PRS 4 U

2016-09-21T02:33:00.003-05:00

Upcoming Tech Product Releases

2015-11-10T23:50:00.001-06:00

Wondering what's coming in the weeks ahead? You could consult your favorite fortune teller, but she won't tell you what's really important: the latest gadget releases!
Whatever it is—a game, a phone, a tablet, or a mysterious new product—if we've got the scoop on when it's going to make a public debut, we'll share it here. Bookmark this page so you'll know when you can get your hands on the latest products. Maybe you'll even discover something here you didn't know you absolutely had to have.

March 2015
Bloodborne
Bloodborne is a PlayStation 4 exclusive RPG game developed by From Software and director Hidetaka Miyazaki, who also directed Dark Souls. It's set in the ancient, abandoned, and cursed city of Yharnam that's rampant with a mysterious illness, turning its inhabitants into horrifying, murderous psychopaths and
monsters. You'll have to spill some blood to unlock Yharnam's secrets and stay alive.

March 2015
Om/One
It's tough to innovate on Bluetooth speaker design. You mostly get a rectangular box with a variety of designs and/or features, like waterproofing. The Om/One is a little different. It levitates. In the air. Levitation is where the evolution of speakers is heading, naturally. There aren't many benefits to have your speakers levitate, apart from perhaps eliminating the transmission of sound vibrations to the surface they would normally sit on. Otherwise, it just looks cool.

March 2015
Thalmic Labs MYO Armband
We've seen the Leap Motion Controller use relatively antique infrared sensors to translate your hand movements into input your computer understands (sort of), but it was limited to say the least. The Myo Armband uses Thalmic Labs' proprietary EMG sensors to sense the electrical activity on your arm's muscles, as well as motions and rotations, to wirelessly control your computer or mobile device.

April 2015
Earin
The Earin earbuds are the tiniest Bluetooth aptX earbuds we've ever heard about, weighing in at just 0.18 ounce and measuring only 0.78-inch tall and 0.55-inch in diameter. Just in case that's too small, you'll be able to get small Concha locks, which grip the contours of your ear, or you can get a tight fit with the included foam tips. We'll certainly get these in as soon as they're available to hear how big a sound comes out such small earbuds.

April 2015
Peri Duo
For years, we've been restricted to the iPhone's loudspeaker if we forgot, or couldn't bring along, a separate Bluetooth speaker. No longer. The Peri Duo is a slim iPhone speaker case that connects over Bluetooth or Airplay to play your tunes. It has its own battery, which lets you take off the case to use as a standalone Bluetooth speaker if you so wish. You can also multicast your music to several Duos for a more powerful sound.

Apil 2015
Scultpify David 3D Printer
If you've ever worked with spool-fed 3D printers, you'll know they can get finicky sometimes, and they're expensive, too. Sculptify is one of the first 3D printers to use plastic pellets rather than spools. It's actually surprising that pellet-fed 3D printers aren't more common, especially since the majority of our plastic products start out as pellets in manufacturing plants.

May 2015
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Fans of the Witcher games and open-world RPGs alike, rejoice, for the developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt claim this installment will be 30 percent larger than previous titles in the series and 20 percent larger than The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Playing as legendary Witcher Geralt of Rivia, you must embark on a new mission to put an end to the brutal Wild Hunt army that's invading the Northern Kingdoms. The Witcher 3 will be available on the PC as well as next-generation consoles.

Spring 2015
Maingear Drift
Home theater PCs have been passé for a while, but that doesn't mean computers have no place in the living room. The Drift, the latest from boutique manufacturer Maingear, is about the same size as a console, and primed for PC gaming on your HDTV. It's equipped with liquid cooling and designed to optimize airflow, so it should run almost silently. And the Drift will be available in a variety of custom paint colors to match your home's décor.

Spring 2015
Panono Panoramic Ball Camera
The Panono is a sphere with 36 3-megapixel image sensors placed around it. Throw it up in the air and it captures a single image, stitched together from all of those sensors. A quick bit of multiplication tells you that the final product is a whopping 108 megapixels. That gets you a spherical image that you can spin around (via your Web browser or a special app on your tablet or phone) and zoom into to see more detail.

Spring 2015
Samsung NX500
Photographers, rejoice—the NX500 is almost here. It's expected to perform identically to the best-in-class NX1, but lack the weather sealing and integrated electronic viewfinder, and have a reduced burst capability from 15fps to 9fps. It has the same 28-megapixels BSI-CMOS APC-C image sensor and the ability to record 1080p as well as 4K, and the 3-inch rear touch-screen LCD should be good for setting up your shots.

Spring 2015
Sense
Hello's Sense comes with a sleep tracker called Sleep Pill that attaches to your pillow to track your movement while you sleep using a six-axis accelerometer and gyroscope. The main Sense unit contains ambient light, noise, temperature, humidity, proximity, and particulate sensors to analyze just about everything else that has an impact on your quality of sleep. It relays all the information it collects to your mobile devices via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE.

Spring 2015
Sony Action Cam FDR-X1000V
Sony's Action Cam FDR-X1000V will break you free from the confines of 1080p-resolution action footage, and brings you closer to the Ultra-High Definition world of 4K. The Action Cam obviously hasn't been released yet, nor have we reviewed it, but we can tell you now that 4K video is stunning, and once you record your ski trips or scuba dives in UHD, you'll wonder how you used to tolerate regular 1080p.

Q1 2015
Adobe Lightroom 6
Adobe is keeping largely mum about the newest edition of its photo-processing application, Lightroom. What we know is that it's dropping 32-bit OS support and that it won't be offered as a standalone product. Instead, you'll need an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. So far, Adobe has been referring to the new software as Lightroom 6 rather than using the CC nomenclature it has recently employed for other products, like Photoshop (which will be included with a $9.99-per-month Photography plan subscription).

Q1 2015
Jawbone UP 3
Fitness wearables started off with the modest task of tracking your daily steps. Now, they're measuring your heart rate while automatically figuring out exactly what your current activity is, whether it's running, cycling, or whatever else you do to stay in shape. The Jawbone UP 3 uses bioimpedance sensors to measure your heart rate, and Jawbone promises to deliver over-the-air updates so the sensor can measure other physiological signals, like respiration rate.

Q1 2015
Project Ara
What if you could upgrade your phone's processor after the next generation of apps proves too much for it? Or replace its stock camera with a third-party shooter that outclasses even what you'd get on an iPhone? Project Ara is an initiative devised by Google to develop an entirely modular smartphone with components that can easily be swapped out at any time. With the Ara, everything from the case and the display to the speaker and sensors will be completely customizable.

Q1 2015
Saygus V2
PCMag's Sascha Segan called the Saygus V2 the most desirable new phone at CES 2015. In addition to a Kevlar exterior, it has two microSD slots capable of providing 320GB of extra storage—more than you'll find on some current laptops. With mobile screens getting larger and larger, the V2 may be the top choice for those seeking the 5-inch 1080p sweet spot.

Q1 2015
Tivo Mega
The Tivo Mega looks more like a storage drive for the entire Web than it does a DVR for your TV shows. With 24 Terabytes of RAID-configured storage, you could potentially record up to three years of TV. The company itself agrees that it's overkill, but why not? It comes with six different tuners and built-in mobile streaming. It's an absolute beast, and we challenge you to fill it.

June 2015
Ambi Climate
"Smart" versions of common household devices are nice, but they often mean you need to buy a new device to replace a perfectly functional "dumb" one. If you'd rather not buy a new smart air conditioner, you could simply add connected functionality to your current one with the Ambi Climate. It works with your AC's infrared receiver and connects to your mobile devices to let you control the cool from wherever you are in the world.

June 2015
Amp Strip
Tired of bulky fitness trackers? The Amp Strip packs an ECG sensor (for heart rate), an accelerometer (for movement and activity tracking), and a thermistor (for measuring your skin temperature)—and it's no bigger than a Band-Aid. It attaches to your body using a sweat- and water-resistant adhesive that can last up to a week, and you can connect it your favorite fitness apps on your mobile device with Bluetooth 4.0.

June 2015
Batman: Arkham Knight
In Arkham Knight, the Dark Knight returns in this fourth and final installment in the acclaimed action-adventure video game franchise for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Set after Arkham City, you'll join the Caped Crusader as he swoops and fights through the largest chunk of Gotham City yet, facing off against Scarecrow, Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and more of his greatest nemeses.

June 2015
Fuz Designs Noke
How can the trusty padlock possibly be improved? With Bluetooth, of course! The Fuz Designs Noke will connect to your Android or iOS device via Bluetooth 4.0 to lock, unlock and securely share access with trusted individuals. You'll be able to set a Morse code–style tap code that you enter by pressing down on the lock's shank in case your phone isn't handy, or if the Noke's battery dies.

June 2015
Mota Smart Ring
For some, the usually high prices smartwatches command are rarely justified, especially if you're already sentimentally attached to your "dumb" watch. Smart rings could be the answer, and they don't need to replace any current jewelry adorning your fingers. The Mota Smart Ring will connect to your phone so it can display alerts and notifications without requiring you to pull out your smartphone.

Q2 2015
MyFox Security System
The MyFox Security System prides itself on preventing break-ins before they happen with its IntelliTAG sensors, which can distinguish between harmless vibrations and malicious events. If the sensors detect sound and vibration patterns that match those of a break-in, the Security System sounds an alarm before burglars even get inside. The Security System integrates with the MyFox security camera, which you can control remotely with a mobile app.

September 2015
Electric Objects
There's a lot of beauty and art on the Internet, but few monitors do justice of displaying it properly. The Electric Objects is a 23-inch, 1080p display that's designed for showcasing art, and connects to your mobile device desktop via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to let you display anything that catches your eye. It lets you play moving art, too.

September 2015
ZUtA Pocket Printer
The ZUtA Pocket Printer connects to anything that supports Wi-Fi, and lets you print on any size paper. ZUtA claims it has a 1-hour battery life, and can print more than a 100 pages on a single ink cartridge at about one page per minute. All you need to do is line up the printer's pointed corner with the paper's corner and print away. It's no 40ppm inkjet, but you can take it more than 6 feet from a power source.

