Time to upgrade to Windows 8?

Microsoft recently unveiled Windows 8, the latest iteration of the world's most-used operating system. It's very different from desktop OSes as we know them: It's touch-friendly, and suitable for a new range of tablet PCs. The free-to-try Consumer Preview has given us a taste of what to expect from the retail version. Here's what to consider if you're thinking of upgrading your PC to Windows 8.

• Current OS: If you have an older OS like Windows Vista orXP, the upgrade might be worth it. XP users should consider that their OS will find it hard to keep up with the latest technologies. Vista users will see the value of the speed boost in everything Windows 8 — from boot-up time to running applications. Windows 7 users might do better sticking with their trusty OS; they'll derive the least advantage from an upgrade.
• Current hardware: Windows 8 has the same hardware requirements as Windows 7. If your PC runs Windows 7 well, you shouldn't have a problem upgrading. It's also very likely that all your current hardware will be compatible, and you won't need to install new drivers. But do check for the compatibility and availability of Windows 8 drivers for your hardware from the manufacturer's website before upgrading.
• Apps: If you use your smartphone more for the apps than for phone calls, Windows 8 will be appealing. Apps add functionality to the OS, just like programs do on a desktop or laptop. The difference here is that you can install them from a single Windows Store, rather than having to hunt for them all over the Net. Also, smartphone apps take advantage of the new UI, and will be better integrated with the OS. Windows Store is still lacking when it comes to sheer number of apps, and may not appear attractive right now. But with Windows 8 having been launched, we can expect a surge of apps over the coming few months.
• Modern UI: This will appeal more to smartphone users, more so to owners of Windows Phone devices. The tile-based UI is new to desktop computers, and actually makes sense if you happen to have a touchscreen. For a desktop user who wants to upgrade, the Modern UI will not be much use. It might actually be an irritant, because you will most likely switch to desktop mode immediately after logging in. After that, the UI is just like one element added to your familiar desktop OS.
• Learning curve: Apart from Modern UI, Windows 8 is very similar to earlier versions. You'll take some time to get used to Windows 8 only if you will use Modern UI — and that, because it's visual, is easier to master than a traditional desktop interface.
• Cloud integration: Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud service is tightly integrated with Windows 8. Almost every application installed on the OS takes advantage of SkyDrive. Its availability from other platforms (such as Windows Phone) allows files shared from one platform to be accessed from another, which makes it even more versatile.
• Version of Windows 8: Windows 8 Pro, aimed at power users, is the only version currently available. It will have some features (Remote Desktop server, Encrypting File System, Hyper-V, and Virtual Hard Disk Booting) which may not really be of use to a home user; these will be omitted in the basic version. However, the basic version — known simply as Windows 8 — will be available only next year. Windows RT is yet another version; it will only come pre-installed on ARM-based devices (such as tablet PCs).
• Upgrade pricing: The upgrade offer from Microsoft is enticing. You pay just Rs 700 if you bought (or will buy) a Windows 7 PC between 2nd June 2012 and 31st January 2013. If you have an older version of Windows, you pay Rs 2000 to upgrade. Considering that the retail version will cost more than Rs 11,000, this is a good time to upgrade!

Will you be upgrading to Windows 8?  Let us know!

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Microsoft Launches Windows 8 In India

Microsoft has launched Windows 8 in India. The OS works on desktops, but is optimised for touchscreen tablets. Its new tile-based interface, known as the Modern UI, takes a design cue from the Windows Phone operating system. Retail pricing is yet to be announced, but upgrade pricing have been revealed.

The OS is available in two variants: Windows 8, the plain version that lacks features such as encryption and Windows-To-Go (it runs right off a USB drive), and Windows 8 Pro, the full-ledged variant. Hardware requirements are the same as those for the Consumer Preview version that was launched a few months ago:

• 1 GHz CPU.
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit).
• 16 GB hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit).
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher.
• Display device with pixel dimensions of 1024x768 for Modern UI.

All major computer makers will start shipping PCs, laptops, and tablets with Windows 8 preinstalled. Existing Windows users have different upgrade offers to choose from. If you bought a computer with Windows 7 (the Starter Edition is ineligible for this offer) between 2nd June 2012, and 31st January, 2013, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for Rs 700 on or before 28th February, 2013. Otherwise, if you have a PC with Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7, you can upgrade to the new OS for Rs 2000 (before that date). Please note that this offer is valid only if you downloaded the installation disk image from the Microsoft website after purchase. If you cannot download it, you can order a DVD for Rs 4000.

