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Tag: Windows 7

  • Windows 8.1 Receives Its Last Update Tuesday

    Windows 8.1 Receives Its Last Update Tuesday

    Windows 8.1 is slated to receive its last update on Tuesday, as Microsoft is sunsetting the operating system once and or all.

    Microsoft first released Windows 8 in 2012, but a decade later the OS has reached the end of its life. The aging OS will receive its last official update Tuesday, despite the fact that Windows 11 is still gaining market share at a relatively slow pace.

    According to Ghacks, Windows 7 is even outliving Windows 8 by receiving extended support via 0Patch. The company continues to provide support for some operating systems after their end-of-life date and is already planning to support Windows 7 for an additional two years.

    Unfortunately, there is no word on continued support for Windows 8.1.

  • Microsoft Can’t Shake Windows 7—New Bug Rears Its Head

    Microsoft Can’t Shake Windows 7—New Bug Rears Its Head

    Microsoft may have officially ended support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020, but it seems the operating system (OS) is the company’s bad penny—Microsoft just can’t get away from it.

    No sooner did Microsoft announce that Windows 7 was end-of-life (EOL), than the company had to address a bug wherein a “desktop wallpaper might display as black when set to Stretch.” Now, a more serious bug is affecting Windows 7 users, according to Engadget.

    This latest issue is preventing some users from being able to shut down their PC or reboot it properly. Instead, users are receiving an error saying they don’t have permission to shut down the computer. BleepingComputer says some users have had success with a couple of different troubleshooting options, including disabling Adobe’s Windows services.

    Ultimately, however, no one knows for sure whether it is a third-party bug, or an issue with Windows 7 itself. If it is a Windows bug, Microsoft may find itself breathing new life into its EOL OS with yet another update.

  • PSA: Windows 7 Support Officially Ending January 14

    PSA: Windows 7 Support Officially Ending January 14

    Companies and individuals relying on Windows 7 need to start thinking about upgrading. According to Microsoft, Windows 7 support is ending January 14, 2020.

    In a post on the company’s site, Microsoft points out that it has been a full 10 years since Windows 7 debuted. As the company ends support for the operating system, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, software updates or technical support.

    “While you could continue to use your PC running Windows 7, without continued software and security updates, it will be at greater risk for viruses and malware,” the post reads. “Going forward, the best way for you to stay secure is on Windows 10. And the best way to experience Windows 10 is on a new PC. While it is possible to install Windows 10 on your older device, it is not recommended.”

    As Microsoft points out, PC prices have fallen significantly in the years since Windows 7 was in its prime. While buying new hardware may not be wanted, at least the latest hardware will ensure many more years of support.

  • Windows 7 Users May Need To Restart After Recent Update

    Microsoft recently released an update causing some trouble for Windows 7 users. On Patch Tuesday this month, the company released update KB3126446 to fix some security vulnerabilities. The patch was launched for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, but apparently only gave Windows 7 users problems.

    The vulnerability the update resolves would have allowed elevation of privilege if an authenticated attacker used Remote Desktop Protocol to log on to the target system. Microsoft sheds more light on the issue here.

    In the Known Issues section of the support page for the update, Microsoft says, “You may have to restart the computer multiple times after you install this security update on a Windows 7-based computer that is running RDP 8.0.”

    Windows 7 machines that have been updated to Service Pack 1 in particular are impacted by the issue.

    “Basically, what it could happen after installing the update is for your PC to reboot several times, but the number of restarts is not yet specified,” explains Bogdan Popa at Softpedia. “But once this reboot loop comes to an end, you should be able to start re-using the computer normally, with no other issues likely to be caused by this update.”

    Microsoft runs down all available info about the security update for Remote Desktop display driver here.

  • Windows 7 May Have Left Retail, But It’s Still Alive In PCs

    Windows 7 May Have Left Retail, But It’s Still Alive In PCs

    Are you looking for a new Windows PC, but don’t want to get into Windows 8? Well, you’re out of luck if you were hoping to find a copy of Windows 7 through retail as Microsoft stopped selling individual copies of the operating system back in October. Now your only choice is to buy a PC that comes with the OS.

    ZDNet reminds us today that Windows 7 is still alive and well in PCs sold by OEMs and retailers. In other words, one of the only ways to get your hands on a copy of Windows 7 these days is to buy an entirely new PC that has the OS pre-installed.

