Redmond Pie » Windows 7 Center

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Will Be Available For Download On 29th February, Announcement Due At MWC

Ben Reid — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:53:03 +0000

Microsoft has announced that a Consumer Preview of its highly-anticipated Windows 8 operating system will be released to the public on this month’s leap year day – February 29th.

The company plans to unveil the release at an event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 29th, with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview download becoming available on its servers sometime between 3PM and 5PM (CET).

Ever since the Redmond-based company released a Developer Preview to the public back in September, there has been much speculation as to what exactly Steve Ballmer and crew have in store for the billions of Windows users worldwide. It was the first time Microsoft released such an early Alpha to non-developers, and with 500,000 downloads in its first 24 hours, it certainly gave Windows 8 a strong platform from which to transcend.

The most advanced iteration of Windows to date will include strong integration with other Windows-based products across the board – namely Windows Phone 8, as well as its market-leading Xbox 360/Kinect double-act. The mobile version is currently being constructed under the pseudonym "Apollo", and as we revealed late last week, and the accompanying batch of devices will sport dual-core processors, Xbox Companion, as well as deep integration with the software maker’s recently-acquired Skype. In addition, it is thought around 100,000 apps will instantly be available in the Marketplace by the launch of Windows Phone 8 – which will reportedly arrive in the final quarter of this year.

Indeed, the fact Microsoft has chosen a cellphone conference for the announcement suggests mobile to be a strong priority, so it’s not a stretch to expect some more information regarding Windows Phone 8 – especially since the two are billed to integrate on so many levels, come the 29th. In a market dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, Microsoft has a lot of ground to make up, despite the Windows Phone 7.x stream of devices having enjoyed a decent amount of success – particularly through Nokia, which ditched its own Symbian OS early last year.

We certainly cannot wait to get our teeth into the consumer preview, and I expect many of you are looking forward to sampling Windows 8 along with the beautiful Metro tiling!

(via TheVerge)

Windows 8 Store Gets A List Of Eleven Gaming Titles For Launch

Paul Morris — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:38:28 +0000

With the launch of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 8, nearing ever closer, it looks as though the Redmond company is looking to provide a platform which could prove to be a lot friendlier to developers and small software publishers.

A report from The Verge has confirmed that the software giant will have an official app store in place for the launch of Windows 8 and will contain eleven official gaming titles on launch day. Microsoft are obviously one of the big players in the gaming world with the Xbox LIVE service, and consumers may recognize a number of the games from their Xbox LIVE Arcade releases.

The eleven games which will be featured in the Windows 8 App Store upon launch are Ms. Splosion Man, Angry Birds, Toy Soldiers, Reckless Racing, Hydro Thunder, Ilomilo, Rocket Riot, Full House Poker, Crash Course, Wordament and Crash Course. Amongst the eleven titles, Angry Birds is obviously the most prominent with the popular bird game finding its way onto yet another platform.

Microsoft are by no means new comers to the gaming marketplace, already having the Games for Windows Marketplace which offers an online selection of games for users to choose from. The service has failed to gain serious traction as users tend to prefer the services offered by Steam which has a much larger gaming selection and is by far the largest digital distribution service for Windows-based games.

It is highly likely that any gaming features of Windows 8 will heavily integrate with the Xbox LIVE service and draw features from that successful ecosystem rather than the flagging Games for the Windows Marketplace. The Windows 8 Store is definitely a promising feature, and will undoubtedly make the purchase of software and digital media a much more streamlined process for Windows users.

The eleven titles which will launch on the Windows 8 Store seems like a rather meager collection of gaming goodies to me. With the company having a large selection of titles to choose from thanks to the Xbox LIVE service, and rivals such as Steam and Impulse offering hundreds of titles; it seems quite odd that Microsoft has chosen to launch with only eleven, with most of them just being last year’s LIVE arcade games.

I guess users will always have the fall back on the built in pinball and solitaire games should they require some additional entertainment.

You may also like to check out:

Download Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO 64-bit / 32-bit Now!

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

How To Instantly Get 5GB Of Free Space On Dropbox Using Its Latest Beta Release For Windows [Tutorial]

Awais Imran — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Dropbox is amongst the most popular file-hosting and file-syncing services and for good reason: it syncs files seamlessly, works on a bunch of platforms and, in addition to the free 2GB space, the company gives away free space to users every once in a while.

Recently, the company released a Beta version of their app on Android. It was accompanied by a beta version on the desktop which gives away 500MB of free space (up to 5GB) every time you upload 500MB worth of images/videos.