Retail pricing of the full product for first-time buyers has not yet been revealed.

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What you need to know about Windows Phone 8

Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform has been one of the highlights of this year and we got a peek into the Windows 8 operating system for PC, tablet, hybrid and phone. The software giant made its entry into the mobile world a little late and earlier versions of its Windows Phone OS didn’t impress much. There were several reasons why the earlier versions including Windows Phone 7 failed. While Android and iOS dished out massive improvements, Windows Phone 7 had a poor hardware and software support that was limited to single core processor, screen resolution that expanded only up to 480 x 800 and limited SD card support. But, Windows Phone 8 is back with a vengeance as Microsoft has left no stone unturned to impress the masses and critics. If you plan to switch to WP8 phone, then here’s what you need to know about it. 

Start Screen

• The Windows Phone 8 device will greet you with an all-new homescreen that is more personal and customisable. The highly acclaimed tile-style UI gets livelier and the tiles can be controlled to display only those things that matter the most, while other content can take a backseat.
• You don’t just control what to display but also how your tile looks. Live tiles get more flexible with three different sizes (small, medium and large), themes and multiple colours. The medium tile is the same size of the square in WP7, the small tile is one quarter of that size and the large one is two times the medium tile. So you can adjust the tile as per your need.
• Microsoft also adds new, higher resolution screen support – 1280 x 768 and 1280 x 720 – to spruce up your viewing experience.

Live, resizable, colourful tile-style UI

Hardware

• Windows Phone 8 supports new hardware, which brings in support for multiple cores and higher screen resolution. Talking about smartphones, dual cores are almost becoming a norm while quad core smartphones have been on a rise. The lack of such support was one of the major reasons why WP7 didn’t take off that well. Unlike WP7, Windows Phone 8 won't just support multi-core processors; Microsoft has left no stone unturned by making it future ready to support 64 cores.
• Microsoft partnered with Qualcomm to provide SoCs for initial Windows Phone handsets from harware partners. It used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Plus SoCs, the actual chipset is said to be MSM8960, which packs in two Krait-based CPU cores running anywhere between 1.5GHz and 1.7GHz. However, Microsoft doesn’t restrict it to only Qualcomm anymore.
• The new hardware supports NFC for mobile payments. Moreover, there’s a feature called Tap + Send especially crafted to take advantage of Windows Phone 8's NFC hardware support; it is similar to the Android bean, which allows transfers by simply holding both the devices against each other.
• The new Windows 8 kernel fends off the SD card limitations too. It brings full SD card support, which means you can remove the card to load and share data with others/other devices. 

App Ecosystem

• Windows marketplace isn’t as large as iOS and Android app markets, but Microsoft is trying really hard to improve its users’ app-ing experience. During the Windows Phone 8 announcement in June, Microsoft had revealed the official Audible app for audiobooks, official Chase and PayPal in works and had spoken about a list of popular apps that are in preps for Windows Phone 8 such as Asphalt 7: Heat, Zynga’s Words with Friends and Draw Something.
• Microsoft has renamed its marketplace to Windows Phone Store. The company has also overhauled search and now it comes with smarter recommendations.
• The kernel of the Windows Phone 8 is similar to Windows 8 that runs on desktops, laptops, hybrids or tablets. This will make app development simpler. However, this doesn’t mean that the same apps work “cross platform”, and there is no common app store.
• Windows Phone 8 users will be able to stream, purchase and subscribe to Xbox music. This new competitor to iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Spotify and likewise will let users access and stream their music anywhere and anytime for $10, which is approximately Rs. 52 per month. Though there is no Indian announcement yet, considering Zune Pass had been launched for India, it could be launched for Indian users later.
• Microsoft has taken care to keep critics at bay by ditching its own maps for Windows Phone 8 and opting for Nokia Maps. Nokia Maps offers better experience and Nokia Lumia users can obviously reap some more benefits with some exclusive features added just for them. A recent leaked Nokia video shows Instagram icon for Windows Phone and reportedly Instagram for Windows Phone will be made available by the end of the year.

