Windows 8 and Free Tools Review-2

Internet Explorer 10

As you’d expect, the next version of Windows will come with an updated Internet Explorer. IE10 will be available as both a Metro-style app and a Desktop program. To app will provide you with basic browsing features, such as the ability to navigate to a website, open a new tab and start and InPrivate browsing session, but it won’t support add-ons, relying instead on HTML5 as much as possible. If you need to use plug-ins, you can switch to the Desktop version.

IE10 will be more standards complaint, which means more websites, will be displayed exactly as intended. It will also offer hardware acceleration, which uses your PC’s graphics card t speed up browsing, and improved security.

Currently, the only way to try IE10 is to download the Windows Developer Preview, which includes the latest version of the browser.However, you could also try Zuro, a free ‘immersive web browser’ that attempts to recreate the Metro version of IE10. Otherwise, you’re probably best off sticking with Internet Explorer 9 for now, for the sake of security and stability, or sing an alternative browser such as Firefox or Chrome.

Enhanced Taskbar

The Windows 8 Taskbar has a couple of interesting new additions, including an Aero auto colorization feature that changes the color of the bar so it complements your Desktop wallpaper. Early versions of the operating system also featured a UserTile tool on the right hand side of the bar that showed who was logged in and let you quickly switch users, log off and lock your PC. This has been removed from the developer preview of Windows 8, and it’s not known whether it will be reinstated in the finished version.
Aura brings the Taskbar auto colorization feature to Windows 7, Install it and you can change the window borders, Start menu and Taskbar so they match the dominant color of your Taskbar, run Taskbar UserTile Alpha.

Picture Passwords

Instead of locking your system by entering a password, Windows 8 lets you use picture. Choose an image make on of three gestures-circles, straight lines or taps. For example, if the picture is of a person’s face, you might choose to tap or click on their left eye, their nose and then the right eye. This clever security feature is designed for use with touchscreens, but it works just as well with a mouse.

Microsoft’s Origami Experience 2.0 add-on comes with a Picture Password option. It’s designed for the ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) platform, but it will work on any computer running Vista (although your cursor’s location vanishes when you move it over the picture, which makes precise clicks awkward.)
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Windows 7 and, because Microsoft has patented the idea, it’s unlikely we’ll see any alternatives from anyone else.

Windows Explorer Ribbon

Microsoft first introduced the ribbon interface to Office some years ago, and it’s since become standard in most of the company’s other applications. Windows Explorer is the latest tool to get a ribbon makeover, with Home, Share, View and Manager / Drive tabs now running along the top of the window to give you easy access to commonly used functions. The ribbon interface is, however, controversial and has its fair share of critics who say it makes some tools harder to find. But it actually works reasonably well in Windows 8.

B-Explorer (Better Explorer)is a ribbon-based replacement for the standard Windows Explorer.The program isn’t an exact clone, but it does offer a similar look and lots of smart features, including a double panel Explorer window. Note that BExplorer only works with Windows 7. If you use Windows XP, the free tool 8 Skin Pack lets you apply a ribbon to Explorer, among other Windows 8-type changes.

Windows 8 and Free Tools Review-1

Windows 8, which is expected to launch next autumn, if not earlier, has already attracted favorable comments. Our sister title PC Pro described it as having “plenty of excellent new features” , while Expert Review said the operating system (OS) was “ a pleasure to use”.

Windows 8 has a whole new look and a design that’s clearly been developed with touchscreen devices in mind, letting you control programs with your fingers rather than a keyboard and mouse. You can try out an early version of the OS for free, or if you just want to try some of its new features, you can customize your existing edition of Windows with some impressive add-ons. T here are even special ‘skin packs’ available that will totally transform your current OS to look like the feature one. The best of these include the Windows 8 Transformation and the Windows 7 only UX Pack.

Here we reveal how you can try Window 8’s most innovative tools for free, without messing up your current set-up.

Windows 8 Tools

Metro Interface

Windows 8 introduces the Metro user interface (UI), which replaces the traditional Start menu with Start screen. This contains customizable titles with which you can launch your favorite programs; access specific areas of your system, such as the Desktop and Control Panel; and get useful, at-a-glance information, including news headlines, weather forecasts and calendar appointments.
You can rearrange the tiles by clicking and dragging them into place, and add new ones from the yet to be launched Windows App Store. The Metro UI has really been designed to work with touchscreen tablets, so it’s not quite as efficient when controlled with a keyboard and mouse, although you quickly get used to it.
There are several programs that faithfully recreate the Metro UI. Pulmon takes seconds to set up and doesn’t require installation. Just run the program then select some tiles to add to your Desktop. Available options include a clock, a shutdown manager and a web search box. Newgen is also very good and provides an almost exact clone of Metro.

On Screen Keyboard

Because Windows 8 has been designed with tablets in mind, it comes with an on screen keyboard. This offers a useful auto complete function that will attempt to guess what you’re typing. When you see the word you want to use, simply tap the Spacebar to add it to your sentence. This means you can type at full speed without talking your fingers of the keys. You can change the position of the keyboard on screen, make it transparent and turn the numeric keypad on or off.

Windows has always offered a virtual keyboard, but it’s tucked out o f sight. To access the feature in Windows XP, go to Start, Accessories, Accessibility, on screen Keyboard.The keyboard works in the same way as in Windows 8, but doesn’t offer the auto complete feature.