Windows 8.1 + ModernMix

Stardock helps make our transition to the mobile future a lot easier

Paul Thurrott

Aug. 18, 2013

del.icio.us Tags: Windows 8.1,Windows RT,Operating Systems,installation,tips

Ever since Microsoft released the Windows 8.1 Preview back in June, readers have asked me whether Stardock’s useful utilities like ModernMix and Start8 will work with the new OS version. With the recent leak of a near final Windows 8.1 build, I decided to test ModernMix on my daily-use PC. And I think this is going to be a very useful transition tool indeed.

I think it’s fair to say that Windows 8 has presented a certain challenge to many if not most of the 1.5 billion Windows users worldwide. The cause is obvious: Windows 8 is a “touch-first” version of Windows that ships with its first-ever mobile environment, originally called Metro. And this new Metro environment was unceremoniously and awkwardly tacked onto the classic Windows desktop. The result is a disjointed experience that is optimized for neither touch nor mouse and keyboard.

Enter Windows 8.1. This very major update to Windows 8 (and RT) provides users with the OS that Microsoft should have shipped originally. Windows 8.1 includes major improvements to both the Metro and desktop environments, making this system a far better fit for those users that prefer either. It also eases the transition between the two, which is important because Windows will be moving further down that mobile path in future releases as the desktop is deemphasized and then made optional or removed.

Depending on your mindset, that future is either dystopian or utopian, but let’s not get bogged down in things we can’t change today. For now, we have Windows 8, imperfect as it is, and Windows 8.1, which finally offers some apps—like the improved Mail, Calendar and Xbox Music, among others—that are good enough that even desktop users should start paying attention. But doing so on traditional (non-touch) PCs is still a bit awkward, despite the useful advances in Windows 8.1

Enter Stardock. This Michigan-based firm has been around for over 20 years and been developing useful Windows-based utilities for years. With the advent of Windows 8, Stardock has stepped up to the plate and released a series of very useful products that help ease the transition to Windows 8 and make this less-than-optimal system work the way Windows users expect.

I’ve written about a few Stardock utilities in the recent past, including ModernMix (Windows 8 Tip: Run Metro Apps in Windows on the Desktop) and Start8 (Windows 8 Tip: Boot Directly to the Desktop with Start8) and recommend both highly. But now that I am using a near-final version of Windows 8.1, I find myself curious about using some of those new app versions at home, on my desktop set up (which is currently a jury-rigged Surface Pro docked to a large desktop display, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals, but is normally a tower PC). The thing is, these full-screen apps, good as they are, still don’t work well on such a PC configuration.

So I’ve been using ModernMix to see whether this utility can help cross that final divide between the future (mobile apps) and the present (my desktop PC with keyboard and mouse). And though there are a few bugs that I attribute to the pre-release nature of Windows 8.1, the answer is … yes. Most definitely.

New Windows 8.1 apps running in windows on the desktop

ModernMix provides what I think is a better “mix” (hence the name, presumably) of mobile apps and desktop. It lets you run Windows mobile apps (Mail, Calendar, Xbox Music, etc.) in windows on the Windows desktop, just like real desktop applications. This means they can float, be resized, be pinned to the taskbar, and so on.

What’s interesting is that ModernMix is so mature that it’s smart about how these apps work. I’ve pinned Xbox Music to the desktop, for example, and when I launch it from there it runs in a window as I want. But if I launch the app from the Start screen—which I might do when out and about in the world with the Surface, now used as a tablet—it will run normally, in full-screen mode. Which is also what I want.

This dual-mode use is why ModernMix is so useful as a transition tool. Yes, if you’re just going to use Metro apps on a desktop PC, you may simply want them to run in a window. But if you’re transitioning to this mobile future, not just through software but with a hybrid mobile device like a Surface, Lenovo Yoga, or whatever, you can have it both ways.

Choice is good. And while I applaud the changes Microsoft has made in Windows 8.1, some people will always believe that they’ll never go far enough. For those, and for any user that simply wants an easier transition from the desktop systems they’ve spent over 15 years using, ModernMix is a great (and, at $4.99, inexpensive) option.

You can download Modernmix from the Stardock web site.

How to Fix a Cracked Touch Screen Phone

August 1 2013

del.icio.us Tags: mobile,repair,screen,smartphone

Even if you're super-careful with your phone, accidents happen. Sometimes that beautiful touchscreen phone takes a fall and the glass cracks.

Today, we'll show you how to remove the glass from a touchscreen phone (in this case, a Samsung Galaxy S3), then apply a new piece of glass on it. We are not removing the actual display or digitizer. A digitizer is what actually recognizes your inputs. Burke McQuinn came by to show us how he repaired his cracked Galaxy S3. He consulted the forums at XDA Developers to provide a guide.