    While Microsoft may have stopped selling Windows 7 discs at its own retail locations and in stores, you can still find copies of it at online specialty stores, like Newegg. If you’re in the market for a new PC, you might just want to go with that as copies of Windows 7 are still exorbitantly expensive.

    If you do manage to get your hands on Windows 7, you’ll be happy to know that it has years of official support from Microsoft left in it. According to the Windows lifecycle Web site, Microsoft will continue mainstream support of Windows 7 through January 13, 2015. After that, security fixes will still come to Windows 7 through extended support until January 14, 2020.

    Speaking of extended support, those who are still rockin’ Windows XP will want to upgrade soon as extended support for the decade old operating system is set to end on April 8, 2014. It’s already been pushed back a few times now, but it looks like Microsoft is finally ready to sever its ties with XP. You’ll want to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8 before that happens.

    [Image: Christian Zibreg/YouTube]

  • Internet Explorer 11 Now Hits Window 7 Officially

    Internet Explorer 11 has now been launched for Window 7 users too. Earlier, Microsoft had promised that the new Explorer will arrive on Windows 7, so this isn’t a big surprise. IE11 is the default browser of Windows 8.1. Starting Thursday, users of Window 7 who decided to remain behind in the launch of Windows 8 (later 8.1) will now enjoy the features of IE11 as well.

    Although there isn’t much difference between IE11 from its previous versions, IE11 is a worthy upgrade for anyone using Windows 7. However, Microsoft says that the javascript engine of IE11 is almost 10% faster than IE10 and 30% faster than browsers like Chrome and Firefox.

    The new Explorer also supports most of the newest apps and plugins like HTML5 video without plugins as well as the latest version of WebGL. There are other subtle upgrades to IE11 that will create the feeling of faster browsing. Improvements include its prefetching capabilities as well as updates to F12 developer tools for Microsoft. One drawback, however, is that IE11 doesn’t support Google’s SPDY protocol.

    Another interesting feature of IE11 is its enhanced security features that are capable of blocking socially engineered malware. According to the NSS Labs study, Internet Explorer can block about 99 % of malware while Firefox blocks only 4% and Chrome blocks only 70% of the socially engineered malware. Similar percentages apply in terms of blocking phishing attacks. In short, IE11 offers advanced JavaScript performance, better security and ensures greater compatibility and interoperability.

    According to Internet Explorer group program managers Rob Mauceri and Sandeep Singhal, Microsoft will begin automatically  updating Windows 7 customers to IE11 in the weeks ahead, starting today (Thursday) with customers running the IE11 Developer and Release Previews,” Users can download the new Internet Explorer 11 from Microsoft’s website.

    (image from Microsoft.com)

  • Google Chrome To Support Windows XP Until 2015

    Are you still using Windows XP? If so, you should probably upgrade already. Microsoft will be taking if off of life support soon, and Google isn’t giving it much longer.

    Google announced today that it intends to support Chrome for Windows XP up through April 2015. That means Google will continue to provide security updates to the Windows XP version of Chrome up through that date. After that, you’re on your own.

    Funny enough, Google will continue to support the Windows XP version of Chrome for a year after Microsoft drops support for the operating system. Microsoft said back in April of this year that it would drop extended support for the 12-year-old operating system in April 2014. While having Google support Chrome for one more year is certainly nice, it still won’t protect you from the massive amounts of malware that security researchers expect will hit Windows XP next April.

    So, why is Google supporting Chrome even when Windows XP itself will become a hive of malware and exploits? It’s all about taking care of Chrome users, especially those in enterprise, during the transition period to newer versions of Windows:

    We recognize that hundreds of millions of users, including a good chunk of current Chrome users, still rely on XP. Moreover, many organizations still run dozens or even hundreds of applications on XP and may have trouble migrating. Our goal is to support Chrome for XP users during this transition process. Most importantly, Chrome on XP will still be automatically updated with the latest security fixes to protect against malware and phishing attacks.

    Google is right when it says that organizations will have trouble migrating to Windows 7 and Windows 8. That’s why Microsoft recently announced that it was teaming up with HP to help businesses make the move. The two will not only offer new hardware, but they’ll also offer consultation services and planning staff to help make the move as painless as possible.

