At Computex, Jensen Harris demoed some of the new UI additions to Windows 8.1, including the newly returned Start button and the Start Menu's new behavior. I'm not sure this solves my problems with Windows 8's inconsistent UI, but it's a step in the right direction. (via NetworkWorld)
Microsoft has announced that the Windows 8.1 Preview will be available for download at the end of this month (after its Build conference in SF). This video from the Windows Team goes over many of the features we didn't know would be coming in 8.1, including a revamped search tool, new Start Screen tile sizes, and four-app multi-tasking in the Modern UI. Not shown: the Start Button on the Desktop and the option to boot to Desktop, though we expect those features to be there.
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If you need fast storage and lots of it for work or otherwise, there's still no substitute for a professional-grade RAID setup or networked storage. The Synology DS1512+ NAS and LaCie 5big Thunderbolt external RAID bay are the best combination of accessibility, price and performance. They're our favorite starter advanced storage options, because we are only offering an intro to this rabbit hole.
Do I need advanced storage?
Now, if you're like most people, and simply need to back up a few hundred gigs of family photos and documents to a cheap external hard drive, you don't need to mess with this category, which we're calling advanced storage. Today's USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt external drives offer great transfer speeds compared to the USB 2.0 drives of yesteryear. Go check out the Seagate Backup Plus, our favorite external drive, and call it a day.
But some of us need 10 terabytes instead of 2 or 3, or the ability to edit HD video from an external drive, or safer redundant backups than the average external drive can offer. This is where we enter into the world of premium storage, and this piece is meant to serve as a primer on what premium storage is good for and why the prices are worth paying (you're likely spending at least $1000 here).
What is RAID?
Most premium storage revoles around RAID, or redundant array of independent disks. Basically, it takes several individual hard drives and links them in such a way that they function as a single drive, adding speed and/or redundant copies of data for safety, but also adding cost and complexity. The three main types of RAID setup are RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID5. RAID 0 works by concurrently writing a fraction of the file over multiple disks. This means faster read/write times, but with the caveat that if one drive fails, the whole array gets corrupted. This type of setup is better for non-critical data. RAID 1 just mirrors the same data on redundant disks so if one fails, you still have the other to back it up. You lose a lot of potential storage space in the process, and there is no speed gain, but it does give you a bit more peace of mind for important files. Think of it as a built-in, live-updating backup drive. RAID 5 is like RAID 0, but it requires at least 3 drives, and if one fails, the rest do not. That's because the data is recorded in a way such that if one drive fails, there is still information left on the remaining drives that can be used to recover the lost data. While RAID 5 is capable of running with a failed drive, it can only do so at a slowed rate. RAID 5 setups also require specialized hardware and are very expensive, even for professionals to justify.
If you're ready for a major storage expansion, these are some serious options.
On Microsoft's earnings call today, chief financial officer Peter Klein addressed the range of Windows 8 tablets in saying that the company was "working closely with chip partners and OEMs to bring the right mix of devices". Between the Surface RT and Surface Pro, Microsoft's own models ranges from $500 to $1000. Expanding that lineup likely means a cheaper model, which could indicate a smaller form factor to reduce costs. Correction: Klein's quote seems to be in reference to working with OEMs to create cheaper tablets outside of its Surface line.
I think that Microsoft is better off addressing the perception that the Surface Pro is too expensive; its marketing needs to make it crystal clear that the Pro is a laptop replacement, not just a 10-inch tablet. But it sounds like Microsoft is reacting to cheap tablet alternatives like the Nexus 7, working with partners to address consumers' demand for cheaper hardware. Selling hardware at low margins to undercut competitors and build market share is the new standard--a game Apple doesn't play, but something Google and Amazon can afford because their profits come from software and services (advertising and retail, respectively). Klein did not elaborate on how the Surface RT has been selling, indicating only that the product only saw limited distribution in the past quarter.
6Lenovo continues to impress us with its laptop designs. Norm checks out the new Yoga 11 laptop that now runs full Windows 8 Pro and gets hands-on with the Helix, a fully-featured tablet-notebook hybrid in direct competition with Microsoft's Surface Pro.
