metro

In case you missed it (which is likely), Fujitsu has entered the Windows 8-ready fray with a convertible "tablet PC."

You probably don't remember tablet PCs because they weren't big with consumers. Nor businesses for that matter.

But they've been around for at least a decade. For instance, there's the Compaq-branded Tablet PC TC1000 that Hewlett-Packard launched in 2002.

Or the more recent -- relatively speaking -- HP EliteBook Tablet PC series.

So now, in 2012, in the age of the svelte, 903g Microsoft Surface tablet, we have the 13-inch Fujitsu Lifebook T902 (PDF). … Read more

An ultrabook six months from now will make today's designs seem so last year. You can thank Windows 8 and the Metro interface for that.

The next Windows operating system -- which we now know is slated for release October 26 -- will bring touch screens to laptops. So, the standard ultrabook today sans a touch screen may seem a bit frumpy by comparison when new designs hit for the holiday season.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini said yesterday that "more than 40" touch-enabled Windows 8-based ultrabooks are in the pipeline. That would include designs like the Acer Aspire S7.… Read more

Get ready for the touch-screen laptop.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini said today that "more than 40" touch-enabled Windows 8-based ultrabooks are in the pipeline. All of those use the chipmaker's Ivy Bridge processor, he said.

Otellini was speaking during a conference call after the company announced second-quarter earnings today.

In total, there are more than 140 Ivy-Bridge based ultrabook designs in the pipeline, he said. About a dozen of those products will be so-called convertibles that allow a laptop to be converted to a tablet.

A recent example of a convertible is the dual-screen Asus Taichi.

Otellini … Read more

New York City smartphone users who ride MTA Metro-North trains may eventually be able to buy their tickets electronically.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Railroad is testing a new system this summer for buying tickets via mobile devices. The Metro-North is, according to some, the busiest commuter train in the U.S. by monthly ridership.

Acting as railroad riders, the MTA's own employees will download a free app to their iPhone, BlackBerry phone, or Android device. The free app will let them electronically buy any kind of ticket for any type of trip by entering their credit or … Read more

Those of you planning your next getaway can get a helping hand from Microsoft's Windows 8 Travel app.

Introduced in the Windows 8 Release Preview, the Travel app conjures up photos, articles, and loads of other data on vacation spots throughout the world. You can use the app to find the perfect paradise or look up information if you already know where you're going.

You can also get details on airports, hotels, and restaurants, and even book your air travel and make your hotel reservations by going through the app itself. Here's a quick look at how … Read more

Printing from a Windows 8 Metro app may throw you for a curve at first. But the process works fine once you get used to it.

For the Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft tweaked the way you print content, at least for Metro apps. Instead of choosing a print command from within the app itself, you print using the Charms bar. Selecting the Device charm provides access to your printer, among other devices. From there you can configure the various settings for your print job.

Here's how to print from a Metro app in Windows 8:

Despite their name, icons tend to be unappreciated, at least in Windows. But it's ridiculously easy to replace most icons with new (and better) ones, or add icons for specific uses (like the program your cell phone uses to talk to your PC). We're big fans of icon sets for Windows -- even more so when the icons are free. We recently came across a set of 343 high-quality Metro Style icons for Windows from VisualPharm, a developer dedicated to beautifying the Windows user interface. It's a simple download; just a compressed set of icons and an … Read more

Do you use the Start button in Windows? If not, then you're supposedly the reason Microsoft got rid of it in Windows 8.

Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft, told U.K. computer publication PC Pro that data indicated a decrease in the use of the Start button. Citing "telemetry" obtained by the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program, Sareen said the company found more users relying on the Windows taskbar for pinning and accessing their favorite software instead of going through the Start menu.

As a result of the reportedly dramatic drop in Start menu usage, … Read more

Microsoft's Surface tablet has got PC makers hopping mad. So, they're going to do something about it.

"[PC makers] are pissed off and they are looking for strategies now to not only counter the iPad but counter Surface," said a source at a large company that's part of the ecosystem -- the component suppliers and device manufacturers -- that does business with PC makers.

Separately, Roger Kay, principal analyst at EndPoint Technologies, told CNET last week that there was no shortage of "teeth gnashing" among PC executives and managers in response to the … Read more