For your IT needs

Business Features

• Microsoft is bringing the new and improved Internet Explorer 10 to Windows Phone 8 users. The same web browser will come with Windows 8 tablets and PC. The new IE is speedy with faster JavaScript performance and full HTML 5 support. It will also offer a much secure environment with advanced anti-phishing features like SmartScreen Filter to block dangerous websites and malware.
• With Windows Phone 8, Microsoft plans for a workplace experience with more features that companies and IT departments require. For businesses and enterprises, it will come with built-in on-device encryption technology. It will encrypt the entire device, including the operating system and the data files, so that your documents and passwords are kept safe.
• Microsoft will also add support for device management, internal line-of-business software and apparently a private marketplace for application distribution in the enterprise.
• Windows Phone 8 provides additional support for security features to help prevent unauthorised firmware, operating systems or UEFI drivers from running at boot time. It provides improved app “sandboxing,” so the phone is better protected from malware with multiple layers of security.

Upgrading to Windows Phone 8

As we have seen, Windows Phone 8 works on new hardware support and is a complete generation shift, so obviously if you are using earlier versions of Windows Phone, you cannot upgrade to Windows Phone 8. The only way out is to buy a brand new Windows Phone 8 device, which is a major drawback for existing users. To keep its existing Windows Phone users happy, Microsoft has tweaked in a new version that will give them the Windows Phone 8 start screen; it’s called Windows Phone 7.8.

 
Cloud

If you love hoarding data, then SkyDrive will come to the rescue. You can store all those photos, videos and essential data online with Microsoft's SkyDrive integrated right into Windows Phone 8

The Wallet

Miscellaneous Features

• Microsoft will be including a lens app that will give your photos Instagram-like style with various filters. You can use the panoramic lens to stitch together lots of single images into one large image.
• The new Bing Vision included is programmed to function a lot like Google Goggles. Users just have to photograph an object and Bing will search and identify it.
• Windows Phone 8 will also bring the ability to capture screenshots.
• Google has NFC and Apple has Passbook, Microsoft adds both. Along with NFC, it will feature a new digital Wallet feature to store your debit and credit cards, coupons, boarding passes and other important info right at your fingertips.
• Windows Phone 8 is said to support around 50 languages and up to 180 countries.
• Windows Phone 8 users will get OTA updates and won’t have to update their phone by connecting it to the PC.

Windows Phone 8 handsets
Firstly, Nokia is not Microsoft’s premium launch partner for Windows Phone 8. We will be seeing Windows Phone 8 devices from several manufacturers. Samsung showed off its Ativ-S WP8-enabled phone at IFA whereas HTC’s 8X and 8S can be called devices offering “purest experience” of Windows Phone 8, almost like equivalents of Android-based Nexus. The HTC 8X is already available for pre-order on Best Buy. Microsoft is also said to officially launch the Windows Phone 8 experience for users across the world on October 29 in a press conference in San Francisco. Slowly, several manufacturers will start unveiling their WP8 devices. A lot is at stake for Microsoft as it attempts to bounce back into the mobile world; let's see if Windows Phone 8 helps it take off.

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Download: Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery 5 (Mac, Windows)

With every personal computing device — be it a digital camera, tablet, or a mobile phone — these days features a snapper to let you capture memories at any time. Digital photographs being data store on any device's storage memory is prone to accidental deletion or data corruption. While there are several data recover tools, the ones that work well are usually quite expensive. If you are looking for something specifically to recover photos, utilities such as Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery can come to your rescue.

As compared to the previous iteration of the software, version 5 sports a better interface, but covers similar features with support for more camera formats and mass storage devices. A major turn-off on when using product is that it continues to suffer from certain issues as observed in the older version — it could do with a few more options to tweak searches and a better way to track the recovery progress. A few menu options, and a little more clarity with instructions on the UI would have been useful. While the applictaion is free to download, you need to purchase the registration key for recovering your data. On the plus side though, the software seems light on system resources. Although adding audio and video recovery is a nice touch, it seems a bit too high-priced, just toss in a few hundreds more and you can get a better recovery tool such as R-STUDIO, or even the free-to-use PC Inspector tool.

