Items tagged with Windows-8
We first caught wind of Microsoft’s next version of its Windows OS back in December (and learned a bit more in January), and Redmond’s strategy for unifying the Windows experience across various types of devices is becoming more clear. According to a report from ZDNET’s Mary Jo Foley, Windows “Threshold” (which will likely eventually be dubbed “Windows 9”) will be more about creating versions of the same OS that are germane to specific types of devices. For example, desktops and laptops will have a more desktop-friendly version, possibly without all the Metro UI business, while multimode devices and convertibles will get something more akin to what Windows...
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You know how Microsoft has gradually started pre-loading Windows 8 with a glut of apps? Sure, it’s kind of convenient--emphasis on the “kind of”--and having certain apps such as Skype ready to roll as soon as you install the OS is indeed rather handy, but a lot of it just feels like bloatware. (Cough, Bing, cough.) There’s an app for that (sorry, couldn’t resist) called Windows 8 App Remover. According to Betanews, it’s a portable program that’s designed for fresh installs of Windows 8, and it’s actually just a GUI front end for a tool called dism.EXE. Credit: Betanews You pick your version of Windows within the tool, click List Apps, and when the...
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The touch revolution kicked off in earnest quite a few years ago, but as you'd expect, it's taking a little bit for the rest of the industry to catch up. While select apps have been optomized for touch, some are still in the oven. When it comes to Mozilla's Firefox, the company is letting the world know that it'll be joining the fray very soon. In fact, Firefox for Windows 8 Touch Beta is being released today for those willing to test things out and accept a few hiccups along the way. It's a redesigned Firefox, with a tile-based design that feels right at home on the Windows 8 start screen. It's built for tablets, touch-screen laptops and "other compatible devices," including all-in-one PCs....
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It's not pure science, and it doesn't speak for the masses at large, but it's still a decent indicator of how power users are adopting the latest edition of Windows. While Microsoft has struggled to gain mass acceptance for the quirks of Win8, the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey shows significant gains by the new OS, as compared to Windows Vista and Windows XP. Historically, it has taken years for a new Windows OS to gain a major majority share, mostly as institutions put off the upgrade and some consumers decide that there's no real need to update. Steam users, however, tend to be amongs the earliest of adopters -- the power users that jump at the chance to try out any new beta....
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Usually when a PC vendor sells machines running an older operating system, it means that they’re trying to clear out inventory, but that is not the case with HP and its current promotion of Windows 7 PCs. On HP’s welcome page, the main banner says “Back by popular demand” above a deal describing how you can configure a new HP PC with Windows 7 and get up to $150 off. First of all--that’s a pretty good deal. If you’re in the market for a new PC, you might want to jump on that. Second, this is not just an inventory flush of old hardware. The deal applies to PCs running 4th-gen Intel Core (Haswell) processors, and the two notebooks among the five PCs in the promotion--the...
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HP has updated last year’s HP Z1 all-in-one workstation, which we reviewed several months ago, with a newer version that offers Windows 8 (in touch and non-touch flavors) and comes equipped with Intel Thunderbolt 2 ports. Other features include Intel Core or Xeon processors, integrated Intel HD Graphics or NVIDIA Mobile Quadro GPUs, up to 32GB of DDR3-1866MHz RAM, RAID storage options, and dual front-facing speakers with DTS Studio Sound Audio. HP says that you can upgrade most of the parts, and the chassis is designed to make it easy for the average joe to swap out components with no tools. The HP Z1 G2 is coming in late January and starts at $1,999....
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Microsoft’s long-awaited update to its Windows 8 operating system, Windows 8.1, recently landed, and already it’s clear that many users are taking advantage of the free upgrade. According to NetMarketShare’s numbers, Windows 8.1 rose to 1.72% of the desktop OS market share after starting at 0.39% in August (and climbing to 0.87% in September). Over that same time period, Windows 8’s share rose from 7.41% to 7.53%; granted, in September Windows 8 was up to 8.02%, so Windows 8.1 cannibalized its numbers a bit in October, but overall Microsoft’s latest OS and its update are steadily gaining adoption. In fact, so is Windows 7, even as Windows Vista and Windows XP market...
