Windows 8: Mar 15, 2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Microsoft Release Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcut List

The Windows key on our keyboards can do many things, at least when paired with another key in a shift-type arrangement. We’ve long known now that there would be many more keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8 to help users perform tasks that would otherwise be done with gestures and touch, and now the company has blogged about all those keyboard shortcuts. Microsoft’s Rob Margel released the list on his MSDN blog and there are certainly a lot of them. In fact it can be argued that there are too many for the typical user to ever remember.

What is more likely however is that some of the more usaful ones, such as Win+C to bring up the Charms menu, Win+X for the admin menu and Win+B to switch to the desktop from within the new Metro Start Screen will be the most used and remembered.

Below is the complete list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8.

Windows key – Brings up the Metro start screen. You can start typing to search for an app, just like the Win7 start menu.

· Win + B – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and select the tray notification area.

· Win + C – Brings up the Charms menu, where you can search, share, and change settings.

· Win + D – Brings up the old Windows desktop.

· Win + E – Launch Windows Explorer with Computer view displayed.

· Win + F – Brings up the Metro File search screen.

· Win + H – Opens the Metro Share panel.

· Win + I – Opens the Settings panel, where you can change settings for the current app, change volume, wireless networks, shut down, or adjust the brightness.

· Win + J – Switches focus between snapped Metro applications.

· Win + K – Opens the Devices panel (for connecting to a projector or some other device)

· Win + L – Lock PC and return to Lock screen.

· Win + M – Minimize all Windows on the desktop

· Win + O – Locks device orientation.

· Win + P – Choose between available displays.

· Win + Q – Brings up the Metro App Search screen.

· Win + R – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and display the Run box.

· Win + U – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and launch the Ease of Access Center.

· Win + V – Cycles through toasts.

· Win + W – Brings up the Metro Settings search screen.

· Win + X – Launch Start Menu.

· Win + Y – Temporarily peek at the desktop.

· Win + Z – Opens the App Bar for the current Metro application.

· Win + Page Up / Down – Moves tiles to the left / right.

· Win + Tab – Opens the Metro application switcher menu, switches between applications.

· Win + , (comma) – Aero Peek at the desktop.

· Win + . (period) – Snaps the current Metro application to one side of the screen. (Right side)

· Win + Shift + . (period) – Snaps the current Metro application to the other side of the screen. (Left side)

· Win + Space – Switch input language and keyboard layout.

· Win + Shift + V – Cycles through toasts in reverse order.

· Win + Enter – Launches Narrator

· Win + Arrow Keys – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and enable Aero Snap

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Microsoft Comments On Windows 8′s Start Button Issue

If you have been following this blog or any of the other excellent news site that cover Windows 8, or had your first hours of first-hand experience with the Consumer Preview version of the operating system, you know by now that the Start button is not in the location anymore that it used to be in.

This removal has caused quite the controversy, with many veteran users criticizing Microsoft for the move. The replacement is the new Start page which users can access in a number of ways. This includes pressing the Windows key on the keyboard, or moving down the mouse cursor into the left bottom corner where a click will open the start screen as well.

Microsoft seems to be aware of the confusion the move caused, and addressed the issue in a new blog post on the Windows Experience Blog.

According to Microsoft, the start button is still there but in another location. Before you get to excited about this revelation, you need to know that the company refers to the start button in the Charms menu as the start menu’s new location.

It should be obvious on first glance that this is not an exact replica of the start button of, say Windows 7 for instance. That does not mean that all of the start button’s functionality is gone, as Microsoft points out. Searching for instance happens in exactly the same way as before, only the interface is different. How did you search in Windows 7? Most users clicked on the start button or tapped on the Windows key, and started typing afterwards. In Windows 8, you tap on the Windows key and start typing. The key difference is that Windows 8 switches to the start page automatically, and back if you start a regular app and not a Metro app.

Power users find a few interesting tips in the post that may speed up their experience with the operating system. They can right-click in the lower left corner of the screen to bring up a menu that links to common administrative tasks on the system. This includes direct links to the control panel, device manager and command prompt, as well as search and run options.

The second is a listing of all new keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8. The shortcuts are shown as an image, and available as pdf or xps documents for downloading.

