Windows 8 useful tips and tricks

1. Open from the lock screen

Windows 8 opens on its lock screen, it looks good but unfortunately displays nothing about what to do next. It’s all very straightforward . Just tap on the keyboard space bar, spin the mouse wheel or swipe upwards on a touch screen to reveal a regular login screen with the user name you created during installation. Enter your password to begin.

2. Handle basic navigation

Windows 8 interface is all with colourful tiles and touch-friendly application. And if you’re using a tablet then it’ll all be very simple: just swipe left or right on the touch screen to scroll, and tap any app tile that you want to open. On a regular desktop PC, you might alternatively spin the mouse wheel to scroll backwards and forwards.

You can also use the keyboard to. Press the Windows logo key to return to the Start screen; mouse right-click (or swipe down on touch screen ) apps you don’t need and select Unpin to remove them; and drag and drop the other tiles around to arange them as you like. Press the Home or End keys to jump from one end of your Start screen to the other, for instance, use the cursor keys to select a particular tile, hit Enter to select it.

3. Use the quick access menu

Right-click with mouse in the bottom-left corner ( or hold down the Windows logo key and press X ) for a text menu that provides easy access to lots of useful features and applets:Control Panel, Explorer, Device Manager, the Search dialog and many more. Download the Win+X Windows 8 Menu Editor  and you’ll be able for further customization of the list with programs.

4. Group applications

The Start screen apps are initially displayed in a random order, but if you’d prefer a more organised life style then it’s easy to sort them into custom groups.

You might drag Contacts ( People), Calendar, Messaging and Mail over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate ‘Office’ or ‘Contacts‘ group. Click the ‘minus’ icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to zoom out and you’ll now find that you can drag and drop the new group (or any other group ) around as a block.

Right-click within the block ( still zoomed out ) and you’ll also be able to named the group, which – if you go on to add another 10 or 20 apps to your Start screen – will make it much easier to find the tools and apps you need.

5. Make easier access

If there’s an application you use frequently then you don’t have to access it with the search system. Pin it to the Start screen and it’ll be available with one click.

Start by typing name of your application ( just one part of the named for example ). To access Control Panel, type ‘Control’. Right-click the ‘Control Panel’ tile on the Apps Search screen, and click ‘Pin to Start’. If you are using a touchscreen, press and hold the apps icon, then flick down and then select ‘Pin to Start’.

Now press the Windows key, scroll to the right and you’ll see the Control Panel tile at the end. Drag and drop this tile over to the left somewhere if you’d like it to make more easily visible and accessible, then click the tile icon to open the desktop along with the Control Panel window, and press the Windows key to return you to the Start screen when you are done.

6. Find your applications

The Win+X menu is useful, but there is no substitutions for the good old Start menu, as it doesn’t provide access to your applications. To find this, hold down the Windows logo key and press Q , or either mouse right-click an empty part of the Start screen or swipe your finger up from the bottom of the touchscreen and select ‘All Apps’ to reveal a scrolling list of all installed applications. Browse to the tiles to find application that you need and click the app to launch it.

7. Shut down the Windows 8

To shutdown Windows 8 , just move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, click the Settings icon – or just hold down the Windows logo key and press I – and you’ll see a power button. Click on it and choose ‘Shut Down’ or ‘Restart’.

Some of the tricks available in previous versions of Windows still apply. Press good old Ctrl+Alt+Del, for example, click the power button in the bottom right corner and you’ll be presented with the same ‘Shut Down’ and ‘Restart’ options. If you’re on the desktop computer, press Alt+F4 and you’ll be able to choose ‘Shut Down’, ‘Restart’, ‘Sign Out’ or ‘Switch User’ options.

Windows 7: Tips & Tricks

Tips and Tricks for Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 7

Microsoft brings many innovations and improvements, however small things are the ones that sell the product.In the few pages that follow we will make review exactly those small and tiny things that make you love the Windows 7.

I decide to transfer my experience in previous work with Windows 7 but not in the form of a standard review of the operating system but rather in the form of tips and best practices (Tips & Tricks). In this way you may be able to help you out and show you how to use Windows 7 better, in other words, Microsoft will show you what you did to make you switch from your XP, Vista or any other operating system to Windows  7 .

Manage your windows in Windows 7

Windows 7 simplifies the management of documents and programs in a way that allows you to “pin” a window or manipulate the same size with one mouse maneuver or a simple keyboard with one click.

