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If you are having troubles booting Windows 8, you should most certainly try to fix the master boot record after booting into the safe mode or using the cmd launch option when booting from the Windows 8 DVD

What is MBR?

MBR or Master Boot Record is the second most important thing after the BIOS which can affect the windows startup in your PC.

This is the fixed "starting point” for booting a machine. When the machine is booted,

it looks here for required instructions and informations on how to boot the disk and load the operating system.

Many virus writers try to affect this critical portion.

Boot viruses are of this type.

Steps to fix MBR for Windows 8

1. Insert your Windows 8 DVD. Restart PC & start booting by pressing a key.

2. Click on next

3. Now, click on Repair your computer .

4. Next, click the option Troubleshoot among the 3 options shown on screen.

5. Click on Advanced options.

6. Then click on Command prompt.

7. The following prompt will appear.

... Read more »

If you are having problems finding all your programs, read this tutorial to learn how to find all of your Windows 8 apps, programs, tools

Microsoft Windows 8 comes with the streamlined, touch-friendly Metro User Interface. Metro UI replaces Windows start button and menu with a grid of tiles. If you are new in Windows 8, you must have seen that the installed programs are not appearing in the start menu, which was there till Windows 7. The Metro UI tiles launch software.

If you want to find out the shortcuts of the installed programs to access them, then read the instructions below.

Finding Programs (UI: Developer Preview Very Similar To Consumer Preview)

1. First switch to Metro user interface by pressing Windows button.

2. See the bottom right corner of Metro user Interface .You will see a Rightward Arrow icon there. Click on that icon quite a few times till your program icon appears on the screen.

3. If you want to open the program normally, then just left click on that icon.

But if you want to open the program with Administrative privilege,then Right click on it. Now click on Advanced and select Run as Administrator.

Now the program will be opened with administrative privilege.

First of all there is no boot.ini file in Windows 8, Windows 7 or Vista. It is now the boot manager. Go through this tutorial before editing boot settings in Windows 8.

What is boot.ini?

In Windows 2000, Xp and Windows 2003 boot.ini file can be seen. Its default location is C:\(drive, where the default or Primary OS is installed). It contains boot configuration data. This file is used by these Operating Systems to display a menu of operating systems currently on the computer and allows users to select what operating system to load.

What about Windows 8, 7 or Vista?

Windows 8, Windows 7 or Vista works differently. If you try to boot these Operating Systems using BOOT.INI and NTLDR, it will fail. NTLDR can’t load Windows 8 even if you have the boot.ini entry. For example, if you install Windows 8 in unallocated space on a computer running Windows XP and look inside the XP partition, you will find that the boot.ini file is changed and two lines have been added before the original boot.ini script.

There is a hidden system partition. As the system partition does not have a drive letter assignment, it can’t be seen. BCD or Boot Configuration Data is stored in a folder named \boot on this system partition. Like Windows 7, Windows 8 uses a boot manager (bootmgr.dll) which consults with the BCD ( in Boot folder) to locate the boot loader ( winload.exe).

What is the location of bootmgr.dll in Windows 8?

Bootmgr.dll is a hidden system file and it is located generally in the root directory of C:\ drive (always not necessary, it depends on installation history). If you are confused, simply navigate to Disk Management. The drive labeled System, Active will be the location of bootmgr.dll file.

Change Boot configuration in Windows 8

You may change boot configuration by editing bootmgr.dll. But it’s not wise to mess with bootmgr.dll unless you have good knowledge about it. However if you are determined to change bootmgr.dll, it is advised to create a recovery image of your existing system.

There’s a utility tool, EasyBCD to edit Boot Configuration. It is free for limited and non-commercial use.

Download EasyBcd

Windows 8 is designed to scale to all possible screen sizes and that includes extremely high pixel density displays such as the Retina Display standard used by Apple.

