Tag Archives: Windows 8

How To Remove Multiple Windows Store Apps From Windows 8 In One Go

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Removing Modern UI apps in Windows 8 or RT doesn’t work like the traditional way of uninstalling them from Control Panel. Instead, you can remove a Windows Store app directly by right-clicking its tile on the Start Screen and selecting Uninstall from the app bar. This makes uninstallation process fairly simple and intuitive, as you can instantly remove the app without going through the conventional procedure for desktop apps. Though what if you want to remove multiple Modern UI apps at once? There is no default option to do that, since when you select multiple apps on the Start Screen, the Uninstall button simply vanishes from the app bar. Thankfully, there’s a user script named RemoveWindowsStoreApp available at TechNet’s Script Center that makes the whole multi-app removal procedure a breeze, letting you get rid of all unwanted Modern UI apps from the Windows PowerShell. Read on to find how it works. Read More

BlueStacks Android App Player Now Has A Surface Pro-Optimized Version

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If you follow tech blogs, the name BlueStacks has got to sound familiar to you as the famous Android emulator that lets you run Android apps on PCs and Macs without requiring to install the complete Android operating system in a virtual environment. In fact it has become so popular that the company behind it is reportedly in talks with several computer manufacturers to bundle BlueStacks Player with their notebooks and desktops. Back in 2011, we posted our detailed review of the app highlighting its impressive design and features. Being touted to be ‘Optimized for Surface Pro’, this Android emulator has now finally arrived to Windows 8 (sorry RT folks, no Modern UI flavor yet), and works like an absolute charm on Windows 8 PCs, notebooks and ultrabooks alike. Lets take a deeper look inside and see what changes the company has brought to the table in this Windows 8-only variant. Read More

Better Explorer Boasts Tabs, Ribbon UI, Drive Size Charts & Much More

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We have seen Microsoft make certain improvements in the Windows 8 version of Windows Explorer, now known as File Explorer. The options bar at the top has been replaced with a ribbon-based UI that groups similar options together under tabs. While the default Windows Explorer in Windows 7 provides you with seamless file browsing, navigation and search features, it lacks some advanced options, such as tabs, built-in multiple format archive management, folder/drive size charts, history view and advanced conditional selection, to name a few. Better Explorer is an application for Windows that gives you all the features of Windows 8 File Explorer in Windows 7, along with quite a few additional ones. Let's take a look at the features in detail after the jump. Read More

Easily Adjust Windows 8 Modern UI Display Scaling With Metro Scaler

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The Modern UI of Windows 8 and RT is probably the most talked about feature of the OS to date, being both lauded and loathed by the users and developers community. All the love and hate discussion aside, a great thing about Modern UI is that it’s optimized really well for all kinds of display resolutions. If you own a large display, you will be rewarded with an increased number of tile rows on the start screen. Likewise, on smaller screens of tablets, notebooks and small ultrabooks, the number of tile rows in Start Screen automatically shrinks to fit the screen size. Though if you want to manually increase or decrease the scaling of Modern UI, there's no default option for that. Fortunately, we now have Metro Scaler - a portable app that lets you adjust the scaling size of the Modern UI part of Windows 8 according to your liking. Read More

MediaMonkey Media Player & Manager Comes To Windows 8 And RT

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Listening to music while working is a pretty common habit of most computer users, as it helps one relax and take the mind off of stressful things. It can also help people block off any disturbing sounds from the surroundings while working on their computers. Whether listening to music while working increases or decreases the productivity and efficiency is a debatable topic. After the default Windows Media Player, iTunes and Winamp, MediaMonkey is one of the most famous audio players available for Windows. In Windows 8, Microsoft has also included a new Modern UI-based music player. However, it does not provide you with a lot of options for playlist creation and metadata editing. Today, we have the Modern UI version of MediaMonkey that allows you to manage and play your music & video collection, create playlists, adjust equalizer settings, and edit metadata. More on MediaMonkey after the jump. Read More

