Microsoft Confirms Its Plans To Bring Windows 8 To Smaller Touch-Enabled Devices Soon

During its Q3 2013 earnings call today, Microsoft’s outgoing CFO Peter Klein noted that the company plans to bring Windows 8 to smaller devices. Until now, Windows 8 was mostly geared toward desktops and larger tablets, including Microsoft’s own Surface and RT machines.

With the forthcoming Windows 8 Blue, rumor had it that Microsoft would enable its OEMs to run Windows 8 on smaller devices, too. Klein confirmed this on today’s call, though he mostly talked about OEMs and did not mention whether Microsoft also plans to launch a smaller Surface tablet, though that’s probably a fair bet, too. Currently, there are no sub-10-inch Windows 8 tablets on the market, but according to Klein, we will hear more about these in the coming months.

During the Q&A phase, Klein also noted that Microsoft is working on “expanding and improving the experience, not just for Surface, but for Windows 8 devices at multiple price points, including lower price points going forward.” Earlier this week, Intel’s outgoing CEO Paul Otellini also noted that his company wants to ensure that OEMs can build Windows 8 machines for under $200 soon.

In addition, Klein also acknowledged that the transition to Windows 8 isn’t easy, but the company remains “excited about the opportunities ahead of [it].” According to Klein, Windows 8 has prepared Microsoft well for the transition from desktops to touch devices. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we feel comfortable about where we are going.”

He also expects to see more – and more attractive – Windows 8 touch-enabled devices to come on the market in the near future, too, and he thinks these will become more attractive.

 Source: techcrunch.com

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Windows 8 Usage Growing, But Still Behind Windows Vista

Windows 8 should finally overtake Vista by the summer.

Net Applications has released its OS usage report for March, revealing that Windows 7 still dominates the world, commanding 44.73 percent of the operating system market, up from its 44.55 percent share in February. Usage of the platform has seemingly flatlined since 2Q12, owning 40.51 percent of the market in May 2012 and 45.11 percent in December 2012.

Unsurprisingly, Windows XP settles in at a close second, grabbing 38.73 percent of the market. However, unlike Windows 7, usage of the OS continues to steadily decline, dropping from its 38.99 percent share in February and 39.51 percent in January. Windows XP had a 44.85 percent market share in May 2012 and a 39.08 percent share in December 2012.

As for Windows 8, which was released last fall, the new OS continues to slowly gain ground. In January, the touchy platform had 2.26 percent of the OS market. That number jumped slightly in February with a 2.67 percent share and then 3.17 percent in March. Adoption reportedly isn't as quick as Microsoft would like, possibly due to a lack of affordable touch-based solutions and consumer reluctance to change.

On the Windows Vista front, usage of the third most popular OS on the planet continues to decline. In January, it had an OS market share of 5.24 percent, followed by 5.17 percent in February and 4.99 percent in March. Mac OS X 10.8, falling into fifth place behind Windows 8, had a market share of 2.65 percent in March, up from 2.61 percent in February and 2.44 percent in January.

Net Application's report also reveals that Windows RT commands a mere 0.02 percent of the OS market, falling behind Windows 2000 (0.05 percent), Windows NT (0.07 percent) and Linux (1.17 percent). Windows 8 Pro used on touch-based solutions had a better showing than its ARM-based RT cousin in March with a 0.12 percent share.

The good news here for Microsoft is that Windows 8 continues to grow and Vista continues to decline. At this rate, the revamped OS should surpass Vista and assume third place on the usage chart by the summer. Maybe we'll even see a significant increase once Windows 8.1 is released, and cheaper touch-based solutions arrive on the market.

The bad news is that Microsoft's ancient Windows XP platform still consumes 38.73 percent of the OS market, and support will officially be severed in a little more than a year from now. That means no more security updates no matter how much you plead to the Redmond company. It will definitely be interesting to see these statistics again in April 2014.

Source: tomshardware.com

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As Windows Phone 8 fulfilled the Windows Phone promise, so will Blue complete Windows 8

This weekend brought a number of Windows Blue leaks that confirmed much of what we already knew: Windows Blue is not Windows 9, it is instead a bundle of feature improvements and general corrections to the operating system that has suffered from quirkiness its entire, short life.

Windows Blue will contain new Live Tiles, in smaller and larger formats, improvements to current applications that ship with the operating system, and deeper SkyDrive integration. Tom Warren over on the Verge has an excellent video run-through of the currently leaked changes if you want the full notes.

I quickly want to frame Windows Blue for you so that as we progress towards its widely expected 2013 release, you’ll have a firm mental grip on what it is. Sure, we have the facts from our first paragraph, but what is the best way to view Windows Blue?

In the following way: As Windows Phone 8 was the moment in which Windows Phone first felt feature complete, so will Windows Blue extend and “complete” Windows 8.

It’s worth noting that we have been on a steady ramp in terms of Windows 8 features since the very first BUILD event in 2011. At that first public outing of Windows 8, Microsoft showed off a somewhat complete – in feature terms – build of the operating system.

Then it distributed a developer preview that didn’t include email capabilities. It was quite the truncated release.

The consumer preview, release preview, and other shipped builds added features, up until general availability. Following the general release of Windows 8, the Appex apps  and now communications applications have been updated and extended. Windows Blue continues that work.

I’ve argued before that Windows 8 is akin to Office 2007 in that it brings large user interface changes that led to user annoyance. The corollary to that point is that Office 2010 better adapted those changes, and went on to become a breakout hit for Microsoft.

Thus, the first major revision to Windows 8 should lead, if the analogy holds, to a fueling of sales of the software. Perhaps. However, given what we now know, it’s simple to state that Blue is a welcome update to Windows 8 that will file off a number of rough edges, and boost its usability.

Windows Blue is not Windows 9, but it should make your daily Windows 8 experience better. It can’t come quickly enough.

Top Image Credit: BUILDWindows

Source: thenextweb.com

 

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PCs learn new tricks, but can tablet/notebook hybrids rescue Windows 8?

No, the PC industry isn’t vanishing anytime soon. But it has reached a level of maturity where year-over-year growth in sales has stalled, and most new purchases are replacements.

Devices that we traditionally think of as PCs - towers, all-in-ones, and clamshell-style laptops with a keyboard and pointing device - are still selling by the hundreds of millions every year. After decades of steady growth, however, those numbers are now declining year over year, as consumers (and to a lesser extent businesses) choose tablets and smartphones as secondary devices instead of buying an additional PC.

The net effect? The overall population of computing devices is expanding tremendously, with the mix shifting toward devices that are more mobile and require less management.

That’s the environment into which Microsoft released Windows 8 last fall. In a world where mobility is king, the single most important feature is the ability to work well as a tablet, when a touchscreen is the only input device. For this new generation, Microsoft and its partners are betting you want that same device to work as a PC when conventional input devices (and maybe a large monitor) are available.

It’s a bold attempt to redefine the PC. These new hybrid devices have the innards of a conventional PC, making them compatible with existing software and peripherals, while still being capable of acting like tablets.

Microsoft’s vision of this dual-purpose device is the Surface Pro, which can go from tablet to full-strength PC with a click of its innovative keyboard/cover combos. But it’s not the only competitor in this new hybrid category.

Last September, at the giant IFA tradeshow in Berlin, I saw three hybrid devices from three of the world’s largest PC OEMs. Each one tries to tackle the same problem as the Surface Pro, with very different design decisions. For the past month, I’ve been using the final, production versions of these three machines in real-world work settings.

