How to Personalizing Windows 8

Windows presents a lot of different ways to personalize the look and feel of your system, and this chapter teaches you some of the ways you can do this. In This Chapter Personalizing the Start Screen Personalizing the Lock Screen Changing Your Account Picture Configuring Other Windows Settings Using the Traditional Control Panel Setting Up Additional Accounts When you first turn on your new computer system, you see the Windows Start screen as Microsoft (or your computer manufacturer) set it up for you. If you like the way it looks, great. If not, you can change it. Windows presents a lot of different ways to personalize the look and feel of your system. In fact, one of the great things about Windows is how quickly you can make...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

How to Switching to Windows 8: A Quick Guide for Current Windows Users

Here it comes — Windows 8 is on the way! Windows 8 is a lot different from older versions of Windows, however, so you may have a little reeducation to do. In this article author Michael Miller shows you what’s new in Windows 8, and helps you learn how to do all your old tasks the new Windows 8 way.   Windows 8 is the latest version of Microsoft's iconic operating system. And it's a lot — really, a lot — different from those previous versions you've learned to know and love. (Well, at least to know and tolerate.) The entire Windows 8 experience is new, from first power-on to running your favorite apps. It's so different, in fact, that current Windows users may have a hard time figuring out exactly how to do what they...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

How to Customizing the Windows 8 Start Screen, Colors, and Other Settings

This chapter walks you through some basic Windows 8 personalization features using lots of illustrated, step-by-step examples. When you first turn on your new computer system, you see the Windows Lock screen, and then the Start screen, as Microsoft (or your computer manufacturer) set them up for you. If you like the way these screens look, great. If not, you can change them. Windows presents a lot of different ways to personalize the look and feel of your system. In fact, one of the great things about Windows is how quickly you can make Windows look like your version of Windows, different from anybody else’s. Different Windows Lock Screens    ...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

How to Starting and Stopping Windows 8

This chapter walks you through the steps necessary to start your computer and then sign in to Windows in you're new to Windows 8. You'll also learn how to put your computer to sleep and shut it down completely. In This Chapter How to Start Up Windows 8 How to Sign In to Windows 8 Handling Special Windows 8 Start-Up Situations Departing Windows Dual-Booting Concepts If you have just brought home a new computer with Windows 8 preinstalled, or if your computer has just been upgraded to Windows 8, maybe you’re thinking, “Now what?” The obvious answer is to power up your computer and sign in to Windows 8. Like everything else in Windows 8, though, the power-up and sign-in phases are quite different than those in prior versions of Windows,...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

Hwo to working with Data in Your Windows 8 Application

Learn about the different types of data that are available to your Windows 8 application and techniques for manipulating, loading, storing, encrypting, signing, and querying data. Data is central to most applications, and understanding how to manage data and transform it into information the user can interact with is critical. Windows 8 applications can interact with data in a variety of ways. You can save local data, retrieve syndicated content from the Web, and parse local resources that are stored in JSON format. You can query XML documents, use WinRT controls to direct the user to select files from the file system, and manipulate collections of data using a structured query language. In this chapter, you learn about the different types of data that are available to your Windows...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

Essential Windows 8 Shortcuts, Clicks, and Gestures

Windows 8 has a lot of cool features, but they’re hard to find - unless you know the secret keyboard shortcuts, mouse clicks, and touch gestures. In this article, author Michael Miller provides an invaluable reference to everything you need to know to use Windows 8 to the fullest.   Windows 8 is much like previous versions of Windows—except it’s not. That is, you can do almost everything you used to be able to do, and then some, if you know the secret handshakes. Well, not really secret handshakes, but it seems like that, sometimes. That’s because a lot of what used to be out in the open in Windows 7 and Windows Vista (and even Windows XP) is now accessible only by a touch gesture or keyboard shortcut or mouse movement. There are fewer “visual cues” to what you need to do,...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

How to Using Windows 8’s Xbox Music

Xbox Music is the new music app in Windows 8; it’s also accessible from Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console and Windows 7/8 phones. In this article, author Michael Miller shows you how to use Xbox Music to manage your own music collection and to listen to and purchase new music online. Every recent version of Windows has included some sort of music player application, such as Windows Media Player. Windows goes one step further, however, in including both a music player app and a music download/subscription service. Windows 8’s music player/service is called Xbox Music. (Microsoft is obviously playing off their successful Xbox videogame brand.) Xbox Music is both a media player for music stored on your PC or network and an...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8

How to Add the Start Menu Back to Windows 8

One of the biggest complaints about Windows 8 is Microsoft’s removal of the Start button and Start menu. In this article, author Michael Miller examines third-party applications that promise to put the Start menu back in Windows 8 – and tells you which are worth your while. Windows 8 introduces a brand new user interface, alternately called the Metro, Modern, Windows 8, or Tiled interface. This new interface is typified by the new Start screen, where big, brightly colored tiles represent all the apps and utilities installed on your PC. Windows 8 also takes away many things of which we’re familiar, most notably the Start button and Start menu. This move has annoyed and incensed millions of upgraders, and quite possibly...

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Posted in: Computer Tricks,Windows 8