How To Bring Back Original Windows 7 Explorer Shell In Windows 8

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Here at AddictiveTips, we have been religiously covering any noteworthy app that allows you to customize any aspect of your copy of Windows 8. The capability of these tools vary from bringing the Windows 7 Start Menu back, to disabling hot corners, and changing the opacity of window borders. A few months back, Waqas compiled a list of the best Windows 8 Start Screen modifiers and start menu apps that allow you to apply several UI-related changes to the operating system. However, the goal of most of these tweaks is the same: to get the familiar UI of Windows 7 back in Windows 8. Today, we have an application for you that not only brings the Windows 7 style Start Menu back to Windows 8, but also disables everything else related to Windows 8. Ex7forW8 (Windows 7 explorer for Windows 8) allows you to run the Windows 7 explorer shell, giving you the real feel of Windows 7 on Windows 8. Other than the Start Menu, it disables every Modern UI app and feature including the Switch List, Charms Bar, More PC Settings etc. Read More

How To Install Any Digitally Unsigned Drivers On Windows 8

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“A digitally signed driver is required” & “The driver installation failed” are a few of the error prompts you may have come across when attempting to install drivers on Windows 8. Unlike its predecessor Windows 7, Windows 8 strictly enforces a driver signature check, verifying the signatures with its own local database. While this means drivers for your old devices are under strict scrutiny, it also spells a bit of a pain for even newer devices, including those for several Android phones and tablets. I came across this issue when trying to flash a soft-bricked Xperia device back to life, but kept running into the dreaded “The driver installation failed” error when installing the crucial fastboot drivers. If you’ve been there, you know the frustration that follows, but what followed after that for me was a ray of light and hope! Ok enough drama. You can install your unsigned drivers - be it fastboot drivers, or drivers for your toaster - in a couple of easy steps, as explained after the break. Read More

UC BrowserHD: The Best Modern UI Web Browser For Windows 8 & RT So Far

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Ever since I got my Surface tablet, I’ve yet to come cross a decent web browser on Windows Store. Even though Microsoft has bundled Internet Explorer with both Windows 8 and RT, it doesn’t stand a chance against the likes of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, both of which have yet to bring their Modern UI apps to the Store. Browsing through Windows Store to fight back my hard luck, I stumbled upon UC BrowserHD and couldn’t wait to give it a try. Already a big name on Android and other mobile platforms, UC BrowserHD does full justice to the Modern UI, and boasts a myriad of features that would leave anyone impressed, including smooth web browsing, bookmark syncing to the cloud, multi-tab support for simultaneous browsing, and an interesting speed dial feature to quickly access your favorite websites. Read More

How To Bring Start Screen-Like Feel To Desktop In Windows 8

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The Start Screen is one of the key features of Windows 8. Not just because the whole Modern UI philosophy revolves around it, but also, it’s the only official way to access the stock Modern UI apps as well as the ones you install from Windows Store. Even many people like me who usually stick to the Desktop mode for the most part and find it hard to make friends with the metro environment cannot stop praising the aesthetically pleasing design of the Start Screen. Lucky for us, XDA Member tboy2000 has pointed out a simple way of bringing the same look to the desktop mode, complete with a Desktop label in the top-left and the user's profile picture in the top-right corner of the screen. This also adds a bit of uniformity among both the environments, giving them a unified feel. Read More

How To Remove All Stock & 3rd Party Modern Apps From Windows 8, RT

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Microsoft Surface with Windows RT has been shipped in two versions: 32 GB and 64 GB. However, due to reserved space for recovery tools, Windows RT itself, and some pre-installed Modern UI apps, the storage space actually usable is quite low - only 16 GB in the 32 GB version, and only 46 GB in the 64 GB variant. While some of the installed apps such as Mail and People can be quite important to many, there are others that you might never use, specially when more and more good quality third-party alternatives are coming out in Windows Store. While you can't do anything about the space consumed by Windows RT and recovery tools, you can clear up all stock Modern UI apps to free up some space. In this tip, we will explain to you how to clear all Modern UI apps - from just your user account or all users - using the built-in Windows Powershell. Read More

