Friday 12 September 2014

Windows 9 Preview


Windows 9 Preview

Can Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) win back former users lost to Google Inc. (NASDASQ:GOOGL)? Images of a Windows 9 preview that leaked online Thursday reveal how the software maker plans to try.
Screenshots for a preview version of Windows 9 released by a pair of Germantech blogs (via The Verge) show that Microsoft is hoping to please PC users who were turned off by its touchscreen-centric approach to Windows 8: by integrating some of its new features into something that looks more like earlier Windows versions. Microsoft will also integrate Internet search into the Windows 9 desktop, with a new search button placed directly next to the Start button.
The button gives users one less reason to open up a browser window and conduct a Google search, similar to how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is adding more Web-based information to its desktop search with OS X Yosemite. Microsoft disclosed earlier this month that the next version of Windows, codenamed "Threshold," will most likely be called Windows 9. The screenshots confirm earlier reports that Windows 9 will include an actual Start menu, as opposed to the button that only allowed users to alternate between Windows 8’s “Modern” (or “Metro”) user interface and a more traditional desktop.
Update (9/12/14): WinFuture has uploaded a video showing off the Windows 9 preview in action. The video, which is available on YouTubApps made for the “Modern” user interface are now able to run inside of a window, as opposed to taking up the whole screen, and a new button in the window for Windows Store apps lists previous “Charms bar” functions like search, share and play. Windows 9 will also allow users to switch between multiple desktops, each with their own layout and apps, as they can with Ubuntu Linux “Workspaces.” A button on the right side of the taskbar will also list messages from apps, similar to the “Notifications” bar in OS X.
Since this is an early preview of Windows 9 in an unfinished state, any of these features could change before Microsoft officially releases the OS. It is expected to release a public beta of Windows 9 later this month.
windows 9 release date beta previewLeaked screenshots of a Windows 9 beta preview confirm Microsoft's plans for a traditional Start menu. On the right of the Windows icon, a search button will also give users one less reason to open a browser window and conduct a Google search.  Microsoft Corp.Source: International business times

Tuesday 11 March 2014

How To Extend The Life of Your Computer



Here’s a little secret: Computers aren’t free, or even inexpensive. Getting the maximum lifespan from your computer is a great way to avoid an unnecessary expense. Like most other devices there are many simple things you can do to lessen the likelihood of your computer failing prematurely. 1.      Don’t turn your computer on and off unnecessarily. Some people feel the need to power down several times a day. You don’t have to go weeks without turning off your computer, but frequent heating and cooling cycles can shorten component life. The key here is balance.  Don’t restart too much and don’t leave on too long either.  I turn my off every other day or so the computer can load updates and fix file errors correctly. 2.      Blow out the fan vents regularly. A lot of air moves through those vents, and dust tends to build up over time. Keep the internal components cool is imperative to extending the life of your computer. Ideally, the dust shouldn’t be blown back into the computer. Taking it apart is the best method. If you’re not comfortable doing this, seek out a qualified computer repair specialist. 3.      Use laptops on a hard service. Using your computer on a firm surface will keep the air vents unobstructed. Using a laptop on your lap or on a pillow would be a poor choice. Your lap generates heat and is soft. A pillow is soft and highly insulative. A firm table, out of the sun, is the best bet. 4.      Use a surge protector. Many CPU problems can be possibly avoided with the use of an inexpensive surge protector. Unplugging during a storm or power outage is the best practice, but if that’s not possible, a surge protector can help. 5.      Get a regular tune up. Taking your computer into a qualified computer repair specialist is a great way to increase the longevity of your computer. They have the specialized software tools and experience to find potential problems quickly and easily. You probably take your car in for a tune-up on a regular basis. Your computer would be well-served by the same. 6.      Avoid eating and drinking while using your computer. Getting food or water down into your system can create all kinds of potential problems. Water and electronics never mix well. At the very least, blow out your keyboard with a can of compressed air regularly. 7.      Use in a cool environment. Computer components hate heat. If possible, use your computer in a cool place. A 95-degree summer day isn’t the time to be using your laptop outdoors. The cooler, the better. 8.      Use a good anti-malware program and keep it updated. Malware can cause all types of problems. With a quality anti-malware program, you’ll be able to keep a lot of potential issues at bay. Staying updated is important. There are thousands of malware programs released each day. With a few simple actions, you can be assured of getting the maximum amount of utility from it before needing a replacement. - 

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Thursday 6 March 2014

Is Windows 9 Microsoft’s secret weapon to get people to dump XP?



