Windows 8 Desktop Mode is not usable on conventional desktops and notebooks, but the problem is clearly fixable and Microsoft will see the wisdom of this before too long. Close your eyes and imagine that it's well into 2013 and Microsoft is preparing their first update to Windows 8, in which they address widespread complaints about it. Read More >>

Test lab AV-Test finds only 6 corporate antimalware / endpoint protection solutions for enterprises. By contrast, they count 60 consumer anti-virus products available and compatible with Windows 8, including some big names -- like Kaspersky, McAfee and Symantec -- not yet available in corporate editions. Read More >>

It's way too early to declare Windows and Surface failures in the market, although it would be foolish to expect it to obviate Windows 7 any time soon, especially in business and double-especially on desktops. In the meantime, its job is to recover market share for Microsoft that has been lost to Apple iPads and Android tablets, and there's reason to believe it's doing that. Read More >>

Microsoft's official support lifecycle for Surface with Windows RT hardware ends 4/11/2017. They have not yet announced the end of support for the Windows RT operating system on Surface and devices from Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba and other OEMs, nor for Office Home and Student 2013 RT, which is bundled with Surface RT. The support lifecycle for Intel-based Windows 8 is longer and more complicated. Read More >>

Online backup services such as Carbonite, Acronis, IDrive and Mozy might be a bad deal for some users when compared to cloud storage services Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft Skydrive. The former usually just backs up files; the latter does backs up files and also gives you working access to them. Read More >>

The resignation of Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky raises many questions about a platform that is going through perhaps its most radical changes ever. Is Microsoft unhappy with his work on Windows 8 and Surface? Or is this just a personal career move for Sinofsky? Read More >>

Microsoft veteran Steven Sinofsky says his departure is strictly for personal reasons, but his exit could leave the company in the lurch at a critical time. Read More >>

The Surface succeeds where the iPad fails in one important area: Document production. The optional keyboard for the Surface has a touchpad for doing practical work, whereas the iPad is limited to Bluetooth keyboards that make you reach out and touch the screen too much. Too bad the Surface costs so much. Read More >>

They look a lot like Apple Stores, but Microsoft Stores sell Windows PCs and Surfaces and Xboxes. One is coming, if not to a mall near you, then some place near an Apple Store for sure. I popped in to my local Microsoft Store to take a Surface tablet for a spin. Read More >>

The rumors are hot again that Microsoft will release an Office version for the iPad and iPhone, but all indications are that it will be little more than a document viewer, of which there are many already for iOS. Microsoft already has a far more capable Office Mobile for Surface, but even that is missing many important features, like editing Excel pivot tables and using Word revisions. Read More >>

Apple might publicly scoff at Windows 8's combination of the PC and tablet into one platform, but it has to be at least thinking about whether it could and should do the same. The best approach would be to add touch features to OS X so that eventually it could replace iOS. Read More >>

Windows 8 is a clean slate in many ways. But one scourge that is not gone is crapware, a.k.a. bloatware, junkware, trialware, and stupid games that drag down the performance and experience of so many Windows PCs. We asked Acer, Toshiba, Dell, Samsung and Lenovo what they preload on their Windows 8 systems. Some PCs are cleaner than others. The surprise? A Microsoft store might be the best place to buy. Read More >>

BYTE's Chris Spera has been using Windows 8 since the first preview version. There's a lot to like about it on the new touch PCs and tablets, but upgrading Windows on your old non-touch PC to the new OS isn't worth the trouble. Read More >>

The biggest weakness Windows Phone has is the weakness of the Windows app store. Why will Windows Phone 8 make any difference? Because, in most cases, developing a Windows Phone 8 app gets you almost all the way to developing an app for Windows 8, a product almost certain to sell hundreds of millions of units. Read More >>

When I heard that Windows 8 would be a dual-use PC/tablet operating system, I had a vision of how I would want to use it. That vision has come to pass in the form of the Dell Latitude 10 tablet and optional docking station. Read More >>