Windows Archive

Windows 3.0 contained three kernels

Thom Holwerda 2013-02-09 Windows 38 Comments

"The 16-bit Windows kernel was actually three kernels. One if you were using an 8086 processor, another if you were using an 80286 processor, and a third if you were using an 80386 processor. The 8086 kernel was a completely separate beast, but the 80286 and 80386 kernels shared a lot of code in common." As always, Raymond Chen delivers. If you don't yet follow his blog, you should. Right now. Click that bookmark or RSS button.

Surface Pro reviews are in

Thom Holwerda 2013-02-06 Windows 100 Comments

And there we are - the Surface Pro reviews are in. Reading through them all, there's clearly a common theme, and it's not particularly positive. We're a few months in now, so I think we can finally call it: Windows 8 and Surface are the wrong way to go.

Windows Phone 7.8: hollow, pointless, and essentially useless

Thom Holwerda 2013-02-01 Windows 81 Comments

A few days ago, Microsoft released the long-awaited Windows Phone 7.8 update for all those users who will be stuck on Windows Phone 7 forever because there's no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8 other than buying a new phone. Now that it's here, what, exactly, does WP7.8 to the table?

Microsoft, Google kiss and make up over EAS for Windows Phone

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-30 Windows 19 Comments

So, just as Windows Phone 7.8 has finally started rolling out to devices, Microsoft and Google kiss and make up about the whole dropping of EAS thing. Google has extended its EAS support for Windows Phone users for six months, and Microsoft will add CardDAV and CalDAV support to Windows Phone (but not Windows 8/RT, so those users are still screwed by Microsoft's incompetence).

64GB Surface Pro has only 23GB usable storage

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-29 Windows 60 Comments

"Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet, due on February 9th, will have a smaller amount of storage space than expected. A company spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge that the 64GB edition of Surface Pro will have 23GB of free storage out of the box. The 128GB model will have 83GB of free storage. It appears that the Windows 8 install, built-in apps, and a recovery partition will make up the 41GB total on the base Surface Pro model." Oh Microsoft.

Surface Pro to launch 9 February in Canada, US

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-22 Windows 17 Comments

Microsoft has announced the launch date of the Surface Pro, as well as widened availability of the Surface RT. The Surface Pro will launch in the US and Canada only, 9 February, for a starting price of $899. Surface RT's market availability, in the meantime, will expand to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, also 9 February. Considering I was planning on ordering one from Germany, they're just in time so I can order from The Netherlands.

Microsoft to add DAV support to Windows Phone

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-21 Windows 61 Comments

The Verge has a learned a few interesting things about Google deprecating EAS and how this will affect Windows Phone users. As it turns out, Google informed Microsoft it was planning to remove EAS in the summer of last year, but without giving a firm date. Microsoft has been trying to get a six-month extension from Google, but so far with no luck. In the meantime, Microsoft is also working on adding CardDAV and CalDAV support to Windows Phone - so yay open standards.

Pokki start menu replacement for Windows 8 downloaded 1.5 million times

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-16 Windows 60 Comments

Pokki is a start menu replacement for Windows - and it has already been downloaded 1.5 million times for Windows 8. "Since the launch of Windows 8, we've seen over 1.5 million Pokki downloads on the new OS itself and users opening the Pokki Menu an average of 10 times a day. These early numbers demonstrate that users enjoy being able to instantly access and discover apps, straight from the desktop." And this is just one of the countless replacements. Microsoft should've never kept the traditional desktop in there - they've given users the ability to escape Metro, and this will only hurt the new environment.

Guest post by snydeq 2013-01-14 Windows 38 Comments

DOS 4.0, Zune, and Windows 8 are but a few of the landmarks among 25 years of failures Redmond-style, writes InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard in a round-up of Microsoft's 13 worst missteps of all time. 'Over the years, Microsoft's made some incredibly good moves, even if they felt like mistakes at the time: mashing Word and Excel into Office; offering Sabeer Bhatia and cohorts $400 million for a year-old startup; blending Windows 98 and NT to form Windows 2000; sticking a weird Israeli motion sensor on a game box; buying Skype for an unconscionable amount of money. (The jury's still out on the last one.) Along the way, Microsoft has had more than its fair share of bad mistakes; 2012 alone was among the most tumultuous years in Microsoft history I can recall. This year you can bet that Redmond will do everything in its power to prove 2012 naysayers wrong. To do so, Microsoft must learn from the following dirty baker's dozen of its most dreck-laden decisions, the ones that have had the very worst consequences, from a customer's point of view.'

