Windows Phone 8.1 screenshot leaks

Windows Phone 8.1 is said to be one of the biggest updates ever to arrive on Microsoft’s mobile platform, with a huge list of rumored features, now you are seeing what’s said to be the first and only ‘real’ Windows Phone 8.1 screenshot.

The image shows the settings for the upcoming ‘Notification Center’ in Windows Phone, a feature that is expected to mimic Android’s notification dropdown and store all your unread notifications.

You can see 4 toggles that will show in this new ‘Notification Center’ - GPS, Brightness, Wi-Fi and Flight Mode. You can also select notifications from which exact apps to appear in the new notifications hub, and you can see that there is an option to turn on and off at least email and messaging. A murky new feature inside the notifications hub is ‘banners’ that you can choose to show or not. Receiving notifications in this central hub will not disable live tile notifications. Notifications in the new version of Windows Phone will be actionable, so you could respond to them right in that 'Notification Center'.

Via
Source

BlackBerry Messenger coming to desktops

BBM was scheduled to launch on Android and iOS devices over the past weekend, marking the service’s expansion beyond BlackBerry’s own hardware. However, the release was quickly cut short due to technical issues with no word on when it might re-launch.

The company’s most recent setback clearly isn’t enough to slow down BBM’s expansion. The messaging service is one of the company’s few remaining valuable assets, and bringing it to desktop computers will help give BlackBerry an edge over competing apps like WhatsApp, which only works on mobile devices. The company still has to face off with iMessage, Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts, however, all of which work on both mobile and desktop, and have massive built-in user bases.

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Source

Windows Blue Is Now Officially Called Windows 8.1 & Free

The head of the Windows division at Microsoft officially confirmed that Windows Blue will be a free update to Windows 8 that will be available for download from the Windows Store. This should be music to the ears of many who feared that this may be a paid upgrade.

And not just that, Windows Blue is now officially known as Windows 8.1.

Tami Reller also confirmed that the update will also arrive for the company’s Windows RT platform.

There was more than a fair chance that this upgrade would indeed be free, but there were some voices that suggested Microsoft may charge additional money for existing Windows 8 customers. Nevertheless, it is nice to see this rumor quashed into oblivion.

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HTG Explains How to Perform Date Calculations with Windows Calculator

Would you like to know how many days old are you today? 

Can you tell what will be the date 78 days from now? 

How many days are left till Christmas? 

How many days have passed since your last birthday? 

All these questions have their answers hidden within Windows!!! Curious? 

Keep reading to see how you can answer these questions in an instant using Windows’ built-in utility called ‘Calculator’.

To start, open Calculator by pressing the winkey, and type calculator.

Open it. *this date calculation function works in both Windows 7 and 8*.

Click View, and select Date Calculation (or press Ctrl+E).

Ah! there you are...

You can perform two types of calculations here:

- Calculating the difference between two dates

- Adding or subtracting a number (days) to a date

Click the Calendar button in the From field to select your birth date. 

It will be showing the current date. Navigating through the calendar is easy. 

Click the title (Month), and it zooms back to show all the months of the year and the title is changed from Month to Year. 

Click it again to see a list of years in the current decade, and the title changes to the decade it is showing (alternatively, click the buttons on the left and right to move between years). Click the title again to show several decades.

Now that you can navigate through the calendar, select your desire date and click Calculate.

Interesting isnt it...?

Now you can work out with your date functions with ease.

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Source: HTG

Via: Geek

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iTunes Updated To 11.0.2

Apple has just released iTunes 11.0.2 which, among a bunch of bug fixes, also adds a new Composer view and improves playlist responses.

The new update adds a Composer view for Music, improved responsiveness when handling large playlists, and a bug fix for purchases that do not show up in iTunes. Various other performance enhancements are also included.

You can either check out the new release over at Apple.com or use the software update feature within the iTunes app.

Download iTunes 11.0.2 directly from Apple’s website if you’re planning to do a fresh install, or simply launch the Software Update tool to update your already-existing version of iTunes on your PC or Mac.

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Windows Blue hits Milestone 1 as screenshot leakes online

New reports claimed that Windows Blue just recently hit milestone 1, which is believed to be half way through the OS's development cycle. Milestone 2 will be the final build before Windows Blue RTM's, which is expected to happen in August of 2013.

It also appears to be true that Windows Blue will run version 6.3 of the NT Kernel, and not 6.2 as some originally believed. This is because 6.3 will tell applications what version of Windows it's running, 6.1 is Windows 7, 6.2 is Windows 8 and 6.3 is Windows Blue.

From this latest kernel bump, it certainly looks as though Microsoft will be delivering some significant changes. The screenshots themselves do not reveal what kinds of changes we could be seeing, but TheVerge‘s report also suggests Windows Blue is designed for a new fleet of hardware types, including the increasingly popular 7 and 8-inch tablets.