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Windows RT is already less than beloved--sales have been soft and some manufacturers soured on the tablet version of Windows 8 early on--so the news that Microsoft had to yank the long-awaited Windows RT 8.1 update from the Windows Store is another chink in the armor. There also may be problems with Windows 8.1 Pro with tablets that have been undiagnosed, which we've experienced firsthand. In response to a user asking why the update wasn’t available to him--for Windows RT devices, you can only get it from the Windows Store--a Microsoft forum moderator replied: Windows RT 8.1. Microsoft is investigating a situation affecting a limited number of users updating their Windows RT devices to...
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A new Apple patent has emerged that shows a new, more immersive 3D desktop GUI, which looks essentially like cover flow but for applications instead of just for items within Finder windows. It also seems like an incredibly obvious (though no less attractive and innovative) evolution of displaying open applications, and it will certainly allow users to increase the speed of their workflow. It appears that you can click (or swipe?) your way through open applications that are presented as a series of windows, and whichever application is front and center is the currently active app. You can work with a given application without leaving the cover flow environment, which is a nice touch, and if you...
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Windows 8.1 won’t officially be out until October 17th, but Microsoft has made its boxed software available for preorder now, for those who can’t wait to wait to order their own copy. Microsoft Windows 8.1 costs $119, and the Pro version will run you $199.99. One notable change with this generation of Windows is that Microsoft is only selling two versions of the software, which will make things a little easier on consumers, especially as most will just need the regular Windows 8.1. Much has been made of Windows 8.1 and it’s potential to fix the problems of Windows 8; we’ve covered the changes in some detail, ourselves. In any case, Microsoft is surely hoping that consumers...
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Microsoft is acquiring Nokia’s mobile business, effectively ending any possibility that Nokia Lumia phones might someday run Android, and the Redmond-based company is wasting no time in rebranding the line of handsets currently bearing the name “Nokia”. According to a photo dug up by IBtimes, a UK advertisement from Microsoft for the Nokia Lumia 520 shows that the “Nokia” name that’s usually centered at the top of the phone is gone. Otherwise, it’s identical to a Nokia Lumia 520 product photo that’s been around for a while. Credit: Twitter/Brian Robertson via IBtimes A Nokia spokesperson clarified the branding somewhat by saying, "Microsoft would...
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There’s a deluge of tantalizing mobile products pouring out of IFA in Berlin this year--see our recent coverage for more--and here’s another: Sony announced the VAIO Tap 11, the “world’s thinnest” Windows 8 tablet PC, which measures 9.9mm in depth without its keyboard dock. For comparison, the Microsoft Surface Pro, which appears to be the VAIO Tap 11’s closest competition, is about 13.4mm. Sony has yet to share gritty details on the VAIO Tap 11, but the 11.6-inch device does have a full HD display, runs Windows 8, has an Intel Core processor, and enjoys SSD storage. There’s an 8MP rear camera and the promise of quality audio with ClearAudio+ technology...
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ASUS brought the whole kit and caboodle to IFA 2013 in Berlin this year, using the occasion to unveil a slew of mobile devices that cut across a number of markets and include plenty of different form factors. ASUS Transformer Book Trio First up is the Transformer Book Trio, a 3-in-1 ultraportable that dual boots Windows 8 and Android 4.2 and can actually function as two separate computers. With the tablet portion docked, users can work with either Windows 8 or Android laptop-style, and when the 11.6-inch tablet is removed (and being used by one party), the keyboard dock can be connected to an external display (via Mini DisplayPort or Micro-HDMI) and run as a separate Windows 8 PC. The Transformer...
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Microsoft’s Windows operating systems have held a relatively consistent market share for the last year--91.67% in October 2012 and 91.19% in August 2013--but there’s been a good bit of shakeup as it pertains to the various versions of Windows. According to data compiled by NetMarketShare, Windows 8 has climbed to 7.41% market share, up from 0.41% less than a year ago and from 5.4% just last month. For comparison, Vista has dropped to 4.11%; Windows 8 surpassed it this summer. Windows 7 has held relatively firm, creeping up slightly from 44.69% to 45.63% from October to August. Windows XP is winding down; it’s dropped to 33.66% market share. Less than a year ago, it was at 40%....
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Nearly a year ago, we caught wind of Microsoft phasing out its Points system for Windows 8 and speculated that the same could be coming for Xbox 360; we were right to assume the latter, because today Microsoft made it official. “As part of the recent Xbox 360 system update, Microsoft Points will be retired and the Xbox.com PC Marketplace will be closed as of August 22, 2013,” reads a post on Xbox.com. “We encourage you to spend your Microsoft Points balance prior to this change.” The post also stated that although users would not be able to buy new games, they would still have access to content they’ve previously purchased by downloading it via the Games for Windows...
