Now a days, people tend to use more than a one platform and device to access their files. I do not like using Microsoft Office and actually prefer using Google Docs. Lately, I have started using Open Office to create documents and sync them with Dropbox.
But what if you want to sync a file or folder from your Windows computer with Google Docs. If you are using MS Word, then KumoSync will be a useful software.
Microsoft has been quite open about how Windows 8 will be build and what to expect from it. Recently it announced Windows Store as a new offering on Windows 8 platforms. Windows Store will allow app developers to create apps on Windows 8 platform. As Windows 8 will run on tablets, phones and PCs, it will be a lucrative for developers. Windows 8 Beta will be released in February 2012, and it will feature Windows Store. The apps available on Windows 8 Beta will be only the free ones.
How Windows Store will help developers
Microsoft is pulling out all stops to woo developers to create apps for Windows 8 platform. Developers will be paid 80% of the revenues collected once the app makes $25,000. Otherwise Microsoft will part with 70% of the revenues.
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Windows 8 will run on millions of desktops, laptops, phones and tablets. So this will be a very good opportunity for app developers.
Apps on Windows 8 Store will also be available, to be used on even on trial basis if the developers choose to do so.
Will Windows Store be successful?
Windows Store is an obvious attempt to compete with Apple’s App store. iPhone and iPad has given their users a lot of options and mobility. With Windows Store, Microsoft will be hoping to replicate that success over their much larger PC user-base and their growing mobile and tablet users-base.
It makes sense considering, users can choose to have Apps that sync on one platform which can run on various devices. Also if Windows 8 is supposed to compete as a OS for mobiles and tablets, it simply must have an app store to be lucrative.
What are your views on Windows Store? Do drop in your comments.
Today, Nokia launched the Lumia 800 in India. Lumia 800 runs on Windows 7.5 (Mango) OS. The phone looks quite adorable but more interesting part of this story would probably be how Microsoft and Nokia evolve together in the mobile market. Nokia has lost out big time in the smartphone market and these phones should be the starting point for Nokia to become competitive.
Here is what the Nokia Lumia 800 has to offer:
The phone has a 3.7 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display with resolution of 800X480. The screen supports capacitive touch screen and pinch zoom.
The battery allows for talktime of 13 hours on GSM and CDMA upto 9.5 hours. Video playback can go one fore 6.5 hours and music playback upto 55 hours.
The 8 MP camera supports LED Flash and also auto focus.
The memory is 512 MB program memory with 16 GB of storage. The nice part is it also has support for 25 GB Skydrive.
It does have Facebook integration and also supports Outlook and office application which might be helpful for people using Windows OS on their laptop and looking to sync documents with their phones.
Finally, the price. Nokia has not released the price tag for the phone but it is rumoured to be around Rs. 27,000. If that does turn out to be the price, this phone might make a dent in the smartphone market here in India. The phone will be available in December 2011. If you are looking to buy a new phone, here is a list of smart-phones available in India.
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Microsoft and Nokia in the same boat!
When it comes to brand image, Nokia has slipped in India. Microsoft well has not real great market-share as a Mobile OS in India. Currently the smart-phone bracket only has Android based HTC, Samsung phones grabbing numbers and of course the Apple iPhone 4. In a way, Microsoft and Nokia working together, makes sense as they both have a common goal to dominate a market they are not .
If you’re using a 32-bit Windows then sometimes you might get a Windows error while deleting or uninstalling a software which prohibits the uninstallation. That error is:
“This installation can only be uninstalled on 64-bit windows”
You get this error when you remove a file directly or even using “Add or Remove a Program” in the control panel. If you are thinking that just removing the desktop icon will help you then you’re definitely wrong. That just deletes the shortcut however every file related to that software will still be there and occupy the same space on your hard disc as before.
Solution:
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Well the solution for the problem is quite simple, just open your program files and find the software’s folder there. Delete that folder first before uninstalling the software from control panel. You can either open Program file by opening C: drive then click on ‘Program Files’ folder if you have installed your windows on C: drive.
Alternatively go to Start>Run and paste C:Program Files there and hit enter.
After deleting that folder open control panel and go to ‘Programs and Features’ and find the software you want to uninstall from the list. Double click that software to delete it properly without an error. You can delete any software using this method doesn’t matter what error you are getting. Drop a comment below if you got stuck somewhere.
I’m not a fan of shareware, as there are tons of freeware apps which act as an alternative. I see many of my friends spending money on Anti-viruses, Firewalls etc. because they think that these shareware apps are better than the free ones.