As we mentioned earlier this week, Microsoft has a problem because a huge chunk of Windows XP stragglers still aren’t upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows 8 even though there’s just over a month to go until XP support ends. Tom’s Hardware writes that Microsoft does have one more card to play that it hopes will finally convince XP diehards to switch: Windows 9. Microsoft knows that Windows 8 is a nonstarter for many XP users, which is why it’s apparently designed Windows 9 with the desktop user much more in mind. The company began its efforts to appease desktop PC users with Windows 8.1 — which added back a Start button and the option of booting up to desktop — and it’s only going to further down this road with its next major release. “Windows 8.1, launched in October 2013, definitely made the platform feel more like a single unit than the previous Desktop/Modern UI double-feature,” Tom’s Hardware writes. “Windows 8.1 GDR1, scheduled to launch in April, will supposedly help merge the two together. Windows 9? Even more.” Tom’s Hardware also points out that Dell marketing exec Margaret Franco recently said that her company’s customers are expressing “a lot more interest around developing the transition strategy for their OS” in anticipation of Windows 9. Of course, there’s one problem here: Windows 9 won’t launch until the fall of 2014 at the very earliest and has been tipped to launch as late as the spring of 2015. In the time between April and Windows 9′s eventual release, XP users are going to get swamped with all manner of fun zero-day attacks by malware developers who have had XP’s impending death on their radars for years. If that can’t convince them to finally dump XP, it’s doubtful there’s anything Windows 9 could do to change their minds either.
TAGS:MICROSOFT, WINDOWS 9
SOURCE:TOM'S HARDWARE

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Wednesday 26 February 2014

How to Test and Buy a Used Laptop

Not everyone can afford a Brand New Laptop.

There are numerous articles about choosing a laptop to suit your needs; most of them apply to new Laptops. There is significant market in second-hand laptops, as people upgrade, older models are sold on to recoup some money.

Buying a used laptop has its pros and cons, one hand, its cheaper; on the other hand, there maybe no warranty in case something goes wrong, repairs can be expensive. Here are 3 common types of used laptops:
  • Buy Refurbished with warranty/returns period (£££)
  • Buy Used with remaining warranty (££)
  • Buy Used without Warranty (£)
Options 1 and 2 leave you with some recourse so that if you find anything wrong within the warranty or return periods, you can get problems fixed without spending more cash. If you are considering a used laptop without warranty, option 3, you definitely don’t want to end up with a dud, which needs costly parts replacement or upgrade.

For example, if you are buying online on ebay, you will not get to test the laptop before buying it, but you can ask the seller some basic questions to help you decide whether the laptop is worth bidding for or not. If your seller offers a week warranty you might want to do all these test as a soon as you get it so that you can return it or get a refund to fix any problems that was missed in testing.

Alternatively, if you are buying it from a newspaper without warranty, you will have to test it at the sellers house before paying for it, because once you walk out the door, that is it.

Here are a few easy tests to make sure the laptop is in working condition before handing over your cash or before any warranty or returns period expires.

WinXP requires: 300 mhz processor, 128MB RAM, 1.5 GB Hardrive, Super VGA (800 x 600), CD or DVD ROM. Vista Requires: 1 GB Processor, 1 GB RAM, 128MB Graphics Memory (DirectX 9, Pixel Shader), 40 GB Harddrive (15GB free), DVD ROM.

Homework: Search for make and model online and get the technical specs and print it out to double check that it’s the right laptop for you, this is to avoid errors in the advert and listing. Know exactly what you are paying for.