October 2015
Bluesmart Connected Luggage
We thought we'd seen it all when we crossed paths with a Bluetooth connected toothbrush. Now, Bluesmart is about to connect your luggage to your smartphone with its Connected Luggage. From your phone, you'll be able to control locks, locate your luggage anywhere in the world, and receive notifications if it strays too far away. You'll be able to weigh it from the handle, and a built-in battery charger will be able to charge your mobile devices several times over.

Fall 2015
Avegant Glyph
The people behind the Avegant Glyph clearly ignored any warnings about sitting too close to the TV. In fact, they're bringing any media that uses HDMI right up to your eyes with a head-worn device à la Oculus Rift. A Virtual Retinal Display uses a micromirror array to project light onto the back of your eyeballs, basically turning your retinas into a screen, and prevents any pixels from being visible. Headphones come integrated as part of the headset, too.

Fall 2015
Keecker HomePod
Projectors can create "displays" you measure in feet rather than inches, but not all of them are designed with mobility in mind. With its mobile robotic HomePod projector, Keecker plans to unleash the Internet and your media from the confines of a screen to any surface in your home—and deliver 360-degree sound, too. Once you've connected the HomePod to your mobile device, you'll be able to instruct it to move around on its built-in wheels and project pictures wherever you like.

December 2015
Homefront: The Revolution
This sequel to the successful 2011 game Homefront is set two years later, in 2029. Americans have reclaimed the Western United States from the Greater Korean Republic, and you play Ethan Brady, who's tasked with staging a resistance movement against the GKR's occupation of Philadelphia. The game is being developed by Deep Silver Studios and Crytek, and will be available on PC, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Winter 2015
Jibo
Jibo reckons itself as the world's first family robot. That's not to say it'll pick up after you or do the cooking, like Rosie from The Jetsons. But by intelligently tracking the action around it, Jibo will remind you of calendar events, read out emails, and take videos and photos, among other things.

2015
Asus GX500
Asus is already well known for its gaming hardware, but it's pushing things to the next level with its upcoming GX500 laptop. This latest Republic of Gamers model is incredibly thin (just 0.75 inch), unites a top-tier quad-core Intel processor with the latest Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics, and adds a 15.6-inch, 4K IPS display to help make every title look terrific. The company also claims it will be the coolest ultraportable gaming laptop ever with its intelligent dual-fan cooling system, all while weighing only 4.85 pounds.

2015
LG Quantum Dot 4K Ultra HD TV
A quantum dot may sound like something that will take you to a fourth dimension, but it's really a technology that uses microscopic crystals to produce a brighter picture with an extremely wide color gamut and even more accurate colors than the already-brilliant OLED. LG's new 4K TVs will use this technology for superior picture quality, and will also contain no toxic heavy metals such as cadmium.

2015
Mellow Sous-Vide
Though sous vide machines, which use water to slowly cook food in a sealed plastic bag at a relatively low temperature over a long period of time, are becoming a staple of restaurants, they've had more trouble breaking through to the home kitchen. Mellow might change that. In addition to the usual sous vide feats of cooking your food evenly and letting it retain its moisture, it's also smart, so you'll be able to control the Mellow via your mobile devices.

2015
myBrain Melomind
There are countless ways to relax. For example, you could go on vacation, unwind in the tub, or get lost in a good book. But we're in the 21st century, so there's obviously some battery-powered method out there. Enter the myBrain Melomind. It measures the electrical activity and brainwaves through your scalp with electroencephalography (EEG) sensors. Melomind then sends the information to a mobile app to let you visualize your results and monitor your progress, and it coaches you to relax better.

2015
Nod
The Nod is a Bluetooth-enabled gesture control ring that lets you communicate with your devices without needing to reach out and touch them. On the outside it looks like a plain black ring, but the portion near your palm is home to a touch panel as well as two tactile buttons, which gives you some physical options in addition to gesture-based controls. It should be great for PowerPoint presentations, and can even be used for gaming.

2015
Ritot
What if your skin could tell you the time? Technically, the Ritot watch will do that by projecting the time, as well as alerts and notifications from your smartphone, directly onto the back of your hand. The company claims the built-in pico projector will be bright enough to project in bright outdoor environments. You'll also be able to customize the projection colors. The Ritot will be available in casual or sport models.

2015
Tom Clancy's The Division
Developed by Ubisoft, Tom Clancy's The Division is an eagerly anticipated third-person tactical shooter that takes place in New York City during an outbreak of a mysterious disease affecting the entire United States. You play as part of the "Strategic Homeland Division" (or just "The Division"), which is tasked with salvaging what remains of society by any means necessary. The Division will be available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Hypersonic Jet Could Fly 10 Times the Speed of Sound

2015-11-10T23:41:00.002-06:00

A proposed hypersonic plane, dubbed Skreemr, could fly passengers from New York to London in just 30 minutes, traveling at 10 times the speed of sound, or just under 8,000 mph (12,348 km/h). The aircraft concept is designed by Canadian engineer and inventor Charles Bombardier. Check out these artistic renderings of the hypersonic vehicle. [Read full story about the hypersonic Skreemr jet concept]
The concept

The Skreemr is an aircraft concept that would be launched at very high speeds with the help of a magnetic railgun launching system. Rockets would increase the aircraft speed enough to ignite its main scramjet engine, making it possible to travel at 10 times the speed of sound. (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

The background

Bombardier said the Skreemr concept aims to ignite people's imagination around the idea of hypersonic flight. "I added the idea of using a non-rocket space launch system and conventional rockets to accelerate the aircraft initially," Bombardier said. "I am aware that the challenge of defining such an aircraft is very complex, especially at lower altitude where the air is dense and heat accumulates rapidly on all surfaces." (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

How it works

The Skreemr would need to be launched from an electric launch system, according to Bombardier. The jet would then ignite liquid oxygen and kerosene rockets to rise up in altitude and reach a speed of Mach 4 (or maintain it after being released from the railgun). The plane would then ignite its scramjet engine and burn hydrogen and compressed oxygen to continue its acceleration. (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

The future of launches

Scramjet engines are already being developed in the U.S. and China, but it will likely be years before the technology is used on military drones. But, perhaps in the distant future, Bombardier said, they could be used to fly passengers across oceans at very high speeds. (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

What for?

The Skreemr jet would be used as a commercial aircraft to ferry passengers efficiently from one continent to the next. It could carry around 75 passengers and would fly five times faster than the Concorde, a now-retired commercial supersonic jet, according to Bombardier. (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

The Designer

Bombardier introduced his Skreemr concept in a recent column for the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. (Image credit: Ray Mattison)

Upcoming technology transformations of the next five years, according to IBM

2013-12-23T00:55:00.003-06:00

Technology stalwart IBM on Tuesday predicted classrooms getting to know students and doctors using DNA to customize care are among five big changes on the horizon.

IBM said that its annual forecast of five ways technology will change lives in the coming five years was "driven by a new era of cognitive systems where machines will learn, reason and engage with us in a more natural and personalized way."

And while software evolves to "think" in ways similar to the human brain, computing power and troves of data kept handy in the Internet "cloud" will enable machines to power innovations in classrooms, local shops, doctors' offices, city streets and elsewhere, according to the firm behind the Watson computer that triumphed on US television game show Jeopardy.

"Over time these computers will get smarter and more customized through interactions with data, devices and people, helping us take on what may have been seen as unsolvable problems by using all the information that surrounds us and bringing the right insight or suggestion to our fingertips right when it's most needed," IBM contended.

Predictions for the coming five years included "classrooms of the future" equipped with systems that

track and analyze each student's progress to tailor curriculum and help teachers target learning techniques.

"Basically, the classroom learns you," IBM vice president of innovation Bernie Meyerson told AFP. "It is surprisingly straight-forward to do."

In another prediction, IBM sees retail shops large or small blending online and real-world storefronts with 'Watson-like' technologies and augmented reality.

Also, doctors will tailor treatments using patient DNA, according to Meyerson.

"Knowing your genetic make-up lets you sort through a huge variety of treatment options and determine the best course to follow," he said.

"They don't have to carpet bomb your body to treat cancer," Meyerson continued. "There is the ability to tailor the attack to improve the efficacy against cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched."

Smart machines tapping into the Internet cloud will also be able to serve as "digital guardians" protecting people from hackers by recognizing unusual online behavior, such as shopping binges at dubious websites, and spying scam email messages or booby-trapped links.

"The digital guardian will know you are not someone who goes to a poker site and tops off your account," Meyerson said. "Not only does it shut down the behavior, but it tracks it back to who is doing it and passes the information on to authorities."

The final prediction was that cities will weave social networks, smartphones, sensors, and machine learning to better manage services and build relationships with citizens.

"The city will help you live in it," Meyerson said. "There is a new generation of leaders coming in who are extremely tech savvy and making good use of it."

10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World -3

2013-12-23T00:47:00.000-06:00

9. Parallella

Parallella is going to change the way that computers are made, and Adapteva offers you chance to join in on this revolution. Simply put, it’s a supercomputer for everyone. Basically, an energy-efficient computer built for processing complex software simultaneously and effectively. Real-time object tracking, holographic heads-up display, speech recognition will become even stronger and smarter with Parallella.

(Image Source: YouTube)

The project has been successfully funded so far, with an estimated delivery date of February 2013. For a mini supercomputer, the price seems really promising since it’s magically $99! It’s not recommended for the non-programmer and non-Linux user, but the kit is loaded with development software to create your personal projects.

I never thought the future of computing could be kick-started with just $99, which is made possible using crowdfunding platforms.

10. Google Driverless Car

I could still remember the day I watch the iRobot as a teen, and being skeptical about my brother’s statement that one day, the driverless car will become reality. And it’s now a reality, made possible by… a search engine company, Google.

While the data source is still a secret recipe, the Google driverless car is powered by artificial intelligence that utilizes the input from the video cameras inside the car, a sensor on the vehicle’s top, and some radar and position sensors attached to different positions of the car. Sounds like a lot of effort to mimic the human intelligence in a car, but so far the system has successfully driven 1609 kilometres without human commands!

