windows 8

Lenovo exec: We didn't realize how big touch would be

Nearly every day seems to bring another dismal report about Windows 8 and the PC market.

If the forecasts and comments are to believed (and they largely are), few consumers are buying computers, opting instead for the iPad or other tablets. And if people actually want to buy the more innovative computers out there, like the ones with touchscreens, they have a hard time finding them in stores.

But Gerry Smith, who sat down to talk with CNET today after recently being named Lenovo's president of the North America region, said those suppositions are only partially true.

The industry … Read more

Dropbox plans Windows 8 touch support

PARIS -- Dropbox plans to launch a version of its software that will let Windows 8 customers use the file-sharing service on the Microsoft's new operating system.

"We are going to be launching our client app for Windows 8," said Aditya Agarwal, Dropbox's vice president of engineering, speaking at the LeWeb conference here. The software will of course work in the traditional desktop mode shared with earlier Windows versions, but also with the new touch-centric user interface of Windows 8 spotlighted with Microsoft's new Surface tablet, he said.

The move isn't a major surprise; … Read more

Windows 8 touch PC demand strong

Demand for Windows 8 touch-screen PCs is strong, according to two analysts who spoke with CNET.

"Touch machines are actually selling above expectations," said Bob O'Donnell, a program vice president at IDC.

And that means supply shortages. "Some vendors are actually facing shortages because touch panels are in limited supply. Vendors are saying they can't get as many touch-based machines as they would like to meet the demand that they're seeing."

Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, echoed O'Donnell's comments. "We've talked to a number of PC makers … Read more

Surface sales may exceed 1M in Q4, says researcher

Microsoft's Surface RT tablet is expected to see sales of more than a million units in the fourth quarter, IHS iSuppli told CNET today.

"We see estimated sales of 1.3 million" in the quarter, Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, said in a phone interview today. The fourth quarter still has a few weeks left.

"I would be surprised to see it much above that," she added as a qualifier.

The Surface RT version of Microsoft's tablet first went on sale October 26, well into the fourth quarter, so sales of over … Read more

A day with a Windows 8 laptop convertible: Keep the top up

I'd done my research, having investigated major Windows 8 convertible laptops on the market. The one I'd settled on, the Lenovo Yoga 13, had arrived. So last week, I went cold turkey with it on a business trip, abandoning my MacBook Air to see if Windows 8 could deliver a product that was both tablet and laptop in one.

Short answer: no.

As I explained in my last column, I've long wished for a device with the "instant-on" ability of my MacBook Air but also one that could transform into a tablet, for those times … Read more

8 things Microsoft is doing wrong

A few days ago, Tami Reller, Microsoft's chief marketing and financial officer for Windows, announced that the company had sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses since October 26 -- the day the new operating system launched. All puns aside, on the surface that seems pretty impressive, but recent articles by CNET and others indicate a much shakier start for Windows 8 and the hardware hinged to it.

On November 29, an article by the New York Times cited poor sales figures for both Windows PCs and tablets from NPD, the retail sales tracking firm, painting "a darker picture … Read more

Personalize your start screen with Decor8

Decor8 is a simple app for Windows 8 that enables users to customize the look and feel of their desktops, lock screens and the new Modern UI environment. Though Windows 8 comes stocked with some basic options, Decor8 adds extra features to give users that extra level of personalization and refinement.

After you install the app, Decor8 will appear on the Start screen like any other tile. When you open the app, you'll be greeted with an options menu that appears mighty hard to discern from a standard Windows 8 settings menu. From the Background settings, choose any custom … Read more

Intel to slash power consumption on Ivy Bridge chip

Intel is on a mission to cut the power consumption of its chips. But that's not only future silicon. The current Ivy Bridge chip will get throttled down too.

Intel will cut power consumption "significantly" for future versions of the chip, an industry source familiar with the chipmaker's plans told CNET.

Intel's most power efficient Ivy Bridge chips today -- used widely in Windows ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air -- are rated at 17 watts.

A future version of Ivy Bridge would be rated well below this, the source said. Processors able to throttle … Read more

How to enable metered Wi-Fi connections in Windows 8

One of the new features of Windows 8 is metered wireless connections. In the past, you could run Windows programs to monitor your data usage, but they didn't do anything to actually reduce data usage. With mobile hot spot and broadband card usage on the rise and unlimited data plans nearing extinction, every kilobyte of bandwidth saved is a penny earned. Enabling metering in Windows 8 will limit your PC or tablet's data usage by preventing nonessential data transfers.

According to Microsoft's FAQ on metered connections, the effects of enabling a metered connection are:

Windows Update will … Read more