Here are the contenders:

• Samsung’s ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T looks like a slightly clunky, generic black Ultrabook at first blush. Until you detach its keyboard base, that is, and it turns into a sleek and powerful tablet with better battery life than a Surface Pro.
• The Dell XPS 12 is a premium Ultrabook, exquisitely engineered and more powerful than many desktop PCs. It can also transform into a tablet with a quick flip. It’s a large, not-so-light tablet with modest battery life. But does that matter?
• HP’s Envy X2 isn’t the most powerful portable PC you will ever find. But if long battery life is tops on your wish list, you might not care. This Atom-powered hybrid is thinner than an iPad, and it can do real work all day, all night, and well into another day.

To some extent, the fate of all of these devices is tied to Windows 8. If you're put off by Windows 8's landscape orientation, or if it doesn't have the apps you like, or if you're already heavily invested in another platform, these devices could be too little or too late or both.

But Microsoft and its PC-making partners hope that there are enough PC loyalists out there who are ready for a Windows-powered tablet that's also a PC.

In this post, I look at each of these devices with an emphasis on the overall experience. Does the tablet-to-PC-and-back-again transition work? Are they mobile enough? Are they simple enough? Can any of these devices deliver the Holy Grail of portable computing: a single device that handles work and play without unnecessary compromises?

Source : zdnet

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How to Run Android Apps on Windows 8

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in smartphones all around the globe. In fact, IDC reports that 153.9 million smartphones were sold worldwide in 2012 alone. Despite the numerous smartphone manufacturers out there, most smartphones are shaped by the operating system that they support.

Currently, the most common mobile phone operating systems include: Google’s Android OS, Apple’s iOS, Microsoft’s Windows Phone, Nokia’s Symbian OS, and most recently, the Firefox OS.

These are just some of the operating systems available for smartphones, however, when they are ranked according to the number of third-party applications available, Android OS and the iOS are at the top of the list.

Unluckily, Windows Phone hasn’t been in the spotlight as long as its PC counterpart. It therefore doesn’t have as many third-party apps as Windows PC operating system.

On the bright side, the fact that Windows Phone doesn’t have as many apps as Android smartphones doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy Android’s apps on Windows.

The BlueStacks app changes all this by allowing Windows 8 and Windows 7 users to enjoy Android applications on their Windows tablets and even on their PC’s.

BlueStacks basically works by creating an emulated environment in which Android applications can run.

Since it is still in the beta stage, users might experience a couple of issues while using the app.

Users who have relatively slow computers may also experience some performance issues just in the same way a PlayStation 3 emulator will require a generally fast computer.

So, where do you begin if you have all the right requirements?


Step 1. Go to http://bluestacks.com and download the BlueStacks App Player on your PC. The beta version isn’t all that large, and it should therefore take a couple of seconds to download if you have a fast internet connection.

Step 2. Install the app by following the on-screen instructions. Note that you should also have an active internet connection during the installation process since BlueStack App Player will start downloading runtime data which is crucial for it to run on your PC.

Step 3. Once successful, you can now start using the app to run Android’s .apk files. To do this, simply download the Android app on your PC and then right-click it and select “Open with”. Locate BlueStack App Player and hit enter. You’ll then have to wait for some while as the app is being installed. Once it’s done, you can start the app by clicking its icon.

Here are a few things to note about BlueStack App Player before you get overly excited about it:

1. Not all Android apps will work on the BlueStack App Player, and this is common with most other types of emulators.
2. Be prepared for “unknown bugs” since the app is still in beta mode. This means that you may experience some technical difficulties while using the app.
3. BlueStack App Player won’t be free forever. It will only be free while it’s still in beta mode. When an official stable release is announced, your credit card will definitely come in handy.

In a nutshell, all is not lost for the Windows tablets in terms of applications. BlueStack App Player will undeniably be a soft cushion for the Windows tablets as Microsoft struggles to get more developers to create apps that may leave the Android Marketplace in shock.

This article was submitted by Joseph Worth, a blogger for for CLEAR’s deals . He enjoys writing about new applications, social media and politics.

Source: androidflip.com

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Analyst: Windows 8 hardware 'overpriced' and offers 'no clear benefit in switching from iOS or Android'

Microsoft, along with its hardware partners, pinned an awful lot of hope on Windows 8 that it would be the catalyst that would inject new life into the stagnant PC industry. One analyst believes that while there will be growth, it will fall far short of what was expected.

While market research firms are forecasting a PC sales growth of between 7 and 9 percent during 2013, but Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu believes that the rally will be far more muted, and closer to 2 percent.

Wu sees the challenges facing the PC market during 2013 as three-fold. First, mobile devices -- in particular iOS and Android -- will continue to cannibalize PC sales throughout the year. Put simply, consumers and enterprise buyers prefer to spend their money on post-PC devices rather than on PCs.

Another problem facing the PC industry is that the adoption of Windows 8 has been slower than expected because of what Wu calls "a big but uncomfortable and unfamiliar change in its user interface."

Finally, and perhaps most importantly at a time when buyers seems price-sensitive, Wu finds the $500 to $1200 price tags slapped on Windows 8 hardware to be "uncompetitive" when compared to  Android with prices as low as $99, and the iPad mini which starts at $329.

Wu has a lot to say about Windows 8, and most of it is quite negative. In a statement to ZDNet Wu claims that Windows 8 hardware is "overpriced" and offers "no clear benefit in switching from iOS or Android." He goes on to say that supply chain sources are reporting that "there is great confusion as there are too many form factors (PC notebooks, tablets, ultrabooks, and convertibles)" and that most of the OEMs "do not know what to build and will actually sell."

Wu also predicts that there will be a shift of power as far as the PC market is concerned, with Asia-Pacific players such as Lenovo, Asustek, and Samsung stripping market share away from established players such as Hewlett Packard and Dell. Apple, however, says Wu, will continue to gain share "due to its highly differentiated Mac."

Looks like 2013 is not going to be a good year for PC vendors.

Source : zdnet

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Windows 8 market share jumped in December

December was a good month for Microsoft's new operating system, with Windows 8's market share leapfrogging Linux to claim the number seven spot.

Data released by Web metric firm Net Applications shows that over the course of December the Windows 8 market share grew to 1.72 percent, up from 1.09 percent in November.

The leap in market share puts Windows 8 ahead of Linux, but behind Mac OS X 10.8, OS X 10.7, and OS X 10.6, and far behind Windows 7, Windows XP, and even Windows Vista.

December wasn't just good for Windows 8, with Windows 7 also seeing a small bump in market share, up from 44.71 percent to 45.11 percent. This was to be expected as December is usually a good month for PC sales thanks to the holiday season.

Microsoft's Windows RT platform, which can be found on tablets such as the Surface, also makes an appearance in the listing, with a market share of 0.01 percent.

According to a separate report released by AdDuplex, an ad network specializing in advertisements for Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT applications, Microsoft's Surface tablet is the single most popular device running the new platform.

December was also the first month since February 2012 where the overall Windows market share grew, to 91.74 percent, from 91.45 percent in November. Coincidentally, it is also the first time since February 2012 that Apple's OS X has seen a decline in market share, which now stands at 7.07 percent, down from 7.3 percent in November.

Back in November of 2012, a report by Web metrics firm StatCounter suggested that Windows 8 license sales were not yet translating into usage since its Web market share was trailing significantly behind what Windows 7 had achieved one month after launch.

Net Applications data is based on 160 million unique visitors each month to some 40,000 Web sites which the company monitors for its clients.

