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If you own a PC, the only current way to play "Halo: Spartan Assault" on your rig was to install Windows 8 or 8.1 and download it from the Windows Store. Next week that will change, as Microsoft's top-down sci-fi shooter finally comes to the much bigger Windows 7 PC audience, along with Windows Vista. A listing on Valve's Steam service shows that "Halo: Spartan Assault" will be released on April 4 for the price of $4.99. The description states that this version of the game will support Steam achievements, rather than the Windows 8-based Xbox Live achievements. It also won't support the two player multiplayer missions that were included in the recent Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions. Speaking of which, both of the game's console versions have now received a permanent price cut from $14.99 to $9.99 each. Also, the Halo Waypoint site has posted word that the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 versions, which are currently priced at $6.99 each, will see a deep price reduction to just $1.99 each from April 3-9. On April 10, the price will go up again, but just to $4.99 each on a permanent basis. Source

If you are interested in a new mobile workstation PC, check out the newly announced 15-inch Dell Precision M2800. This device comes packed with a 4th generation Intel Core i5 (or i7) processor, AMD FirePro W4170M (2GB GDDR5 memory) graphics card, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 15.6-inch UltraSharp, HD or Full-HD resolution. "Dell has found a way to disrupt the market and remove barriers for a certain set of customers who require a workstation experience yet are constrained by budget," said Jon Peddie, He is the President at Jon Peddie Research. "The M2800 brings forth a tremendous opportunity to address a gap in delivering an entry-level workstation with strong performance and ISV certifications to run demanding, mission-critical applications, at a great value." The Dell Precision M2800 features rugged reliability, powerful workstation graphics capabilities, and ISV certification for many of the popular creative and design apps that professionals rely on such as Autodesk AutoCAD, Inventor and Revit, Solidworks, PTC Creo, and more. The device launches this Spring and no word on if it will be running Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. The device starts at $1,199. Source

In this article, we’ll show you how to enable Hibernation on Windows 8. Step 1:In your system tray, click the battery icon and select More power options from the panel that pops up. Step 2:In the power options window, select either “Choose what closing the lid does” or “Choose what the power button does” from the left panel. Step 3:In the next window, click the blue text that says “Change settings that are currently unavailable” Step 4: At the bottom of the windows, a new set of options will become available. Check the box next to Hibernate and click Save changes. That’s it – Hibernate will now show up in power options. Pull up the Charms bar using the Win + C combination, go to Settings and click the Power button. You’ll see that Hibernate has been added to the list, allowing you to save your system state at any time and resume where you left off. Source : Redmondpie

Microsoft and China have had a stressful relationship recently as the two seem unable to see eye-to-eye over the Windows operating system. With China recently saying that Windows 8 should not be used there due to Microsoft’s connection with the US government, Microsoft is now fighting back and is using social media to combat these claims. It all started with China wanting Microsoft to extend the support of Windows XP as that platform is used heavily in the country. But, the reason it is used so much is largely because of widespread piracy, and Microsoft has said that 9 out of 10 copies being used in that country have been acquired illegally. With Microsoft not backing down on dropping support for XP, China started tossing mud at Windows 8. The country banned the use of the platform on government computers and made claims about backdoors and other allegations of collusion with the US government. While Microsoft knows that if any of this were true, it would do irreparable harm to its image and as of now, it has not been firmly established that the company has given the NSA or any other entity access through a ‘backdoor’ into its platforms. Microsoft has taken to its Weibo account to combat China’s claims and posted the image that you see at the top of this post. The five points are translated and broken down below and you can see the full image here: Microsoft has never assisted any government in an attack of another government or clients.Microsoft has never provided any government the authority to directly visit our products or services.Microsoft has never provided any so-called "Backdoor" into its products or services.Microsoft has never provided the data or info of our clients to the U.S. Govt. or National Security Agency.Microsoft has never concealed any requests from any government for information about its clients.These claims attack all of the key points China has made about Windows 8 and Microsoft’s alleged cooperation with the US government. Microsoft clearly wants China to move to another platform besides Windows XP because so many of the PCs in China run illegal copies of the OS. If Microsoft is able to get these users to buy legitimate copies of new versions of Windows, it will significantly help the company’s bottom line. But for now, Windows XP usage in China still remains high but seeing that the OS is no longer receiving support, it’s only a matter of time until these machines become vulnerable and are exploited by botnets or infected with ransomware. Once this occurs, these users will have no choice but to update their OS to a more modern platform. Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-fights-back-calls-out-china-on-its-windows-8-claims

Microsoft has taken heat every time it tried to end support for Windows XP, but finally almost 13 years after it was released, Microsoft has flipped the switch and stopped delivering system updates to XP users. Well, mostly. There have been some angry rumblings, but consumers seem to be coping, and large customers like business and governments can buy extended support licenses. So everything is fine? Not from the perspective of the Chinese government, which apparently has trust issues after the end of XP support. New rules announced last week ban the use of Windows 8 on government PCs. Microsoft has a complicated history with Windows in China. PC sales are roughly the same as the US, but more than a third are still running XP. There are no official numbers on government IT platforms, but it’s safe to say XP’s share is even higher there. What is remarkable about the Chinese software market is the sheer number of pirated Windows installs. In spite of all those PC sales, Microsoft only sees about 5% of the revenue in China that it does in the US. It’s no secret that piracy is rampant in the Chinese consumer electronics market, and that’s probably one of the main reasons XP is still so widely used. Newer versions of Windows introduced tougher anti-piracy measures that require more fiddling to bypass, and are easier to trip in the future. The Chinese government has suggested in the past that Microsoft should lower the price of Windows instead of combating piracy. The block on Windows 8 was enacted as part of a notice on energy-saving procedures posted on the Central Government Procurement Center website. It was certainly an odd way to announce the ban of a major operating system. The official Xinhua news agency elaborated on the ban, saying it was being put in place to ensure future security after Microsoft ended support for Windows XP… after 13 years. Apparently the Chinese government doesn’t want to be in a similar situation after buying another “foreign OS.” That raises the question, of course, what OS is China going to use on government computers? China’s Kylin OS. It was originally based on FreeBSD, but now it’s derived from Ubuntu The Chinese propaganda machine might simply be trying to spin the end of XP support as some failing of the foreign software market in an effort to jumpstart a local alternative. There are a few Chinese Linux distros like StartOS and Kylin, but usage of these operating systems is still low. It’s more likely the Chinese government is working on its own version of desktop Linux to go along with the new Linux-based mobile OS known as China Operating System (COS). Microsoft is no doubt unhappy to hear about the ban on Windows 8 in the Chinese government, as if that platform needed any more bad press. With most Windows machines in China running pirated versions of the OS, it’s not like Microsoft is about to see profits fall off a cliff. Still, having the Chinese government actively discourage the use of Windows could make it hard for Microsoft to gain a foothold with the growing Chinese middle class who might have the means to pay for software. Source