The blog post is a good read for users new to the operating system. What’s your take here? Has everything remained the same functionality wise, or do you feel that something is missing in this regard?

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Dell Working On A Windows 8 Tablet For Business

Windows 8 has been greeted with mixed opinions by many people, some hate the new Metro UI, other’s love it. But there’s also a lot of people who are starting to be won over slowly but surely (Our very own Mike Halsey for one). Dell along with the other OEM’s have certainly recognised the potential that Windows 8 holds, and I feel that it will do particularly well on tablets when consumers mess around with the Metro UI.

Dell also reckon that Windows 8 powered tablets will have the edge over competitors like the iPad because they will support the likes of Microsoft Office as well as the ability to connect to secure corporate networks. All while retaining full Windows functionality that they are all familiar with.

Dell’s CEO Michael Dell was speaking with Bloomberg about how there is growing demand for a tablet that runs Windows to compete with the iPad. He said that they are hard at work developing business friendly tablets that will go on sale the “exact same day” that Windows 8 will hit the market. (Unfortunately he was careful enough not to let a release date slip, then again he probably knows as much as us)

Apple have certainly been making ground into the business sector with the iPad over recent years and this is normally where Microsoft excels. Luckily for them there was no new stand out feature in the latest iPad so it gives Microsoft a chance to finally fight back and get some proper tablets on the market to compete with Apple.

Dell are looking to “lead the market” with Windows 8 powered tablets. It’s certainly going to be a tough battle, and Dell will have to come out with some seriously good devices, but it is possible.

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Customize the Windows 8 Start Screen: Group, Arrange & Name Tiles

Just as with previous versions of Windows, Microsoft has given the user the ability to customize the look and arrangement of the different items on the desktop. With the new release of Windows 8 CP, the user interface paradigm has shifted quite a bit from what users are normally used to. Instead of a desktop with icons, we are now greeted with a Start screen with tiles, and just like with icons, we can decided which tiles to show and which to hide; where to place them and whether to group them together. There is quite a bit of choice with the new Start screen in Windows 8 and I hope to cover most of the customization options in a few short posts.

In this first post I’ll cover how to group, arrange and name live tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen.

In Windows 8, you can pin tiles for websites and this will probably be expanded more when the final release ships later this year. Whenever an app is installed or website is pinned, it will appear on the right hand column on your Start screen. To move the tile around, simply click and hold on the tile and move it to where you would like it to stay and then release the mouse button. This also works with touch-enabled devices. To unpin a tile, right-click on the tile and select the “unpin” action from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

Note: Some tiles are live tiles, meaning they can animate with pertinant information, like new email or a calendar event. This option can be seen in the tile toolbar menu as well, if available.

Now you have a screen full of tiles, but want to group them into different categories and name them each category. To do this, you will click on the magnifying glass button on the bottom-right corner of the screen or pinch to zoom if you are using touch.

This will give you a zoomed-out view of your Start screen, which allows the user to drag each group into different arrangements just like you would do with a single tile.

To name a specifice group, highlight the group and then right-click on an open area of the screen while in this view and click on the name option on the toolbar at the bottom (This option is handy if you would like to keep pinned websites and apps separately).

Part II: Customize the Windows 8 Start Screen: Background Theme Color

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Google: We Are Working On A Chrome Metro Version

If you have followed the Windows 8 development up to this point you know that the operating system will ship with two different interfaces. First the regular desktop interface, and then the Metro user interface, which Microsoft calls the start page. With these interfaces come two versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10. First the regular version and successor of Internet Explorer 9, and then a “bare-bones” version optimized for Metro.

The Metro version of Internet Explorer 10 will be plugin-free, fullscreen, and without other features that Windows users have come to expect from a browser. While sharing the same core, the browser’s are fundamentally different from each other.

Mozilla recently made the announcement that they have started to work on a Windows 8 version of the Firefox web browser. A Wiki at the official Mozilla website highlights the development status and intention.

The feature goal here is a new Gecko based browser built for and integrated with the Metro environment.
Firefox on Metro, like all other Metro apps will be full screen, focused on touch interactions, and connected to the rest of the Metro environment through Windows 8 contracts.

Google today confirmed that the company is also working on a Google Chrome Metro version of the browser. The Metro version of Chrome is based on the desktop version of the browser, and not the mobile client Google released some time ago.