Materials

You will need a replacement piece of glass, goggles, a heat source, a prying tool, microfiber cloth, some tape, and time.

You can find a replacement piece of glass on Amazon. You can even get kits that include prying tools. Example kits: ProKit for Galaxy S3 |Replacement Glass Kit by NewerStone.

Before You Start

Before you begin taking apart your phone, back up the phone if you can in case you damage the phone. After that, take out the battery and MicroSD card if you have one installed.

Removing the Glass

To remove the glass, we will use a heat gun to melt the glue that affixes the glass to the digitizer and then pry off the glass.

For our heat source, we used a heat gun. You can probably get away with using a hair dryer if you don't have one. We checked on the temperature of the glass periodically using a thermometer and tried to keep the temperature around 200 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 93 degrees Celsius).

From there we pried the glass away from the digitizer using a prying tool in the corner of the S3. The one we used is called iSesamo, which is a metal prying tool. This can cause more scratching of your device if you're not careful. You can opt to use a plastic prying device like theoOpener.

Burke then heated around the border of the glass prying up each part slowly and keeping the glass away from the digitizer using plastic razor blades.

Use caution when removing the glass from the bottom of the device where the home button is. There is a small ribbon that flanks the home button. It controls the two capacitive buttons on the Galaxy S3. You don't want to damage that.

Replacing the Glass

Once the glass is removed, you'll want to clean off the digitizer of any excess glue. Burke wore latex gloves used painter's tape to remove any dust and remnants of broken glass on the screen. You could use a microfiber cloth to clean off the screen before you replace the glass. You want the screen as clean as possible, but don't damage it with too much pressure.

Burke applied the glass from the bottom of the device, carefully placing the ribbon under the glass. Then he heated the new glass to affix the glass to the device. Then you just have to let the phone cool off before you use it.

Test Your Results

Once your phone is cooled off, reinstall your battery and test out your handiwork. With the new glass, Burke's phone worked flawlessly.

Windows 8.1 Preview available for download 6/26/2013

del.icio.us Tags: Operating systems,Windows,installation

Microsoft is making Windows 8.1 public preview available for download from the app store on June 26th. But you just might want to reconsider hitting that download button just yet.
If you download and install the preview, when the final version releases, you will have to reinstall all of your apps on your device. So if you have a large number of apps installed, you may just want to wait for the final version to be released.
But there are some nice features being (re)introduced in Windows 8.1, like the return of the “start button”, boot to desktop, IE11, and Outlook for Windows RT. I have also heard a report from Mary Jo Foley, stating that a new version of Visual Studio will also be available as part of the Windows 8.1 upgrade.

iStarUSA WA-3FAN-120AC Cooling Fan

 

del.icio.us Tags: entertainment,technology,intsallation,tips,cooling

Questions about this item?

Buy now

(In Stock)Price - $113.99

110 V 120 mm 3 3 x 120 mm 5.25" Height x 19" Width x 2" Depth The WA-3FAN-120AC Cooling Fan can be installed either in the front or rear of the cabinet to increase air circulation and cooling air-flow to keep equipment cool and reduce system downtime.
Cabinet Cooling Fan RoHS WA-3FAN-120AC WA-3FAN-120AC Cooling Fan Yes iStarUSA iStarUSA, Inc www.istarusa.
com

Electronic Categories

• Computer
• Computer Components
• System Cooling
• Istar

Price

$113.99

Shipping

Charges range from $9.99 upwards based upon carrier and priority selected during checkout.

Velocity Solo X2 review: Teach an old PC new SATA 6-gbps tricks

del.icio.us Tags: Computers,SSD Drives

Jon L. Jacobi

del.icio.us Tags: SSD,Computers,Hard Drives

If your PC lacks a SATA 6-gigabits-per-second interface, you can't get top performance out of any of the latest consumer-grade solid-state drives. Such drives bump up against the 6-gbps limit of that bus, while the older second-generation SATA interface maxes out at just 3 gbps. Apricorn's Velocity x2 should remove that roadblock for you.

My main system sports a circa-2009 Intel D58SO motherboard. It has a great feature set, but it predates third-generation, 6-gbps SATA. The only way to upgrade such a beast is via a PCIe adapter card with a SATA 6-gbps interface, of which the market has plenty to choose from. I tried installing one of those a couple of years ago, but it gave me blue screens. SSDs at that time weren’t nearly as fast as they are today, so I saw no real reason to upgrade. But with SSD performance now topping 600 MBps, it’s time.