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The news about Windows 8.1 has been steadily dribbling out ever since Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about it at the BUILD event this summer, but the actual availability of the Windows 8 update has been unknown. The Verge says that its sources have confirmed that Windows 8.1 won’t be pushed out to consumers until October, which leaves at least a month and a half before the average joe will be able to enjoy the upgrades. This timeline jibes with an earlier report that PC makers will get the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) version this month, which would give manufacturers time to bake in their own drivers before shipping products about the time everyone gets the update. For as eagerly...
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Earlier this week, we posted a story about Samsung’s upcoming ATIV Book 9 Plus ultrabook and said that, according to a listing we saw on B&H, the device would be available on August 20th. Samsung reached out to correct and adjust our expectations: the ATIV Book 9 Plus will be available for pre-order in the U.S. on August 18th for $1,399, but there’s no published date on its actual availability. Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus However, the specs we found appear to be accurate; the ATIV Book 9 Plus will feature an Intel Core i5-4200U (up to 1.6GHz) processor (Haswell), Intel HD Graphics 4400, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and 128GB SSD. The display is an impressive 13.3-inch touchscreen LED QHD+ display...
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Intel and Lenovo are co-sponsoring an app contest called the Intel App Innovation Content (AIC) 2013 in an attempt to foster development for Windows 8 tablet and all-in-one platforms. The contest is open to developers in 20 countries, although submissions will only be accepted via certain developer communities, which consist of: Code Project (U.S.), Habrahabr (Russia), ThinkDigit (India), and CSDN (PRC). Intel is looking for tablet apps in the areas of education, finance, healthcare, and retail, and all-in-one apps in the areas of entertainment and education. 200 finalists will get a Lenovo AIO development system (an Ideacentre Horizon), and 300 finalists will receive a Lenovo tablet (Thinkpad...
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Microsoft released a long-awaited preview of Windows 8.1, the first revamp of the Windows 8 operating system, just a couple of weeks ago, and now Microsoft said that PC manufacturers will get the full version in August. We looked over the preview build rather thoroughly and found that Windows 8.1 was indeed a major improvement over the intriguing though often baffling or frustrating original version. There are a number of improvements, including a new Start Screen, new boot options, quicker shut down and restart, better SkyDrive integration, an improved PC Settings screen, and more. Although the enhancements are nice and will likely please Windows 8 users, if you’re fundamentally not a...
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It’s no secret that Windows 8 hasn’t exactly captured the hearts and minds of the public at large, but when word leaked that Microsoft was working on a rejiggered version of its newest operating system called Windows 8.1, it was a sign that Microsoft might be able to fix what consumers and businesses dislike and jumpstart sales. Although the finished version of Windows 8.1 won’t arrive until later this year, Microsoft has a preview version ready to go, which you can download here. If you want to take a 90-second tour, here’s a visually stimulating video: Windows 8.1 certainly looks pretty, and Microsoft did indeed bring back a version of the Start button when in Desktop...
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Lenovo just won’t quit with the quirky form factors (which we’re glad for), and the company’s latest innovation is the Lenovo Miix, a 10.1-inch Windows 8 tablet that comes equipped with a “quick flip” detachable folio case that doubles as an AccuType keyboard. The device has a 10.1-inch HD (1366x768) IPS display and runs on a dual-core Intel Atom processor with 64GB of built-in storage, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, optional 3G-GPS, and 10 hours of battery life. The tablet itself weighs 1.2 pounds and is just 0.4 inches thick. Lenovo Miix (curiously, without the folio case attached) The concept is that the Miix performs double duty as both a tablet and a lightweight laptop....
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Well now, here’s an angle we hadn’t heard before: Enrique Lore, senior vice president and general manager of HP's business PC unit, told reporters that he believes Windows 8 adoption will ramp up when Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP in April. The logic is that commercial deployments in particular will send Windows 8 sales soaring. As companies are forced to phase out their legacy systems running Windows XP and replace their fleets of computers, they’ll naturally upgrade to systems running the most recent Windows OS, which is currently Windows 8. According to TechDay, Lore says that 40%-50% of business users are still running Windows XP, so that’s theoretically a...
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