Microsoft has just confirmed that its Surface Pro tablet will go on sale in the US and Canada on Feb 9th (a Saturday). Starting price is $899 for the 64GB model with a Core i5 processor. The 128GB model is priced at $999. Both will be available at Microsoft stores, online, and at Best Buys and Staples stores. Anand's hands-on preview is a good read, and has some new info, including the fact that the Surface Pro will be using the 17watt TDP version of Intel's Ivy Bridge. Chime in if you're planning on buying one!
3Peter Bright of Arstechnica reviews five programs that bring back the Start Menu (or some equivalent application launcher) to Windows 8. The best of the bunch is StartIsBack ($3), but according to Bright, he actually won't use any of them. I've been happy with Start8 ($5) so far. If you're on Windows 8, are you using a Start Menu replacement, or are you just using the Start Screen?
9Today at a JP Morgan event attached to CES, Microsoft's Tami Reller announced that Microsoft had sold 60 million licenses for Windows 8, since the OS launched in late October of last year. They've also seen 100 million app downloads in that same time period.
4Will and Norm give a thorough review of Microsoft's new tablet, the Surface. We show you the good and the bad of this Windows RT tablet, from its notable hardware characteristics, unique usability, and software shortcomings.
Windows 8 makes its grand retail debut on Friday, and Skype will be there to join the party. Since Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype in 2011, we haven't seen huge changes in the VoIP service. It's still running on Macs and iPhones, as promised. Skype for Windows 8 offers the first real justification for Microsoft's billions: Skype's VoIP will integrate with the Windows 8 People app and combine contact information and communication options. In other words, Skype options like messaging, video calling and audio calling will show up on contact profiles alongside email and whatever other communication info you have.
As Ars Technica points out, the People app in Windows 8 currently includes a "call" option that leads to nowhere. That placeholder button is just keeping the seat warm for Skype until the official release on October 26. Microsoft aims for Skype to be an always-on element of Windows 8, as a recent Skype blog claims "On Windows 8, you can be always available and reachable whether you are using a desktop, laptop, tablet or convertible PC with Skype running seamlessly in the background without draining your battery." That change comes with a quiet shift to Microsoft's Messenger platform, allowing Skype to sleep as a background process until ne data comes in--something it can't currently do on Windows Phone 7.
Like the rest of Windows 8's new apps, Skype has seen a makeover to the Metro (or Modern UI, as Microsoft's now calling it) design. That includes a live tile on the Start screen and support for Windows 8's snap view. The new design also highlights a dial pad used for calling mobile and landline phones through Skype, which makes this a communications push on two fronts. Microsoft wants Skype to be the default method of communication between two Windows devices, but it also has subscription and credit purchases to sell.
If Skype-to-Skype video calls become second nature, Microsoft might see an uptick in computer-to-phone calls through Windows 8. You can also spend Skype credits to send SMS messages from a computer. It would be great to see this level of integration make its way over to Windows Phone 8--Skype could really shake up the mobile industry if Microsoft didn't have to play nice with the carriers.
As Windows 8 drags users kicking and screaming away from the Start Menu they've held dear since 1995, Samsung is giving them something to grab onto, at least temporarily. Windows 8 isn't even officially out just yet, but Samsung has revealed a bit of software called the S Launcher, which it plans to bundle with a range of all-in-one Series 5 and Series 7 desktop PCs.
The S Launcher is basically the Start Menu. In fact, it's labeled "Start menu" in a dock on Samsung's demo hardware.
Samsung's launcher is a dead ringer for the Windows 7 Start Menu, which doesn't exist in Windows 8. Microsoft has replaced the vertical list of programs and shortcuts to commonly used folders and system settings with the colorful Start Screen. If you don't fancy leaving the traditional desktop view to launch apps, Samsung's S Launcher will at least partially reproduce the Start functionality you live. The company is also preloading its new computers with a settings menu that organizes some of the basics--user accounts, network, display, sound--into a simple app.
The Series 5 and Series 7 desktops launch this October and are priced between $750 and $1700. They're actually equipped with capacitive touchscreens, which the Metro Start Screen is so clearly designed for. Still, we expect to see more Start Screen alternatives as Windows 8 growing pains settle in. A program called Classic Shell has already replicated the Start Button and Menu for hardcore users willing to go out of their way to get classic Windows back.
