Mac user: Why I love Windows 8

Microsoft jumps ahead to the future where most computing takes place on smartphones and tablets, Steve Kovach says.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• This fall, Microsoft will launch Windows 8, a radical redesign from the Windows of old
• The classic Start menu is gone, replaced by a tile layout full of your favorite apps and files
• In an un-Microsoft move, firm created the most radical desktop redesign in more than a decade

(CNN) -- I've been a Mac user for about 11 years. And since I made the switch, I never thought the day would come when I'd say this:

I'm excited for the next version of Windows.

This fall, Microsoft will launch Windows 8, a radical redesign from the Windows you've grown accustomed to since Windows 95 made its debut 17 years ago.

Windows 8 has been reimagined from the ground up, and it's built to run on both the traditional desktop and touchscreen tablets. At first glance, you'll notice the classic Start menu is gone, replaced by a gorgeous tile layout full of your favorite apps and files. Microsoft calls this the "Metro" interface. Imagine it as a blown-up version ofthe Windows Phone 7 interface used on several smartphones  now.

Those little tiles provide live updates with news, sports, weather, Twitter mentions and Facebook updates without you even having to open the app. In one quick glance, you can get all the information you need. It's not the same old Windows.

And that's what makes me so excited to try the final version of Windows 8 this fall. In a very un-Microsoft move, the company created the most radical redesign of the desktop in well over a decade.

It's incredibly functional, too. A beta version Windows 8 is available as a free consumer preview, and I've been using it for the last few weeks. Right now, there are only a handful of prototype tablets that run Windows 8, so I've been using it on a laptop instead.

However, since the Metro interface is designed more for touch than a mouse cursor, there's a bit of a learning curve with Windows 8. Scrolling through the Start screen can get confusing on a keyboard until you learn all the shortcuts.

But once you do, the experience is incredible, unlike any operating system I've ever used. It's the perfect hybrid of old and new. While Apple attempts slowly to merge its mobile operating system into the desktop with new iPhone-like features, Microsoft made a bold move and jumped ahead to the future where most computing takes place on touch-friendly smartphones and tablets .

It's enough to make an Apple fan like me drool.

But what if you're worried you won't be able to catch on to the new look in Windows 8?

The classic Windows is still there in Windows 8. Microsoft hid it behind the Metro interface. That means you get the same old taskbar, Start menu and desktop full of icons for your favorite apps. It's a great way to ease the transition. Plus, some apps such as Excel and Powerpoint just work better on the classic desktop.

Of course, it's far too early to tell if Microsoft's gamble with Windows 8 will pay off. Consumers have been slow to adopt Windows Phones, and Windows 8 is essentially just a blown-up version of that.

But if Microsoft can get me this pumped up over a new product, then it must be doing something right.

Windows 8 vs Windows 7- FIGHT !

Life…without a ‘Start’!

Just before I start off, let me make it clear that this isn’t an article on life (or suicide prevention…if you got that idea!). This is just a Windows 7 vs Windows 8 comparison detailing you on how you can live without the Start button, which you’d find missing in the new OS (which is Windows 8!).

Now that I’ve made my point clear (which means you’d just shut down your browser and, umm, shoot yourself!), let’s continue with our discussion. Or wait, let’s start afresh; go over to the next section!

The start menu

Normally, you’d find the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your Windows computer. This is easy to locate as, you know, ‘Start’ is written over it. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with Windows 8. In the new OS, there isn’t such an option, at least not in plain sight. However, you can get this menu by clicking on the bottom right corner of your desktop. Once you point your mouse at this position, you’ll know where to click. I mean, the location presents itself. And once you move out of this position, the menu just goes out of sight.

Okay, you needn’t go through all this trouble, you can just use the Windows key on your keyboard. This will pop out the Start menu!

Now, if you choose to stick on with your mouse and are using the ‘hotcorner’ (which is just another name I’ve given to the Start menu location!), you should know that this position is constant. That is, even if you’ve set the taskbar at the top, the hotcorner doesn’t change location. That is, whatever happens, you’ll find the Start menu only at the bottom left corner of your desktop.

Since now that’s clear, let’s move onto other Windows 7 vs Windows 8 feature comparisons.

The Power user

Technically, this isn’t a comparison. I’m just pointing things which aren’t in Windows 7, but hey, whatever!

So, once you right click at the hotcorner, you’ll get a menu pointing out the various administrative options you have. From here, you have quick access to the Control Panel, Windows Explorer, Task Manager, Device Manager and what not (it’s a really long list!).

Well, that’s enough comparison for a day. Check out the articles below for other comparison features!

Windows 7 vs Windows 8: Switching back to Windows 7 from Windows 8

Microsoft has released the consumer preview of Windows 8 a few months back and its available for free to download. It’s good to install this version to get a better understanding about the newly installed features. If you have already installed on your computer and understood everything about it, you might want to switch back to Windows 7. Unlike Windows 8, switching back to Windows 7 is easy and instant. This article contains instructions for doing the same.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 in a dual boot setup

Unfortunately, there is no way for switching back to Windows 7 without reinstalling it if Windows 8 is installed on the same partition of Windows 7.

Windows 8 installed on a new partition

If you have installed Windows 8 on a new partition, follow the instructions mentioned below for switching back to Windows 7. It is only possible to switch between Windows 7 and Windows 8 if both the operating systems are installed on your computer.