(Image Source: Wikipedia)

“You can count on one hand the number of years it will take before ordinary people can experience this.” Google co-founder, Sergey Brin said. However, innovation is an achievement, consumerization is the headache, as Google currently face the challenge to forge the system into an affordable gem that every worker with an average salary could benefit from.

10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World -2

2013-12-23T00:45:00.000-06:00

5. Eye Tribe

Eye tracking has been actively discussed by technology enthusiasts throughout these years, but it’s really challenging to implement. But Eye Tribe actually did this. They successfully created the technology to allow you to control your tablet, play flight simulator, and even slice fruits in Fruit Ninja only with your eye movements.

(Image Source: Eye Tribe)

It’s basically taking the common eye-tracking technology and combining it with a front-facing camera plus some serious computer-vision algorithm, and voila, fruit slicing done with the eyes! A live demo was done in LeWeb this year and we may actually be able to see it in in action in mobile devices in 2013.

Currently the company is still seeking partnership to bring this sci-fi tech into the consumer market but you and I know that this product is simply too awesome to fail.

6. SmartThings

The current problem that most devices have is that they function as a standalone being, and it require effort for tech competitors to actually partner with each other and build products that can truly connect with each other. SmartThings is here to make your every device, digital or non-digital, connect together and benefit you.

(Image Source: Kickstarter)

With SmartThings you can get your smoke alarms, humidity, pressure and vibration sensors to detect changes in your house and alert you through your smartphone! Imagine the possibilities with this.

You could track who’s been inside your house, turn on the lights while you’re entering a room,
shut windows and doors when you leave the house, all with the help of something that only costs $500! Feel like a tech lord in your castle with this marvel.

7. Firefox OS

iOS and Android are great, but they each have their own rules and policies that certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.

Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3.

(Image Source: Mozilla)

Developers can create and debut web apps without the blockade of requirements set by app stores, and users could even customize the OS based on their needs. Currently the OS has made its debut on Android-compatible phones, and the impression so far, is great.

You can use the OS to do essential tasks you do on iOS or Android: calling friends, browsing web, taking photos, playing games, they are all possible on Firefox OS, set to rock the smartphone market.

8. Project Fiona

Meet the first generation of the gaming tablet. Razer’s Project Fiona is a serious gaming tablet built for hardcore gaming. Once it’s out, it will be the frontier for the future tablets, as tech companies might want to build their own tablets, dedicated towards gaming, but for now Fiona is the only possible one that will debut in 2013.

(Image Source: Razer™)

This beast features next generation Intel® Core i7 processor geared to render all your favorite PC games, all at the palm of your hands. Crowned as the best gaming accessories manufacturer, Razer clearly knows how to build user experience straight into the tablet, and that means 3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer and full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch. My body and soul are ready.

10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World -1

2013-12-23T00:44:00.000-06:00

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 www.junglee.comSamsung Galaxy Tab 3 Starting from Rs. 15,835. Order Online Now!

We have seen great leaps in digital technology in past the past five years. Smartphones, cloud computing, multi-touch tablets, these are all innovations that revolutionized the way we live and work. However, believe it or not, we are just getting started. Technology will get even better. In the future, we could live like how people in science fiction movies did.

(Image Source: YouTube)

Today’s post is about 10 upcoming, real-life products that is set to revolutionize the world as we know it. Get ready to control the desktop and slice Ninja fruits with your eyes. Get ready to print your own creative physical product. Get ready to dive into the virtual world, and interact with them. Come unfold the future with us.

1. Google Glass

Augmented Reality has already gotten into our life in the forms of simulated experiment and education app, but Google is taking it several steps higher with Google Glass. Theoretically, with Google Glass, you are able to view social media feeds, text, Google Maps, as well as navigate with GPS and take

photos. You will also get the latest updates while you are on the ground.

(Image Source: YouTube)

It’s truly what we called vision, and it’s absolutely possible given the fact that the Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin has demo’ed the glass with skydivers and creatives. Currently the device is only available to some developers with the price tag of $1500, but expect other tech companies trying it out and building an affordable consumer version.

2. Form 1

Just as the term suggests, 3D printing is the technology that could forge your digital design into a solid real-life product. It’s nothing new for the advanced mechanical industry, but a personal 3D printer is definitely a revolutionary idea.

Everybody can create their own physical product based on their custom design, and no approval needed from any giant manufacturer! Even the James Bond’s Aston Martin which was crashed in the movie was a 3D printed product!

(Image Source: Kickstarter)

Form 1 is one such personal 3D printer which can be yours at just $2799. It may sound like a high price but to have the luxury of getting producing your own prototypes, that’s a reaonable price.

Imagine a future where every individual professional has the capability to mass produce their own creative physical products without limitation. This is the future where personal productivity and creativity are maximized.

3. Oculus Rift

Virtual Reality gaming is here in the form of Oculus Rift. This history-defining 3D headset lets you mentally feel that you are actually inside a video game. In the Rift’s virtual world, you could turn your head around with ultra-low latency to view the world in high resolution display.

There are premium products in the market that can do the same, but Rift wants you to enjoy the experience at only $300, and the package even comes as a development kit. This is the beginning of the revolution for next-generation gaming.

(Image Source: Kickstarter)

The timing is perfect as the world is currently bombarded with the virtual reality topic that could also be attributed to Sword Art Online, the anime series featuring the characters playing games in an entirely virtual world. While we’re getting there, it could take a few more years to reach that level of realism. Oculus Rift is our first step.

4. Leap Motion

Multi-touch desktop is a (miserably) failed product due to the fact that hands could get very tired with prolonged use, but Leap Motion wants to challenge this dark area again with a more advanced idea. It lets you control the desktop with fingers, but without touching the screen.

(Image Source: Leap Motion)

It’s not your typical motion sensor, as Leap Motion allows you to scroll the web page, zoom in the map and photos, sign documentss and even play a first person shooter game with only hand and finger movements. The smooth reaction is the most crucial key point here. More importantly, you can own this future with just $70, a price of a premium PS3 game title!

If this device could completely work with Oculus Rift to simulate a real-time gaming experience, gaming is going to get a major make-over.

Google Multiple Account Sign-In – Login into multiple Google accounts in same browser

2013-12-23T00:39:00.001-06:00

Google Multiple account login

Till now only single Google account login was possible at any time in a Browser.If you had set the “remember the password” option and are lazy like me to enter the password every time you want to check your mail,you might be using Firefox,Chrome,Safari,and IE for all your different GMail accounts.I always found it cumbersome to open my different GMail account on different Browsers and use one different browser for each of my GMail account .
Google has now enabled the option of signing in to multiple Google accounts simultaneously from the same browser.This option can be enabled by going to the Google accounts page and enabling the option : “multiple sign-in”. If you don’t see the option, it should be soon available.

After changing the Multiple sign-in option to “on” after clicking on the “change” link, Google informs that this is an advanced feature and that it will only work for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Reader, Google Voice, App Engine and Google Code. When multiple sign-in is enabled, a drop-down is

displayed next to your email address at the top of the page, so you can quickly switch to a new account.

“If you use multiple sign-in, the first account you sign in to will be your default account. If you visit other Google products that don’t support multiple accounts after you’ve signed in, you will automatically sign in to your default account for that product. If you sign out of any Google product while signed in to any account, you will be signed out of all your Google Accounts at once.”

When you enable this feature, the most significant change is that you'll see a new drop-down next to your email address in Gmail and other supported Google products. Click on the drop-down and you can sign in to a new Google Account without signing out from the previous account.

Another change is that Google's URLs include a different number for each account:http://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/, http://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/, etc.

Google's help center explains that Google's services didn't allow you to sign it to multiple accounts at the same time using the same browser because Google uses sign-in cookies that only let you sign in with one account at a time. Obviously, you can use multiple browsers, Chrome's incognito mode, IE8's "new session" feature, multiple profiles, but the new Google feature makes things easier. Now you can read your messages from two or more Gmail accounts by opening Gmail in multiple tabs.

There are some known issues related to multiple sign-in: this feature is not available on mobile devices, Google Calendar's gadget doesn't work properly in Gmail, you can no longer use offline Gmail and offline Google Calendar and the "note in Reader" bookmarklet only works for the default account.

Tips to optimize Laptop Battery – Improve laptop battery life with laptop battery care

2013-12-23T00:37:00.001-06:00

Laptop Battery Tips

Optimizing laptop battery usage is very important to increase the battery life and performance.

Following are the Top tips to optimize the laptop battery :

Buy smart: Look for notebooks with low power consuming processors like the Intel’s “CULV” “Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage” processors or AMD processors with “cool & Quiet” feature.
Dim screen brightness: Choose an environment with adequate lighting—less brightness means you’ll drain less power from your battery.Use the Function key (Fn) available in most of the laptops to dim the brightness.
Run your applications wisely: To get the most from your laptop, even when multitasking on the go, run resource intensive applications just when actively using them. Then make sure to close the applications you aren’t using.Running Video on the laptop will consume the battery very fast.Avoid to run video almost all time.
Close unused applications: Programs will still use power while sitting idle.Also some unrequired background processes can be closed using the task manager.Stop such processes from starting at boot.
Have the right RAM for your needs: With appropriate RAM, instructions run off memory instead of disk. Less power is needed to refresh the RAM than to spin the hard drive.So increasing the RAM in in the laptop with high resource usage works will highly improve the battery life.
Clean your battery: Rub the battery’s metal contacts with rubbing alcohol every two months. Allow to dry before re-inserting.
Remove extra accessories: Unplug items like PC cards, USB and FireWire devices that are not being used.
Use built-in power management devices: Enable this feature and set your system to “Battery Optimized” mode or “Max Battery” mode. Put your computer to sleep earlier and turn off the screen backlight sooner.Start > Control Panel > Power Options (in Classic View).
Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if not being used: Wireless LAN and Bluetooth access uses power even when it is not in use. Transmitting and receiving data drains the battery.
Defragment your hard drive regularly: The built-in defrag utility included with Windows will take your file fragments and put them closer together on your hard drive, which will decrease hard drive access times and save battery life.
Use Direct Power as much as possible : Keep your laptop connected to the direct power supply using the laptop power adapter as much as possible.
Connect laptop to UPS supply : If possible then connect your laptop to UPS supply.This will save your laptop from power fluctuations and if there are frequent power cuts then your laptop battery life-cycle will not be wasted.
Use battery only when on move : Try to power laptop through battery only when you are on move or if there is no power supply.