How upgradeable is it? Do you need higher performance and capacity?
  • What OS does it have? Remember that Microsoft has discontinued support has been discontinued for Win98, ME in 2006, you might not be able to get security patches etc.
  • What type of RAM does it have? What’s the maximum RAM it can take? Are there any free RAM slots? For example, if you have 1 slot with 512MB, another empty slot and a max. RAM capacity of 1GB, you can add another 256 or 512 depending on what you need. However if both RAM slots are full with 256MB each, you will need to replace both with 2 x 512 RAM modules to have 1GB in total.
  •      Can you upgrade the OS in future? Win XP and Vista have minimum hardware specifications: 
  • What Hard drive does it have? What’s the maximum HD capacity supported by the mother board? For example, if the Laptop has 40 GB Hard drive, and the motherboard can support up to 80 GB, then you know that you can upgrade to 80 GB, as needed in the future.

Legal Issues:
  •      Does it have the original System Recovery CDS, Application CDs? This is important in the event that you need to re-format your laptop as it can be time consuming to obtain a replacement when you need it. The System Recovery CD is more important as applications drivers can be downloaded from the Laptop manufacturer’s website.
  •      Is the OS genuine? Look for the holographic sticker on the base, if you end up with non-genuine OS, you may not be able to upgrade security patches. If in doubt, make a note of the number and call the OS company, to verify that its genuine.
  •      Dodgy Property? Are any serial numbers altered or scratched out, this can indicate theft, something to avoid.
  •      Does it have an original box? Original boxing has proper foam supports to make you your laptop is transported safely, if there is no original boxing, consider collecting in person or taking out insurance for any damages in transit.

Functionality tests:
  • Does it have a power cable and transformer? Is the Transformer working? To test this, plug in and see if charging or AC lights come on.
  • Does the battery store charge? For how long? To test for this, use it in battery mode and go to power management to see how much charge it carries and how long that’s supposed to last. If the battery does not work, ask for a discount so you can replace it.
  • Does the CD/DVD drive work? To Test, insert a DVD or VCD to play. This also tests the Speakers.
  • Does the floppy read and write? To Test, insert a floppy and see if you can read and write to it.
  • Do the USB ports works? To Test, plug in a flash drive and read and write test on every USB port.
  • Hard drive condition? Does it grind a loudly when in use, like an angry rumbling stomach? To test for bad sectors, for Win 9x, ME, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scandisk. For WinXP, go to My Computer > Right click on disk and select properties > Tools > Check Now.
  • LCD Screen Condition? Can you see any dead pixels, flicker or lines?
  • Wifi adaptor, if you turn it on, can you view other networks?
  • PCMCIA slot/s, does it work when you insert a PCMCIA card? This is important if you don’t have built-in WiFi so you can use a PCMCIA WiFi adaptor.

Tips: 

  • Once you buy a used laptop, you may want to wipe it clean from previous data so you can use up all free space and get rid of any lurking spy ware or virus or set own partition. With XP it’s easy to format, just insert the recovery CD and it does it automatically. That’s why it’s important to have originals as it have be hard to get a replacement.
  • If you are nor confident about going to view a Laptop, bring someone who is tech savvy with you, or even if it just for moral support, whatever helps you to focus on making sure you are not buying a lemon.

Note: While these tests indicates the current state of the laptop, its does not mean that nothing will go wrong in the future.

By Hussain Akhtar
Source: www.ebay.co.uk

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Tuesday 25 February 2014

Silicon EDINBURGH: Second hand laptops, refurbished, second user or budget buying advice.

Second hand laptop, refurbished, second user or budget buying advice. 

How to get a great deal on a cheap laptop in 2014

What you should look out for in a budget laptop


We explain how to buy a cheap laptop when you are on a budget. Grab a bargain with our budget laptops buying advice. See our Group test: what's the best budget laptop? story for an up-to-date list of the best cheap laptops.
Buying a budget laptop inevitably means compromising somewhere. But if you must go cheap, just make sure the compromises won't make you rue your choice too soon after purchase.
Compromises can be the looks, the feel, the attention to detail that makes you want to connect on a more emotional level. Or it could be in the build quality, the choice of internal components or the available options for connecting the laptop to all manner of peripherals – and don't forget for connecting to the world at large through wired or wireless networking.
Unless you go for real bottom-dollar shelf fillers, the one area where you're less likely to feel the pinch is, perhaps surprisingly, in program performance. The Wintel world was built through the 1990s on a cycle of upgrades, new versions of Microsoft Windows and Office treacling a PC and forcing people to chase hardware upgrades.


