Windows 8.1 Launch is on October 17


At 4:00am October 17th PDT, 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...

The Daily Roundup for 07.02.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Windows 8.1 Preview is Available for Download Now


Microsoft made Windows 8.1 preview release available to anyone now. If you want to get your beloved start button back, today is the day. The final version of Windows 8.1 (aka Windows Blue) comes...

Windows 8.1 Preview Download Starts Today


Microsoft will make Windows 8.1 preview release available to anyone starting today. If you want to get your beloved start button back, today is the day. The final version of Windows 8.1 (aka Windows...

Xbox Points will be Replaced by Currency


I never understood why companies introduce points or any other virtual system. It is just a pain for consumers and has no advantage. Most recently Amazon introduced Amazon Coins for Kindle Fire...
    


Microsoft ‘Windows Blue’ will be called ‘Windows 8.1’ with a Free Upgrade


Microsoft has confirmed to release free upgrade under brand name “Windows 8.1”. It was first called Windows Blue. But from now onward, Windows Blue will be called Windows 8.1. The announcement was...
    


Windows Phone web store opens in 37 new countries, adds universal search, and supports installing apps via SD card

Windows Phone web store opens in 37 new countries, adds universal search, and supports installing apps via SD card

If you had any doubts about Microsoft's efforts to actually make an impact with Windows Phone 8, let this address them. After announcing that it'd be maintaining a full staff to certify apps through the holiday period, the outfit has just revealed that its web store for apps / games is now open in 37 new locations around the globe. (You can find the full list after the break.) All told, that makes 112 supported nations, complementing the phone store that's available now in 191 markets.

As for other changes? First off, universal search is being added -- instead of having to go one place to find apps and another to search for how-to articles, you'll now see all these search results in one place. The web store has also gained support for installing apps via SD card, which Microsoft points out could be useful when a solid cellular or WiFi connection is nowhere to be found. For the full spiel, head on over to the source link.

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Source: Windows Phone Blog

Microsoft posts Build 2012 session videos for eager Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 coders

Steve Ballmer at Build 2012 with giant display

Not every developer had the luxury of putting a flight to Redmond on the corporate tab so that they could attend Microsoft's Build 2012 conference in person. Much to their delight, they won't have to. The company has posted streaming video for every session addressing Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and beyond, ranging from the two keynotes through to nuts-and-bolts framework talks. Be warned: most programmers will want to know Visual Studio and similar tools like the back of their hand before tackling some of these sessions. If they emerge unscathed, though, they'll be well-equipped to live in Microsoft's Windows Store world.

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Microsoft posts Build 2012 session videos for eager Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 coders originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Nov 2012 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft: we misspoke, actually, they’re ‘Windows Store apps’

It happens all the time -- someone misspoke. During an address at Build yesterday, a Microsoft employee told a crowd that the company has taken to calling its apps "Windows 8 Store Applications." Turns out that's not quite right -- the proper terminology is the slightly more elegant "Windows Store apps," as per a note from a Redmond spokesperson. So there you go. No more Metro, no more "Windows 8 Store applications" -- just plain, old "Windows Store apps."

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Microsoft: we misspoke, actually, they're 'Windows Store apps' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 8 review

Windows 8 review

It's unusual, to say the least, for us to spend a year with a product before publishing our review. In the case of Windows 8, we've written thousands of words already, starting with our first hands-on in September of 2011, followed by deep dives on the Developer Preview, Consumer Preview, Release Preview and RTM build. Even our readers have had ample time to get acquainted with the OS -- it's been available as a public download since February. And yet, we've never tested a final version of the software running on brand new, made-for-Windows-8 hardware. With the OS now on sale (alongside dozens of new PCs), it's finally time for us to double back and revisit everything we've previously written in the form of a final, comprehensive review.

And what a challenging assignment this was: it's hard enough to give an OS the full review treatment without burying the reader in minute details. It's even tougher when the software was built for so many different kinds of hardware. Combining a traditional desktop with Windows Phone-inspired Live Tiles, Windows 8 was designed to be equally at home on traditional PCs and more finger-friendly devices, like tablets and hybrids. In addition to walking you through the operating system's various gestures and built-in apps, then, we'll spend some time talking about which form factors are best suited to this redesigned version of Windows. Read on to see what we found out.

Continue reading Windows 8 review

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Windows 8 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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