Well, we’ve discovered an awesome loophole of sorts that lets you skip the tedious uploading of 5GB of images/videos to get straight to the lovely 5GB of free space. Check it out after the jump!

The method is pretty simple. Here’s what is required:

A removable media storage device of 5GB or more memory
Dropbox 1.3.13
Windows 7

Yes, that last bit may be a little disappointing for those of you who are fans of OS X or Linux. This method has only been confirmed to work on Windows 7 (though Vista and XP should also support this) because of a service called AutoPlay which scans removable media and gives options to the users to play/display the content inside it.

Step 1: Download and install Dropbox 1.3.13 (Beta) [Official Thread]

Step 2: Create a folder called DCIM and place 5GB or greater amount of photos. \

Step 3: Transfer DCIM to a removable media such as a microSD card, external HDD or a USB flash drive. Place this folder in the uppermost directory.

Step 4: Eject the removable media. Insert it back again.

Step 5: If you have Autoplay enabled, the following menu will show up:

Click on Import pictures and videos and wait for the pictures and videos to be imported. Because 5GB is a considerable amount of pictures/videos, this process can take time.

That should be it.

Note: If Dropbox doesn’t increase your storage after you have completed above step, follow the step below.

Step 6: Delete all files inside the Camera Upload folder.

We’ve tested this method and can confirm that it works 100%. Yours truly has now 8.5GB of space on his Dropbox. Get yours before Dropbox patches this loophole.

(via Reddit)

You may also like to check out:

Dropbox For Android Gets An Experimental Build, Features Auto Camera Uploads And 5GB Free Cloud Storage

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Download Firefox 11 Beta For Windows, Mac & Linux

Paul Morris — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:35:28 +0000

I know what you’re thinking, you only installed Firefox 10 a few days ago on your desktop and Android devices, and the beta of Firefox 11 is out already? Well yes, it does seem that Mozilla are pumping out updates faster than a steaming freight train, but worry not as the beta version of Firefox 11 may just bring some updated goodness that appeals to you if you are a fan of the foxy browser.

Considering this beta release comes right on the back of the release of version 10.0, it contains some pretty sizeable and notable changes. One the largest and probably most useful additions, is the inclusion of add-on synchronization. The new sync features offer the ability to mirror any add-on installations you may have across multiple desktop machines, whereas previously you would have to go through the whole process manually for each set up. Firefox is playing catch up a little bit, considering browsers such as Google Chrome have offered this enhanced sync ability for quite some time, but considering the implementation issues; Chrome has suffered and it will interesting to see if Firefox handles this feature in a more elegant manner.

The official Firefox beta 11 release notes contain a number of feature additions as well as fixes and updates to certain aspects of the browser and reads as follows:

[NEW] Firefox can now migrate your Bookmarks, History and Cookies from Google Chrome.
[NEW] With Sync Enabled, add-ons can now be synchronised across your computers.
[NEW] The CSS text-size-adjust property is now supported.
[HTML5] The outerHTML property is now supported on HTML elements.
[HTML5] View source syntax highlighting now uses the HTML5 parser.
[FIXED] Redesigned media controls for HTML5 video playback.
[FIXED] Firefox notifications may not work properly with Growl 1.3 or later.

Users may have noted that in the Google Chrome browser, the update process occurs seamlessly in the background. This silent update feature will also now be included with Firefox on Windows. The somewhat annoying User Account Control, which seems to require permissions to do anything, will only need to be granted access one time only, meaning after the initial permission has been granted; updates will be handled seamlessly upon restart of the browser.

The latest beta version will also include support for web developers, allowing them to visualize a webpage in full three dimensional goodness using the page inspector 3D view which has been built in. If the machine being used is compatible with WebGL then viewing the page in 3D will offer a whole new perspective on web page structure and make up.

All in all, the new beta version of Firefox offers a mix of much needed features along with some important bug fixes and developer implementations. Visit the downloads page for Windows, Mac and Linux compatible versions, or, simply refer to the download links below to download Firefox 11 in standard English:

Download Firefox 11 beta [Windows]
Download Firefox 11 beta [Mac]
Download Firefox 11 beta [Linux]

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Kinect For Windows Hardware Now Available For Purchase Via Amazon And Microsoft Store

Paul Morris — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:36:39 +0000

The last four of five weeks have brought about quite a bit of news and speculation surrounding Microsoft’s Kinect motion detecting hardware. When Microsoft took to the stage during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month, they announced that the original Kinect hardware had amassed more than 18 million sales during its first year.