Here's my scenario: I have a laptop with 3 OS on it. Windows XP, Windows 8, Windows 7, and 4th partition for files. Whenever I listen to music or watch and listen to Youtube videos, and the like, I notice that the sound is louder when I play it on Windows XP than on Windows 7/8. I have played the same set of music files, Youtube videos on all 3 OS but the result is still the same. The volume on the 3 OS and on the videos are all set to 100% but still, when I play them on Windows XP, I had to lower down the volume not to cause too much noise. I have installed the required audio drivers for all 3 OS and all OS are Windows updates up-to-date. Whenever I watch and listen on Windows 7/8, I often look at the volume indicator to see if it is already maxed [or 100%] and is thinking if there is any way to make the sound/audio louder. All OS are on their own partition so the settings and software are independent from one another. Just to compare, 100% volume on Windows 7/8 seems to be around 50% on Windows XP even though they are using the same exact hardware, all OS on the same laptop. When I'm on Windows 7/8, I will need to connect additional speakers to get a louder sound/audio but when I'm on Windows XP, the built-in speakers are sufficient enough. Is there any setting that I need to check or adjust so that sound/audio volume on Windows 7/8 will be at par or as loud as on Windows XP? I'm not sure if my computer specs matter but I'll just mention it anyway. Windows XP on 1st partition [148 GB] Windows 8 on 2nd partition [150 GB] Windows 7 on 3rd partition [150 GB] 4th partition for files [250 GB] or 750 Gibibytes / 698 Gigabytes 4 GB RAM DDR3 Intel Core i7 3610QM CLEVO CO. W250ENQ / W270ENQ (U29)

Pause4Relax Pause4Relax is ideal for people who cannot resist looking and working on the computer and keep torturing their eyes for hours at a stretch. And honestly, the timing of coming across this application couldn’t be more right as these days I’m straining my eyes to no limit! How it works Pause4Relax is like a reminder from the computer, which activates after every 30 minutes, lowers the brightness of the monitor and gives you few minutes (5, by default) to relax your eyes. The software gives the user flexibility to customize the settings, best suitable to them. So, if you feel you can take a break after 45-60 minutes, change settings accordingly. The application also gives you the option to skip the relaxation time and add more minutes if all you need is to relax more. While playing games or watching movies, you can disable the application and then resume later. Features Pause4Relax is an extremely light application and can run on minimum system configuration. It’s a portable application; therefore there is no need of installing it, simply double click to execute the application on your PC or laptop. Users of Windows 7 and above can change their system’s startup settings in order to load the application while logging in to their system. Download http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Home-Education/Pause-4-Relax.shtml

This is an advance notification of 5 security bulletins that Microsoft is intending to release on March 11, 2014. 2 rated as Critical and 3 with a rating of important http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms14-mar http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2014/03/06/advance-notification-server-for-the-march-2014-security-bulletin-release.aspx