Windows 8 To Bring High Resolution Screen Devices To The PC Market

If there’s one thing that is inspiring a lot of vendors right now, it is a certain high resolution display toting device that has a pixel density (PPI or Pixels Per Inch) that matches the limit of the human eye. This has triggered a chain reaction where manufacturers are trying to come up with displays that not only have higher resolutions but go beyond the boring 72-96PPI range and venture in to densities that range from over 100 to nearly 300 PPI.

As a result, Windows 8 would have to scale not only in terms of resolution but also in terms of pixel density. So on the same 10inch screen, it might have to fit in many times more pixels than the basic 96 PPI. Microsoft takes to their Building Windows 8 blog in order to explain how they have achieved this feat and how they intend to make sure that they are competitive with the iPad’s (and the iPhone’s) retina display.

High Pixel Density Along With High Resolution Is Not New In Windows

Windows, like any other modern OS, has always been capable of display more pixels per inch at a given resolution. Since most displays have been using about 96PPI, higher resolutions have not usually been a problem because the screen size would increase with the resolution (because the pixel density is constant) and the elements on screen would remain perfectly readable.

But then came the situation where the same screen size now has higher resolution because of great pixel density. So a 20pixel onscreen element that was perfectly legible on a 96ppi screen, would become very difficult to decipher on a 200ppi screen. Thankfully, Windows has had a way of countering this by increasing the pixel density of the whole OS so that you don’t have to squint to do your regular work.

But it has had its problems because some applications would not draw right with a new pixel density. And some elements or applications would simply become too big and go off screen or behind the taskbar. Result — most users would accept that at 96ppi, things would be slightly small but still usable if you don’t scale them. And since you are using a mouse, your system it still quite usable.

Switch over to touch and this escalates from a minor annoyance to a huge problem. Everything has to be nice and well defined and of a goodly size to be usable. This is a problem that touch device users frequently face on websites and it is not going to go away because higher pixel density is not becoming mainstream.

Metro To Scale Smoothly On High Pixel Density And Resolution Minus Hiccups

So when it came to Windows 8, Microsoft had to find a solution to this and that is what they have done on the Metro side of Windows 8. Microsoft is already anticipating displays that match Apple’s Retina Display. In their illustration of the common screen sizes, there’s a 10.1” screen that has a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, making the density around 291ppi. The same resolution on a 11.6” device would have 253ppi.

As you can already see, these densities are a far cry from the 72-96ppi that we are used to. On common laptop screens, the densities will remain higher than the current average at around 125-157ppi.

Since Metro was designed from ground up to be extremely scalable, designing apps that scale across all screens is much easier. One of the ways this has been done is by limiting the minimum size to 1024×768 and a widescreen minimum of 1366×768. Snapped view will always be exactly 320 pixels wide. And the apps have resizing limitations as well. They will always maintain an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 4:3 depending on the screen. With all these rules in place, the number of possible situations where an app will have to adapt becomes manageable and quite predictable.

Scaling has also been limited to either 140% or 180%, which seems random at first but this will allow 1920×1080 and 2560×1440 screens to display content that are apparently the same size as 1366×768 but much sharper.

Apple Retina Display Matching Screens To Be Common On Windows 8, Says Microsoft

Microsoft mentioned that resolutions of 1920×1080 and 2560×1440 on 10inch and 11inch screens will be quite common on Windows 8 tablets, hinting at the fact that they will take on the newest iPad head on; at least as far as the display is concerned. Windows 8 will be intelligent enough to scale automatically to fit the screen.

The apps on Windows 8 Metro work on a system that automatically scales them to fit the screen. Developers will be required build scaling support right in and some of the elements will be automatically scaled by the system.

If you want to get back the classic start menu in Windows 8, refer to the tutorial below.

IMPORTANT: THIS TUTORIAL IS INTENDED FOR WINDOWS 8 DEVELOPER PREVIEW

Microsoft introduces Metro User Interface in Windows 8. The main difference between Metro UI and its
Predecessor is that, it doesn’t have the start menu like before. Rather it brings a new type of start menu with an exciting new look. But still many users prefer the old start menu, where everything can be done in one place, from searching to opening an application. If you also want to use that old start menu in Windows 8, then follow the instructions carefully.

