GeekwithEnvy

Windows

Featured App: Daily Wallpapers for Windows 8

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Customization has got to be one of our favorite features of anything and Windows 8 is no exception. As always, Microsoft has provided us with some pretty cool themes to choose from and all of them feature stunning photography but sometimes we can’t seem to find a picture that fits us best. Well, now theres an app for that!

Daily Wallpapers, as it’s name suggests, offers up new images everyday for you to use as wallpaper for your Windows lock screen. Check out the daily images, find something specific or check out images that are trending, all within an easy to navigate UI. The app also allows you to preview your lock screen before applying, which is a plus. You can also pull images from your camera or hard drive and now the app offers support for Facebook and SkyDrive.

This app is available through the Windows Store for Free here.

Daily Wallpaper Screen Shot

Do we Really Need Certain Apps for our PC?

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With both OSX and Windows now featuring an app store we can now get many of our favorite applications all in one place and with peace of mind when it comes to security. I have been using Windows 8 for some time now and one of the apps that I use is the Netflix app. The app has been somewhat buggy as of late, but over all it seems to get the job done. I finished watching an episode of Mythbusters and then went off to run some errands. I came home later and jumped onto my Macbook and started working. Square modern app icons.

A hour or so had passed and I decided that I wanted to watch another episode of Mythbusters. I started to head to my web browser when I suddenly stopped and wondered if there was a Netflix app for OSX, something similar to what Windows 8 has. I quickly opened the App Store and searched for Netflix, only to find that it doesn’t exist. I thought that it was kind of strange considering OSX has been around for a while and it seems like it would be useful.

I quickly began to realize that the lack of a OSX Netflix app isn’t actually that big of deal. I only need to click a bookmark in my web browser and I have access to all of the content and features that any app would have. Then I started to question the need for apps like these in the first place, at least for your laptop or desktop. What’s the difference between an app on my desktop vs a link on my desktop that takes me to Netflix? Where is the benefit? With new web browsers that harness the power of our machines more than ever by making use of our GPU and extra processing power, why bother with an app? I am looking for any opportunity that can save disk space and the lifespan of my SSD.

What makes the web based app more appealing is the fact that it’s often more reliable. I mentioned earlier that I have been dealing with quite a few bugs since I have started using the new Netflix app, but when it comes to the website, I have had virtually no issues. Some of this could be due to the website being around much longer than the app and therefore less buggy. Why bother with the app at all when we seem to be moving toward a cloud based world? If we are trying to create a much more seamless experience then why leave the browser that we spend so much time using, just to open an app? The answer isn’t so clear at this point, which is why the pros don’t seem to know either. This is basically the wild west era of the OS and everyone seems to be trying a little bit of everything and then waiting to see what consumers end up doing.

We can always look at things from the other prospective, which seems to be a movement away from the web as we know it today. Maybe we just make everything an app, including all our favorite websites and instead of downloading them, we just launch them from the cloud. Perhaps, we can just get rid of the web address altogether and then just use google to search for apps instead. Who knows how strange things will become and how practical any of this actually is.

One thing is for certain, we are in the middle of a long evolution that will leave us with a much different computer experience than currently we have today. We are stuck in a phase between old and new and it feels weird but I think were headed in the right direction, it’s just going to take another five years or more before we can fully adapt this new way of doing things. It is ultimately up to us, the consumers, to figure out what we want. If we don’t buy it, it won’t continue to exist and so we ultimately decide what works and what doesn’t. So what do you think?

 

A Walk Down Windows Memory Lane

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With all of this talk about Windows 8 and all of it’s new features I can’t help but think about how much Windows has changed over the years. Windows has maintained it’s dominance over the OS market for decades now and it didn’t just happen over night. So, let’s take a look at the evolution of Windows.Windows 3.0 Logo

Here’s something pretty cool. If you don’t feel like popping in a few floppy disks to experience the Windows of the past you can head to this cool website that emulates the Windows 3.1 Desktop.

Windows 1.0 (1982-1985)

 

Windows1.0
Windows1.0

Code named “Interface Manager”, this was the first version of what was later renamed Windows before it was released. It’s important to note that prior to Windows, MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), was the primary OS used on PC’s. MS-DOS was powerful during its heyday and I used it all of the time to play some of my favorite games, even after Windows was released. Windows aimed to make using your computer much easier by incorporating a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Some people thought that Windows would never catch on, little did they know what it would become.

 

Windows 2.0 (1987-1990)

Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0 aimed to take advantage of newer, more advanced hardware that had greater memory capacity. UI design improvements continued as well.

 

Windows 3.0 (1990-1994)

windows 3.0
Windows 3.0

Computers are getting much faster and graphics are improving as well. Windows 3.0 supported 16 bit graphics and introduces the new file management applications Program Manager and File Manager. Printing was made easier with Print Manager. At this time MS-DOS is still being used along side with Windows as many programmers continued to write for DOS instead of Windows.

Windows 95 (1995-1998)

Windows95
Windows 95

How could we forget Windows 95 and the introduction of the Start Button and taskbar, which offered a great way to organize and easily access all of your programs. At this time the internet was just beginning to take over the world . Windows 95 brought us into 32-bit computing and much faster and better looking graphics. The cd-rom becomes commonplace in computing and Weezer makes an appearance on the Windows 95 installation disc. Programmers begin to embrace Windows more than ever.