By Mike Williams January 24th Updated: Hints and tips to help you get more from Windows 8 and 8.1 Windows 8 has been with us for well over a year now, and if you're used to previous versions of Windows then you're going to notice that quite a bit has changed. In fact, Windows 8 has seen the biggest change since the jump from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Out goes the Start menu, in comes the new touch-oriented Start screen with new Windows 8-style apps and new interface conventions. Even experienced PC users may be left feeling a little lost. •Windows 8: what you'll need to relearn •Windows 8.1 review Don't despair, though, help is at hand. We've poked around every part of Windows 8, uncovering many of its most important tips and tricks, so read our guide and you'll soon be equipped to get the most out of Microsoft's latest release. 1. Open from the lock screen Windows 8 opens on its lock screen, which looks pretty but unfortunately displays no clues about what to do next. It's all very straightforward, though. Just tap the space bar, spin the mouse wheel or swipe upwards on a touch screen to reveal a regular login screen with the user name you created during installation. Enter your password to begin. 2. Handle basic navigation Windows 8's interface is all colourful tiles and touch-friendly apps. And if you're using a tablet then it'll all be very straightforward: just swipe left or right to scroll the screen, and tap any tile of interest. On a regular desktop, though, you might alternatively spin the mouse wheel to scroll backwards and forwards. And you can also use the keyboard. Press the Home or End keys to jump from one end of your Start screen to the other, for instance, then use the cursor keys to select a particular tile, tapping Enter to select it. Press the Windows key to return to the Start screen; right-click (or swipe down on) apps you don't need and select Unpin to remove them; and drag and drop the other tiles around to organise them as you like. 3. Group apps The Start screen apps are initially displayed in a fairly random order, but if you'd prefer a more organised life then it's easy to sort them into custom groups. You might drag People, Mail, Messaging and Calendar over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate 'People' group. Click the 'minus' icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to zoom out and you'll now find you can drag and drop the new group (or any of the others) around as a block. Right-click within the block (while still zoomed out) and you'll also be able to give the group a name, which - if you go on to add another 20 or 30 apps to your Start screen - will make it much easier to find the tools you need. Windows 8.1 now provides a special Customise mode with much the same functionality. Right-click an empty part of the Start screen, or swipe up, tap Customise, then drag and drop tiles or rename app groups to whatever you need. 4. Use the quick access menu Right-click in the bottom-left corner (or hold down the Windows key and press X) for a text-based menu that provides easy access to lots of useful applets and features: Device Manager, Control Panel, Explorer, the Search dialog and more. Download the Win+X Menu Editor and you'll be able to further customise the list with programs of your own. 5. Find your applications The Win+X menu is useful, but no substitute for the old Start menu as it doesn't provide access to your applications. Press Ctrl+Tab, click the arrow button at the bottom left of the Start Screen, or swipe up from the bottom of the screen and a list of your installed programs will appear. If you can't see what you need immediately, start typing an application name to search for it. Or, in Windows 8.1, click the arrow to the right of "Apps" to sort your programs by date installed, most used, category or name. 6. Make access easier If there's an application you use all the time then you don't have to access it via the search system. Pin it to the Start screen and it'll be available at a click. Start by typing part of the name of your application. To access Control Panel, for instance, type 'Control'. Right-click the 'Control Panel' tile on the Apps Search screen, and click 'Pin to Start'. If you're using a touchscreen, press and hold the icon, then flick down and select 'Pin to Start'. Now press the Windows key, scroll to the right and you'll see the Control Panel tile at the far end. Drag and drop this over to the left somewhere if you'd like it more easily accessible, then click the tile to open the desktop along with the Control Panel window, and press the Windows key to return you to the Start screen when you're done. 7. Shut down To shut Windows 8 down, just move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, click the Settings icon - or just hold down the Windows key and press I - and you'll see a power button. Click this and choose 'Shut Down' or 'Restart'. In Windows 8.1, press Win+X, click 'Shut down or sign out' and select the option you need. Some of the tricks available in previous versions of Windows still apply. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del, for instance, click the power button in the bottom right-hand corner and you'll be presented with the same 'Shut Down' and 'Restart' options. And if you're on the desktop, press Alt+F4 and you'll be able to choose 'Shut Down', 'Restart', 'Sign Out' or 'Switch User' options. Covers Both Windows 8 and 8.1 1. Windows 8 tips: get started 2. Windows 8 tips: master the interface 3. Windows 8 tips: increase productivity 4. Windows 8 tips: new options and features 5. Windows 8 tips: tweak and customise 6. Windows 8 tips: try Explorer tricks 7. Windows 8 tips: troubleshoot Source