The Redmond-based company also announced during the keynote speech at CES that the Kinect sensor would be made available for Windows hardware during February in over twelve countries. With today turning the 1st February, the promised Windows Kinect has been made available for sale via the Microsoft Store and through Amazon’s online outlet. The hardware is available for a price of $249.00 and comes with the traditional one-year manufacturer warranty.

The initial reaction by some might be the cost of the Windows-compatible Kinect, considering its Xbox 360 counterpart is significantly cheaper. While announcing the imminent launch during CES, Microsoft did elaborate that the Xbox 360 Kinect is subsidized by the sale of video games, therefore allowing them to sell it cheaper to the public. The good news is that the sale of the Kinect sensor for Windows is all that customers will need to shell out money for, with the SDK and runtime being made available free of charge if is it required.

Obviously, the newly available Kinect device has been optimized for use with Windows 7, Windows 8 Developer Preview and Windows Embedded-based devices which means that a number of changes have been made to the hardware itself. The main and most notable changes are:

The inclusion of a near mode camera which lets objects as close as forty centimeters be tracked with great precision.
The product includes the traditional one year warranty, as well as free access to software updates which give the ability for both speech and human tracking.
The Kinect for Windows is designed to be used in conjunction with the free of charge SDK.

The Kinect for Windows hardware will also have the features that users have come to expect from the device, no matter what platform it is running on. Advanced speech and audio capabilities using the latest Microsoft speech components as well as the aforementioned near mode. The device also showcases advanced skeletal tracking which enables control over which user is being tracked at a given time.

Kinect for Windows is available online through the Amazon store or through the official Microsoft Store.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

You Can Now Run Windows 95, 98, XP And Linux On Your HTC EVO 3D Android Phone

Oliver Haslam — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:08:38 +0000

Sometimes someone comes up with a beautiful piece of tinkering that results in a thing of beauty. Something that either creates a need that we didn’t know existed deep within our hearts or plugs a hole we’ve been trying to fill for years. Something magic.

Then there are days when someone decides that it’s a good idea to install old versions of Windows on a smartphone. You know, just because you can.

Those clever devils over at XDA have managed to do just that, and with a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip beating at the heart of the EVO 3D, then you’re likely to get better performance than those of us that used Windows 95 the first time around could ever expect! That’s what we call progress!

If you’re the semi-proud owner of an HTC EVO 3D Android phone then you too could have one of a selection of versions of Windows running in all its glory on your smartphone. If you’re more of a geeky, err, geek, then you can even choose to install the ultimate in oddball – Linux. Just think how cool you’ll look showing Linux on your smartphone off to all the ladies on a Saturday night!

The trick needs users to install a Pentium emulator and then to use the APK that XDA-Developers have put together in order to make the magic happen. You’ll need to get hold of the disk image of your choice, which if you’re going to plump for Linux is probably nice and easy. The Windows varieties may be a little more difficult, however.

You’ll need to alter a couple of files to make the thing work properly too, but all is explained over at the XDA-Developer forums, and if you’re feeling particularly nostalgic then you’ll probably want to give this a try. If you do though, be sure to take all the usual precautions such as backing everything up beforehand.

If you do decide to give this a try then we’d love to hear from you. Let us know how you get on with installing Windows or Linux onto your EVO 3D, we’ll be listening over on Facebook and Google Plus – the links are below!

To get started, simply head over to this thread over at XDA.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Download Firefox 10 For Windows And OS X

Oliver Haslam — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:38:48 +0000

If you’re a Firefox user then you now have a new version to download, with the popular browser being updated to version 10.

Other than being a nice round number, version 10 brings with it a few minor alterations that are not going to set the pulse racing, unless you have a particular hankering for a ‘forward’ button that hides itself until it has a function?

Oh, you do? Well then, there you go.

Other updates include support for full-screen web apps, perfect for games and the like, as well as extension management improvements across the board. With Firefox’s biggest pull being the huge number of extensions that are currently available to it, anything that makes the browser handle them better is going to get the thumbs up from us!

Antialiasing for WebGL is also now implemented, according to the new version’s release notes.

Firefox version 10 also sees the addition of an "Extended Support Release," which allows the enterprise to install Firefox without it updating quite so often as everyone else’s browser. Security updates will be applied as and when they are available, but regular updates will not. The idea here is that support departments do not need to worry about supporting a new version of the browser every six weeks.

