Don’t like Windows 8’s new, currently-unnamed, obviously-tablet leaning interface? Too bad. Microsoft is apparently going to make you love it, and step one of the process is forcing you to boot into it, claims ZDnet. More »
If you were hoping that you could force Windows 8 to bypass the don’t-call-it-Metro homescreen and boot straight to the familiar desktop you’ve come to know and love, we’ve got bad news. Word on the street is, Microsoft has removed this ability from the latest builds of the OS — so you’re gonna have to stare at a pile of tiles when you boot up, whether you like it or not. According to Rafael Rivera, one of the authors of Windows 8 Secrets, there is a work around that involves creating a shortcut to the desktop and scheduling it to run at boot. But, it appears that even enterprise customers will be blocked from making the standard desktop the default environment. While Redmond is no doubt implementing such a policy to enforce consistency, it could prove to be a source of frustration for big businesses, which are notoriously resistant to change. We’ll just have to wait for the final release to find out for sure.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs, Software
Windows 8 may not let you boot to the desktop, demands you accept not-Metro originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Lenovo is counting on Windows 8 tablets and a more evolved ultrabook for the future of PCs, though the company isn’t convinced that ultraportables are at a stage where they can sufficiently compete today. “The ultrabook is the right direction” ThinkPad business unit general manager Dilip Bhatia said of Intel’s ultraportable push, “it’s the start of the journey, so it’s not the destination.” However, Lenovo is upfront that it needs “to create something more” than the ThinkPad notebook as it stands if it wants to remain viable.
“We are going to keep breaking that barrier, to bring the ThinkPad to the next stage,” ThinkPad chief designer Arimasa Naitoh said. “I’m not saying the ThinkPad clamshell will be replaced. I never think that. But in addition to that, we need to create something more.”
The admission that doing the same thing as Lenovo – and IBM before it – has always done may not be the recipe for long-term success comes as the ThinkPad celebrates its 20th anniversary. For the future, ultrabooks will certainly play a part, but it will take more than clamshells as tablets gain traction in the enterprise market.
In fact, businesses are already asking for tablets, Bhatia claims, arguing that “the area that will help drive the adoption of Windows 8 for the enterprise is the tablet.” That early enthusiasm is being counted on to drive sales, something Lenovo predicts will be – initially, at least – sluggish since many enterprise customers are still in the process of shifting from Windows XP to Windows 7.
Lenovo’s first Windows 8 tablet leaked last week, indicating the company was following the lead of Samsung and Microsoft with a pen-enabled option. Meanwhile, recent PC marketshare stats suggest Lenovo is one of the few companies making Windows hardware to have seen year-on-year growth.
[via ComputerWorld]
Lenovo: Tablets will save Windows 8 but ultrabooks still need work is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Just last week we saw a mysterious HP tablet spotted in one of the company’s commercials, with almost no information to go along with the leak. The logical conclusion was that the device was a new Windows 8 tablet, details of which had been leaked in a presentation slide back in April, and now the tablet has revealed itself yet again in an image found on HP’s website. The slate seems to be a part of HP’s “Make It Matter” campaign, and judging from the personnel using the tablet in this new image and the previous video, it’s a business oriented device.
Again, there’s no details of the tablet to go along with the image, but it’s likely that it’s the Slate 8 that was leaked back in April. That tablet is aimed at the business and enterprise market, running Windows 8 Professional along with several security features such as Computrace and HP’s own ProtectTools. TPM embedded security would also be included.
The resolution of the 10.1-inch screen isn’t known, nor are the exact specs, but the chassis of the tablet is said to be aluminium, with the black plastic strip running along the top of the tablet housing the antennas. The slate is 9.2mm thick and weighs 680g, while battery life is rated between 8 and 10 hours.
All the other details of the tablet will remain in the dark until HP decides to officially announce the tablet. It’s safe to assume that HP will release more information come October time when Windows 8 makes its official debut, and several other companies are expected to launch their own Windows 8 tablet then as well. The Windows RT version of Microsoft’s Surface has been tipped for an October 26th release too, so maybe wait just a bit longer before committing to any new tablet purchases.
[via Engadget]
Mystery HP tablet spotted again in official picture is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
HP’s Make it Matter site features a shot of a medical-type person using a mysterious device that’s the spitting image of one we saw in July. While the company’s made no secret of its plans for a Windows 8 tablet, it’s yet to confirm if this is the Slate 8 or some other unannounced flagship. Given the context, perhaps this is an enterprise offering designed for corporate customers, or it could just as easily be the fever-dream of a Madison Avenue art director. If it’s real, we’d expect a release around October 26th along with the rest of the Windows 8 cohort.