Developer: Stellar Information Systems Limited
Version: 0.9
Size: 4.2 MB
Platform: MAC, Windows
Price: $39 (approx. Rs 2050)
Download: www.stellarphotorecoverysoftware.com/download.php

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Windows 8 Modern UI: The root of all evil

 Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned for its big launch in October. For the first time in almost a decade, the Windows Operating System will receive a major overhaul and while that may sound like a good thing, not every aspect of it is really beneficial to the average PC user. In order to stay relevant in this app crazy world, Microsoft is finally adding a touch-friendly interface for devices like phones and tablets. It’s not like we’ve not had Windows-based tablets and slates in the past, it’s that the OS just wasn’t designed to work in that environment so naturally, they never really took off. The new addition to the desktop environment, now called Modern UI, is supposed to change that, but do we really need it on notebooks and desktops too? I can understand if a Windows 8 tablet tries to mimic a notebook, that still works, and the Surface is proof of that. But it does not work the other way around and it seems like companies either fail to realize this or are simply compelled to create such contraptions in order to stay in the race.

OEM’s like Dell, HP, Samsung, Acer and other big names, proudly showcased their upcoming products at the IFA 2012 consumer tech exhibition in Berlin. Some of them were just concepts while some will actually make it to production in the coming months and will be amongst the first Windows 8 notebooks, come October. The problem with all these notebooks however is just that - they are notebooks. So simply slapping a touchscreen on them in order to use Modern UI doesn’t make it a very practical solution. Imagine sitting with the notebook on your lap and reaching out with one arm to swipe across the screen. This is not ergonomic at all and you’ll soon develop fatigue. OEMs also showed off All-In-One PCs running Windows 8 with touchscreens, which again, just doesn’t work in the real world. Big wigs like Acer, HP and others also showcased touch-enabled versions of their current Ultrabooks. Acer’s M3 and V5 will be the new touch-based Ultrabooks that will soon hit the shelves. As if Ultrabooks weren’t expensive enough, expect to pay an even higher premium for them now. Dell finally has the platform to bring its concept back to life called the Duo 12. First seen at CES a couple of years back, this notebook has a feature where the entire screen can be rotated within the bezel, converting it into a tablet. While this seems like a good idea as you can use it as a slate by simply flipping the screen, you’ll still be dealing with the weight and dimensions of a notebook so you really wouldn’t be able to use it one-handed for too long. Samsung took the Asus Taichi route when they showed off their 13-inch Series 9 notebook, which had dual screens, one regular and another on the lid. This way, when the notebook is closed, you can use it as a tablet and when opened, it turns into a notebook, a clever solution but again not practical since you won’t be able to use desktop apps in Modern UI so you’ll have to open the lid to use it, rendering the outer screen useless.

Not the most practical solution

What bugs me more is that despite OEMs like Samsung and Asus having hybrid Windows 8 notebooks that resemble the Surface, why are they trying to tabletize regular notebooks as well? It would have been different if consumers didn't have a choice of hybrid PCs in which case, touch-enabled Ulrabooks would have made sense for those looking for the ‘complete’ Windows 8 experience. This is just going to cause more confusion to the end user as he/she now has a choice between a standard notebook with a touchscreen or a tablet PC that can double up as a notebook, all from the same brand.

While these designs may be innovative and something totally out of the box, it still feels like most of them have no choice but to create such wacky designs, just for the sake of highlighting Modern UI. It may look and function great on a tablet since that’s something that’s designed to be used with your finger, it just doesn’t work with a keyboard and mouse. It’s not like you can’t use it, but it’s highly inconvenient and I can say that since I have been using Windows 8 for a couple of months now and the only time I switch to the Modern UI is if I need to search for an application and that’s it. Another reason why it’s a pain is that you need special apps to run on Modern UI and as expected, there aren’t many a regular desktop user would use. You buy a notebook for the traditional Windows computing environment so I just don’t see these touch-based notebooks working out once they hit retail. Apart from the Modern UI, Windows 8 is essentially a tweaked Windows 7, without the start button. Also, Modern UI is only really useful on a touchscreen whereas on a regular desktop, it’s just an annoyance, more than anything else. It feels as if Microsoft is aware that traditional desktop users don’t have much of an incentive to upgrade to Windows 8, which is why it's probably pushing OEMs to come with solutions that highlight the use of Modern UI. What this is really doing is simply driving up the prices of notebooks and giving users features that look more like a gimmick than an actual solution that would impact your day to day work. If this was bad, it only gets worse for notebooks running Windows RT as you’ll only get to use Modern UI, thereby severely limiting your computing needs. These notebooks will be more akin to Chromebooks, thin and cheap(er) but won’t offer much in terms of serious computing.

