Windows 8

Microsoft can’t even give away Windows 10

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Microsoft-Surface
Windows 10 is almost a year old, and Windows 7 still rules.
Photo: Microsoft

I like Windows 10. There, I said it. But unfortunately for Microsoft, millions of others have no interest in it.

Despite being free for almost a year, the company’s latest upgrade hasn’t been able to put any significant dent in Windows 7’s user base. It has only just overtaken the universally despised Windows 8.1 release.

Chinese government plans to ditch Apple and Google with its own OS

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Apple couldn't be more popular in China -- among customers, that is!
Apple couldn't be more popular in China -- among customers, that is!

China is planning to take on Apple and Google with a new homegrown operating system that will launch this year, as Chinese government seeks to distance itself from imported rivals.

The new operating system created by the Chinese government will hit desktops first when its released in October, according to a report from Reuters, and will hopefully supplant Windows, OS X and Chrome OS as the top desktop operating system in China within one to two years, with a mobile version planned as well.

Give your computer a Yosemite-style makeover (even if it runs Windows)

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New icons in OS X Yosemite will bring the Mac operating system and iOS closer than ever visually. While Yosemite doesn’t come out until fall, you can get this cool, flat look now — without downloading Apple’s Developer Preview betas, which are buggy at best.

This short video will show you how to give your computer a Yosemite-style face-lift — even if you’re running Windows. Get the downloads mentioned in the video at the links below.

Apple Gives A Surprising Push To Windows 8 On New Mac Pro

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Windows 8 has been a gigantic flop for Microsoft, but Apple, at least, is giving the new operating system a surprising push. The Mac maker has dropped support for Windows 7 running under Boot Camp on the new Mac Pro, making the installation of Windows 8 the only option for those who want to dual boot Windows on the most powerful Mac yet.

Microsoft Brings Xbox Music To Android & iOS, Offers Free Streaming On The Web

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Microsoft has today launched Xbox Music on Android and iOS almost a year after the music streaming service made its debut alongside Windows 8. The apps allow subscribers to stream tens of millions of songs straight to their mobile devices, and create playlists that sync across your smartphone, tablet, PC, and Xbox 360.

Microsoft has also updated its Xbox Music web app to offer free, ad-supported streaming for all.

Windows 8 Finally Passes OS X In Market Share

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If you asked any Apple fan what they thought of Windows 8, they’d probably laugh and say it was a total dud, the perfect example on why Microsoft is just too hopeless to survive in the post-PC age. And you know what, there’d be something to that argument. After all, when Windows 8 shipped, it was fragmented between ARM and x86 versions from the start, and Windows 8 has been much lambasted from a usability perspective by both pros and casual users alike.

However, to call Windows 8 a total flop is probably going a little overboard. The latest operating system market share numbers suggest that Windows 8 is now installed on more computers than all versions of Mac OS X combined.

Microsoft’s iPad Hate-Fest Continues With New Acer Iconia W3 Ad [Video]

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Microsoft gave us a new anti-iPad ad yesterday, but there’s even more where that came from as the company released a new ad today that takes the iPad mini to task against the Acer Iconia W3.

The ad mostly focuses on the differences between iOS and Windows 8 and suggests that the iPad mini doesn’t have great games or productivity apps—which we all know is pretty much the exact opposite of reality.

Eventually the Siri-dubbed ad knocks on the iPad’s $429 price tag next to the $299 Iconia W3, even though Microsoft has conveniently forgotten that the W3 was originally priced at $380 before a series of price drops were introduced to try and get people to buy it.

Here’s the ad:

Siri Hates Herself In The Latest Microsoft Surface RT Vs. iPad Attack Ad [Video]

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https://youtu.be/wE7AQY5Xk9w

While Microsoft has lost an astonishing $900 million on the Surface RT and dropped the price to $349 to clear out inventory, they’re still bashing the iPad on national TV, this time using Siri to woefully lament her own feature-by-feature inadequacy compared to the Surface RT.

I have to admit, I love this commercial. Sure, the iPad is an infinitely better tablet, but I still think this is a funny and effective attempt by Microsoft to make the Surface RT seem like less of a lame duck. They should really be exerting this effort on the Surface Pro, though, which has gotten a much better reception than the also-ran RT.

Source: YouTube

Microsoft’s New Anti-iPad Ad Takes Aim At iOS Multitasking

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https://youtu.be/oG0yZLEPN_Y

Microsoft is continuing it’s anti-iPad ad campaign with a new TV ad that attacks the iPad’s multitasking capabilities. The ad pits two baseball scouts against each other as they’re armed with an iPad and Windows 8 tablet to see if a certain prospect is worth signing.

The tag line for the ad is “do two things at once without dropping the ball,” so naturally it ends with the Windows 8 bearing scout signing the prospect to a major league deal while the hombre rocking the iPad just couldn’t switch his apps fast enough because Windows 8 allows you view two apps at the same time.

You have to give it to Microsoft for not pulling any punches. It will be interesting to see if Apple responds. Remember the good ol’ days of Mac vs. PC?

Source: YouTube

Apple’s Internal Nickname For iOS 7 Is The Same One Microsoft Uses For Windows 8

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iOS 7 is clearly how Apple sees the future of mobile design. It’s a radical departure from anything the company has ever done before. The general aesthetic also feels a lot more like Android and even Windows Phone 8.

Whether it’s intentional or by pure coincidence, Apple’s internal nickname for iOS 7 happens to be the same as Microsoft’s for Windows 8, according to a new report.

