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windows 8 image

The history of operating systems of Microsoft is long and complicated, in constant competition with rival Apple, the Redmond has produced a long series of operating systems, with results not always convincing but imposing itself on the market as universal, efficient and functional. The penultimate build, the seventh generation of the operating system created by Bill Gates, had been highly successful and well received by both the public and the experts: Windows 7 had all it needed for an operating system adapted to each type of users, from those who need applications for office use, the gamer looking for a stable and high-performance multimedia station to share videos and music, or just for web browsing and functions of daily use. After three years or so, Microsoft raised the money, this time venturing with innovations and feature additions ever before, designed for the new hardware and the concept of post-PC computing.

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windows 8 interface

INTERFACE

Many of you will not doubt to have a try on the new operating system from Microsoft, or pre-release version or the final commercial, so you know certain that the speech ” interface ” is both the biggest innovation made, as well as the sore of the Windows platform. The idea behind the eighth incarnation of the operating system, the most famous of all time, is to offer the public ‘hybrid experience that can approach the new concept of content use, that came with the touchscreen technology and those with motion capture . The interface tiles (originally called Metro ) has also long been discussed and criticized, even before the launch of the operating system, opening big questions that still remain in some way without a real answer objectively and impartially. Even some well-known production houses have released on the market of hardware input device designed specifically for Windows 8 , like little mouse and touchpad wireless, to mimic tapping and pinch now become common use with tablets and smartphones.

With the latest models Samsung TVs for example, we can run applications, channels and content with the simple movement of the hand, a feature which, in this modest innovation, has failed to convince users who are more traditional and more anchored to the classic input methods. Despite all this, it would be reasonable to expect something new for the new Microsoft platform, if only to justify a distinct interface, at least useless on desktop PCs and laptops without a classic touch screens or third-party device.

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bar charm

CLICK AND START

The new menu Start is undoubtedly the most innovative part of the new system put in place by Microsoft, with pros and cons: when the operating system is just the start screen that pops up on the screen, a facade around which revolve all features and applications of the operating system. We are facing a real station, a starting point from which you can access to reach every destination. With the ability to customize the background and colors, the screen tiles is definitely a pretty sight and certainly more rewarding than the one that we can enjoy with the version for smart phones.

The wall tiles can be customized according to your needs: The calendar, e-mail, the message center (well integrated with Facebook and Messenger), weather and finance. Each application is a brick wall of this digital, with the possibility of eliminating all the software we will not use often. Thanks to a blistering start, it becomes really easy turn on the computer just to read the news or check your e-mail box. Contrary to what we’re used to on a computer, the page of the Start screen scrolls horizontally, from left to right,with many applications easily accessible, thanks to the new boot system.

Desktop button gives access to the classic interface Windows, and windows only takes a few seconds to realize that the tiles are gone. The Start button in the lower left corner on the taskbar, and are shortcuts to the most used programs and info on the right side. My computer also missing, and in its absence there is “Collections” or “File Browser” which acts as a resource manager.

Another important novelty, tied hand in glove with the new Start screen, the bar Charm and the switcher : Moving the mouse pointer over the corners of the screen, it is possible to call various functions to open menus and applications in the background. Bringing the mouse pointer up or down to the right, we call a hidden toolbar that allows us to access the most important functions of the operating system, including the control panel and device management video, the two opposite vertices instead, we can open the task manager (or task killer if you prefer) and the Start screen described above. Many have complained of discomfort in this new profile, but the truth is that the moves and the steps are not very different from what we did before.The search for the file on a computer or sharing with other devices or SkyDrive is now easier and more intuitive than ever, thanks to a system that emphasizes these two features which were underestimated in the past.

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DESIGN

The design is very minimalist, functional and rewarding when we see it on screen by seven or ten inches of a tablet, but perhaps too essential to a laptop or desktop computer platform: open calendar or chat on our 1080p display with a diagonal of 27 “gives a screen bare and bleak, all for the benefit of easing the load on volatile memory.The new birth of Microsoft in fact, has a graphical interface clean, appealing, but also simpler than the predecessors Seven with very few effects of transparencies or gradients desktop interface sees the disappearance of Aero , graphics translucent made ??famous by Vista and that has accompanied the audience with a week version of Windows, but the windows are simple and beautiful, now a bit more angular than before, cut and sharp edges, with toolbars more subtle and refined. Also the closing and minimizing windows are less complex and therefore less taxing on the system hardware. Of course We can customize nearly all the items on the screen, such as icons, windows and toolbars according to your preferences, but basically we are dealing with an operating system more set and less customizable.

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windows 8 app market
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windows 8 app market

APP AND SOFTWARE

The App Market works exactly like Apple and Google, with a clear distinction into categories and genres, including free and paid software. The idea of Microsoft is to offer users a platform safe for purchase and download proprietary software. The initial fear was that the California-based company intends to curb the prolific world of open source, preventing the installation of unsigned software, but fortunately this has not happened, and to install homebrew programs or that are not recognized by the operating system, all you have to deal with administrator privileges.

To read news and dynamic content, weather, web magazine and information, the market offers many dedicated applications, functional and comfortable to stay informed and ypu can subscribe to the RSS of your favorite sites. To these we must add the application to watch live streaming TV, containers of programs on demand, and the inevitable applications for online purchases, such as Ebay and Amazon. In addition there are mini-games, the consideration for the flash game, now implemented directly in the operating system and accessible at any time with a simple click of the mouse. The market is the perfect place to highlight classic applications, that can not miss in any PC that you respect: among them stand out Skype for voice communication and Real Player to play audio files.

Nevertheless, about three months after the launch of the operating system on the world market, Microsoft has not been able to properly update its software list, with not much applications and programs. It is not clear if things are bound to change, and no announcement has been made ??for additional support to the new app market.I had no problems whatsoever with the most important software of the Windows environment, such as Photoshop, various office suites or VLC. The hardware in my possession and connected to my computer with Windows 8 has always behaved in a correct way, with immediate recognition of the various devices (in my specific case, a printer,external hard drive, headset and smartphone)

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