Articles about Windows

Microsoft launches Windows 8 in just two days, and manufacturers such as HP are putting all their cards on the table, and announcing pricing for their Windows 8 lineups.

Even though there were models introduced long before today, HP chose to keep quiet about their pricing. But after Microsoft priced its Surface tablet, the company has finally announced that its similarly-sized Envy x2 sporting an 11.6-inch display and the Intel Atom Z2760 processor will be priced starting at $849.99. One of the most recently introduced devices with attractive accessories, the business-oriented ElitePad 900 running the same type of processor bearing the "Clover Trail" code-name, is still a no-show in terms of pricing, and instead will be announced closer to its availability.

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Microsoft may have changed the name of the interface formerly known as Metro to Modern Interface, but that does little, if anything, to stop consumers and software publisher from continuing to use the original moniker. As such, one of the apps that brings the look of Windows 8 to older versions bears the name WinMetro.

Regardless of the technical appropriateness of the name, WinMetro is a handy utility for anyone impressed with the aesthetics of Windows 8 but who is not looking to make the jump from the current operating system. While the tool is not a replacement for the Start menu in the strictest sense of the word -- it is not possible to remap the Windows key to bring it into view for instance --- the application is a neat overlay that brings you the look and feel of Windows 8 at no cost.

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Eight days before Windows 8's big launch, Microsoft served up expected, dismal news about its successor, in the wake of disastrous third-quarter PC shipments. They sapped Windows division revenue and profit, keeping to a recent trend. There was never a question of negative impact, merely how bad -- as Wall Street analysts expected overall company revenues to decline. The question everyone should ask: Can Q4 be any better than this?

For fiscal first quarter 2013, ended September 30, Microsoft revenue fell 8 percent to $16.1 billion, year over year. Operating income: $5.31 billion, down 26 percent. Net income: $4.47 billion. Earning per share fell 22 percent to 53 cents. The results are impacted by a $1.36 billion, or 13 cents-a-share, deferral related to Windows 8 and Office 2013 launches.

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Whoa, and I thought BetaNews commenters were a rowdy lot. Today, Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 10 would come to Windows 7 next month as a "preview". I would think that would be welcome news, but not to cranky complainers at Microsoft's IE blog.

"We will release a preview of IE10 on Windows 7 in mid-November, with final availability to follow as we collect developer and customer feedback", Rob Mauceri, IE group program manager, posts. "We look forward to getting your feedback on IE10 on Windows 7, and will provide another update when the preview is available".

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Computing, and I use the term in the widest sense, has always been tribal to an extent. People have loyalties, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This year, tribes are called "ecosystems", but whatever the current label, looking around the Interweb it seems to me that tribalism is becoming more prevalent and more aggressive. It’s as if everyone stood on soapboxes with their fingers in their ears, shouting "LALALALALALALA", while at the same time (a good trick, this) yelling through a megaphone that theirs is the only way and anyone who doesn’t agree is just too stupid to be considered human.

Famously, way back in 1994, the writer and thinker Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose) compared computing loyalties to religions: Apple followers were Catholics who believed that they would find salvation through following the One True Path. Conversely, PC users, like Protestants, were obliged to find their own way through the many paths open to them, and not all would be saved. And (I guess) Linux users are the hairy prophets who come out of the desert proclaiming, "It’s really easy. Honestly. And these days you only have to scourge yourself with thorns once a week …"

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The golden years of Apple's outright dominance in technical innovation is fading, and quickly at that. The iPhone 5 just launched with a deservedly ho-hum and lackluster reception, with many people asking the obvious question: that's it? For a company riding the high waves of Wall Street for more than a few years now, with earnings going through the roof quarter upon quarter, is this the best that a larger-than-life tech giant can bring us?

Maybe the naysayers are right in that Apple is the leftover shell of a monolith once passed (post-Jobs.) Perhaps that internal drive to bring out the best in technology they release is starting to fizzle. I'd go as far as to argue that Apple never really has been as continually innovative as many people may believe. While Apple does have an easy ability in commanding the lead for sectors it enters, this doesn't necessarily mean the company if filled with technical Einsteins as so many supporters clamor to believe.

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If you have tried out any of the preview releases of Windows 8, you may well have joined the thousands of users who are mourning the loss of the Start menu. Microsoft’s decision to drop this staple element of Windows has caused frustration, confusion and disbelief in equal measure, but with the help of ViStart 8, you can bring back an old favorite to Windows 8, but there’s also a lot to look forward to if you have an older version of Windows.

