Microsoft releases Windows 8 Developer Preview

The Windows 8 Start screen borrows heavily from Windows Phone 7

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Microsoft previewed the next version of its Windows OS in June at D9 and a few more details leaked out shortly after that, but the biggest reveal came this week with Microsoft giving a preview of Windows 8 to kick off its Build conference, followed by the Developer Preview hitting Microsoft servers for anyone to download. With the surge in popularity of touchscreen devices over the past few years the new OS is designed to run on a wider variety of devices and chipsets and embraces touch and apps in a big way with the new "Metro style" interface.

Although Windows 8 has similar system requirements to Windows 7, it boots much faster by saving the kernel memory at shutdown and reloading it during startup. Borrowing from Windows Phone 7, the default Windows 8 Start screen features customizable live tiles, although users can switch to the traditional desktop interface via the desktop tile.

Microsoft has designed Windows 8 is a one-size-fits-all OS to run on everything from 10-inch tablets to 27-inch desktops so users can swipe and scroll via touchscreen, touchpad or mouse. Not one, but two virtual keyboards - one full sized and another split thumb keyboard - are on board for devices without physical keyboards.

No doubt envious of Apple raking in all that cash from its App Store, Microsoft has placed a strong emphasis on apps in Windows 8 and put the new Windows Store front and center so it's easy to buy them. Like Apple, Microsoft will screen all apps before they make it to the Windows Store. Apps can be run in full screen, work on x86, x64 and ARM platforms and adapt to different screen resolutions and device form factors. Different apps can also communicate with each other and will sync over multiple devices.

Internet Explorer 10 is onboard and has been optimized for touch browsing with gesture-based navigation and a touch-friendly navigation bar that only appears when you ask (swipe) for it. Notably, Microsoft has also followed Apple's lead and will ditch plug-ins, including Flash, in the Metro version of IE10 for use on tablets in order to improve battery life, security and reliability. However, plug-ins will still be supported in the desktop version on IE10.

Windows 8 is compatible with Windows 7 applications and Windows Explorer and Task Manager have been redesigned to bring commonly used features to the fore. Explorer will feature the controversial "ribbon" toolbar, while Task Manager is now an all-in-one dashboard to monitor and control your PC, with information tracked in real time and able to be viewed as summary graphs.

With the release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview, Microsoft will refine and update the OS using the feedback from developers. The company hasn't set a date for the finished version but isn't expected until the second half of 2012. If you want to get a taste of the new OS the Developer Preview is available for download here.

But be warned, this is an early version and is still buggy. It can only be installed as a clean install and can only be removed with a reformat so be sure to use a separate partition or spare machine because you won't be able to go crying to Microsoft if you run into any problems.

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Microsoft Shows Windows 8 for Tablets, Notebooks and Desktop Using New Metro-style User Interface

Microsoft today demoed the latest Windows 8 build running on tablets, notebooks and desktop during its BUILD conference in Los Angeles. Steve Sinofsky demonstrated Windows 8 OS running on ARM-powered devices, Qualcomm powered devices and even one tablet running NVIDIA’s upcoming quad-core Tegra 3 chipset. One of the desktop on display, the HP Phoenix, is expectable to be announced later on this week – although specs for this computer have not been revealed yet.

In addition, Microsoft will also provide a “Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC”  to 5,000 developers at the conference. The preview PC comes with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of on board storage, a slot for the microSD card, HDMI-out, NFC support, Ethernet and more unsaid features. Tablet owners will also receive one year of free data service with 2GB of data per month from AT&T. Is that AT&T being nice? Unbelievable for a lot people.

Here are more hardware picture Microsoft showed during the BUILD conference:

(Source BoyGeniusReport)

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Windows 8 Beta Now Available for Download, Download Here

Excited for Windows 8? Makes you feel Sexually aroused? Well, you can get the beta. Microsoft has just posted the pre beta, Windows Developer Preview, for download on your 32- or 64-bit x86 hardware, and activation is not required this time. And remember, this is just a beta, this is not a stable version and you will find some issues, that is why it’s recommended to be installed on a separate partition or different machine.

The Windows Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers. These downloads include prerelease software that may change without notice. The software is provided as is, and you bear the risk of using it. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment. The features and functionality in the prerelease software may not appear in the final version. Some product features and functionality may require advanced or additional hardware, or installation of other software.

Click here to go to Microsoft Windows Developer site and download the betas for your machine.

