by little, Microsoft is improving its language translator and its respective applications. If you are reading a document in another language, having the translator anchored to one side can be very useful for solving doubts without changing the application.

The only downside is that it can be a bit slow, but otherwise it works fine. In addition, it allows us to download languages ​​to be able to make translations offline.

Download | Bing Translator

MetroTube for background videos

While talking about videos in the background may seem like a huge distraction, it may be more helpful than you think.

In addition to having a music video playing and at hand, we can keep a tutorial or class on screen while in another application we take notes or execute the instructions that are requested.

Same as on Windows Phone, the best alternative out there for me is Metrotube. Free, fast and with all the features we need to enjoy YouTube on Windows 8.

Download | MetroTube

ToolBox for Windows 8: Clock, Calendar, Facebook and more

Lastly, let's talk about Toolbox for Windows 8, an application that seems tailor-made to appear in this article.

Toolbox for Windows 8 is an application with various widgets to display information on the screen: clock, Facebook, calendar, converter, calculator... The most interesting thing is that we can choose different widget layouts to display several at the same time. time, as you can see in the image.

This application is perfect for gathering more information on that side of the screen. Toolbox for Windows 8 is free, but some of the widgets (Twitter or RSS, for example) are paid.

Download | Toolbox for Windows 8

We hope that with these applications you can get even more out of Windows 8 and the Modern UI applications, which sometimes we forget about. As always, if you have suggestions we can discuss them in the comments.