By Jay Machaloni December 12, 2013 Part I NOTE: Wow! Microsoft is thinking about bringing back the Start Menu and Modern apps on the Desktop. This is perfect timing! Here you’ll see why it’s a good idea and how they should do it. DISCLAMER: This is a non-functional concept prototype of Windows 8 built from scratch in Adobe Fireworks CS6 and rendered in Adobe After Effects CC. There is no download link or ways for you to use this right now. BACKGROUND Let me begin by saying that I love Windows 8. I have it on all of my computers and I find that is the best OS for productivity and awesomeness. OS X is good looking and polished, especially with the Mavericks update (A.K.A. fake leather killer), but I find that it is lacking some productivity details that makes it less comfortable. That was my experience with OS X as my main OS for a year and a half on the amazing 2011 MacBook Air. Yes everything can also be done on OS X and you can take the time to learn all of that to switch, but so is the OS X to Windows transition; it’s just a matter of where you are more comfortable. Linux is a usability nightmare the second you get out of the fake easy-to-use illusion layer they added with the new GUIs. Unless you’re a coder, don’t even think about it. Back to Windows 8 now! I love Windows 8 and it is my favorite OS to date, but that thing is filled with massive flaws. Some even said that W8 is a usability nightmare and even if I don’t really like that expression they are kinda right in a way. Confusion. Here’s that magic word! Microsoft has a lot of great ideas and they smashed them together to create Windows 8. They have some pretty amazing blocks, it’s just a matter of arranging them the right way. This research project started September 24th 2013. I had access to Windows 8.1 thanks to my dear friends at Microsoft and my main on-the-go general computer was a Dell XPS 12, I replaced it for a Surface Pro 2 right at launch October 25th. My test computers were always high density convertible tablet/laptops; the perfect candidate for the Windows 8 vision. My goal here is simple: Research and design an improved Windows 8 that doesn’t change the whole OS, something that could be easily pushed in a near update based on the feedback of the users and respects Microsoft’s strategy and vision. Trust me on this, I would LOVE to do an awesome new Metro style, blend both environment together or simply reinvent the whole damn thing and form the next big change in user interface design. Unfortunately, I want to find solutions that are incremental to the current version of Windows; something that would be an easy update to please everyone first. I talked to a lot of users, developers and even people at Microsoft for their feedback over W8 and what they like/dislike (special thanks to the Apple Core and Microsoft Tribe forum at The Verge for their feedback). From there I came up with 5 rules that needs to be respected at all time to insure that users are happy and their feedback is respected, but at the same time that Microsoft can go on with their planned strategy for their OS and the future of the company. Let’s stop with all the history and background crap and jump right into the laws, notes and the designs. BASICS When designing anything you need to lay a couple of rules that you need to refer to for every single decision. If there’s a problem with anyone of them, it’s a big fat no! Here’s my 5 rules for my W8.2 prototype design. 1) Microsoft wants to create a coherent store experience and ecosystem for Windows with the Windows Store. Let’s be honest here, when Apple showed the world how awesome a central managed application store is, everyone had to do it. Like the mouse, touchscreen and GUI interface, it’s something that can’t really be considered as a stolen idea or copying the other since it’s just an obvious thing that nobody got before. The Windows Store is here to stay and the design of those apps are to be structured for a coherent and unified experience. It doesn’t make sense anymore to scout the web through bad website and installers that want to fill your computer with crap by default when you can have a one button purchase/install/update/manage for your apps. 2) Microsoft is adopting a company-wide design language with Metro and the Live Tiles. Screw you Metro AG! I don’t care come sue me if you want to and Microsoft I’m keeping that Metro name! We need a way to call that new design language and “modern” simply doesn’t cut it. So yes, I will be using the Metro name throughout this research project. The Metro design language is here to stay and people gotta live with it. On the other hand, it is Microsoft’s job to make sure that it is relevant and useful and not to just stuff it down users’ throats. 3) Windows 8 needs to work on both touch-input devices and pointer/keyboard based computers. Look, there will be touch devices running Windows and no, splitting the OS into a separate Desktop and Tablet OS is not a solution. Windows needs to be flexible and work on all type of computers. You may be wondering why the OS on your Desktop computer needs to be tablet ready. Simple! Because we are evolving to convertible/hybrid devices. All-in-one desktops can transform into a big ass tablet and tablets into mobile workstations with their docks, flippy screens and keyboard covers. Having two OS for the same device under the same name is out of the question. 4) Users with mouse and keyboards do not want a touch-optimized experience. You have a tiny pointer that can aim on 1x1 pixel elements. We are talking about your main workstation where a lot is happening at the same time. You optimize everything onscreen to maximize screen space organization and you resize your windows to a perfection level. Then, you open the Music app and it takes the whole 1080p display just for your song selection. You need weird gestures to access the Charms bar, mimicking a simple touchscreen swipe that you can’t do and of course if you try to multitask with any Metro app, the whole Desktop with all your apps opened are treated the same way as your Twitter app. Not very optimized. Learning all the keyboard shortcuts is not an option for the average user guys, forget it. 5) Users with touchscreens do not want to go through a Desktop interface. You have an 8 inch tablet. You’re moving fast through the terminal and you need to get an information very fast. The last thing on your mind is to stop and try poking the tiny menu buttons of the Desktop. You should at all times stay inside of a touch-optimized interface and the fallback to Desktop should not even exist. Metro shouldn’t be on top of the Desktop; it should be your interface. Note Yes there will be a lot of spelling mistakes, unfortunately you will have to leave with it. The goal was to put out the information of my research, not to write a perfectly checked novel. Metro refers to the new design language from Microsoft and also the touch-optimized experience. A lot of people will disagree and please share your disagreements with me, but don’t say “It sucks” or “Buy a Mac”. Tell me “It sucks because…” or “I prefer the way Apple does it because…”. Explain your opinion. All screenshots shown here are designed with my Surface Pro 2 in mind, so with a 150% DPI. Everything will look scaled up if you don’t have a small screen with a high resolution. This research project or I are not affiliated with Microsoft in any way. SOLUTION All right, so here’s my big solution! You separate the Desktop and Metro as completely different environment you can switch between. This way mouse/keyboard users won’t need to use weird mouse gestures, giant start screens and full screen apps and touch users will never have to see the Desktop ever in their life if they don’t want to. Your files and apps sits in the middle and you choose which environment/interface you want to use to access them. At the end of the day, I want to see my pictures (HDD stored), work on my documents (Cloud/SkyDrive) use Fireworks (desktop app) and listen to my music on Xbox Music (Metro app). The thing is that I can now choose where and how I want to interact with all of them. How? This is particularly difficult knowing the big app problem right now on Windows. Let’s analyze this. CURRENT STRUCTURE From my research I see three big categories of applications. We’ll name them Classic, Modern and Hybrid. Classic Classic apps are your good ol’ Desktop apps that you’ve been using since, well Windows. The majority of them are a freely resizable quadrilateral with 1:1 pixel content that can be minimized to the Windows Taskbar, maximized­ to fit the screen or simply closed thanks to a standard three button on the top right. The standard navigation is a top menu bar and right-click contextual menu. The apps can be rearranged by moving and resizing the windows on top of an empty canvas zone called the Desktop. Modern Modern apps, commonly referred as Metro applications, are the full screen apps that everyone can download out of the Windows Store. Modern applications are flexible on pixel density, size allocated on screen and even some with screen resolution. The standard navigation is a scrollable horizontal panorama of content or a sidebar focused layout. The right click or border swipe gesture brings a hidden menu and options bar on the top and bottom of the app. The apps can be rearranged by sharing the screen space with a vertical separator that can be multiplied for more apps simultaneously. The separators can also be moved around so, one app could take 40% of the screen while the other two shares 30% of it. Hybrid Hybrid apps are the interesting ones. Skype for example exists as a Classic application and a Modern application. So as of now, you can load Skype on the Desktop and on Metro at the same time and access two very different apps simultaneously, each with their own notification system and design language. Same with Internet Explorer, you can actually open 2 tabs on the Classic app and the Metro app will be like a completely different app that has no idea that he exists with the same name and mission next door. This is a big problem, but a big opportunity! Then we have two environments. We’ll call them the Desktop and Metro. Desktop The Desktop environment is basically Windows 7. Take everything you know and love about Windows 7, make it a tad faster and better with improved file management, a more powerful Task Manager and some refined menus and complete it with a kill of the classic Start Menu and there you have the Windows 8 Desktop app. Yes I said Desktop app. You see the Desktop now isn’t the main interface of Windows anymore, they decided that our good ol’ Desktop is more of a place where you will go inside of a new Windows where you want to use all your pesky old ugly Classic applications. Metro The Metro environment is the raison d’être of Windows 8; the reason for this whole debacle and confusion. Metro is a modern looking touch-optimized experience that is taking over Windows. The design language with vivid flat colors, generous spacing and big typography doesn’t need to be limited to a touch interface, in fact it looks great in numerous Classic apps that are adopting it. Yet, the Metro environment is the only part of Windows that got the redesign memo and they built the whole thing on top of the existing Desktop. You’ll go through that environment with a lot of “finger” and gesture navigation like the Charms bar where you can access a lot of settings, search and interact with the OS and the app you are currently using. It’s a great idea… as long as you’re not on the Desktop or using a Classic app. That’s where the whole experience breaks down: Metro is trying to be a superior entity on top of Windows. Metro is treated like it’s the core of Windows; that everything is attached to and passes through it. The Desktop in Windows 7 gave you a single level where you could access all your files, apps and settings, but since Metro can’t really replace your Desktop yet, because Microsoft didn’t work out a way to use the Classic apps in it, you’re now stuck with two levels to access everything in your computer. The whole Desktop including your Classic apps is now considered an app inside of Metro; that is messed up! When you’re multitasking inside your Desktop, you’re using a couple of floating windows as usual. When you’re multitasking with a Modern app though, well half of your screen is, let’s say, my Mint.com app and the other half is the whole Desktop environment with all your Classic apps inside of it. The whole Desktop is a Modern app and treated equally as your Music or Calendar application... and all of the Classic apps are stuck inside of it. Since Windows runs everywhere, mouse and keyboard users are stuck using weird click top-to-bottom gestures to close Modern apps the Metro way and tablet users needs to aim at a tiny icon to close a Classic app the Desktop way. Adding insult to injury, Hybrid applications do not communicate in any way since they run in completely separate environments. So if you open a tab in IE Desktop and you use Skype Desktop, your tabs will be completely different on the Metro app and you will receive the calls in both environments at the same time because they’re completely independent. Where are your files in all of that? Technically… they’re on the Desktop level because Metro does not have a File Explorer. Yes, Metro is the main environment on top of everything, the Desktop is an app inside of it that runs other apps and your files are on this level because the top level can only interact with them without any way to properly manage them… DOS applications ran in a window to fit the new way Windows managed applications back then, they adapted and were treated as they really were: Different and older, yes, but another app on your machine nonetheless. Windows 8 is a blindfold to the past to move as quickly as possible to a new world and generation of computers. A brilliant idea and concept, simply poorly executed because they didn’t offer a smooth transition or simply took the time to find a way to integrate those apps with the new Windows. Imagine putting aside Windows 95 to use a full screen DOS interface to use your old important apps, that’s what they did here. PROPOSED STRUCTURE Look, I’m not revolutionizing the world here, in fact it’s quite an inelegant solution. But it works! And even if it’s not the nicest thing in the world, I think that it would work great because we’re respecting the 5 rules/laws established previously: Users are happy, Microsoft is still in their strategy and you can get there easily from the current version of Windows, 8.1. If I’m using a mouse, I don’t want a touch interface, but as of now you need that touch interface for some of the apps. If I’m using a touchscreen, I don’t want to pass through a pointer interface, but you don’t have the choice to get through the pointer interface to use some of the apps. An app is an app. Modern apps are no better than Classic apps and by that same logic Metro is no better than the Desktop. So why not separate the Metro and Desktop interface, put them on the same level and you choose how you want to interact with all of those apps. Yes some of them are not optimized for a touchscreen or a pointer, but do you need to be stuck in an unoptimized interface on top of that? “That wouldn’t work because those apps are not designed to be used like that!” I understand that point of view, but the basic requirements to adapt these apps for their opposite environment isn’t that big. Modern apps need gestures. You can already use a Modern app with your mouse and keyboard, the problem is killing the Charms bar gesture. This is why you add all of the Charms on the top beside the Classic “Close, Maximize, Minimize” buttons. They are already resizable (just change your screen resolution you’ll see) and worst case you make them snap during the app resize between a set of different sizes (a balance between the different screen resolution the Modern app can run and adapt in and the different layouts from the snap multitasking resizing). There you go, you can now interact with a Modern app in a window in the Desktop. Classic apps are even easier to adapt to the Metro environment. When using the snap multitasking, you will just maximize the Classic application inside its designated space either 20%, 40%, 50%, etc. of the screen. You don’t need to minimize the app, you don’t need to maximize the app and you already have a gesture in Metro to close applications. Give Metro a File Explorer, let it interact with files, folders and devices its own way. Get rid of the Charms bar and Start Screen for Desktop users, give them that nice design and Live Tiles, but in an interface that suits their navigation devices and guide your users in the process to make sure they understand what’s happening and where they should be. There you go, everyone is happy now. You can switch between both environments at any time and your apps will follow. So, I’m on my Surface Pro 2 using all my windows on a 1:1 scale when working, but when I need to move, I switch to the Metro tablet interface, everything gets scaled up and it’s easier to interact with them on-the-go or leaned back. My mother is getting used to the Desktop now, she doesn’t need to know that Metro exists! You want to sell tablets that can compete with Android and Apple, show consumers that they can use it as a tablet and only a tablet if they want to. How will this solution look and feel like? Let me show you. (Some screenshots might feel like Windows is a bit big for 1920x1080. Please remember that this is on a Surface Pro 2 with a 10.6 inch screen so scaling is an important factor here.) WINDOWS 8.2 BY JAY MACHALANI Let’s begin with the installation process! So to be honest, I think the installation process of Windows 8 is wayyyyy better than any other versions of Windows. The steps are clean, simple and easy to go through. I just want to add two important steps. First, an environment selection screen that actually explains both of them. It’s important for the users to understand that there’s two environments on their computer and which one is best for them. Simple examples, illustrations and put the best one by default if it’s a tablet or a laptop/PC. Also, add a simple list on the top to show users where they are in the setup process. Just a little recommendation to show the users what’s coming in the process and how many steps are remaining. Second, a “don’t worry” screen. With Windows 8.1 you added a new Help and Tips section, great! But, in your head you though that the users who will have some troubles using your operating system will know by themselves that there is a help section between all those multicolored bright squares, the exact squares that are scaring them, not so great. Tell them that there’s a big nice orange rectangle filled with tips if they need help. If they look at the Start Screen and they’re lost, they’ll remember that orange rectangle and they’ll look for it. They won’t really need to do that since “Open the Help app after the installation” is checked by default. In case they uncheck it, they’ll know it’s still there. Here it is! The Desktop we all love. Now I think that Windows 7 nailed the Desktop and since this project is about fixing Windows 8 and not refining/rethinking it, I did some simple obvious modifications to our beloved environment. The Desktop will now use the color from your personalization settings. In the future why not sync the color between your PC, tablet, phone and Xbox; that would be awesome! The time, date and icons got a little bigger and makes it easier for the users with a super small/dense screen like me with my Surface Pro 2 or even my Dell XPS 12. You can pin Classic, Modern and Hybrid apps on the Taskbar. If you’re wondering why there’s a padding or dead zone around the Taskbar you will see that this is an aesthetic choice first, but there’s a feature behind this. Of course, an option to disable it would be there and some shots even have the dead zone disabled to show it. The File Explorer in Windows 8 looks like crap. You’re pushing flat digital design and I’m still seeing Vista-inspired 3D super icons from the WOW era of Windows (remember when you failed to deliver the awesome Longhorn concept with WinFS). Also, keep that ribbon closed by default, it works and looks great with just the titles. Every folder and detail will use your chosen color for a uniform design with the exception of the main folders, special folders and SkyDrive. I’m taking the same app colors you used in the Modern version of the corresponding app and making it standard across the OS. Your Videos folder and Xbox Video app now uses the same color for subtle reconnaissance. Otherwise, it’s the best File Explorer out there and one of the big reason I couldn’t live with OS X. Sorry guys, but when I save a file and I need bigger icon previews, there’s no way I go in a sub menu to change it, I want my CTRL+MOUSE WHEEL shortcut! Here’s some more shots of the Desktop and File Explorer adapting to your wallpaper or chosen color. Oh boy here we go: I brought the Start Menu back. If we want to separate the Desktop and Metro environment we need a way for each of them to access apps, files and basic features like search, notifications and settings. Since we need to kick out the Metro Start Screen and Charms bar from the Desktop, let’s just bring back the good ol’ Start menu that worked so good for all these years. If you hate it, who cares, you’ll be in the Metro environment anyways! This is not the old Start Menu, so please give me a chance to explain the idea here. You can make it bigger or smaller, pin your apps and live tiles, resize them, get a quick access to the Classic apps Jumplist (loved that feature from Windows 7), access the notification center, settings, power options and search. It makes sense. Give Windows 8 to any regular user that show him how to shut down his/her computer through a gesture to open a sidebar with three menus and his reaction will be my proof. Everything is there and easy to access and click, we’re following all of the rules and you still get that Modern/Metro touch. Everybody wins. The new Start Menu would be very flexible. You want it smaller, no problem. You want it to take half of your screen to make sure you get all the information you need through Live Tiles goodness like a dozen of stock market Tiles, no problem. You want the thing to be horizontal and give you all the recent thing you used on Windows like apps, people or search queries, no problem. Microsoft killed the Start menu because it wasn’t flexible enough and didn’t play nice with the new Modern vision. Why kill it when you can adapt it! Personally, I think that it looks awesome. A modern, clean and flexible interface for work and play. Here you can see that I plugged my Nokia Lumia 920 and I have a quick access to the different folders and battery/storage information. Again, keeping the colors for documents, music, videos, etc. So that’s it for the Desktop. There’s a lot more that could be done, but remember the objective here is to bring Windows 8 to a workable level, to get a solid base to build on and improve. Let’s leave the Desktop and switch to the Metro environment shall we? Source Please find the Part II below

