Tag: windows 8

New Leap Motion Controller Goes up for Pre Order US $ 82.99 including Shipping

The amazing new Leap controller has gone up for pre order, and it ships to India for a price of US $ 82.99 (Rs 4690) including the US $12.99 shipping charge.

The Leap is a small iPod sized USB peripheral that creates a 3D interaction space of 8 cubic feet to precisely interact with and control software on your laptop or desktop computer. The Leap senses your individual hand and finger movements independently, as well as items like a pen.

The Device supports both Mac and Windows 8 environments, so there will be no discrimination. Check out the amazing video demo above.

Although the product has gone up for Pre-Order we won’t expect it to ship before January 2013, as the company itself states a date of December 2012.

May 24, 2012
Tegra 3 Tablets in the US $ 199 Price Range Coming in Summer : Nvidia CEO

NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has said that more than 3 tablets for a price of US $ 199 ( INR 10,000 approx) are set to launch by Summer 2012.

By removing things like expensive memory, a $199 tablet is quite feasible

-NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang

The Company’s CEO is also disappointed with the development of Android and the pace at which it developed.

For many people, though, work is still the primary reason to have a computer. They want Windows to work well, they want Outlook to work well. A tablet running Windows 8 with Tegra could be very nice.”

-NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang

March 30, 2012
Windows 8 Consumer preview hits one million Downloads in one Day

The Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview went up just a day ago and has already hit the million download mark. Microsoft’s next major software update is built around the Windows 7 platform merged with the Live Tile – Metro UI of Windows Phone 7.

Although the downloads are 1 Million, it may not mean that 1 million people downloaded the software. Get yours in the link below.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

March 2, 2012

Microsoft will replace NTFS with ReFS in Windows Server 8

Windows server 8 will introduce the Resilient File System, or ReFS, as a “next generation file system” built on the foundations of the NTFS. The new gen file system is designed by reusing NTFS’ API / semantics engine to retain a high level of compatibility with NTFS features. The new file system design is aimed to protect against latent disk errors, resist data corruption, uphold metadata integrity, grant large volume, file and directory size. The whole concept is to reduce the massive file corruption and fragmentation users face with NTFS and Windows in general.

The key goals of ReFS are:

Maintain a high degree of compatibility with a subset of NTFS features that are widely adopted while deprecating others that provide limited value at the cost of system complexity and footprint.
Verify and auto-correct data. Data can get corrupted due to a number of reasons and therefore must be verified and, when possible, corrected automatically. Metadata must not be written in place to avoid the possibility of “torn writes,” which we will talk about in more detail below.
Optimize for extreme scale. Use scalable structures for everything. Don’t assume that disk-checking algorithms, in particular, can scale to the size of the entire file system.
Never take the file system offline. Assume that in the event of corruptions, it is advantageous to isolate the fault while allowing access to the rest of the volume. This is done while salvaging the maximum amount of data possible, all done live.
Provide a full end-to-end resiliency architecture when used in conjunction with the Storage Spaces feature, which was co-designed and built in conjunction with ReFS.

The key features of ReFS are as follows (note that some of these features are provided in conjunction with Storage Spaces).

Metadata integrity with checksums
Integrity streams providing optional user data integrity
Allocate on write transactional model for robust disk updates (also known as copy on write)
Large volume, file and directory sizes
Storage pooling and virtualization makes file system creation and management easy
Data striping for performance (bandwidth can be managed) and redundancy for fault tolerance
Disk scrubbing for protection against latent disk errors
Resiliency to corruptions with “salvage” for maximum volume availability in all cases
Shared storage pools across machines for additional failure tolerance and load balancing

What are the capacity limits of ReFS?

The table below shows the capacity limits of the on-disk format. Other concerns may determine some practical limits, such as the system configuration (for example, the amount of memory), limits set by various system components, as well as time taken to populate data sets, backup times, etc.

Attribute	Limit based on the on-disk format
Maximum size of a single file	2^64-1 bytes
Maximum size of a single volume	Format supports 2^78 bytes with 16KB cluster size (2^64 * 16 * 2^10). Windows stack addressing allows 2^64 bytes
Maximum number of files in a directory	2^64
Maximum number of directories in a volume	2^64
Maximum file name length	32K unicode characters
Maximum path length	32K
Maximum size of any storage pool	4 PB
Maximum number of storage pools in a system	No limit
Maximum number of spaces in a storage pool	No limit

[Building Windows 8]

January 18, 2012

Windows 8 Reset and Refresh options shown off!

