Windows Blog

Last week Microsoft announced the expansion of it's SkyDrive service (think DropBox with an extra 23GB) to devices beyond Windows PCs and Macs. Users can now experience a Dropbox-like service on iPads, iPhones and of course Windows Phone 7 devices.

The service is free and includes 25GB for users that have a Hotmail account. Those users who sign up today will get 7GB of data free. Like iCloud, Dropbox and Box.net you have the option to upgrade storage based on your needs.

Plans for SkyDrive start at $10/year for an additional 20GB to $50/year for 100GB. Not bad considering that Dropbox will set you back $200 for 100GB for essentially the same service.

You can download SkyDrive for the following devices:  Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Windows Phone 7. Of course the key driver for Microsoft is having a cloud storage service that Windows 8 can leverage when it is released later this year. I think it is a better and opposite strategy that Apple took with iCloud and Lion last year.

I personally see the benefit compared to iCloud offered by Apple. You get the storage and the ability to edit Microsoft Office files online, for free. What do you think about SkyDrive? Will you switch from Dropbox or a similar service?

Learn more about SkyDrive by visiting the official Microsoft website.

As we approach the launch of Windows 8 later this year, XP users must be asking themselves three versions later, "Is it time to upgrade?"

The answer to that question is two-fold, first are you missing out on enhanced productivity and tools that have been made available in newer versions of Windows and second, will you be ready to face the world of malicious software two years from now when support for XP will cease to exist.

The latter, should be at the forefront of every business and end user relying on Windows XP to run their personal and business computers. Two years should be sufficient time for an organization to prepare applications and systems to accommodate Windows 7 or 8 when it is launched later this year.

However, regular users can wait longer for that upgrade due to less issues involved around the actual upgrade, but even at that stage, if you are running a computer designed for Windows XP, chances are you are probably better off upgrading your PC while you are at it.

So for those of you running Windows XP, mark your calendars, April 8 , 2014 is the last day that Microsoft will support the legacy operating system. If you need information about upgrading to Windows 7, make sure you checkout our upgrade section.

If you've been using the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 and tried to shut down your computer chances are you noticed that the Start Menu was gone.

Yes, Microsoft did get rid of the Start Menu it's not hidden somewhere, it is simply gone. In its stead you will find the tiles which represent all of the apps installed on your PC and the new Charm Bar.

The Charm Bar is where you will find the section of the Start Menu that dealt with the powering off options, some Control Panel options, sharing (new option) and most importantly the search option.

The intent here is to allow for a seamless touch experience, but what about all those computers running in corporate environments? Well, you still have the traditional Windows Explorer look and feel when using Explorer, but everything else, specifically those apps designed for the Metro UI will most likely find it difficult to reside in corporate environments where the mouse and keyboard dominate.

That is not to say corporate won't move towards the adoption of touch it just may take some time.

The question is, should Microsoft bring the Start Menu back? What do you think?

In a recent blog post, Microsoft detailed how they are going to bring the Windows Phone 7 platform to 60% more consumers. This is great news for developers on the platform looking to sell their apps to additional markets on the planet.

The aim of this goal is to include other price sensitive markets that would respond better to a lower priced Windows Phone 7 handset. In order for manufacturers to sell hardware at a lower price they will need to sacrifice components.

To remedy this and keep to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 hardware guidelines, Microsoft has made a change to the minimum requirements that would drop the required memory on the device from 512MB to 256MB and allow for the use of more affordable processors.

I think it is great that Microsoft is trying to make their device available to a larger market, but I think that they will suffer for it because the experience will start to lag compared to the devices using Microsoft's original recommendations.

I thought Microsoft's goal was to create a a user experience that is the same across all devices, not fragment it. Apple has taught us that it works.

The whole reason we are going over the history of Windows Phone 7 and this example is that Microsoft is following the same approach with Windows 8 in that hardware manufacturers must meet a set of requirements for them to use the operating system in the tablet form factor.

I fear that pressure from OEMs looking to compete with Apple and Amazon's prices will force Microsoft to reduce hardware requirements for the benefit of cheaper components.

In the end I feel that moving in that direction will do more harm to the platform than help it. What are you thoughts? Do you think Microsoft should be strict with hardware requirements for Windows 8? Or should they allow OEM's to use the software as they wish a la Android? Share your thoughts below.

It's been a long time coming and it is finally here, the Windows 7 page on About.com Windows.

We've been working hard at adding Windows 7 content, specifically how-to guides to build up an entire page full of useful content that will help make it easier to learn and use Windows 7.

Here are some of the topics you will find on this page:

• Learn to Use Windows 7
• Installing Windows 7
• Securing Windows 7
• Be More Productive with Windows 7
• Maintain Windows 7
• Networking & the Internet

More topics will be added to include the use of Windows Live Essentials and other fun stuff you can do with Windows 7.

You will notice that we also combined the Windows XP and Windows Vista tabs to make room for the upcoming Windows 8 tab. The Windows 8 page will be ready before the official launch of Windows 8 to help you prepare for Windows 8 on your PC.

I'm looking for suggestions in building the Windows 8 page, what are you most interested in learning about the new operating system?

One of the things that I found in the latest Microsoft blog post regarding the system requirements for Windows 8 is that users who wish to run Metro-style apps will need a minimum screen resolution of 1024x768.

In addition, if you plan to use the snap feature you will need a minimum resolution of 1366x768. If you attempt to run a metro app in a resolution less than the recommendation, you will receive an error message.

The reason for this limitations stems from app scaling that occurs when different screen resolutions are used and to ensure that developers can build applications that scale to different resolutions.