Windows Blue is expected to make an appearance sometime later this year, and will begin to ease users into the annual update system.

Obviously, Microsoft refuse to talk about Windows Blue, which means most details are still scarce. Nobody knows what Blue will include as an update, or whether the update will be free.

Follow me on twitter for the latest updates.

Windows Blue Confirmed

Finally, Windows Blue looked to be confirmed by Microsoft as they post a new job opening on the Microsoft Careers Website.

According to the post, The Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE) is involved in making improvements to the start screen, application lifecycle, windowing and personalization. Windows Blue will "build on and improve" these OS components.

it stated :- "We’re looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide."

Blue is the codename for the next wave of Windows-related operating system and services updates from Microsoft. There will be a Blue update to Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows Phone 8 and the Windows Services like Hotmail and SkyDrive and more.

On the Windows and Windows Phone fronts, Blue is expected to include new features and even new programming interfaces designed to bring the different flavors of Windows closer together, from an app model/development model perspective.

Windows Blue appears to be a wide-spread update that Windows 8 and Windows Phone will receive, there is no exact date for the upgrade as of yet, but many are speculating something to be released in mid-2013.

Source: zdnet
Via: Winbeta

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Microsoft to end Windows 7 support starting April 9th 2013

It has been two years since the release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Microsoft would like to remind those who are still running on Windows 7 without Service Pack 1 that the operating system will no longer be supported starting April 9th of 2013. If you are running SP1, you are still good for a while, but not entirely.

"Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack) will no longer be supported as of April 9th, 2013, following the standard Windows support lifecycle specifying that support ends 24 months after the release of a new service pack. Rest assured that Windows 7 will continue to be fully supported for a long time, with mainstream support continuing until January 13, 2015, and extended support continuing until January 14, 2020," As Microsoft stated in a blog post

Windows 7 SP1 will continue to receive mainstream support until 01/13/2015 and extended support (paid security updates) until 01/14/2020.

Take a look at the chart below;

Source Official Windows Blog

Via Winbeta

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Microsoft Office is coming to Linux in 2014

The Linux focused site Phoronix is reporting that Microsoft is looking at developing Office for Linux in 2014. This is based on a conversation the writer had at the Free Open Source European Meeting in Brussels, where he was told, 'Microsoft is having a "meaningful look" at a full Linux port of Office thanks to Linux showing signs of commercial viability.' - Larabel

Larabel is often right about things like this. But regardless of whether Office for Linux comes to fruition, the idea of Microsoft even thinking about it and potentially giving such a windows rivalry app free of charge may come as a surprise. When someone asked Twitter, Larabel replied that he wouldn't be surprised if there are "many doubters" but challenged them to "wait and see." He points out that Microsoft has offered "unlikely sponsorship" to Linux projects in the past, albeit on a relatively small scale, and that the rumored Office for Android may also function as a stepping stone. Still, there'll need to be a few more meetings in underground parking lots before we're totally convinced.

Linux has certainly been getting more serious support recently, with the game platform Steam now available on the Ubuntu distribution of the open source operating system. Linux is also increasing in popularity among government organizations, attracted by its cost cutting possibilities.

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Microsoft Combines with Huawei to unveil Windows Phone for Africa

Microsoft and Huawei have announced a new Windows Phone designed just for Africa called the "Huawei 4Afrika," part of a new Microsoft initiative called "4Afrika Initiative."

The phone has been designed specifically as an affordable option for students, small businesses, developers, and first-time smartphone owners, the Huawei 4Afrika with Windows Phone 8 will make its debut later this month in seven countries: Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The phone is available in blue, red, black, and white colors.

It has a 4-inch 480 x 800 display, dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor, front and rear-facing cameras, 10mm case, and 4GB of internal storage and a whooping 420 hours of standby time thanks to its inbuilt power saving technology.

The phone also comes preloaded with custom apps created by African developers for African consumers and feature a market-specific store within the larger Windows Phone Store for downloading locally-relevant apps and content.

Source
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By

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Windows Software to run on Android soon

Phoronix reports that an Android version of the open-source Wine software – which is used to run Windows-based apps on Linux, Mac OSX and BSD – is currently in development. The Android version was briefly demonstrated by Wine's original developer Alexandre Julliard after the FOSDEM 2013 talk in Brussels on Monday.

While Wine is coming to ARM and there's quite a lot of interest there, CodeWeavers is quite interested and hopeful for the success of Intel x86 Atom CPUs for tablets," Phoronix said. "If Android gains traction on x86-based tablets and other mobile devices, CodeWeavers has a lot of commercial opportunities for pushing the running of Windows software on Android.


According to the Wine website, the software doesn't simulate internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator. Instead, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly. This supposedly eliminates the performance and memory penalties associated with VMs and emulators, allowing the user to "cleanly" integrate Windows applications into a non-Windows desktop.