Image credit: Mashable
The year was 1995. Friends was the #1 show on TV, nerds were still the subject of open ridicule, and most people had never heard of a modem. Join a cast of wacky propellerheads and learn about the latest OS from Microsoft, Windows 95! (h/t to @Megasoum)
Now that Windows 8 has gone gold, we examine and evaluate the final build of Microsoft's ambitious new operating system and whether it makes sense for traditional desktop and laptop users.
PC users either: A) Love living on the edge or B) Simply don't care enough about their data to regularly back up files. According to Microsoft, only five percent of consumer Windows machines make use of Windows Backup and Restore, and less than fifty percent use a third-party backup solution. Think of all that data!
File History, a feature built into Windows 8, is Microsoft's solution. The service sits in Windows 8's Control Panel and, theoretically, offers the one element missing from previous Windows backup solutions: an accessible user interface. As Ars Technica wrote on Tuesday, Windows has actually been offering an automatic backup tool for years. Problem is, nobody really knew how to use it, and it's buried deep within Windows Explorer.
File History will attempt to solve that problem, but uses a different process to backup files that has its own disadvantages. While the Windows Vista/Windows 7 backup solution called Previous Versions (or Shadow Copies, back in Windows Server 2003) takes a whole system approach like Apple's Time Machine, File History takes a piecemeal approach to preserving files. The old method would keep watch over your entire hard drive. The new one watches a few key locations: libraries, contacts, favorites, and desktop. If your files aren't in those folders, they aren't protected.
Previous Versions used the Volume Snapshot Service to take snapshots of in-use files so that they can be copied by the backup software even as their live counterparts are being used in another application. VSS worked at the block level of the OS (if you've ever run a defrag utility on your HDD, you can visualize your data split up into blocks). When the system created a snapshot, it saved the original block and created a new one for later modifications. The original data was preserved, and the new block only needed to contain information about what was changed.
It all sounds pretty cool until you see the Previous Versions tab buried within Windows Explorer's property menu. Pretty easy to see why no one used it. It also serves as a different sort of backup solution than the new File History: because Previous Versions worked at the block level, it only saved file versions on a single hard drive. You could look through all the changes you'd made to a file for a year, but a hard drive implosion would wipe that out in a second.
File History does the complete opposite: it requires you to save to another volume. The underlying service is also very different. File History relies on the Update Sequence Number Journal, a feature of Windows that has been around since 2000. USN tracks all the changes made to files on your computer in the simplest way possible. It doesn't contain information about those changes, just that they've occurred. Programs can read that list and see what's changed and react accordingly to, say, reindex files.
File History deals with whole files rather than blocks of data, but only files in libraries, favorites, contacts, and on the desktop will be backed up. Want to backup something else? Better create a library for it. The upside is File History is nicely integrated into Windows 8's Explorer--you can see versions of a whole library with one click.
In classic Windows fashion, Previous Versions may not be gone in Windows 8, but rather buried away somewhere (just like it has been all along, basically). Which means Windows 8 users will still probably end up losing some files here and there. Without resorting to a third-party backup solution, OS files are unprotected. And who wants to go through all that effort?
Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview is now available for download. The Release Preview will likely be the last publicly available pre-release version of the OS before it goes final at the end of the summer. I’ve spent the last 24 hours hammering at the build (8400, if you’re keeping track), which was installed on a loaner laptop provided by Microsoft. While this is undoubtedly not enough time for a comprehensive evaluation, it’s enough time to develop solid first impressions which I’m happy to share with you now.
At first glance, Microsoft seems to be hitting all of the right beats with Windows 8. The latest version of the operating system is faster than ever, its new Metro Start Screen UI looks like something awesome from the not-too-distant future, and the machines I've tested with Windows 8 have been rock solid, even in the earliest public releases. I’m excited about the idea of real multitasking on a tablet with Windows 8, but the behind-the-scenes work Microsoft’s done promises to be even more important. If Microsoft’s plans carry through, Windows 8 should tie all of your online services together using apps as glue.
But once you dig deeper, you realize that the massive changes in Windows 8 may lead to some awkwardness. It's a tweener OS, designed to work equally well with both touchscreens and a traditional mouse and keyboard. The new Start Screen, which supplants the Start Menu, is clearly designed to join the touch revolution, but that revolution doesn't exist yet outside of phones and tablets. For the millions of people who will install Windows 8 on a traditional PC--one with a hardware keyboard and a mouse or trackpad--the initial preview releases were awkward at best.