Windows 8 is becoming more and more like the mobile counterpart. Windows 8 will offer a pair of similar features; ‘Reset your PC’ will allow you to remove all personal data, apps, and settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows, while ‘Refresh your PC’ enables your to keep all personal data, Metro style apps, and important settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows. This seems very convenient, especially for those who have often been bugged by crowded and laggy machines.

[MSDN]

January 6, 2012
Internet Explorer 10 Preview 4 out : Windows 7 not supported

Microsoft has just released the 4th preview of the Internet Explorer 10, with feature improvements targeted at creating Rich and creative Web Apps for the Browser. There should be little energy movement for this new preview because most devs will not be able to use the browser, because it can only run on Windows 8 preview release that came during BUILD conference.

The new features include Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS), JavaScript typed arrays and binary file manipulation, and HTML5 video subtitling. Typed arrays and support for binary files enable much better performance for JavaScript applications that handle binary data, such as images and audio. CORS provides a safe way for JavaScript applications to use services offered by different providers. CORS allows one application to expose its data to another application even when the same-origin policy would otherwise deny such access.

Focusing more on Metro Style UI and Apps, looks like Microsoft missed the point of the preview. Since the entire developer community develops on Windows 7, excluding them from the preview will exclude the time and the insights they could have given.

November 30, 2011
Qualcomm: Snapdragon-powered Windows 8 PCs coming in 2012

Qualcomm has confirmed that it will launch Snapdragon chips to support the Windows 8 architecture. CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that his company is working with Microsoft in an effort to deploy Windows 8-powered computers that run on Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon processors.

We’re going to see some interesting stuff going on,Windows 8 on ARM is a big opportunity

-CEO Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm

The task is not going to be easy since all apps and the whole windows architecture is designed to run on x86 processors. The applications will need to be rewritten to work on ARM processors.

November 19, 2011
HTC is working on a Windows 8 Tablet

According to industry insider Eldar Murtazin, HTC is working on a Windows 8 slate that will be powered by a Qualcomm-built ARM chipset. HTC is usually the first vendor when it comes to portable OS launches from Microsoft. As was the case during launch of Windows Phone 7. Now HTC is possibly going to be the first manufacturer to run windows 8 in tablet form. The only difference here is that a large mass of PC vendors/manufacturers (the likes of Dell, HP, Samsung, Lenovo, Tosiba, Asus, Acer, MSI) that have the hardware equipped to run Windows 8 tablets already have their devices to boot.

Many tablet PC’s may emerge industry winners when it comes to quick boot Windows 8. Now if someone would port windows to our cheap Touchpads…..!

[Read]

September 20, 2011
Microsoft Metro Apps Shown in a Video

Windows is using videos to get users accustomed to the new OS. With over 3 million Downloads. the new Windows 8 is gathering a lot of attention. Check out the full video of it in action below

September 17, 2011
Windows 8 Blue Screen of Death codes Replaced by Unhappy Blue Screen of Death

Those blue screens that we have all loved to hate have been modified to appear a little more user friendly. Microsoft has replaced the Error Code Blue Screen of Death Kernel crash screen with a generic unhappy Smiley Face on a Blue Screen. Better or Not? What do you think?

September 15, 2011
Windows 8 Minimum requirements consist of Intel Atom and 1GB RAM

Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky after a quick announcement and a simple demonstration explained that Win8 demanded fewer system resources than Win7 with the same hardware specs

With a Lenovo S10 in his hand he showed that an early-gen Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM is “enough” to run the new OS (AKA Windows 8 )

September 14, 2011
The new Windows 8 Store will sell both Metro based and Original 32bit Windows Applications

Microsoft has announced at the Build 2011 that the new Windows 8 store will be home to both apps that are based on the new Metro style UI along with traditional Windows Apps that you have grown to Love/Hate.

It kind of reminds us a lot of a certain “Mac App Store” but hey thats just us !

September 14, 2011
Windows 8 Developer Preview Launched, Downloads Commenced(PR)

With the commencement of the Microsoft Build conference, the company has also launched the Developer version of Windows 8.

Widows 8 is a remained version of Windows, that offers a practically new way to interact with the personal computer. The new platform also bring a new range of capabilities that can let developers bring the easy and graphics of the Windows Phone 7 Metro UI .