1. Switch to Desktop Mode by pressing Windows + M simultaneously.

2. Press Windows + R to open the Run window. Now type regedit and then press Enter.

3. Now navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer.

4. Right click onRPEnabled and select Modify.

By default this value will be 1. Set this value to 0 to get back the old start menu like in Windows 7.
... Read more »

If you are new to customizing Windows, read our tutorial how to install icons in Microsoft’s latest iteration Windows 8

Sometimes you may want to add new icons created by yourself or found elsewhere in existing windows library.In such a situation this tutorial is really going to be helpful to you. You can easily create new customized .ico files and use them as your custom icons. process.
Just follow these steps properly to install custom icons in Windows 8.

A. Get new icons

You can create your own icons using various drawing editor like paint or Adobe Photoshop etc.
There are also some free sites to create icons online like this.
Create an icon and save it as ".ico”. For example I have created this one:- 

If you have not already created your own icon you can download icons from this site or from this site.
Save this to your desktop.

B. Use the new icon

Say you want to change the windows explorer icon. Follow these simple steps.

1. Go to Metro UI screen & right click on the "Windows Explorer” icon. As soon as you click you will see "Advanced” option in the bottom right corner.

2. Click on "Advanced” icon & select "Open file location”.

3. After the window has opened right clock on "windows explorer” & click on "Properties”.

4. In the properties window go to "Shortcut” tab. Press "Change ... Read more »

This tutorial will help you to learn how to log off in Windows 8. This can also be used to shutdown, restart or switch user accounts

Your computer can have multiple user account. You may need to leave the computer for other’s use or you may want to Log off your computer from an user account and log in to another account for any testing purpose. In that case follow the instructions below.

Steps to Log Off Windows 8 via Start Screens

1. First switch to Metro user interface by presing Windows button.

2. See the top right corner of Metro user Interface . You will see your User name is written there.

3. Now click on the User Account icon and the following window will appear.

Now click on Log Off to log off the machine.

If you want to install Windows 8 on a new partition, read this guide that explains how to access the "advanced” installation options

Do you want to give Windows 8 a try? But not sure to use Windows 8 as your Primary Operating System. Don’t worry, you can easily dual boot Windows 8 with your existing operating system. You just need a free Primary partition on your hard disk to install Windows 8. First of all you need to download 32 bit or 64 bit .iso file of Windows 8. Then Burn it to a DVD carefully.

Now, follow these steps carefully to install Windows 8 on a new partition.

1. Insert the DVD of Windows 8 and reboot the machine. It will automatically start to load the Windows files from your bootable DVD. If it does not detect the bootable Windows 8 installation DVD then make sure you have changed the boot option in the BIOS menu so that your optical drive is recognized before your active primary hard drive.

2. Set language preferences and then install Windows 8.

3. When you are opted for Custom or Installation. Click on Custom(Advanced) .

4. Then select the drive except the current Windows directory and install Windows 8.
When the installation is finished and machine is rebooted, then you will see two option for booting Windows Developer Preview and the previous one.

If you want to know how to navigate Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard, this guide will help you out a bit.

Metro interface of Windows 8 seems to be perfect for touch input but what about mouse control?

No doubt, navigation on non-touch devices (mouse or keyboard input) can be improved further in windows 8. Features like De-emphasizing scrollbars, Multi-gesture swiping etc. are still missing in Windows 8 mouse control. While touch input Windows 8 devices support all these things.

Here you can see some popular navigation operations performed using mouse.

Lock screen

Click and hold the bottom screen and drag it up to escape from lock screen. You can also double click on anywhere on the screen to do the same thing.

Switch to Metro UI

Click on the Start Menu icon to swtich to metro UI form desktop mode.

