Items tagged with Windows 8
New rumors on an upcoming release of Windows could be sweet tidings for users who either aren't satisfied with the OS's current state or who have refused to upgrade to the present version. Microsoft is reportedly planning a new release of the operating system, codenamed Threshold -- and it contains two huge changes. According to long-time Windows guru Paul Thurrott, Windows Threshold will offer the following: Metro applications running in windowed mode on the desktop. A genuine Start Menu If true, these are features I'd upgrade for. Hurrah! It's 1987! Let's start with windowed more for Metro applications. One of the improvements to Windows 8.1 was that tiles could be two sizes (up from just one)...
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Prior to the Windows 8 launch last fall, Microsoft had a strong belief that it was going to change the computing world forever. Instead, it became one of the worst-received OSes the company had ever pushed out. I'd bring up the definitive "worst", but I fear for reoccurring nightmares. Still, while much of the world continues to scoff at the idea of using Windows 8, Microsoft has gained itself a bit of a right to gloat: The OS has seen a constant increase in usage since its release. To be fair, a lot of this increase owes its thanks to OEM builders, but even so, the fact that most people are not backtracking to Windows 7 should prove that Windows 8 isn't as bad as a lot of people make...
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As much as Microsoft would prefer that you upgrade to Windows 8, it can’t ignore the legions of Windows 7 users who aren’t budging. Today, it officially released Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7, bringing IE 11’s speed and (most of its) functionality to the aging OS. See what you’ve been missing by downloading it here. Want to get a feel for what 11 is like? Check out EtchMark on Microsoft's test drive site. Say what you will about past iterations of Internet Explorer, but critics have largely agreed that IE 11 is a big improvement in Microsoft’s browser. The latest version is much faster and supports WebGL and apps. Support for touch is missing, which isn’t...
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Fox News is trying to bring TV news further into the digital age, where news runs 24/7 and updates are up-to-the-second, with its ambitious “Fox News Deck”. Comprised of a small sea of 55-inch touchscreen machines (called “BATS”, for “big area touchscreens”) and a 38-foot video wall, the whole brightly-lit setup looks like the deck of a spaceship. The set is for Shepard Smith’s new show “Shepard Smith Reporting”, which will air at 3pm eastern and run into the evening. Conceived by Roger Ailes, the Fox News Deck allows workers at the BATS to pull in and organize news from across a variety of platforms--and they’ll be on camera the whole...
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When Logitech revealed its new Wireless All-in-One Keyboard TK820 last month, it immediately caught my eye. After upgrading my home theater PC to Windows 8, I've often thought it would be nice to take advantage of some of the new gesture controls while browsing the web and using my HTPC from the comfort of my couch. I looked at keyboards a little bit after upgrading but hadn't found quite what I wanted so I put the idea of getting a different keyboard on hold. When I was given the chance to test the TK820 for myself, I jumped at the opportunity and hoped this could be the keyboard I had been searching for... Logitech TK820 Wireless All-in-One Keyboard, Ready For Windows 8...
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Microsoft is bringing the Start back to Windows with the introduction of Windows 8.1, a free update that will ship to the masses on October 18th. Unfortunately, the Start menu isn't making the return trip, though at least you'll be able to switch between the Desktop and Windows 8.1 Start screen with the click or tap of a button, as Microsoft demonstrates in a new 30-second ad. There's actually a lot to like in Windows 8.1, some of which Microsoft shows off in its short commercial. For one, you can resize tiles to your liking, making the "important things big" like that photo of Fido, and "keep the small stuff small," such as the Calculator icon that will come in handy once in a while. One of...
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Mozilla's touch-friendly version of Firefox intended for Windows 8 tablets has graduated out of the Nightly development channel and is now available to download from the browser maker's Aurora channel. The next step is to release a beta build before a final coat of polish is applied to a stable release. In the meantime, Mozilla is asking Windows 8 tablet owners to test drive its Aurora update. This new version of Firefox represents a complete overhaul of the browser. It was built from the ground up for the Modern user interface (UI) in Windows 8 with touch in mind at every step. "It has a tile-based Firefox Start experience and supports Firefox Sync, Windows 8 touch and swipe gestures, Snapped...