Source : zdnet

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Gmail loses Google Sync: How Windows 8, RT, Office are affected

Gosh, it seems like only a few months ago that Google and Microsoft were happily working together on Windows 8. Back in September, I published instructions on how to connect your free Gmail account and Google Calendar and Contacts to Windows 8's built-in communications suite, the Mail/People/Contacts/Messaging apps. You end up with live tiles like these on your Start screen, with notifications of new messages and upcoming appointments appearing as they arrive:

But as of January 30, 2013, you will no longer be able to do that. That's the bottom line for Windows 8 and RT users from Google's announcement yesterday that it is dropping support for Google Sync for customers who use its free Gmail and Google Apps services. Google Sync is Google's implementation of the Exchange ActiveSync protocol, which it licensed from Microsoft in 2009. As of early next year, it will be an option for paid Google Apps customers only.

So how does that affect Windows 8 and Windows RT?

When you set up a Google Mail account using the Mail app in Windows 8 or RT, one of two things happens.

If you set up the new account using the default options and leave the Contacts and Calendar check boxes blank, the Mail app connects to Gmail using IMAP. If necessary, it toggles the "Enable IMAP" setting on Gmail's back end, as I confirmed when I did some testing this morning.

If you select the Contacts or Calendar checkbox, however, the Mail account is set to use the EAS protocol.

The biggest advantage of EAS is that it synchronizes all types of changes using push notifications. So email arrives immediately, instead of waiting for a scheduled retrieval pass, and calendar updates you make on your desktop appear on your phone or tablet right away.

After January 30, 2013, those checkboxes will no longer allow you to set up a new mobile device with an Exchange ActiveSync connection unless you have a paid Google Apps account. Presumably, the Mail app team at Microsoft can rewrite its apps so they will use CardDAV and CalDAV to synchronize contacts and Google Calendar items. Whether (and if so, when) they do so is anybody's guess. The Mail app needs a lot of work to add and improve its core features; piling a "Rewrite Google account support" task onto the list isn't helpful.

Office 2013, which has been released to manufacturing and is due to be released to the public in early 2013, is currently unable to use EAS with Gmail. If you try, this is the error message you get:

As a result, IMAP is the default option for Gmail accounts you add to Outlook, and there's no apparent way to get contacts or calendars in sync, even if you have a paid Google Apps account. It's unclear if Google has any plans to update Google Sync for its paying customers so it works with Office 2013. I've asked both  companies for comment on this issue.

On Apple's iOS platforms, you'll have the option of using official apps from Google. But the company has said it has no intention of writing native apps for Windows 8.

Google is hoping, of course, that Windows 8 users will be sufficiently loyal that they will install the Chrome browser and use it for Gmail and other web services. Recent releases of Chrome include the ability to set Chrome as the default browser and use it as a Windows 8 Metro-style app. (On Windows RT devices, the only option is to use Internet Explorer to access the full range of services.)

Third-party Windows 8 apps could also appear, if developers are willing to do it for free. (I'm not convinced that users who choose not to pay Google for a web service will be willing to pay for an app.)

It's a calculated and risky strategy on Google's part, which appears to be aggressively trying to increase revenue for its Google Apps service as Microsoft aggressively moves to a software-as-a-service model with Office 365. The new Office plans include Exchange Online and SkyDrive accounts that match Google feature for feature but also include access to the full suite of desktop apps for Office 2013. (See What you gain and lose with Office 2013 subscriptions for details.)

In particular, for two or more users the paid Office 365 Home Premium subscription ($100 a year for up to five devices and an unlimited number of users) might represent a better deal than multiple paid Google Apps accounts at $50 per year. And the difference between the "real" Office and the more limited Google Apps might be enough to get customers to switch.

Source : zdnet

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Windows Phone 8 Chokes On Large Video Transfers

We all know the Lumia 920 has a beautiful camera, and when reviewing the handset we especially noted how nice the results can be when shooting 1080p video. Still, you may want to think twice about using the phone – or any Windows Phone 8 device, for that matter – to document any particularly lengthy event, as we’re learning that while the platform can record extended videos without issue, it runs into problems when trying to get those movies off the phone.

This sounds like some kind of 32-bit addressing issue, because just over the 4GB mark, things start to get wonky. Attempts to transfer videos larger than 4GB to a PC end up with the phone only actually sending whatever’s over that 4GB point to the computer. So, instead of a 6GB video, you end up with a corrupted, unwatchable 2GB file.

Chances are, this isn’t specific to videos, but given the sizes of the files needed to trigger the problem, you’re not likely to run into it elsewhere.

For the moment, there doesn’t appear to be a clean way around the problem, short of stopping your recording below that 4GB point and recording a new video for the rest.

Source : pocketnow

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Shimming your way to Linux on Windows 8 PCs

Getting Linux to boot and install on PCs locked down with Windows 8's UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) Secure Boot is still a major headache. However, Matthew Garrett, a well-known Linux developer who's been working on fixing the Secure Boot problem, has just released a working UEFI boot solution for Linux distributors. This should enable many more versions of Linux to run on Secure Boot-imprisoned PCs.

Garrett, formerly a Red Hat programmer and now a security developer at Nebula, an OpenStack private-cloud company, announced on November 30th that he was "pleased to say that a usable version of shim is now available for download. … This is intended for distributions that want to support secure boot but don't want to deal with Microsoft."

This approach is not the same as the one that Garrett devised for use with Fedora Linux. That approach uses a Fedora-specific key that's based on a Microsoft/Verisign-supplied Secure Boot key.

While that meant dealing with Microsoft, it was as Garrett had written earlier, "Easy enough for us [Red Hat] to do, but not necessarily practical for smaller distributions." It's also, as The Linux Foundation has found, in its so-far failed attempts to obtain a universal Secure Boot key for Linux distributions, really not that easy at all.

What Garrett has done with his shim approach is to create a signed boot-loader that can add keys to its own database. This is built on SUSE's bootloader design. In the SUSE design, the boot-loader has its own key database, besides the UEFI specification's key database. The SUSE boot-loader then executes any second-stage boot-loaders signed with a key in that database. Since the boot-loader is in charge of its own key enrollment, the boot-loader is free to impose its own policy, including enrolling new keys off a Linux distribution's installation file-system.

Garrett has added the a user-interface to the SUSE second-stage boot-loader. With this, instead of stopping when a here-to-fore untrusted key appears, the user can navigate the available file-systems, choose a key and indicate that they want to add it to the key database. From that time on, the boot-loader will trust binaries signed with that key.

What this means is that Linux, or other operating systems, can "take an existing signed copy of shim and put it on their install media, along with a file containing their key. If a user attempts to boot then the boot will fail because the second stage boot-loader isn't signed with a trusted key, but the user can then use the navigator and select the distribution's key file. After providing confirmation and rebooting, the second stage boot-loader's signature will now be recognized and the installer will boot."

So, for example, with this shim program in place, a user can choose to trust your distro's key and proceed to boot and install it on their Windows 8 PC. Additional security can also be added to this approach to beat back automated attacks.

The shim method is meant for developers to make it easy for end-users to boot and install Linux. It's not meant for Joe or Jane user at home. That said, it should lead to many more distributions being easier to use on Windows 8 PCs.

It does have one disadvantage though for some Linux distributors. Since the shim is a pre-compiled binary, distributions such as Debian, which insist on having full source code availability, may choose not to use it.

Last, but not least, as I've long predicted, implementations of UEFI are making it difficult to boot systems into Linux even when everything else is set correctly. For example, Garrett himself recently ran into a case with a Windows 8 Lenovo Thinkcentre M92p, which installed Fedora, but then wouldn't boot it. In this case, it turned out that UEFI system was checking the descriptive string for each operating system and refusing to run any that didn't call itself either "Windows Boot Manager" or "Red Hat Enterprise Linux."