    Even if it takes a year to finally make the transition to Windows 7 or 8, you can at least rest easy knowing that you have a friend in Google. You’re just not going to find a friend anywhere else until you upgrade.

    [Image: Savas/YouTube]

  • Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview Now Available On Windows 7

    For the past few months, Windows 8.1 Release Preview users have been able to test drive the latest Internet Explorer – IE11. Now Windows 7 users are getting that same opportunity.

    Microsoft announced today that the Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview is now available on Windows 7. The latest iteration of Microsoft’s browser claims to be 30 percent faster than other browsers. It also supports the latest Web technologies, including native WebGL.

    To coincide with the launch of IE11 Release Preview, Microsoft has released another ad as part of its Browser You Loved To Hate campaign. Unlike previous ads that sought to inject a little humor into Internet Explorer’s past reputation, this latest ad features “what ten people and a dog think about Internet Explorer.” Spoilers: They seem to like it.

    The cynical among you will think that Microsoft just went with those that liked Internet Explorer 11 for your ad, and you would most likely be right. That doesn’t invalidate all the work Microsoft has been putting into Internet Explorer though. With IE11, Microsoft seems to have finally caught up with Chrome and Firefox in terms of HTML5 support with WebGL support being the biggest addition.

    If you want to see how IE11 performs against other browsers for yourself, check out Microsoft’s PirateMarrrk benchmark. It will test your browser’s HTML5, JavaScript and Scalable Vector Graphics performance.

    [Image: Microsoft]

  • Windows 8 Is Finally More Popular Than Vista

    Since launch, Windows 8 has been hounded by an unavoidable fact – Windows Vista was still on more computers. The certifiable flop of an operating system had been all but abandoned with the launch of Windows 7, but Windows 8 struggled to surpass even the measly marketshare that Vista was still clinging onto.

    After months of fighting for measly gains, Windows 8 has finally emerged victorious over Vista. The latest report from Net Applications shows that Windows 8 marketshare is now at 5.10 percent whereas Vista is at 4.62 percent.

    Windows Vista and 8 still can’t hold a candle to their predecessors, however, as Windows XP and 7 still own a vast majority of the marketshare. Windows XP is currently sitting at 37.17 percent and Windows 7 is at 44.37 percent. Of course, it should be noted that Windows XP and 7 are both seeing small month-over-month declines, but nothing drastic.

    Going back to Windows 8, this is actually a pretty big deal for the OS. Sure, it’s not growing as fast as Microsoft wishes it was, but it’s at least finally out of the shadow of Vista. Now Microsoft can build upon its latest releases, including Windows 8.1.

    Windows 8.1, which was made available in Preview form last week, is going to be incredibly important for Microsoft going forward. More and more people will start ditching their Windows XP machines sooner or later, and then they will start looking for a new machine. The rise in tablets means that they will probably go mobile and Windows 8.1’s support of smaller form factors means that it can sell cheap Windows 8 machines to consumers looking for a cheaper alternative to the iPad.

    It still remains to be seen what the future holds for Windows 8. The release of Windows 8.1 and cheaper tablets/PCs may increase its marketshare dramatically as we head into the holiday season. It could also just continue to flounder as Windows PCs continue to lose marketshare to Android and iOS devices. I’m sure Microsoft will be working to make sure the former happens.

    [h/t: The Next Web]

  • Skype Video Messaging Comes To Windows Desktop

    Not everybody can be online all the time. For those moments, it’s best to leave a message. That was a little difficult in Skype for Windows as you could only leave text-based messages before, but that all changed this week.

    Skype announced this week that it’s rolling out the preview of Skype Video Messaging for Windows desktop users. To be more specific, Windows 7 users can now send short video messages to friends that are currently offline. The feature will be coming to Windows 8 soon.

    Windows desktop users are just the latest to get Skype Video Messaging. Microsoft notes that the feature is available in preview for those using Skype on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. Those on Windows 8 and Windows Phone can receive video messages, but they have yet to gain the ability to record messages. Skype says it will be fixing that soon.

    If you want to try out Skype Video Messaging for yourself, you’ll have to download the Skype 6.5 beta for Windows. You can grab that here. Alongside the new feature, the beta also includes two small fixes to help increase stability when calling:

    Skype Video Messaging Comes To Windows Desktop

    In other news, Skype recently announced that Outlook.com users can now make video calls from within their browser. More info on that here.