To set your window on one half of the screen, drag it left or right and the window will change its size tofit left or right half of your screen. To manipulate the vertical size of the window, you can drag the window to the top of the screen and the same increase, double click on the upper or lower limit of the window and it vertically will increase until its maximum width will remain the same.The above manipulation you can do using the keyboard:

[  = Windows button with the sign of the keyboard]

  + Left arrow hangs window on the left side of the screen

  + Arrow right hook window on the right side of the screen

  + Up arrow maximizes the active window

  + Down arrow to minimize the active window

  + Shift + up arrow maximizes the active window vertically

  + Shift + down arrow restores the active window in original size vertically.

These possibilities  whether they used with a mouse or keyboard  , it would be a lot easier if you have a need to compare the contents of two locations, so easy … Attach one location on the left and the second location on the right side of your screen (Windows 7 itself to tweak the size of the window) and there …. required contents side by side.

Aero view of your desktop

Completely new but definitely very interesting and probably much needed tool for instant view on your desktop. During the operation the user opens a bunch of windows so desktop is rarely seen, but at times you need something right out there so you want to view. Just go with the mouse in the lower right corner, immediately after the date and clock and all your open windows will become transparent, so your desktop is available. I get the same while pressing start typing.

  + Space.

Walking through the open windows

Of course you happened to have started a few text documents in MS Word, and you need time to time to see them (Alt + Tab window will open all possible), then press Ctrl (control) and mouse keep clicking on the icon the application in question (in our example Word) and Windows 7 will only roam between open instances Word. The windows will be opened in order in which they were first window opened.

Release of inactive windows

Many times it happens to our desktop is crowded with open windows, in addition to the active window in which you work from all sides protruding corner of the window, small or large windows and all it is sometimes одзима attention or annoys you. Cure in Windows 7 is simple, just press the    + Home and all the windows that are active at that time will be minimized. To restore just repeat the procedure.

Look clearly

With improved zoom tool in Windows 7, you can increase the different parts of the screen, very quickly and very easily. Zoom Tool in Windows 7 allows you to zoom in on any area of your screen, define the scale factor to increase and track and field mouse focus. Launch the “Magnifier” from the Start menu, and set the glass in a certain part of your screen. It will remain in that position, in relative proportion with the boundaries of your screen. Move the mouse cursor around and clearly see that the view to the desired portion of the screen increases.

You can also programming one of the buttons on your mouse (if your mouse software is compatible with Microsoft IntellPoint) to include or exclude Zoom Tool. Go to the Control Panel and click on “Hardware and Sounds”, then “Mouse” and select the “Buttons” tab and you get the option to program your mouse as you like.

Change the background

Windows 7 allows you to completely customize your desktop to suit each of the many moods that you possess all the new Shuffle feature for your desktop.You can set the background of your desktop to “walk” on your favorite photos and background to change as often as much as you want. 

To enable this feature right-click your mouse on your desktop and select “Personalize” then “Desktop Background” Select the folder where are your favorite photos and choose as you like.Tick ​​”Shuffle” box and select how often you want your wallpaper to change. Get a simple way that your background will always be new, fresh and interesting.

Clean desktop , Immediately!!

You always had the ability to automatically adjust your desktop using auto-arrange option that you get when you right-click your mouse on the background of your desktop and then selecting “Sort By”, now Windows 7 makes it even easier.

 To adjust your desktop according to your predefined settings simply press F5 and zadzhete typed. Immediately, I is aligned properly.

Windows Phone 8.1: Finally, a worthy rival to Android and iOS

It has been nearly four years since Microsoft launched Windows Phone. The OS is beautiful to look at and with its unique tile-based user interface, offers an approach to software that is fresh and modern compared to Android or iOS. The OS even forced both iOS and Android to change their approach to user interface and go for a flatter design.

Unfortunately, each time we reviewed a Windows Phone device - all Lumia phones run this operating system - in the past we also found that Microsoft's mobile operating system, while good to look at, could not match the functionality of iOS or the flexibility of Android.

In fact, the early version of the OS - Windows Phone 7 - was incredibly light on functionality, lacking even the option to copy and paste text.

