On supported hardware, Windows 8 can boot really, really quickly. That’s because Microsoft has changed the way the boot process works and designed it to take advantage of systems that use UEFI instead of a BIOS. The long and short of it is that a Windows 8 computer may be able to go from zero to fully operational in under…
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Microsoft plans to make at least one more pre-release version of Windows 8 available before the company’s next operating system goes on sale later this year. And in advance of the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview launch, Microsoft has updated some of the core Windows 8 apps. There are new versions of several apps in the Windows Store, including: Mail,…
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You know how when you buy a new PC it usually comes not just with the latest version of Microsoft Windows, but also umpteen different apps and special offers cluttering the desktop? There’s a decent chance you don’t actually want or need most of those programs — and they may even be slowing down your PC. That’s why Microsoft has…
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Google Drive is cool and all, what with the 5GB of online storage users get for free. But Microsoft offers 7GB of free storage with Windows Live SkyDrive (or up to 25GB for some users). Now there’s an easy way to access your SkyDrive account from an Android device. Microsoft offers official SkyDrive apps for Windows Phone and iOS, but…
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Microsoft is set to launch Windows 8 this fall. That may be good news or bad, depending on what you think about the new Metro user interface, Windows Store, and Windows RT for tablets and other computers with ARM-based processors. But since most PCs sold later this year will ship with Windows 8, you may wonder whether it’s a good…
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Microsoft has already made it clear that Windows 8 will function differently on devices with ARM and x86 processors. In fact, things will be so different that the company is giving the version of the upcoming operating system designed for ARM-based tablets and other devices a different name: Windows RT. While Windows 8 and Windows RT will look a lot…
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Barnes & Noble has announced it’s creating a new subsidiary which will house the company’s digital and college businesses. That means that the NOOK eReaders and tablets and digital book divisions won’t be under the same roof as B&N’s nearly 700 book stores in the US — but NOOK eReaders will still be tied to the company’s retail stores. In…
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There will be at least four versions of Windows 8 when Microsoft releases its next operating system later this year. Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro are the consumer versions of the operating system, while Windows RT will be available preloaded on some ARM-based tablets and other devices. Windows 8 Enterprise is the company’s new tool for business customers. It…
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Microsoft is expected to release Windows 8 in the second half the year. We’ve heard a lot about the new features including a new Metro-style touch-friendly user interface, support for ARM-based chips, and a new Windows Store for apps. Now Microsoft has also unveiled that Windows 8 will come in four different versions: Windows 8 Windows 8 Pro Windows 8…
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The Apple iPad may squeeze a 2048 x 1536 pixel display into a 9.7 inch display, but most Windows laptops with 15.6 inch or smaller screens have 1366 x 768 pixels. In fact, good luck finding a desktop PC monitor with a higher resolution than 1920 x 1080. But it looks like that could change with Windows 8. Microsoft programmer…
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Last month Microsoft released a Consumer Preview of Windows 8 allowing anyone to download and try out an early version of the company’s next-generation operating system. Now Bloomberg reports that the real thing could be here as soon as October. Windows 8 is the first operating system from Microsoft designed to run on computers with x86 or ARM-based processors while…
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While it’s nice to imagine what Windows 8 would look like on a tablet like the HP TouchPad, the truth is that you probably won’t be able to install Microsoft’s upcoming operating system on any existing tablets with ARM-based processors. Microsoft has no plans to sell an installable version of Windows on ARM directly to consumers. Instead, if you want…
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