    UPDATE: Skype Video Messaging preview is now available on Windows 8 as well. Hit up the official blog post for all the details.

  • Windows XP Users Only Have A Year Of Official Support Left

    Windows XP remains one of the most popular operating systems on the planet, especially for businesses that don’t feel like upgrading to Windows 7 or 8. That popularity will surely continue for years to come, but Microsoft won’t be along for the ride starting next year.

    As per its support schedule, Microsoft announced that it’s dropping extended support for Windows XP in April 2014. That means that businesses and users alike have a year to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Doing so will ensure that users continue to receive support in the form of security updates and patches from Microsoft.

    Of course, Microsoft would love nothing more than to move more people to Windows 8. The new OS isn’t doing that well among consumers (except for gamers), but a forced upgrade from Windows XP may at least push some companies into buying bulk Windows 7/8 licenses.

    There are some problems with that though. In April of last year, we looked at how forcing users to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8 was going to cause some headaches for businesses that rely on Windows XP and its compatibility with older software. Upgrading to a newer OS would require more than just buying a bulk license – it would require the company to rewrite core software.

    As companies plan on upgrading from Windows XP, there are some companies waiting to pounce on those unsure of Windows 7 or 8. One in particular is Canonical, stewards of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. The company has been pushing Ubuntu’s enterprise capabilities for some time now, and the allure of a free OS would certainly be appealing to some.

    While we certainly can’t see what the future holds, we can at least look back on a good 12 year run for Windows XP. It was arguably the most popular Windows OS ever released, and it reigned during the golden age of PCs. Those days are long gone, but we can at least look back fondly at that green hill desktop that reminded us that the grass truly was greener on the other side of the personal computing revolution.

  • Internet Explorer 10 Finally Available On Windows 7

    After launching with Windows 8 in October of last year, Internet Explorer 10 has only been available as a release preview on Windows 7. That all changes as Microsoft pushes out the final release to all Windows 7 users starting today.

    Just like Windows 8, IE10 will reportedly speed up your browsing experience on Windows 7. Microsoft says that internal benchmarks put it about 20 percent faster than IE9. To test it out for yourself, you can try out Microsoft’s Minesweeper benchmark test. It’s built entirely in HTML5 and will measure your browser’s performance.

    IE10 is also a marked improvement over its predecessors by finally adding a number of HTML5 and related Web technologies to its repertoire. Developers and consumers now have access to the following features in IE10:

  • Create rich visual effects with CSS Text Shadow, CSS 3D Transforms, CSS3 Transitions and Animations, CSS3 Gradient, and SVG Filter Effects
  • More sophisticated and responsive page layouts with CSS3 for publication quality page layouts and responsive application UI (CSS3 grid, flexbox, multi-column, positioned floats, regions, and hyphenation), HTML5 Forms, input controls, and validation
  • Enhanced Web programming model for better offline applications through local storage with IndexedDB and the HTML5 Application Cache; Web Sockets, HTML5 History, Async scripts, HTML5 File APIs, HTML5 Drag-drop, HTML5 Sandboxing, Web workers, ES5 Strict mode support.
  • Beautiful and interactive Web applications with support for several new technologies like CSS3 Positioned Floats, HTML5 Drag-drop, File Reader API, Media Query Listeners, Pointer Events, and HTML5 Forms.
  • Improved Web application security with the same markup and support for HTML5 Sandbox for iframe isolation.

    • As for privacy, the Do Not Track signal will be turned on by default in IE10 for Windows 7, just as it was for Windows 8. Just don’t expect it to actually accomplish anything.

    You can grab IE10 for Windows 7 right now. If you want Microsoft to do the work for you, you’ll be upgraded to IE10 automatically in the coming weeks. Those who took part in the IE10 Release Preview will get first dibs, with everybody still on IE9 coming later.

  • Windows 7 Still Most Popular OS On PCs Sold In The UK

    Microsoft announced last month that it had sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses. It’s pretty obvious that most of those sale went to OEMs who will be putting the software onto computers going out to market. That’s good news for Microsoft as OS market penetration is largely driven by hardware sales, not software upgrades. Unfortunately, new PC buyers may be sticking to Windows 7 according to a new report.