Since 2010, Microsoft has been hard at work, trying to fix Windows Phone. The OS improved somewhat with each iteration. The Mango update was decent and so was Windows Phone 8. But it is only now with Windows Phone 8.1 (WP8.1) that we feel Microsoft has finally caught up to Android and iOS.

WP8.1 is a big update. It adds a number of features. It became available through developer channels on April 14 (see below to know how to get it). We have been using it for the last three days and we can tell you that finally Windows Phone fans have the OS they deserve.

Why do we say that? First let's talk about the two big features:

Windows Phone gets a personal assistant
Windows Phone, though an operating system for smartphones, never really felt all that smart. That is until now. With Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft has added a virtual assistant to the operating system.

It is similar to Google Now in Android and Siri in iOS. Similar but not the same. Unlike Google Now, which is not the chatty type and won't tell you any jokes, Cortana can talk back and say funny things. And unlike Siri, which doesn't believe in the background tracking of your flight, Cortana can be like Google Now and can track a courier package for you after getting the tracking number from your email. In a way, Cortana is the best of Siri and Google Now.



The key bit about virtual assistants is that they may have all the features and sound sexy and funny, but unless the technology behind them, especially the search and voice recognition, is not good, they are useless. Cortana, however, is great!

Even while dealing with heavily-accented English pronunciation, it recognizes voice commands almost all the time. It is as good as Google's voice recognition on Android phones. This is an impressive feat.

Once Cortana has done hearing what you are saying, it can perform several tasks for you. It can set alarms and reminders. You can dictate messages to it and ask it to call a contact. It can search internet (Bing is supported, Google is not) for a topic. It can show you headlines of the day on topics that interest you. And of course, it can track your flights and courier packages, though this functionality is not yet available in India. (In fact, Cortana is not yet officially available in Windows Phones in India).

Apart from adding the functionality to perform tasks on the phone with the voice commands, Cortana makes Windows Phone sexy. It makes the OS smart. The OS no longer looks like or feel like second rate to Android or iOS. It is just a perception. But we feel it will go a big way in attracting consumers to Windows Phone devices.

You can haz notifications!
At last, Windows Phone has a notification centre. And it is uncannily similar to the one in Android. But we are not complaining because the notification centre in Android is amazing and works well.

In WP 8.1, you can swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notication centre. By default, there are four toggles to control Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode and Rotation Lock. There is also an option to go to "all settings" directly from the notification centre. Notification can be cleared with a swipe. In the settings for Notifications+Actions, a user can configure which apps are allowed to give notifications and which apps aren't.



Compared to Android, the notification centre in WP8.1 is still basic but it works well and goes a long way in making Microsoft's OS more approachable and easier to use for mainstream consumers.

Other than these two big features, there are also a number of small enhancement in the OS. Some of them are really useful, some not so much. But all of them improve Windows Phone in one way or other. Some of the important new features are:

SMS search: Phew! Finally, you can search through your messages on a Windows Phone. This one simple features adds so much usability to the OS.

Set a wallpaper: Windows Phone now allows a user to set a background image on the screen. The tiles became transparent if you set a background image. This looks good and helps a user customize the phone in a personal way.

New camera app: The camera app in the WP8.1 has a new layout as well as adds a feature to capture images in 'burst mode'.



Extra row of tiles: Instead of two rows of tiles, now you can have three rows of tiles if you want. On phones with smaller screen, this will not be much useful but those who use Windows Phone devices with bigger screens will appreciate it.

Updated calendar: Among the major changes, weekly view is the most significant.



Swype to type: The Windows Phone keyboard now supports "swyping." This means that in order to type a word, users can swipe finger on the alphabets in that word. A lot of people using Android find it a faster way to type so it is good to see it now available to Windows Phone users. In our use, we found that typing through "swyping" in WP8.1 keyboard is easy and words are recognized accurately.

New Internet Explorer: WP8.1 comes with Internet Explorer 11. It has a reading mode as well as a few user interface enhancements. However, we still prefer Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS compared to IE on Windows Phone.

* You can tell Cortana to enable "Quiet Hours" if you don't wish to get calls or messages while you are sleeping or in a meeting. This is similar to Do Not Disturb on iOS and works very well.

* The Facebook integration with Me hub has been removed. This is a welcome change and simplifies the user interface.

Conclusion
As we said earlier, WP8.1 allows Microsoft to finally match what Google and Apple offer with their Android and iOS operating systems. And this makes Windows Phone a very good operating system and a viable option if you don't want Android and iOS.