Your Tube 8 Is A Simple YouTube App For Windows 8 With Better Search

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Each day people from all walks of life upload thousands of videos on YouTube and other video hosting websites such as Vimeo and DailyMotion. Many individuals do it solely to share their videos with others, while professionals and organizations do it to promote their content or make money from ads. YouTube is one of the most visited websites on the internet and while Android and iOS have had their own official YouTube apps - complete with viewing, commenting and uploading features - for a long time, Windows 8 users have still been waiting for a dedicated YouTube client. Meanwhile, third-party solutions are being developed that allow you to view YouTube videos on your Windows 8 or RT device in Modern UI. Your Tube 8 is one such app that lets you browse YouTube videos and watch them from your Windows 8 or RT device without having to open the YouTube website in your browser. You can watch videos in small or full screen window, change the quality and share them with others. Moreover, you can filter videos according to different categories and types, and search for a particular one from the massive database. Read More

How To Map SkyDrive Folder As Network Drive In Windows 8 And RT

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Microsoft has its own way of delivering more for less to its consumers. One prime example of such philosophy is the company’s SkyDrive service, which has been integrated into both Windows and Office ecosystems, so users can sync their files directly to the cloud without having to rely on any third-party means. But while Windows 8 offers access to your SkyDrive account under both Modern UI and Desktop environments, you’re locked with only one option to access your cloud content on Windows RT, i.e. through the Windows Store SkyDrive app. On the bright side however, Windows boasts an interesting feature that lets you map your SkyDrive account in Desktop mode via the Map Network Drive option. This makes it easier to access your SkyDrive files without leaving the desktop mode. Read on to find out how. Read More

Get Proper Aero Glass Effect With Blurred Transparency In Windows 8

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The lack of window border transparency (Aero Glass Effect) in Windows 8 has been a big subject of debate since the release of the OS. People have been coming up with many tools and hacks to get back the transparent borders, and we have followed the whole progress quite closely. Aero8Tuner was the first application to boast getting the feature back, but had a lot of bugs. Then came WinaeroGlass, this time with a lot less bugs but still without the blur effect of Windows Aero. Windows 8 is not completely void of transparency, as we can see in case of the taskbar, leading to tools like Opaque Taskbar that disables the taskbar transparency to make it match the rest of the UI. Aero Glass for Win8 is another transparency-related portable app that that has managed to bring back Aero Glass to window borders in Windows 8, complete with transparency and blur effects. Even though the application is still in beta, it works quite well. Read More

Metrogram Live: Windows 8 Instagram Viewer With A Pin To Start Option

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Photo sharing is the craze these days with a lot of social networks, file sharing services, web applications and mobile apps gaining their fame by offering the ability to upload and share images with others, Instagram being the most famous example of this. The popularity of Instagram lies in the variety of filters that can be applied to an image, giving it the look as if it was shot with a professional camera. Previously, we have covered a third-party Instagram client for Windows 8 called Wingram that allows you to access and manage your Instagram account. However, it is a paid application and for those of you looking for a free alternative, we've found Metrogram Live. It is a Modern UI-based Instagram client that allows you to view different public image feeds, view new images from your followers and the people you are following, search for images, and pin your favorite images to the Start Screen. It also features a live tile for your Start Screen. Read More

Follow News From The Sporting World On Windows 8 With Sports Republic

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Sites like ESPN, SkySports and Yahoo! Sports help sports aficionados stay up to date with the latest news and happenings in the sports world. Though when you consider Sports Republic, all the aforementioned options may seem like second choices. The Sports Republic app has already had quite a bit of success on Android and iOS, and now it is available on Windows Store for Windows 8 and RT devices. The app gives you access to sports-related news, articles, pictures and headlines of your favorite teams and games in an impressive Modern UI. Even though it seems a bit short on features compared to its iOS and Android counterparts, it nevertheless makes for a great new entry to the Windows Store. Read More

