Here's how you can force start download of Windows 8.1, Pro, RT on your PC when Windows Store is unable to find the update for you.
Net Applications has just released its monthly NetMarketShare statistics, and with Windows 8.1 on the horizon, it throws up some rather interesting findings regarding adoption rates of currently available versions of the Redmond company's platform. Notably, Windows 8 usage seems to have seen a significant upturn, with a leap from 5.42 percent to 7.65 percent worldwide during the month of August alone. Meanwhile, Windows XP, which still enjoys a healthy market share despite its age, dipped from 37.19 percent to 33.66 percent.
Windows 8.1 RTM release date for OEM partners has been confirmed by Microsoft. More details can be found here.
Dual booting operating systems on mobile devices can be an exciting experience, and although Windows 8 usually restricted to tablets vetted officially by Microsoft, it doesn't always have to be this way. The folks of XDA-Developers have found a way to dual boot Android and Windows 8 on the Acer Iconia W700, and although it's by no means a seamless experience, it does offer a little variation to those of a very tech-orientated nature.
The introduction of USB to the computing world could be such a huge technological marvel, it’s hard to fathom that the early adopters of the interface would’ve imagined that when they introduced it to the market. Yet today, we have everything running on USB – from speaker systems to input/output devices to rechargeable batteries and whatnot. So much so that the USB port has become a standard electrical supply for a lot of non-computing gadgets as well.
It may have taken twelve months from announcement to reality, but Microsoft's Surface Pro has finally gone on sale in the UK today. Microsoft announced a few weeks ago that a collection of countries would see the Surface Pro arrive by the end of May. Today, it was the UK's turn and Microsoft is celebrating by devoting the company's UK website's home page to the new tablet.
Although not everybody has been keen on the tiled interface, Windows 8 continues to sell in vast numbers, and having released late last year, recently passed the 100 million mark in terms of licenses sold, compared to 60 million licences this January alone. It's a significant milestone, and despite the rather mixed reception, Windows 8 appears to be selling at the same rate as its predecessor, Windows 7, which also took around six months to reach 100 million.
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.
Windows remains the most popular and widely-used desktop operating system to date, and hence, has the largest chunk of user application software running on it. The nature of these applications ranges between games to multimedia to productivity and even development tools. For that reason, the operating system can tend to become unstable over time, especially if you try out a lot of software (without paying much attention to safety) and are not very conscious of your system’s health. Bottom line is, you may find yourself in need of reinstalling the operating system from time to time, and while with newer versions of Windows, the system stability has seen significant improvement, there will still be cases where you’d not be left with any other choice. For reinstalling Windows on your desktop or notebook, you need the serial key.
I’ve been using Windows 8 as my primary OS for a long time now, yes, that includes the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview, the Release Preview and of course the final release build. Therefore, it’s safe to say that I’ve seen Windows 8 evolve into what it is today and I would call myself a veteran user. But sadly, I’m thoroughly disappointed and have decided to migrate to an OS X powered Mac. Read on, if you want to know why.
