Windows

Windows 7 keeps growing in popularity over XP

Windows 7 increased its lead over XP in October.

As recorded by Web tracker Net Applications, Windows 7 scored a market share of 44.7 percent last month, a slight gain from September's 44 percent. Over the same time, XP's share fell from 41.2 percent to 40.7 percent.

Though the gap between September and October is hardly earth-shaking, the numbers show that Windows 7 is slowly grabbing more users from the now 11-year-old XP. After years of XP holding the dominant position, Windows 7 finally won the top OS spot in August, according to Net Applications.… Read more

Installing Windows 8: the pain, the poetry, the pleasure

Let me get the bad news out of the way up front: installing personal computer operating systems isn't easy, and Windows 8 is no exception.

I've installed more versions of DOS, Linux, Windows, Mac OS, OS X, Android, and iOS than I can remember over more than two decades, and the fact of the matter is that there's a basic level of technical difficulty. How many average people actually know the name of their hard drives?

It is getting better, particularly with iOS and Android updates or with PC upgrades. But PCs are complex beasts with complex … Read more

Win8 StartButton gets your Start menu back in Windows 8

Windows 8 users who miss the old, reliable Start menu now have another application that can fill the gap quite nicely.

Available for free, Win8 StartButton recreates the look, feel, and functionality of the traditional Windows Start menu. But it then ups the action through a host of customizable features.

After you install the program, the familiar Windows Start orb appears in the lower left corner of the desktop. Clicking on the orb displays the typical two-pane Start menu with easy access to all your programs and favorite Windows locations, such as your documents and music. The menu sports commands … Read more

Microsoft sued over Windows Live Tiles

Microsoft is already facing lawsuits related to the just-launched Windows, with an operating system technology designer accusing Microsoft of ripping of its patent for "tiles."

SurfCast, in a complaint filed yesterday in a U.S. District Court in Maine, said Microsoft infringes one of its four patents -- No. 6,724,403 -- by "making, using, selling, and offering to sell devices and software products" covered by SurfCast's patent. That includes mobile devices using the Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems as well as PCs using Windows 8/RT.

The company also … Read more

Metro apps renamed Windows Store apps

"Windows Store apps" doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. But that seems to be the new name for what were previously known as Metro apps.

At Microsoft's Build developers conference yesterday, Will Tschumy, one of the company's so-called user experience evangelists, led a session called "The Principles of Microsoft Design."

During Q&A, Tschumy was asked a question by the Verge's Tom Warren, namely: what do people call Windows 8 apps since Metro is persona non grata? Tschumy declined to comment on the whole Metro naming debacle but said that Microsoft … Read more

Microsoft has sold 4 million copies of Windows 8 since launch

REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company has sold 4 million copies of Windows 8 to consumers since the operating system debuted on Friday.

Ballmer made the announcement today at the start of the Build conference, a show Microsoft is hosting on its campus for more than 2,000 developers. Microsoft is hoping to convince developers to create applications for its new operating system and the Windows Phone 8 operating system that debuted yesterday.

"In a sense, what these launches really do is the kick off the golden age of opportunity for you as developers," … Read more

Poll shows tepid interest in Windows 8

A new poll suggests that Windows 8 may be hampered by scant consumer interest.

Microsoft bills Windows 8 -- a world away from the familiar surroundings of Windows 7 -- as a "reimagining" of the PC operating system. It may indeed be that, considering Windows 8's touch capabilities and app ecosphere. But whether consumers will take to the new OS remains to be seen.

A survey of nearly 1,200 U.S. adults by the Associated Press and market researcher GfK found that 52 percent of respondents had not heard of Windows 8 and that 61 percent … Read more

Wait a minute. Is this an Apple store?

This week marked a pretty big time for Microsoft. It launched Windows 8 and its new Surface tablet, and it also opened up its first stores -- albeit temporary -- in New York.

But the reaction to all three has been a little mixed. It's uncertain what sort of demand Windows 8 will see, and reviewers say the company's Surface is innovative but lacks apps.

In the stores, meanwhile, there's a little confusion, a little curiosity, and a lot of resemblance to Apple.

The software giant officially unveiled Windows 8 yesterday during a New York event. To … Read more

Microsoft boss confirms more hardware on the way

Microsoft's top brass confirmed that the software giant turned tablet maker plans to develop and build more devices.

Speaking to the BBC News' technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the company, which will later today debut the Windows 8-powered Surface tablet, will build more devices under its name. (CNET will be live-blogging Microsoft's New York event later this morning.)

Is it fair to say we're going to do more hardware? Obviously we are. We did our first piece of non-Xbox hardware when we launch the Surface. Where we see important opportunities to … Read more

Qualcomm CEO says Windows legacy apps have to go touch

Older Windows programs will have to be updated to incorporate touch capabilities, Qualcomm's chief executive said. And that's something that should help adoption of the newest version of the operating system.

Paul Jacobs, speaking today during a small press roundtable in New York before tomorrow's Windows 8 launch, said there will be "FUD" -- fear, uncertainty, and doubt -- around legacy applications when Windows RT first launches, but the capabilities offered by the new system will ultimately win over consumers.

He noted that older applications will have to be updated to take advantage of the … Read more