Shareware is not bad, for example, Gimp can’t replace Photoshop. But unless and until it’s worth it, you should keep avoiding shareware. Here are a few types of softwares you never really need to buy.
1#. Anti-Viruses
If you’re spending money on buying, renewing Anti-virus licenses, note that Microsoft itself provides an Anti-virus, completely free. MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) is just more than enough, to run it, all you need is genuine Windows. Best of all, it’s light with very less memory foot print.
Finally, sometimes common sense is all you need to remove viruses from your Windows.
The web is full of these crappy registry cleaners advertisements which literally do nothing, they rarely effect the performance of Windows.
#3. Maintenance Softwares
If you’re thinking that softwares like Tune Up Utilities will increase your system’s speed, then you’re completely wrong. I myself have tried many maintenance softwares and I have never experienced a performance boost. All they do is, clean temporary files (which you can do with CCleaner), fix registry errors (not necessary), defragment drives (only needed for XP, it hardly has effect on Vista and 7).
As Windows is evolving, system maintenance is getting automated and you don’t need a special software for that, though, it’s good to have CCleaner.
Paying for File-backup services like Dropbox is not a bad deal, but take a look at other services, especially the space they give, before paying for any such service. If you’re using Dropbox and 2GB is not sufficient for you, then I would suggest you to check out Wuala (detailed review here) or Livemesh.
Download accelerators like DAP (Download Accelerator Pro), IDM (Internet Download Manager) etc. offer premium version of their apps, if you end up buying such softwares, here are a few freeware apps which do the same thing, for free.
Down Them All
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If you use Firefox, you must have already knew about this, it’s the best download manager built into a browser. Unfortunately, it’s not available for other browsers, nor as a standalone app.
Developed my Microsoft itself, has a clean UI and does what it suppose to do. Although, I would recommend Down Them All over Microsoft Download Manager.
These are just the top 5, CD/DVD burning softwares like Nero are also really not worth buying (when is the last time you used a CD burner?). In this web, a percentage of paid apps are just bloatware. They are stuffed with unnecessary features which increase the size of it and certainly the price of it will also be high.
It has been many months since I saw a BSOD (Blue screen of death) on my Windows 7, but I have seen it a numerous times on my old Windows XP PC. This is one of the reason people feel Windows is not so reliable and usually go for Linux.
If you’re going mad due to this BSODs, here’s a handy app just for you. Blue Screen View points out the softwares/files/drivers which are making your PC experience miserable and then you can do something about it.
Blue Screen View basically reads the Minidump files which your PC saves when Windows crash. For this you should configure your PC to save Minidump files during BSOD crashes.
To configure, head on to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings (in the left side bar) and select ‘Small Memory Dump’ under ‘Write Debugging Information’.
Blue Screen View shows the time/date of crash, BSOD image (which is almost similar to the original one), drivers or files which are possible for the crash. It also shows the version, description of the drivers which may be responsible for the crash.
After you have found the culprit, you can try reinstalling it. Another use of this app is, you don’t need to note the BSOD code using pen & paper, it stores all the error codes, and you can Google it for extra help.
It’s portable (no need to install) and works with all versions of Windows, starting from XP.
Windows 8’s looks to be a great OS, with faster boot and many more features. If you have a Windows Phone, you probably know how Live Tiles look like.
When you boot your Windows 8 device, you’ll be shown a set of tiles which show the apps you’ve installed, it’s highly customizable. Mosaic is a Windows 7 only app for all those Windows fans who can’t wait to get their hands on Live Tiles feature.
Previewing Live Tiles using Mosaic
Mosaic promises to give Live Tiles experience on your Windows 7 device, it’s opensource.
You can add new apps to Mosaic from its store, there are many good apps like Gmail, Twitter, Google Calendar etc.
You can also add .exe files of the most used application to Mosaic Screen. To do that, hit on the forward button > Pin > Application, and select the executable file.
The wallpaper of Mosaic screen can be customizable too, for that, hit options > UI > select any image.
It also integrates with Facebook, you can favorite any of your Facebook friends and they will show up as Tiles, you can even access the wall.
Also, you can pin your favorite websites as tiles, it does have an integrated browser for that.
Mosaic is still in beta, but it is quite smooth on my system. If you’re a Windows 7 user, try out Mosaic and tell us what you think of it.