1. Reboot your computer while working on Windows 8. For restarting Windows 8, point your mouse towards the lower –left corner of your screen to open the charms. Click on the option labeled “Settings”.
2. Now you will be able to see a sidebar on the right-side of the screen.  From here click on the power button. Then click on “Restart” option on the pop up window.
3. As and when your computer loads up, you will be taken to the operating system selection screen. All that you have to do to switch back to Windows 7 is to highlight “Windows 7” on the operating system selection screen and hi the “Enter” key. Don’t take more that 30 seconds to make the selection for the computer will automatically load the default OS which in your case is Windows 8. For changing the default OS to Windows 7, click on “Change defaults” or “Choose other options” link and choose Windows 7.
4. You won’t get the operating system selection screen unless you have installed Windows 8 on a different partition or drive along with Windows 7.

That’s all with the instructions for switching back to Windows 7 from Windows 8. Thanks for your time!

Windows 7 vs Windows 8 based on file management

File management is one thing that we’re not used to. We think that copying, moving, renaming and deleting is all file management is about, but seriously it’s not. And it’s not your fault, all blame goes to operating systems of the past. Earlier, operating systems did just these functions. Technically, that was all we needed, but with the release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview, our expectations have changed. The thing is, the new OS has come up with several new functions and tools that’ll help you in your file management tasks.

Umm, I can see that this talk isn’t getting anywhere without giving you stats and figures. Well, for that, move onto the next section.

Windows 7 vs Windows 8

With Windows 7, all you could do was copy, move, rename and delete files. Let’s just use the term ‘copy jobs’ for future reference.

However, in Windows 8, there’s a difference. The new OS gives you more options in addition to an improved version of those copy jobs mentioned earlier. But before I detail you on the same, here are some stats. In a research conducted by Microsoft, it was found that 50% of those file transfer works take up less than ten seconds to complete and only 20% jobs take less than two minutes to complete. Yeah, that’s with the stats, let’s look at the details now.

In the new OS, you’ll be able to start, stop or resume your copy jobs. And the important thing is, all these tasks come under a single window so that it’s easy for you to keep track of all copy jobs taking place. Moreover, in case of filename conflicts, you’ll be given the option to view each file from the same dialog box- which is a really cool feature because in previous operating systems, you’d to view these files separately.

Also, you can even get real time graphs which show the transfer speeds and other details pertaining to the copy job taking place. This again is another cool feature as you can continuously monitor your system performance!

Well, that’s about the changes made in file management. For more features and developments, check out the rest of the articles in this webpage. Ciao!

Reuters: Apple iPhone 5 to launch in Q2 with a 4.6-inch LCD

 

We are still several months away from the iPhone 5 launch, but we are still getting the occasional rumor about the next Apple smartphone. We just got a particularly juicy one, courtesy ofReuters.

The international news agency quoted an unnamed industry source, who revealed in front of the South Korean Maeil Business newspaper that the next iPhone will be packing a huge 4.6" display. What's even more surprising, Apple will reportedly be unveiling it in Q2, merely 9 months after the 4S was announced.

Unfortunately, exciting as this rumor might all be, we seriously doubt its credibility. You see, switching from a 3.5" to a 4.6" display is as drastic a change as you can imagine and such drastic changes risk alienating some customers. And when you have a user base as large and loyal as the one Apple has, that's the last thing you would want to do.

Also, the Holiday quarter release worked out quite well for the iPhone 4S, which scored record sales, despite not getting as great reception from the media as its predecessor. We don't see how Apple would want to cut its product life short by unveiling its successor in Q2.

So while we'd love to see an iPhone with a larger screen and as soon as possible, we don't think any of this is happening. And 4.6" might be stretching it anyway, so we are not really sure you should feel bad about it.

 

ORIGINAL REPORT

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's new iPhone will have a sharper and bigger 4.6-inch "retina" display and is set to be launched around the second quarter, a South Korean media reported on Thursday.

Sales of the iPhone, first introduced in 2007 with the touch screen template now adopted by its rivals, account for around half Apple's total sales.

Apple has decided on the bigger 4.6-inch display for its next iPhone and started placing orders to its suppliers, the Maeil Business Newspaper said, quoting an unnamed industry source.

Its major display suppliers LG Display and Samsung Electronics Co declined to comment.

Samsung, which is also the biggest challenger to Apple in smartphones, uses 4.6-inch OLED display for its flagship Galaxy S II smartphone, introduced in April last year.

The high-definition "retina" display--containing several times as many pixels within the same area-- is used in the latest iPad released earlier this month.

The latest iPhone 4S was introduced in October last year.

Why are INDIANS so CRAZY about CRICKET !

 

1. Network effects and chicken and egg issues

You cannot avoid cricket in India. Everyone around you is playing. 

Some (many?) people will not attend work or school on the days of major matches. I don't know how things are now but at least when I lived in India even when people did attend offices and schools on the day of a match, they used to smuggle handheld radios in and were highly distracted.

So much advertising in India is also based off of cricket - cricket stars are practically gods.

The scale of that network effect is also very large, practically a billion people of every single age group and every walk of life.

2. It is a real estate efficient game

As some of the answers mention above, it is also a game that can be played in a land scarce environment - all you need is a straight street.

Sure once in a while you'd break your neighbors window or had to go recover a ball from a neighbor who had a nasty dog, but in general, it was considered worth it.

3. Cricket is a non violent way to wage a proxy war with Pakistan

Definitely more sustainable and fun than lobbing nukes at each other.

It isn't uncommon to hear stories of people on the losing side to commit suicide.

An American friend of mine was visiting India for the first time when there was some tension between India and Pakistan going on. His observation were that people around him didn't care about the national level tensions, however people were worried it might lead to an India-Pakistan match getting cancelled -  that should tell you something.

4. It is the only game India is capable of competing at the highest levels

If you are only good at one sport as a country of a billion people, you tend to be protective of it.