Lo and behold, Apricorn contacted me about its Velocity Solo PCIe cards. These will not only add SATA 6-gbps capability to any system with an available PCIe slot, but they’ll also serve as a caddy for a single SSD. Apricorn sent two cards for me to evaluate: the $50 Velocity x1 and the $99 Velocity x2. I tried both, and recommend one.

Apricorn's Velocity Solo x2 will endow your older computer with two SATA 6-gbps interfaces. You can bolt one 2.5- or 3.5-inch SSD right to the card.

A 6 gbps Kingston HyperX 3K drive attached to my motherboard’s second-generation SATA interface read data at 227 MBps and wrote data at 236 MBps while running the synthetic benchmark CrystalDiskMark 3. Surprisingly enough, a much faster OCZ Vertex 4 SSD mounted on the Velocity x1 delivered slower performance: It read at only 203.3 MBps and wrote at 196.5 MBps.

When I paired the Vertex 4 with Apricorn’s Velocity Solo x2 card, however, the SSD's numbers jumped to 348.1 MBps reading and 323.2 MBps writing—a substantial improvement beyond what is possible with the second-generation SATA interface. Attaching the Kingston HyperX 3K to the Velocity Solo x2, meanwhile, improved its numbers to 322.1 MBps reading and 239.6 MBps writing. That considerably faster read performance made my system feel much more responsive.

The reason for the two cards’ performance disparity is that the x1 uses only a single PCIe 2.0 lane, while the x2 employs two lanes (and must be installed in at least a PCIe 2.0 x2 slot as a result). Since each PCIe 2.0 lane is capable of transferring data at 500 megabytes per second (or 3.9 gigabits per second) in each direction, two PCIe lanes are necessary to satisfy the requirements of the SATA 6-gbps interface. Both Velocity Solo cards are outfitted with a standard female SATA connector for attaching a second drive, and both cards are bundled with Apricorn’s EZ Gig software for cloning your existing hard drive to your new SSD.

I can't recommend the Velocity Solo x1, as the SSDs I mounted to it performed more slowly than they did when connected to my motherboard’s second-generation SATA interface. The Velocity Solo x2, on the other hand, delivered a dramatic improvement, both during testing and subjectively. My only real qualm is the x2's $99 price tag, which is steep compared with the cost of some SATA 6-gbps interface cards (such as the Syba HyperDuo) that don’t have the handy mounting caddy. The lowest street price we could find as of December 18, 2012, was $95.

Note: Don't miss our SSD roundup, where you'll find a detailed explanation of how SSDs work, plus links to reviews of seven new models as of December 18, 2012.

Apricorn Velocity Solo X2 SATA 6Gbps SSD Upgrade Kit

3/5

$95*

COMPARE

View full product specs »

BOTTOM LINE

If your PC doesn't have a SATA 6-gbps interface, this device adds it, caddies one drive, and let's you attach another via a cable.

*Price when rated

$95

PROS

• Adds SATA 6-gbps capability to older desktop motherboards
• Caddies a single SSD
• Includes a second 6-gbps interface to host another drive

CONS

• Expensive
• Requires at least a x2 PCIe slot

How to activate Windows Defender in Windows 8

 

del.icio.us Tags: Windows 8,Windows Defender

Brad Chacos@BradChacos

Like every new Windows release, Windows 8 is more secure than the operating systems that came before it. That's due in large part to three major enhancements: An increased emphasis on UEFI Secure Boot optimizations, the extension of the SmartScreen Filter across the operating system, and the default inclusion of a more robust version of Windows Defender, which now protects against all kinds of malware—not just spyware.

Windows Defender's increased scope doesn't sit well with computer manufacturers, however. OEMs make beaucoup bucks by installing those trial versions of McAfee, Norton and other security suites you'll find bundled on boxed PCs. Windows Defender's default installation threatens that gravy train.

Microsoft tossed its partners a bone by allowing OEMs to deactivate Windows Defender in order to ship boxed PCs with alternative security solutions installed. That's all well and good from a "variety is the spice of life" perspective, but one side-effect that isn't so hot is what happens when you fail to register that third-party security software: Windows 8 doesn't automatically reactivate Windows Defender by default. In other words, your pretty new prepackaged PC is wide open and vulnerable to all the nasties of the 'Net.

Fortunately, activating Windows Defender is a snap. Here's how to do it.

Activate Windows Defender in Windows 8

Windows Defender isn't subtle about being deactivated.

First, head to the modern-style Start screen and type "Windows Defender" to have Windows search for the program, then click on the Windows Defender icon when it appears in the results. A Windows Defender window will appear on the classic desktop. If Microsoft's security software is disabled, you'll seen a lot of scary red tones alongside an "At risk" warning and an image of a computer screen with a big X on it. Subtle, eh?