Windows 98 , Windows 2000, Windows ME (1998-2000)

Windows 98 brings us the Quick Launch bar and increased performance. USB is becoming extremely popular and Windows 98 takes advantage of this new technology. Windows ME brought us System Restore and Windows 2000 was the upgrade of choice for businesses from all previous versions of Windows. Software developers are taking full advantage of Windows and applications that run on DOS are becoming less prominent.

Windows 98
Windows 98 (Microsoft)

 

Windows 2000
Windows 2000 (Microsoft)

 

Windows ME
Windows ME (Microsoft)

 

 

 

Windows XP

The Windows kernel has forever changed and is now based on Windows NT. 64-bit systems are supported and security enhancements continue to be made. Wireless 802.11 support and remote assistance are added to the mix. Windows XP was hugely popular and is still used even to this day. Windows XP is very stable and extremely fast, it’s one of the best releases of Windows. DOS is starting to fade away and becomes more of a hidden feature that is only used for specific tasks.

Windows XP Desktop
Windows XP Desktop (Microsoft)

 

Windows Vista

Windows gets a cleaner look and UAC or user account control makes it’s debut in order to make Windows more secure. This version of Windows wasn’t well received due to consumers complaining about it’s stability issues.

Windows Vista
Windows Vista (Microsoft)

Windows 7

Windows 7 features live thumbnail previews and new ways to size and control windows. After many, many security updates and patched since Windows Vista, Windows 7 becomes very stable and unlike Vista, gets a thumbs up from consumers.

Windows 7
Windows 7 (Microsoft)

Windows 8 / 8.1

The new Xbox dashboard style desktop makes it’s debut. The Microsoft Store makes finding and buying applications very easy all while keeping your computer safe from malware by having a certification process in place that developers must pass in order be featured in the store. At this time some developers are a bit weary of using the new sandbox type system while others embrace it. The now “old” style desktop is a shell of what it used to be, but is still available in order to run legacy Windows applications.

Win8_1StartScreen
Windows 8.1

 

 

Diablo III Expansion Confirmed

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Yes, it is official a Diablo III expansion is in progress. Mike Morhaime of Blizzard Entertainment confirmed the expansion during an earnings call.diablo3logo

The details are limited at this time and we don’t have any hints towards how much progress has been made on the new expansion, but knowing Blizzard’s reputation for releasing games when they are “ready”, it’s probably safe to say it’s going to be a little while. Opinion of Diablo III is split down the middle as many fans were disappointed in some aspects of the game. The lack of an offline gameplay mode was disappointing  for long time Diablo fans who didn’t want to have to deal with server issues just to play the game by themselves.

The controversial real money auction house (RMAH), has some gamers claiming that is takes away one of the major incentives to keep playing the game, finding loot. Diablo III has seen some improvement through the release of patch 1.0.5, but something still feels likes it’s missing. I think that Blizzard should move their focus away from some of the previously mentioned features and really fine-tune the gameplay experience itself. Hopefully we will see this next expansion reinvigorate Diablo with not only new lands and lore to explore but adding or removing, some key features.

diablo screenshot 1

Regardless of how you feel about Diablo III, Activision has stated that the game is the #1 bestselling game in dollars and units on the PC in the U.S. and Europe since it’s launch. I had a feeling the game would sell well considering how many players still love Diablo II and it’s expansion, Lord of Destruction. The real question is whether or not those same people who originally bought the game will continue to stick with Diablo and purchase the new expansion.

As always we will keep you informed on the latest details surrounding the D3 expansion.

New HP Computers Not designed for Windows 7

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Looking to buy a new PC? Make sure you get one with the operating system you want, already pre-installed.

Windows_7_Horizontal_Logo_Web

HP support mentions that downgrading your new Windows 8 PC may cause hardware issues and you may ultimately have to return to Windows 8 to get things to work again. Besides having major hardware issues, reverting to Windows 7 could be a time consuming task that will require you to modify the BIOS in order to work with previous versions of Windows.

Here is the response from an HP Administrator when asked about downgrading:

“HP does not recommend downgrading on any HP consumer desktop and notebook products. After October 26, 2012, HP consumer desktop and notebook products will ship only with Windows 8. Windows 7 will not be supported on these new platforms, and no drivers, apps, or Windows 7 content will be available through HP. If users choose to downgrade their HP consumer desktop or notebook system, HP will continue to support the hardware but if there is an issue where HP diagnostics are required OR it is determined that the loaded software or upgrade operating system is causing the issue, HP may suggest returning the system to the original Windows 8 OS that shipped with the computer.”

As a Windows 8 user I don’t feel the urge to downgrade. In most cases I have actually spent very little time using the new tile UI, in fact I spend about 90% of my time on the “old desktop”. I don’t purposely avoid the new UI, it’s just that many of the apps I use are either not designed for Windows 8 or have one too many bugs at this point. Only time will tell if users start to drop Windows 8 and go back with Windows 7, but I don’t see why anyone would. Microsoft will obviously be continuing to patch the new OS to ensure things are running smoothly and there are even a few ways to make Windows 8 look and feel more like previous versions.