Tag Archives: Windows 8

Download Over A Million Wallbase HD Wallpapers On Windows 8

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Wallbase houses one of the largest wallpapers repository on the internet. With over a million HD images, you're bound to be spoiled for choice. I usually stick to DeviantART for most of my wallpaper needs, but Wallbase is always my next stop. Along with a strong web presence, the service also supports mobile platforms in the form of iOS and Android apps. As Windows 8 user base is steadily grwing, an official Modern UI app for the platform is quite likely in the pipeline. However, if you can’t hold your horses until an official app is released, try Wallbase 8. Sporting an elegant and minimalistic design, the app brings you a wide variety of gorgeous-looking high quality backgrounds from Wallbase, ready to be used as your desktop wallpaper or lock screen image. Read More

Extract ZIP, RAR, 7z & Other Archives On Windows 8 & RT With Unpacker

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While Windows 8 has built-in native support for compressing and extracting zip files, it requires you to access the desktop app, open File Explorer, and select the archives to enable the Extract tab. Some time ago, Waqas covered an excellent Modern UI app called 8 Zip that lets you view, extract and create ZIP archives on your Windows 8 and Windows RT device without having to switch to desktop mode but recently, the app went from being free to paid with a price tag of $7.99. If you don’t want to shell out that sort of cash just for extracting archives on your Windows 8 or RT device, have a look at Unpacker. It is a Windows 8 app that allows you to unpack compressed  archives and supports multiple formats including ZIP, RAR, 7z and several others. It provides simple controls for extracting the complete contents of the archives or the selected elements only, to a location of your choice. More on Unpacker after the jump. Read More

Easily Remove A Second Windows Installation With NanWick Uninstaller

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Our computers allow us to dual boot them with multiple operating systems. Windows itself offers the same option, meaning you can install Windows 8 along with Windows 7, and keep both the operating systems intact. Dual-booting a system has several advantages; you can test drive a preview a major update of an OS (Windows 8 for instance) or try out an entirely different OS (like Ubuntu) to get an overview of the intended changes and features before making the choice of actually switching to it. The only ordeal however, is that there isn’t really any easy way to cleanly remove an installed operating system, and doing so anyway by formatting its partition often leaves you with issues in the bootloader menu. Previously, we covered an in depth guide detailing the procedure to remove Windows 8 Consumer Preview from dual boot systems and how to get rid of the boot entry via the BCDEdit command. Though if you are looking for a simpler method to do the same, then give NanWick Windows Uninstaller a shot. Not only does it uninstalls the selected operating system from your machine, but it also erases the boot entry of the non-required OS. Read More

Follow Your Favorite TV Shows & Get Alerts For New Episodes With Watchlist For Windows 8

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Watching you favorite TV series after a hard day at work is a great way to relax. We all have our own preferences when it comes to TV series; some like comedy, some like suspense, while others go for drama. Though when you are busy with your daily life, it can be quite tedious to keep track of when a new season of your favorite TV series is getting released, or when an ongoing season is coming out of break. This information is easily available on the official websites of these seasons or channels, as well as third party webpages. However, if you are following a large number of shows, going to each of their websites or searching on Google for their return dates and other similar information can be a tedious task. Watchlist is an app for Windows 8 that lets you keep track of your favorite TV shows and notifies you of newly released episodes. Other than new app notifications, it also allows you to add different TV shows to favorites, view their cast, mark episodes as seen to get notifications about new ones, and browse artwork related to the shows. Read More

Browse Instagram The Modern UI Way With Piktr For Windows 8

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Microsoft Windows 8 has attracted a lot of attention and has been at the helm of discussion since its launch. Interestingly, the same can be said for the now Facebook-owned Instagram. An official Instagram app for Windows 8 and RT has yet to make its way to Windows Store but you will be delighted to find various third-party alternatives to suffice for the job (such as previously reviewed Wingram). Piktr is a new entrant that has jumped into the scene and looks promising, if not amazing, to say the least. The app lets you view and access your Instagram photos in a slick Modern-UI interface. In addition, you can take a glance at your followers, the people you’re following, their photos, and the comments as well as likes. Read More