So, while Garrett's shim will soon be bring many more varieties of Linux to many more Windows 8 PCs, UEFI Secure Boot will remain a significant worry for anyone wanting to run Linux or other alternative operating systems on Windows 8 PCs.

Source : zdnet

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Windows Blue to replace Windows 8 in just a few months?

So, as we all know, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 have both only been on the market a short time, but rumor has it that Microsoft may already be getting ready to release an OS update that supersedes both to an extent, called Windows Blue, and it may even replace Windows 8 in just a few months. It sounds a bit crazy, but it may be true.

Apparently, the word is that Windows Blue will look much like Windows 8 with just some minor UI tweaks, and will likely keep the Windows 8 name, but everything behind it could be very different, including the pricing. Microsoft wants Windows Blue to be on everyone's computer, which means it could even be released for free to ensure users upgrade. From there, the idea is that Microsoft would offer regular yearly updates which will be standardized across desktop and mobile devices.

Microsoft is also planning to release a new Windows SDK along with the updates, and will stop accepting apps written using the Windows 8 SDK, although Windows 8 legacy apps will still run on Windows Blue. This change in the SDK could easily include options to make apps universal and run on any Windows device from phones to tablets and desktops. 

None of that sounds too far fetched, and it all seems like things Microsoft has been working towards. The strange thing is that the reports have Microsoft releasing this update in mid-2013,. It's unclear if you'll have to be coming from Windows 8 to update to Blue, but given that Microsoft wants this to be the standard, it would seem likely that you could come from older versions of Windows. Even if the upgrade is free initially, it will likely look like a yearly fee or subscription to keep the updates coming. 

Source : phonearena

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Windows 8 Off to an Awkward Start, Analyst Says

PC vendors have been slow to launch devices powered by Microsoft's latest operating system.

Microsoft's Windows 8 debut is off to an "awkward" start, Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund said.

The software giant last month launched the latest version of its operating system that sports a UI featuring a healthy proportion of tablet-inspired components such as touch capabilities. However, analysts have criticized the platform for being confusing, as well as playing its part in ailing PC growth.

Sherlund said PC vendors have evidently been slow to introduce new devices such as tablets and ultrabooks with touch screen support. Moreover, Windows 8 has a learning curve, as well as the fact that it's faced "abundant bad press."

Consequently, Nomura decreased its forecast for PC unit sales during the current quarter, noting that sales should drop by 7 percent instead of being flat.

In looking at Microsoft, we have assumed essentially no growth going forward in traditional PCs (or actually down about 6 [percent] if we exclude new ultrabooks) and the more relevant market growth of about [3 percent to 5 percent] if we include Windows-based tablet devices. We assume that many consumers will prefer an iPad to a Windows device, but that Office is still an anchor for enterprise and prosumers that may chose to upgrade notebooks to either ultrabook touch or tablet/hybrid devices for longer battery life, thin, light-weight and touch that addresses the desire for new form factors and new tablet based usage and apps. 2013 could be a good upgrade year for old notebooks.

In addition, Sherlund cut his estimates for Microsoft's earnings in 2013 by around 4 percent, stating per-share earnings will grow by just 8.5 percent. That said, he stressed that Microsoft's stock has already reflected the "awkward" launch of Windows 8.

"We think investors that can have a thick skin through the awkward quarter or two of the Windows 8 transition will likely see better traction ahead," he stated.

Despite the negativity surrounding Windows 8, Microsoft has sold 40 million licenses for the OS since its October 26 launch. Comparatively, 60 million Windows 7 licenses were sold during its first two months of sale.

More than half of consumers are said to have not heard of Windows 8, while those who are aware of the platform not having an interest in the OS.

Source: tomsguide.com

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Free Windows 8 upgrades? Not so fast (or easy)...

Everyone wants something for nothing. But contrary to reports published earlier today, Microsoft hasn't accidentally begun dispensing free copies of Windows 8 Pro.

The story, which appeared in ZDNet earlier today, originated at an enthusiast site and has since been widely reported.

Anyone who writes that these are 'legitimate activations' or 'free activation keys' needs to go back to Software Piracy 101.

Here’s the whole story.

As a promotion, beginning with the General Availability of Windows 8 on October 25, 2012, Microsoft is allowing anyone with a copy of Windows 8 Pro to install the Windows Media Center Pack for free. The offer ends on January 31, 2013, and on February 1, the Media Center add-in will be a $9.99 update.

To get a free Media Center update, all you have to do is visit this online form and enter your email address. You’ll get a license key for free. On a PC running Windows 8 Pro, you can enter that license key and unlock the Media Center features, including the ability to play back DVDs.

If you enter this key on a PC running Windows 8 Pro, you get exactly the effect you were expecting. You’re entitled to the upgrade; enjoy it in good health.

If you enter this key on a new PC running the Core edition of Windows 8 (not Pro), you get an error message:

"This key won't work." So where’s my free copy of Windows 8 Pro?

If you want that, you need to step far outside of normal retail channels and start hanging with actual software pirates.

Those jolly pirates (most of them enthusiasts who play the piracy game for sport) have figured out that they can use product keys intended for use by Volume License customers and then activate those keys using a Key Management Service (KMS) server. Several semi-underground Windows-oriented websites have published details on how to find 'open' KMS servers on the Internet.

Normally, a PC that is activated using a KMS key has to check in with the KMS server every week and renew its license every 180 days. But if you have already installed a pirated copy of Windows 8 Pro and used an unauthorized KMS server to activate it, you can use the free Media Center Pack product key to "add features" to your installation. When you do that, the license information stored on your PC is replaced with new details that use the new product key. The result is that your system appears to have a legitimate Windows 8 Pro license.

Let me repeat the key part of that sentence: If you have already installed a pirated copy of Windows 8 Pro and used an unauthorized KMS server to activate it…

In order to take advantage of this loophole, you need to have acquired a volume license product key from an unauthorized source, downloaded the VL installer files from a pirate site (or tampered with legitimate installer files for Windows 8 so they appear to be Volume License media), and then deliberately activated the resulting installation using a server you’re not authorized to use.

You are not going to do any of those things by accident.

In other words, the only people doing this are already confirmed pirates. And the resulting installation, although it is indeed properly activated, does not have a valid license. Go ahead, try doing this on 25 PCs at your business and see what happens when you’re audited.

This is all part of the cat-and-mouse game that has been going on between Microsoft and pirates for … well, forever.

At the beginning of the Windows 7 era, I looked at similar tactics that pirates were using to similarly hack their way into Windows installations that look legitimate but aren’t. (See, Confessions of a reluctant Windows pirate.) Many of the techniques that I documented at that time have since been blocked or disabled. This is just the latest attempt.

Meanwhile, if you’re that determined to get a Windows 8 update cheap, why not just pay the $40 and get a perfectly legal copy?

Microsoft declined an opportunity to comment on this story.

Source : zdnet

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New malware variant recognizes Windows 8, uses Google Docs as a proxy to phone home

Windows 8 may block most malware out of the box, but there is still malware out there that thwarts Microsoft’s latest and greatest. A new Trojan variant, detected as Backdoor.Makadocs and spread via RTF and Microsoft Word document marked as Trojan.Dropper, has been discovered that not only adds a clause to target Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, but also uses Google Docs as a proxy server to phone home to its Command & Control (C&C) server.

