When Microsoft rolls out Windows 8.1, the update to its struggling, 7-month-old operating system franchise, the company will not be bringing back the Start button as many users have been requesting.

But the company has acquiesced some. The company announced this morning that it will introduce something that a person close to Windows engineering is calling a "Start tip" that users can click on to go back to the Start screen in Windows 8.1. The "tip" is a Windows logo that that sits on the left hand side of the toolbar when Windows 8 … Read more

If you're new to Windows 8, there's finally a user guide available from Microsoft to help you learn the basics. The PDF document is named the Windows 8 End User Training Brochure. The 36-page user guide goes over basic Windows 8 topics like the Start Screen, touch-screen gestures, and navigating apps. It also touches on more advanced topics as well, like BitLocker, File History, and Windows To Go. Perhaps the most useful sections of the document, however, are the touch, mouse, and keyboard shortcut lists.

The document is short enough that you could print it for quick reference. … Read more

I know there are still doubters out there, but from everything I've heard, the rumored Start Button is going to be part of Windows Blue, aka Windows 8.1.

I've heard from one of my good sources that the Start Button, as well as a new boot-straight-to-desktop option are included in the most recent internal "Milestone Preview" builds of Windows 8.1.

What we haven't heard many leaks about is how this new Start Button will work. While sources have emphasized that the Start Button won't work the way the current Windows Start Button … Read more

A 256GB version of Microsoft's Surface Pro will be available to Japanese consumers, starting June 7.

Microsoft's Japanese Surface Web site already lists the tablet with the 256GB version selling for 119,800 yen ($1,171) and the 128GB version going for 99,800 yen ($975). The 256GB edition will make its debut in Japan, while the 64GB model apparently won't be sold in the country at all.

Both versions come with Windows 8 Pro and Office Home and Business 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook). The Surface Pro tablet will also treat Japanese buyers to … Read more

In all the talk about Microsoft's makeover into a devices and services company, one service many forget the company has in its back pocket is Bing.

Bing is evolving into more than "just" a Web search engine for Microsoft. It's also gives the company a way to harness and make use of data using Microsoft's myriad machine learning and computation capabilities. And though it may be hard to see through all the "Scroggled" fog, Bing may be more important as a service than a "mere" search engine to Microsoft going … Read more

Alongside the frankly more interesting Rove 20 tabletop PC, HP has also announced revisions to the rest of its Pavilion and Envy laptop lineups. However, included in this bundle is one product that caught our eye: an update to one of our favorite laptops.

The new HP Pavilion 11 TouchSmart is an 11-inch semi-sequel to the low-cost, AMD-powered HP dm1, a system we loved when it was released in 2011 because it offered decent, portable performance at near-Netbook prices.

The new version, also with an AMD CPU, adds a standard Windows 8 touch screen and will start at $399 (yes, … Read more

The prerelease code names of AMD's new low-power and mainstream CPUs, Temash, Kabini, and Richland, may not mean much to laptop shoppers, but these components aim to give ultrathin laptops, tablets, and other PCs better value and battery life.

For the past several years, AMD has actually named its processors APUs rather than CPUs, which stands for accelerated processing unit, and combines a CPU and integrated graphics into a single part. The new chips follow that model, and take aim at where a lot of the action in tablet, hybrids, and laptops is right now, at the low-to-middle part … Read more

This new category of PC can be hard to pin down. To some, these are all-in-one desktops, similar to the Apple iMac, but with the added ability to either fold down flat or detach their screens. To others, these are battery-powered megatablets, with screens measuring between 18 and 27 inches, but are otherwise similar to Windows 8 slates such as Microsoft's Surface Pro. But, I think they're an entirely different animal, with features of a personal computer, a piece of consumer electronics equipment, and even living-room furniture.

That's why I call them tabletop PCs, and since late … Read more

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