Windows 8

Kinect looks to replace your mouse with your fists

Microsoft's Kinect might eventually reduce your reliance on the mouse.

At Microsoft's TechFest this week at its headquarters in Redmond, Microsoft is showing off an update to its software development kit that will allow developers to add more hand-gesture functionality to their programs. According to The Verge, which tried out the hand detection, the technology allows users to pinch-to-zoom with their hands and pan around the screen. All of that is done by simply waving and clenching their hands in front of the Kinect.

Microsoft's Kinect was first delivered to gamers by connecting it to the Xbox … Read more

Samsung's Windows RT tablet won't go to Germany, either

Windows RT is in a bit of trouble.

Samsung today told German news site Heise that it's changed its mind on releasing the Ativ Tab in Germany. Samsung had previously hoped to offer the tablet to German customers, but revealed to Heise that demand for Windows RT is low in the country, prompting it to rethink its strategy.

The news isn't all that surprising. The company told CNET in January that it wouldn't launch its Windows RT-based tablet in the U.S. because of low demand. Here's what Samsung senior vice president Mike Abary told CNET … Read more

Staples: Snag $400 by swapping old gadget for Windows 8 device

Staples in dangling a $400 trade-in deal to steer customers toward Windows 8 devices.

How does it work? The retailer's "Trade up to touch" Web page explains the process.

You first have to buy a Windows 8 touch device from Staples. It can be an all-in-one PC, a notebook, or a tablet, but it must be one of the qualifying items on the retailer's list. The list includes all-in-ones from Hewlett-Packard and Dell, laptops from Lenovo and Asus, and the various flavors of Microsoft's Surface RT and Pro tablets.

You then identify the device that … Read more

Picture this: Photosynth debuts for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft's Windows Phone app store has just gotten a little bigger, thanks to the addition of Photosynth.

The software giant said Photosynth, a 3D panorama photo app, has now debuted for the latest version of Microsoft's smartphone operating system. It's available for free from the Windows Phone Store.

The app allows users to stitch together photos to create panorama images or even full 360-degree views. After shooting and stitching the images, users can publish their photos to the Photosynth site or Bing or can share it via Facebook and Twitter.

New features added for Windows Phone 8 … Read more

Windows 8 swells to 2.7% of OS market

Windows 8 is winning over more users, but it's doing so at a snail's pace.

Microsoft's latest OS took home 2.67 percent of all global traffic seen by Web tracker NetApplications last month. That put it in fourth place among all operating system versions, just ahead of Mac OS X 10.8 and behind Windows Vista.

But that was only a slight rise from January's figure of 2.26 percent, which itself jumped from 1.72 percent in December and 1.09 percent in November.

Windows 7 remained in first place though its share was … Read more

Windows 8 $15 upgrade registration ends Thursday

Those of you who recently bought a Windows 7 PC can score Windows 8 for just $15, but you'll have to register by the end of the day Thursday.

To drum up interest in its latest OS, Microsoft cooked up a couple of upgrade deals last year.

The first one allowed any user of Windows 7, Vista, or XP to upgrade to Windows 8 for $40. That deal ended January 31.

The second one lets people who bought a Windows 7 PC between June 2 of last year and January 31 of this year get Windows 8 Pro for … Read more

Surface won't dominate but it's a 'real business,' says Ballmer

Sales of Microsoft's Surface may not set the tablet world on fire, but CEO Steve Ballmer still sees a key role for the device.

In an interview published today by MIT Technology Review, Ballmer snuck past the initial question of whether he was pleased with Surface sales.

"I'm super-glad we did Surface," Ballmer said in response. "I think it is important -- and not just for Microsoft but for the entire Windows ecosystem -- to see integrated hardware and software."

But the CEO did concede that Surface isn't likely to dominate the PC … Read more

Microsoft's first Windows 8 update halfway to completion

The Windows team at Microsoft just completed the first milestone build (M1) of Windows Blue, the first full-fledged update to Windows 8, according to a couple of sources of mine.

One of my contacts said that M1 marks the halfway point in the Windows Blue development schedule. The last and final milestone build of Windows Blue will be M2, said this contact, who requested anonymity.

It's hard to know what will come next, given Windows Blue is the first Windows release to be on an accelerated schedule. Will Microsoft deliver a developer preview of Blue? A consumer preview? Or … Read more

Debunking five Windows 8 myths

"What was Microsoft thinking?"

That's the standard reaction of longtime Windows users to their first experience with the latest version of the operating system. No Start button? No way to shut down so-called Windows apps (the ones run from the new Start screen rather than the desktop)? No "are you sure you want to delete" warning?

The best thing about Windows 8 is that the OS gives users more options than ever. You can do with Windows 8 everything you could with previous versions, and then some. The learning curve for Windows 8 isn't … Read more