Open a Tile

Left click on the tile to open it.

Tile Property

Right Click on the tile to see the options available for that tile.

Move Tile

Click on the tile and hold it .Then drag that tile to the desired position.

Navigate Tiles

Scroll down to see the tiles of the right and scroll upward to see tiles of the left. Or you can simply click on the rightward arrow on the bottom of the screen or leftwared arrow to navigate the tiles in Metro UI.

Switch Applications

Take the cursor to the left of the screen and hold that for a second and you will see a very small window of the previous application you were in. Then Left click to opent that application

In order to make Metro apps, you have to download the Developer SDK first and then you can get started right away if you know how to program.

If you want to make Metro applications, you must have the following things:-

required Things to be downloaded:

• 1. Microsoft Visual Studio 2011.
• 2. The SDK tool from microsoft website.

You must have the basic knowledge of:-

• 1. XAML(Extensible Application Markup Language).
• 2. Visual Basic or
• 3. Visual C++ or
• 4. C#.

You will get details about SDK tool from Build.

For Metro applications, you have to go to Build. When you click on the "Build” tile, it will ask you for
a Live Id. If you already have a Live Id, then just sign in else create a Live Id and then Sign In
using Build.

Then the Build Window will appear with various popular tutorials in it.

You can follow the tutorials mentioned there, of your choise, and start designing your  ... Read more »

Are you an avid fan of Minecraft and want to play Minecraft right now on Windows 8? Nothing easier than that, follow this tutorial.

Minecraft is a game about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine. It is an online game.
Though it was pretty good till with windows 7. This polpular game had no issue with Windows 8′s predecessor. But somehow, It creates
problems in Windows 8.
In these tutorial, you can learn how to play Minecraft in Windows 8.

1. If you want to play Minecraft for free, please download this file from
here

2. Right-click on My Computer and select Property.

3. Now click on Advanced Sytem Settings

4. Now click on the Environment Variables button below.

5. Next click on the New button just below the variable names.

6. In the Variable name section, type Path.
... Read more »

You constantly have a high latency / ping in games while playing on Windows 8? No worries, we’ve got you covered! Let’s reduce that latency.

What is latency?

The time taken to send a package(unit of data) between two points in a network is called latency.
In other words, we can say, latency is the delay that may be found in audio or video transmission because of
inherent limitations of a digital system. Latency generally increases when more bandwidth is required than
available bandwidth.

In TCP-IP error control mechanism windows sends an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT message to the sender
(e.g. Game server) to confirm network package is successfully received (from the sender). The sender
(e.g. Game server) waits until it receives the ACKWOLEDGEMENT message from the receiver
(Windows) for the last sent network package before sending another network package to receiver (windows).
So, any congestion in Network can increase latency.

Low Latency Network and its advantages

In low latency network the design of the system, hardware and protocols are in such a manner that it minimizes the time taken to move units of data between any two points on that network.

Some applications are more affected by latency and reduced latency helps them to be worked properly. Like:-
Voice based applications (VoIP)

Networked Games (LAN and online gameplay)

Streaming (Audio or Video)

Sometimes while playing games (like Counter strike, FIFA, age of emperor etc.) over LAN you may experience audio or video is very jerky because of higher latency.
By reducing the latency you can improve Networked or Online games.

Enabling the TCPNoDelay we can reduce latency.
Follow these steps properly to reduce latency in Windows 8.

Steps to reduce latency in windows 8

1. Press window+R to start "Run”prompt.
and type regedit in Run then click on OK.

... Read more »

If you want to remove write protection from your USB drive, refer to the instructions below.

What is Write Protection & Disable Write Protection

Sometimes, virus gets attached to your pen drive and it becomes write protected i.e. you can’t copy anything into it although you can read it and copy data from USB device to hard disk.
The above picture is about such an error.

Some devices also has a write protection switch in its hardware part like the following

Different Solutions to this Problem

Editing Registry

Most frequently this problem can be solved using registry editing

Press window+R to start "Run”prompt.