Microsoft’s 12-year-old Windows XP operating system powers 95 percent of the world’s automated teller machines, according to NCR, the largest ATM supplier in the US. While the idea of Windows powering ATMs may surprise consumers, XP runs in the background powering the software that bank customers interact with to withdraw money. An upcoming Windows XP support change from Microsoft means ATMs will need to be upgraded and modified throughout 2014. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the US has 420,000 ATMs, and the majority of them run XP and face a support cutoff from Microsoft soon. On April 8th, Microsoft plans to end support for Windows XP, leaving businesses still using XP, and 95 percent of ATMs, open to security and compliance risks. While Microsoft has been warning customers about the deadline for years, the ATM industry has been slow to react. NCR tells The Verge that the majority of ATMs run the full version of XP, with support ending in April, while some use an Embedded version that's supported until 2016. Most machines will move to Windows 7, but ATM software firm KAL predicts that only 15 percent of US ATMs will be running Windows 7 by April. That leaves thousands of machines running out-of-date software, with some companies opting to purchase custom support contracts with Microsoft to extend the life of Windows XP. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that JPMorgan is one such company buying a one-year extension ahead of its Windows 7 deployment. If you’ve used an ageing ATM recently then you’ll likely be acutely aware of just how slow and cumbersome these machines are. While modern machines include touchscreen support and speedy navigation, older models typically use buttons and a basic user interface that’s frustratingly slow. Windows 7 appears to be the main choice to replace the ageing Windows XP machines, but some machines will require hardware upgrades, while others will need to be scrapped entirely and replaced to support the new OS. JPMorgan admits 3,000 of its 19,000 ATMs will need "enhancements" ahead of the Windows 7 upgrade. These enhancements might be a costly headache for ATM manufacturers and banks, but the improvements are a win for customers who use these machines on a daily basis. While it’s not likely you’ll be able to browse the internet or send emails from ATMs any time soon, their basic functionality could significantly improve thanks to the death of Windows XP. Source