Find Alternatives To Android & iOS Apps On Windows Store With AppSwitch

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It has been a while now since the launch of Windows 8 and as expected, a lot of fresh apps Modern UI apps have started to make their way to the Windows 8 ecosystem. Although the overall library doesn't yet offer as many options as Google Play Store and Apple App Store, it’s clear that the ecosystem is growing at an impressive speed. With such a wide range of choices though, finding the perfect replacements for your iOS or Android devices on Windows Store might not be too easy. Worry not though - AppSwitch for Windows 8 aims to come to the rescue. The app suggests you perfect or very close matches on Windows Store for popular Android and iOS apps, such as eBay, Facebook or Flipboard, to make it easy for you to find the right apps on the platform. Even when it doesn't find a decent match, it suggests a similar application relating to the same category as the next best alternative. Read More

Pin Steam Games To Windows 8 Start Screen With Steam Tile

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Steam is a digital distribution and communications platform developed by Valve corporation. Other than allowing people to play games with each other on the network, it lets you communicate with your friends, and manage your games across multiple computers. It provides gamers with a stable platform mostly free from glitches and crashes, to get together and enjoy their free time. Being a Steam user myself, I use game shortcuts placed on the desktop to run my games, instead of the steam library. Just like on Windows 7, you can place the shortcuts on the desktop in Windows 8 as well. However, since Start Screen is the home screen for Windows 8, opening the desktop first before launching the games just adds an extra step to the process. Today, we present to you an app for Windows 8 called Steam Tile that lets you pin your steam games to the Start screen and launch them directly from it. Read More

Podcasts! For Windows 8 Offers Tons Of Free Audio & Videocasts

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Podcasts are audio or video recordings that are released in episodes - usually released on a daily or weekly basis - that can be downloaded and played by anyone interested. They can be based on any type of content such as a political discussion, an opinion, a review about cars, etc. Unlike a radio or a television show, anyone can create and release a podcast, and they are hugely popular among bloggers, independent media producers and YouTube personalities. There are various application that let you download and listen to podcasts. A few days ago, Waqas wrote about the official Windows 8 app for SlapDash - a very popular podcast service.  Today, we present to you another Windows 8 podcasts app aptly named Podcasts! that lets you listen to and watch audio and video podcasts neatly organized by different categories. You can also search for particular podcasts directly to quickly access them. Read More

Manga+ Is A Windows 8 Manga Reader App With Character Profiles

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If you've ever read comics, you'd know how each comic series has their own world with their own cities, background, characters, friends and foes. When it comes to normal cartoons such as the famous Tom & Jerry or Pink Panther etc., there is no need to know the history of each character in order to enjoy an episode; you can just start watching right in the middle of the episode and still have a fun experience. However, when we talk about manga, it’s a different story. Every manga series has its own story, set of characters, teams and history and in order to completely enjoy an episode, you need to know the appropriate information about everything. If you are thinking of watching a new manga that has already had a few episodes or season aired, you will need to catch up on the story. One way is to start watching the series from the start but if you would rather just enjoy the current seasons or episodes, getting to know some history about the characters and series is always a good idea. Manga+ is an app for Windows 8 that allows you to not only read manga but also get detailed information on the characters of each series, including the characteristics of a character, its friends, enemies, teams it was in, and biography. Read More

Read Comics On Windows 8 & RT With ComiXology’s Modern UI Comic Reader

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Everyone has their own favorite activities to help them relax after a hard day. Some like to watch movies or TV shows, some listen to music, while others like to read. Reading comics, stories about adventures in far-off lands, or battles among the forces of good and evil is another thing people like to do to in their free time. In fact, for some, it is more than just a hobby. Following the global shift from paper to digital publications, comic books are now also available in digital form through various websites and clients. Recently, ComiXology - the team behind one of the most popular comic readers on Android and iOS - gave their Comics app for Windows 8 and RT an overhaul, bringing it closer to completion. The app allows fans to access and read an archive of more than 30,000 comics by famous publishers such as Marvel and DC.  The available comics are divided into separate categories, allowing you to instantly locate your favorite ones from the huge database. Read More

