Welcome to my blog! Here you will find all of my articles and editorials that are syndicated to various sites. If you don’t know me, I’m a PC enthusiast, Microsoft MVP, Developer, Author and run a few sites.
Published 59 days ago in Windows 8 User Interface Tweaks
The new start screen in Windows 8 can easily look cluttered as more apps are installed. Finding what you need becomes difficult unless you have a keyboard and type in the name of the app which will bypass the start screen tiles. Your best option for both touch and keyboard users is to organize your apps into groups and name them. Groups will allow you to quickly jump to the apps you want by using the start screen zoom features.
Read MorePublished 65 days ago in Windows 8 Software Tweaks
Windows 8 opens any web links from Metro Style apps in the Metro version of Internet Explorer. If you are a desktop user and don’t like the behavior you can configure IE to always use the desktop version.
Windows 8 is the first version of Windows since XP to require a product key for installation. Below are a number of ways to get a free product key for the consumer preview.
Microsoft claims Windows 8 is the first version of Windows to require less resources that its predecessor. The preliminary system requirements look promising.
Have you ever accidentally deleted a photo or other file from your computer or digital camera? Even if you clear the recycle bin, there is still a chance your pictures can be recovered.
Even though a file was deleted there is a good chance the contents of the file are still around. When a file is deleted the contents of the file are not removed. Only a pointer to the file in the file system table is deleted.
Published 241 days ago in Windows 8 User Interface Tweaks
The Metro side of Windows 8 looks beautiful and is well designed for touch but unfortunately the vast majority of windows apps still require the legacy desktop. Using touch to control legacy apps can be a painful experience as few were ever designed for touch. The most common complaint is the interface is just too small for touching. Basic tasks such as selecting or clicking often results in the wrong item or button activated. In this article I will show you how to make the legacy desktop more touch friendly by increasing the size of the Windows 8 Aero interface.
Picture Passwords are one of the more innovative new features in Windows 8 that enables you to logon by touching or clicking specific parts of a picture to authenticate. Any picture in your library can be used as a reference to help you remember where the three parts of your picture password are located. Basic gestures such as dragging your finger or mouse along a specific part of the picture can also be used in your password.
Typing in my Windows Live account password every time I turn on Windows 8 lows me down when I just want to quickly access an app. Microsoft includes a logon PIN feature but it is not exposed to users when an account created. Although this reduces the physical security of your computer I like to use a logon PIN so I can quickly log in, and best of all, with just one hand.
Windows To Go is a new feature of Windows 8 that allows enterprises to provision a full corporate environment that will boot from a USB drive. Once the instance of Windows 8 is booted it functions and is controlled by standard enterprise management tools such as SCCM and Active Directory group policies. Work at home and disaster recovery are the primary use cases as Windows To Go can transform any PC into a corporate PC with your application stack, all on a USB drive. Windows To Go is also perfect for trying out Windows 8 on your primary machine without destroying your current OS.
Windows 8 introduces a new touch paradigm that is different from other touch devices on the market. To help you get started I have outlined the basics of touch on Windows 8 that are used throughout the new Metro interface. Not all touch gestures are compatible with every Metro application; some are up to the developer to implement when appropriate.