What is Window 8?
Windows 8 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft .
Windows 8 features include:
-major changes to the operating system's platform and user interface
-to improve its user experience on tablets, Android and iOS.
-included a touch-optimized Windows shell based on Microsoft's "Metro" design language,
-the Start screen displays programs and dynamically updated content on a grid of tiles
- a new platform for developing apps with an emphasis on touchscreen input, integration with online services (including the ability to sync apps and settings between devices), and
- Windows Store, an online store for downloading and purchasing new software.
- added support for USB 3.0, Advanced Format hard drives, near field communications, and cloud computing.
-security features were introduced, such as built-in antivirus software, -integration with Microsoft SmartScreen phishing filtering service and -support for UEFI Secure Boot on supported devices with UEFI firmware, to prevent malware from infecting the boot process.
Compare Windows XP to Windows 8.1
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Windows XP
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Windows 8.1
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The familiar desktop
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Works with a mouse and keyboard
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Works with Word, Excel, Outlook, and other familiar programs
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Built for touch PCs and tablets
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Apps from the Windows Store
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Mail, People, and other built-in apps
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Keep your settings and apps on all your PCs and devices
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Bing smart search to find things across the web, apps, and your PC
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Start screen with live updates
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Faster startup times
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Windows XP support has ended.
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Start screen
Windows tutorial: Page 3 of 11
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Your apps, friends, and sites in one place
Start is the heart of your PC—it’s where you open apps and desktop programs, see what your friends are doing, and get to your favorite websites and files.
The tiles on Start can show updates from your friends, new email, app notifications, and the next appointment on your calendar at a glance, even without opening an app. And because everyone who uses the PC can sign in with their own Microsoft account, each person can personalize their own tiles, colors, and backgrounds.
Getting to Start
There are a few ways to get back to Start from anywhere on your PC.
Tap or click the Start button in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard.
Tip
When you're in the desktop, you can right-click the Start button to get to quick settings like Power Options, Task Manager, Control Panel, and Device Manager.
What is the Windows 8 Charm Bar?
The Windows 8 charm bar is the (central) toolbar in Windows 8,
- can be accessed from the desktop view of Windows 8 or
- Windows 8 start screen, as well as
- any app that you use in Windows 8.
HOW DO YOU USE A CHARM BAR ?
· You can get to the charm bar on a PC by either dragging your mouse to the to the top or bottom right corners of the screen, and the charm bar will pop up on the right side of the screen.
· Moving the mouse away will hide the charm bar, and
· also the Charm Bar will close after 3 seconds of inactivity.
· You can also bring up the charm bar by pressing the Windows key+C, however, and when you do this, in addition to seeing the charm bar, you’ll also see the date and time in the bottom left corner, and this will keep the Charm Bar open.
Toolbar or RIBBON -a toolbar is a GUI widget on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed.
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How do I use the Windows 8 Charm Bar?
Using the Windows 8 Charm Bar you can perform the basic actions needed for using Windows 8. The Windows 8 Charm Bar Contains five icons that each represents a different feature:
1. Search,
2. share,
3. the start icon,
4. Devices, and
5. settings.
The Search Icon uses Bing Smart Search so you can search your PC, the web, and OneDrive, plus some apps and the Windows Store. You can search once to get results from everywhere, and you can go back to your search results without having to search again.
The Share Icon -Users often come across content in your app that they’re excited to share with friends or use in another app. Windows 8 provides a lightweight, contextual and easy model for accomplishing app-to-app sharing.
· The Start icon will bring you back to the start screen, and
· the devices icon will show you a list of running devices connected to your machine, including printers or connected cameras.
· The settings icon,
o will allow you to set up and operate your Windows 8 start screen by customizing your settings, like selecting your language of choice for the keyboard.
o restart it, or
o put it to sleep.
How can I search for content on Windows 8 using the Charm bar?
You can search through anything on your Windows 8 operating system by using the search function, whose icon looks like a magnifying glass, at the top of your Charm Bar. By clicking on the search icon and typing you can look for documents, web pages, or any information available from your Windows 8 apps.
How can I share content using the Windows 8 charm bar?