Wine originally began in 1993 as a way to run Windows 3.1 programs on Linux. It took 15 years before Wine finally reached v1.0, the first stable release, in 2008.

Source
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How to get Windows Media Center in Windows 8

Microsoft’s response to those who bemoan Media Center’s loss is that no one is using it. They cite a statistic picked up by the software that states only 6% of users ever launch it. However, it appears that that 6% are very fond of the program, despite the presence of many other free programs for maintaining a digital library, such as VLC and Media Player Classic. Originally, Windows was going to drop the program entirely, but, in the face of vocal opposition, have softened their stance. While they still aren’t packing it with Windows 8, they’re making it easier for fans to get it.

How to Get Media Center on Windows 8 Pro
Windows Media Center is available for those who bought a copy of Windows 8 Pro via Microsoft until February 2013, A great offer for all Pro users. What are you waiting for...? Head over to Microsoft and download your copy of windows media center.

Else follow this steps to get your copy
-Visit the windows website here
-Scroll down and you will find a box where you can enter your e-mail to receive a free Windows Media Center package for Windows 8 Pro.


How to Get Media Center On Regular Windows 8 Version

If you didn’t purchase the pro-version of Windows 8, but you still want Media Center, you have two options:

a) you can get the Pro Pack upgrade, for $69.99, which will also get you the ability to log in remotely to your PC, and switch between languages and keyboard configurations with no sweat.
If those features sound appealing, the upgrade pack may be the way to go, but for other regular Windows 8 users.

b) Or for anyone who wasn’t looking to spend quite that much, Windows Media Center is available by itself for $9.99.

Microsoft is Working on a New Operating System Codenamed 'Windows Blue'

Microsoft is busy preparing the next-generation of Windows client, shortly after shipping Windows 8 in October. Several sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans that the company is planning to standardize on an approach, codenamed 'Windows Blue', across Windows and Windows Phone in an effort to provide more regular updates to consumers.

According to sources, the new operating system will be released in mid-2013 which will include UI changes and alterations to the entire platform and pricing. Microsoft will price its next Windows release at a low cost or even free to ensure users upgrade. Once Windows Blue is released, the Windows SDK will be updated to support the new release and Microsoft will stop accepting apps that are built specifically for Windows 8, pushing developers to create apps for Blue. Windows 8 apps will continue to run on Blue despite the planned SDK changes.You will need a genuine copy of Windows to upgrade to Windows Blue. Built-in apps and the Windows Store will cease functioning if a copy is upgraded that is pirated.

Sources tell us that Microsoft will likely keep the Windows 8 name for the foreseeable future, despite the Windows Blue update. A big part of Windows Blue is the push towards yearly updates for Microsoft’s OS. Microsoft will kick off an annual upgrade cycle for Windows that is designed to make it more competitive against rival platforms from Apple and Google.

Source

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Windows Phone 7.8 to be released on 28th November

Not that long ago, we heard that Windows Phone 7.8 had hit RTM (Release to Manufacturing) status and that it would not come with Internet Explorer 10. Microsoft has yet to reveal when Windows Phone 7.8 will make its appearance and all we know is that this update is designed for those who will be unable to update to Windows Phone 8.

Now, a new rumor claims that Windows Phone 7.8 will be released this Wednesday, November 28.

 

We learned that Windows Phone 7.8 had been Released to Manufacturing (RTM) and that IE10 would not be making an appearance in the update. Microsoft has yet to official reveal when Windows Phone 7.8 will be rolled out but the company has indicated that it would be released soon after the release of Windows Phone 8. 

The update will bring the new start screen with new accent colours, Bing lock screen wallpaper, and on Nokia handsets SMS drafts and the ability to keep WIFI active when the device is suspended. it also includes re-sizable tiles and the removal of the gap on the right side of the Start Screen. Microsoft hasn't been too chatty about Windows Phone 7.8, which is designed to work on phones that don't have the hardware requirements for Windows Phone 8.

We are on twitter, followers for more updates. 

Run Firefox OS on your Windows, Mac or Linux PC

Earlier this month, Mozilla announced that its mobile operating system, officially named Firefox OS, would be put into some low end smartphones starting in early 2013 in Brazil. The OS is based on HTML5, the same language used to make websites and other applications.

Now Mozilla is allowing anyone with a Windows, Linux or Mac PC to check out and even test early builds of Firefox OS. It will support everything you would expect from a smartphone, (friend dialing, spouse messaging, internet browsing, web gaming, photo taking, video watching, and music bumping!)

This download is not for the casual PC user but if you want to get an early glimpse into what Mozilla is doing to compete with iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry you can download the Firefox OS daily desktop builds right now. After that is accomplished, you will have to head over to the Gaia Hacking Wiki page for instructions on how to set up your PC to install the Firefox OS build.

Disclaimer: This OS was released for developers and still under development crashes may occur, make sure you have a Mozilla account to report bugs and errors for the better development for this OS on the desktop and various mobile platforms.

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