    PC Pro reports that Windows 7 is still the most popular operating system on PCs sold in the UK. The publication was contacted by several PC system building companies who said consumers are requesting Windows 7 on their machines instead of Windows 8. In fact, one company said that 93 percent of its machines are shipped with Windows 7.

    What may be even worse for Microsoft is that customers who buy systems with Windows 8 are returning the PCs and requesting they be changed back to Windows 7. One particular PC vendor – Computer Planet – said that it’s now offering Windows 7 as the default OS again after Windows 8 failed to catch on.

    So, what’s the major beef people are having with Microsoft’s new OS? It seems that driver issues and the newness of the Metro UI are turning people off. A common complaint seems to be that people can’t figure out how to get around in the new OS. That being said, those same customers like the general look of Windows 8’s desktop mode, but wish it was in a Windows 7 environment.

    Despite all this, the OEMs say that PC sales haven’t been hurt by the general negativity directed towards Windows 8. They feel that most of the complaints are due to the initial shock at the newness of Windows 8, and that most consumers get used to it relatively quickly. The only thing they would suggest is that Microsoft include a guide or tutorial that took consumers through the more intricate features of Windows 8.

    That last suggestion has been echoed by major players in the PC manufacturing business. Samsung, in its decision to not release its Windows RT tablet in the U.S., said that Microsoft needs to do a better job of explaining Windows 8 to consumers. The company has been too busy lately focusing on crazy office parties and pinata slaughter instead of showing consumers how the new OS works.

    Microsoft needs to slow down, and actually show people how Windows 8 works. Show consumers still on Windows XP or Vista how Windows 8 can improve their computing experience. The rumored relaunch of WIndows 8 and the future launch of Windows Blue may give Microsoft the opportunity to do just that.

  • Windows 8 Adoption Falls Behind Vista

    Microsoft needs Windows 8 to be a hit. Steve Ballmer’s job may even depend on it. That’s why the company is going all out to get consumers on board with buying a PC, or a Windows 8 equipped tablet. Adoption is still growing, but it’s looking like it might not be growing fast enough.

    Kitguru compared launch data from Net Applications for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows 8. The picture it paints isn’t pretty as Windows 8, which was actually doing better than Vista, is now starting to fall behind in adoption. It’s a far cry from Windows 7 which was a great success for Microsoft at launch, and finally took over Windows XP’s longheld position as the most popular OS in September of last year.

    It’s strange to see adoption slowing down after Microsoft announced only a month after its launch that Windows 8 had already sold through 40 million licenses.It seemed like the company’s momentum would continue into the new year, but that may no longer be the case. Many people have expressed displeasure with the touch-oriented operating system and are sticking with Windows 7 until something better comes out.

    That something better may just reveal itself to be Windows Blue, the rumored operating system from Microsoft that will reportedly launch later this year. The rumors point to Microsoft moving to an annual release cycle, much like OS X, and the price of the operating system would dramatically decrease to increase adoption. If they’re smart, the Windows team at Microsoft would also implement more desktop friendly controls into this next iteration of Windows 8 to address many of the complaints enthusiast users have with the OS.

    It was unlikely that Windows 8 would outpace Windows 7, but it’s still too early to deem the new OS a failure. It may have hit a snag for now, but adoption rates could increase in 2013 to at least make it more popular than the mostly universally reviled Vista. It might even be considered a success at Microsoft if it can at least do that.

  • Windows 7 Still Most Popular OS, Windows 8 Use Slowly Increasing

    Back in September, Windows 7 finally overtook Windows XP as the most popular operating system on the planet. It marked the end to an era that was dominated by the PC. Now its Windows 8 turn to capture the desktop and mobile markets, and early results show it’s slowly improving in marketshare.

    Net Applications’ latest numbers for November show that Windows 7 is still the most popular operating system on the planet with 44.71 percent of the desktop market. It’s not unexpected as Windows XP use is still falling as people continue to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8. The decade old OS is now at 39.82 percent. The disgraced Windows Vista is still just a blip on the radar with a paltry 5.7 percent in marketshare.

    As for Windows 8, Net Applications has been tracking it since the early previews in January of this year. At that time, only 0.02 percent of the desktop market was using Windows 8. That number finally climbed to 0.41 percent in October right before its official launch. After the launch, use jumped over .60 percent to a relatively impressive 1.09 percent in marketshare.