Symantec believes the threat has been updated by the malware author to include the Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 references, but doesn’t do anything specific for them (yet). This is no surprise: the two operating systems were released less than a month ago but of course they are already popular, and cybercriminals are acting fast.

Yet the more interesting part is the Google Docs addition. Backdoor.Makadocs gathers information from the compromised computer (such as host name and OS type) and then receives and executes commands from a C&C server to do further damage.

In order to do so, the malware authors have decided to leverage Google Docs to ensure crystal clear communications. As Google Docs becomes more and more popular, and as businesses continue to accept it and allow the service through their firewalls, this method is a clever move.

The reason this works is because Google Docs includes a “viewer” function that retrieves resources of another URL and displays it, allowing the user to view a variety of file types in the browser. In violation of Google’s policies, Backdoor.Makadocs uses this function to access its C&C server, likely in the hopes of preventing the link to the C&C from being discovered since Google Docs encrypts its connection over HTTPS.

Symantec says “It is possible for Google to prevent this connection by using a firewall.” Since the document does not leverage vulnerabilities to function (it relies on social engineering tactics instead) it’s unlikely Google will be able to do much beyond participating in a game of cat and mouse with the malware authors.

Nevertheless, we have contacted Google and Microsoft about this issue. We will update this article if and when we hear back.

Update at 4:30PM EST: “Using any Google product to conduct this kind of activity is a violation of our product policies,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “We investigate and take action when we become aware of abuse.”

Image credit: Flavio Takemoto
Source: thenextweb.com

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Top 10 Secret Features in Windows 8

Windows 8 is full of awesome features and handy shortcuts, but what you may not know is that it's got a lot of handy, lesser-known settings under the hood. Here are 10 of Windows 8's best kept secrets.

10. Run Automatic Maintenance on a Schedule

Windows 8 has a new feature that runs automatic maintenance tasks like software updates, security scanning, and other diagnostic tests daily. By default, it runs them at 3AM, of if you're using your computer, the next time your computer becomes idle. You can change this time in the Action Center, as well as tell Windows whether you want to wake your computer up to perform these tasks. You can also perform the maintenance manually from the Action Center, if you desire.

9. Customize the Apps in the Search Bar

When you start searching from the Start screen, you'll see a list of apps under the search bar. Click on one of them, and you'll search those same terms in that specific app. What you may not know is that you can tweak this list, removing and adding apps through Windows 8's settings. Bring up the Charms bar (with Win+C), click Settings, and go down to "Change PC Settings." From there, choose Search from the left sidebar, and turn off the apps you don't want taking up space in this menu.

8. Enable the Hidden "Aero Lite" Theme

When Windows 8 was in the testing phases, it had an additional "Aero Lite" theme that took away some of the transparent glass features of Windows Aero. However, the final version of Windows 8 opted for a much more basic theme than the testing builds, so Aero Lite no longer shows up—however, you can still find it in the Themes folder on your computer. With a few small tweaks, you can re-enable it in your Personalization preferences. It isn't too different from the default themes, but it does give a slightly different look to the title button bars and some other small parts of the OS.

7. Enable the Secret Start Screen Animation

When you first sign onto Windows 8, you get a very cool flow-y animation of all your tiles filling up the screen. After that, though, the Start screen has a much more toned-down animation. If you want to enable the cooler animation for every launch of the Start screen, you can do so with a simple Registry tweak. You can also customize certain settings for the animation too, which is pretty cool.

 

6. Customize More Icons in Windows Explorer

Remember in Windows 7, when you created a library, it had that ugly, nondescript icon? And you had to go through some complicated process to change it? Well, Windows 8 now lets you customize your Library icons right from its settings. Just right-click on the Library, go to Properties, and you should see the option to change the library's icon right at the bottom. Bonus tip: If Windows Explorer's Favorites icon is getting in your way in the sidebar, you can right-click on the sidebar to hide it (sadly, you can't do the same for Libraries, Homegroup, or other annoying icons).

5. Create and Name App Groups on the Start Screen

When you first open up the Start screen, you'll notice that some of your apps are in their own "groups." You can create your own groups just by dragging an app's tile to an empty space on the Start screen—it'll create its own group. If you want to name your groups—say, for "Work," "Games," and so on—you can do so by clicking the small button in the bottom-right corner of the screen and right-clicking on the groups.

 

4. Take Faster Screenshots

For a long time, Windows had an absurd screenshot shortcut in which you had to press Print Screen, then open up an app like Paint or the GIMP and paste in your screenshot from the clipboard. Well, no more! Now, if you press Win+Print Screen (or Win+Volume Down on a tablet), Windows will take a screenshot of your screen and automatically save it in your Pictures folder as a PNG file. It still isn't as powerful as something like Skitch, but if you only need the occasional screenshot, it's nice to see a simpler shortcut built in to the OS.

3. Tweak the Number of Rows on the Start Screen

By default, the Start screen fills your monitor up with as many rows of tiles as it can fit, up to 6 rows. If you'd like to lower that number—maybe you have a particularly cool background, or your groups just aren't that big—you can tweak this number by editing the Registry. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to let you pack more tiles onto smaller monitors, but it's a cool little tweak if you want to give your Start screen a more minimal look.

 

2. Hide Recent Files from Your Jump Lists

Jump Lists were a great addition in Windows 7 that helped boost your productivity, but their "Recent Items" feature were a possible privacy concern—say, if there were documents or files you didn't want others to know you had viewed. Windows 8 lets you customize Jump Lists more than Windows 7, giving you the option to hide recently opened items and recently opened programs. To access the preferences, just right-click on the Taskbar, go to Properties, and click the Jump Lists tab.

1. Get More Out of Your Multiple Monitors

If you have multiple monitors, you've probably noticed that Windows extends your taskbar across both screens. It does more than just that, though: you can press Win+PgUp to move your current app to your left monitor, and Win+PgDn to move it to the right monitor. In addition, if you go to the Desktop Background section of your Personalization settings, you can right-click on any individual wallpapers and choose which monitor you'd like it to show up on. Of course, if you like things the old way, you can also turn off the dual taskbar in Taskbar Properties.

Source: lifehacker.com

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Whispers are out that early sales of Windows 8 are far below Microsoft’s expectations

According to sources inside of Microsoft speaking directly to the well-connected Paul Thurrott, Windows 8′s early sales figures have disappointed, and are below the company’s forecasts.

Interestingly, again according to what Paul is hearing, Microsoft is fingering weak hardware as the cause of the halting launch for Windows 8. Perhaps.

It’s fair to say that OEM hardware for Windows 8 isn’t much better than what came out before.

Sure, it’s more tablet focused, but with Dell trying to sling a device so utterly ridiculous that it actually laughter inducing, you know that the substance we’re reviewing here isn’t exceptionally strong.

No:

Interestingly, this is the key narrative that Microsoft needs to avoid. If the story that surrounds Windows 8 is that its selling poorly, that minor prophecy could become self fulfilling. Forget borking, Windows 8 could get Vista’d.

Comparisons

The Vista-Windows 8 comparison isn’t exactly fair. As TNW’s own Emil Protalinksi noted in discussion, Windows 8 packs more changes than Vista did, and thus if the operating system manages to sell more than the older version of Windows, “then Microsoft has succeeded.”

As TNW has noted repeatedly, Microsoft has provided all but no guidance on the sales rate of Windows 8; the 4 million unit number in three days was utterly obfuscated and thus unusable. In short, we have no official work on how Windows 8 is selling.

Fact: If it was selling well, Microsoft would be bragging. Fact: It isn’t. Conclusion: Windows 8 isn’t selling that well. Support: What Paul said.