Microsoft Lies About Windows 8 Tablet Screen Size To Try And Diss The iPad

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Earlier today, Microsoft released a new ad that attempts to show how much better the ASUS VivoTab is at getting stuff done than the iPad. A similar TV spot was aired last night with Siri being used to mock things like the iPad’s lack of Powerpoint (a Microsoft product).

Alongside its TV ads, Microsoft has put up a new webpage called “iPad vs. Windows.” At the bottom of the comparison it says that the ASUS ViviTab “has a bigger touchscreen” than the iPad.

False.

Microsoft Is Becoming Increasingly Desperate For Apple To Make iTunes For Windows 8

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There’s no denying that iTunes for Windows is one of the most important projects Apple has ever done. It allowed Apple to sell iPods, then iPhones, and then iPads (as well as billions of dollars worth of movies, books and music) to owners of Windows PCs at a time when the iOS ecosystem was much more tethered to the desktop than it is today.

But iTunes on Windows isn’t quite as important as it used to be, especially now that the iPad is king and Windows 8 is here, which has cratered PC sales thanks to the general confusion around its new “Metro” UI.

Any surprise, then, that Microsoft’s having a hard time convincing Apple to update iTunes for Windows 8?

As Windows 8 Flops, Apple Makes 45% Of All PC Operating Profit

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There may not be a lot of agreement on whether or not Mac sales are up or down right now, but one thing’s for sure: the overall PC market is dying, with the latest quarter seeing the largest overall contraction in PC sales in the last two decades.

That’s not to say you can’t make a lot of profit still selling PCs, but as the chart above proves, profit is no longer linked to volume… and as they do in the smartphone and tablet markets, Apple owns the largest share of the profit to be had.

WSJ: Microsoft Developing 7-Inch Surface To Compete With iPad Mini, Nexus 7

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Microsoft is planning a new lineup of Surface tablets that includes a 7-inch model designed to compete with Apple’s iPad mini and Google’s Nexus 7, The Wall Street Journal reports. The device will enter mass production later this year, according to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans, but it’s unclear when the company will bring the new slate to market.

Apple Devices Will Outsell Windows Devices In 2013 For The First Time Ever

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For the past few decades, Microsoft has absolutely dominated Apple when it comes to the number of Microsoft devices sold versus Apple devices, but 2013 will be the year that everything changes.

A report from Gartner claims that Microsoft’s reign is coming to an end, as 2013 will be the first year that more Apple devices are purchased than Windows devices.

iPad Among Most Difficult Tablets To Fix In New iFixit Repairability Guide

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Teardown specialists iFixit have published a new tablet repairability guide that quickly tells you how difficult it’s going to be to mend your broken Android, iOS, or Windows 8 slate. The guide features 18 popular tablets, which have been given a repairability score between one and ten. The higher the score, the easier they are to repair.

Unsurprisingly, Apple’s iPads are some of the hardest tablets to fix, second only to the Microsoft Surface Pro — the only tablet with a score of one. Amazon’s Kindle Fire’s, on the other hand, are relatively easy to repair, as are Dell’s devices.

People Hate Windows 8 So Much They’ll Pay $125 To Downgrade To Windows 7 [Image]

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You just got a new laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed. The new UI is beautiful, but you’re confused. Everything’s weird. You can’t find any of your files and apps. Things don’t work the way they have for the past 20 years. It’s a nightmare and you just want the old Windows back.

Don’t worry, there are Microsoft Certified Professionals out there who will help you out. And by help you out, I mean they will charge you $125 to downgrade your PC to Windows 7 so you don’t have to have Microsoft’s latest and greatest operating system. This can’t be a good sign for Microsoft.

 

Source: Michael Jurewitz

Samsung Doesn’t Think Windows RT Tablets Can Compete With The iPad And Android

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When Microsoft launched the Surface with Windows RT, it was supposed to be the answer to all of their iPad problems. It runs on cellphone chips, yet still looks like regular Windows 8. It’s supposed to be awesome. But sales of Windows RT tablets haven’t been strong, and now Samsung is saying that they’re second guessing the platform.

In a recent interview at CES, Make Abary, Samsung’s senior vice president who oversees the company’s tablet business, said that Samsung has decided they won’t launch their Windows RT tablet in the U.S. after discovering there’s not much demand for them.

Jailbreak Brings Mac OS (And Hope) To Microsoft Surface RT Tablet

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If you’re a Mac user who picked up a Microsoft Surface RT tablet out of curiosity when they went on sale last October, and you’re yet to find a use for it, then don’t despair. Earlier this week it was revealed that it’s possible to jailbreak the device and install desktop apps that are designed for ARM processors — something Microsoft doesn’t officially support.

One developer has taken advantage of the exploit to run an early version of Apple’s Mac OS operating system inside a emulator.

For $1,799 This Guy Will Build You A 32-inch Android Or Windows 8 Tablet [CES 2013]

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CES 2013 bug LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Big ass tablets “Table PCs”  have been all the rage at CES this year. Lenovo and Panasonic think that you want to throw a dance party on a big iPad on the floor. It’s amazing, but not in a good way.

Rather than waiting for everyone else to jump in on the big ass tablet craze – we’re looking at your Samsung – did you know that you can actually just pay Steven Hu, of T.S. MicroTech, to make you your own 32-inch Android tablet? Heck, he’ll even make you a 65-incher if you pay him enough.