Using the share icon in the Charm bar, which is a circle with three interconnected lines, allows you to share a webpage, music, photo, or other piece of data from a Windows 8 UI-style app. For example, if photo sharing app in Windows, and you’d like to share a picture, simply navigate to the charm bar and click on the share icon, which will then allow you to share the content you’re using in an app (note, you cannot use this share feature for apps on the desktop).
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Where is the Windows 8 Control Panel?
The Control Panel still exists in Windows 8, but with the absence of the start menu and the start button you’ll need to go through different steps in order to access it.
The first way you can access the control panel is, in start screen mode, typing in “Control Panel”, and you’ll see that the control panel icon will pop up. Clicking this icon will take you into the control panel in Desktop mode.
You can also get to the control panel through the Computer icon on your desktop. Double click computer, and you’ll see “Open Control Panel” in the menu area at the top of the Window. In order to use this method, you’ll first need to create a shortcut icon to Computer for your desktop. To make a shortcut, click the folder called “Windows Explorer” on your task bar, and on the left there will be an icon called computer. Right click the icon and choose “add shortcut to desktop”.
What can I do with the Control Panel in Windows 8?
The control panel in Windows 8 has the same functionality as Windows 7, Windows XP, and other previous versions of Windows.
· You can still access your Hardware and Sound devices,
· see your Network and Internet settings,
· change your user account settings, and
· uninstall programs.
· Note though, that some of the actions performed through the Control Panel in Windows 8 will only affect your desktop settings, and not the settings on your Start Screen. For example, if you install an app on the desktop, and you have the same app installed on your Start Screen with the Modern UI, the app will be uninstalled from your desktop but will remain on your start screen. T
· he same is true for the “Appearance and Personalization” functionality in the control panel; since the start screen is controlled by a different set of
What is the Windows 8 Calendar?
The Windows 8 Calendar is an app in Windows 8 that
· allows you to schedule and organize your events and meetings.
· It integrates with your contacts list – the Windows 8 people app –
· and sits, by default, on your start screen.
How do I use the Windows 8 calendar?
· Once in the calendar app right click, and an options menu for the calendar app will appear at the bottom of the screen
· (you can also access this settings menu by clicking Win Key + Z). From this settings menu you can choose if you want to view the calendar by day, week, or month, by selecting the corresponding icons on the left side.
· To add a meeting, event, or appointment, click on the day you want to schedule it, or simply click “new” from the bottom right hand corner of the settings menu.
· When the new appointment screen comes up you can enter the precise details: time, how long the meeting is, and with whom (if the person with whom your meeting is in your contacts list.)
· When you’re finished with your appointment you can press save.
Can I sync my email with my Windows 8 calendar?
· In order to sync your Outlook Calendar with your Windows 8 calendar,
o first open your calendar app.
o Then open the charms bar and
o select settings – this will bring up
o settings for the calendar app. Then click add account, and
o add the email account for which you’d like to have your Windows 8 calendar synced. Please note, that in order for your email calendar to sync with your Windows 8 calendar, you must be signed into that email account.
How can I make my Calendar a Live Tile?
When you exit the calendar app, right click on the app, and a menu will pop up on the bottom of the screen. On the bottom left is an icon called “Turn live tile on” – this will make your calendar a live tile, so that your appointments and meetings scheduled on your calendar will be constantly rotated in the app on your start screen, just like with other live tiles.
What are Windows 8 Live Tiles?
Windows 8 live tiles are interactive apps that use the internet to bring live updates to users of Windows 8.
· Live tiles sit on the
o Windows 8 start screen, and are useful for having instantaneous information on constantly changing data like stock indexes, international weather, as well as local and international news.
o Live tiles replace the need to visit certain websites that contain this information, something that many PC users do on a daily basis.
o Live tiles also replace the need to launch any of the apps that provide this information;
o live tiles provide you with short, immediate updates without having to leave your start screen.
These live apps can also be opened for full screen Windows 8 UI-style apps.
What are the different kinds of live tiles?
There are a variety of live tiles that, by default, sit on your start screen. The live apps you will see when you first install Windows 8 are:
· News – The red app located front and center in your start screen. This app brings you the most recent and critical news, and when you open it you can get a glimpse of the top international headlines as well.