One of ViStart 8 key selling points -- although the app is actually free -- is that it supports skins. These provide you with a quick and easy way to completely transform the look of the Start menu. You may think that the program has done very little when you first install and run it in Windows XP, Vista or 7, but as you explore the range of skins that are available, you’ll discover that there are varying layouts to choose from.

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Just in time for Windows 8's debut, its predecessor surpasses the version released 11 years ago. In August, Windows 7 usage finally exceeded XP, according to Net Applications. The operating systems released in September 2009 and October 2001, respectively. In-between, Microsoft shipped ill-fated Vista, which carries stigma reserved for few major Microsoft products -- Bob, Windows ME and Vista, most notably.

NetApps released the findings today, as part of its monthly data dump on browser and operating systems. The methodology isn't exact and, contrary to many other reports, doesn't reflect market share but usage share -- and there is a huge difference. Market share typically measures something finite, such as X number widgets sold over Y time period. Usage share measures, say, the number of people using big screen and little screen TVs, and the same people might use both. More people may now use Windows 7 but some of them may also use XP.

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Tuesday, Microsoft announced it has begun a major update to its consumer cloud storage service SkyDrive, which includes a new Web interface to the service, updated apps for desktop and new ones for mobile, and some new APIs for developers.

Two weeks ago, Microsoft opened its newest webmail brand and design upgrade on Outlook.com, and over a million people signed up in the first 24 hours alone. The update to the SkyDrive interface will be similar, and it will bring the same clean appearance, and will utilize the tile-based interface formerly known as "Metro" that is common among most current-generation Windows properties.

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The news has already broken. Three days ago in Beijing, Lenovo unveiled the latest ThinkPad ultrabook, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Last night, the company repeated its performance in a ceremony in New York city to simultaneously celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ThinkPad line of notebook computers, and officially unveil to the U.S. some new products. Chief among the new devices was the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

The X1 Carbon is a 14-inch Ultrabook that weighs less than three pounds thanks to its carbon fiber chassis. It offers an eight hour battery, optional 3G mobile broadband, 720p face-tracking camera, fingerprint scanner, backlit keyboard, and a glass multi-touch touchpad. The base specs of the device include a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 CPU with 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD for $1,299. While modest specs for a baseline, they can be upgraded to an Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

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Microsoft has released Windows Essentials 2012 for Windows 7 and 8 users, but drops support for Vista. The new version drops “Live” branding and features notable new capabilities and improvements to its multimedia tools, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker.

The suite also drops Windows Live Mesh for the SkyDrive file-syncing tool. In addition, it includes Mail, Messenger, Writer, Family Safety and Outlook Connector Park, all of which feature in previous releases.

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The Office Store, Microsoft’s integrated product into Office 2013 is open. Office's new web apps come from the Office Store, where you can purchase add-ins or install free tools. The program became available this week to users with a Microsoft account and a preview version of Office, SharePoint or Exchange. For developers, the store presents a new and large opportunity to increase their income through sales.

From a user’s standpoint a lot of time is spent using the Microsoft Office suite. That is spending time reading through email, writing reports, analyzing data, preparing sales figures or sharing proposals with others team. There are many critical tools and many critical information sources live on the web or in applications outside of Office. So part of the idea behind the Office Store is so users could integrate different elements of the web with the internal elements of Office and SharePoint.

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As screen capturing power goes, there’s no doubt that the standard Windows PrintScreen function is horribly basic. But some third-party capture tools head in the other direction, weighing you down with a host of overcomplicated options which you’ll probably never use at all.

If your needs are more straightforward, then, you might prefer something like Gadwin PrintScreen, which provides a good set of basic screengrab functions, yet always remains relatively lightweight and easy to use.

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While it’s true the simplest apps are often the best, you invariably find yourself torn over loving their simplicity while yearning for additional functionality. Imagine, then, an app that can fill a void you didn’t know existed – the need to quickly print out your entire desktop or an active window to paper – while providing all those extra features you don’t yet realize you want?

You can stop imagining, because that app exists. It’s been around for over a decade, benefits from frequent updates (it’s fully Windows 8 compatible, for instance) and – most pleasing of all – is completely free.

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Norwegian browser developer Opera Software ASA has released Opera 12.01 FINAL, the latest stable build of its cross-platform, freeware web browser. Version 12.01 is a minor release, consisting mainly of bug fixes and security patches.

This follows the release of version 12, which boasted vastly improved startup times, experimental hardware acceleration, Do Not Track privacy features and 64-bit support on Windows and Mac. Version 12.01 follows shortly after Opera NEXT 12.50 released a new snapshot, previewing new features via a publicly available alpha build.

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