The extent of the miss is the only remaining question.

Given that Windows 8 is unlikely to sell buckets of licenses as upgrades to individuals, Windows 8 will therefore be distributed to consumers via sales of new PCs, which are unlikely to grow much in the next year. That said, Windows 8 will sell at least a few hundred million copies in its life-cycle.

Is there any need to fret, therefore, about Windows 8, given that it will sell truckloads of copies, simply due to the dynamics of the PC market? Yes, as consumers could reject the new Metro Start Screen, increasingly turn to Macs, or drop out of the PC market entirely if Windows 8 is found to be too unpalatable.

However, a slow start is not the same as the market spitting out the new code. Perhaps it just needs a bit more time to chew.

Dell Image Credit: Tom’s Hardware. Top Image Credit: BUILDWindows
Source: thenextweb.com

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Microsoft Windows Phone 8 guide: Are these improvements to a great OS enough?

Back in July 2010 I posted my extensive review of Windows Phone 7 Technical Preview and have been using Windows Phone devices every day since that time. Regular readers know I have grown into quite a fan of the platform, largely because it offers a unique experience and for the most part works well for ME. Windows Phone is also the most stabile mobile OS that I have used and that reliability counts for something.

Over two years have passed and we now see Microsoft starting over yet again with Windows Phone 8, but even though the core is different you will see that the look, feel, and performance is just about the same as it has been. That's not a bad thing if you have used Windows Phone and enjoy the "people-centric" experience, but so far the Windows Phone philosophy and UI hasn't seemed to attract the masses (they sit at about 3% market share) and I am not convinced this latest update is going to do much to change that. It is going to take wireless carriers, hardware manufacturers, and Microsoft's concerted efforts to get Windows Phone 8 devices into people's hands.

Although you will see that much of the look and feel of Windows Phone 8 is the same as Windows Phone 7 in my HTC Windows Phone 8X image gallery we see that hardware vendors are coming out with some new designs that are attractive and bold. You can check out my first impressions of the HTC Windows Phone 8X with a review of a Nokia Lumia device coming later this week. Samsung is also bringing the Ativ S to Windows Phone 8 by taking their popular Galaxy S III form factor and powering it with WP8. The hardware is now competitive with Android and iOS devices and we'll take a look at more of it this week, but for now let's take an in-depth look at the OS behind these new devices and see if you think it offers enough of a compelling experience for you to give it a try.

Quick history and current state of Windows Phone

Windows Phone launched at the end of 2010 and if you revisit reviews you will see that nearly every one of them gave Microsoft's new smartphone operating system high praise. I personally have four of five family members (I had five for a couple months) using and enjoying Windows Phone, primarily for the reason Microsoft gives for its compelling nature; it lets you focus more on the people in your life and those interactions rather than the spending all of your time interacting with apps and diving down into the OS. You may recall Microsoft had a commercial with the message that Windows Phone helps you spend less time with your phone. While I do think people should spend more time actually interacting with others in person, I don't think this message resonated with too many people. I understand the intent was to show that Windows Phone was a powerful personal assistant who was doing the work for you so you didn't have to, but it's going to take more to get people to try Windows Phone.

We never saw device sales reported after the release and over the last couple of years we saw studies and sales data from research firms and analysts show Windows Phone only grew to capture about 3% of the smartphone market share. The hardware was decent, but nothing amazing as most manufacturers took existing Android devices and slapped Windows Phone 7 inside. We saw Microsoft update devices to Windows Phone 7.5 that added things such as custom ringtones, threaded messaging, linked inboxes, groups, Twitter and LinkedIn integration, multitasking, Local Scout, and much more. Microsoft then stated that Windows Phone 8 was coming with a new shared core between Windows 8 and Windows RT. However, this meant that no existing devices were going to get updated and it appears that sales flatlined (looking at recent sales data from carriers) while loyal Windows Phone fans were a bit ticked, especially those that just purchased devices like the Nokia Lumia 900. Microsoft restarted with Windows Phone 7 and to then kill it off and restart again two years later with Windows Phone 8 may be a tough sell.

Nokia went all in with Windows Phone and NEEDS it to succeed to continue in the market. HTC's latest financial data is dismal, at best, and it now looks like they too need Windows Phone 8 to be a success to stay in business. Samsung is the only manufacturer to really excel in the Android market so they don't look to be making much of a play in the Windows Phone area. Thankfully, we see both HTC and Nokia actually launching with some pretty compelling products and I hope that consumers give them a try since Windows Phone MUST be experienced first hand to judge. I am not saying everyone will love it and switch, but you can't really judge it without trying it out.

Wide US carrier support has been tepid with AT&T being the primary Windows Phone advocate and T-Mobile providing some devices. Sprint and Verizon only ever offered a single device each and never seemed to care at all about Windows Phone. If Microsoft wants Windows Phone 8 to succeed they need to get at least the top four US carriers on board and supporting the platform. We have also seen a rather weak marketing strategy from Microsoft and they too need to promote the platform along with carriers and manufacturers. I do think the excitement around Windows 8 and Windows RT is going to help Windows Phone 8 since the UI across all three platforms is very similar and people may like the consistent UI.

What are the major new features in Windows Phone 8?

OK, so now let's get into Windows Phone 8 and see what Microsoft did to improve on Windows Phone 7/7.5. Keep in mind that some of these new features may also be manufacturer specific and I'll try to point that out.

• Shared Windows core: Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8 share core components that should give you a consistent experience, help developers write code once and use it on multiple platforms, and help hardware manufacturers get products to market faster.

• Advanced hardware support: Windows Phone 8 now supports multicore processors, three screen resolutions (800x480, 1280x768, and 1280x720), and removable storage.

• Revamped Start screen: You now have the ability to resize Live Tiles, see more interactive Live Tiles and Live Apps, display more information on your lock screen, and let you children use your phone safely in the Kid's Corner.

• People Hub improvements: You will now find Rooms along with Groups and the ability to use NFC to quickly add and share contacts.

• Photos Hub and Camera improvements: The camera software has been updated with a viewfinder, lenses, and integrated editing tools. You will also find the ability to store, sync, and share improved in Windows Phone 8.

• Music & Videos Hub improvements: Xbox Music is now fully supported and microSD support is provided for this hub. You can actually even connect to a Windows computer and browse internal and microSD card storage directly with the File Explorer now, which will please many people.

• Games Hub improvements: There is a new notifications panel, in-game purchase support, and Xbox SmartGlass support.

• Windows Phone Store: The Marketplace has been replaced with the Store with new ways to browse for apps, new payment options, cloud backup and reinstall support, and lots of developer improvements.

• Wallet: This new application lets you carry your phone as your wallet with support for storing debit, credit, loyalty, and membership card info, NFC payments (vendor system not yet in place while WP8 internals support it now), deals, and apps that integrate with Wallet.

• Office Hub and OneNote Mobile: You should find it easier to find documents in Office Hub while each of the apps has improvements as well. OneNote Mobile is now separate from Office Mobile on your Start screen with an option to share photos to OneNote, enter voice notes, and search your notes.

• Email and Messaging improvements: White or dark inbox view is now supported, you can send and reply to email via voice, more support for attachments in SMS/MMS are inside, and new emoticons appear in the Word Flow keyboard.

• Internet Explorer 10: IE 10 is onboard and adds features such as smart address bar, find on page, better touch optimization, and better speeds.

• Search: There is a cool new ability to swipe left and right from within Bing to see local events, local deals, movies that are in local theaters, and top headlines. Local Scout has also been updated and new search categories are present.