Microsoft is today rolling out the latest firmware update for the Surface Pro 2, which should fix the issues that have dogged the hardware since the previous update was pulled back in December. As we’ve previously reported, users have been experiencing problems with sleep mode and battery life, and Microsoft was forced to cancel the firmware rollout as a result; now it seems it’s back on track. A Surface support team member hinted that January 14th would be the date when the fixed release would see the light of day, and that prediction looks to have been nearly right. ZDNet first reported that the update had been sighted in the wild, though as yet there has been no official word from Microsoft — if you’re waiting for your firmware fix, you may have to sit tight just a little longer. Microsoft has already released updates for the first-generation Surface Pros running Windows 8.0 and 8.1 this week, so the signs are that the engineers at Redmond have been busy over the holidays. While users have reported receiving the update on Twitter, it’s too early to confirm whether the sleep and battery issues have been cleared up or what other features (if any) are included. At the time of writing, the official Surface Pro 2 update history page has yet to confirm the latest firmware release or detail the features in it, but you should see a new entry added in due course. If you’ve received the latest rollout and noticed an improvement in performance or otherwise, let us know in the comments. Source

We have yet more screenshots of the currently in-development update for Windows 8.1, which reveal new changes which we can expect to see be unveiled at Microsoft's annual BUILD conference. Today, we have screenshots of build 9600.16596 which introduces the ability to pin Modern UI apps directly on the taskbar. As you can see from the screenshot above, the Windows Store app is pinned to the taskbar, and in the Taskbar properties window you can see the option to 'Show Store apps on the taskbar'. This is an obvious advancement towards the ability to run Modern UI apps in the desktop, something which is rumoured to be coming in Windows 9. Still no sign of a Mini Start Menu, which isn't actually expected to make an appearance in Update 1. The full build string reads 6.3.9600.16596.WINBLUES14_GDR_LEAN.140114-0237, which was compiled on January 14 2014 at 2:37AM. Looks like the Microsoft team are working late into the night! Source

Hey nsane members :) im new here, i just wanna ask something here, what's the different between : Windows 8.1 Embedded Industry Enterprise / Pro version Windows 8.1 Enterprise Debug Checked Windows 8.1 Single Language and the Windows 8.1 with "N" version ?Can i use KMSpico or November_ra1n legit key to activate all of them ? I have searched it on google, but i didnt find any answers for this :)

By Tom Warren on January 14, 2014 05:53 pm Google started dropping hints about its Chrome OS-like plans for Windows 8 back in October. At the time it was merely an experiment in the developer version of Chrome, but today Google is rolling out a new user interface to all Chrome Windows users alongside a noisy tabs tracking feature. The new "Metro" mode essentially converts Chrome for Windows 8 into Chrome OS. Just like Google's full Chrome OS, you can create multiple browser windows and arrange them using a snap to the left or right of the display or full-screen modes. There's even a shelf with Chrome, Gmail, Google, Docs, and YouTube icons that can be arranged at the bottom, left, or right of the screen. An app launcher is also available in the lower left-hand corner, providing access to search and recent apps. It’s all clearly designed to work well with touch on Windows 8, something that the traditional desktop version of Chrome has not focused on so far. The "Metro" mode presents the keyboard automatically, and also includes the ability to navigate and resize windows within the Chrome OS-like environment. Some UI elements still require some touch optimization, but overall it’s a better experience than the existing desktop version with touch. While the Chrome browser acts as a Windows 8 application, it's using a special mode that Microsoft has enabled specifically for web browsers. The software maker allows browsers on Windows 8 to launch in its "Metro-style" environment providing they're set as default. The applications are listed in the Windows Store and they're still desktop apps, but the exception allows them to mimic Windows 8 apps and access the app and snapping features of the OS. While Chrome runs in this mode on Windows 8, Microsoft does not permit this type of behavior on Windows RT. A true Trojan horse Google’s latest update for Windows 8 is clearly a big step forwards in its Chrome Apps initiative. The search giant is working with developers to create apps that exist outside of the browser and extend Chrome’s reach into more of a platform for third parties to build upon. Having a Chrome OS-like environment directly inside of Windows 8 extends Google’s browser into a Trojan horse to eventually convince users to download more and more Chrome Apps and possibly push them towards Chrome OS in the future. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment on whether Google’s latest Chrome OS update conforms with the Metro-style browser policies, and we’ll update you accordingly. http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5309326/google-chrome-windows-update-chrome-os-interface

Please vote for your best OS. Thanks

I have a problem: I bought a computer with Windows 8 (single language version), but I upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro, using the installation disc. Up there, everything went well, the problem is that now I can not activate Windows 8.1 Pro (x64) using the key that originally came with Windows 8. :angry: Is there any way to solve this, and still use my original key on Windows 8.1 Pro?

Hello everyone Can someone help out? I have been given a windows 8 x64 single language machine which is acting up real bad and since it can't even restore properly to the factory image I'm thinking of creating recovery media from an iso and repairing the installation. If anyone has access to this could they ping me here? Kind regards

Today in this tutorial we'll tell you a few methods to remove password reveal button from Internet Explorer 10, 11 and Windows 8/8.1 operating systems. Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) 1. Press "WIN+R" key combination to launch RUN dialog box, then type gpedit.msc and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor. 2. Go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Credential User Interface 3. In right-side pane, double-click on "Do not display the password reveal button" option and set its value to "Enabled". 4. You're Done Using Registry Editor (regedit) 1. Type "regedit" in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor. 2. Now go to following key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CredUI Note: If you can't find "CredUI" key, you'll need to create it manually. 3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD DisablePasswordReveal and set its value to 1 4. You're Done Source

By Brad Reed on Jan 17, 2014 at 12:54 PM We’ve argued in the past that it wouldn’t be fair to compare Windows 8 to Vista, in part because Vista was widely hated by many Windows users while Windows 8 is merely polarizing. In other words, even though Microsoft surely wishes more people liked Windows 8, it can at least take solace in the fact that the new platform has its share of passionate fans and advocates. However, the well-connected Paul Thurrott says that’s not how Microsoft is internally looking at things. In fact, Thurrott says that Microsoft employees are internally referring to Windows 8 as “the new Vista,” which is a seeming admission that the platform has not achieved its goals of reigniting interest in PCs and needs some serious changes. In a followup tweet, Thurrott explains that the view from within Microsoft is that Windows 8 has been at least as bad as Vista in terms of sales and market acceptance while adding that Vista might actually have sold better than Windows 8 when it was at this point in its life cycle. Add it all up and it looks like Microsoft has a lot of work to do before it launches Windows 9 next year, because its big bet that making a more touch-centric version of Windows would revive PC sales has clearly not paid off. http://bgr.com/2014/01/17/microsoft-windows-8-vista-comparison

By Chris Burns Jan 12, 2014 As Microsoft ramps up their outlay of Windows 8.1, a system which takes a variety of Windows 8 parts that needed improvement and … improves them, there’s chat of a next-generation release called “Threshold,” aka Windows 9. Speaking on the subject with sources just about as close to the source as you can get without actually tapping Microsoft publicly, Windows insider Paul Thurrott suggests that this next big release will have Microsoft attempting to “put Windows 8 in the rear-view mirror.” This system will be introduced, says Thurrott, at the April 2014 edition of Microsoft’s developers conference, BUILD. This release of information will be taking place just a few weeks after Microsoft completes its currently-unfolding big reorganization and will be taking big strides toward integrating Windows Phone and Xbox into the larger Windows story. This update will bring the Start menu back to Windows as if it never left. This release is said to be able to run Metro-style (read: full-screen) apps on the desktop, somehow or another, right alongside traditional desktop applications. What might be described as “Metro 2.0” will be revealed with additional changes to the way this sort of app is launched and used. The actual release of Windows 9 “Threshold” will take place in a three-milestone fashion. This means there will be at least two, if not three, versions released before the public gets their hands on it. The final release of this operating system will be targeted for April of 2015. It’s also suggested that developers will not be given any sort of early build at BUILD, as development will not begin in earnest until later that same month. Sound like a release you’ll be pumped up about? With so few details on how this Windows 9 system will actually work, we’re crossing our fingers tightly! http://www.slashgear.com/windows-9-to-put-windows-8-in-the-rear-view-mirror-at-build-12312886

January 11th, 2014, 21:30 GMT · By Silviu Stahie The UK government now says that Ubuntu 12.04 is the safest operating system available, way ahead of Windows 8 and Mac OS X. The Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) is the UK National Technical Authority for information assurance and they’ve done a series of tests to find out what is the most secure operating system available for the governmental apparatus. The security assessment made by CESG included the following categories: VPN, Disk Encryption, Authentication, Secure Boot, Platform Integrity and Application Sandboxing, Application Whitelisting, Malicious Code Detection and Prevention, Security Policy Enforcement, External Interface Protection, Device Update Policy, Event Collection for Enterprise Analysis, and Incident Response. Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin) has been the operating system that passed most of the test, way ahead of Windows 8 or Mac OS X. “All in all Ubuntu 12.04 LTS stacks up as the most secure of the current desktop and mobile operating systems. Supported by Canonical with free security updates for 5 years, and without malware problems, it’s hard to beat in official public sector applications. “ “We are working hard to close the gap and make Ubuntu clearly stand out as the most trustworthy operating system for the future and we hope to make excellent progress before our next LTS release in April 2014, 14.04 LTS, which will be even better," said Darryl Weaver, Canonical Sale Engineer http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-12-04-Is-More-Secure-Than-Windows-8-and-Mac-OS-X-Says-UK-Goverment-416016.shtml Also See: The GESG Security Assessment: http://insights.ubuntu.com/resources/article/ubuntu-scores-highest-in-uk-gov-security-assessment Report PDF http://insights.ubuntu.com/wp-content/uploads/UK-Gov-Report-Summary.pdf GESG End User Devices Security Guidance: Ubuntu 12.04 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/end-user-devices-security-guidance-ubuntu-1204/end-user-devices-security-guidance-ubuntu-1204

Windows Phone 8.1 is the next big update we are itching for and has been rumored to arrive this Spring, alongside the Update 1 for Windows 8.1. According to a new report, Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Phone 8 users will be able to update to Windows Phone 8.1, avoiding the chaos that was created with the transition from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8. With any new smartphone operating system update, we begin to worry if the update is backwards compatible with our current smartphone. In this case, will Windows Phone 8.1 be compatible on smartphones running Windows Phone 8? Microsoft promises that current Windows Phone 8 users should be able to update with ease. "We will not have the same experience as we had when Windows Phone 7 was upgraded to Windows Phone 8," Windows Phone director of public relations, Greg Sullivan, stated during an interview at CES today. Those who were on Windows Phone 7 experienced quite the opposite when upgrading to Windows Phone 8, but Sullivan touts Windows Phone 8's ability to support upgrades. "We won't run out of head space on Windows Phone 8 any time soon," Sullivan said. Sullivan reiterated during his interview that Microsoft has a policy of supporting updates for 36 months on a device. No official word yet on when we will see the update, but rumors have suggested Spring of this year. We're already seen signs of the operating system hitting if not surpassing Milestone 3, making it one step closer to RTM. The update is expected to include a personal digital assistant called "Cortana," a notification center, separate volume controls, and other handy tweaks. http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-confirms-windows-phone-8-users-can-upgrade-windows-phone-81

can anyone give me iso link of windows 8 single language 64 bit (english version)

-- Clean the Notification Area Icon Cache -- After using Windows for a while, installing and uninstalling programs, you will end up with a long list of icons showing up in the notification area, on the taskbar, especially when scrolling through the Notification Area Icons window. If some of the programs have been removed, there is no way to remove their icons from the list. So, what do you do? Read on and learn the best way to solve this problem. Download Notification_Area_Cleaner below, extract it and inside you will find the Notification_Area_Cleaner.bat file. Double click the file and Run. explorer.exe is restarted, and the notification area icon cache is cleared. ENJOY! source Notification_Area_Cleaner.zip