Windows 8 - New Design and Features

Now that the Windows 8 Developer Preview has been available for a while, it is easier to take a step back and evaluate it without the powerful emotions that strike most people the first time they deal with it. Looking at it from a long-distance perspective, there’s a lot to like about Windows 8, especially if you are ready to cut the cord from an installed desktop application base and transition to Web applications and Windows 8 native applications. Windows 8 new design and features are great. Lets review the things that are great about Windows 8.

 Windows 8 - New Design and Features

 

Windows 8 Designed for Tablets and Touch:

Microsoft is working hard to make Windows 8 work well with tablets and the touch UI paradigm, to the point of alienating traditional desktop users. It remains to be seen how Microsoft will respond to criticism over the Metro UI. But I can tell you that after using a phone with the Metro UI for well over half a year now, I think it is extremely effective for touch, and I would love to have a tablet running Windows 8.

Windows 8 Apps “share” Data:

One of the big changes in the application development model is that native Windows 8 apps (those using the new Metro UI and WinRT API) really do not directly communicate with each other, even through the file system, except via carefully defined interfaces. While this handcuffs developers a bit, it means that when applications do share data, Windows is aware of how they do it and makes it easy. For example, you could have an application that handles images and use it to share the pictures with, say, an application to upload them to Facebook. That unleashes a lot more power for developers because it means that applications from different vendors will work together seamlessly, and the developers do not even have to write anything specific for the application theirs works with.

Windows 8 Apps can be Integrated into the OS:

Just as the applications can “share” with each other, they can do the same thing with Windows itself. Again, this allows some really neat integrations to be done without much work by application makers. You can see things like a new social networking application come out and within weeks, Windows will be able to use your friends who are on it in its contact list, or the pictures can go into your picture gallery. The possibilities are endless.

Windows 8 Offers ARM Support:

While the ARM CPUs may not be for everyone or every purpose, lots of mobile vendors have a deep commitment to that platform and understand it well. The ARM devices will not be able to run legacy Windows applications, but they will run the Windows 8 native apps without a hitch. That’s great news for hardware makers, software developers, and users.

Windows 8 Beefs up Security:

The new programming model for Windows 8 native applications is extraordinarily secure. While I am sure that exploits will be found, it will be difficult for the native applications to break free of their chains. Microsoft has really flipped it around. Instead of allowing everything and slowly adding restrictions over the years (and breaking applications in the process, like XP SP2 and Vista did), it’s starting from an “allow nothing” stance.

Windows 8 App Markets will Benefit Developers and Users:

Application markets are nothing new. Even Vista had one (although no one seems to remember it). With Windows 8 native applications, Microsoft is making the application market the primary way of getting apps onto the computer, much like Windows Phone 7. That’s great news for developers who need to get some more visibility for their applications and who do not want to deal with payments processing and such, especially for low-priced apps. And the application market is great for users, too. As we’ve seen, app markets encourage lower prices, and Microsoft will surely apply the same strict quality control that it has to the Windows Phone 7 app market.

Windows 8 System Restore is Easier:

Microsoft has built new utilities into Windows 8 that makes it much easier than ever to send the system back to “out of the box,” while preserving your data. Providing a more appliance-like experience is critical for the typical user, and the help desk will appreciate it too.

Windows 8 Cloud Sync is Everywhere:

While not everyone is in love with the cloud as an idea, Windows 8 has great facilities for allowing applications and users to automatically sync data between devices using the cloud. That’s great for users who can seamlessly transition between their tablet and desktop PC (and perhaps their phone), as well as for tech support, who can just replace a broken device instead of worrying about data loss.

Windows 8 Offers Simplified Administration and Configuration:

The Control Panel has been stripped down to the bare essentials, and you can’t even think about tasks like registry editing, defragging, etc., from the Metro UI. (You can do these tasks through the legacy desktop, if needed, but that won’t work for ARM devices.) Throughout Windows 8, a primary theme has been giving the user a more appliance-like “It just works” experience. Power users might howl about it, but the truth is, the Windows experience is still far more complex than the average user wants to deal with. Windows 8 is a great move in the right direction for those users.

System Stability is Improved

Windows 7 has really set the standard for system reliability. Short of hardware or driver problems, the old blue screen of death is almost never seen anymore. Windows 8 takes this to the next level. The same changes to the application development model also improve system stability. Applications can’t run over each other’s data easily, and the new WinRT API just does not allow the kinds of shenanigans that have caused unstable systems over the years. If you stick with native Windows 8 applications, reboots (other than for patching) and crashes should be extraordinarily rare.