Next, click on the Settings tab at the top of the window. Make sure "Real-time protection" is selected in the left pane, then check the box next to "Turn on real-time protection (recommended)." Finally, click Save Changes at the bottom of the Window.

How you want your Settings tab to look!

You'll know it worked when the terrifying red "At risk" bar at the top of the Windows turns a much more soothing shade of green and switches to "PC Status: Protected."

Check for leaks

You're not quite done yet. Now it's time to make sure your PC is actually malware-free! Click the Update tab, then click on the big Update button in the middle of the Window to download the latest malware definitions Microsoft has on file.

Next, open the Home tab and select the "Full" radio button in the Scan Options list. All you have to do now is click Scan Now, then sit back and wait while Windows Defender checks the nooks and crannies of your PC for any hidden baddies. Grab a cup of coffee; it may take some time. While you're waiting, we recommend checking out your Windows 8 antivirus options.

How to Build a Powerful Home Theater PC for Less Than $500

 

It used to be an expensive and time-consuming task to custom-build a dedicated home theater PC (HTPC). Here's how to build a tiny dedicated HTPC with Blu-Ray drive, 2 GB RAM, 128 GB hard drive and heatsink for less than the price of most off-the-shelf Blu-Ray players.

Technorati Tags: HTPC,Home Theater,entertainment,audio,computers,Blue Ray

A few years ago, I built an enormous home theater PC that cost about $1200. Because it's on most of the time, it runs too hot, and the fans trying to cool it down are loud, which makes the whole thing sound like a jet engine. My new HTPC, built around Nvidia ION graphics, is outperforming my old PC and has been shrunk down to the size of a cigar box. With some new features such as an internal Blu-ray player and a noiseless heatsink (instead of a loud fan) to absorb and dissipate heat, it streams HD multimedia without flickering or stuttering and it cost less than $500 dollars (and could cost as little as $300).
If you don't want to build your own computer, start with either a bare-bones (preassembled) PC like the ASRock ION 330. The computer is missing a Blu-ray drive, but comes with 320 GB HD and 2 GB of memory all wrapped up in a small, glossy black case.
But if you're a real DIYer, start with separate components, tailoring the PC however you want. The entire building process took me less than 30 minutes.
Heres a shopping list: case, motherboard, RAM, wireless remote, Windows OS and a hard drive. NVIDIA's new ION graphics processor is powerful for integrated graphics. Think of it as a supercharger for the PC's visual performance. It excels at handling full 1080p video with 7.1 surround sound and transcodes video up to 10 times faster than an Atom CPU alone. ION can even handle a few games without choking.

The process begins with the motherboard and case. Start with an ION motherboard like the Zotac ION-ITX and a case like the Travla C287 Mini-ITX Case. The essentials, such as a mini-PCIe Wi-Fi card, an HDMI out and a dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor, are already onboard in the motherboard. The only thing left to do is add RAM and turn it on.

Place the Zotac motherboard into the case using the four supplied screws.

Snap in some RAM. I used 2 gigs of Corsair xms2.

I added a Kingston 128 GB SSD hard drive for speed. And an HTPC wouldn't be complete without a Blu-Ray drive. I screwed an internal laptop Blu-ray drive from Panasonic into the case's supplied tray.

Connect the wires (all three!) and close the case. Attach it to a TV with an HDMI cable and power up.

The rest of the time is spent installing Windows 7 and configuring some applications.
I've kept it very light on software. Kaspersky is my favorite virus-protection software; I install this in every PC I build. Pidgin is my choice for IM client; Libre Office for a free alternative to the extremely expensive Microsoft Office. I wanted to make sure ION could handles some games. I installed Spore (perfectly playable), Call of Duty 4 (I changed most of the settings), and Left4Dead (set everything on low) and it works. TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress (with Nvidia's CUDA) is fast and straightforward. Now the best software recipe for playing Multimedia is a combination of Windows Media Center, Cyberlink's PowerDVD 9 and Media Player Classic Home Cinema. Windows Media Center does 95 percent of the work playing movies and music files, while Cyberlink's PowerDVD 9 handles the decoding of Blu-ray discs. And as for streaming 1080p MKV files, I rely on Media Player Classic Home Cinema. From music to movies, surfing the web to streaming Netflix, everything is working perfectly. No hiccups, stuttering, loss of audio or overheating. This is the easiest home theater PC you'll ever put together ... until the next breakthrough product comes along!

Windows 7 Pro 64 bit–$139 @ Newegg

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,operating systems

*Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings.

How to dual boot Windows 8 Developer Preview with Windows 7