Microsoft Windows - page 20

I picked up my first iPhone around three months after the device launched way back in 2007, and I’ve been an iPhone user ever since. I’ve dabbled with Android devices throughout the years, and I even tried webOS on the HP Pre, but I didn’t like either operating system as much as I like iOS on the iPhone.

When Microsoft first introduced Windows Phone, I was instantly attracted to it. I liked the look of the user interface, I liked the way the system worked, and I actually liked the fact that Microsoft was in control of the Windows Phone Marketplace. (One of the things that I dislike most about Android is that the Android Market has no approval process.) I’m not a fan of the Windows desktop operating system, and I’ve stayed as far away from it as possible after purchasing my first Mac. But I felt compelled to try Windows Phone.

So I did. I swapped my iPhone for a HTC TITAN running Windows Phone Mango for one month. Here’s how I got on.

Last month, OnLive launched its free cloud-based Windows desktop app for the iPad. OnLive Desktop provides iPad users with a cloud-based Windows 7 desktop that comes complete with the standard Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and 2GB of storage. This week, the cloud-gaming company expanded the features and storage available to OnLive Desktop users via new subscription plans – one of the most notable being that OnLive Desktop can now play Flash videos and content.

The company will also be adding a more full featured “Pro” plan that will let users install additional Windows applications and an enterprise service that would allow companies to configure and manage virtual Windows desktops on the iPad’s of employees.

Way back in the mists of 1991, in the dark days when Kevin Costner somehow beat Martin Scorsese for the Best Director Oscar (Dances with Wolves vs. Goodfellas. Seriously?), WinZip was first launched. The frustrating, hard-to-use piece of shareware is still going today, and has just elbowed its way into the iOS App Store. That’s right: WinZip is now available for the iPhone and iPad.

Following the release of Safari 5.1.3 earlier this week — which was bundled with the OS X Lion 10.7.3 update — Apple has seeded Safari 5.1.4 to registered developers. The release includes improvements to both JavaScript performance, and the way in which the browser handles PDF printing.

Developers have already received several pre-release builds of Apple’s OS X Lion 10.7.3 software, and we had expected last week’s release to be the last one before the update goes public. But it seems there’s still some testing to be done. Apple has seeded yet another build to developers through the Mac Dec Center, this time with the build number 11D50.

Even though OS X supports more and more applications every day, there’s still some software out there that can only run on Windows. That’s where Wine comes in. Wine is a free application that allows you to run many Windows applications on Mac OS X. While it’s not flawless, and it doesn’t support all applications, it’s pretty neat, and can be helpful if there’s a certain piece of Windows software out there that you really need to run on your Mac. Heck, it even runs Minesweeper. In this video I’ll show you how to get Wine up and running, as well as how-to convert Windows applications into OS X apps.

The Chronic Dev Team has updated its Absinthe jailbreak tool with support for Windows users. iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners can use Absinthe for Windows to install the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1.

Do you just like using the well-designed Apple keyboard with your work PC? If so, you know that there are inevitably some drawbacks to using Apple’s own QWERTYUIOP bar with Windows, mainly in the fact that many keys — such a print screen, volume control, eject and more — don’t work outside of OS X.

As is often the case, if you want to use your Apple keyboard as Steve intended within the Windows environment, there’s an app for that. It’s called Apple Keyboard Helper, and it’s a free download. Here’s what it does.

When Apple announced that it was going to sell OS X Lion exclusively as a digital download, many were skeptical. By not selling physical copies of the operating system, wouldn’t Apple be crippling Lion’s consumer reach?

As it turns out, Lion has already sold more than 6 millions copies in the Mac App Store, making it 80% more popular than Apple’s previous desktop OS, Snow Leopard. The folks in Redmond have taken notice, and Microsoft has announced that its upcoming operating system, Windows 8, will also be offered as a digital download.

Yesterday, I wrote a tip about using FileVault 2 encryption in Mac OS X Lion to encrypt a variety of external devices and SD cards. Although I like FileVault 2, I mentioned that it had some caveats.

The most glaring caveat is that media encrypted using FileVault 2 won’t work on other platforms. That might be fine in a home or business that uses only Macs, but it isn’t fine if you are also using computers running Windows or Linux.

Today I’ll show you how to encrypt drives that will work on computers running Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.

