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Showing results for tags 'windows 8'.
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Microsoft yesterday announced that beginning in October it will offer only cumulative security updates for Windows 7 and 8.1, ending the decades-old practice of letting customers choose which patches they apply. "Historically, we have released individual patches ... which allowed you to be selective with the updates you deployed," wrote Nathan Mercer, a senior product marketing manager, in a post to a company blog. "[But] this resulted in fragmentation where different PCs could have a different set of updates installed leading to multiple potential problems." Instead, only cumulative security and performance updates will be offered. "Individual patches will no longer be available," Mercer said. The new maintenance model for Windows 7 and 8.1 was a direct transplant from Windows 10, which has always relied on cumulative updates that include the contents of all previous releases along with the new fixes. View the full article -
Microsoft just released yet another Win10 upgrade nag system, disguised as a "Recommended" patch for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 systems. According to the KB 3173040 article, if you have Windows set to automatically install updates, and have the Windows Update "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" box checked, your machine will suddenly sprout a full-screen purple message that says: View the full article
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While we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year talking about Windows 10 (including new roadmap details), we know that organizations are still working with Windows 7 too, regularly updating their Windows 7 SP1 images to include the latest updates, app versions, and more. For those that are involved in that process, you’ve probably seen a display like this too many times: New Windows 7 SP1 convenience rollup makes image creation much faster We’re happy to announce today that we’re making available a new convenience rollup for Windows 7 SP1 that will help. This convenience rollup package, available to download from http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=3125574, contains all the security and non-security fixes released since the release of Windows 7 SP1 that are suitable for general distribution, up through April 2016. Install this one update, and then you only need new updates released after April 2016. And since this update can be injected into Windows 7 SP1 media, it’s fully supported to mount a Windows 7 SP1 image (WIM file), then inject this update into it. See https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744559(v=ws.10).aspx for the details of how to do this. This convenience update is completely optional; it doesn’t have to be installed and won’t even be offered via Windows Update – you can choose whether or not you want to use it. View the full article
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Microsoft first started supporting the MKV file format natively on the company’s Xbox One console earlier this year, and now the company is bringing those changes to Windows. Starting today, Windows 8.1 will now natively support the Matroska Multimedia Container (MKV) file format with the built-in video app. The open standard container format has long been used to provide pirated copies of movies and TV shows through BitTorrent or other file sharing sites, but Microsoft’s move to provide native support lends the file format some much-needed legitimacy. > While it’s likely most content providers will continue to provide streaming video instead of DRM-free download options, native MKV support in Windows adds another option to share video or audio files without having to download third-party players like VLC. Microsoft has also pledged to support MKV in the upcoming release of Windows 10, alongside support for Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) files. Microsoft’s MKV implementation in Windows 8.1 is still limited by the operating system's codec and subtitle support, but the company may choose to improve both of these drawbacks in Windows 10. Source: TheVerge View the full article
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Multiple Windows 9 reports have suggested that Microsoft is considering releasing the upcoming platform as a free download to certain existing Windows users. Some said that Windows 8 will get Windows 9 free of charge, while others claimed the company is also considering some sort of special offers for existing Windows XP users. A report from Indonesian online publication Detik said earlier this week that President of Microsoft Indonesia Andreas Diantoro has confirmed this particular Windows 9 feature. According to Diantoro, the Windows 9 upgrade will be available free of charge to all existing Windows 8 users once it’s released. Apparently, users will be able to easily install the Windows 9 update after downloading it from Microsoft, which is how Apple’s OS X updates have been rolled out to Macs for a few years now. For what it’s worth, some of the recent Windows 9 leaks did say that Microsoft already has a tool in place that will allow users to easily perform software updates. View the full article
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Microsoft really wants people to stop using Windows XP. The company launched a new promotion that offers XP users $100 off the purchase of a new PC that costs more than $599 through the Microsoft Store from now until June 15. Buyers will also get 90 days of free support and free data transfer from their old XP-powered PC. Microsoft is ending support for XP, which has been around for more than a decade, in April. That means any security flaws found by attackers after that point won’t be patched, leaving users who are still clinging to their old computers open to attack. View the full article
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Let’s face it: Windows 8.1 looks a whole lot different than Windows 7 or Windows XP. I mean, the desktop we all know and love is still there (awesome!) but the Start screen can take some time to get used to. And I thought charms were something that Lucky the Leprechaun served me in a bowl back when I was in elementary school (and occasionally now). If you’re new to Windows 8.1 and look back with fond memories of older versions of Windows, here are five things you can do to make it feel more familiar, or just more like yours. View the full article