    Windows 8 isn’t taking the world by fire, and that’s fine. Microsoft sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in a month, and those sales helped contribute to this first boost. The number of Windows 8 desktops in use will likely grow as we move into next year. There is, however, always the possibility that Windows 8 could backfire and become the next Vista.

    It will be interesting, however, to see how the rumored Windows Blue will affect Microsoft’s overall marketshare. Like Mac OS X, Microsoft is rumored to be putting out annual releases of Windows 8 starting in 2013. It will still be called Windows 8, but analytics will most likely still chart who upgrades and who does not. At that point, we could start seeing the first real instance of Windows fragmentation.

  • Internet Explorer 10 Is Now Available On Windows 7

    Internet Explorer 10 is an interesting beast. It was built with Windows 8, and touch, in mind. It launched with Microsoft’s new operating system last month, but now it’s available on the decidedly less-touch friendly Windows 7.

    Microsoft announced today that the release preview of Internet Explorer 10 is now available on Windows 7. It features a number of HTML5 and CSS enhancements that any IE stalwarts will want to upgrade for. It also should make it easier for developers to make apps work across all the different browsers now that IE10 is catching up to the strides made by Mozilla and Google with Firefox and Chrome respectively.

    Those interested in trying out Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 will also be happy to know that Microsoft will turn the controversial “Do Not Track” signal on by default when you first install it. It might not do you any good, however, as advertisers have already made it a point to ignore any DNT signals sent by IE10.

    A study from last week found that Internet Explorer is actually the fastest browser on Windows. Microsoft is dead set on keeping that distinction with Internet Explorer 10 and performed a number of benchmark tests to prove it.

    Internet Explorer 10 Now On Windows 7

    Microsoft attributes IE10’s performance enhancements to its “powerful HTML5 engine.” Users and developers can now take advantage of the following enhancements:

    Rich Visual Effects: CSS Text Shadow, CSS 3D Transforms, CSS3 Transitions and Animations, CSS3 Gradient, SVG Filter Effects

    Sophisticated Page Layouts: CSS3 for publication quality page layouts and application UI (CSS3 grid, flexbox, multi-column, positioned floats, regions, and hyphenation), HTML5 Forms, input controls, and validation

    Enhanced Web Programming Model: Better offline applications through local storage with IndexedDB and the HTML5 Application Cache; Web Sockets, HTML5 History, Async scripts, HTML5 File APIs, HTML5 Drag-drop, HTML5 Sandboxing, Web workers, ES5 Strict mode support.

    Windows 7 users can download the IE10 release preview today. IE9 was already pretty good, so users of that particular browser may want to upgrade to IE10 when they get the chance. The performance and security improvements are probably worth the few minutes it takes to install.

  • Twitter Kindly Requests That You Stop Using Internet Explorer 8

    Do you have a PC running Windows XP? Do you use Internet Explorer 8 on said PC? If so, Twitter has some words of advice – move it or lose it.

    Twitter Support tweeted out today that they’re currently looking into a problem where Tweets aren’t posting in Internet Explorer 8. They kindly suggest that users currently affected by the problem move to another browser.

    For some users, moving to another browser is easier said than done. As The Next Web points out, Internet Explorer 8 is the latest version of Microsoft’s browser that’s available to folks still using Windows XP. The browser also spawned some of the best ads to come out of Microsoft:

    Unfortunately for some people, Internet Explorer is all they ever knew. The Internet is not the living, breathing creature that we all know and love to these users. For them, it’s just something that should work without any input on their part. Rarely do they ever realize that their refusal to change is what leads to these predicaments in the first place.

    That’s why Twitter suggests those users check out Browse Happy as it contains links to all the latest browsers from all the major vendors. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera are offered up alongside Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer. The site links to the latest versions of each browser so that users know they’re getting the most secure version yet.

    Windows XP users who are affected by the current outage should check out any of the other browsers available to them. Internet Explorer 9 may be unavailable, but the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Opera are all available to Windows XP users. All three browsers support Twitter and everything else you could ever hope to do on the Web.

    Of course, the problem won’t truly go away until we can phase out Windows XP from all major markets. Many people refused to upgrade to Windows Vista and still haven’t upgraded to Windows 7. This rift in Windows users can only lead to more problems as Microsoft drops support for Windows XP altogether.