As I see it, your Windows 8 experience will all boil down to three broad options. The first will be a regular notebook or Ultrabook that will have gesture support for Modern UI using the trackpad. This will be the cheapest route for OEMs as all they have to do is add these gestures to the trackpad so users can interact better with Modern UI rather than having to use the keyboard and mouse pointer. The second viable option is the hybrid PC route. Here, you’ll get the best Windows 8 experience thanks to the touchscreen and tablet-like form factor (eg. Surface) but you will have to compromise on screen size. These two will probably be the most successful Windows 8 experiences that users will actually consider adopting. The third route, which seemed to be a trend at IFA 2012, is simply adding a touchscreen to regular notebooks and Ultrabooks. I don’t see this solution working since not only are these going to be large and bulky to be used as tablets, they are going to be ridiculously expensive and will be nothing more than a tick mark in an OEM's portfolio.

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Download Magic Disc(Windows)

MagicDisc is a freeware utility that not only lets you create optical disc images, but also load and manage them. Storing physical CDs \ DVDs usually results in an unorganized mess — unless you manage them meticulously, which is a time-consuming task. MagicDisc can be used in such situations to create and store images of your CD \ DVD collection on your hard drive. The software's virtual drive utility lets you easily load the images thus created and access them much faster than is possible with physical discs.

One nice little touch that this programme has over other virtual drive tools is that you're not required to restart your computer after installing it. The freeware utility works with almost every version ofWindows starting from Win 98 — except for Windows 8, which has its own virtual drive emulator. It also supports a variety of drive image formats, such as BIN (CDRWin), IMA \ IMG (Generic disc images), CIF(Easy CD Creator), NRG (Nero - Burning ROM), IMG \ CCD (CloneCD), MDF \ MDS (Fantom CD), VCD(Farstone Virtual Drive), VaporCD (Noum Vapor CDROM), P01 \ MD1 \ XA (Gear), VC4 \ 000 (Virtual CD),VDI (Virtuo CD Manager), C2D (WinOnCD), BWI \ BWT (BlindWrite), CDI (DiscJuggler), TAO \ DAO(Duplicator), and PDI (Instant Copy). Finally, tutorials have been provided by the developers on how to mount and unmount images — it doesn't get any easier than this!
 

Developer: MagicISO Inc
Size: 1.3 MB
Price: Free
Platform: Windows
Download: www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-magicdisc-overview.htm

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Microsoft Office 2013: First impressions

 Microsoft Corp.'s CEO Steve Ballmer recently unveiled the customer preview of the new Microsoft Office, optimised for Windows 8 and touch-based devices like tablets. This release features an intuitive design that works beautifully either with touch, stylus, mouse or keyboard across new Windows devices. The new Office is social and unlocks modern scenarios in reading, note-taking, meetings and communications, and will be delivered to subscribers through a cloud service. We decided to give it a quick try and here are our initial impressions on the widely used applications that form Office 2013. 

SkyDrive syncing

Aesthetics and UI enhancements

Office 2013 is slick and buttery smooth. There hasn't been much change to the UI, with the same ribbons, options and enhancements still there, but there are a ton of new features that we have individually covered below. However, the overall aesthetics and user interface of this new version is simply beautiful – from the smooth refresh rate for the cursor and the lag-free, fluid scrolling to neat little subtle animations, everything feels buttery. The colour styles are well chosen, giving this new Office a very minimalistic yet professional look. Let’s have a look at the individual applications below. 

Word 2013

Images in Word now come with live layout and alignment. What this indicates is that if you add an image to your text and move it around the page, your text automatically aligns itself based on where the image is placed, in real time. You also have a simple mark-up view that provides you with a clean, uncomplicated view of your document, but you still see markers where changes and comments have been made. You can click on the vertical bar on the left side of the text to see the changes. Or click the comment icon on the right to check out comments about the text. The read mode has got a neat little trick – all images can be expanded from the read view itself, giving you a uniform read in a single window. 