Windows 8 And RT Touch Options Explained

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Microsoft’s foray into the world of touch-based devices began a long time ago with Windows Mobile and Windows for Tablet PCs even before iOS and Android existed. Though after failing to compete with these new platforms, Microsoft decided to give Windows a whole new direction, resulting in the creation of Windows 8 based on the tile-based interface first introduced in Windows Phone 7. For devices equipped with touch screen and stylus input, Windows 8 and RT offers Pen and Touch options options in the Control Panel to tweak settings for pen and touch input on the devices. In this post, we will give an explanation of each setting for touch-based devices offered by Windows 8/RT, and guide you on how to change it to your advantage. Do note that pen options will not be available if your device doesn’t come with a pen/stylus. Read More

Popular Voice Assistant Speaktoit Comes To Windows 8 And RT

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Already quite popular on Android, Windows Phone and iOS platforms, Speaktoit Assistant – the Siri-like virtual assistant that aims to handle your everyday tasks – has now finally landed on Windows 8 / RT and I’ve got to admit, it’s fun, to say the least. In case you’re unfamiliar with the app, it allows you to employ voice and keyboard commands to perform various computer tasks in an intuitive and instantaneous way. The application has got all the features of its mobile counterparts including the ability to launch apps, check the latest news and weather, set your daily planner or simply get to know Sam (your virtual assistant) and have some casual chat with her. Read More

How To Decrease Launch Delay For Windows 8 Desktop Apps At Startup

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Although Windows 8 is designed to run Modern UI apps, the majority of us still spend most of our time using the desktop mode. One thing that you might have noticed is the few seconds of delay before Windows launches any desktop applications that are set to run at Windows startup. This includes desktop-related system utilities, items in the Startup folder, and apps that add a registry key for launching at startup. Microsoft hasn’t stated any clear reason behind this delay, but it looks like this mechanism was implemented to let the Modern UI part load first before letting Windows start desktop-exclusive services or apps.  Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a way to minimize this delay, there is a simple registry hack for that. Read More

8StartButton Is A Unique Modern UI Start Menu App For Windows 8

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During the last year, we have seen a large number of free and paid Start Screen modification and replacement tools for Windows 8. Some provide you with a Windows 7-like Start Menu and disable the Start Screen, while others change the way the Start Screen looks. Back in October, Waqas compiled a list of the best Windows 8 Start Screen modifiers and Start Menu applications to get back the old Windows 7 feel. However, several new applications from the same genre have appeared since and if a new tool offers something different, we try to review it for our readers. 8StartButton is one such Start Screen replacement utility that caught our attention. It allows you to replace the Start Screen with a highly customizable Start Menu providing you full control over the system. You can access all the installed programs as well as system options, and pin your favorite programs as tiles inside the Start Menu. You can choose to open Start Menu or the Start Screen as the default function for the button, disable the Start Screen hot corner, and choose to boot Windows directly to the desktop. Read More

Create Simple Photo Collages With Ease On Windows 8 With Cool Collage

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Photo Collages are nice. No wait, they are great in fact. You can stick all your favorites images over one large background, and show them to your friends & family whenever you’re in the mood to recall those amazing moments you once captured. Collage making apps are widely available on several platforms including Windows, and we’ve covered plenty of them already including PictureCollageMaker, Shape Collage and Collageit, just to name a few. Today, we are bringing you a Modern UI photo collage maker for Windows 8 and Windows RT. Meet Cool Collage - a simple and easy to use app that lets you create gorgeous photo collages from your Windows 8/RT device in just a few clicks. Grab your coffee and read on. Read More