BlueStacks has built its solid reputation on providing software which enables Android apps to run on a variety of different platforms besides Google's. With the Windows beta version released last year to some 5 million+ downloads and the OS X beta arriving just six weeks ago, the BlueStacks team has now compiled a version adapted to the relatively-new Windows 8 platform, as well as optimization for the Microsoft Surface Pro. Details after the break.
If you've been trying to get your hands on one of Microsoft's 128GB Surface Pro tablets then the chances are that you've already come across some difficulties in sourcing a retail location that has them in stock. The majority of locations are showing that Microsoft's powerhouse tablet is out of stock of the 128GB model, with minimal supplies of the smaller 64GB variant being available. The fact that users have acted quickly in snapping up the stock is bitter sweet for Microsoft. Great that there is a keen interest in the product, but potentially problematic, considering the official Surface Pro advertisement campaign has begun with the launch of "The Vibe" TV spot.
The news is perhaps about as predictable as when Call of Duty: Black Ops II swept past Halo 4 to take its usual position is market leader, but Windows 8 has - just three months after its initial release - surpassed Apple's OS X Mountain Lion in terms of market share. The Redmond company has seen a positive, if not overwhelming public response to its new operating system, and with many opting to upgrade online as opposed to purchasing a more expensive physical copy, the entire Windows process looks to be headed towards Apple's download-only direction.
With Windows 8, Microsoft made some different (if not difficult) choices, especially when it comes to licensing. You would already know that Windows is a closed-source operating system, and hence, when you purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows, you’re basically acquiring a ‘license to use’ for the operating system, and not the OS itself. When the company released Windows 8, one of the approaches that they took to making it even more popular (and combat piracy at the same time) was making it available for lower prices as compared to previous versions. This, at the same time, brought on some tough licensing choices, too. For instance, Microsoft had to do away with native DVD playback capability in Windows 8, because the patent holder for MPEG-2/4 (the video codec required to play said media) charges Microsoft $2 per copy of Windows 7 (the relative figure) sold. They had to cut back on such costs to achieve the pricing point that Windows 8 claims.
If you have been hoping to pick up a Microsoft Surface Pro this month as your late Christmas present, you may be disappointed, since the shipping date has been pushed back slightly, to February 9th, in both the United States and Canada, along with several accessories to please anybody’s ‘wants’ and ‘needs’.
Microsoft has today outlined its plans to help Windows 8 and Windows RT compete with the well established competition. That plan appears to involve leveraging the Xbox gaming platform, and who can blame them?
There used to be a time when people considered a 20GB hard drive to be more than what they’d ever be able to fill up. Nowadays, depending on the type of usage that you have, a 250GB ones seems so little and insufficient. Then, the storage media in themselves have evolved a lot, both in terms of technology and form factor. Pen drives with up to 250 gigs of storage are not uncommon, high-capacity SD cards are mainstream, and lately, even SSD drives have come down to a level where almost everyone can afford them in their machines, taking advantage of the much-faster read/write speeds to the fullest.
There are certain changes in Windows 8 that are far better than any other previous Windows version. With any operating system, or any other device that stores your personal data, the most important thing that users are concerned about is data security. You need to protect data from malware, external attacks, hard drive crashes, corruption and what not. While there are a lot of tools out there that help you achieve all that, nothing beats the usefulness and importance of taking backups of all the important files that you have.
Microsoft confirmed today at the 11th annual J.P Morgan Tech Forum at CES that the company had sold 60 million copies of Windows 8 so far, including both OEM sales and upgrades on existing machines, putting it on a similar trajectory as Windows 7 three years ago. Undoubtedly, after all of the criticism, the new operating system is off to a good start since its launch this past October.
The world of tablets is certainly evolving at an unprecedented rate, and what better place to catch a glimpse of the future of the tablet market, than the Consumer Electronics Show? Panasonic has wowed onlookers by unveiling a stunning 4K Windows 8 tablet at CES 2013, and the guys over at TheVerge have had the privilege of a little hands-on. Packing a 20-inch display, it's said to be aimed primarily at photography aficionados, while an included optical stylus permits the user to smoothly operate Windows 8 and make precise alterations to photos.