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So Windows 8.1 is finally here and although it is a massive improvement over its predecessor (I recently had to install Windows 8 on a laptop and couldn’t believe how bad it is in comparison), Microsoft’s new Start button really isn’t what a lot of people were hoping for. If you want to enjoy the benefits of the new operating system without being bothered by the Modern UI there are lots of alternative third-party options available. And when I say lots, I mean it. Some cost money, others are free. I’ll list my favorite three and then suggest some others to try if those don’t appeal. View the full article
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I know a lot of folks are eager to find out when they will be able to get Windows 8.1. I am excited to share that starting at 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand (that’s 4:00am October 17th in Redmond), Windows 8.1 will begin rolling out worldwide as a free update for consumers on Windows 8 through the Windows Store. Windows 8.1 will also be available at retail and on new devices starting on October 18th by market. So mark your calendars! View the full article
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Windows 8 was built for a world that blends our work and our personal lives, a world where we expect high quality touch experiences everywhere, and a world that is always on the go and always connected. Windows 8 redefines our market from PCs to mobile computing. We are pleased with the progress we’ve seen with Windows 8 so far. Our OEM partners have delivered tablets, touch laptops, and convertibles that bring the vision of Windows 8 and mobile computing to life. They have introduced some incredible (and unique) new form factors like the Dell XPS 12, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, the Sony VAIO Tap 20, or the recently announced Acer Aspire R7. And today at retail, you can find a powerful mobile touch laptop starting at just over $400. We now have more than 70,000 apps in the Windows Store (the online app store for Windows) – apps such as Twitter, eBay, Netflix, CNN and games like Temple Run: Brave, Bejeweled LIVE and Angry Birds Star Wars and many others. View the full article
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Software giant Microsoft has sold 60 million licences and upgrades for its new Windows 8 operating system in the 10 weeks since its launch. Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows division, said at the Consumer Electronics Show that Windows 8 sales are growing in line with those of Windows 7, Microsoft's last operating system, launched in 2009. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the figure marks a solid, but unspectacular start for Microsoft's new flagship product, which has not managed to revive lagging personal computer sales, while new touch-screen Windows devices have not yet captured consumers' imaginations. The latest Windows 8 figure means Microsoft sold around 20 million Windows 8 licences and upgrades since the end of November, when it announced 40 million sales in the first month on the market, the paper said. That puts sales broadly in line with Windows 7, which averaged 19.4 million sales per month in its first nine months on the market, when PC sales were running at a lower level than today, it added. Source: MSFN View the full article
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Microsoft may have nixed its "Metro" branding for the new tile-based design in Windows 8 and Windows Phone, but the company appears to be split over its replacement naming. Earlier this week it was reported that references to "Metro-style applications" would become "Windows 8 applications," and that the "Metro user interface" would be switched to "Windows 8 user interface." However, Microsoft employees have started using "Modern UI Style" to refer to the new Windows 8 Start Screen and "Modern UI" design in reference to Windows 8 apps. The software giant has used modern, immersive, fast, and fluid to describe its Windows 8 operating system previously - in the early stages of its development - but the common name was always Metro style. View the full article
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I've tried the Windows 8 developer preview. It is not yet in beta, so when trying out a developer preview one should keep in mind that the final version will be better. I am very disappointed. I was looking forward to Windows 8, because it will introduce support for the ARM architecture which I think is exciting, because this could cause ARM to challenge x86 on the PC. I don't have anything against the x86 architecture, Intel or AMD, but it would be nice with some alternatives, to have a choice, to have some competition. Nowadays x86 have 64-bit support, but POWER, SPARC, Alpha and other architecures had 64-bit support way before x86. x86 has been extended with new instructions but Alpha, ARM, SPARC, POWER, etc all used to be considered superior to x86. I consider Windows 7 much better than Vista, but still wasn't very found of it (i think the usability is bad, etc). Also when a new version of an operating system gets released its always exciting. I am hugely disappointed with Windows 8, and I think it is worse than Vista. In fact, it's even worse than Windows ME, way worse! Windows Explorer now uses the ribbon interface. I think it makes it looks cluttered and bloated. When you start Windows 8 and login you get put into Metro-mode from where you can launch Metro apps. Metro is also used on Windows Phone. Perhaps Metro is alright on a smartphone or other mobile handheld device 3-4" screen, but I think it sucks on a desktop computer. Metro apps run in fullscreen, so I don't feel they're good for multitasking or suited for use on a desktop computer. Luckily you can enter the Windows shell so it looks like Windows 7. But they changed so when you click on the start button or WinKey, instead of getting the start menu, you get kicked back to the fullscreen Metro screen. You can launch your applications from there but I feel it is slower, cumbersome and less convinient. The good thing about Windows 8 is that it comes with Internet Explorer 10 which is likely better than Internet Explorer 9. Also the Metro version of IE10 doesn't support plugins so it cant run Adobe Flash Player, which might decrease the usage of Flash which is a proprietary closed-source technology. Proprietary technology is bad for the open web. Have you tried Windows 8? What do you think of it? Are you looking forward to it?
