The Windows 9 Possibility

Prepare yourselves.

According to reliable sources, Microsoft will be releasing Windows 9 in 2015, thus skipping Windows 8.2. What does this say about Microsoft?

It’s bleeding out after shooting itself in the foot numerous times.

It’s an act of resilience. It’s another leap of faith (like Windows 8 was) towards the possible failure or success of the company. When all else fails, you cheat, right?

To be honest, it’s not really a bad decision. In fact, I personally admire their decision (if any of this is even true) because it shows that they are not planning to give up anytime soon. I can tell that they won’t be flying the white flag like Apple will in the near future.

Nonetheless, these are still rumours. The source, Paul Thurrott, seems to be quite welcomed in the community with his so called “leaks.” According to him, Microsoft will be doing an April’s Build conference (guess when), mostly about the tablets and the XBOX One. There is a supposedly planned vision announcement which can only lead to an announcement about Windows 9.

Take a look at this “coincidental” and interesting history for Microsoft and their operating systems:

All we can hope for Windows 9 is that it will have what we actually want. We didn’t ask for a tablet friendly user interface. We didn’t want the Metro tiles interface – that’s meant for Windows Phones and tablets!

We want actual usability. Oh, and the Windows Start Menu. That was revolutionary!

Keep Chewing!

LINKS

• Windows 9 coming in 2015, will try its hardest to distance itself from the Windows 8 train wreck
• Threshold to be called “Windows 9”, Ships in April 2015

Beautiful and Fast

As much as I despise the user interface of Windows 8, I can’t talk crap about its speed. It’s fast and I won’t be arguing with the fact.

A friend sent me a video which I found very interesting. I see it as “comedic genius” coming from Microsoft and I find it to be a very effective way of marketing the product.

Is it just me, or is the girl’s face and the way she looked at the camera kind of scary? It freaked me out for a bit…

Keep Chewing!

 

Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

NCIX, a computer company that sells computers, parts, PC games and other gadgets, let me demo and review this laptop.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

Lenovo is one of the awesome companies that actually sell some darn good computers. Their laptops have true accessibility, performance and power. Although Windows 8 is completely unusable, I’m sure, as a geek, you’ll figure something out. If you’re not a geek, go get a geek. They’re not that hard to find.

The IdeaPad Z500 is a great starter laptop. For those who want something cheap, but has a bang for their buck, this one is a great choice.

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Intel i5-3230M @ 2.6 GHz (Dual-core) with 3 MB Cache
• Intel HD 4000 GPU (shared RAM)
• 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 slots)
• 1 TB HDD @ 5400 RPM
• 15.6″ (1366 x 768)
• 4 cell 5 hour battery

From my personal experience, it holds out. It’s very fluid and smooth when it comes to processing. I gamed on it for a bit (Minecraft) and find it fine on run. Considering Windows 8, I still felt a bit locked out. Other than that, the performance is good, the graphics are great and the sound is fine.

I’m sure the 6 GB RAM can be upgraded to 8 GB, but that’s my only preference. Oh, and install something like Windows 7 (it should be worth it) and get rid of that lousy Windows 8 operating system. After installing Windows 7, you may commence ULTIMATE TWEAKING! Play around with the settings, install all the necessary proprietary drivers, install your own personal theme, the whole nine yards! Then after that, you can finally sleep soundly at night.

Unless, you actually like Windows 8. If so, go to the doctor and get yourself checked out.

In conclusion, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 is a laptop that’s doing what it’s supposed to do: work. It’s your typical home, browsing, word processing and gaming laptop. I don’t think it can handle bigger multimedia power (like a heavy session of League of Legends), but it can certainly give what the user wants.

Priced around $700, it’s a great buy!

Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

Keep Chewing!

Speed Dating a PC

This is the first post for the category “Tech Support.” It will feature any tech questions and support that will help the lost beginner.

The title may have thrown you off. This article is actually about choosing the right PC using the Speed Dating method. I used this method when I bought my laptop a year ago.

School is coming. Students are working hard to earn minimum wage. Some are saving up for University/College funds. Some are just saving up so they can get some pocket money. And then there’s you. As a teenager, you want to buy your own computer. Fact is, the computer that you already have was bought by someone else. That someone isn’t you. So, you plan to buy a PC.

After working hours and hours at that popular fast food restaurant, you finally saved up enough money to buy a PC. Now what?

Ask yourself the following questions in exact order.

1. Do I really need it? (If yes, continue)
2. What am I going to use it for? (Answers may vary)
3. Do I have the money for it? (If yes, continue)

Now that you have all the things needed – objective and cash – you may now begin to think about buying a computer!

Before you begin with the Speed Dating method, you WILL need the following:

• The money, of course…
• A little bit of PC knowledge
• Two to three hours of your day

The idea of this method is simple. Given the two to three hour time frame, you go to your nearest electronics retail store (ex. Best Buy or Future Shop etc), go to the computers section and “date” any computer that catches your eye. This is where PC knowledge comes in. Learn about its features, performance, hardware and software. Take a look at its processor, how much RAM it has (and can handle), what operating system (although most of the time it will be Windows 8, but if you get lucky, get Windows 7), and all of its specifications. List them down so that later, when looking at other PCs, you’ll be able to compare them against each other. Give yourself at least fifteen minutes per computer and switch to another one. By this rate, you’ll be able to look at eight computers in two hours. Use the last hour for figuring what you need to purchase like warranty, setup and other software. Then, use your money to buy it. Make sure you take into account all the taxes the government adds in when purchasing an electronic device.

It actually took me approximately one hour to figure out which laptop to buy. It was probably because I planned it before and did my research online. I just had to check it out myself in a demo at Best Buy to see if I liked it.

This is a great method to use when buying your first PC because not only do you gain a great PC, you also gain knowledge about the pros and cons of different types of computers.

Keep Chewing!

WINDOWS 8.1

I’m a bit late, but it’s better late than never.

Windows 8.1 is a free update from Windows 8. It adds new features, including the infamous Start button. Most of the additions are towards giving the user more options for customization, but overall it’s “better” than the Windows 8 that we all hate and despise.

Actually, anything is a better upgrade than the original Windows 8. I’ve had my share of annoyance towards the OS. In fact, while doing coop in Future Shop, one of our tasks was to setup new PCs with Windows 8. It was so frustrating at first because of the large learning curb between Windows 7 transitioning into Windows 8. The GUI is almost the same, except for the metro tiles that Microsoft is trying to push into their devices (XBOX 360/One, Windows phones).

Anyways, here’s a look at the new features for Windows 8.1

Keep Chewing!