Five Smart Phone Applications that Pays

Here’s a sure-fire way to earn a little pocket money. Use your smartphone to snap a photo of a restaurant or scan a barcode in a store. You can earn cash or gift certificates. Companies pay for such information, often because they want to know how their stores and products look in the real world. Here are five free smartphone apps that can earn you money.

1. Gigwalk

Gigwalk is a free iPhone application that notifies its users when “gigs” are available in their area. A gig can range from taking a photo of a restaurant menu or street sign to confirming that a product is in a store and pays between $4 and $7. The more gigs a Gigwalker completes, the more “Gigwalk Streetcred” one earns. Streetcred helps unlock higher paying jobs, which can pay up to $90.
Gigs are available in eight major US cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, and Seattle. The app uses Google maps to guide a “Gigwalker” to each gig.
“As I walk home, I probably pass 1,000 gigs and I choose the ones I like,” says Jennifer Silver, a human resources manager at a Boston architecture firm. She uses the money she earns to pay her $140 monthly phone bill. “It’s a really easy way to do what you want when you want to do it,” she adds.

2. Field Agent

By using a free iPhone app, “field agents” nationwide can find jobs in their area. Agents perform jobs like going into a retail store and snapping a photo of a display, or going to a gas station to note the conditions of the building, signs, or candy display. Companies want to ensure that a display is set up correctly and an aisle in a chain store looks the same in every location. Essentially, agents function as the eyes and ears of a company by completing each job.
“You can say that a product is out of stock, but when you see a picture and see 12 slots out of stock and in disarray … the photos take it to the next level,” says John Bull, founder of Field Agent, based in Fayetteville, Ark.
A job generally pays between $3 and $8, but it can pay more depending on the difficulty. Some jobs, like surveys, can be done at home, while others can be found using a built-in Google map.
“It’s my favorite secret,” says Janelle, a stay-at-home mom who lives just outside Phoenix. “I’ll go out in a day and can make $100 in five hours.” Since she joined in April this year, Ms. Cavangh has earned $987 and won an iPod touch in one of the company’s social media competitions.
“It could not be any easier,” says Keith Celia who lives in the Chicago area and has earned $630 since downloading the app. “It’s actually kind of fun.”
There are currently about 120,000 agents in the US. Field Agent apps are also available for the United Kingdom and Australia.

3. CheckPoints

CheckPoints is an iPhone and Android app that allows users to get points by going to stores – electronic stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, and so on. Then they check in through the free app and scan barcodes of products. After a scan, a digital coupon or interactive marketing message can pop up. The idea is to reward people for coming into a store, and boost the chance that they’ll buy something featured on the “virtual endcap” – advertised products on the to-be-scanned list.
The points can be used to redeem gift certificates to stores and restaurants, airline miles, or a donation to a charitable cause. Gift certificates are available at CVS, GameStop, and Fandango, among others. To win even more points – without going to another location – users can scan a designated “featured product” and earn a coin. Coins can be used to play games in the bonus area, which can result in thousands of points for a single win.

4. WeReward

With an iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry smartphone, you earn points every time you check-in on the WeReward app. Every point equals one penny, and once a user earns 1,000 points, the cash can be redeemed via PayPal.
Each business decides the number of points a check-in is worth, which could be five points or 200 points for a check-in and photo at a certain restaurant. Points can also be earned by completing designated tasks in any location, like snapping a photo of someone, or you, drinking a Jones soda.
To use the application, you must have a Facebook, Twitter, or FourSquare account.
Points can also be earned by referring friends to WeReward. Each friend who then joins earns you 10 percent of all of their check-in points.

5. MyLikes

MyLikes allows you to create endorsements for products and services, and then share them using your social media account on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or YouTube. An endorsement can be a sponsored tweet, a self-created video, or a sponsored Tumblr post.
The amount of money per click or per view is based on a “social score.” The score is calculated using engagement metrics such as likes on Facebook or retweets on Twitter, and how often your friends or followers clicked on previous endorsements.
The app is available for the iPhone and Android. Using the technology of their phones, MyLikes users can take photos of favorite products or check into locations, which they can then endorse.