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Here Me: Location-Based Micro Blogging For Windows Phone 7

Here Me: Location-Based Micro Blogging For Windows Phone 7 AddictiveTipsFeatured ArticlesArchives RSSTwitterFacebookEmailYoutubeConnect With UsRoundup: Our Exclusive Coverage Of Windows 8 Developer PreviewTop Free And Most Beautiful Live Wallpapers For AndroidThe Complete Guide To Windows 8 Startup MenuThe Complete Guide To Windows 8 Metro Control PanelAll About Windows 8 FileName Collisions And Copy/Move Dialog Box AddictiveTips NewsInternetWindowsMac OS XLinuxMS OfficeMobileHardware « Autodesk Pixlr-o-matic: Add Retro Effects To Photos [Android & iPhone]How To Share Files Between Windows 7 And Windows 8 In Dual Boot » Here Me: Location-Based Micro Blogging For Windows Phone 7By Hamza on Sep 17 2011 Leave a comment

There is only one name that is sure to pop up in your mind as soon as you hear the word micro-blogging: Twitter. Admittedly, there are a number of alternates which provide you with the exact same functionality offered by Twitter, but a far fewer number of apps or services exhibit the courage to think out of the box and make some additions to micro blogging and social networking. That’s where Here Me enters the Windows Phone 7 arena.

 

First things first, you need to create a new account for Here Me, as it does not integrate with any pre-existing service and is a standalone app. That’s a bit of a downside if you are not a big fan of apps requiring new accounts and new passwords. Also, you have to activate your Here Me account after signing up or the app won’t work. However, the overall experience proves to be worth it in the end.

So what exactly is Here Me? The app has a built-in video (about a minute in length) which teaches you the basic usage and concept behind this app. The main idea is to let you write reports (which are like tweets) based upon your current or chosen location.

You can set up your profile (not much customization available, just a choice of changing your details and avatar) or you can leave the settings as they are. Make sure you keep the GPS enabled. You can write reports which are 140 characters long (sounds familiar?) but with the option of attaching images, videos, sounds and links. When you add a feed, you can choose a specific area from which you want the reports to load. Your reports too will only be visible in that area.

Like with Twitter, you can view reports from everyone on Here Me or you can apply filters to narrow it down a bit. For all the visible feeds, there’s a noteworthy button (sort of a combination of bookmarks and Facebook’s Like button) and you can write a reply to any report. Adding hash tags is also allowed in reports and replies.

Selecting your area of interest is easy. Just zoom in and out of the map to include any area within the circle displayed in a feed. The map offers the usual 3 views (Map, Hybrid and Satellite) and as told in the tutorial video, you can add an area which includes many continents or just a building.

Here Me is free and available at the download link given below.

Download Here Me

TweetShareTags: Apps, location, social networkingWindows Phone 7,

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Stream Free Music Playlists On Your Windows Phone Mango With 8Tracks

Stream Free Music Playlists On Your Windows Phone Mango With 8Tracks AddictiveTipsFeatured ArticlesArchives RSSTwitterFacebookEmailYoutubeConnect With UsRoundup: Our Exclusive Coverage Of Windows 8 Developer PreviewTop Free And Most Beautiful Live Wallpapers For AndroidThe Complete Guide To Windows 8 Startup MenuThe Complete Guide To Windows 8 Metro Control PanelAll About Windows 8 FileName Collisions And Copy/Move Dialog Box AddictiveTips NewsInternetWindowsMac OS XLinuxMS OfficeMobileHardware « How To Keep Ribbon Minimized In Windows 8 ExplorerAutodesk Pixlr-o-matic: Add Retro Effects To Photos [Android & iPhone] » Stream Free Music Playlists On Your Windows Phone Mango With 8TracksBy Hamza on Sep 17 2011 Leave a comment

Music is an integral part of many people’s lives. Even now, while writing this post, I have Evanescence blasting away on my headset. If you yourself are fond of music and own a Windows Phone 7, then life just got better for you (or will, once Mango rolls out). What music lovers hate most about WP7 is that it lacks the ability to play music in the background while using a third party app (say easyTube). Mango finally has resolved that issue by bringing true multitasking to Windows Phone and letting third party apps run in the background. For music, 8tracks becomes the first app to take advantage of this Mango goodness. 8tracks lets you listen to playlists pre-loaded by the users on the app’s website and the tracks can keep playing while you navigate anywhere on your phone!

After signing up for 8tracks’ service (just your e-mail address and a new password needed) you are eligible to listen to all the awesome playlists available in the app (and trust us, there are a lot of them). You can simply search for a playlist by its name, but that’s not advisable as you never know by which name the lists might be saved. It’s better if you view them according to your moods or categories. Genres include all the well-known music genres and have playlists pertaining to each category. There are also an option to search for playlists including one (or many) songs from a certain singer.

You can skip a track in a playlist and/or set one that you like as your favorite. The streaming rate is pretty good and the consistency is respectable on an average Wi-Fi connection. In case you want to listen to a playlist again, History keeps track of everything you have played. The app is excellent addition to the Marketplace, though a download option (for listening to songs while you’re offline) would make it even better. Another great thing about 8tracks: it’s free!

Download 8tracks

[via WPCentral]TweetShareTags: Apps, music, playlist, stream music, Windows Phone 7Windows Phone 7 Mango,

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