consumer

Firefox for Windows 8 to run as single Metro and desktop app

Firefox on Windows 8 will be designed to work in both the Metro and desktop environments. But getting there won't be easy.

While most software aimed for Windows 8 will be Metro apps or classic desktop apps, Firefox will fall into a third category, according to a blog post last Friday by Mozilla developer Brian Bondy.

Firefox will be considered a "Metro style enabled desktop browser." That means it will offer the power and flexibility of a classic Windows app when used on the desktop--but can also take advantage of Live Tiles and other Metro features when … Read more

How to customize your Windows 8 desktop

The Windows 8 desktop starts off as a clean slate with no clear access to the applications and features you need. Here are some tips on how to create the familiar desktop you know and sometimes love.

Accessing your desktop from the Metro Start screen is just a simple matter of clicking the tile for desktop. You'll then see the familiar interface with just the Recycle Bin on the desktop itself and icons for Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer on the taskbar.

Setting up the desktop OK, let's say you want to first populate the desktop with shortcuts … Read more

View your disks' content with JDiskReport

JDiskReport is a free Java-based tool that displays the size, capacity, free space, and other parameters of your files, folders, and directories. You can display data in different views and rapidly switch between them. To use it, you must have an up-to-date version of Java installed, but of course that's free.

JDiskReport starts by scanning either a selected tree directory or your C drive; we chose the latter. We could save and reopen scans, too. JDiskReport displays a folder tree view in the left-hand panel and five tabs in the main window: Size, Top 50, Size Distribution, Modified, and … Read more

Install Windows 8 virtually with free software

Don't have a dedicated PC on which to install Windows 8? No problem. Just install the OS virtually on an existing PC using a free virtual machine utility.

Various VM applications will let you install an operating system in a virtual environment on your Windows desktop or laptop. But not all are free and not all support the latest Windows 8 beta.

A product such as VMWare Workstation 8 supports Windows 8 but costs $200. Microsoft's own Windows Virtual PC is free but won't accept Windows 8 as a guest.

Instead, you can use Oracle's VirtualBox … Read more

Windows 8 beta grabs 1 million downloads over one day

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is off to a hot start.

Proud parent Microsoft tweeted yesterday that 1 million copies had been downloaded since the beta hit the Web on Wednesday. The beta was released on the same day the company demoed the software at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Windows users were clearly curious to sample the beta, especially after tasting the Developer Preview launched last September. A work-in-progress peek into Windows 8, the Developer Preview raised hackles among many who found it geared more toward touch-based tablets than desktops and laptops.

The company touted on Wednesday that … Read more

Windows 8 keynote, demo videos now online

Those of you who couldn't make it to Spain for yesterday's Windows 8 Consumer Preview demo can now catch all the action through a series of online videos.

The event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona wasn't Webcast live, but Microsoft has posted several videos on its newsroom page showing off all the major highlights. Most of the videos can be viewed online or downloaded in a few different formats, though the "broadcast" links provide the highest quality.

The videos kick off with the entire 90-minute keynote with Windows President Steven Sinofsky introducing the … Read more

Windows 8 on Intel is unlike ARM in crucial way, Microsoft confirms

Microsoft made it clear today why Windows 8 on an Intel-based tablet will be different from competing tablets based on ARM chips.

After speaking in Barcelona for close to an hour today about how Windows 8 on Intel and Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will be the same, two Microsoft executives addressed, albeit briefly, a much more sensitive topic: why they're also very different.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

First, … Read more

How to install Windows 8 beta

Microsoft's Windows 8 beta is now available as a free download, which means that it's time to figure out how to install it.

Officially called the Consumer Preview, the Windows 8 beta is actually quite simple to install. There are some requirements, though. Most Windows 7 computers ought to be able to handle Windows 8. You'll want to have: a 1 gigahertz or faster processor 1 gig of RAM for 32-bit or 2 gigs for 64-bit a 16 gig hard drive for 32-bit, or 20 gigs for 64-bit a graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX 9 or … Read more

In the world of Big Data, privacy invasion is the business model

Recent weeks have seen a lot of (overdue) talk about privacy and technology. There was the flap over Path and other mobile apps uploading your phone's address books to their servers without your permission. A follow-up story noted apps might be able to slurp up photos and their location data on iOS, too.

There was the discovery that Google overrode some cookie settings in Safari in order to track users for ad serving. And Congress is still figuring out a response to last fall's concerns over software on phones that could share your location or other data without … Read more