Word 2013

Users can also add and play online videos inside their Word documents. You can also add pictures from Facebook, Flickr, and other online photo services without having to save them to your computer. Click Insert > Online Video to add a video to the document.

Image-only PDFs didn’t have as many editing options like we have seen with free online software, but PDFs with texts are now easy to edit and save. We’re not sure if this is a good thing, though; editing PDFs was always known to be a complicated process and this may just be an easy way out for those wanting to make changes in their PDF files. 

Excel 2013

Flash filling your data is now a part of Excel 2013. It’s really helpful for those working with insanely large numbers of spreadsheets with similar actions for particular rows and columns. For example, you start typing the first names of your email IDs which are in column 1 and the rest of the names are added automatically. Simple, yet saves a lot of time. 

Excel 2013

You can analyze data using live previews and Excel gives you a quick analytical chart in the column itself, showing you the differences between the different values. A recommended chart option in the Insert tab lets Excel recommend you charts based on the data you have entered. The look and feel of Excel may not be a complete overhaul from previous versions, but why fix something that’s not broken? With the new subtle animations and smooth transitions, the experience with Excel 2013 makes us like it even more. 

PowerPoint 2013

Presentations have always been all about brilliant slides and this new version comes with some brilliant presets to get you started. Layouts have been improved along with new features like merge shapes. The new Auto-Extend instantly applies the right settings for you, so you can focus on speaking instead of thinking about your display. A grid shows your slides at a glance – so you always know where you are and your audience only sees the slide you’re presenting. Collaboration with others is possible as you can simply share your presentation online and work together. Hitting Alt + F5 takes you to the Presenter View that lets you make notes, view slides while working on the main slide, letting you view multiple screens on one window itself. 

PowerPoint

Even if your audience doesn’t have PowerPoint, you can project to their browser with Present Online. There is a PowerPoint Web App as well for your online work sessions. 

OneNote 2013

In case you didn’t know this, OneNote lets you take notes and sync them to SkyDrive or share with anybody with a PC, phone or tablet. It’s like your personal diary that you can access from anywhere. OneNote 2013 looks a lot smoother than the previous version. You can add sections for activities like trips, recipes, shopping, to-do lists, etc. You can even add pages inside each section to differentiate between the tasks involved. It works pretty well and you can take clips from the web and paste them into your notebook. 

OneNote 2013

There's a OneNote app for mobile as well, so you can access notes on the go. The files are synchronised on SkyDrive so you can view and edit your notebooks that are on office.live.com. Also, if you are editing a note on your computer, you can view the changes being made on your phone and vice versa. 

Outlook 2013

Outlook 2013 lets you connect Outlook with Exchange ActiveSync. You can organise and control your e-mail flow and meeting schedules with new Outlook tools that help you pull it all together. A feature called Peeks lets you grab a quick glance at your schedule, an appointment, or details about someone you’re e-mailing — without having to re-arrange windows or lose your train of thought. The navigation bar gives you a quick option to open your e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks. With Social Connectors, you can get the latest updates automatically from people in the social networks you rely on most—LinkedIn, Facebook, and others.

Outlook 2013

The People Card lets you integrate multiple contacts into a single view while presenting social context and removing needless duplication. You can also make your calendar available for others to view so that scheduling meetings and responding to meeting invitations is easier and more convenient for everyone. In terms of usability though, it’s just that the experience has been more streamlined. The large icons for important stuff and the smooth animations all account for a smoother Outlook experience. 

This happened the first time

Well, that wraps up our first impressions of Office 2013. It may not be a complete overhaul in terms of looks but that’s a good thing. People already know how to use these applications and the overall experience is just better. The features covered here definitely do not make for an exhaustive list, but we like what we see.

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Use Windows 8 on your Android Tablet or iPad using Splashtop app

We have already entered in the third quarter of this year but still few months are left in release of awesome Windows 8 tablets from PC manufacturers all over the world.

And yes, we all are eager to hands on Windows 8 on a tablet device but currently in market we have only iPads or Android powered tablets to use. But here is the good news; an app called Win8 Metro Testbed developed by Splashtop let you access Windows 8 over the network on your iPad with the ability to use gestures, and so on. The Win8 Metro Testbed app for iPads is also available on the Apple iTunes Store for a price of $24.99 (approximately Rs. 1,300).