That six week update cycle is something which began nine months ago, and that new cycle has seen Mozilla take Firefox from version 4 to the 10 release we’re talking about here. Google’s Chrome also sports a similarly speedy update cycle, with the search giant’s browser currently on something of a market share charge. While both currently have similar shares, Google’s Chrome is without a doubt the one that is very much on an upswing.

Firefox version 10 will be a silent update for those of you who already have an earlier version installed, or new users can download the app afresh should they so wish.

Use of both Chrome and Firefox is mixed at Redmond Pie Towers, with Google’s offering feeling slightly slicker than our old friend Firefox. We’ll be sure to give this new release a buzz soon though, but do let us know how you find it on Facebook, Twitter or indeed, Google Plus.

Download Firefox 10 [Windows]
Download Firefox 10 [Mac]

(via TheVerge)

You may also like to check out:

Download Firefox 9 Final For Windows, Mac And Linux

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Microsoft Looking Into Integrating Kinect In Upcoming Windows PCs [REPORT]

Paul Morris — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:38:57 +0000

The success of the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor for the Xbox 360 has obviously set the minds of the men and women in Redmond wandering. The motion detecting sensor was launched for the Xbox 360 in November 2010 and has so far shifted approximately eighteen million units. The estimated sales total paint an impressive picture by themselves, but when you take into account the 360 console itself has shipped around the sixty six million units, the fact that for every 3.6 consoles sold a Kinect has also been sold is very impressive indeed.

Those figures are only going to increase over the coming weeks, with February 1st being the official launch day of the Kinect sensor for the Windows operating system which features a unique, up-close sensing camera allowing motion to be captured at significantly closer quarters than the current 360 camera. Microsoft used the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to announce the desktop version of their Kinect product, but it looks as if the company’s motion sensing plans don’t end there.

According to recent leaked news, The Daily has had a unique chance to use and test a number of Asus branded laptops which a source within Microsoft has confirmed are official prototypes of portable computers with a Kinect sensor embedded. The devices are said to be pretty standard looking Asus netbooks, but had a strip of sensors placed along the top of the lid where you would generally expect to find the integrated webcam. The bottom of the lid, underneath the display also featured what appeared to be LEDs which were part of the sensing system.

Microsoft can clearly see that they have a very popular and versatile product in the Kinect, and whilst the most immediate application would have to be within games, with a little imagination; it isn’t hard to envisage just how useful desktop and portable computers would be with built-in motion detection as standard. You only need to look at some of the open-source examples to see just what is possible with the Kinect hardware and development kit.

Apple are reaping the benefits from championing multitouch gestures on devices such as the iPhone and iPad, with rumors spreading that the same control method could soon be present in a universal remote control. If Microsoft played their cards right, and integrated licensed Kinect technologies to the correct partners; they could easily benefit on a huge scale from a breed of laptops and desktops which have the ability to use hand gestures and waves to control programs, or media toggles.

Only time will tell what direction the company will go in with the Kinect device, but the early indications are certainly exciting and I would most definitely welcome a range of machines with integrated motion sensing.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Bill Gates Sent A Letter To Steve Jobs Before His Death

Ben Reid — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:34:22 +0000

There were undoubtedly good times and bad times shared between the two rivaling tech-gurus Steve Jobs and Bill Gates over the years.

Both were directly responsible for bringing technology to its exceptional current state, and whilst the fiery Jobs had much to say of Microsoft-founding rival, there was always a mutual respect which, later on in Jobs’ life, blossomed into something similar to a friendship.

Both were young and highly-ambitious when progressing with their respective companies back in the 70′s, and not known for mincing his words, Jobs is quoted in his biography as calling out Gates for being "unimaginative" and someone who has "never invented anything". He concluded Gates’ lack of imagination was the sole reason for his transition from technology to philanthropy, and that he "shamelessly stole other people’s ideas".

In what many in tech would see as a fitting conclusion to a rivalry spanning four decades, Gates has recently spoken publicly about his final meetings with Jobs in which the pair grew somewhat close, exploring the paralleling common ground they shared.

When Gates discovered the implications about Jobs’ failing health, he wrote him a rather poignant letter:

I told Steve about how he should feel great about what he had done and the company he had built. I wrote about his kids, whom I had got to know…There was no peace to make. We were not at war. We made great products, and competition was always a positive thing. There was no [cause for] forgiveness.

After Jobs’ passing in October of last year, Gates was called by Jobs’ wife Laurene Powell thanked him for the letter, and suggested her late husband’s biography didn’t accurately reflect the huge respect between the two.

