What The Windows 8 Leak Tells Us

How To Add Media Center To Windows 8 Release Preview

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise - the cat's already out of the bag - but Microsoft updated the Start Screen with two additional tile sizes. You'll probably notice the supersized ones first; these take up about as much space as four regular ones, and are especially https://www.ehctech.org/services/pc-optimization/ well-suited to email or weather updates - things where there's a lot of information to see. Additionally, Microsoft added some extra-small tiles, which take up a quarter of the space of a standard tile. Maybe you want to use that option with apps you rarely access.

Several notable video game developers criticized Microsoft for making its Windows Store a closed platform subject to its own regulations, as it conflicted with their view of the PC as an open platform Markus "Notch" Persson (creator of the popular indie game Minecraft ), 145 Gabe Newell (co-founder of Valve Corporation and developer of software distribution platform Steam ), 146 and Rob Pardo from Activision Blizzard voiced concern about the closed nature of the Windows Store. 147 However, Tom Warren of The Verge stated that Microsoft's addition of the Store was simply responding to the success of both Apple and Google in pursuing the "curated application store approach." 140

Expandable storage With the mysterious exception of the Samsung Focus , Microsoft put the kibosh on removable storage for WP7 devices. It was an odd situation, since plenty of phones using the OS actually had a slot for microSD hidden in inaccessible places. The whole thing naturally sparked a controversy when the platform launched, but the issue has finally been resolved; Windows Phone 8 fully supports external storage up to SDXC, allowing you to add as much as 64GB in additional memory. Unfortunately, our particular review unit (the HTC Windows Phone 8X) doesn't include a microSD slot, so we were unable to experience this for ourselves.

In other scenarios, too, the OS feels shockingly unfamiliar. It's not obvious enough how to shut down the PC or put it to sleep. You can't press the Escape key to exit programs, although you can use it to leave the Start screen and return to the app you were last using. To https://www.ehctech.org/services/pc-optimization/ leave an app, you have to press the Start button - a process not unlike tapping the home button on a phone to minimize what ever app you have open. Funny how something that's become second nature for us on the mobile side feels so unnatural when we try it on a desktop.

It sounds rather amazing, doesn’t it? The potential for such a feature is high and possibilities , many. For one, a virus-infected and crashed system could be revived by simply plugging in the USB thumbdrive with your last saved settings, inclusive of all your files, apps, etc. Users don’t have to worry about https://www.ehctech.org/services/pc-optimization/ losing the ability to work on their projects just because their PC is down; they can always rely on plugging in that thumbdrive into another Windows 8-installed PC. Another is that users may simply bring back work from the office with that thumbdrive rather than a much bulkier laptop. 5. Windows Live Syncing

Perhaps the most familiar of Windows 8's native apps is Tweet@rama, a three-pane program listing updates, your own recent posts and a list of the people you're following. There's also a button for uploading photos alongside your status message and the built-in spellchecker even tosses an accent mark over words like "cliché." Between https://www.ehctech.org/services/pc-optimization/ the panes and the black background, anyone with TweetDeck experience should feel at home, though don't expect any functionality in the way of checking and responding to direct messages, searching key words or monitoring mentions. Also, remember we said Windows 8 doesn't play nice with our multitouch trackpad right now?

Users of previous versions of Windows can purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro online (using a download that can be optionally made into DVD or USB install media), or through boxed copies at retail on DVD. Aside from the "System Builder" version, all retail copies of Windows 8 could only be used for upgrades. 128 https://www.ehctech.org/services/pc-optimization/ 129 128 After its release, new retail copies were made available with the Windows 8.1 update included. Retail copies of Windows 8.1 are "Full" licenses instead of upgrade-only licenses, which Microsoft said would offer more flexibility for consumers. Pricing for these new copies remain identical. 130.

A few select partners and testers will likely be provided privately with some more release candidate/release preview builds so they can see the final set of tweaks the Softies make to Windows 8 before the operating system is released to manufacturing (RTM). Among the coming tweaks is the removal of the current Windows Aero interface , as Microsoft officials acknowledged in a blog post (buried toward the bottom) earlier this month. Another is an expected under-the-hood code change that will prevent users from adding third-party-developed Start Buttons or altering their systems to boot directly to the Desktop, avoiding the Metro Start Screen.