• Maps: Maps have been improved thanks in large part to the partnership with Nokia that include offline maps. Turn-by-turn voice guided directions are only present on smartphones that have partnerships in place and this is a good reason to pick up a Nokia Lumia if voice guided navigation is important to you.

• Cloud and over-the-air support: There is now the ability to backup and restore your phone to the cloud. We will also finally see OTA updates so a computer will no longer be required to get an updated device.

• Skype integration and improved Phone app: After downloading the free Skype app you will find Skype can be setup to keep you signed in and reachable even when the app is closed. Skype contacts are integrated into the People Hub and Skype Chat is fully functional.

  Start screen update

  The Start screen on Windows Phone is the first thing you see after unlocking your phone and is also where you will visit on a regular basis. One thing I really like about Windows Phone is that the Start screen is the ultimate in personalization and it seems highly unlikely that you will ever find any other Windows Phone that looks exactly like yours. This is in contrast to the iPhone where I have seen many people with the same home screen and some Android users with the same home screen, commonly the default. Even if every Windows Phone 8 buyer kept the default screen that launched on their phone, you would still see a completely unique Start screen because the dynamic nature of the Live Tiles mean that different people, different photos, and different status updates will appear because we all have different connections to people.

  Resize Live Tiles

  With Windows Phone 7/7.5 we were given Live Tiles in single wide and double wide format with the ability to simply drag and drop them around the display. In Windows Phone 8 we now have the ability to resize Live Tile in a 1x1 (small), 2x2 (old single wide and new medium), or 2x4 (old double wide and new large) form factor. Developers must provides support for small and medium Live Tile size while large is optional. If you go down to 1x1 then you can fit four of them in a 2x2 block. While this is a subtle change, it is HUGE for the way I use my Windows Phone as I can now have a 2x2 tile that has 1x1 small tiles of my four immediate family members rather than having a single family Group. There is also a cool new Rooms feature I will cover later in this article.

  Lock screen improvements

  The lock screen has always been a place where you could quickly see the date, time, upcoming events, and any notifications. Microsoft improved it with features such as more background options, detailed app status, and custom notification settings. I love that you can now select the Bing image of the day to appear each day on your lock screen since I really enjoy the images and like a lock screen that changes. By default, and with Windows Phone 7/7.5, we saw the next calendar appointment on the lock screen. You can now choose to have a detailed status update for calendar, Facebook, selected email inbox, messaging, or phone with the ability to always toggle this off. You can view quick status at the bottom for up to five apps, including Facebook, Games, selected email inbox, messaging, and phone.

  Kid's Corner

  I am wondering if Microsoft's marketing folks talked with parents because as a parent of three daughters I don't think kids associate the word "corner" with a good place to go. Maybe something like Kid's Zone (popular play places) or the Playground would have been a better choice for this functionality. I like the idea behind Kid's Corner and have seen lots of people handing over their smartphones to let kids play games or watch videos, but I am not sure how it will resonate with the market. According to Microsoft, 66 percent of parents allow their kids to use their phones for games, music, videos, and more. I think it is again one of those things you need to try out and live with to appreciate.

  Within the Settings you can turn on Kid's Corner and are then walked through a wizard where you can choose from your installed games, music, videos, and apps. You select the things you wish to share with your child and then enable the functionality. By default, Microsoft locks out communications apps such as email, phone, xxx so that your child doesn't make calls to Japan or send spam texts while they are using their phone. The software prompts you to enter a password for your phone so that your child doesn't get into your stuff and for security purposes that's always a good idea anyway.

  After setup the next time your display times out you will see you have to enter your security code to get into your phone (you may already have seen this previously if you setup security). To get to the Kid's Corner your child simply swipes from right to left to see their customized lock screen and then swipes up to get into the Kid's Corner. Here they will see album art for the selected music along with shortcut icons for the games and apps they have been given access to. In the upper left they will also find the Customize tile where they can customize the lock screen image and accent color of the Kid's Corner. You child can also tap and hold on the tiles and then resize them to 1x1 or 2x2 size and then drag and drop them around the Start screen. They cannot uninstall apps and games or remove content from within the Kid's Corner. If you have multiple children that want to customize the Kid's Corner you will have to work that out with them since there is only support for one "profile" in Kid's Corner.

  People Hub

  The People Hub has always been a great place to view the latest updates from your friends and quickly contact them via various forms of communication. In Windows Phone 8 Microsoft added a new panel called Together that gives you access to your Groups and Rooms. Groups was updated to support syncing to your Microsoft account so you will now see these Groups in your People list on Hotmail or Outlook.com.

  How is Rooms different than Groups?

  Rooms is a new feature of Windows Phone 8 that extends the idea of Groups beyond simple group communication. With Rooms you still have the ability to communicate, but within a private room chat space so that only Room members see communications and every one in the Room see messages and replies. The Room has a shared calendar that is synced to everyone's phones. A room photo album allows you to share photos within the room rather than out on your social network site where everyone can see them. You can also share notes via OneNote so a family grocery list can be manage by all. Only the person who creates the Room can invite or remove people from the Room.

  Room invites are sent via SMS and if you have a Windows Phone 8 device then the Room will be setup after you tap on the link and accept the invite. Microsoft also designed Rooms to work outside of the Windows Phone 8 platform so iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7/7.5 users can follow the invite to a webpage that explains how to setup the shared calendar while messages within the group will be supplied via Live Messenger. Accepting an invite to the group helps you connect with the creator via Live Messenger.

  Photos Hub and Camera

  I always loved the ability to jump right in and take a photo with my Windows Phone by simply pressing and holding the camera button. Other operating systems have since tried to make it easier to take photos as well, but the simply press and hold of the button is still one of the easiest. Microsoft improved the viewfinder experience in Windows Phone 8 with the ability to zoom via pinch and stretch, easy flash toggle, and ability to switch to a different Lens. One Lens included by default is Bing Vision so from within the camera application you can jump to scanning QR or barcodes in Bing Vision. 3rd party developers can provide other lenses as well, and as of the time of writing this article the only other available is one from CNN.

  The auto-fix editing feature was nice in Windows Phone 7.5 and now Microsoft has added crop and rotate options. There are plenty of sharing options available too, including via NFC and Bluetooth.

  Music & Videos

  I already wrote about my excitement in finally finding the ultimate music service in Xbox Music and am glad I will soon have a phone that supports all the features. One feature of Windows Phone 8 that I did not know about is the "buzz" panel. When viewing an artist in Xbox Music Store or in your collection you can see Twitter feeds, images, and news feeds for that artist. Playlists are also now cloud-enabled so you can sync them across multiple devices, including Windows 8 and your Xbox 360.

  Games

  Microsoft continues to integrate the Xbox experience into Windows Phone 8 with features such as SmartGlass that turns your WP8 device into a remote for your Xbox 360. It is a fun companion too so when you are watching content you can view info on your phone about the cast and crew. In-game purchases are supported on WP8 so we may see more freemium games come to the platform. Unfortunately, I still cannot see my Han Solo outfit on my avatar on my Windows Phone :(

  Windows Phone Store

  The Windows Phone Marketplace has been renamed to the WP Store and along with that comes a few tweaks to help make discovery a bit better. This is important with over 100,000 apps in the Store now too. There is a new discover panel with tiles for the following:
  
  
• Top free

• New + Rising

• Top paid

• Best-rated

• Collections

• Picks

Wallet

The new Wallet hub lets you store your debit, credit, PayPal, reward, and loyalty cards and information in one location and eventually will let you tap and pay for transactions with your phone. You can use cards stored in your Wallet for app purchases. You can manually enter data if it doesn't fit into one of the categories, an MVP flyer card, or other secure data. You can setup a PIN just for Wallet, on top of the PIN you have for your device itself. I really want to see support for things such as movie theater reward cards, Starbucks, and other venues where I can save space in my physical wallet. Apple is competing well with Passbook and I think there is the potential for Microsoft to do even better with Wallet.