Now Download Gmail and Google Calendar Data to Your Local PC

2013-12-23T00:35:00.002-06:00

Now a days emails contains some of our most critical/precious data along with the other non-critical but important messages . One email service that has become default email for most of the people is Google’s Gmail . It is free , it is fast , it is more reliable , it’s user interface is clean , the ads are not cluttered , it has so many features/options , and it is connected to all other Google services . There are number of these features that people prefer to use GMail email service in comparison to Yahoo Mail or MS Outlook (the new online version) or any other company’s email service .

With so many people using it , Google till date had not provided any official option to download all the email data for backup or exporting to other email tools like Outlook desktop . There are some 3rd party tools/apps available for this but they are not much reliable and are not so easy for a non-tech guy to use . But now Google has announced that you can download your GMail data and also the Google Calender data to your local computer in an archive file (following other services data is already available for export/download : Google Contacts , Google Drive , Google Voice , Google Hangouts , Google Plus , Youtube , and Orkut)

This new feature to export Gmail and Calendar data is now available in Google’s Takeout service.

Having access to your data and being able to take it with you is important, especially if that data contains precious memories like old love letters, your first job offer, or that 100-message thread discussing the merits of various cat videos. Starting today we’re rolling out the ability to export a copy of your Gmail and
Google Calendar data, making it easy to back up your data or move to another service.

You can download all of your mail and calendars or choose a subset of labels and calendars. You can also download a single archive file for multiple products with a copy of your Gmail, Calendar, Google+, YouTube, Drive, and other Google data.

How to do it :

Go to this link of Google Takeout
Select the data you want to download (for now only Google Calender’s data is available , GMail data will be available from Jan. 2013)
Click on Create Archive
The default file format for the data archive is .zip but if you want (or if the data size is quite large) , you can change the format to more compressed .tgz or .tbz formats , by clicking on the “change” link along the same line .
The archive will be created in time depending up on the data size , you will get email message when archiving is completed
Now when data archive is created , you will get option to download it to your local computer
Just click on the Download and save the file on your computer
The created data archive can be downloaded till 7 days from Google Takeout , after that that archive will be deleted and you will have to re-create it to download
The data format for archives will be “mbox” for Gmail and “ics” for the Calendars . Both these formats are supported by major of popular web and desktop-based email and calendar programs like Microsoft Outlook 2011, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple’s Mail

Create Archive

Google Archive Email

Once the Gmail data is available for download (from Jan 2014) , it will look like this :

Backup , Backup , Backup – What/Where/How to Backup PC/Mobile Data

2013-12-23T00:33:00.004-06:00

What is backup?

With backup , we understand storage of that data which is useful for us and which is hard to get all over again. Data which is ,if lost , will leads to irreparable damage. For e.g. if document related to tax is lost or any business document or a paid program which can not be downloaded again etc., it will cause a damage which cannot be undone. So to avoid such situation, it is required that we have a backup of all important data.
In general rule of thumb (also called Platinum rule of backup) we must have three copies of important data, the original,a backup of original and a backup of backup. And these backup should be placed in different locations, basically one online and one in hard drive or laptop or external hard disk , so that it can be easily available whenever you need it.
First thing which we have to know what all we need to backup. Basically its our choice, if we want we can create backup of everything, but is it worth backing up everything? like things which we can get easily over internet, we do not need to take the backup of that. The things which once lost, can never be regained,that should be backed-up.Important Electronic documents, artistic creations, photos , video etc or any thing whose loss leaves a negative emotion.

The next question that comes into our mind, where to back it up?

A very logical and useful question whose answer is quite easy to find out. If you want your backup to be online and you have good broadband upstream bandwidth then it is easy to create online backup for your desktop PC. The other way to do this is to create a backup in your hard drive. To store your local files you can also use pendrive or external hard drive. Alternatively, you could use a network-attached storage box. Gigabit Ethernet is as fast as USB 3.0, and a NAS box lets you back up multiple computers on a network without any physically movement of the storage device.

Now its time for some action and actual process, that is how to back it up?

Now you have all the data what you have to back up and where you want to back up.First of all we have to select the disaster recovery and backup software. Windows 7 and 8 offers in-built application which can create backups. There are many other software which we can install in our computer for creating data backups. Some of software are Acronis Backup and Recovery, True Image, Easeus Todo Backup, Genie Timeline Backup, and Nova Backup.
After installing the software, select the destination for the backup, this can be the external drive, select the partition(c drive, d drive etc) or the files that you want to back up. Run the back up process, when the process is finished , place the backup media safely. Create the recovery media. Schedule the process( backup programs have this option) as required for daily, weekly, monthly backups.

Free online backup and storage spaces are available for major mobile platform , like for iPhone- icloud is there, for Android- Google drive and for Windows phone- Skydrives are there, a lot different spaces for the storage. Just we require some respective apps and we can get local copies of our files.
To lower the risk of data loss we require Backup and is very useful at time of data lost.

New Google rules do not miss out!

2013-12-23T00:28:00.004-06:00

Google keeps changing its rules to ensure it maintains dynamism and at the same time allows the newbie to have a crack at competition laying out a fair playing round for everyone once in a while.

Google has changed its ‘Terms of Service’ to permit it to plaster users' names, photos and lots of other personal information all over relevant advertisements that pop up on various websites.

The new rules are applicable only to those users who are over the age of 18. Google announced these changes to its Terms of Service and mentioned that it will take effect only after November 13, 2013.

What will this change do? Users' profile names and uploaded pictures will be served up together with content such as reviews and other information that they share online, advertisements, comments they post, or who and what they follow.

The content will be shared and visible only with and who the people are following or have befriended on various social networks and only their names and pictures is what they will have access to see.

A fuming John Simpson the privacy project director of Consumer Watchdog said, "Basically, both Google and Facebook want to turn their users into unpaid pitchmen for advertisers. At this point, we are assessing the situation."

Google is being a little cautious while doing this as it is giving users an option to opt out and is overlooking minors. While on the other hand, Facebook has a similar thing; have included 13-17 year olds as well.

It could be said that Google is being extremely sensitive to the privacy concerns of their users. After all, Google has most of the information out there and those companies it works by having "a worldwide license to use, host, amass, replicate, adjust, create derivative works, communicate, issue, publicly perform, publicly present and hand out such content."

Nexus 5: What we expect the new Google phone to be

2013-12-23T00:27:00.003-06:00

The LG Nexus 4 successor is expected to make its formal debut by the end of this month (October) with Android 4.4 KitKat. So here's what's expected and what still remains uncertain.

What we expect?

October reveal date:

We're still waiting for Google to announce the official date, but multiple sources point to an October unveiling for the Nexus 5.

Android 4.4 KitKat:

The Nexus 5 will be the first Smartphone to run Android 4.4 KitKat, Google's next OS upgrade.

LG expected to manufacture Nexus 5:

Google may again call upon LG to make the upcoming Nexus Smartphone.

Biggest Nexus yet:

The Nexus 5 should have a 4.96-inch screen, which would make it the largest Nexus Smartphone till date. It is assumed to have the same 1,920 x 1,080 pixel HD display as before.

Body shape:

Design, pattern and shape will not really deviate from the previous Nexus.

Hardware:

The Nexus 5 should feature a quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU. Bolstered by 2GB of RAM, LTE support, and

NFC capability, the handset is expected to employ wireless charging capability and a 2,300mAh battery.

Carrier support:

FCC documents indicate that the Nexus 5 is equipped for Penta-band HSPA+ and multiple LTE bands and should support all four major carriers in the US: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

Camera technology:

If the Nexus 5 is based on the LG's G2 Smartphone, then we may see the optical image stabilization (OIS) technology found in the camera.

Price:

A 16GB Nexus 5 could sell for $299 and include a 2,300mAh battery, while a 32GB model could come equipped with a 3,000mAh cell battery and retail for $399.

So, will the new Nexus 5 be the best Google phone till date? Let’s wait and watch.

Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad to be unveiled

2013-12-23T00:26:00.002-06:00

According to latest reports, the supersized Apple tablet could debut in early 2014. But we wonder why would Apple produce such a huge iPad?

12.9-inch is pretty huge for a tablet and it seems Apple wants to outsize all other tablets, even its previous 10-inch iPad.

The new iPad will feature retina display and would boast a better picture than the current model, offering a display almost equal in quality to an ultra high-definition screen.

Sources said that the screen itself is currently being produced by one of Apple's major suppliers.

There are two reasons why Apple wants to produce such a large iPad . First, Apple wants to introduce larger tablets as an alternative to PCs. Second, it wants to compete with Samsung and other tablet makers. Korean sources report that Samsung is preparing for a 12.2-inch version of its Galaxy Note tablet.

How must we believe this rumour? Now that Samsung is getting ready for a 12.2-inch tablet, we should probably believe the rumour for iPad.

Reports like these should always be taken with a pinch of salt. A 12.9-inch screen would require a tablet measuring around 15 inches diagonally, falsifying the whole idea of a mobile device. But when seen as an alternative to a laptop, a large-screen iPad sounds pretty feasible.

Apple also triggered speculation in October when it announced the iPad Air, a thinner and lighter version of its traditional 9.8-inch tablet. Following the naming convention of the Mac, an iPad Pro could be on Apple's agenda. If so, such a model would likely be more powerful and potentially bigger than the current version.

Well then let’s wait and watch what the two tech Giants Apple and Samsung have up for grabs. Such huge tablets shall probably change the users’ approach towards mobile devices.