For users who work with both Macs and PCs, having a flash drive that can work between both and seamlessly transport files can be critical. The tricky part is choosing the filesystem that provides the best interoperability between both computers. In this video, I’ll show how to format a flash drive for both Macs and PCs the right way.

The iPad has been a staggering success for Apple since its inception in 2009, but if it wasn’t for one loud-mouthed Microsoft employee, the tablet may have never been born. Steve Jobs decided that he would create the device after listening to a Microsoft employee boast about a Windows tablet over dinner. When he got home that night, Steve said, “Fuck this, let’s show him what a tablet really can be.”

Those of us with Macs take for granted how easy it is to import pictures from our iPhones and iPods to our Macs – at least, once you’ve done it the first time. Things are a bit less obvious for iDevice owners running Windows:

Is there an easy way to move all the pictures from the camera roll [on my iPod touch] to my computer or an external hard drive?

Richard

Microsoft has been showing if its upcoming Windows 8 operating system at its BUILD conference in California this week, and while I may be completely dedicated to my Mac, I can’t help but think Windows 8 looks pretty darn nice.

We’ve already showed you how to install the Developer Preview on a Boot Camp partition on your Mac, but there is an easier method for those of you who just want to play around. In this how-to, we’ll take you through the setup for installing Windows 8 in a virtual machine — in just four simple steps.

For a number of reasons, mainly its long list of stability issues and its unquenchable thirst for any power your system may have, Apple will ensure we never see Adobe Flash on the iPad. And while the company has been criticized by competition for this decision in the past, it’s not the only one turning its back on the aging technology: Microsoft has also announced that Flash player will not feature in Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 tablets.

VMware has launched a brand new version of its popular virtualization software for the Mac. VMware Fusion 4 boasts more than 100 new features — such as 2.5 times faster graphics — and is now fully compatible with OS X Lion.

iEmu is a Kickstarter project from Chris Wade — one of the guy’s behind the first iPhone jailbreak — and his team, which is aiming to emulate iOS applications on Android, Mac and Windows devices. But is it really possible?

Apple has introduced a new feature in Mac OS X Lion called Resume. Resume will automatically reopen all the windows you had open the last time you used an app after you relaunch it.

Not a bad trick for some apps, but for some others it can quickly be really annoying. Here’s a tip on how you can permanently avoid it altogether.

One of Lion’s welcome new features is the Windows Migration Assistant. This capability is an add-on to the venerable Migration Assistant application which has moved data between Macs since Panther. There hasn’t been an option in the program to automate this task from Windows machines until now.

Alas, like early versions of Spotlight and Time Machine, how this technology works in practice is a bit buggy and not yet ready for prime time – at least in the current iteration.

The MacBook Air has ushered in a new era of powerful netbooks that function more like prosumer computers. In our review of Apple’s latest 2011 MacBook Air, it’s obvious that the Air now packs a punch and accompanying price tag that most notebooks of similar size haven’t been able to dream of for years.

The PC market is looking to level the playing field between the Air and its competition, with Intel announcing a new platform called the “Ultrabook.” The Ultrabook is the PC industry’s proposed MacBook Air killer, but these upcoming notebooks will also have an ultra-price tag that’s higher than the Air’s. Apple’s entry-level MacBook Air retails for $999.

The list of products flying out of Cupertino today continues to grow. Safari 5.1 is now available to download and introduces full screen mode, new multi-touch gestures, Reading List, and a whole lot more.

Since 1997, Intego has been providing some of the best security software for the Mac, including antivirus, firewall and backup programs. Using its expertise, the company has now created an app for iOS devices that aims to prevent the spread of malware through your email attachments. Don’t scoff.

Mozilla’s Firefox 5 web browser officially launches today, “bringing together all kinds of awesomeness to make browsing better for you.” Here’s what’s new…

The SyncMate 3 program from Eltima Software has been providing Android users with a way of seamlessly syncing their phones with their Mac for some time, but the latest update integrates support for Android powered tablets as well.

Everyone who owns an Apple TV loves AirPlay – it’s a fantastic way of streaming your moves and music straight to your TV that was previously a luxury only iOS and iTunes users could enjoy. However, thanks to the doubleTwist software, users can now send content to the Apple TV from their Android smartphones.

The doubleTwist software for Mac & PC advertises itself as “the iTunes for Android” and allows you to wirelessly sync your iTunes playlists, photos and videos to your Android phone with the accompanying Android application. Its most recent update introduced the ability to stream all of this content to the Apple TV over AirPlay.