Windows 8 has always been highlighted as the point when Microsoft's main products would unite as one, with desktop, tablet, smartphone and gaming all intertwined in one way or another by the new operating system. With that in mind, it should be of no surprise that Microsoft has based the structure of gaming on Windows 8 around the flagship Xbox platform, and the built-in games within the upcoming version of the Redmond company's operating system will be branded as "Xbox Windows."
The Microsoft Surface is the company's first delve into the increasingly popular tablet market, and it's fair to say the Redmond outfit has a fair bit of catching up to do. The iPad has been retailing for two-and-a-half years, and although Android tablets haven't managed to make as much of an impression on consumers, the companies behind them are now seeming to push forth some genuine contenders to the Cupertino company's dominant slate.
Microsoft has a pretty busy schedule coming up over the next couple of months, and as well as Windows 8, Windows Server 2013 and the introduction of the Surface tablet, Office 2013 is also in the pipeline. The next iteration of the popular productivity suite has been available to download as a preview version for the past couple of weeks now, bringing many new features including deep cloud integration, and now the Redmond-based software extraordinaire has launched a dedicated Store for Microsoft Office 2013.
One of the things about Windows which a great deal of users have come to love is also one of the things which a lot of people have taken the opportunity to have a dig at the Redmond company for. There's no doubt that Windows has been the most popular desktop operating system over the years, with millions of people across the world loving the fact that Microsoft has introduced new versions of the OS while rigidly sticking to a tried, tested and familiar visual user-experience. By that I mean it doesn't matter if you pick up Windows 98, XP, Millennium, Vista or 7, you automatically know from experience where things are and can get up and running right away.
We have come across a new Windows to Android transformation pack today. Simply named the Android Jelly Bean Skin Pack for Windows 7, the transformation pack includes a bunch of different programs that, when used together, give Windows 7 an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-like look.
It doesn’t happen very often that we actually take a step back and take a look at the way we go about doing our business on the move in the modern computing age compared to not so long ago. The emergence of powerful smartphones like the iPhone or Galaxy S III, as well as mobile tablets like the iPad or the poor old HP TouchPad have dramatically increased productivity by allowing us to be connected to our information no matter where we are. The hardware which we use on a daily basis is all well and good, but on some occasions, it is actually the available software that really push us forward.
Microsoft's Windows Server 2012 has finally been completed and released to manufacturing, thus all the manufacturers of server-based equipment will be able not only to pre-install it on certain devices, but tweak all hardware and software to work in perfect compliance with the new Server edition.
Fans of Microsoft's Windows 8 have something to celebrate today with the news that the company has completed development of the upcoming operating system. With the software set to make its way to OEMs soon, another milestone has been reached inside Redmond - the company is now accepting paid app submissions for the Windows Store.
Hotmail has been around for what feels like forever, and alongside Gmail it has been one of the most used online email services on the planet. Today Microsoft gave its own email service some competition, with the new Outlook.com preview set to run alongside Hotmail, at least for now.
In anticipation of the final public release of their new all-singing all-dancing Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft has been hard at work behind the scenes deploying their engineering teams into projects that have resulted in the announcement and launch of a range of new mice and keyboards that have been designed to make using Windows 8 a lot easier. The Redmond company have called on all of their thirty plus years experience to create hardware which they hope will allow users to get the most out of their new OS and take advantage of everything it provides.
