Month: June 2011

Is that good? It is all “tile-based” and colorful, but will it be usable?

Sinofsky shows off Windows 8 at D9

“Microsoft gave an early demonstration of the new look and capability of the next generation of Windows today at the D9 conference.

President of Windows Steven Sinofsky also gave an early preview even before he took the stage in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., to his conference hosts at the All Things D blog. For now it’s called Windows 8, but Sinofsky says that’s just a code name.

‘We tried with Windows 8 to re-imagine how you work with a PC,’ Sinofsky said on stage during an interview with D9 host Walt Mossberg.

The first noticeable change is the start menu (pictured above), which has been drastically altered to look a lot more like Windows Phone 7. As for other changes, the system requirements for Windows 8 won’t be more than what’s required for a PC to run Windows 7. It will run on Intel, AMD processors, and ARM chips, something we learned earlier this year. The development platform is based on HTML5 and JavaScript. Any applications created for a touch (tablet) interface can also work with a mouse and keyboard. There’s also an option for a split virtual keyboard for typing on a tablet.

He says it will work on laptops, desktops, and tablets, and that everything that worked with Windows 7 will work with the next-generation OS as well. When using existing desktop applications, the interface goes to a very Windows 7-like desktop.

To log in to Windows 8 requires just a swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Applications will be launched from a series of tiles. Included in the the start-up menu tiles is a direct link to a Microsoft Store, which suggests Microsoft will have its own version of an online application store, similar to the Mac App Store.”

It seems that they finally got it back up!

Sony restores all PlayStation Network services

“Sony has completed its restoration of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity music service after a data breach forced a shutdown in April.

Most notable is the return of the PlayStation Store, where players can download demos, videos and other content as well as purchase games.

The official PlayStation blog has a very long list of content that has recently been added. Publisher Bethesda Softworks has also confirmed the second piece of DLC for Fallout: New Vegas, titled “Honest Hearts” is now available for PS3.

The PlayStation Store went down with the rest of PSN on April 20, when Sony took down the services to battle a massive data breach exposing users’ personal information.

Last month, Sony launched an initial restoration of PSN, which brought back user access to accounts and online gameplay.

However, prepare to wait a while to gain access to the PlayStation Store. Destructoid reports users may see error messages as Sony deals with the surge of traffic to the store.”