Via the official Windows blog, Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 8.1 (formerly known as Windows Blue) will be a free update for those running the current Windows 8 operating system. Many had suspected that the Redmond company might try its hand at Apple's system of meager updates for a minimal fee, but, as per the blog post, the update will in fact be called Windows 8.1, and will be offered as "a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store."
Windows 8 is far from long in the tooth, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from getting the ball rolling on the next release of its ever popular operating system. Windows 8.1, codenamed Windows Blue, is penciled in for a release later this year, with testing still ongoing inside Microsoft.
As a user of both the Windows and OS X desktop operating systems, I often find that an app available for one is not always necessarily available for the other, and even if a software maker does cater to both, the level of the performance is seldom matched on both OSes. Mission Control, formerly known as Exposé, is one feature of OS X Mountain Lion I enjoy particularly, and while there's no such native feature even remotely similar with Microsoft's Windows, an app called BetterDesktopTool can help you achieve such functionality.
Windows 8.1 Will Bring Back The Start Button, Is Microsoft Rolling Back A Regretful Decision? [Poll]
According to a new report, Microsoft is planning to bring the long lost Start Orb button back with Windows 8.1 later this year. Is it a good move? Is Microsoft trying to lure back users they lost over the past months?
Regardless of whether your desktop computer operating system of choice has that Microsoft feel about it, or slants more towards an Apple inspired offering, it's probably fairly accurate to assume that there are things that you would like to change about the aesthetics. Mac OS X is currently enjoying its most successful spell to date with Apple reaping the benefits that come attached with the current surge in user adoption. However, Microsoft is also reporting a recent surge in profits that has a lot to do with the success of Windows 8 since launch.
Modern day computer systems are far too complex to be explained through one key process. They contain a mx of hardware and software working together with several other components to deliver us the smoothest possible computing experience. Even if we look at just the software part of such an environment, there are so many inner lines of code topped by a graphical user interface, that there is a potential of so much going wrong without us noticing. At times, it does happen that a feature that was implemented to help smoothen the user experience, becomes the cause to disrupt it.
Windows 8 has certainly divided opinion among PC users, with some users having been vocally critical of the tiled, so-called Metro interface that Microsoft decided to opt for. Traditionalists have been particularly unimpressed with the new Start menu, which, while adept for tablet use, can confuse the everyday, desktop Windows user. According to sources of TheVerge, Microsoft is testing current builds of Windows 8.1 inclusive of an option for users to boot into the much familiar desktop screen.
When it comes to professional image editing, few companies offer a more varied, powerful and revered tool set than Adobe. Accompanying the world famous Photoshop is Lightroom, which offers its users a novel way to organize and manage digital images, and today, Adobe has released a free public beta of Photoshop Lightroom 5.0.
The Facebook social network ensures that, whether you haven't seen a person within the last ten years or ten minutes, everybody can remain connected. Billions of messages are shared through Facebook on any given day, but while we are often only directing our correspondence with one or a small group of people, it's often the case that everybody can read it. In these instances, a private inbox message may be necessary, but if you want to have some fun with it, you could try a new Chrome extension allowing you to secretly hide messages within images. While perhaps not an immediately reassuring mode of obscuring a message from prying eyes of others, the extension, developed by a computer science student at Oxford University, does have an element of mischievousness to it, and will have your Facebook friends scratching their heads as to why you're consistently posting plain images of your food. (Oh, wait..)
Data security is one of the key aspects of today’s computing systems, be it smartphones, tablets, laptops and netbooks, or even desktops. We use several kinds of software to prevent any external party from accessing our data, including anti-malware solutions like anti-viruses, anti-spyware, rootkit removal utilities, firewalls and whatnot. More security-conscious users would opt for solutions like a VPN for connecting to the internet, while still more advanced (and maybe paranoid) would go for something as sophisticated as TOR. You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting sensitive information, or even your personal identification, for that matter.