I use Windows Live Writer for blogging and for normal writing I basically use Notepad or Word. These apps are fully featured with no space left for inspiration, you actually get distracted due to too many features and UI. Ommwriter Dana is one of the simplest writing apps available for Windows. It is something you haven’t experienced before.
Ommwriter is developed with two things in mind, one is focus and the another one is inspiration.
The interface is extremely simple, it basically runs in full screen mode with a drag-able text editor.
You don’t get bored while writing on Ommwriter, as there’s a slow pleasant background music playing, currently there are 3 sound tracks in it (each of them last for 15 minutes).
The background is customizable too, with 3 background patterns available.
Not at all feature rich, as I said it’s developed to be simple and it is.
For better concentration and focus you can put on head phones. Ommwriter is a must have for writers, bloggers, poets and everyone who has a brain which can think.
Do you like distraction free apps? Tell us in the comments.
As the release date of Windows 8 (beta) gets closer, many new features of it end up being leaked and people couldn’t wait to get their hands on it. Microsoft couldn’t stop the leakage of Windows 8 screenshots and features, but I guess they’re now releasing information more willingly.
Here is a list of Windows 8 features, and these are confirmed ones, not rumors.
What’s new in Windows 8?
Windows 8 (beta) aka Windows Next(beta) is confirmed to release in September (that’s just a few weeks away), although the stable version will be available in 2012.
Windows 8 will support Tablets too, just like Android and iOS. So, the mobile OS wars won’t be boring anymore.
Windows 8 will feature a customizable start screen showing tiles of most of used apps (as in the picture above), so you don’t need to keep those shortcuts on your desktop.
Windows 8 will support web technologies like HTML5 and Javascript. These apps will run just like the normal ones. If you haven’t experienced HTML5 yet, check out Beat The Boot, it’s a game from Google, powered by HTML5.
Windows Explorer will get a ribbon UI just like Paint, MS Office and other Microsoft products. It will also get a ‘up’ button beside the forward button.
Windows 8 will come preloaded with Internet Explorer 10, even though most of them might not be interested in it.
You can integrate Windows 8 with your Live ID, this means all Microsoft products like Hotmail, Live Mesh etc will be easier to manage. Although, this is optional.
The ‘Time Machine’ feature which is present in the Mac OS is available as History Vault in Windows 8. With History Vault you can backup important files to another drive.
Another feature ‘System Reset’ will let you to restore system settings to default ones (factory settings). This is useful especially when you find your system unstable and unable to find which software is the culprit.
If you’ve a Pen drive of at least 16GB size, you can run Windows 8 from it! This feature named ‘Portable Workspace’ let’s you run Windows 8 from a USB (which contains the setup files).
Compared to Win 7, Windows 8 will take less time to boot with ‘Hybrid Boot’. With Hybrid Boot, Windows 8 keeps certain files pre-loaded, thus, it takes less time to boot.
Another improvement in the interface section is ‘Aero Auto-colorization’, with this you can predefine the color of the elements like Taskbar, Start menu, Windows Explorer etc.
You don’t need to use file copiers like Teracopy etc on Windows 8 as the File copying process is optimized, check the full article.
Windows 8 will support USB 3.0 which promises super fast file copying, as fast as 1 GB/ 5 seconds!
Windows Appstore is now confirmed, this also means that installing and uninstalling apps will be as easy as pie!
Built in PDF viewer, no more sluggish Adobe Reader. This is another feature Microsoft took from Mac OS.
Native ISO and VHD files support, you will no more need 3rd party tools to create and manage ISO files.
Those are the confirmed Windows 8 features with leaked screenshots.
Will Windows 8 be another Vista? Do tell us what do you think.
If you are using Windows 7, there is a good chance that while copy-pasting files from one folder to another, there may be two files with similar names. Considering copy-paste is one of the most used commands on any platform, Windows 8 tries to change the way people will approach copy-paste jobs.
With Windows 7, users get the options “Copy and Replace” , “Don’t Copy” and “Copy, but keep both files”.
I usually like to use the third option and then go over both files at some later time (which never happens :-P).
Windows 8 is changing how people resolve conflicting file names. Users will get the option to choose the files they want to be saved individually (see image below).
This will help users to actually select which versions of the files they want or keep both versions. According to official Windows 8 post, they plan to let users manage all copy jobs from a single place.
Here is a video with further details on Windows 8 file management basics
Windows 8 will be crucial for Microsoft, and new approach to file management is a good idea. What are your views? Do drop in your comments.