He went on to heap praise on Jobs, continuing:

“Steve was an incredible genius who contributed immensely to the field I was in. We had periods, like the early Macintosh, when we had more people working on it than they did. And then we were competitors. The personal computers I worked on had a vastly higher [market] share than Apple until really the last five or six years, where Steve’s very good work on the Mac and on iPhones and iPads did extremely well. It’s quite an achievement, and we enjoyed each [other’s work]….He spent a lot of his time competing with me. There are lots of times when Steve said [critical] things about me. If you took the more harsh examples, you could get quite a litany.

There’s a saying; "best of friends, keenest of rivals," and whilst both were never what you would describe as best friends, and while some of the things said – particularly by Jobs – were somewhat defamatory, both did acknowledge the achievements of the other.

You might like to also check out our post from Wednesday, in which Gates fondly reflects on his final meetings with Jobs in an interview with Yahoo – it’s well worth the watch and definitely shows the softer side of Gates and his respect for Steve as a friend.

To read the full letter, head over to this link.

(source Telegraph)

You may also like to check out:

A Trip Through The Life Of Steve Jobs [PHOTOS]

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Here’s How To Get The Android Ice Cream Sandwich Look And Feel On Your Windows PC

Paul Morris — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:57:49 +0000

Well, we all know it is only a matter of time until mobile operating systems take over the world which are used to power all of our gadgets and household appliances. The only question that remains to be answered is; which operating system will reign victorious amongst consumers in the ongoing battle of the OSes? The current heavy weight contenders have to be iOS, Android and Windows Phone, with Blackberry hanging on for dear life but looking set to fall by the wayside sooner rather than later.

Windows Phone is becoming more popular, but is unlikely that it will challenge the dominance of the already established Android and iOS operating systems which currently gives Apple and Google a stranglehold on the market. The latest Android release follows the trend of being named after deliciously sweet desserts, with Google opting for ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ for Android 4.0. ICS, as we will call it from now on, brought about a significant number of aesthetic and performance enhancements, and even the most hardcore iOS fan will surely have to concede that it looks pretty fantastic.

If you are an Android fan, and want that beautiful ICS look on your desktop machine, then the world wide web has you covered. Thanks to Flickr member, David Molina, the Windows 7-owning world can now enjoy the aesthetic delights which the latest version of Android has to offer, displayed on a much larger screen. Unfortunately, to achieve this desktop glory, it isn’t simply a case of pressing a few buttons and you are up and running. The ICS desktop will take some time to recreate and requires quite an extensive list of components to be running in tandem to get the necessary look and feel. If you think you are up to the task, then carry on reading for the requirements.

The Ice Cream Sandwich desktop wallpaper, downloaded from WallBase.
A theme for Windows 7 known as APPOWS2010, which is available from DeviantArt.
A blank theme enabled RocketDock which creates the left hand positioned dock.
The ICS icon pack, available from DroidPirate.
RainMeter, which is a system monitor and configuration tool.
The Minimal Bar skin which is used to display the time and date.
The Lexis skin, used to display time and date.

Don’t worry, we are nearly done..

SimpleSentenceThree for RainMeter which gives the currently playing music in the bottom corner.
The Google search bar for RainMeter.
The Roboto Font, preferably the Roboto Light.

As you can see, the tools needed for this desktop are quite substantial, but once you have them all up and running; you will be a proud owner of a beautiful Ice Cream Sandwich desktop. If you have any difficulty putting all of these components together, you could always pop over to David Molina on Flickr and ask about his process.

(via LifeHacker)

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Redmond Pie » Windows 7 Center

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Will Be Available For Download On 29th February, Announcement Due At MWC

Related Posts

Windows 8 Store Gets A List Of Eleven Gaming Titles For Launch

Related Posts

How To Instantly Get 5GB Of Free Space On Dropbox Using Its Latest Beta Release For Windows [Tutorial]

Related Posts

Download Firefox 11 Beta For Windows, Mac & Linux

Related Posts

Kinect For Windows Hardware Now Available For Purchase Via Amazon And Microsoft Store

Related Posts

You Can Now Run Windows 95, 98, XP And Linux On Your HTC EVO 3D Android Phone

Related Posts

Download Firefox 10 For Windows And OS X

Related Posts

Microsoft Looking Into Integrating Kinect In Upcoming Windows PCs [REPORT]

Related Posts

Bill Gates Sent A Letter To Steve Jobs Before His Death

Related Posts

Here’s How To Get The Android Ice Cream Sandwich Look And Feel On Your Windows PC

Related Posts