After announcing last month that the upcoming Windows 8.1 update will ship to vendors (otherwise known as “release to manufacturing,” or RTM) in late August, Microsoft is gearing up for a mid-October public release, according to sources speaking Monday with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley. Notably, it looks like TechNet and MSDN subscribers won’t be getting the final build early, and will have to wait until the public launch: The new word, one of my best tipsters tells me, Microsoft is…
How to Create a Windows USB Installer
More and more Windows PCs are shipping without optical drives, making it a bit more inconvenient to reinstall Windows from a disc. There’s always the option to attach an external DVD drive via USB, but a better and more future-proof method is to create your very own Windows USB Installer. Here’s how. Download or Create an ISO The first step to creating a Windows USB Installer is obtaining the source data. If you purchase Windows online or opt for a…
The Best New Features in Windows 8.1
Now that we have the Windows 8.1 Preview running on our test system, it’s time to identify the best consumer-facing changes and new features in Microsoft’s first major update to its controversial operating system. A reminder that, while we don’t anticipate that anything we discuss here will be changed, this is still beta software that is subject to modification before its final release. The Start Button Rumors persisted for months that the Start Button would make its return to Windows…
How to Create a USB or DVD Installer for OS X
UPDATE: Apple has changed the process for creating a USB installer with OS X Mavericks and the method below no longer works. For OS X Mavericks, see this updated process. With the release of OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011, Apple officially abandoned physical media for its operating system installations. Instead of a traditional disc, customers could now purchase and download OS X directly from the Mac App Store. This approach brought many benefits, such as not having to keep…
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Windows Blue to Ship as Windows 8.1, Free for Existing Users
In welcome news, Microsoft reported Tuesday that its upcoming “Windows Blue” update to Windows 8 will be free for existing Windows 8 users. Microsoft CFO Tami Reller delivered the news during an appearance at the JP Morgan Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference in Boston. Once released, the update will be known as “Windows 8.1” and will be available for new purchasers at the same prices that Windows 8 currently sells for. Although Microsoft hopes to have the update ready to…
Windows Blue: What We Know & Where Microsoft is Going
Windows 8 is now six months old, and as part of Microsoft’s new commitment to more frequent updates, its first major update, codenamed “Windows Blue,” will be coming soon. Here’s what we know so far. Purpose In addition to providing the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, Windows Blue is Microsoft’s attempt to address some of the feedback and concerns that users have over Windows 8. As Tami Reller, CFO of Microsoft’s Windows client division, explained to ZDNet: “We feel…
Apple Starts Developer Testing of OS X 10.8.4 With Build 12E27
Apple on Monday began developer testing of the next version of OS X Mountain Lion by seeding the first beta build of OS X 10.8.4. The build, number 12E27, comes just over two weeks after the public release of the long-tested 10.8.3. The build’s seed notes ask developers to focus on testing Safari, graphics drivers, and Wi-Fi, but lists no known issues. Interestingly, these focus areas are identical to those included in the final 10.8.3 beta builds. While Apple works…