    Windows XP users should take Twitter’s suggestion as not only a call to change browsers, but to finally upgrade that operating system. You don’t even have to buy a new PC anymore. The spread of tablets and other mobile devices ensures a few years of compatibility before hardware manufacturers create the next great thing that makes every prior device obsolete.

  • Over Half Of Windows 8 Users Still Prefer Windows 7

    Windows 8 is finally launching next month. It’s do or die time for the folks at Microsoft, and they need this to be a hit. The response to Windows 8 has been relatively positive, but the new OS has had its fair share of detractors. It’s even rumored that Intel’s CEO privately stated that Windows 8 isn’t ready. A new survey indicates that more people may dislike Windows 8 than initially thought.

    Forumswindows8.com, the self-proclaimed “largest Windows 8 help and support forum on the Internet,” recently surveyed over 50,000 Windows 8 users. The survey covered everything from strengths and weaknesses to general thoughts on Windows 8 versus its predecessors.

    The good news is that Windows 8 isn’t universally hated. The bad news is that a majority of Windows 8 users still prefer its predecessor with 53 percent saying that they like Windows 7 more. In comparison, only 25 percent chose Windows 8 as their favorite.

    That being said, those surveyed dumped a fair amount of praise on the operating system. A majority of users (56 percent) chose the fast boot and shut down of Windows 8 as their favorite feature. Fifty percent of users listed the easy installation as their favorite. From there, the numbers drop somewhat dramatically with only 35 percent of users listing Internet Explorer 10 as their favorite feature.

    In what may be more damning than anything, only 23 percent of users listed the Windows Store as their favorite feature. The Metro WIndows 8 UI doesn’t fare much better with only 22 percent claiming the feature to be their favorite. These are the two big selling points of Windows 8. Without support from users, Microsoft doesn’t have much of a chance.

    The theme of hating the new UI carries over to the answers supplied by respondents when surveyed on weaknesses. A relatively small, but still significant, 18 percent say that Microsoft needs to improve the two UI style system on desktops. A much larger 35 percent say that the price of Windows 8, which is set at $199 after a promotional price of $69, is too high.

    Despite the complaints about the desktop version of Windows 8, Microsoft seems to have made the right move with their Surface tablet. Out of all of those surveyed, a sizable chunk of respondents (25 percent) said that they would choose the Microsoft Surface tablet over the competition.

    Overall, this survey represents something that Microsoft should be concerned about. They’re less than a month away from launch and people still prefer Windows 7. To some extent, it’s to be expected. Every new operating system is met with trepidation, but Windows 8 was supposed to be different. It represents a cool, hip new Microsoft that’s focused on the consumer and entertainment.

    We’ve reached out to Microsoft to find out if they have any plans leading up to launch to get people excited about Windows 8. We also asked if they have any plans to help fix or allieve the complaints that the respondents had. We’ll update as soon as we hear back.

  • AMD Partners with BlueStacks To Bring Android Apps To PCs

    Intel makes the best PC processors around. That being said, we all can’t afford the $300 Intel demands for their latest processors. That’s why I go with AMD and their very affordable high-quality CPU line. Turns out that my frugality when it comes to CPUs nets me and other AMD CPU users a boatload of Android apps.

    AMD and BlueStacks announced a partnership today that will bring 500,000 Android apps to PCs powered by AMD CPUs. The two forces have launched the AMD App Zone where users can grab the virtualization software required to run Android apps on the PC alongside a number of free apps. Most of the apps are games, but there are quite a few general purpose apps as well.

    “BlueStacks’ cross-platform innovation bridges the Android and x86 application ecosystems, providing new opportunities for developers and better experiences for users,” said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, Heterogeneous Applications and Developer Solutions at AMD. “By collaborating with BlueStacks, we are enabling software developers to more easily tap into the full capabilities of AMD’s products, and providing millions of consumers with great experiences as they can now run Android apps on AMD-powered devices.”

    It should be noted that the Android apps are only available to users running Windows 7 or Windows 8. Users are also only required to have an AMD CPU to run Android apps.

