The desktop in the Windows 8 beta offers no Start button and a few shortcuts. How can you easily populate it with your favorite programs? Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and ...

Windows 8 has two environments: the full screen, touch-centric Windows Store App interface (also called Metro) and the Desktop interface, which looks and acts like Windows 7. If you install programs ...

In previous versions of Windows, the Start Menu was a fast way to find and launch programs . Microsoft killed it in Window 8, but if you're a fan of it, it's easy to get it back. One of the worst ...

Leaked builds of Microsoft's Windows 8 are providing more clues as to what kinds of user behaviors will and won't be permitted. Skipping Metro is right out. Mary Jo Foley Mary Jo Foley has covered the ...

With the official launch of Windows 8 on the imminent horizon, PC manufacturers have announced a diverse array of new hardware. The problem with all of the desktop options is that they lack the one ...

For the past few months, Microsoft has observed while techies dug into the Windows 8 “Consumer Preview“–in geek parlance, the beta. The result is several big changes to the operating system, many of ...

I did it. I took the Windows 8 plunge. After vowing to buy a new desktop PC with Windows 7 — I balked at the idea of learning a new OS while also dealing with the hassle of reinstalling applications ...