Essentially, the strength of Windows Phone remains the user interface. The flat, tile-based user interface is unique. With emphasis on bold colours, it is also catchy and looks fresh. Another good thing about the Windows Phone user interface is that doesn't lag, even on budget phones like Lumia 520. If there are performance issues, the OS hides it well from users with clever use of animations.

This makes Windows Phone better than Android, especially on the budget phones. Until now, it was missing too much on functionality to be really a good choice for consumers but with WP8.1 Microsoft has more or less fixed it.



Android is still more flexible, has better integration of Google services like Gmail and Google Maps, which almost everyone uses, and offers access to much better third-party apps. iOS too is a mature operating system and offers consumers very good smartphone experience. But with the latest update Windows Phone is finally at a stage where we don't have any qualms about recommending it if you don't like the look and feel of Android or iOS.

How to get Windows Phone 8.1
Currently, Windows Phone 8.1 is only available to developers. It will be rolled out to all devices that run Windows Phone 8 in coming months, but for now there is no definite timeline on when different devices will get it. In case you don't want to wait, you can get the version meant for developers but it is not final and may have bugs/software glitches and performance issues (we didn't encounter any). Also, installing developer version of the OS will void your warranty.

Here is how you can get the developer version of Windows Phone 8.1:

* Go to Windows Phone App Studio website and register yourself using the Microsoft account. It is free.

* Download and install an app called "Preview For Developer" from the Windows Phone app store.

* Open Preview For Developer and register using your Microsoft account.

* Go to settings and use the "phone update" feature to download the latest updates, including Windows Phone 8.1

How to enable Cortana
If you are in India, you will not get Cortana in Windows Phone 8.1. But you can enable it by following these steps:

* Go to Language in Settings and select English (United States).

* Go to Region in Settings and select United States.

If required, download the language pack (around 22MB) and reboot the phone if prompted. After the phone has been rebooted, you will see Cortana in the list of apps. Open it and configure it using onscreen instructions.

Windows Phone 8.1: Ten new features

Microsoft has finally caught up with market leaders Android and iOS in the mobile OS race with the new Windows Phone 8.1 update. Even though a few features are still missing (a built-in file manager, for example), the Microsoft platform is now better equipped to take on the two most popular mobile operating systems.

Want to know what’s new in Microsoft’s mobile OS? check out The 10 new features of Windows Phone 8.1..


Cortana

The highlighting feature of Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana, Microsoft’s digital voice assistant.

Named after the Artificial Intelligence character from the Halo game, Cortana is powered by Microsoft's Bing search engine and notifies users of phone calls, emails and messages; lets them set appointments and reminders, perform searches and operate the music player etc hands-free. It is also able to track users' online searches as well as new calendar entries and also access third-party apps.

The feature will be rolled out in the US initially as a beta product and will hit the UK and China later this year. It will be launched in other markets, including India, in 2015.


Revamped app store

The Windows app store has undergone a major revamp, with new apps working across all key platforms – PCs, smartphones and tablets. Microsoft is also working on eventually making the same apps compatible with the Xbox One gaming console, which can also act as a media streaming device.

Despite being compatible across various platforms, these apps will have designs specific to each type of device, said Microsoft. These cross-platform apps will be denoted by a ‘Universal App’ icon.

Developers can choose to make separate apps for each platform as well. The layout of the Store app has been changed.


Action Center

Windows Phone platform has finally received a notification menu, named Action Center. Much like Android, you just need to swipe downward from the top of the screen to open Action Center, which has one-touch shortcuts for settings like Wi-Fi, Flight Mode, Bluetooth and Rotation Lock.

Action Center will also notify users about missed calls, unread emails and messages, and updates from various apps.


Word Flow Keyboard

Microsoft’s take on popular keyboard app Swype, Word Flow is the new default keyboard of the Windows Phone 8.1 platform. Users will be able to input words by simply swiping on the letters on the word, so that typing on a touchscreen becomes faster.


Custom Live Tile background

Users will now be able to set a background of their choice for Windows Phone’s home screen tiles. Similar to wallpapers in Android and iOS, the wallpapers will be set as the background for tiles that have been pinned to the start screen of the device.

Microsoft says this feature will “make many of the tiles on your Start screen become clear so you can see the background you selected as you scroll up and down.” Users can choose from the images that come preloaded in the phone or a picture from the phone’s photo gallery.