According to Mashable, Google plans to include enhanced touch support in the release to go along with Microsoft’s touch-centric philosophy. It is not clear at this point in time if Metro Chrome will have all the features of the desktop version, or if it will be limited just like Microsoft’s browser is.

It is likely that Google will implement a data synchronization feature to sync data between the Metro, desktop and mobile versions of the browser.

As far as major browser developers are concerned, only Opera and Apple have not yet announced a Metro version of their browsers. It is not clear if we will see Metro Opera or Metro Safari any time soon, or if the companies will pass and concentrate on a single desktop version instead.

What’s your take on the development? Let us know in the comments.

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Customize the Windows 8 Start Screen: Background Theme Color

In the previous post on customizing the Windows 8 Start screen, I covered how to group, arrange and name live tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen. In this post, I’ll vcover how to change the color and accents used on the background on the Windows 8 Start screen. From what I have been told, the customization options will be expanded greatly when the final version of Windows 8 ships, so this guide will smply cover the Consumer Preview for now.

In the Developer Preview of Windows 8, we had only one color screen to choose from, the default green. In the Consumer Preview, Microsoft has added a larger, albeit still limited, color pallette to choose from when changing the screen background color. To change the background and theme colors for the Windows 8 Start screen, you’ll need to access the ‘PC Settings’ page.

You can find your systems settings by bring up the charms menu. Roll your mouse over to the top or bottom corner of the right-hand side of the screen to access the charms menu and click on the ‘Settings’ icon.

Then select the ‘More PC settings’ link.

On the Settings page, click the ’Personalize’ option on the left-hand sidebar and select ‘ Start Screen’. Use the slider on the color palette to choose which theme you would like to use in Windows 8.

Navigate back to the Start screen by tapping the Windows key on your keyboard or the shortcut in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

Part I: Customize the Windows 8 Start Screen: Group, Arrange & Name Tiles

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Firefox 11 For Windows, OS X & Linux Now Available For Download

Print Your Facebook Photos On A Large Canvas With CanvasPop

With our mobile devices’ cameras improving year in, year out, and supplementary apps making editing and manipulating easy for essentially anyone to master, social networks from Facebook to Flickr see billions of images uploaded to servers each year.

As such, the potential for revenue stretches way beyond in-app purchases and subscription models, with many apps now offering print services for those special snaps. Hipstamatic for iOS is a prime example – offering various different lenses and printing services to give its cult following a very retro, vintage snapping experience on their digital devices.

If you’re thinking a little bigger than a few more pocket photos, though, you may want to consider CanvasPop. The service allows you to upload photos from Instagram, Facebook, or your hard drive, and turns them into a canvas ready to spice up a big blank space on your wall.

CanvasPop

Many Facebook users end up with thousands of photos, so CanvasPop serves as a great way to single out those favorites and give them a little more meaning than simply making up the album numbers. The service has been around for a while, but up until now, hasn’t had Facebook support, instead catering for desktop images as well as those of the insanely-popular Instagram – fast approaching 30 million users.

Some pictures simply cannot be appreciated on the small screen, and need a bigger platform from which to shine. In such cases, CanvasPop is a great solution, allowing those images most memorable to be blown up and placed in a more sacred location than 43rd position of a 212-photo album. Of course, by using the term "blown up", many of you will envisage pixelated, blurry shots due to the down scaled nature of Facebook images. Fortunately, CanvasPop’s forte is image upsizing, and the company uses special technology to ensure the finished article is nothing short of perfection.

CanvasPop site

CanvasPop site 2

Similarly to the Instagram experience, you can add your own filters to the image before finalizing your order. There are a range of sizes available, from 8 x 10 to 24 x 72, and prices start at a modest $30 – stretching to $419 for the largest.

Here’s a video complied by CanvasPop, which demonstrates how the service works.

Check out the company’s main page to place your order today.

(via TechCrunch)

Viddy For iPhone: An App That’s Like Instagram For Videos – Download Now!

When Apple first launched the iPhone, it was a device which immediately raised the bar in the mobile device world. The industry had seen scores of smartphones released well before the iPhone ever made it to market, but the original Apple iPhone brought a perfect fusion of form and function to the marketplace and was launched at the right time when consumers were crying out for a little bit of individuality. That was obviously coming up to five years ago, and although the overall standard of device released by manufacturers have increased thanks to that launch, the iPhone is still considered to be setting the standard.