So if you are used to running Windows at an 800x600 screen resolution or something less than 1024x768 you will have to change the screen resolution or upgrade your monitor in order to use Metro style applications.

If you don't care for Metro style applications and wish to use Windows 8, you will be able to use it at a minimum screen resolution of 800x600.

As most of the tech press expected, Microsoft announced the release of windows 8 Consumer Preview to the public. I've covered the expected release on the blog as well as have gone over some of the details regarding features and requirements for Windows 8.

If you're looking to give windows 8 a spin this is the version you want. It will give you a more stable experience and provide you with a glimpse of what to expect in Windows 8 when it is finally released later this year.

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum requirements and that you watch for some of the issues experienced by other users.

You can download a copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview from Microsoft by visiting the official Windows 8 Consumer Preview Download page.

I'll be giving Consumer Preview a spin so check back soon for some updates. If you've given Consumer Preview a try, what do you think of it thus far?

In a recent blog post by the Windows 8 development team, Microsoft expanded on a series of improvements that will be introduced in the next milestone of Windows 8 based on feedback from users on Windows 8 Developer Preview.

Among these you will find improvements to file management in Windows Explorer, picture meta data interpretation and overall performance improvements in Explorer.

Here's a few of the changes that really stand out:

The ability to pause and resume a copy operation. This translates to having the ability to resume copying files from say a server, if you happen to shut down your computer.

This is especially useful if you transfer large files or multiple files on your computer. All you would have to do is resume the copy operation to complete the process.

Conflict resolution for duplicate files. In Windows 7 users are presented with a prompt alerting them to duplicate files when moving files around. This prompt includes the date and size of the files in question.

Windows 8 takes this a step further and duplicates with the same name, size, and time stamp are automatically filtered out so that you can focus on the files with actual differences.

A very useful feature that will help get rid of duplicate files and declutter your PC.

Windows 8 will honor EXIF data on picture orientation. How many times have you opened explorer to browse your photos and found that all the portrait photos are not oriented correctly?

In Windows 8 this will cease to occur because Windows Explorer will seek EXIF data from the picture to determine the correct orientation. This translates to a photo viewing experience without having to hit the rotate icon.

If you are interested in some of the other updates that will affect how Explorer behaves in Windows 8, make sure to check out the Windows 8 Development blog for more details.

If you've had a chance to take the Windows 8 Developer Preview for a spin you would have noticed that a lot of the features and looks are derived from Microsoft's experience with Windows Phone 7 launched two years ago.

Underpinning Microsoft's approach in Windows 8 is ensuring that the operating system can run in a desktop/laptop environment and tablets.

With the increasing popularity of the iPad and other tablets it's only natural for Microsoft to follow the path of simplifying and morphing the most popular operating system for touch input in a tablet configuration.

Lesson 1 - Metro Interface Also Works on Tablets

The most obvious lesson is the user interface. Metro was introduced in Windows Phone 7 as a simple yet functional and appealing interface that makes Windows Mobile devices easy to use.

The interactive nature of tiles and the simplicity of the interface will be found in Windows 8 when launched later this year.

Lesson 2: Web-based Apps Are the Future

The first step was bringing web apps to Windows Phone 7, then with Internet Explorer 10, Microsoft brought a more immersive web experience to the browser.

With Windows 8 you'll get the best of both worlds, site pinning and a seamless full-screen browsing experience. This is an operating system where websites become apps.

Lesson 3: Push Notifications Are Important & Need Not Kill Battery Life

Like other tablet devices and Windows Phone 7, Microsoft will implement a battery-saving method to enable push notifications for emails, apps and more.

Lesson 4: Vetted Apps Make for a Better User Experience

Similar to Apple's App Market, Microsoft will only allow Marketplace Apps to be used in ARM-based Windows configurations.

This will ensure that apps are vetted before they make it to your portable devices.

Lesson 5: Hardware Specifications Improve User Experience

As with Windows Phone 7, Microsoft will have a set of guidelines that OEMs must follow in order to use Windows 8 on ARM based devices.

This will ensure a consistent user experience and set standards for the type of capabilities/components that all ARM-based Windows 8 devices will have.

The key here is Microsoft's ability to deliver on the user experience while ensuring that OEMs stick to the guidelines which will determine how functional and how well ARM-based devices with Windows 8 will run.

What do you think? Is it wise for Microsoft to set standards for ARM-based devices that want to run Windows 8?

How many times have you sat in your car to find that you can barely get in because your spouse changed the seat's position?

This is the same feeling most get after someone has used their computer; the wallpaper is different, your computer whiz nephew changes the default browser to Firefox, your desktop is in disarray and all while you just wanted to use your PC.

Unless you drive a luxury vehicle you will probably have to deal with changing the seat back to your favorite position, however with Windows 7 you always have things your way.

Windows 7 allows the Administrator account (most likely your user account) to create additional accounts with their own set of Documents, Music, Movie and Favorite Folders. Users can even customize their backgrounds and screen resolutions based on their preferences without impacting other user accounts.

The key to this is creating user accounts for each individual who will have access to the computer or if you prefer, you can use a Guest account if you intend to allow a total stranger to use your computer.

Both these step-by-step guides will show you how to make the best of user accounts in Windows 7.

• How to Create New User Accounts in Windows 7
• How to Enable, Disable and Use the Guest Account in Windows 7

In the next set of guides I will show you how to use Parental Controls that ship with Windows 7 to control what your Kids can do on the PC. Are you looking for a Windows 7 guide we haven't published yet? Use the comments section below or contact me for help.