Windows 8

Microsoft is killing off its Points system that’s primarily used for its Xbox console. The death of Microsoft Points has been a long time coming, and follows Microsoft’s move away from the virtual currency towards cash in Windows 8. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans have revealed to The Verge that the software maker plans Continue Reading →

Microsoft on Tuesday announced Windows Blue will be officially called Windows 8.1. Furthermore, the new version will arrive as a free Windows 8 update via the Windows Store. The news was revealed at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, by Tami Reller, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Windows. Continue Reading →

Will the launch of Microsoft’s forthcoming update to Windows 8 next month be the company’s “New Coke” moment? Is its rumored plan to revive the traditional “Start” button it killed when it debuted Windows 8 a massive and humiliating reversal of course, following an ill-conceived reimagining of the company’s flagship product? Not according to Microsoft. Continue Reading →

Speaking at the Wired Business Conference, Windows chief Julie Larson-Green confirmed Microsoft will ship a developer release of Windows 8.1, codenamed Blue, at the end of June. The release will be available during the company’s Build conference, Larson-Green confirmed.  Microsoft is expected to ship a public preview of Windows 8.1 during Build, with a final Continue Reading →

After passing 60 million license sales in early January, Microsoft says it has now sold over 100 million Windows 8 licenses. The company has been rather quiet about its risky product bet recently, choosing not to disclose numbers during the recent quarter and the software’s own six month anniversary, but that radio silence has finally Continue Reading →

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 Continue Reading →

A report from PC services company Soluto claims the “best performing” Windows laptop is one that wasn’t primarily made to be used with Windows: Apple’s MacBook Pro. In creating this report, Soluto claims to have looked at 150,000 laptops, 224,144 crashes and 84,251 blue screens during three months. The result? Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro from Continue Reading →

With PC sales crashing and burning, it’s not surprising that several PC OEMs are still fuming about Windows 8, the operating system that has so far failed to reignite the PC industry. And now two unnamed OEM sources have told ZDNet that Microsoft and Windows 8 are primarily to blame for the accelerated decline in Continue Reading →

Windows 8 touch laptop prices are headed south. Way south, according to Intel executives. The price of Windows 8 touch devices, including laptops, will sink to price points that penetrate inexpensive tablet territory. These new “innovative” designs will be based on Intel’s upcoming quad-core “Bay Trail” chip, Intel executives said today during the company’s first-quarter Continue Reading →

Microsoft is planning to change the way its Start Screen operates with the release of Windows 8.1. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is currently testing builds of Windows 8.1, known as codename Windows Blue, that include an option to boot directly to the traditional desktop. We’re told Continue Reading →