Consumer software and hardware

Windows 8 or RT tablet? Retail may be a guide

Wondering whether to buy a Windows RT tablet? The status of RT at retail may be a good guide.

As of Wednesday evening, the Microsoft store listed no Windows RT tablets aside from Microsoft's own Surface RT. Tablets like the Asus VivoTab RT are no longer listed (though the Intel-based VivoTab is on the site). Even Dell's XPS 10 -- reduced this week to $299.99 -- is absent.

On the other hand, the store lists more than a dozen Windows 8 tablets based on either Intel Core processors or Intel's Atom chip.

On Tuesday, Microsoft Chief … Read more

Surface RT tablet buyers in the UK can score a free cover

U.K. consumers who pick up Microsoft's Surface RT tablet can get a free Touch or Type cover as part of the deal.

Buyers simply need to purchase the tablet through Microsoft's online store or through qualifying retailers, such as John Lewis, Currys, or PC World. The Touch cover normally sells separately in the U.K. for 99.99 pounds ($152), while the Type cover goes for 109.99 pounds ($167). Both prices include value-added tax.

The Surface RT tablet runs for 399 pounds ($608) for the 32GB version and 479 pounds ($729) for 64GB.

The deal exclusively … Read more

How to get the Start menu back in Windows 8

Editors' note: This story was originally published on August 20, 2012. It has been updated several times since then to include additional programs and other details, most recently with Start Menu Reviver on May 15, 2013.

Still miss the classic Start menu in Windows 8? Never fear, alternatives are here.

Microsoft lopped off the Start menu in Windows 8 to force people to use the Start screen. And I'll admit it, the Start screen does offers several benefits.

Live Tiles can clue you in to the latest e-mails, appointments, news, and other information. You can easily search for any … Read more

No more points for Xbox players, report says

Xbox users may be able to use gift cards and credit cards, instead of points, to purchase games and other content.

"Sources familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans" told tech news site The Verge that Microsoft will replace its Xbox Points system with gift cards. The gift cards will let Xbox owners buy currency to purchase games and other content. Users also will be able to use credit and debit cards to buy Xbox items online.

The gift cards would work in the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store, The Verge added. Microsoft may announce the new … Read more

Microsoft to open up more tickets to Build conference

Those of you who failed to score a ticket for Microsoft's Build conference the first time will now get another chance.

A limited number of additional tickets to Build will go on sale starting Wednesday, May 15, at 9 a.m. PT. Scheduled to take place from June 26 to 28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the conference costs $2,095 for a full-price ticket. "Academic" tickets, which are still available in short supply, go for $995 a piece.

Tickets for the popular event initially went on sale on April 2 and apparently sold out … Read more

No iTunes for Windows 8 devices anytime soon

Microsoft Windows 8 users will likely get access to all the most popular apps in Apple's iTunes store. But it's doubtful they'll get iTunes anytime soon, according to a recent interview a Microsoft exec gave to CNN Money.

Tami Reller, chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows division, said that by the holiday season the Microsoft will support the most popular apps in Apple's App Store in its own app store. Microsoft now has more than 60,000 apps available, and users have downloaded about 250 million of them.

But the one app that is likely … Read more

Microsoft continues its kiosk kick, will open new 'specialty stores'

Microsoft's brick-and-mortar store expansion is increasingly happening via "specialty stores," which are kiosks and small storefront-type outlets, typically located in shopping centers and malls.

On May 8, Microsoft announced it will be opening four new specialty stores in May and June. The four newest locales: Roseville, Calif.; Arlington, Texas; Novi, Mich.; and Seattle. In April, Microsoft opened five new specialty stores.

According to Microsoft's Store locator page, there are a total of 34 specialty stores in the U.S. and Canada that are open now and/or opening soon. That's out of a total of … Read more

Windows 8.1 reportedly updates apps silently

Updating apps in Windows 8.1 will apparently be a simpler process than it is in Windows 8.

Users who installed the latest Windows 8.1 build, known as 9385, discovered that several apps had automatically updated themselves in the background, according to blog site Winbeta. One of the apps that took care of its own update was a new one called Movie Moments, which lets people create and edit short video clips.

The new update process could be an improvement over the one in Windows 8. Currently, people are notified of new app updates but need to venture into … Read more

Acer to launch Win 8 tablets with smaller screens this year

Acer plans to launch Windows 8 tablets with smaller screen sizes in the second half of the year, an executive said Friday.

Such devices will feature touch screens smaller than 10 inches, Emmanuel Fromont, Acer president for the Pan America region, and Sumit Agnihotry, Acer vice president of product marketing, told CNET in an interview following an Acer product launch event in New York.

They likely will cost below $400 -- the typical entry point for Windows tablets today -- and will be pushed as productivity devices that link to the traditional PC world more easily than Android devices, the … Read more