Unlock Windows 8 With USB Drive & Take Webcam Photos At Failed Login With Lockscreen Pro

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The logon screen in Windows 7 cannot be customized at all using the default available options; even changing the background of the logon screen requires you to use a third-party tool. In Windows 8, the lock screen of  has been revamped to include a lot more information and users are provided with some control over it, such as the ability to change its background, specify which apps can put notifications on it and view the date, time and current battery status of your system. However, there has been no significant change in the security of the system. Today, we have a lock screen application called Lockscreen Pro that replaces the regular lock screen with a custom one, providing you with options to unlock the computer with a password or a USB flash drive, and even uses the webcam to capture a photo every time there is an unsuccessful login attempt. Thus while preventing other people from accessing your computer, it also lets you see who tried to gain access to it without your permission. Moreover, you can change the lock screen background to a custom photo. Read More

SkyMap Turns Your Windows 8 Or RT Device Into A 3D Planetarium

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Google seems to have no apparent plans to release its Maps or Sky Maps app for Windows 8, but fret not! You can still get your hands on various alternative services and third-party solutions available in the Store, such as our previously covered G Maps. And if you thought your Sky Maps cravings was still left in dust, you’d be delighted to learn about the newly released SkyMap app. After enjoying critical acclaim on Windows Phone, the app has finally landed on the Windows 8 platform in form of a Modern UI Windows Store app. It lets you gaze over all those ancient constellations in a full 3D virtual planetarium, all in real-time. It also makes full use of Microsoft Surface’s built-in GPS and accelerometer, meaning you can point the device to the sky to precisely locate any star, planet, heavenly bodies, and other deep-space objects exactly where they are. How does it compare with big G’s Sky Maps? Let’s find out! Read More

Manage Windows 8 Clipboard & Copy Items Between Desktop & Modern Apps

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Ctrl+C, Alt+Tab, Ctrl+V, homework done! We've gone through this process many times, but for most of us, it has always been a daunting task to do it over and over again - switching from one window to the other and back, while keeping our fingers in a state of distress. Few of us know exactly how it works. When you copy something (a piece of text, for instance), it gets stored in a space known as the clipboard. Once you copy something else, whatever you copied earlier is replaced with the new clip. You don’t usually get to see the clipboard, but with an appropriate clipboard manager, you can do that and so much more. After the jump, let’s see how you can get these extra clipboard management functions in Windows 8 and RT. Read More

SketchBook Express For Windows Is A Great Modern UI Microsoft Paint Alternative

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Yesterday, we covered a feature-rich image editing app for Windows 8 called Fotor that provides users with Instagram-like filters, borders and effects to make your images look like they are professionally shot. While it's a great photo editor, Fotor does not let you create any art on a blank canvas or provide you with brushes and other similar paint tools. Today, we have a Windows Store app that fills this void and provides you with different brushes and tools to create professional style drawings and paintings. The collection of different types of brushes offered by Autodesk SketchBook Express, such as Pen, Pencil, Paint Brush, Fill Tool, etc along with a color palette and different sizes for each brush makes both casual and serious drawing a lot of fun. Moreover, the mirror mode offered by this Modern UI app lets you mirror everything you draw or paint, both horizontally and vertically, allowing you to create beautiful mirror paintings and drawings. Keep reading to find out more about SketchBook Express. Read More

Install Popular Audio & Video Codecs On Windows 8

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Whenever we install a fresh copy of Windows, limited codec support often ruin the initial media playback experience. The limited number of codecs out of the box has always been a major set back in Windows Media Player and apparently, the story hasn’t quite changed in Windows 8 either. Perhaps this is the reason most users avoid using Windows Media Player as their default application to play audio video files. Even if you download your favorite media player off the internet, the problem of missing codec can still occur one way or the other. If you have recently jumped on to the Windows 8 bandwagon and are looking for a way to install all the required codecs to play almost every audio and video format out there, give Windows 8 Codecs a shot. It’s an audio and video codec package for Windows 8 that installs most of the popular codec packs in one go, and the installed codecs work with Windows Media Player, Media Center, and third-party media players. Read More

