Microsoft today announced via The Official Microsoft blog , that Microsoft brand logo is getting a change. Microsoft has had the same logo for the last 25 years & with a new paradigm shift already in progress in terms of computing , it’s about time Microsoft gets a new logo. Sometime back Microsoft Windows got a new logo, where the Windows Flag was dropped for a single colour logo that resembles Window frames. This time Microsoft as a Brand has got a new logo: Quoted below are a few lines from the Official Microsoft blog:

“It’s been 25 years since we’ve updated the Microsoft logo and now is the perfect time for a change. This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 to Xbox services to the next version of Office, you will see a common look and feel across these products providing a familiar and seamless experience on PCs, phones, tablets and TVs. This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning.

The Microsoft brand is about much more than logos or product names. We are lucky to play a role in the lives of more than a billion people every day. The ways people experience our products are our most important “brand impressions”. That’s why the new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors.”

Check out the video:

We set out to make it as easy as possible for everyone to upgrade to Windows 8. Starting at general availability, if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 in 131 markets. And if you want, you can add Windows Media Center for free through the “add features” option within Windows 8 Pro after your upgrade.

To upgrade to Windows 8 you can simply go www.windows.com and purchase the upgrade therein. The Windows 8 upgrade assistant will walk you through the process of the upgrade by first running the upgrade assistant which will generate a report of compatibility of your current programs and hardware.

This process will then download and install Windows 8 on your PC. It is being said that Windows 7 & Vista users will be able to retain their personal settings and file, while Windows XP users will only be able to retain their files.

The upgrade assistant will help in downloading and installing windows 8 and will give you an option to pause and resume download according to your ease. After the download has been completed you can choose to install windows 8 as upgrade or you can burn a DVD from .iso file to do a clean install.

Source & Read more at : Windows Team Blog

It’s Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability. It’s an all-new touch interface. It’s a new Windows for new devices. And it’s easy to try now—whether you’re installing it for the first time, or moving from Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Windows 8 Release preview is the final pre-release software. So Don’t wait & get it now.

Let’s assume that you have a network running with single or multiple routers, either in home or office & you wish you block just the internet access to specific users. For this you have to login to your router by either IP address or router address & provide your username & password therein. Now in DHCP or DNS setting just uncheck the automatic DNS & mention the DNS settings to be anything you wish. for example: 192.168.1.15 or anything you like expect the router’s IP address.

Now all the computer systems over your network would still show the internet to be connected but won’t open any websites. To enable network access in a specific computer, just go the properties of the network adapter of that specific computer & within the IP address menu mention any open DNS. i.e 208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220 or google DNS would also do.

And that is all there is to it.

This Video explains what Windows Easy Transfer is all about.

System Requirements:

• 1 GHz or faster processor
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• 1024 x 768 minimum screen resolution

If your computer system supports the minimum requirements listed above you are all set to go, download & Install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Though, you should keep in mind that some of the features might need extra hardware support to run properly.

Windows 8 “The Idea”

It’s been said that Windows 8 has been reimagined & everything within Windows has been designed right from scratch, even the Windows flag has been replaced with four tiles that reflects a Window. It has been designed to work on wide range of devices that include tablets, laptops, desktops & all-in-one etc. Windows 8 has been designed to give user more ease with whatever they use this operating system for.

We’ve designed Windows 8 to give you instant access to your apps, your files, and the information you care about most so you can spend less time navigating and more time doing what you actually want to do. You can move between Windows 8 PCs easily and access your files and settings from virtually anywhere. We’ve made touch a first-class experience and navigating with a mouse and keyboard fast and fluid. And just like Windows 7, reliability and security features are built in. It’s the best of Windows 7, made even better. – Windows Team Blog

Things to Remember

This current milestone of Windows 8 is a pre-release version of Windows 8 & is just a preview of what will be coming next. Always remember that pre-release builds might give some problems or bugs as it’s still a work in progress. Though if you are a enthusiast, tester or anyone who likes to take the new technology hands on, you might as well love the experience.

