PCWorld Apr-14

Boot to desktop by default By far the most welcome change in the Windows 8.1 update is one that many users may not even notice. If Windows 8.1 does not detect a touchscreen input on your device, it’ll boot directly to the desktop to keep its finger-friendly live tiles away from keyboard-and-mouse users. The operating system then tosses up a new tutorial prompt to tell you how to find the modern Start screen. Modern apps on the desktop taskbar Microsoft’s modern Windows 8 apps now appear in the taskbar, mimicking the functionality of traditional desktop software. The Windows Store app is pinned in the taskbar by default in the Windows 8.1 update, to serve as a guidepost and to drive users to Microsoft’s marketplace. Modern apps still appear full screen when maximized; windowed…

The taskbar is everywhere In modern apps, you now can find the taskbar by moving your cursor to the bottom of the screen. The taskbar spans the screen’s length even when multiple modern apps are snapped side by side. As a result, bouncing between standard desktop programs and modern apps is much less of a burden (though still not seamless). Unfortunately, the taskbar sometimes covers interface elements in modern apps since they weren’t designed with it in mind. Mouse-friendly title-bar menus Previously, closing modern apps or snapping them side by side required moving your cursor to the top of the screen, clicking and holding, and dragging the app to one of the edges—a gesture designed for touch displays. In the new update, a title bar appears at the top of modern apps. Clicking…

WINDOWS 8’S MODERN interface didn’t go over well out of the gate. Although the live tiles and touch-friendliness offered a lot to like, usability experts panned many of the design choices, and power users felt abandoned. But beyond bridging the gap between PC and tablet, Windows’ immersion in the interface formerly known as Metro may have had another purpose: separating novice and power users. This move could preserve the best of Windows while making it more palatable to the casual computing public. “Before Windows 8 and Metro came along, power users and casual users—the content creators and the content consumers—had to share the same space,” Windows interface designer Jacob Miller wrote on Reddit in February (go.pcworld.com/millerreddit). (A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed his employment.) Any new feature had to be simple enough for newcomers…

NORMALLY, AN UNEXPECTED pop-up is a reason to worry: Is your PC infected with a virus? Is this pop-up an ad? With one particular pop-up from Microsoft, you’re supposed to worry—but the message is legit. In its ongoing bid to encourage Windows XP users to move to Windows 7 or Windows 8, Microsoft began pushing a pop-up window to users’ machines in March. The company is also partnering with LapLink to offer a free migration tool to assist with the transition. By now, PCWorld readers and other people who keep up with tech news should know that the expiration date for Windows XP is April 8, 2014. Support for XP is ending, meaning that any vulnerabilities Microsoft hasn’t patched by now will remain open for malware writers to exploit. A few contingency…

Watch the video at go.pcworld.com/merri DESKTOP WHO? WINDOWS what? The classic Windows-based PC remains Intel’s bread and butter, but it has needed to diversify its diet for a long time. At an event at the Mobile World Congress in February, the company announced two new Atom chips, code-named Merrifield and Moorefield, that could be its first truly competitive mobile solutions—and they arrive not a product cycle too soon. In case you didn’t know how high the stakes were, Intel President Renée James laid it out in her remarks at the event. “About 50 billion connected-computing somethings”—yes, that’s what she called them—“will be online by the year 2020.” Getting even a small slice of that pie would be pretty sweet. But competitors like Qualcomm and Samsung have enjoyed a long head start, so…

Watch the video at go.pcworld.com/mwc2014 WE SPENT A WEEK IN BARCELONA at the Mobile World Congress, wading through wearables (go.pcworld.com/wearables), sampling many smartphones (go.pcworld.com/tensp), and trying out a tablet or two. While the Galaxy S5 (go.pcworld.com/galaxys5) was the biggest product to debut—with wearables from Sony (go.pcworld.com/sonywear) and Huawei (go.pcworld.com/talkband) also garnering attention—it’s not a revolutionary release for Samsung, despite some impressive software additions (go.pcworld.com/s5features). We noticed three trends. Low-end phones: Flagship models like the S5 aside, most phone makers were touting low-cost handsets. Mozilla showed off phones running the Firefox OS that could sell for the low, low price of $25. Even when phone makers had a big handset to announce—say, Sony’s Xperia Z2 (go.pcworld.com/xperiaz2)—usually a lower-priced model (like the Xperia M2) came along for the ride. Phone makers are looking beyond users who…