Customize Microsoft Surface Trackpad Gestures & Reverse Two-Finger Scrolling

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Microsoft’s Surface tablet has earned its fair share of interest since its inception. Although it’s the company’s first foray into the modern tablet market, Microsoft has created a device that not only looks good, but performs well too. But of all its design splendor and solid build quality, it’s the multi-input functionality that stands out the most. Along with touchscreen gestures, the slab also lets you fiddle with it via the detachable touch (or type) cover, and lets you switch between the former and latter navigation on the fly. The touch cover is a full QWERTY keyboard with an integrated trackpad (touchpad) that you’d normally see on your notebook. By default, you cannot customize any trackpad settings according to your preferences. For instance you cannot turn the trackpad off to avoid any accidental finger tapping. Luckily however, the software giant has finally released a Windows Store app for the job called Trackpad Settings. The application not only enables you to turn off the trackpad, but also lets you toggle a few more settings. Read More

Fotor Brings Its Instragram-Like Photo Filters & Tilt-Shift Effect To Windows 8

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Ever since the release of Windows 8 and RT, apps that were previously available only for iOS or Android are also coming out for devices running Windows. We have covered similar Windows Store apps, such as Shazam that was available, and very popular, on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The Windows Store still has a very low number of apps as compared to the other platforms, however, apps related to various categories are coming out on daily basis, making the platform better and easier to use. Today, we present to you another app, previously available on iOS and Android, called Fotor. It is a feature-rich image editor for Windows 8 that allows you to apply filters to images, add borders, tilt-shift and other effects. Moreover, the 1-Tap Enhance option lets you quickly improve the quality of an image without having to manually tweak its Brightness, Contrast and Saturation levels. controls. Read More

Disable Windows 8 App Notifications Or Change Their Duration

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Microsoft's decision to release the exact same interface for both the PC and tablet versions of Windows 8 has its pros and cons. On one hand, this means users won't have to learn two different types of operating systems to use different devices, while on the other, it makes certain features seem redundant, depending on the device you are using. While Windows 8 offers default settings to enable or disable some of these features, there are a lot that cannot be toggled without the use of third party tools. One particular feature, Windows Store app notifications, however, is something that can be tweaked according to your liking using native options. You can either change the time that an app notification stays on the screen, or disable Lock Screen and app notifications altogether. In this post, we will explain how you can alter both settings. Read More

Customize Windows 8 Installation & Create Unattended Setup ISO

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Windows 8 is not just about its new and fluid Modern UI; the installation time and the amount of disk space consumed by the OS has also been greatly reduced compared to its predecessor. However, this fast installation does come at the cost of less customization options; in fact, there are hardly any. You cannot choose the components to be installed or leave out the ones not required. If you’ve been looking for a way to customize your Windows 8 installation, WinReducer 8 is what you need. This freeware lets you customize Windows 8 setup from scratch via creating an ISO file from an existing installation disk or ISO. Furthermore, it lets you create an unattended Windows 8 installation ISO, so you won’t have to sit in front of your computer during the whole setup process. Read More

Turn Off App Switcher & Charms Bar Hot Corners In Windows 8

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Hot Corners is one of the major new features in Windows 8. They are basically the four corners of the screen that bring App Switcher, Charms Bar and Start Tile into focus when you move the mouse pointer over their pertaining areas. App Switcher appears when you move the cursor to the top-left; likewise Charms Bar resides on the right edge and appears when the pointer touches the top or bottom-right corners. However, both the top-left and right corners can be quite distracting and annoying under certain circumstances. We have covered a few tools to disable these corners, but if you’re looking for a way to prevent the Charms bar and Switcher from appearing via hot corners without entirely disabling them with a tool, a simple registry hack can do this job. Read More