Windows 8

Windows 8 core app updates due tomorrow

Microsoft is set to make available to users substantial updates to at least some of its core Windows 8 and Windows RT applications this week.

Microsoft executives announced today that starting tomorrow, they'll make available via the Windows Store significant updates to the Mail, People, and Calendar apps that are built into Windows 8 and Windows RT.

For a list of all the new features that will be part of this push, check out my ZDNet colleague Ed Bott's post on the Mail/Calendar/People updates. Like many early Windows 8 and Windows RT users, I'm happy … Read more

Windows 8 store hits 50,000 apps

Windows 8 and RT users can now shop for more than 50,000 apps.

Microsoft's Windows Store hit that milestone this past weekend, according to data from MetroStore Scanner, a Web site that monitors the number of apps on the store's virtual shelves.

The Windows Store got off to a slow start when it first opened for business around a year ago. Microsoft was challenged trying to convince enough developers to design apps for the new and unproven operating system. A month before Windows 8 and RT officially launched last October, the store housed only around 2,000 apps.… Read more

Do we need another Windows OS?

Microsoft made a case this week for Windows RT, its stripped down version of Windows 8. But do we need a third version of Windows?

It's been about five months now since Windows RT debuted. And this week Microsoft made a case to CNET for the new operating system.

Michael Angiulo, corporate vice president, Windows Planning, Hardware & PC Ecosystem, told CNET: "It was a ton of work for us and we didn't do the work and endure the disruption for any reason other than the fact that there's a strategy there that just gets stronger … Read more

Microsoft ready to update Windows 8 built-in apps

It looks like Microsoft is indeed poised to update almost all its core, Microsoft-developed apps that shipped with Windows 8.

At the start of this month, I posted that Microsoft was expected to provide updates to everything from Windows Mail to Xbox Music sometime in March.

On March 22, Windows SuperSite editor Paul Thurrott discovered there is a stack of updates that are "installation ready" for Windows 8. These include:

Microsoft.BingTravel Microsoft.Camera Microsoft.Bing Microsoft.Reader Microsoft.BingNews Microsoft.windowsphotos (Photos) Microsoft.BingFinance Microsoft.microsoftskydrive Microsoft.XboxLiveGames Microsoft.ZuneVideo Microsoft.BingWeather Microsoft.ZuneMusic (Xbox Music) Microsoft.… Read more

Nvidia CEO says Windows RT is disappointing

Windows RT has turned out to be pretty "disappointing" so far, the chief executive of chipmaker Nvidia said today.

Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking during a meeting with analysts at Nvidia's conference for developers, noted that devices using the software -- such as Microsoft's Surface RT and Asus Vivo Tab RT -- aren't selling very well.

"Windows RT is disappointing to us because we expected to have sold more than we did," Huang said. "Everybody expected to have sold more than we did."

He said the next question is: How important is Windows … Read more

Microsoft offers developers $100 per Windows 8 app

Up until last year, it seemed to be an unwritten (or maybe written) policy that the Windows client team wouldn't pay developers to write apps for Windows 8.

But that edict seems to have been rescinded. Microsoft is now offering developers $100 for each Windows 8 and/or Windows Phone 8 app they write, up to a total of 10 apps per Store. This limited-time promotion -- which started March 8 and runs until June 30, 2013 -- is known as the "Keep the Cash" offer. (Participants must live within the 50 United States and be at … Read more

What does a great Windows 8 gaming laptop need?

A recent question from a reader brought up an issue we've been discussing around the office recently -- the lack of Windows 8 laptops that include both a touch screen and a high-end GPU. Our reader's question, excerpted below:

May I ask for your advice on purchasing a gaming PC? I'm considering the Alienware M14x, but the only thing holding me back is the absence of a touch screen and I can't seem to find powerful laptops with a touch screen. Do you think touch-screen laptops will soon become the standard?

It's true that the … Read more

Lenovo reveals the thin and streamlined ThinkPad T431s

Today at the Engadget Expand event held in San Francisco, Lenovo announced its new ThinkPad T431s laptop. This is an update to the company's already available T series of laptaps. The new laptops features a 14-inch screen and will be released in April with prices starting at $949.

Not to veer too far from what's it's known for, the new 14-inch laptop looks like a Lenovo ThinkPad: It's (graphite) black, and there's a red button nub in the middle of the keyboard for navigating; however, there are a few changes of note.

At 3.5 … Read more

Samsung calls demand for Windows 'lackluster'

Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin offered some less-than-stellar observations about Microsoft in an interview published last night.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Shin said his company sees "lackluster demand for Windows-based products in Europe." And elsewhere around the world, he said, Microsoft's software efforts in smartphones and tablets are not going so well either.

"Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft's Windows operating system aren't selling very well," Shin told the Journal, ostensibly referring to both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. "There is a preference in the market … Read more