windows 8

Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. and User Advocate and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group (www.nngroup.com), has spoken out about usability concerns in Windows 8. Nielsen goes into great detail about aspects of Microsoft's latest desktop operating system and how features just don't make sense to new and established power users.

The first Microsoft Store in Canada has opened at Yorkdale Mall, Toronto. The brick and mortar store will provide Microsoft with the capacity to accommodate consumers inside a specially crafted experience to ensure everyone gets the most out of what the company has to offer - whether it be Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, cloud services, Office, Xbox and more.

The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak was interviewed at TEDx Brussels by TechCrunch, where the technological genius was asked how he felt about the advances Microsoft is making in both the PC and smartphone markets. So how does Wozniak view the new Microsoft? He's worried for Apple, and for good reason.

Ever since Microsoft first announced to the world their intentions to “re-imagine” Windows it has been a rather wild ride. Their new touch screen user interface, WinRT wasn't just radical for its looks, it ushered in a totally new apps eco system while simultaneously sending the Start Menu to the technology grave yard.

The changes to the OS ran deep and Microsoft had been busy readying Windows 8/RT to run on the highly power efficient ARM processors. Their plans for that became clearer when they shocked the technology world by announcing their own tablet computer, the Surface. With the changes to Windows came a new declaration that Microsoft re-position themselves as a Devices and Services company. They have built their eco system and the next logical step has been to control the hardware that uses it. The culmination of their efforts in re-imagining Windows and becoming a devices and services company can we seen best in one single product, their Surface tablet running Windows RT.

Just bought a new Windows 8 machine? Excited by the start screen tiles and are an active Facebook user? Microsoft has a tool that enables one to create personalised Windows 8 start screen cover photos, using contact photos and other personal content from a connected account.

We mentioned Tweetro recently when we interviewed developer house LazyWorm Apps who are also behind the Windows Phone app MetroTube. The Twitter client is meant for Windows 8 and runs quite well on RT devices like the Surface. Unfortunately, it has also stopped working.

That’s not the fault of the developers though but rather due to in part to two reasons (1) it’s very popular (as is the OS) and (2) Twitter has a 100K token cap.  Long story short, Twitter implemented new changes to how their API is used for third-party apps and it's causing problems--if an app goes over that "token limit", they get shut down and stop working.

Today’s news that Angry Birds Star Wars launched on Windows Phone 8 at the same date and the same price as the iOS and Android versions is a landmark event for Microsoft’s new mobile OS. Such parity has long been the hope and dream of Windows Phone 7 gamers. Speaking of which, said gamers who are unable to switch over to Windows Phone 8 in the immediate future might be feeling left out now that such greatly-desired titles are launching on WP8 but not 7. We’re seeing that sentiment in our article comments and forums already.

As it happens, Nokia has commented on the possibility of Angry Birds Star Wars coming to Windows Phone 7. Check out their quote and our analysis after the break.

Microsoft seems to be taking its Skype acquisition and integrating it further into the arsenal of products and services the company offers - namely Messenger (or Windows Live Messenger). An article has been published on the Skype blog detailing what's on the horizon for Messenger users who now have the opportunity to connect to their Microsoft Account within the Skype client.

Good news for those who enjoyed the functionality of Parcel Tracker on Windows Phone. The developer has decided to support the app on the Store once again. This is after announcing their departure from the platform earlier last month. We've previously reviewed Parcel Tracker, as well as providing the developer with coverage for each major update applied, so it's good to see the well received app back on the Store. But that's not all that has arrived.