Microsoft’s OEMs focus on Windows 8, but the future is Surface

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-13 Windows 62 Comments

Tom Warren: "While Intel is trying to keep the Windows tree healthy, Microsoft is hoping that the leaves don't start to drop off before its own family of Surface devices are fully ready. Redmond isn't 'priming the pump' here, it's planting seeds for the future. If Microsoft is successful then it could be the world's biggest Windows OEM in just a few years. The future is Surface." You just have to look at the difference in build quality and supplied software between OEM devices and Surface even though Surface is cheaper to realise that the age of Windows OEMs is coming to an end. The writing's on the wall, and the OEMs know it: there's no future for them in Windows.

Samsung cancels US Windows RT tablet plans

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-12 Windows 84 Comments

Well, this can't be a good sign. Samsung has told CNET that the company will not be launching its Windows RT tablet in the United States, citing a lack of demand and consumer confusion. After I spent an afternoon in my country's largest electronics retailer, it's hard not to agree with Samsung.

Windows RT jailbreak tool released

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-10 Windows 6 Comments

"Recently, a method was found for Windows RT that allowed running unsigned code through a rather clever exploit. This method has now been turned into a full fledged tool by XDA Developers member Netham45. All the details are over in this XDA post, including the download." Super-simple, even a child can do it. A big <3 to XDA.

Windows RT jailbreak: let the games begin

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-08 Windows 95 Comments

So, a rudimentary jailbreak for Windows RT made its way onto the web these past few days. Open source applications were ported right away, and it was confirmed that Windows RT is the full Windows - it's exactly the same as regular Windows, except that it runs on ARM. Microsoft responded to the jailbreak as well.

Circumventing Windows RT’s code integrity mechanism

Thom Holwerda 2013-01-06 Windows 33 Comments

"It's taken longer than expected but it has finally happened: unsigned desktop applications run on Windows RT. Ironically, a vulnerability in the Windows kernel that has existed for some time and got ported to ARM just like the rest of Windows made this possible. MSFT's artificial incompatibility does not work because Windows RT is not in any way reduced in functionality. It's a clean port, and a good one. But deep in the kernel, in a hashed and signed data section protected by UEFI's Secure Boot, lies a byte that represents the minimum signing level." Good stuff. Very good stuff.

Windows RT ported to HTC HD2

Thom Holwerda 2012-12-27 Windows 31 Comments

The HTC HD2 is probably one of the most enduring mobile phones out there. While it originally shipped with Windows Mobile way back in 2009, it has become one of the most hacker-friendly devices out there, and hackers have managed to port virtually everything to the device - various versions of Android, MeeGo, Ubuntu, and Windows Phone have found their way to the HD2. Russian hacker Cotulla, responsible for many of these ports, has just announced the next big port: Windows RT is now running on the HD2.

Why was Pinball removed from Windows Vista?

Thom Holwerda 2012-12-18 Windows 45 Comments

"Windows XP was the last client version of Windows to include the Pinball game that had been part of Windows since Windows 95. There is apparently speculation that this was done for legal reasons. No, that's not why." I love these stories.

Google’s problem with Windows Phone and does it matter?

Thom Holwerda 2012-12-17 Windows 41 Comments

"Does Windows Phone need Google and its services to be successful? No. The fate of Windows Phone and its adoption in the marketplace does not rest in the hands of Google. Microsoft itself holds the key to Windows Phone becoming a successful platform, rapid evolution of its cloud services and integration with the rest of the MS eco system." Good editorial on Google killing AES support for consumers and how it affects Windows Phone, by WPCentral's Robert Brand.

Surface RT heading to retail

Thom Holwerda 2012-12-12 Windows 13 Comments

"As early as mid-December, consumers will be able to go to retail stores in the United States and Australia to purchase a Surface with Windows RT. Additional availability will be added in a number of countries in the coming months." Sales might indeed benefit from, you know, allowing the world to actually buy your halo product. Us Dutch won't be getting the Nexus 4 and 10 either.

Windows Phone 8 gets its first update

Thom Holwerda 2012-12-11 Windows 57 Comments

So, last night, Windows Phone 8 got its first update - specifically for the HTC 8X. In this day and age, where iOS is the gold standard and shows the industry how it ought to be done, and Android is the exact opposite, Windows Phone 7 was a bit of an in-between - every phone got every update, but the staggered rollout was slow and frustrating, often due to carrier meddling. How will Windows Phone 8 fare?

Guest post by snydeq 2012-12-03 Windows 69 Comments

Desktop users deserve a significant rethink of the Windows 8 gaffes and omissions for the next version of Windows, writes InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard, offering 10 must-have features for Windows 9. From a "Get out of hell" modal dialog to prevent unwanted jumping to Metro, to a Control Panel that actually controls the kinds of things you would want a Control Panel to control, it's 'due time we diehards speak out.' What's your feedback for the Windows dev team as it puts together its Windows 9 (or "Windows Blue"?) specs.