· Finance – Bing finance, the green tile on your start screen, brings you top financial headlines as well as up to date reports on various US and International stock market such as the DOW, S&P, NASDAQ , and Russell.
· Sports – Bing sports, the purple tile, brings you the top stories in sports so you don’t have to browse the internet to find out the latest updates on your favorite teams.
· Trending – The bing trending apps gives you the hottest headlines, updates on the most popular news items of the day. When opened, you can see a sampling of information around a certain news item in tile form.
· Travel – Gives you insights, tips, and weather of the most popular travel destinations. You can also add destinations where you plan on traveling, so that the travel live tile will continuously update you on the places you plan on heading.
How can I get rid of Live Tiles?
If live tiles aren’t for you,
· simply right click the app, and a menu will pop up on the bottom of the screen.
· This menu will give you the option to unpin the app from the Start screen,
· uninstall the app completely, make it smaller, or
· make it static and not live.
· Note that if you’d like to perform the same action on all live tiles, you can select them all but right clicking each one. You can then simultaneously unpin, uninstall, make smaller, or make them static.
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Seeing all your apps
You can find all your apps and programs in the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, slide up from the middle of the Start screen with your finger, or click the arrow near the lower-left corner of the Start screen.
If you want, you can also choose to see the Apps view first when you sign in. To learn how, see Personalize your PC.
When you install a new app from the Windows Store, it'll appear in the Apps view. Then, you can pin it to your Start screen or desktop taskbar if you want to get to it quickly.
Pinning apps you use often
You can pin your favorite apps to the Start screen and the desktop taskbar so you can get to them quickly and see updates on their tiles at a glance.
Step 1
Slide up from the middle of screen to get to the Apps view. (If you’re using a mouse, click the arrow near the lower-left corner of the screen.)
Step 2
Press and hold or right-click the app you want to pin. You can select more than one app and pin them all at once.
Step 3
Tap or click Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar. The apps you pinned will appear at the end of your Start screen or desktop taskbar.
Tip
To quickly search for an app, just start typing the name from either the Start screen or Apps view.
Unpinning apps from Start
If you decide you don’t want a tile to be on your Start screen any more, you can unpin it from Start. Unpinning an app is different than uninstalling it—if you unpin an app from your Start screen, the app will still appear when you search for it, and it’ll still be in the Apps view if you need to find it again.
To unpin an app from Start
1. On the Start screen, press and hold or right-click the tile you want to unpin.
You can select more tiles to unpin them all at once. To clear your selections, on the Start screen or in Apps view, tap or click an open space on the screen, or tap or click Customize.
2. Tap or click Unpin from Start.
The apps you selected will be removed from your Start screen, but will still appear in Apps view and when you search for them.
Organize your Start screen
Your Start screen is yours to organize and arrange. You can resize tiles and move them around in whatever way you want. For example, you can make the tiles you use more often bigger, and the ones you use less often smaller. You can size and arrange your tiles in a way that looks best to you. You can also group tiles together to help you keep track of your apps and use them more efficiently. However you choose to organize the tiles, customizing your Start screen makes it easier to get to the apps, folders, sites, and people you interact with the most.
To move a tile on your Start screen
1. On the Start screen, press and hold the tile you want to move. (If you’re using a mouse, click and hold the tile).
2. Drag the tile to where you want to place it.
To resize a tile on your Start screen
1. On the Start screen, press and hold the tile you want to resize. (If you’re using a mouse, right-click the tile.)
2. Tap or click Resize.
3. Choose the size you want.
To create a group of tiles
1. On the Start screen, press and hold or right-click the tiles you want to group together.
2. Drag them to an open space, and when a gray bar appears behind them, release the tiles. This will create a new group.
3. If you want to name the group, tap or click where it says Name group above the group, and then enter a new name.
Once you've created a group, you can move the entire group around on your Start screen.
To move a group of tiles
On the Start screen, pinch to zoom out. (If you’re using a mouse, click the zoom icon in the lower-right corner of your screen.)
2. Press and drag or click and drag the group of tiles you want to move to where you want it to go.
Once you’re done moving groups, tap or click anywhere on the screen to zoom back in.
FURTHER READING:
