Microsoft Unveils Windows 8

You already knew from the early "developer preview" of Windows 8 that Microsoft released in September just how radically different this version of the company's ubiquitous operating system is from its predecessors. But now that Microsoft on Wednesday unleashed a more complete preview version of Windows 8 — which consumers can get their hands on — we really are on the threshold of a whole new era of personal computing.

Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live, at the Windows 8 Consumer Preview presentation
at the Mobile World Congress.

The stakes for Microsoft and the entire computing ecosystem are enormous. This new era is built around tablets as much as traditional laptops and desktops, and multi-touch as much as the keyboard and mouse. At the same time Microsoft marches toward Windows 8, archrival Apple is revving up a new version of Mac OS X called Mountain Lion.

And Apple has a huge lead in tablets with the iPad, a new version of which is expected to be unveiled in San Francisco next week.

For its part, Windows 8 provides consumers the flexibility to go back and forth between touch and the keyboard and mouse. And this cloud based operating system — Windows 8 is tied into various Microsoft services online, including SkyDrive, where you can store and access documents and pictures — is designed to work on all types of hardware.

"With Windows 8, we reimagined the different ways people interact with their PC and how to make everything feel like a natural extension of the device, whether using a Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one," said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft. Sinofsky calls Windows 8 "a generational change for Windows."

Microsoft announced the availability of the "consumer preview" at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

This version of Windows 8 isn't quite final but pretty darn close, and you can download it for free at preview.windows.com. I got an early look at it on a Samsung test tablet. (Microsoft says that to date the developer preview received more than 3 million downloads.)

Keep in mind that however far along, this is still a test version that carries some risks. Not all your peripherals or software drivers will be compatible at this stage, and bugs are to be expected. Microsoft says a report will be generated during setup to alert you to known issues. Moreover, the "beta" will eventually expire (and you can't retreat to Windows 7 or earlier versions when that happens), though that's likely to be well after Windows 8 actually goes on sale.

Microsoft wouldn't give firm dates and didn't reveal pricing or other details in Barcelona. But a very reasonable assumption is the fall.

So what can you expect? Highlights:

As with the developer preview, you notice the dramatic turn in Windows from the very start — even before you get to the newly designed Start screen. At your option, you can log in with a picture password, instead of the standard typed password, by "drawing" a chosen image with your finger on the touch-screen in a predetermined pattern. You can see notifications from Twitter and Facebook.

From the Start screen you can view the weather, appointments, contacts, and more — you get to choose how the information is organized.

Suffice to say it looks very different from your daddy's Windows. At the core of the new operating system is an attractive, customizable user layout called Metro, similar to what folks using the latest Windows Phones see, and based on colorful and dynamic touchable tiles of different sizes rather than standard icons to display information.

You can click on a Desktop tile to return to a more familiar Windows layout. You can pin apps you use frequently.

If you have a touch-capable computer or tablet, you can switch among apps, pan and zoom and get around through finger gestures. You can tap to launch an app, follow a link and so on. Swiping from the right or left edge of the screen summons system commands called "charms." You can slide to pan or scroll through lists and pages. A feature called semantic zoom gives you a birds-eye view of your system and makes it easier to navigate a computer with lots on it.

You can type with one of two onscreen touch keyboards, a full-size version with large buttons or a thumb keyboard for when you're on the go. The latter splits the keyboard on the screen and is designed for portable devices.

Of course, you can also plug in a physical keyboard and/or a mouse.

Each of the various actions has a mouse equivalent, and there are keyboard shortcuts too.

Microsoft will supply a set of apps, including a mail program containing all your accounts in one place (Hotmail, Gmail, Exchange, etc.).

Similarly a photo app brings in albums from the likes of Facebook, Flickr and SkyDrive. A people app consolidates an address book with contacts from Hotmail, Messenger, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail and so on.

You can also chat in Messaging with pals on Messenger and Facebook.

And a music app will connect to the Zune Marketplace. App controls are hidden until you need them. A video store will let you buy or rent first run movies and TV shows.

With the consumer preview comes the beta launch of the Windows Store.

It will feature free and fee-based downloadable apps, from Microsoft and various third parties including USA TODAY, demonstrated during Microsoft's Barcelona launch. At the event, Microsoft showed off a version of the popular Cut the Rope game for Windows 8. For now apps are free to try.

Eventually if you buy an app on one Windows 8 PC, you can sign into the store and install it on up to 5 other computers. Microsoft says the store will organize offerings into categories. There'll be purchase recommendations. But the store was not available in the days leading up to the consumer preview launch. The various Metro-style apps can take advantage of the live tiles to display info even when they're not running.

Though the new operating system looks different, if you open a familiar app such as Word or Powerpoint, it looks and works the same as before.

There's more. A new preview version of the venerable Internet Explorer browser IE 10 also arrives with Windows 8. It promises an edge-to-edge Web experience on the screen — with navigational controls that are concealed.

Microsoft claims Windows 8 won't put excess demands on power, leading in theory to energy efficiencies and better battery life on ultrabook computers, tablets and other hardware. Time will tell. And the company says that if your computer has the specifications to run Windows Vista it should handle Windows 8.

I'm impressed by what I see. But I'll still reserve judgement until doing a final review on an actual product. No matter how stable (and fast and fluid), given the nature of any early operating release I'd recommend most consumers wait for a final version of Windows before plunging forward. But if you're the least bit curious, and a little bit tech savvy, go ahead and take a spin.

