What has Windows 8 Consumer Preview Changed?
Windows 8 is a radical new version of Windows which has just been released into a free to download consumer preview version. You may remember my previous article about the developer preview where I said that Windows 8 needs a lot of work to get it optimised for regular PCs as well as touch screen devices. After a bit of time playing around with the new version, I think that Microsoft has almost achieved this goal although there are a few minor problems which make some processes a lot slower than they should be.
The idea behind Windows 8 is to unify all of Microsoft's products - PCs, tablets, mobile phones and XBox. They will share an OS which is more or less the same between devices and all of your settings should be synced between the devices meaning you can move from one to the other and continue where you left off. In theory this idea sounds pretty cool but in practice you realise that this basically means that the OS has to be optimised for use with many different input methods and be just as easy to use no matter what device you choose.
How to choose a laptop: 5 top tips
With laptops outselling desktops for the last 4 years, it is becoming more and more likely that your next computer purchase will be a laptop. One of the biggest problems with this is the massive range of products available. It is often overwhelming how many choices there are. So here are a few tips to help you on your way to selecting a laptop.
1. Portability and Battery Life
One of the advantages of a laptop is that you can carry it around. Obviously, how powerful it is can affect how long you can carry it around for. More powerful components will also make a laptop heavier due to the need for extra cooling and higher voltages as well as a bigger battery. So when you buy your laptop, make sure you see whether it is light enough for your needs and look at the quoted battery life to see whether it fulfils your demands. Some laptops contain graphics switching to switch between a dedicated and integrated graphics card in order to provide a longer battery life when needed. This is another option however these laptops are often a bit more expensive than those without the feature. Netbooks also have a decent battery life and are highly portable but most people will find them horribly slow for everyday use
Upcoming technology in computers : CPU
In the fast moving world of technology, it can become impossible to keep up with the ever changing landscape. This is why I have introduced this new series of posts to give you guys an idea of what is upcoming in the world of computers and whether it is worth the wait or better to just buy what is currently on offer. New technology also leads to price drops in the older (but not outdated) technology. For example, when Sandy Bridge processors from Intel came out, they offered a large jump in processing power as well as efficiency but laptops with the older generation of i5 and i7 could be found for $500-700, a far cry from the $1700 they were available for 6 months before. If you're willing to buy slightly older technology, the newer components can lead to massive savings for you especially as manufacturers and shops try to clear out their stocks. So what's new in the world of CPUs?
Windows 8 Developer Preview: What I Don’t Like
UPDATE: I found this link to some tweaking software for the Developer Preview which fixes a few of these problems. You can add shutdown, restart and sleep buttons to the start menu now and also completely remove the Metro Start screen. Here is a link to the download
By now we've all had a chance to play around with the Windows 8 Developer Preview. Now, I know this isn't the final version but there are several things which Microsoft has done which annoy me to no end.
Firstly, there is the placement of the shutdown button. One of the most known commands on every single computer is usually kept in the most conspicuous place possible. What puzzles me to no end is why Microsoft chose to put it in the Settings menu. It makes no sense and to most people who think logically, it is the last place they would look. Clicking on the username gives the user the option to log off but not to shutdown. Obviously tablet users will not be bothered by this since most will just put their tablet to sleep but since this is meant to be a full blown desktop OS, many users will want to shutdown at the end of the day. It seems like a bit of an oversight to me.
The new Metro interface seems pretty cool when you first try it out but it's only when the fun is over and you need to do actual work that you realize how useless it is for productivity. First, it is not very clear what applications are currently running in the background. If you have 2 apps open you can easily switch between them by dragging from the left side of the screen but when there is more than this, it just becomes annoying. You have no idea what you are doing and having to keep returning to the Start screen to open new apps and search just adds an extra click to every process. A feature similar to Expose (but not a copy) on Mac OS X would be awesome for this purpose so I could have a birds-eye view of everything which is happening.
Windows Developer Preview Apps
Here is a quick overview of some of the apps included in the developer build of Windows. Most have pretty good concepts but need a bit more work to make them useful. Overall, it gives you an idea of how the OS works and the power of the system.