And for Android tablets, app is also called Win8 Metro Testbed and is available to download from the Google Play store. The app is not free and priced at Rs. 1,383, which makes it too costly, but worth paying to use Windows 8 on a tablet.

The app is most useful for developers who want to test their Metro UI apps on a tablet without having to wait for a Windows 8 Tablet. The setup requires you to install the app on your tablet and server software called the Splashtop Streamer software on your Windows 8 PC. After doing initial security verification, you should be able to access the Windows 8 Metro UI on the tablet.

One of the exclusive features of the app is the ability to perform Windows 8 gestures. The server software for the Windows 8 PC has very nominal requirements – a 1.6GHz processor, along with 1GB of memory minimum.

Splashtop is well known leading software company for making solutions to remote access devices over a network. It has also developed few other apps which allow you to use your iPad to enable dual display on your PC.

If you are doing some serious Windows 8 app development, then this is a must have app for you.

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Top Windows 8 OS Supported Games

The gaming experience is just getting better in Windows 8. You can enjoy all your PC games, Xbox Live games and Mobile OS games right all at one place.  Windows 8 metro will be the house of all popular mobile game titles soon and with Xbox Live integration, you can enjoy all your Xbox titles on your Windows 8 device as well.

You can easily download games in Windows 8 from Windows Store app. The games can be played using traditional keyboard and mouse as well as on touchscreen tablets or PCs as well. I have tried few Windows 8 metro games and liked playing them a lot.

Here is my personal list of top Windows 8 games available to play:

1. Fruit Ninja - The popular and addictive game which first came for iPhone and later stroked all other popular mobile platform is also available to play on Windows 8. You just need to swipe your finger or use mouse dragging across the screen to deliciously slash and splatter fruit like a true ninja warrior. Fruit Ninja features Classic, Zen and the amazing new Arcade mode.

The game size is 51.6 MB and available in Windows Store to download for free.

2. Cut the Rope - The game start with the arrival of a mysterious package with the little monster inside has only one request…CANDY! Help get the candy to Om Nom, the lovable star of the game, in this highly innovative and addictive puzzle game. Combining outstanding physics, devilishly tricky levels, and bright colorful High Definition visuals, Cut the Rope is one of the most original and fun-filled games in the Store!

The game size is 53.2 MB and available in Windows Store to download for free.

3. Mahjong Deluxe Free - It is a solitaire game based on the classic Chinese game where you are challenged to eliminate all the tiles from the board. It includes 9 lovely backgrounds and 56 different puzzle layouts.

The game is played with a set of tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols and made for us in China. Find matching pairs of images at the left and right ends of the lines in the various puzzles to remove the tiles from the board.

The game size is 12.5 MB and available in Windows Store to download for free.

4. Flow - It is a simple puzzle game.  The motive of the game is to connect matching colors with pipe to create a flow.  Pair all colors, and cover the entire board to solve each puzzle.  But watch out, pipes will break if they cross or overlap!

The game has 10 different board sizes with 30 levels of each type. There are 300 levels total available in Free Play mode.  The game size is 584 KB and available in Windows Store to download for free.

5. Sudoku Free - Play standard 9×9 grid Sudoku puzzles. The game has three difficulty levels, intuitive metro-styled interface, and all the functions right at your fingertips. This Sudoku game is highly interactive and you will surely enjoy exercising your brain.

The game supports touch, mouse and keyboard input. You can also undo, redo and take pencil notes. It also support live tiles showing the current level and percentage complete. The game installer is of only 3.29 MB and available in Windows Store to download for free.

6. Dark Arcana: The Carnival – The game is highly interactive and has a creepy theme. The player impersonates a detective who searches for a young woman who mysteriously disappeared in a fun fair.

During the game she unveils a creepy legend of a mystic Mirror – a portal to Another World, hiding long forgotten Evil which tries to escape the prison. She also learns about the tragic past of one of the employees of the carnival, who had accidentally killed his own fiancé many years ago during a show. He is the only person to know the Mirror and its secret and over the years, trying to find redemption, unintentionally fell under the influence of the Evil and is now about to commit a terrible crime.

The game size is 206 MB and available to download for free in Windows Store.