Republished from USAToday

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America's Most Outrageous Food Vehicles

A collection of the most outlandish food-shaped automobiles in the nation

Who hasn't wanted to take a ride in the Weinermobile? Outfitting vehicles to look like something else has been one of America's favorite advertising tools since the '30s, and drivers and bystanders have been treated to cars that look like everything from animals to candy - even shoes. In fact, carrying on in the tradition of Oscar Mayer, there is a whole bevy of food-shaped vehicles that deserve their moment of glory.

Anyone who's watched the movie Dumb and Dumber will chuckle at the memory of the MuttCutts van that Jeff Daniels' character Harry Dunne had made for his dog grooming service - it's a time-honored visual gag. Before the Super Bowl, David Arquette was spotted riding around Indianapolis in The Chicken Limo, a chicken topped vehicle that can be rented out for special events.

The most famous food truck and the one that sparked this whole phenomenon, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, first debuted in 1936, but some of the more recent food-shaped vehicles on this list are a food fanatic's personal roving masterpiece, like Harry Sperl's hamburger Harley Davidson three-wheeler and Steve Braithwaite's banana car. Others were marketing tools for nationally recognized brands such as Dairy Queen's blizzard-mobile and the Hershey's Kiss truck.

From a hot dog cart to cupcake- and pig-shaped trucks, and even a lobster car, never has a collection of vehicles looked so delicious. 

Adapted from Yahoo

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Egypt begins restoring ancient boat near pyramids

CAIRO (AP) — Archaeologists on Monday began restoration on a 4,500-year-old wooden boat found next to the pyramids, one of Egypt's main tourist attractions.

The boat is one of two that were buried next to the Pharaoh Khufu, spokesmen for a joint Egyptian-Japanese team of archeologists said. The boats are believed to have been intended to carry pharaohs into the afterlife.

Khufu, also known as Cheops, is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of the pyramids. Khufu, son of Snefru, was the second ruler of the 4th Dynasty around 2680 B.C. and ruled Egypt for 23 years.

Both boats, made from Lebanese cedar and Egyptian acacia trees, were originally discovered in 1954. One of the boats is on display at a museum near the pyramids.

The second boat, which is now undergoing the restoration, remained buried. It is thought to be smaller than its sister ship, which is about 140 feet (43 meters) long.

The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mustafa Amin, said Egyptologists began taking samples of the wood for restoration on Monday.

"The boat was found in a complete shape, intact and in place," he said, adding that the focus now is on taking samples of the wood.

He said Egyptologists are studying "the different components and fungus in the wood in order to find the most sufficient and advanced way to work on the wood."

Last year in June, a team of scientists lifted the first of 41 limestone slabs each weighing about 16 tons to uncover the pit in which the ancient ship was buried, said Sakuji Yoshimura, professor from Japan's Waseda University.

At the time, experts said restoration would likely take about four years and that at its completion, the boat would be placed on display at the Solar Boat Museum near the pyramids, which routinely attract millions of tourists and boost one of Egypt's most important industries.

The team had initially thought the vessel would be safer left underground than exposed to pollution, but evidence showed that pollution, water and insects had invaded the boat's chamber.

A $10 million grant from Waseda University has helped in preparing the ship's excavation process.

Adapted from YAHOO

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7 Best Places to Live Cheaply

These locations boast some of the lowest living costs in the nation. They also have highly rated schools and low unemployment and crime rates.

No. 1: Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky, Ohio, is a city with million-dollar water views and a whole lot of $100,000 houses. With a median family income of $64,000 and median home-selling price of $76,000, this city on Lake Erie, midway between Cleveland and Toledo, could be the most affordable housing market in the country.

Throw in highly rated schools and a low crime rate, and Sandusky tops the 2011 Forbes list of America's best cheap cities.

To produce the list, we started with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Affordability Index, where Sandusky ranked sixth behind such cities as Kokomo, Ind., Elkhart, Ind., and Springfield, Ohio. Then we screened for the things homebuyers want to go along with a cheap house: low cost of living, from Moody's Economy.com; low violent crime rate, from the FBI; low unemployment rate, from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics; and school quality, from GreatSchools.

No. 2: Monroe, Mich.

Median income: $69,000
Median house price: $101,000
Unemployment rate: 8.5%
Crime rate: 222
GreatSchools rating: 5





No. 3: Cumberland, Md.-W.Va.



Median income: $52,200
Median house price: $81,000
Unemployment rate: 8.9%
Crime rate: 480
GreatSchools rating: 6




No. 4: Kokomo, Ind.



Median income: $61,400
Median house price: $88,000
Unemployment rate: 9.6%
Crime rate: 300
GreatSchools rating: 4



No. 5: Bay City, Mich.


Median income: $56,200
Median house price: $73,000
Unemployment rate: 9.9%
Crime rate: 315
GreatSchools rating: 5





No. 6: Pocatello, Idaho


Median income: $55,600

Median house price: $108,000
Unemployment rate: 9%
Crime rate: 250
GreatSchools rating: 6






No. 7: Fairbanks, Alaska

Median income: $76,800
Median house price: $216,000
Unemployment rate: 7.1%
Crime rate: 752
GreatSchools rating: 7

Adapted from MSN

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