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Intel and Microsoft appear to be on the same page when it comes to touchscreen computing. With the launch of Windows 8 for x86 and Windows RT for ARM architectures, Microsoft made it crystal clear that touch navigation is the preferred method of getting around Windows, and rather than fight it, Intel jumped in Microsoft's corner and told its hardware partners that in order to market a 4th Generation Core processor (Haswell) system as an Ultrabook, it must have a touchscreen. Barring an unlikely backlash from buyers, what this inevitably means is that all Ultrabooks will soon have touchscreen displays. According to Intel Senior President Kirk Skaugen, some 70 percent of retail Ultrabooks are already...
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You don't become the world's largest PC player by standing idly by, and certainly no one can accuse Lenovo of doing so at IFA. On the contrary, Lenovo announced a number of new products today, including the Yoga 2 Pro, a 13.3-inch touchscreen laptop with an eye-popping 3200x1800 resolution. That's four times the visual clarity of the original Yoga's HD+ display (1600x900) and also the highest screen resolution on the market today, Lenovo says. The Yoga 2 Pro is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, measuring 15.5mm and weighing 1.39kg. Processor options go all the way up to Haswell, and you can also configure one with up to a 512GB solid state drive. Toss in Windows 8.1 and you have a highly...
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Getting to the top in any business is hard work. Even more difficult is staying on top, but if you put customers first and deliver products, features, and services they want, it will go a long way to building brand loyalty. Perhaps that is what Lenovo has in mind by partnering with SweetLaps to bring back the Start Menu that's absent from Windows 8. Developed by SweetLabs, the full version of Pokki will come pre-installed on select Lenovo desktops and notebooks running Windows 8. While the reemergence of the Start Menu is a primary selling point, Pokki also introduces modern desktop apps, real-time notifications, games, and more. "We started SweetLabs with the dream of building the world’s...
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Microsoft set out to change the world with Windows 8, and little by little, its influence is spreading in the tech industry. We've seen a handful of software vendors retool their product's interface to match that of Windows 8, and come December, Mozilla will ship an updated version of Firefox sporting a Modern UI look and feel. Dubbed "Firefox Metro," work has already begun on it and Firefox 26 for Windows, which it will be packaged alongside of. The touch-optimized browser is scheduled to reach Mozilla's Aurora channel on September 16 and Beta channel on October 28, which means users will have a first real glimpse of the updated build as early as next month. This has been a long time coming....
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The second generation of Acer's lightweight S7 Ultrabook has landed in the U.S. and is now available to purchase. Acer's pitching the revitalized S7 Ultrabook as being the perfect companion for college students heading into the back-to-school shopping season, as well as any road warrior who needs a system that's not just thin and light, but also powerful with all-day battery life. Acer made some key improvements to its S7-392 model, starting with the fact that it now ships with Haswell inside. According to Acer, battery life is improved by 33 percent, and a quieter fan with second generation "Twin Air Cooling" technology keeps the system chilly without raising a ruckus. There are two models to...
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When Microsoft developed Windows 8's controversial UI and new Start Screen, the major impetus driving the design was the need to support touchscreen devices. Microsoft hammered this home at every opportunity, describing the new Metro design as a "touch first" experience. Then Windows 8 shipped, and precious few laptops had touchscreen support. This kicked off a kerfuffle of blaming between OEMs and Redmond, with the prediction that as touchscreen prices came down, consumers would embrace W8 and the touch-driven experience. Life would be great if Intel would just cut prices on those ultrabooks. Things haven't played out that way. Granted, the laptop market itself is in the doldrums, but IDC has...
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Ever since Microsoft's Surface debuted to tepid reviews and weak sales figures, analysts and pundits have wondered just how well -- or poorly -- the tablet was selling in the market place. From the beginning, Surface was a tough sell -- Microsoft did next to nothing to explain how it differed from a conventional x86-based PC. Returns were reportedly quite high from irate buyers who took the tablet home and discovered, to their chagrin, that while it had a desktop, said desktop was useless for launching software. So what's the final figure? $853 million. That works out to about $1.7 million tablets shipped in the past year. Other people have leapt to compare this to Apple, which seems a bit unfair,...
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