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Unannounced HP tablet glimpsed in official picture (again), could be Slate 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A while back we reported that Dell had confirmed they were working on a Windows 8 tablet, although it was not specified as to which version of Windows 8 they would be working on. According to the rumors, Dell had supposedly taken HP’s spot for a Windows 8 tablet when HP decided to pull out from the running. However thanks to a new set of rumors, word has it that both HP and Dell have joined forces and are looking to push out a Windows RT tablet this October. The RT version of Windows will be running on ARM-based processors and according to the report, HP’s version will be using Texas Instruments’ chips while Dell will be turning to Qualcomm for their chips. This seems to go against previous rumors that suggested that Qualcomm had chosen HP to work with, but since these are merely rumors, we guess taking it with a grain of salt is the best course of action at this point. Either way the release date for both HP and Dell’s Windows RT tablets has been pegged for the 26th of October, so we guess we will have to wait and see if the rumors pan out.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HP and Dell launching Windows RT tablets end of this year?, Unannounced HP tablet spotted in a commercial,
Bloomberg is reporting that, perhaps unsurprisingly, Nokia will bust out its Windows Phone 8 handsets at Nokia World 2012. The shows, which kick off September 5th, will tour various locations to drum up trade for the new kit. The news agency is also reporting that any revamped Lumia phones will be ready to purchase for the Holiday buying season — hopefully dropping close to the October 26th release date for Redmond’s newest OS. Unfortunately, Nokia isn’t giving anything away, saying that it “never comments on rumor or speculation,” but at least we don’t have long to wait.
Filed under: Cellphones
Bloomberg: Nokia will announce Windows Phone 8 handsets at Nokia World next month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
OEMs that want to have the latest version of Windows on their machines are going to find that things are a little different this time around. The new process should be more secure, cutting down on any piracy that may or may not happen. More »
With Splashtop currently holding spots in a slew of Android slabs, Cupertino’s notorious iDevices and even HP’s cadaverous TouchPad, the next obvious step was to set up its Remote Desktop shop inside Redmond’s upcoming Windows 8. And smartly enough, that’s exactly what Splashtop’s done. In preparation for the eventual release of Microsoft’s tile-friendly OS in a couple of months, the service has let it be know that its new (and very handy) tablet application’s now ready to take advantage of the system’s native gestures while doing what it does best — which is giving remote access to both Mac and Windows PCs. Given its “consumer preview” status, the Splashtop app isn’t fully cooked just yet, but it should give anyone a good idea of what to expect once the real deal becomes available.
Filed under: Desktops, Tablet PCs, Software
Splashtop Remote Desktop now available on Windows 8, gives you all the access you need originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Welcome to the weekend, everyone! We’re about ready to dive into the weekend ourselves, but not before we deliver the evening wrap-up. As with every other day this week, today gave us some more news about Apple’s patent trial with Samsung, with Judge Lucy Koh interviewing each and every one of the jurors to make sure they weren’t being swayed by any outside influences. Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller took the stand today to convince the jury that the iPhone’s design was unique, while the company’s legal counsel did its best to make sure that Samsung didn’t share any iPhone sales numbers. Judge Koh also said that Apple wasn’t allowed to keep its customer survey results a secret, so Samsung did get a bit of news that could help it out as the trial progresses.
Speaking of Samsung, it seems that the company is gearing up to announce something, but we’re not entirely sure what. At first, Samsung said that the Galaxy Note 2 will be getting a reveal at its August 29 press event, but later backtracked on the statement. The company did begin teasing its planned reveal for its August 15 event, however, and that one seems to be Galaxy Note related.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus both received Ice Cream Sandwich today, while the HP TouchPad is now (partially) running Jelly Bean thanks to an unofficial port of CyanogenMod 10. HTC was in the news a bit today, as it warned that in Q3 it will experience an drop in revenue of up to 23%. On the more optimistic side of things, it appears that the HTC One X+ may be heading to T-Mobile soon, so at least there’s that.
After hearing that Microsoft was planning to drop the Metro branding for Windows 8 and Windows RT earlier in the day, the company went ahead and officially ditched the branding this afternoon. A pair of Sony cameras were leaked today, and OUYA has announced that it will be partnering with iHeartRadio to bring streaming radio to everyone who buys the Android-based game console.
EA had its fair share of headlines today, announcing The Sims 3 Seasons and filing a lawsuit against Zynga for copyright infringement. Electronic Arts claims that Zynga ripped off The Sims Social with The Ville, and the publisher didn’t have any problem accusing Zynga of theft in the complaint it filed. Finally, NASA is gearing up for Monday’s Curiosity rover landing, and you can bet that tensions are high as we head into the weekend.
As always, we have a few original articles we encourage you to check out, such as these interviews with Colin Farrell and Bryan Cranston from Total Recall, which is in theaters today. We also take a closer look at the leak of the final build of Windows 8, and wonder why stuff like this surprises anyone anymore. Enjoy the weekend, folks!
SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 3, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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