Steven Sinofsky- President Windows.

Get Your version of the Dev Preview Here : Link – Microsoft Dev Downloads

[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”no” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Microsoft Reimagines Windows, Presents Windows 8 Developer Preview

BUILD Conference attendees and developers get first access to new operating system.

LOS ANGELES – Sept. 13, 2011 – Today at its developer-focused BUILD conference, Microsoft Corp. showcased a detailed preview of the next major release of Windows, code-named “Windows 8.” The company also detailed new tools for developers to help write applications for more than 1 billion people around the world who use Windows every day.
“We reimagined Windows,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, in his keynote address to the thousands of developers in attendance. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.”

The company also highlighted a variety of new features in Windows 8, including the following:

Touch-First User Interface
• Metro style. Windows 8 introduces a new Metro style interface built for touch, which shows information important to you, embodies simplicity and gives you control.
• Touch-first browsing, not just browsing on a touch device. Providing a fast and fluid touch-browsing experience, Internet Explorer 10 puts sites at the center on new Windows 8 devices.
More Ways to Engage With Powerful, Connected Apps
• Powered by apps. Metro style apps built for Windows 8 are the focal point of your experience, filling your entire screen so there are no distractions.
• Apps can work together. Apps communicate with each other in Windows 8. For example, you can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.
• The content you create syncs across your devices. Live roams all the content from the cloud services you use most – photos, email, calendar and contacts – keeping them up-to-date on your devices. With Windows SkyDrive, you can access content anywhere with your Microsoft account.
Enhanced Fundamentals
• The best of Windows 7, only better. Windows 8 is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7, delivering improvements in performance, security, privacy and system reliability.
• Preserving power-user favorites and making them better. For those who push the limits of their PC, Windows 8 features an enhanced Task Manager and Windows Explorer and new, flexible options for multimonitor setups.
New Developer Opportunities
• Windows Store. The Windows Store will allow developers to sell their apps anywhere Windows is sold worldwide, whether they’re creating new games or familiar productivity tools.
• Build using more languages. Windows 8 lets you leverage your existing skills and code assets to create great experiences using the programming language you prefer.
• Rich hardware integration leads to richer experiences – particularly for games. DirectX 11 gaming power underlies Windows 8, allowing the easy creation of full-screen games with smooth, flicker-free action.
New Generation of Hardware
• One Windows – many shapes and sizes. Support for ARM-based chipsets, x86 devices, touch and sensors means Windows 8 works beautifully across a spectrum of devices, from 10-inch tablets and laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens.
• Always connected. With Windows 8, new ultrathin PCs and tablets turn on instantly, run all day on a single charge and stay connected to the Internet so your PC is ready when you are.
• Tap the full power of your PC. Windows 8 runs on PCs and is compatible with the devices and programs you use today on Windows 7, without compromise, to deliver the performance you expect of a PC.

Developers will be able to download the Windows Developer Preview via the new Windows Dev Center later this week. Webcasts of sessions will be posted on the BUILD site as well.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.[/toggle]

September 14, 2011
Microsoft plans to demo Windows 8 on a Samsung tablet next week

Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky will unveil the company’s latest Windows 8 operating system running on a tablet during Microsoft’s BUILD conference in California next week

Investors are hungry to see how [Microsoft is] going to join where the market’s going, they’ve been lagging and they need to catch up and surpass what’s going on, to demonstrate they truly are an innovative company.”

-MS portfolio manager Todd Lowenstein

The Conference starts on Sept 13 and MS is all set to showcase the Tablet manufactured by Samsung a log with Tabletized Win 8.

[Reuters]

September 9, 2011
Microsoft Patent Applications Reveal a possible Dual Screen Tablet Future

Microsoft has been playing with the idea of a dual screen tablet for quite some time, remember the courier tablet? This time around MS is teasing the world of tech itself with the Tablet patent that promises a dual screen experience. Microsoft has been talking a lot about Windows 8 and a tablet specific OS.

MS has filed for multiple patents including, Muti-screen dual tap, on-off gesture, Muti Screen Pinch and expand, Muti-screen – Hold – Expand- page flip and radial gestures. Microsoft has not yet been awarded with these patents. But looks like the whole Tablet frenzy has been fueled by the Apple Patent Lawsuits.

August 27, 2011