You should backup your data & files before you go and install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. As this is a pre-release software you might as well install this as a second OS or install the same in a virtual environment.

At this point there is no official support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, though you can check out this blog & many others for new material to read on Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

You can check out this page for information on new features & related articles as I write them. More will follow as my Discovery in Windows 8 Consumer Preview starts.

Microsoft has announced the availability of the much anticipated build of Windows 8 at a Windows 8 Consumer Preview event in Barcelona today 29 February 2012. This milestone called  Consumer Preview is now available for download. The last build of Windows 8 called the “Developer Preview” was released in fall of 2011 & showed a glimpse of the next version of Windows to come. It is being said that the current “Consumer Preview” is intended for a broad spectrum testing scenarios within the general public and not only by developers. The Consumer Preview contains a lot of new features and updates to the ones that were shown in the Developer Preview.

“With Windows 8, we reimagined the different ways people interact with their PC and how to make everything feel like a natural extension of the device, whether using a Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft. “The Windows 8 Consumer Preview brings a no-compromises approach to using your PC.”

Download the Consumer Preview here

Some of the key features include :

• Broad range of product changes and improvements. Since the Developer Preview in September, designed to preview the programming platform, Windows 8 has progressed across every dimension. From completing the user experience for touch, keyboard and mouse to refining the development platform, the Consumer Preview improves performance, quality and reliability across all subsystems. With the added features, it represents a more complete view of the capabilities of Windows 8.
• Windows Store with new apps. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview marks the beta opening of the Windows Store, which is filled with a variety of new Metro style apps from both third-party developers and Microsoft. During the Consumer Preview, these apps are available to try and experience at no cost to users. The Windows Store will offer personalized recommendations, and Windows 8 gives users the ability to take their apps and settings with them across multiple PCs, making it easy to discover and try new apps while offering developers the greatest opportunity of any platform.
• Connecting to the cloud across Windows-based PCs and Windows Phone. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview offers seamless integration with the content people care about across their devices. An optional additional sign-on with a Microsoft account provides access to a host of features, including the ability to roam all settings, use cloud storage, communicate with email, calendar and contacts, and connect to a broad range of services. Your connection to the cloud works across your Windows-based PCs and your Windows Phones.
• Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 5. The best way to experience the Web on Windows is with Internet Explorer 10. The browser has been re-imagined to create a new experience designed specifically for Windows 8 devices. It provides an edge-to-edge user interface that is all about less browser and more Web. Fast and fluid, Internet Explorer is hardware-accelerated to enable Web performance.
• Preview of new hardware capabilities. At the event, Microsoft also showcased Windows 8 running on a wide range of new x86- and ARM-based reference hardware. This hardware will be available to select developers for trial and testing as previously announced.

Source: Microsoft press pass

This Video explains the basic difference between the 32 bit & 64 bit Windows. It also explains the function of Windows 7 upgrade advisor & compatibility centre.

It has been said that Windows 8 has been re-imagined & nothing has been left un-explored. Same goes the case with Windows logo. The new Windows logo does look more like a “Window” & not a flag, even when the good old flag design carries long history with it & has been a renowned mark for Microsoft Windows.

In some ways you can trace the evolution of the Windows logo in parallel with the advancements of the technology used to create logos. From the simple two color version in Windows 1.0 to the intricate and detailed renderings in Windows Vista and Windows 7, each change makes sense in the context in which it was created. As computing capabilities increased, so did the use of that horse power to render more colors, better fonts, and more detailed and life-like 3D visual effects like depth, shadows, and materiality. We have evolved from a world of rudimentary low resolution graphics to today’s rich high-resolution systems. And what started as a simple “window” to compliment the product name became a flying or waving flag. – said Microsoft

Here goes the evolution of Windows Logos:

Watch the final part of the video series : Windows 7 security checklist.