Articles about Windows 8

Whether you love or hate Metro (and BetaNews readers certainly seem to be divided on the topic), it’s an integral part of Windows 8 and something we’re all going to have to learn to get along with. Although I personally find using the interface with a keyboard and mouse a rather clumsy experience, I do appreciate Metro’s aesthetics and think it's a bit annoying (not to mention odd) that Microsoft hasn’t extended its design to Windows Explorer.

Unsurprisingly, I’m not alone in this viewpoint but while I’m happy to just complain about it Julien Manici decided to do something and has come up with a very early, but brilliant application called Immersive Explorer.

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If you’re running Windows 8, but like the look of Apple’s new Mountain Lion OS, you can use a skin pack to assuage some of your UI envy, without dumping Metro in the process (which may be a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about the new tiled interface).

The Mountain Lion Skin Pack for Windows 8 Consumer Preview was obviously designed for the earlier trial version of Windows 8 (the clue is in the name), but it works just as well in the release candidate. It won’t actually transform Windows into Mountain Lion, so you won’t get cool features like apps that match their iOS counterparts, cloud-based sync features or AirPlay mirroring, but it will at least give you a reasonable flavor of Mountain Lion’s aesthetics.

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International Data Corporation (IDC), in partnership with mobile platform company Appcelerator, announced results of a global survey of Appcelerator developers on Tuesday, The survey created a detailed profile of developers' outlook on the market, with a particular focus on development for enterprise.

At a high level, the survey showed that developers believe Apple is leading the charge in the enterprise mobile deployment; see Android only as a consumer opportunity; are excited about remote cloud service integration; and are cautiously optimistic about Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets; but see Windows Phone as disappointing.

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Whenever I think about tablets v. PCs, I remember a bold prediction of old: “Son, 10 years from now everyone will drive an electric car!” When was that, 20 years ago? We’ve all read something like that from someone believing to be clairvoyant.

I read similar articles almost every day where the writer plays the same old broken record: tablets are the death of PCs, or some other flamboyant thing that’s bound to get interest -- with the hope that the reader will agree with the author. It's like almost everyone is set on sending the PC down to the gates of Hell. But why should I agree with their assertions when I actually need a PC?

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Just days after opening a new Microsoft investigation, European antitrust regulators have broadened the scope. The software giant already faces possible multi-billion dollar sanctions for non-compliance with a 2009 agreement. European Windows users are supposed to get browser choice, but a ballot box mysteriously disappeared when Windows 7 Service Pack 1 released in February 2011. The European Competition Commission has since added Windows 8 to the investigation.

The agreement, which expires at the end of 2014, requires that a browser choice screen must appear in all copies of Windows, including version 8. The browser choice screen allows a dozen alternate third-party browsers to be shown as options for installation besides Internet Explorer -- when starting IE each time, or starting Windows for the first time. Microsoft faces new allegations the browser choice screen is missing from the final version of Windows 8 and Windows RT.

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It’s a form of denial. In my recent post on the Office team dissing Windows 8, I noted how the lack of full touch support in Office 2013 undermines Microsoft’s efforts to break into the Post-PC space. And while I expected some push back from the Redmond choir, I was surprised at how many readers seem to be having a hard time accepting the reality of the Post-PC phenomenon.

Simply put, the PC as a technology driver is dead. Yet some people -- most notably, IT professionals who fear the coming BYOD apocalypse -- are determined to prop-up the corpse, slap some lipstick on those rotting lips and pretend that it’s still 2009.

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VideoLAN.org has released VLC Media Player 2.0.3, the latest build of its popular open-source media player software for Mac, Windows and Linux. Although a minor refresh, version 2.0.3 contains two notable updates in adding support for Mountain Lion’s Gatekeeper, and fixing the QT interface style in Windows 8.

In addition to these updates, version 2.0.3, which is also available as a separate 64-bit build (not updated to 2.0.3 at time of writing), contains a number of minor bug fixes and translation updates.

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Microsoft closed its fiscal year in relatively good shape, despite globally slow PC sales that weighed down Windows division sales and product transition period that affected some others. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has a heap load of new products in queue for the next three quarters, causing some customers to delay purchases.

However, a one-time $6.19 billion impairment goodwill charge, related to the Online Services Business, and $540 million deferral led Microsoft to post a 6 cents-per-share loss -- or $492 million, after taxes. The deferral covers upgrade guarantees related to Windows 8's launch.

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Steven Sinofosky, president of the Windows & Windows Live division, announced the date during a Microsoft sales meeting this afternoon. Windows 8 follows other October launches -- its predecessor (Oct. 22, 2009) and XP (Oct. 25, 2001). Vista should have been as well, but Microsoft couldn't ship soon enough, unbelievably missing Christmas 2006.

Microsoft plans to release gold code the first week of August and make Windows 8 immediately available to volume-license subscribers. Everyone else will wait for Windows 8.

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Microsoft really wants you to stop using XP and Vista. Office 2013, which preview released this week, only supports Windows 7 and 8. XP is still the most widely-used Windows version (although Net Applications says that could change this month). From the perspective of customers, the move doesn't make much sense. But Microsoft, of course, is more interested getting them to upgrade.

Microsoft gambles a lot on this decision. According to NetApps, 47.28 percent of computers run the rather old Windows XP and a minuscule 7.29 percent use Vista. Combined they have 54.57 percent usage share, which is not insignificant by any matter and a clear warning sign about the move. Office 2013 cuts off more than half the current Windows install base.

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Like all previous versions of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 8 is highly customizable, so if there’s something about it you don’t like -- something fairly minor that is, rather than the entire OS -- you might be able to change it by installing a third-party app, or making some registry tweaks.

There are a lot more than eight ways to improve Windows 8 of course, but these are some of the ones I’ve found the most useful.

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A letdown. That's the only way to describe Microsoft's Office 2013 announcement. With the fate of the Windows ecosystem hanging in the balance, the Redmond, Wash.-based giant is doing what it always does when faced with a tough, course-changing decision: It’s playing internal politics.

On one side you have the Windows division. Right now, they're facing an existential crisis, with Apple and Google poised to dominate the emerging post-PC landscape. Division head Steve Sinofsky and his team need all the help they can get to crack into this new territory that threatens to subsume everything that came before.

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Quite likely you, or somebody you know -- and as soon as possible.

Early results are in for our Windows 8 buying poll, and many of you are ready to upgrade. More than 46 percent of you will buy the new operating system as soon as it's available to you. Volume-licensing subscribers get the software in August and everyone else in October. Twenty-one percent and 25 percent of respondents will jump in immediately, respectively. Nearly 55 percent will go Windows 8 within 3 months of release. The remainder either will wait much longer or not buy at all.

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Customization website Windows X Live has released both Windows 8 UX Pack 5.0 and Windows 8 Transformation Pack 5.0. Both tools are designed to provide a Windows 8-like user interface in older versions of Windows.

Headline features for both version 5 builds are new themes and updates designed to ape the user interface found in the recently released Windows 8 Release Preview.

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Microsoft plans to simplify Windows 8 sales by eliminating the full version of the operating system and focusing on upgrade and "system builder" editions. The change likely means that Windows 8 will be cheaper by and large to obtain the most consumers.

Pundits Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley spoke of the move, citing sources on their weekly Internet radio show "Windows Weekly". The move follows another from April where the company announced Windows 8 would only be available in standard and Pro editions, aimed at making the purchasing process much easier.

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