The Release Preview is a definite improvement on previous versions of Windows 8, but where does it work and where does it fall flat? Is this a version of Windows 8 that’s safe to try on your own PC?
Will and Norm show you what's new and different with Microsoft's Windows 8 Release Preview. This is a version of Windows 8 that you can download to test for yourself, and will likely be the closest-to-final public release of Windows 8 before it "goes gold" later this year.
We're a fan of Microsoft slimming down the number of consumer-facing SKUs for the upcoming Windows 8--you'll only have two options to choose from when upgrading or building a new computer (assuming it's not an ARM machine). Among the differences between the planned vanilla offering of Windows 8 and the Pro edition is ability to use Windows Media Center. Actually, neither version will ship with the HTPC-friendly media playback frontend that Microsoft first introduced as its own separate version of Windows XP. To get Windows Media Center on Windows 8, you'll have to purchase it separately from within Windows, and you'll only be able to do this on the Pro version of the OS. That means users of the standard edition of Windows 8 will have to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro to get Windows Media Center. Media Center is currently included in most versions of Windows 7 and also the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. From Microsoft's most recent blog post on the subject:
Given the changing landscape, the cost of decoder licensing, and the importance of a straight forward edition plan, we’ve decided to make Windows Media Center available to Windows 8 customers via the Add Features to Windows 8 control panel (formerly known as Windows Anytime Upgrade). This ensures that customers who are interested in Media Center have a convenient way to get it. Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray.
And while both versions of Windows 8 will include Windows Media Player, Microsoft is leaving out the MPEG-2 codec required for DVD playback to cut costs on royalties. (Windows has never shipped with built-in Blu-Ray playback support, so nothing has changed there.) That means to play a DVD on your Windows 8 laptop or desktop, you'll need to either upgrade to the Windows Media Center Pack or, more likely, stick to using a third-party media player. VLC and Media Player Classic Home Cinema (my preferred player) both come with integrated MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 codec support so you don't need to install any extra codec packs.
On its Windows Team Blog, Microsoft announced the official name for the next version of Windows. It will be called... Windows 8. Yeah. Big surprises abound.
However, there was one surprise in today's announcement. Microsoft is reducing the number of different versions of Windows that will be available to purchase from five with Windows 7 to two in Windows 8. Here's the breakdown.
There will be two versions of Windows available to most people who use traditional x86/x64-compatible computers. (There's also an Enterprise edition, which will only be available to large companies with Software Assurance agreements.) Also new, but not sharing the Windows 8 moniker, is a specific version for ARM-based computers--called Windows RT. Windows RT won't be available as standalone software, it will only come bundled with compatible hardware. All Windows RT machines come with an ARM-native version of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote).
With Windows 8, Microsoft has dramatically simplified the overly-complex scheme used to differentiate the different Windows 7 and Vista SKUs. This is a good thing. I'm sure the question you're asking right now is which version of Windows 8 will you need to buy? And, for the first time since Windows XP launched, the answer is simple. If you need to join a Windows Domain or use BitLocker's full-disk encryption, you should buy Windows 8 Pro. Otherwise, you can buy plain-vanilla Windows 8.
The only limitation comes if you want to do an in-place upgrade of an existing Windows 7 Pro or Windows 7 Ultimate machine. Because those versions of Windows 7 support BitLocker and joining domains, you can only do an in-place upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, which offers support for the same features. If you want to move to Windows 8 vanilla, you'll need to do a clean install.
Reducing the number of versions of Windows on offer is a good move on Microsoft's part. The over-priced Ultimate offerings and the confusing delineation between Home Basic and Home Premium versions were the perfect example of Goldilocks marketing, but despite offering many different versions, none were "just right".
Say you want to try out Windows 8. You're not alone! Over a million people downloaded the Consumer Preview within a day of its initial posting. If you don't plan on upgrading to the real thing when Windows 8 goes on sale later this year, though, overwriting a Windows 7 install isn't the best idea. There are two alternatives: dual-boot, or take your Windows to Go.
Windows 8 supports an option called Windows to Go, which allows you to install the OS on a USB drive and carry a bootable version of Windows around in your pocket. All you need to build one is a Windows 7 or Windows 8 machine and an external drive big enough to hold the OS, temporary files, and some basic applications.
We dive deep into this public beta to show you how Windows 8 will work on your existing computer.