That gravy train ground to a halt first with the Windows Vista debacle in 2007, which over-reached the cyclic software bloat too far even to captive Windows users; followed by the universal mass migration to mobile computing started by the iPhone in the same year, and hammered home by the introduction of the iPad in 2010. Mobile computing demanded leaner software. Even Microsoft got the memo, so that now, Windows 7 and Windows 8 can run on some 10-year old PCs without such issues.

There are many other ways you can be sold short though when buying a cheap laptop. Here are the key areas to look at. (See all our laptops buying advice.)
Budget laptops buying advice: Design
Laptops are much more personal than desktops, and typically owned and used by one person. They cannot avoid becoming as much a statement about you as the clothes you wear.
We can't tell you what fashion to follow, but be aware that cheap laptops are rarely catwalk models. They may use cheaper, lumpier plastic components, or simply be designed by people with no aesthetic sense, so be prepared to deal with something that's been not so much hit as battered into submission by the all-powerful ugly stick. It's not just about thicker-than-hoped chassis either – high-gloss black plastic has been de rigeur in some consumer electronics lately, a facile attempt at emulating piano black lacquer, and good only for preserving greasy fingerprints for posterity.
Design considerations also span into the engineering, so pay attention to points like the hinges, keyboard, access hatches and ask yourself if they look like they'll survive continued use or abuse.
Budget laptops buying advice: Materials
Premium-grade materials often serve a purpose. Take aluminium alloy, chosen for its strength, lustre, resistance to corrosion and malleability. Cheap laptops are nearly universally plastic constructs, and while that's not in iteslf a bad thing, it usually signals fatter and heavier designs than notebooks fashioned from metals like magnesium, titanium and aluminium.
Be aware that cheap laptop makes often disguise their use of inferior materials by spraying plastic to look like metal. Not only is it pretentious, it will look even worse after some gentle wear removes the faux-metal paint to expose dark plastic below.
Budget laptops buying advice: Build quality
Look how well the chassis has been put together. Check along the seams for air gaps, and see how well joined is the lid to the deck, for instance. Keyboards and trackpads are common cut-back components, leaving you with soggy typing or skittish mice pointers from low-grade capacitive touchpads.
Budget laptops buying advice: Components
The Windows PC sales machine was built on promoting internal components above less tangible aspects like battery life and build quality. So laptops would be sold on the strength of namechecking an Intel processor, the number of gigs of RAM or hard disk, and the size of graphics card inside.
At the budget end, you may see huge hard disks included as they're now so cheap. Solid-state storage makes life-changing improvements to your computing experience, but don't expect to see any in the cheap category, or rarely a small amount bolted on to speed up booting and program launching.
Displays are nearly always gloss finished, as they look more impressive in showrooms against matt screens. It's true they can have rich colour and even useful contrast ratio – but only in a pitch-black room. Unless they have an expensive anti-reflective optical coating – unheard of at the budget end – expect to see distracting reflections, and to have to reposition yourself, your laptop or your curtains for proper viewing of what's on screen, rather than what's behind your head.
Budget laptops buying advice: Performance
Don't be fooled by processor clock speed. AMD dropped out of this race years ago and rarely lists the gigahertz figure in its marketing. The fact is, a speed rating like ‘2.5 GHz' gives only the most rudimentary guide to performance, unless given the context of the type and generation of processor, and how many cores it includes, and any other go-faster tricks added by Intel and AMD to keep the aged x86 architecture in business.
A laptop review should include a performance score, but unless you follow the tech, a single number of, say, 3500 points in PCMark 7 is also worthless. Look out for comparison tables in reviews that may let you gauge the current possibilities together.
Graphics performance is never great on cheap laptops – a decent graphics processor to enable fast-running shoot 'em up Windows games is an expensive part of the parts budget. Instead expect to find an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) inside the main chip. And these are getting faster every year. But cheap laptops don't usually have this season's Intel chip, so will be behind the current-best anyway. For the most part, expect to do little more than play basic undemanding games; or to drop quality settings to their minimum to keep action reasonably fluid.
Performance is about much more than how quickly your spreadsheet or DVD rip is rendered though. Thanks to the iPad, people now rightly demand longevity too, and the days of the four-hour laptop are now behind us.
Except in the budget category, that is, where batteries are always scrimped. So look out for tiny, inadequate battery packs. Batteries are still relatively expensive so a manufacturer will do its best to give you as little capacity as possible (and thereby aiding the laptop's ‘weight' spec too).
‘Performance' also stretches to connectivity. Specifically, Wi-Fi wireless performance. Budget laptops are shackled with the most basic of 802.11n capabilities – the IEEE spec allows for three antennae to provide half-decent indoor range and throughput enough to meet last century's ethernet connections. But budget laptops may only have one aerial (sometimes rarely dubbed ‘half-n'), which limits wireless performance further.
Budget laptops buying advice: Connections
Modern laptops now sport usefully fast USB 3.0 ports for getting data in and out quickly. But budget laptops may still have part- or total complement of slow USB 2.0 to save on the parts bill.
HDMI is now ubiquitous for video output, but gigabit ethernet is far from a given – it's a way a manufacturer can save a few cents out of view of the buyer.
Budget laptops buying advice: Software
Windows is no longer a given, and the consumer is finally seeing more choice on the high street and its online equivalents. Google is edging into the budget space with its cheap-to-buy Chromebooks, although these come at the high cost of personal privacy.  
Macs are now more popular than ever before, albeit at the more premium end of the price scale, leaving Windows as still the incumbent offering on budget laptops. If you look around you may find Ubuntu laptops ready to buy, skipping the Windows tax and providing a more secure computing option; but for the most part expect to find unloved Windows 8 as your only choice, unless you can track down older end-of-line Windows 7 machines.
Beware that Windows laptops may have their low price subsidised in part by an obscene amount of pre-installed software from companies who pay to be put there. Also known as crapware, this includes software that pays kickbacks to the laptop maker when you sign up for expensive anti-virus or backup yearly subscriptions. Cheap laptops may make you pay with your time, as you spend hours trying to remove all the unwanted and obstructive software dross. See our Group test: what's the best budget laptop?