    “As the engine behind the AMD AppZone Player, we are providing a potent combination of award-winning software optimized for AMD’s industry-leading hardware. Consumers can now enjoy their favorite mobile apps on the larger, more immersive screen of their PC,” said Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks. “With BlueStacks technology, app developers can rest assured their Android apps will run directly on Windows without any code change. We’ve made it easy for all.”

    Unfortunately, neither company clarifies if these apps will be modified in any way to be better on the PC. Can users up the resolution of Android apps to take advantage of larger displays on the PC? Will controls be optimized for the PC, or will PC users have to replicate touch movements with the mouse? We’ve reached out to AMD for clarification and will update when we hear back.

    UPDATE:

    An AMD spokesperson just got back to us. They said that PC users can scale Android apps up to 1920×1080. Unfortunately, it’s not true full screen mode as a window must remain open for key functionalities that are accessed in the window. They also said that AMD has optimized its graphics technologies to make the scaling as smooth as possible.

    As for controls, they say that the BlueStacks Layercake technology features support and is optimized for touch, keyboard/mouse, and various movement sensors.

  • Windows 7 Finally Dethrones XP As Most Popular Operating System

    Thanks to the poor performance of Windows Vista, XP has enjoyed a decade long rule over the operating system landscape. Many people switched over to Windows 7 when it launched, but XP still had a lot of faithful users. The holdouts may finally be making the switch.

    The latest operating system statistics from Net Applications came out yesterday and the results are unexpected, but welcome. They show that Windows 7 has finally overtaken XP as the most popular operating system on the planet. It’s not much of a victory though as Windows 7 commands 42.76 percent of the market whereas Windows XP still has 42.52 percent.

    The difference between marketshare may not be that big now, but it signals the end of an era. It’s been over a decade since Windows XP launched. Since then, the operating system expanded quickly thanks to the popularity of the Windows PC in the early to mid-2000s. The launch of Windows Vista did little to reinvigorate Windows and now sits at only 6.15 percent of total marketshare.

    We can only hope that Windows 7’s marketshare will continue to grow. Microsoft dropped official support for Windows XP a few years ago and the operating system is now susceptible to numerous security threats. Businesses running Windows XP should make the switch to 7 soon lest they be hacked.

    In the world of Mac OS X, 10.7 still holds the lion’s share with 2.45 percent of the market. Version 10.6 holds a smaller 2.38 percent of the market. The stats don’t take the recent release of Mountain Lion into account yet, but I expect it to overtake Lion next month if Apple’s report of its popularity is to be believed.

    It will be interesting to see where things stand next month. Windows XP’s marketshare can only go down from here and Windows 7 can only go up. Things will get really interesting once Windows 8 joins in as well. Microsoft’s new operating system is going to spread primarily through PC sales instead of upgrades. It’s initial marketshare will give us a good idea of how well Windows 8 PCs are selling.

  • Windows XP And Vista Are Not Invited To The Office Party

    I’m a happy Windows 7 user, but I know some people are sticking with Windows Vista or XP. Did you like the new features that Microsoft has been showing off in Office 2013? If so, you’re going to have to upgrade to at least Windows 7 to enjoy it.

    On the official Microsoft Office 2013 required specs page, the company confirmed that Office 2013 will only work on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012. It’s kind of a sneaky way of getting people to upgrade their computer, but that’s just how it goes.

    As for the other requirements, Office requires at least a 1GHz or faster x86 or x64 processor with 1GB of RAM on 32 bit and 2GB of RAM for 64 bit. It only requires a modest 3GB of hard drive space so nothing too intense there. One thing that may have forced the move away from XP is that Office 2013 also requires a graphics chip that is at least capable of Direct X 10, which is only available for Vista onwards.

    Upgrading from XP is probably for the best anyway. Microsoft has officially stopped supporting the platform with regular security updates and Vista is on its way out as well. An upgrade should be in the cards anyway for the number one users of Windows machines – Enterprise customers. You get the latest security updates and be able to use Office 2013. It’s a brilliant strategy on Microsoft’s part even if it is a little underhanded.

    If you find that you must have Office 2013, there are a few options available to you. The easiest is that people on Windows XP or Vista machines can upgrade to Windows 8 for only $40 through a digital download once it launches on October 26. Some XP computers are too old to even run Windows 8 so it’s probably better to just buy a whole new computer at that point.

    [h/t: CNET]