More pictures will come soon as I discover new features
Windows 8 Developer Preview Pictures
So the new developer build of Windows looks pretty cool. It is pretty similar to what you've been reading in the news lately. There are a few bugs for example, after leaving it on for a while, the screen goes black and the computer freezes. It also sometimes randomly crashes while in any app so it isn't something you want to use permanently. Overall, its a pretty good idea but needs a few improvements. There are a few preinstalled apps which I still have to look at and I'll make another post with more information on that stuff. For now, enjoy the slideshow!
UPDATE: Another small flaw is how difficult it is to access the shutdown button. It is hidden away in the most difficult to find spot. It probably should be located somewhere on the home screen
UPDATE: Here is the download link if you want to install it yourself. I used virtualbox to install it but beware that it will probably run a lot slower than what it should
Microsoft Bribing Users?
Do you want a quick way to get Microsoft points? Well actually its not that quick but at least it is legal and free. You don't here those two words together often.
Microsoft has launched their latest campaign to bribe users to use their Bing search engine. Essentially, you install the Bing Bar and everytime you make five searches using the bing searchbar you get 1 point upto a maximum of 10 per day. Then occasionally there are certain offers which when clicked (usually boasting the features of Bing) gives you 3 points. These points can be exchanged for prizes which for now is only available for US residents. However the downloadable content such as music, ringtones and Microsoft points can all be available to everyone as long as you give them a US address (The best way is to use a hotel address) and they will email you the redemption code.
There are a few problems with this plan though. An average game for PC costs 2400 Microsoft points. It will take you 240 days to get this many points if you search each and every day for a maximum of 10 points. Adding in the occassional offers, you will still take ages to collect the points necessary to get anything decent. On top of this there is the privacy concern. You are basically giving everything you search for to Microsoft so they can "analyse" it.
After several failed attempts like Searchperks and Cashback do you think Bing Rewards will be enough to make users switch to Bing?
Microsoft unveils Slimmer, Sexier Xbox 360
New Xbox 360
Microsoft will release a smaller, redesigned Xbox 360 console in Australia on July 1 featuring built-in wireless networking support and an internal, removable 250GB hard drive.
Don Mattrick, Xbox Senior Vice President, says the new console is "sleeker, smaller and whisper-quiet". It will cost $449 in Australia.
Microsoft's unveiled the redesigned machine at its press conference today at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, the first official event of this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). E3 is the biggest annual event on the world's gaming calendar.
The 90-minute presentation was evenly split between hardcore games designed to keep existing Xbox 360 fans glued to their consoles, and new motion-sensing games for the Kinect add-on, which Microsoft hopes can attract a wider audience to their system.
Kinect, which was previously known by the code-name Project Natal, will launch on November 4 in the US and before Christmas in Australia. Around 15 titles will be available at launch.
Review: Microsoft Security Essentials
Pros:
-Free
-Effective virus protection
-Small file size
-Easy to understand interface
Cons:
-Lacks high end features such as email scanning and anti spam
-Full scan takes a long time to complete
Recently Microsoft launched their new security suite to combat the many viruses which plague PCs and give Mac people a point to argue about. But this isn't just another competitor in a huge market; this product is free and is built to put virus protection in almost every Windows computer due to its simple interface and low file size.
Review: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
After a week of testing Microsoft's latest operating system out, here is a full review on how it is.
Pros
- Redesigned Taskbar
- Gesture Controls
- Faster than Vista
- Smaller Footprint
Cons
- Similar Appearance to Vista (Not really a bad thing but I like change)
- Some features are a bit gimmicky
- Pricey for Australians (unless you buy the OEM version)
Overview
I don’t have to remind everyone of the epic failure Vista was but Microsoft has now released their latest operating system, Windows 7. It has promised to be everything Vista was not. Judging by first impressions, I was very impressed. Installation was incredibly fast and easy (I performed a clean install) and surprisingly Windows found the drivers for ALL my devices automatically. My wireless card drivers were even there. I didn’t need to touch any of the CDs I got with the devices or manually go to websites to download 64-bit drivers. So far Windows 7 was living up to its claims.
Users
Log In
Subscribe
Tags
Archives
- April 2012
- February 2012
- December 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- February 2010
- December 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
Blogroll
- Computers Directory
- Development Blog
- Documentation
- Fix Rss Feed
- My Website Homepage
- Plugins
- Suggest Ideas
- Support Forum
- Themes
- WordPress Planet