One of the major success stories of the iPhone has the been the dedicated App Store which Apple launched in 2008, and which has recently hit a major milestone by serving more than twenty five billion applications to the iOS using world. That is a staggering amount of mobile software to be handled through one central hub and we are willing to bet that a large portion of iPhone and iPod touch users have tried, or regularly use the Instagram photograph sharing app which has been such a massive hit. Considering the successes that the Instagram team have enjoyed with their iOS app, it seems rather strange that we haven’t seen a whole host of spin off apps being launched.

In the last few weeks people have been talking about the GifBoom application which functions in relatively the same way as Instagram, allowing animated GIFs to be created from frames taken using the iPhone camera. The files can then be uploaded to a network for users to comment on and like, in similar fashion to Instagram. We also now have another app, going by the name of ‘Viddy’, which allows users to connect via Facebook or Twitter and capture, beautify and share videos with the world. The App Store information elaborates on the Viddy function:

Turn everyday moments into perfect little movies with Viddy on iPhone. So next time you catch that pristine sunset over the Pacific, make it more than a memory. Then share it with your Viddy community and upload them to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Viddy has been around for a while, but hasn’t managed to gain as much traction as similar applications even though it was named as the Apple selected app week of the week in May of 2011. Once logged in, users can enjoy the following benefits:

Advanced camera includes focus / exposure / white balance settings, audio metering, timer and more.

Add visual effects, music, transitions, and even movie stars to your videos

100% free packs such as Vintage, Crystal, Solarize, Red, Exposed, Retro, Glam, BW, Hued, Junkd and 3D

100% free brand packs such as Snoop, Incubus, and more.

Share your creation privately, to your friends, or to the world

One-click sharing to the social web, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr.

Interact with your friends with tags, likes and comments

Realtime video discovery and exploration from a vibrant community.

An endless source of creativity, inspiration and personal expression.

The Viddy app for iPhone offers some great functionality and in my opinion has a truly stunning user interface which offers simple navigation fused within a dark, elegant background. The user of contrasting, vivid colors makes individual UI elements stand out and look breath taking, especially on a Retina display. Viddy is available as a free of charge download from the App Store with some additional in-app purchases being available should users require.

Download Viddy for iPhone [iTunes Link]

Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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The Apple WALT: The iPhone Before The iPhone

Apple’s iPhone wasn’t the first foray into the world of voice communications for the Cupertino firm, and the latest device to show up on eBay suggests that landline telephones were once an area that Apple was looking to revolutionize, even all the way back in 1993.

The iPhone is a runaway success. Not even the most diehard Google Android fan could argue against that. It’s been a phenomenon in so many ways and with the iPhone 4S sales consistently strong, nothing seems to be able to stand in its way. Not yet, at least.

The iPhone wasn’t the first time Apple had taken a stab at turning a telephone into something more than just a way to have two-way voice communication. Apple, even back in the nineties, was already beginning to explore new uses for an old technology. One example of that is the Apple WALT. Not heard of it? No, neither had we.

The WALT, apparently, was a landline telephone that Apple announced at the 1993 Macworld event in Boston. Unfortunately the device never found its way into stores, which possibly goes some way to explaining why we had never heard of it.

Apple WALT

WALT, or Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone, was a pen-based touch-screen telephone which offered fax capabilities alongside banking and contact management. Running a modified version of System 6 and using Hypercard, the device is possibly a forefather of the iPhones we carry around today, though obviously with more wires!

The reason the WALT is suddenly on everyone’s mind is the fact that one has shown up for auction on eBay. The device in question was far enough through the development cycle to come with a full, printed manual which suggests that it wasn’t an early prototype. While not currently working, the auctioneer claims that the reason for its lack of life is simply a few loose connections which could potentially be fixed.

Apple WALT (1)

With a Buy It Now price of $8,000, we won’t be tempted to have a cheeky bid ourselves, but if you’re a collector then this is certainly something that is worthy addition to any collection, if only because most people won’t have heard of it.

Now, if only we could find a few thousand dollars down the back of our sofas…

(via The Verge)

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