By Hussain Akhtar
Source: www.pcadvisor.co.uk

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Monday 24 February 2014

Microsoft Buys out Nokia and is arranging to introduce a new batch of contemporary Android Smartphone with a distinctive contrast

Built on the open source version of the Android operating system, none of Google's(GOOG, Fortune 500) services -- including its Play app store -- are included.
Android apps can be added, but much of the OS has been customized to highlight Nokia and Microsoft's own services, including Here Maps, and the Bing search engine.
Nokia has also included its own apps for things such as email and camera.
The hardware for each device is nothing special. The phones are thicker, heavier, and less powerful than many mid-range Android devices, but Nokia maintains that affordability is its main goal.
Elop said Nokia's entire line of devices will be under Microsoft's control once the acquisition is finalized, so even these non-Windows Phone handsets will tag along.
So what's the significance of the Android launch?
For now, it seems like an experiment. Microsoft and Nokia have done OK with the Windows Phone considering their late entry into the market, but still only have a fraction of the market share that Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Google have with their operating systems. A recent slump in Nokia smartphone sales hasn't helped.
The move may seem to run counter to Microsoft and Nokia's desire to grow the number of Windows Phone users. But the Nokia X phones are aimed at people currently not served by the Lumia range: the 100 euro crowd.
By targeting emerging markets initially, Microsoft is trying to make itself recognizable in areas where people wouldn't buy a Windows Phone right now, but might in the future as the cost of smartphones falls.

If the X turns out to be a modest success, Microsoft could give it a bigger push as it develops services across multiple platforms. And if it doesn't pan out, chances are this was a low-risk endeavor, so not much will be lost along the way. To top of page

By Hussain Akhtar
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/24/technology/mobile/nokia-x-android/index.html

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