Lock screen themes

Just like tile backgrounds, users can pick the lock screen style in Windows Phone 8.1. Microsoft showed two themes – one with diagonal pattern and other with circular design. Each theme shows time, date, notifications and upcoming calendar appointments in different ways.

At present, Microsoft will not share the APIs of the custom theme feature with third-party developers, but will open up in coming months.


Internet Explorer 11

Windows Phone 8.1 marks the debut of Internet Explorer (IE) 11, the stock web browser. IE11 is optimized for reading on the web and can keep track of tabs open on users’ desktops, so that they can carry on reading the same website across different devices.

Passwords will also be synced across different platforms (smartphone, tablet and desktop) that a user has logged into. The InPrivate browsing mode will not store history and delete cookies once a tab is closed.


Improved Sense functions

Microsoft has upgraded the Sense functions to make them more effective in optimizing the user experience.

Data Sense now allows users to see how much data has been downloaded over a certain period, detailing consumption by each app. When the feature is turned on, the phone will automatically compress images on web pages, so that the page loads without too much data consumption.

Wi-Fi Sense will now automatically search for open Wi-Fi networks, so that the phone does not consume too much mobile data. It will even allow you to share the Wi-Fi network of your house with others without revealing the password.


On-screen keys

Just like Android gadgets, Windows Phone 8.1 handsets will now feature on-screen keys. With the three on-screen keys (Back, Home and Search) of WP platform, big-screen devices can be made more compact and easier to hold.


Miscellaneous

Apart from these major changes, Windows Phone 8.1 brings several smaller tweaks.

Skype will be integrated into the Phone Dialler app; Music, Video and Podcast apps are now listed separately; and better security for enterprise data security as well as VPN support.

The mobile OS also bring better battery and storage management to the tablet with this update.

Facebook Messenger comes to Windows Phone

Windows Phone users would finally be able to have a dedicated Facebook Messenger app on their device as promised by Microsoft.

WASHINGTON: Windows Phone users would finally be able to have a dedicated Facebook Messenger app on their device as promised by Microsoft.

The smartphone does have a built-in Facebook messaging feature, but a dedicated app provides other features like group chat, stickers, and picture messaging.

According to The Verge, Windows Phone is the last to receive the app, which had been made available to iOS and Android platforms long ago.

The dedicated app also allows for location sharing and easy managing of contacts on the service.

The report said that the dedicated Facebook Messenger arrives just ahead of a key Windows Phone 8.1 update planned for early April release.

Windows 8.1 update may be delayed until April

Microsoft's new ship target for its coming Windows 8.1 Update 1 may have shifted from March to April, according to sources.

I've heard from two of my sources in the past week that Microsoft's ship target for Windows 8.1 Update 1 has shifted from March 2014 to April 2014.
The idea remains to use Patch Tuesday to distribute the coming so-called "Spring" update via Windows Update, my sources said. If that is the case, Windows 8.1 Update 1 should be pushed to users on April 8, rather than March 11.

Windows 8.1 Update 1 is a collection of features and fixes for Windows 8.1. Most of the new features are aimed at making Windows 8.1 more palatable to those who prefer using a mouse to navigate the latest Windows release.

A leaked Windows 8.1 Update 1 test build (from mid-January) showed off a number of the expected new features, including the ability to pin Metro apps to the Desktop task bar; new right-clickable context-sensitive menus; and adding dedicated search and power buttons to the Start screen. A new Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11 is also part of the leaked build, according to some who've downloaded it.

There were reports that Windows 8.1 Update 1 might change the default start-up experience so that the desktop, rather than the Metro Start screen became the default on all machines running Update 1. As I noted last week, I heard this is not Microsoft's plan. Those downloading the leaked Windows 8.1 Update 1 build from January noted that boot-to-desktop was not set as the default configuration.

Windows leaker WZor indicated on February 2 that a more likely scenario may be that boot to desktop will be installed by default on new PCs/devices without a touch screen. Users who are upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Update 1 who don't have boot to desktop set as their default already also won't see their settings change to boot to default, according to WZor.

I am not sure why the ship target for Update 1 has allegedly been pushed back a month, but have heard that the original March target was fairly ambitious. OEMs are still likely to get the Windows 8.1 Update 1 bits in early March for preloading on new PCs, my sources said.