The deals panel looks helpful and so far I have seen deals from LivingSocial, Yelp, and MSN. I want to see Groupon and Amazon Local added since those are services I actually do use quite a bit.

Office and OneNote Mobile

Having a native Office app on Windows Phone has always been something that set Windows Phone apart from others and Microsoft took some time in WP8 to clean up the experience and accessibility. OneNote was pulled out of the Office Hub, which makes sense since I tend to see people using OneNote that don't really care to use Office on their phone and to use OneNote as a daily app I think it helps to get out from the Office Hub. Now that I have a Windows RT tablet too I imagine the easy sync of the recent document list will become very handy and I will be using it more.

In addition to the updated user interface of Office Mobile you will find updates to Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. Office Mobile will actually now pick up right where you left things when you work with Word 2013 on a PC. This is fantastic and exactly the way cloud services like this should work. There is also a new full-screen reading mode. I use Excel Mobile more than the other two modules and we see the same syncing between last saved locations here with support for charts, smoother navigation, and improved cell selection.PowerPoint Mobile now lets you view slide decks in portrait or landscape mode. Editable speaker notes are also now available below the slide on one display.

In addition to OneNote Mobile moving out from the Office Hub we also see improvements like voice recording capture, ability to send photos capture right into OneNote, and the ability to quickly search through your notes.

Email and Messaging

Email has always been one of the best features of Windows Phone and with Windows Phone 8 Microsoft tweaked things to make email and messaging even better. One new change that should both help make battery life better and give you a look that matches your selected theme is dark mode for inbox. With Windows Phone 7/7.5 you only had a white background with black text and now you can switch that to a black background with white and themed color text. Another nice update is that you can pin individual email folders directly to the Start screen which can be very handy for folders of projects and other specific folders you have set up.

Email has always supported attachments, but you always had to go back to the email that contained the attachment to reopen the attachment. In Windows Phone 8 Microsoft places the downloaded attachments directly into the Office Hub after you download and open them. You can also access documents stored on SharePoint Server by tapping a link in an email. I have used voice-to-text in the past to listen to and respond to text messaging via a Bluetooth headset and now you can do the same thing within email.

You could always delete multiple email conversations and in WP8 you can also do the same for messaging threads. Messaging also gains support for sharing contacts, videos, voice notes, contact cards, and your location. Emoticons are also now provided within the Word Flow Keyboard found in Messaging.

Internet Explorer 10

Given the good applications on Windows Phone I don't spend a ton of time browsing the web and was always satisfied with IE Mobile, which was based on IE9. Microsoft continues to improve their products and WP10 adds hardware accelerated graphics, a faster javascript engine, improved support for HTML5 and W3C web standards, protected mode, and tab isolation. You can also now share web pages through more ways, such as tap+send, Xbox, and social networks. Xbox selection opens up SmartGlass as the conduit. You can also receive links from other WP8 and Android users via NFC. I tested the ability to send and receive web pages with my Samsung Galaxy Note II and it worked fine.

Search

One of the main reasons I use Bing on my Windows Phone devices is to check out the cool daily photos, which is why I like that I can now use these as my default lock screen image. With the updated version of Bing you will see Voice has been removed from the bottom row of icons with the mic icon right up there within the search box, which makes a LOT more sense.

You can now swipe right and left from the main Bing panel and swipe through to see local movies, local videos, headlines, local deals, and local events. I like the use of panorama mode here within Bing. A new search category was added, shopping, while images was changed to media to support both images and videos. The Quick Cards relevant information from your search results has been updated to include places, products, movies, events, news, deal, and videos. These Quick Cards can also show likes from friends that appear in a "buzz" panel, similar to the buzz panel found in Music.

Maps

Maps is now powered by Nokia map technology and along with this new backed comes support for offline maps that is included with all Windows Phone 8 devices. You will NOT get turn-by-turn voice navigation by default as that is tied to manufacturer deals. Nokia Lumia devices will include this. Traffic has been improved so that more secondary streets and coverage of 26 new countries is supported.

Skype

Microsoft now owns Skype so support for this VoIP service is prominent in Windows Phone 8. Unfortunately, I was unable to download and test it out on my pre-release device so can only tell you a bit about what is planned for this service. VoIP services like Skype, Tango, and Qik can now be integrated into your phone dialer, contact list, and more. Skype supports video and voice calls with instant messaging and now runs in the background if you are using other apps so it truly can be used as your preferred phone service if you desire. Pieces of Skype can be shown in Live Tiles and on your lock screen too.

Other Windows Phone 8 improvements

While there are many major improvements in Windows Phone 8, like other mobile operating system updates, there are also a ton of things that get updated behind the scenes and aren't necessarily headliners. In Windows Phone 8 we see the following additional improvements:

• Screenshots!: I put this addition down here since I doubt many readers care much about this capability, but everyone who writes about Windows Phone can finally test apps and create reviews with real screenshots that look great rather than crappy photos of the screen we have had to post over the last two years. To capture a screenshot you press the start button and power button at the same time.
• Multitasking improved: Apps are paused when you switch to another app with some, such as navigation and VoIP apps, executing in the background. Windows Phone 8 improves on the multitasking experience while minimizing impact on your phone's performance and battery life. Apps do need to be updated to at least WP 7.5 compliance or even WP8 for full support of multitasking.
• Word Flow keyboard: The software keyboard has been improved with things such as emoticons for texting and chatting, improved word prediction, and custom dictionary support. You will also find the amazing ability we saw in later Windows Mobile devices where words are actually predicted BEFORE you even type a letter. For example, if you are writing a quick note to someone and enter "happy" you may see the next word appear as "birthday" before you even enter it. I used to be able to type full sentences in Windows Mobile by entering just a few letters.
• Deeper Voice capability: The voice support in Windows Phone 7.5 is great and I have had text conversations back and forth while mowing the lawn without ever touching my phone or Bluetooth headset. In Windows Phone 8 Microsoft takes that deeper, if developers take advantage of the capability. For example, if Amazon updates the Kindle app there is the potential to say, "Open Kindle Game of Thrones", to then have the app open up and then that book within the app open up.
• Updated and new Settings: You will find a few new Settings in Windows Phone 8, including cloud backup, tap+send, Kid's Corner, and company apps. Within the Settings you will also find things such as microSD card storage support, more lock screen settings, and Wallet settings.

As you can see, Windows Phone 8 may appear visually as a minor update, but there are lots of fairly significant improvements that make a great OS even better.

Summary thoughts

I have a Nokia Lumia 900 with Windows Phone 7.5 that I use every day and it is still a functional device that does nearly everything I need. Windows Phone 8 improves on that experience in many ways so there is no reason I will not buy a new WP8 device. Microsoft is providing a different user experience than what people see on iOS (app shortcut driven) and Android (widgets and customization) and I think it appeals to the new smartphone buyer. I think most people using iOS or Android are well integrated with those ecosystems and are unlikely to switch for Windows Phone 8. However, with the core of Windows 8 being the same and the UI familiar we may see more people finally giving Windows Phone 8 a chance. I find myself moving more and more into the Windows ecosystem with Xbox Music and Skydrive while also really enjoying my new Microsoft Surface experience.

Source : zdnet

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