JBL Pulse portable Bluetooth speaker: The mobile speaker with a built-in light show

2013-12-23T00:25:00.005-06:00

A lot of portable Bluetooth speakers are available in the market which are not very different from one another. It then feels good to come across a product like JBL's Pulse, which features a multi-LED light show to catch the eye. JBL products are counted as amongst the best.

The JBL Pulse is a compact wireless Bluetooth speaker that delivers good sound for its size, but maybe not as good as some competitors in the same category. It is bundled with a built-in rechargeable battery that offers 10 hours of battery for sound only and 5 hours with the light show in effect. Pulse doesn't offer an impressive battery life.

The Pulse costs about $199.95. A price at which you're not going to get the best sound quality, but you are getting a much flashier speaker -- literally. For the jazzy lighting element, there are different pre-programmed modes to choose from and you can select a custom light theme and control the brightness -- or just turn off the LEDs altogether and listen to the Pulse as a standard wireless Bluetooth speaker.

A small drawback in the Pulse is the low bass that reduces the clarity of sound. Throw in bass-heavy or a rock song and you just can't play it at higher volumes without the sound cracking.

Conclusion

The Pulse’s sound effectiveness matches up pretty well against competing speakers in its price class.

The icing on the cake is the light show. It certainly adds an exciting dimension to the listening experience. Not everyone will like it, but combined with the speaker's decent sound, it makes the Pulse a good buy in a crowded market.

Windows 8.1 Full Features List

2013-12-23T00:22:00.002-06:00

As you have probably heard by now, Microsoft has decided to confirm this week that it's working on a new operating system called Windows 8.1, while also revealing lots of details about it.

The purpose of this article is pretty simple: to present all the changes that Microsoft plans to bring with its next Windows release, along with a few details to help you figure out the purpose of each of them.

Before jumping into details, there's one important thing that you should take into consideration: Microsoft will launch a public preview of Windows 8.1 in late June at the BUILD developer conference.

Given the fact that it's just a beta and the target audience is mostly made of developers, the Softies might very well change some of these features before the public version of the OS hits the market.

If previous reports are true, expect this to happen later this year, most likely just before the holiday season, as Microsoft hopes to see Windows 8.1 generating higher sales than Windows 8.

So let's see what's new in Windows 8.1:

• The Start button is back: Microsoft will make this utterly popular feature available in Windows 8.1, but instead of launching a Start Menu, it will be a shortcut for the Start Screen. It will be always visible while working on the desktop, while in the Metro UI, you will be able to access it by simply moving the mouse cursor in the lower left corner.

• The lock screen will come with many more customization features and will be able to display slideshows using photos that are stored either locally or in SkyDrive accounts. This could basically turn a Windows 8.1 tablet in a full-featured photo frame.

• The Start Screen will also provide many more tweaking options and will come with new background and color settings. In addition, users will be allowed to use the
desktop wallpaper as a background for the Start Screen too, just to make the transition from the desktop to Metro more user-friendly.

• Live tiles will come in four different sizes and users will be allowed to order them by usage. Microsoft apparently thinks that such an option would basically bring the Start Screen closer to the original concept of a Start Menu.

• Internet Explorer 11 will also be included and will come with improved touch support, new options, and dedicated settings to sync tabs across Windows 8.1 devices.

The Start button will be always visible on the desktop, while in Metro UI, you can access it by moving the mouse cursor in the lower left corner.

• SkyDrive will receive major improvements and will come with deeper Windows 8 integration. Users can save files straight to their SkyDrive account, while synchronization options will be available at one-tap distance.

• Snap View mode will be enhanced as well and will enable users to run apps side by side. It will support up to 4 different Metro applications.

• The Windows Store will undergo a significant makeover, so it'll display more details about each app, as well as new rankings for each category.

• Metro apps will be updated automatically when new versions of the installed tools are released.

• The Search Charm will be powered by Bing and will allow users to look for information both locally and on the web. It will offer support for files, apps, settings, web, and SkyDrive accounts.

• New Metro apps will be installed by default on all Windows 8.1 machines, including an Alarm app, Movie Moments, Reading List, and Calculator.

• The touch keyboard will boast improved autosuggest features and will support new gestures.

• Users will be allowed to skip the Start Screen completely and boot directly to desktop.

• File Explorer, the new file manager available in Windows 8, will also be updated. Libraries will no longer be displayed in the navigation panel, while Computer will be renamed to “This PC.”

The Windows 8.1 public preview will be available free of charge via the Windows Store.

Two Simple Tricks to Make Windows 8 Blazing Fast

2013-12-23T00:21:00.000-06:00

Even though Windows 8 was designed to be faster than its predecessors from the get-go, we've heard that many people are actually experiencing performance issues and that the OS is actually a bit slower.
Of course, there are many ways to tweak Windows 8, especially in case you're using a desktop computer, but when it comes to tablets, things are a bit more complicated.

That's why we decided to show you two different and very simple tricks to improve the performance of Windows 8 without spending too much time tweaking things.

Keep in mind that both tutorials are specifically aimed at tablets, including Windows RT devices, but they can very well do the job on laptops and PCs too.

They do not require advanced computer knowledge, but you must own administrator privileges on the system you're working on.

Trick #1: optimize Windows 8 for best performance

Just like its predecessors, Windows 8 comes with dedicated settings to optimize the operating system for either best performance or best appearance.

Of course, you can always let Windows 8 choose what's best for your computer, but in case you're hoping to get a blazing fast device, “best performance” options are the right way to go.

Basically, turning on this option disables some visual effects of your Windows 8 computer, but in return, offers faster loading times and better response. The Start Screen will load quicker, while the live tiles will display information much faster.

To switch Windows 8 to performance mode, here's what you need to do:

Right-click the “Computer” icon on the desktop and hit “Properties.” In the left panel, select “Advanced system settings” and afterwards click on “Settings” in the “Performance” section.

Select “Adjust for best performance” and hit apply. It's also recommended to enable the “Smooth edges of screen fonts” option to keep the modern look of system fonts, especially while browsing the web with Internet Explorer.

Trick #2: disable the Windows Defender service

Disabling the Windows Defender service could be quite helpful for some Windows 8 devices, but there's something very important that needs to be considered before doing it.

Turning off Windows Defender could expose your files, as this is the app that protects your computer from malware and other threats. In Windows 8, Windows Defender cannot be removed, but only disabled either manually or automatically when you install a third-party security tool.

This particular trick is only recommended on Windows RT tablets, as no malware has been developed to exploit such a device without anti-virus protection.

Here's what you need to do to disable Windows Defender:

Launch the Registry Editor by going over to the Start screen and typing “regedit.exe.” Navigate to the following path:

CODE

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender

Take ownership of the key by right-clicking it and hitting the “Permissions” option. Click “Additional settings,” go to “Owner” and type in your username. Now go back to “Permissions,” click on “Add” and write down your username once again. Check the “Full Access” option and save.

Look for the “DisableAntispyware” option in the right side of the screen and change its value to 1. Reboot the computer and that should be it.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks -6

2013-12-23T00:19:00.002-06:00

10. Fool the Mail app into using POP mail

The Windows 8 Mail app has a surprising shortcoming -- it won't work with email accounts that use the POP3 mail protocol. Instead, Windows 8 Mail works with Web-based mail accounts such as Gmail and Outlook.com and accounts that use IMAP.

However, there's a workaround that solves the problem. You can tell either a Gmail or an Outlook.com account to get POP3-based mail from a POP3 account, and then tell Windows 8 Mail to get mail from that account.

Configure Outlook.com to get POP3 mailOf course, you'll also have to consider whether your POP email account might contain sensitive correspondence that you don't wish to share with an additional cloud-based service. If you're willing to route your mail through Outlook.com or Gmail, keep reading for how to do it. (Skip to Gmail instructions.)

Got an Outlook.com account? You might have one without knowing it. The service was formerly called both Hotmail and Windows Live Mail at various times in its history, and those accounts have been converted to Outlook.com automatically. So if you've got an old Hotmail account, for instance, just go to Hotmail.com and log in; you'll be redirected to Outlook.com.

If for some reason your account hasn't been upgraded, just log into your Hotmail or Windows Live Mail account, click Options, select Upgrade to Outlook.com and follow the instructions. Your messages, rules and so on will be brought over.

If you don't have an Outlook.com account, sign up.

Once you're logged into Outlook.com:

1. Click the Settings icon in the upper-right of the screen, and then select "More mail settings."

2. Under "Managing your account," click "Your email accounts" and then select "Add a send-and-

receive account."

3. From the screen that appears, click "Advanced options." Here's where you enter the information you normally need to access your POP account, including the server address, port number and so on. If you don't have it, check with your email provider.

You can also check whatever mail client you normally use for the information. If you're using Outlook 2010, for instance, select File --> Info --> Account settings --> Account setting and click the E-mail tab. Double-click the account, and you'll find the necessary information.

Configuring Outlook.com to work with a POP3 account. Click to view larger image.

4. Make sure to pay attention to a setting that's easy to overlook: whether or not to leave copies of your mail messages on the server. If you're planning to have Windows Mail be your only mail client for accessing your POP-based mail, consider having the messages deleted from the server. However, if you're going to have multiple devices access the mail, make sure to leave the messages on the server. Click Next.

5. On the next screen, you'll be asked whether you want to create a new folder for the mail or keep it in your Outlook.com Inbox. Make your choice and select Next.

6. A verification email will be send to your POP account. Click that link. You'll be sent to a page on Outlook.com telling you that you're set up. You're now ready to tell Windows 8 Mail to get mail from Outlook.com (see below).

Configure Gmail to get POP3 mail

To configure Gmail to grab POP3 mail from an existing POP3 account:

1. In Gmail, click the gear icon on the upper-right corner of the screen and select Settings --> Accounts and Import --> Add a POP3 mail account you own.

2. On the screen that appears, enter your email address.

3. On the next screen, enter the information you normally need to access your POP account, including the server address, port number and so on. If you don't have it, check with your mail provider.

Configuring Gmail to get POP3 mail.

4. After you're done, click Add Account. From the screen that appears, tell Gmail that you want to send messages from the account, not just receive them. You'll have to enter your outgoing email settings and have Gmail send the account an email to verify that it's yours.

5. When you receive the verification email at your POP3 account, click the link and follow the instructions for verifying the address. That's it; Gmail will start retrieving your POP3 mail. You're now ready to tell Windows 8 Mail to get mail from Gmail.

Configure Windows 8 Mail to get mail from Outlook.com or Gmail

Run the Windows 8 Mail app, press the Windows key + C to display the Charms bar, and select Settings --> Accounts --> Add an account.

To get mail from Outlook.com, select Outlook on this screen. Enter your Outlook.com email address and password, click Connect, and you'll start getting the POP mail via Outlook.com.

To get mail from Gmail, select Google on the Add an account screen. Enter your email address and password and click Connect. You'll start getting POP mail via Gmail.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks- 5

2013-12-23T00:17:00.004-06:00

Use the invert selection feature

On the far-right side of the Home tab, there is a group of commands called Select. The "Select all" option selects all files in a folder, and "Select none" deselects them. The third option, "Invert selection," is confusingly named but surprisingly useful.

Let's say that you've hand-selected certain files in a folder by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking them. Once you've selected them, you can perform a task on them all -- delete them or copy them or move them somewhere else, for example.

Now imagine that you've got 30 files in a folder, and you want to delete 26 of them. The obvious way to do it would be to tediously hand-select 26 of them one by one and then delete them. Here's where "Invert selection" comes to your rescue.

Select the four that you don't want to delete, and then click "Invert selection." Now all the files that you selected are no longer selected, and the other 26 are selected. You've inverted the selection, and you can now mass-delete the 26 files.

8. Use (and tweak) the All Apps screen

One of the most disconcerting things about Windows 8's dual interface is that it's difficult to see in one place all the apps you can run -- both Windows 8 Store apps and Desktop applications. You can find the Windows 8 Store apps on the Start screen, but all of your Desktop apps don't necessarily appear there. And because there's no longer a Start button on the Desktop, you can't find all of your Desktop apps there, either.

However, there's a way to see all of them in one place: Go to the All Apps screen. To get there,

on the Start screen either right-click an empty space or press the Windows key + Z. That opens the App bar across the bottom of the screen. There's only one thing you can do on the bar: click the "All apps" button at the right.

That displays the All Apps screen, which, as the name implies, shows you all the apps on your system. On the left you'll find all the Windows 8 Store apps, and to the right, the Desktop apps. Click any to run it.

The Windows 8 All Apps screen. Click to view larger image.

The Desktop apps on the right-hand side are organized into groups -- Windows Accessories, Windows Ease of Access, Windows System, and so on. If you've installed software, those apps might be in their own groups as well. But you can rearrange the apps in these groups if you like. Here's what you need to know.

The organization of the Desktop apps on the All Apps screen mimics the structure of two hidden Windows folders:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

and

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

where username is your Windows 8 account name. The first folder has all the apps that all users of the system will see, while the second has those that show up for an individual user.

Any subfolder in those folders shows up as a group -- such as Windows Accessories -- on the All Apps screen. And all the shortcuts in those folders show up as apps inside the groups on this screen -- for example, Calculator and Character Map. To change the organization of Desktop groups and apps on the All Apps screen, you only need to change the folder and shortcut structure in those two folders.

First, make sure you can view hidden files in File Explorer, as outlined earlier in the story. Then go into those folders, and add any folders that you want to show up as groups on the All Apps screen. In those folders, add shortcuts to any apps you want to show up as part of those groups. Delete any folders and shortcuts that you don't want to appear. That's all it takes. The changes will be reflected on the All Apps screen.

(Note: You can also rearrange and regroup the apps on your Start screen. To find out how, see "Customize the Start screen" in the Windows 8 cheat sheet.)

9. Build an Applications folder for quick program launching from the Start screen or Desktop

There's an even quicker way to access all your apps, whether you're on the Desktop or the Start screen: Create an Applications folder to house them all.

First, run File Explorer. Navigate to the Desktop and create a new folder. After you create it, rename it:

Applications.{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

On the Desktop and in File Explorer, the folder will be called Applications. Double-click it to see a list of all your applications, including Windows 8 Store apps, traditional Desktop applications and many system apps such as Control Panel. To run an app, double-click it.

The Applications folder includes both Windows 8 apps and Desktop apps. Click to view larger image.

There's still one problem, though: The folder doesn't show up on the Start screen. It's simple to put it there, though. Right-click it on the Desktop or in File Explorer and select "Pin to Start." It's now pinned to the Start screen, though it might not be immediately visible there.

To find it, scroll all the way over to the right, and it'll be there. Click it, and the folder opens with all your apps. If you like, you can move it to a more prominent location on the Start screen by dragging it to the left.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks- 4

2013-12-23T00:16:00.004-06:00

7. Bend File Explorer to your will

Windows 8's File Explorer file manager is different from the old Windows Explorer in more than just name. It's gotten a complete makeover, notably by the addition of a Ribbon interface that puts many tasks, features and views in easy reach. Following are my favorite ways to get more out of it.

But first you need to make sure that File Explorer displays the Ribbon, because it might not be turned on. To turn it on, press Ctrl-F1 or click the downward-facing arrow on the upper right of its screen. The Ribbon displays, and the downward-facing arrow turns into an upward-facing arrow. To turn it back off, press Ctrl-F1 again or click the upward-facing arrow.

Turn panes on and off

File Explorer has several useful panes you can turn on and off. Click the View tab to find them. You'll find ways to turn them on and off on the far left-hand side of the Ribbon. Just click the pane you want turned on, and if there are options, select options from the menu that appears when you click the arrow next to the pane's icon.

The first basic choice is whether to use the Navigation pane. That's the pane on the left-hand side of File Explorer, and it's what you use to navigate through your hard disk. Click its icon on the View tab and uncheck "Navigation pane" to turn it off, or check it to turn it on. There are also

several other options available, such as whether to show favorite folders such as Desktop, Downloads and Recent Places.

The Navigation pane on the left helps you get around your hard drive. The Preview pane on the right displays a large thumbnail of a file you click. Click to view larger image.

There's another choice there: whether to use the Preview pane or the Details pane, or neither. (You can't use both at once.) Either pane lives all the way over on the right-hand side of File Explorer. If you select the Preview pane and then click a file, you'll see a large thumbnail of the file in the pane, or else the actual contents of the file, as long as you have an app that runs or reads the file. (For example, Office for displaying .doc files.)

The Details pane shows detailed file information and a small thumbnail.

If you instead choose the Details pane, you'll see details about the file, such as its size, when it was created, its file name and more depending on the file type. (For example, for pictures it displays the dimensions.)

Click the Preview pane or Details pane icon in the Ribbon to turn it on, and click it again to turn it off.

Display hidden files and folders

Microsoft assumes that most people don't want to see the plumbing of Windows, and so hides many system files and folders, as well as file name extensions. But if you want to tweak how Windows 8 works, you'll need to see that plumbing.

It's easy to display it. On the View tab, check the box next to "Hidden items" to display hidden system files and folders, and check the box next to "File name extensions" to display those.

Hide files and folders

To hide those files and folders again, simply uncheck the "Hidden items" checkbox again.

Want to hide more files and folders? Simply select them, then click "Hide selected items" near the right edge of the Ribbon's View tab. Then, when the "Hidden items" checkbox is unchecked, you won't be able to see those items.

Change icon sizes

While you're on the View tab, you can change the size of the icons that represent files and folders. You'll find these options just to the right of the icons for turning panes on and off.

Here's what you see when you choose extra large icons (left) or small icons (right).

Add columns

By default, when you open a folder, File Explorer shows three columns of information about each file in the folder: date modified, type and size. But you can add columns that show other information, such as the date it was created, its author, tags and more. Just go to the View tab's "Current view" group and click the down arrow next to "Add columns" to add them.

These are your options for adding columns of information about each file in File Explorer.
Click to view larger image.

Near the "Add columns" choice, you get several options to change how those columns display, including how you sort them, group them and make them all fit on a single screen.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks -3

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Just below the image on the Lock screen settings screen is the "Lock screen apps" section. Here you'll find icons for the apps that automatically display notifications and updates on your lock screen.

Click a plus sign and choose an app to display alerts and notifications on the lock screen.

Over to the right of them are several plus signs. Click a plus sign and you'll see a list of apps that can display notifications and updates. Pick one and it will display alerts and other information on the lock screen.

Note that when you click a plus sign, you'll see both the apps that are already displaying notifications and alerts on your lock screen as well as those that aren't currently doing so. If you choose one that already displays its notifications on the Start screen, nothing new happens -- the app still displays notifications, with no change. To stop an app from displaying notifications, click it and then click "Don't show quick status here."

Underneath that section is one that's a little more baffling: "Choose an app to display detailed status." The app in this

section displays more information on the lock screen than other apps.

Here's the Lock screen showing detailed information from the Calendar app.

Only the Calendar app and the Weather app can show this kind of detailed information, and only one at a time. To change from one to the other, click the icon that's there and select the other icon. From then on, that app will show its detailed status.

If you want neither app to show detailed status, click the icon and select "Don't show detailed status on the lock screen." Neither app shows detailed information, and the icon changes to a plus sign. If you want to reinstate detailed weather or calendar information, click the plus sign and select either app.

5. Lock the lock screen image

If you share a Windows 8 PC with others and don't want them messing with the lock screen image, you can lock it so that it can't be changed. To do it, though, you're going to have to get down and dirty by editing the Registry.

Caution: Keep in mind before trying this that you can do damage to your system if you use the Registry incorrectly, so if you don't feel comfortable with Registry editing, stop right now. (See our story "The tweaker's guide to the Windows Registry" for more information about Registry editing. And be very sure to read the instructions for backing up the Registry before you attempt any Registry edits whatsoever.)

For those who do feel comfortable, when you're on the Start screen, typeregedit, click Apps on the right-hand side of the screen, then click the regedit.exe icon that appears on the left side of the screen.

Launching the Registry Editor.

A security window appears asking if you want to allow the Registry Editor to make changes to your PC. Click Yes, and the Registry Editor launches.

Now navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

See if there's a key called Personalization there. If the key already exists, don't create another one. Instead, follow the instructions in the next paragraph. If the key doesn't exist, you'll have to create it. To do so, click Edit --> New --> Key. That creates a new key, but it will have a name like "New Key #1." You have to rename it. Right-click it, select Rename, and rename it Personalization.

Now that the Personalization key is there, create a new DWORD value under it called NoChangingLockScreen. To do that, right-click the Personalization key and select New --> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename the DWORD value NoChangingLockScreen. Double click-it and change its value from 0 to 1. Now exit the Registry Editor.

Setting the NoChangingLockScreen DWORD value to 1 prevents the lock screen image from being changed. Click to view larger image.

Log out of Windows or restart it, then log back in. The lock screen background shouldn't be changeable -- consider it locked. If you want to allow the background to be changed in the future, use the Registry Editor to change the value of NoChangingLockScreen from 1 to 0.

6. Kill the lock screen altogether

Not a fan of the lock screen? There are plenty of people who don't find it useful and would prefer to bypass it so they can just sign into Windows and get straight to work. You won't find a setting to do it. Instead, you'll have to use the Registry Editor.

All the caveats about using the Registry Editor outlined in the previous tip apply here, so keep in mind it could be dangerous to use it. However, if you're comfortable using the Registry Editor, follow the instructions in "Lock the lock screen image" above to launch the Registry Editor, and, if you haven't already done so, to create a Registry key called Personalization in

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

Create a new DWORD value under the Personalization key by right-clicking it and selecting New --> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename the DWORD value NoScreenLock. Double click-it and change its value from 0 to 1. Now exit the Registry Editor.

The new setting should take effect immediately. The next time you reboot or wake your PC, you won't see the lock screen. Instead, you'll go straight to the Windows sign-in screen.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks-2

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By the way, you may have noticed that when you right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars, there are other pre-built toolbars you can put on the taskbar. Here are your choices and what each does:

Address: Adds a box on the Taskbar into which you type URLs. After you enter one, press Enter and you'll head to the site in Internet Explorer.Links: Displays your Internet Explorer favorites on the Taskbar.

Touch Keyboard: Displays a keyboard icon on the Taskbar. Click it to display an onscreen keyboard.

Desktop: Displays a list of every icon on your Desktop. It even displays some items that aren't visible on the Desktop, such as Homegroup. For any item with a subfolder beneath it (such as Homegroup and Network), you'll see an arrow next to it. Move your cursor to the arrow to see all of the subfolders beneath it.

To turn off any toolbar, right-click the taskbar and choose Toolbars, then uncheck the toolbar.

3. Use and hack the Power User menu

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away. In Windows 8 it took away the Start menu, but it also provided a very useful new tool: the Power User menu. Right-click in the lower-left corner of the

Desktop (or press the Windows key + X) and up pops a text-based menu that gives you access to 16 tools, including a Run box, a command prompt, an administrative command prompt, the Device Manager and plenty of other useful power tools.

Windows 8's new Power User menu.

Most choices are self-explanatory, but not all. For example, click "Programs and Features" and you get sent to a Control Panel applet that lets you uninstall Desktop programs, look at Windows updates you've installed and turn certain Windows features on or off.

The Mobility Center sends you to an applet that lets you do things such as change your display brightness, screen orientation, presentation settings and so on. And in case you didn't realize that the Control Panel still existed, there's a link to that as well.

Another nice thing about the Power User menu: It's hackable. You can delete items you don't want to appear there and add items you do want to appear there, such as programs you run frequently or even individual files.

To do it, you'll first have to make sure that you can view hidden files in File Explorer, as outlined previously. Then go to

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX

where username is your account name. You'll see three folders there: Group1, Group2 and Group3. Each has shortcuts to the apps that appear on the Power Menu. Group1 contains the Desktop; Group2 contains the Control Panel, File Explorer, Run, Search and Task Manager; and Group3 contains two for the Command Prompt (one of which is an Admin command prompt), Computer Management, Device Manager, Disk Management, Event Viewer, Power Options, Programs and Features, System and Windows Mobility Center.

These shortcuts show up as menu items on the Power User menu.
Click to view larger image.

Look back at the Power User menu. Notice that there are three groups separated by two faint lines? They correspond to the folders in the WinX folder. The app in Group1 (Desktop) is at the bottom, then there's a line, then there are the apps in Group2, then there's a line, and then there are the apps in Group3.

To edit the Power User menu, just make changes to the contents of the folders Group1, Group2 and Group3. Delete a shortcut and it vanishes from the menu; add a shortcut and it appears on the menu.

Delete a shortcut as you would any other shortcut: Select it and press your Delete key. (When you delete a shortcut, the file it points to isn't deleted; only the shortcut goes away.) To add a shortcut, open the folder into which you want to place it, right-click on an empty spot, select New --> Shortcut, and follow the wizard that appears.

After you've finished deleting shortcuts and adding new ones, sign out of Windows and then sign back in. Your new Power User menu will be waiting for you on your return.

4. Customize the lock screen

When you boot up your PC or wake it from sleep, it heads right to Windows 8's lock screen. Along with a large image, the screen displays the time and date as well as notifications and status updates from certain apps -- email, social networks, calendar and more. It provides a quick rundown on things you might be interested in seeing without having to sign into Windows 8. Just wake up your Windows 8 device and the info is there, waiting for you on the lock screen.

By default, the lock screen shows notifications from the Messaging, Mail, Calendar and Weather apps. But maybe you'd like to see Twitter updates or info from another app, or you'd like to change the image. You can easily customize all that.

The place to go to do it is the Lock screen settings screen. To get there, press the Windows key + C to display the Charms bar, and then select the Settings icon. Click "Change PC settings" at the bottom of the Settings pane. The "PC settings" screen appears. Under Personalize, choose "Lock screen."

You'll see your lock screen image at the top of the screen. Just beneath the image are other images you can use. Click one to make it the new lock screen image. To find other images you can use for the lock screen, click the Browse button and browse through your pictures. Select the one you want to use and click the "Choose picture" button to make it your new lock screen image.

Here's command central for changing your lock screen settings, starting with the image.
Click to view larger image.

10 Windows 8 tips, tricks and hacks-1

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Computerworld - Whether you've installed Windows 8 yourself or bought a new PC with it, you're now faced with an unfamiliar operating system that at first glance seems more difficult to customize than earlier versions of Windows. What to do -- give up and simply use it as it came out of the box?

Editor's Note

Always check with your IT department before changing system settings or otherwise tweaking a company-owned machine.

Certainly not. There are plenty of ways to tweak, hack and make Windows 8 do things you wouldn't think were possible. In this article you'll see how to cobble together your own quick-and-dirty Start menu as well as customize the hidden Power User menu. I'll show you how to use so-called "God Mode," hack the lock screen and Start screen, master File Explorer and much more.

So fire up Windows 8 and get ready to hear it cry "Uncle."

Need help getting up to speed with Windows 8? See our Windows 8 cheat sheet, which shows you how to get around (including with keyboard shortcuts) and offers three quick tips for getting started with Windows 8.

Windows 8 tips, tricks, hacks

1. Put "God Mode" in easy reach

You wouldn't know it by looking at the Desktop or Start screen, but Windows 8 practically bristles with settings you can customize. The problem is that they're scattered throughout Windows 8, and it can be time-consuming to track them down individually.

However, there is one way to find them all in one place: You can use what some people call "God Mode." While the term "God Mode" has a powerful ring to it, the truth is it's not a separate mode that you put Windows into. It's really a hidden folder that gives you fast access to many settings spread out across Windows 8. It's easy to put that folder right on the Desktop.

First, make sure that you can view hidden files in File Explorer, the system navigation app that in earlier versions of Windows was called Windows Explorer. Run File Explorer, click the View tab, and check

the boxes next to "Hidden items" and "File name extensions" in the Ribbon at the top.

Then right-click the Desktop and select New --> Folder. That creates a folder on the Desktop named "New folder." Rename the folder:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

The GodMode folder on the Desktop.

The folder icon changes, and it has the name GodMode.

(Note that the "GodMode" text isn't what turns the folder into a special folder; instead, it's that long string of letters and numbers inside the curly brackets. You can use any text you want before the period just ahead of the opening bracket, and it still points to the same folder and everything works the same.)

Double-click the icon, and you'll launch a folder filled with dozens of actions, tools and tweaks, from "Change Automatic Maintenance settings" to "View update history." They're organized by category. Expand or shrink each category by clicking the small triangle next to it. Each category displays a number next to it, showing how many settings there are in it.

"God Mode" offers a plethora of settings and actions. Click to view larger image.

To start any action or tweak, double-click it in the list. In some cases you'll follow a wizard, in other cases you'll need to fill in dialog boxes, and in yet other cases you'll be sent to the Control Panel or another Windows location to do the work.

2. Put a quick-and-dirty Start menu on the taskbar

Particularly high on the list of things that annoy people about Windows 8 is the omission of the Desktop's Start menu. Microsoft did its best to stomp it to death -- but it didn't quite succeed. In the Windows 8 cheat sheet I showed you how to use free or paid add-on programs to get the Start button and menu back.

If don't want to use third-party software to get a Start menu, you can build your own quick-and-dirty one in no time. You won't get the full traditional Windows Start menu with Search button, recently run apps, the Control Panel, your network and so on. Instead you get a menu that lets you browse through applications and launch them.

First make sure that you can view hidden files in File Explorer, as outlined in the tip above.

Now right-click the Desktop's taskbar and select Toolbars --> New Toolbar. From the screen that appears, navigate to

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

where username is your account name, and click the Select Folder button. That will place a Start Menu toolbar on the far right of the taskbar. Click its double arrow to display a variety of folders (such as Programs and Computer) that you can browse through until you see the item you want; click it to launch it.

Here's your quick-and-dirty Start menu. Click to view larger image.

To make the Start Menu toolbar go away, right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars, then de-select the Start Menu listing.

Top 10 Windows 8 tips and tricks

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Customize your tiles

Make the most of your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed.

Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles you'll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
Resize any User tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys.

Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).
Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.

See our Windows shortcuts page for a full listing of all Windows shortcuts.

Know your hot corners

The corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each of these corners.

Bottom Left-hand corner

The bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen will allow you to access the Start screen, if you're in the Start screen and have the Desktop open, this corner will open the Desktop from the Start screen.

Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner will open the power user menu.

Top-left corner of the screen

Moving the mouse to the top-left corner and then down will display all the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons can also be right-clicked to close or snap.

Right-hand side of the screen

On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms.

Taking advantage of search

The Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just start typing what you're trying to find or want to run.

As you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the left-hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos, Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a file or program, click on the app you wish to use as the search. For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY.

By default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you don't want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings in the Charms.

Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressing Windows key + F.

Running two apps side by side

Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period) to move that app to the right-hand side of the screen, pressing the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and pressing the same keys again will make it full screen. While an app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded into the available space on the screen. For example, in the below picture, we've opened a browser window and have the People app running to monitor our social networks.

Any open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768.

Windows 8 Task Manager

The Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes, which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage, improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup processes and their impact to system performance, and the App history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources an app has used over a period of time. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager.

Use a picture password to log into your computer

Windows 8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or have a hard time with passwords.

Open the Windows Charms.
Click Settings and then More PC settings
In the PC settings window click Users and then select Create a picture password

Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer.

Take advantage of Windows 8 apps

Windows 8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps.

People

Microsoft touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand how many people are using social networks today. In the People feature you'll be able to connect your Windows computer to all the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening in all your social networks.

Reader

The Reader app will give you PDF support right out of the box.

SkyDrive

The SkyDrive app will give you access to the Microsoft cloud service SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and other files in the cloud and access or share those files with any computer with Internet access.

Store

Take advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store app for any apps that you are trying to find.

Know the answers to common questions

Windows 8 is the biggest change to Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, which was released all the way back in 1995. Since so many people have grown up with Windows, it can be difficult to transition to a new way of doing things. Below, is a short list of the most common questions previous Windows users will have.

Know the Jargon

Knowing all the new jargon introduced with Windows 8 will help improve your familiarity with Windows 8 and make it a more enjoyable experience. Below, are just a few links to the most commonly used Windows 8 terms.

Deep inside Windows 8.1's hidden new features

2013-12-23T00:08:00.002-06:00

After months of teasing and torture, the Windows 8.1 Developer Preview is finally here, ready to deliver us from many of Windows 8’s glaring flaws. You’ve no doubt already heard about Windows 8.1’s biggest new features: The Start button is back, Bing owns the Search charm, the split-screen Snap feature is customizable, yada yada yada. You know the drill.

What hasn’t been talked about much are the subtler changes—the hidden secrets tucked away in the dark corners of Windows 8.1, whispering and waiting for a turn to shine rather than shouting their proverbial presence from the proverbial rooftops.

No, these gems aren’t as flashy as Windows 8’s newfound ability to sync apps and Internet Explorer 11 tabs across multiple devices, but they’re arguably just as (if not more) handy. And there’s no way you’ll find them unless you dig deep...or read this enlightening guide.

Shut down from the Start button

Let’s start with something basic, but far from obvious.

Yes, the Start button is back...but the Start menu isn’t. So you still need to swipe through a multiclick process involving the charm bar if you want to shut down your PC—if you don’t know about the Start button’s secretmenu, that is.

Right-clicking the Start button that appears when you hover your mouse cursor in the lower-left corner of the screen brings up a bevy of powerful options, including quick links to deep stuff like Disk Management and Command Prompt tools.

Now, the menu itself isn’t new to Windows 8.1. What is new is the addition of a Shut Down option to said menu. Hovering over it for a

second gives you options to shut down or restart your PC right then and there, no fiddling with hidden menus required.

Boot to desktop or All Apps, and more

The Taskbar Properties option is another old friend with a subtle new look—and a crucial one for desktop diehards. Did you hear that Windows 8.1 lets you boot directly to the desktop on start up? It does, but Microsoft clearly doesn’t reallywant you to do it, since the option is buried in this obscure corner of the OS.

Head to the desktop, right-click the taskbar, select Properties, and then open the brand-spankin’-new Navigationtab. There, you’ll find new options for disabling the uppermost hot corners. Those options are also available in the modern-style PC Settings, but many Start screen options can only be found here.

And how handy-dandy they are! Want to boot directly to the desktop or the All Apps screen? Here’s your chance, and the other selections are just as useful. (Show the desktop background on the Start screen? Yessssssss.)

Open the Metro version of IE 11 in multiple windows

While you’re busy taking advantage of all the hot resizable Snap size action in Windows 8.1, don’t forget that you can now have a single app open in multiple Snapped windows—something you couldn’t do in the original Windows 8 release.

Well, kinda.

Despite a lot of effort, I haven’t been very successful in getting that feature to function in the Windows 8.1 Developer Preview. Trying to open an app twice—or Snapping an app to one side of the screen and attempting to open a second instance—simply doesn’t work.

(Click to enlarge.)

You can open multiple instances of the modern version of Internet Explorer 11, though. If you have multiple tabs open, you can long-press one of them and select Open tab in new window in the resulting pop-up box. Alternatively, long-pressing a link on a webpage brings up several options at the bottom of the screen, including that ‘Open tab in a new window’ dialog.

Selecting that option causes the page to appear in another IE 11 window, and Windows 8.1 helpfully Snaps both windows into a 50/50 split.

The great gigs in the Sky(Drive)

SkyDrive takes on a much bigger role in Windows 8.1, driving Microsoft’s vision of a seamless, cloud-connected world even further.

In fact, SkyDrive is so vital an underpinning to Windows 8.1 that Microsoft dedicates an entire section to it in the modern-style PC Settings. A vast number of settings now sync and follow you from device to device by default—including modern apps, woohoo! But if you really want to live in the cloud, you’ll need to enable some options buried three or four levels down.

(Click to enlarge.)

Open the charm bar, and select Settings > Change PC Settings. From there, open theSkyDrive options and select Files in the left-hand menu bar.

Here you can acquire the ability to save documents and snapshots from your Camera Roll folder to SkyDrive by default, a downright awesome new option if you want to be able to sit down at virtually any Windows 8 computer and have it feel like your own.

Hush, my darling

Relaxing ain’t easy if your gadget blasts alarms throughout the day. Windows 8 has joined Apple and Android in embracing notifications, which make sounds and light up your lock screen even if you’re not holding your tablet in your hand. Fortunately, Windows 8.1 lets you silence the cacophony with its new Quiet Hours setting.

This one’s buried, too. Open the Settings charm, and navigate to Change PC Settings >Search and apps > Notifications. Scroll down the page a bit until you reach Quiet Hours. By default, Windows 8.1 is set to go silent from midnight to 6 a.m., but you can change the window to any time frame you desire.

Get a grip on your apps

(Click to enlarge.)

Something really irked me about the modern apps in the vanilla version of Windows 8. No, I’m not talking about their seas of wasted space (Windows 8.1 didn’t fix that!). I mean the fact that they were incredibly pesky to manage from anywhere except the Start screen. Modern apps don’t show up anywhere obvious in the desktop File Explorer’s folder structure, and you can’t eliminate them from the Control Panel’s Programs & Features interface, either. Bleh.

Windows 8.1 changes that. Huzzah!

Navigate to the Search & Apps section once again, and select App sizes in the left-hand menu. The screen populates with a full listing of all your installed modern apps, complete with the file size of each app. If you’re looking to free up some hard drive space, you can click an app to bring up an uninstall option.

Wireless Miracast pairing

People don’t likes wires, and neither does Windows 8.1. Like Android 4.2, Microsoft’s OS update includes full support for the fledgling Miracast wireless display standard, which basically acts like Apple’s AirPlay technology. It’s your PC screen, beamed to your TV or monitor as if by telecommunications magic!

Miracast is so new that you might have trouble finding compatible television sets at stores near you, but you can pick up Miracast receiver dongles that transform any TV with an HDMI port into a Miracast-compatible display. Even better, when Microsoft’s Xbox One console lands in time for the holidays, it’ll be a fully capable Miracast receiver, further deepening thesynergies between Windows 8 and Xbox.

If you want to connect your Windows 8.1 device to a Miracast receiver, you can dig deep into the modern-style PC Settings. But the easier option is to open the Devices charm and select Project > Add a display. If there’s a Miracast display nearby, Windows 8 should find it.

A whole lotta printing going on

Windows 8.1 brings a bevy of improvements to the way it handles the more exotic printers popping up these days. For one thing, Windows 8.1 packs 3D printer support in the form of a driver and a native API, and hopefully—hopefully—that will make the 3D printing process as simple as the traditional 2D printing process, rather than the complicated export-filled mess that it is now.

The idea is to allow you to kick 3D printers to life using the Print option under the Devices charm, so you can print from directly within that oh-so-fresh modern interface—assuming the printer’s software takes advantage of Microsoft’s support. Check out the image below to see Windows 8.1 printing to a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer.

GEEKWIRE

But the cutting-edge printing action doesn’t stop there. Windows 8.1 also includes support for NFC printers. If both your Windows device and your printer are members of the (currently rare) NFC-enabled breed, simply tapping one against the other can automatically pair the two devices for hassle-free printing action.

And if NFC or 3D printers are just a bit too adventurous for you, you’ll be happy to hear that Windows 8.1 also includes Wi-Fi Direct printing capabilities. What does that mean? Simple: You can connect directly to a Wi-Fi Direct-enabled printer without having to jump on a Wi-Fi network or fuss with installing software, though the exact method will depend on your printer and device.

What else?

We’ve only just started to dig into Windows 8.1’s nooks and crannies. Did you find any particularly interesting gems hidden in Microsoft’s OS preview? Share ’em with your fellow geeks in the comments below!