So, these are few of my favorite Windows 8 Metro games. Have you played any of them till now? Or do you have any other favorites in your list? Let us know in comments section. 

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Install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

Using Windows XP Mode, you can run programs that were designed for Windows XP on computers running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions.

Programs can run in both Windows XP Mode and in Windows 7.

How does Windows XP Mode work?

Windows XP Mode works in two ways—both as a virtual operating system and as a way to open programs within Windows 7. Windows XP Mode runs in a separate window on the Windows 7 desktop, much like a program, except it's a fully functional version ofWindows XP. In Windows XP Mode, you can access your physical computer's CD/DVD drive, install programs, save files, and perform other tasks as if you were using a computer running Windows XP.

When you install a program in Windows XP Mode, the program appears in both theWindows XP Mode list of programs and in the Windows 7 list of programs, so you can open the program directly from Windows 7.

Programs installed in Windows XP Mode in the Windows 7 Start menu

Notes

• Almost all programs compatible with Windows Vista, and the majority of Windows XP programs, run well in Windows 7. If a program doesn't, first try the Program Compatibility troubleshooter. It can fix several problems and is included in all editions of Windows 7. For more information, see Open the Program Compatibility troubleshooter.
• Some hardware and devices that work in Windows 7 might not work in Windows XP Mode. They might not be detected in Windows XPMode.
• Windows XP Mode was primarily designed to help businesses move from Windows XP to Windows 7. It isn't optimized for graphic-intensive programs such as 3D games, nor is it well suited for programs with hardware requirements such as TV tuners.
• If you're playing music or video in Windows XP Mode using Windows Media Player, and you maximize or minimize the Windows XP Mode window, Windows Media Player will stop playing. This is due to the way Windows XP Mode works in Windows 7. To resume playback, click the Play button  in Windows Media Player.

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Before you begin

In order to use Windows XP Mode, you need to make sure your computer meets certain system requirements. If your computer doesn't meet the requirements, Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode won't work correctly, even though you might be able to download and install them. Before you begin, do the following:

• Find out whether your computer's CPU is capable of hardware-assisted virtualization. To check, go to the Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC support website and download the Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool. This utility can check whether your computer will work with Windows XP Mode.
  If you receive an error message saying "There is no hardware-assisted virtualization support in the system," then your computer's CPU doesn't support hardware-assisted virtualization. For information about an update that can help, see Why am I receiving errors about hardware-assisted virtualization (HAV) when I try to use Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC?
• If your computer's CPU supports hardware-assisted virtualization, make sure it's turned on. You might need to turn on virtualization settings in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS).
  If you receive an error message saying "Hardware-assisted virtualization is disabled," this means your computer supports hardware-assisted virtualization, but you need to change settings in your computer's BIOS to turn on hardware-assisted virtualization.
  

  Warning

  Be careful when changing BIOS settings. The BIOS interface is designed for advanced users, and it's possible to make a change that could prevent your computer from starting correctly. For more information, see BIOS: frequently asked questions.
  How to turn on virtualization settings in your computer's BIOS can vary depending on the BIOS manufacturer. For sample instructions on how to do this, go to theWindows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC support website.
• Make sure you're running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate. To find out which edition of Windows 7 you're running, click the Start button , right-click Computer, and then click Properties. The edition of Windows 7 you are running is displayed under Windows edition near the top of the window.
  If you're not running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate, you might consider using Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade your edition of Windows 7 toWindows 7 Professional or Ultimate. (Windows 7 Enterprise isn't available in WindowsAnytime Upgrade.)
  

  Notes

  • Before you upgrade to another edition of Windows 7, find out whether your computer supports hardware-assisted virtualization. If it doesn't, there's an update that can help. For information about this update, see Why am I receiving errors about hardware-assisted virtualization (HAV) when I try to use Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC?
  • For more information, search Help and Support for "WindowsAnytime Upgrade."

  
  

Installing and using Windows XP Mode

To use Windows XP Mode, you need to download and install Windows XP Mode, which is a fully licensed version of Windows XP with Service Pack 3. You also need to download and install Windows Virtual PC, which is the program that runs virtual operating systems on your computer.

When you install a program in Windows XP Mode, the program becomes available for use in both Windows XP Mode and Windows 7.

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