Type regedit into it & press enter & allow it by pressing Yes

Registry editor has been started & expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Expand SYSTEM & go to SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control

Search for StorageDevicePolicies & change value of WriteProtect to 0

Format USB drive

If the usb drive is still "Write protected” then you may perform a "low-level format” on the drive.
Download this software to perform the "low-level format” of the USB drive.
... Read more »

Windows 8 has been consistently performing at the top against Windows 7 in multiple benchmark tests that are used to gauge a OS’ performance, speed, etc.

Windows 8 Better Than Windows 7 At Most Benchmark Tests

This shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone — Windows 8 Consumer Preview has been beating Windows 7 at most of the benchmark tests performed on both platforms. The tests were run by the good people of PC World and the results show that Windows 8 is a much more fine tuned cat than its predecessor Windows. Most of the tests showed that Windows 8 was overall faster and in some cases much faster that Windows 7.

Since this was a comparison test, both platforms were tested on the same machine configuration — Intel Core i5-2500K at 3.3 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, 1 TB hard drive, and an NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti video card. It was benchmarked with the WorldBench 7 batch of tests and Windows 8 scored 14% over Windows 7. The report says that 5% performance difference is a noticeable difference, which means 14% is considerably better.

Things that were faster on Window 8 included things like: -

Start up time — 36.8 seconds against 56.2
Web performance through WebVizBench — 28.6 FPS against 18.9

However, Windows 7 was seen being faster at content creation than Windows 8. The difference was very subtle though and it is possible that Windows 8 just needs better drives for the components in order to perform better at heavy load content creating tasks as well. But that would only happen once Windows 8 is commercially launched.

For content creation, Windows 7 scored higher than Windows 8 on PCMark. The scores for Office productivity were — 2280 for Windows 7 and 2099 for Windows 8.

A pair of Microsoft’s seal of approval bearing app make the process of restarting, logging-off or shutting down much easier than what the user has to go through on the stock version of Windows 8.

Two Microsoft Approved Apps make for easy shutdown and restarting on Windows 8

Microsoft Approves Of Easy Shut Down/Restart Apps

Since Windows 8 is designed to not need as many shut downs and restarts as the previous versions, Microsoft has buried the shutdown and associated options deep underneath the digital foliage. So the process of getting to these options is exceedingly non-intuitive. There are workarounds however, which we have already posted but they require a teeny bit of tinkering to make custom Metro UI tiles on the Start Screen. If you are loathe to do even that much, you will definitely like what Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld has found on the Microsoft website.

Hidden deep inside the website as mentions of two apps that make life a lot easier for users who want to shut down and restart frequently.

To shutdown/restart from the Metro UI, you will have to get the Charms bar out, go to the Settings charm and then choose the Power option which will have the Shut down and Restart options. Alternatively, you will have to press Alt+F4 on the Desktop to bring up a special dialog that gives you options for shutting down, restarting or putting the device to sleep. Since you are probably using Windows 8 on a desktop or laptop that has no touchscreen, the experience would rate quietly high on frustration and inefficiency.

Now go to the Microsoft Gadgets site for personalization by using this link —

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize/gadgets

…and find one of these two apps —

Control System with Clock by Keat
TOP – Vista Shutdown Control by Markus

Install any one and you will be pleasantly surprised with a sudden appearance of icons that are one-click shortcuts for shut down, restart, sleep and log off. And both come with clocks. How splendid!

Windows 8 for Windows Phone (Apollo) is definitely going to be better but new rumors claim that Lumia phones running Windows Phone 8 will be better than the current version by a wide margin.

Lumia Phones To Become Amazing With Windows Phone 8

According to a long winded chain of rumormongering, it has been uncovered that Nokia has been working on Windows Phone 8 devices and they are apparently many times better than the current Lumia phones.

According to the statement from a Nokia engineer quoted in the original post by Phone Arena, the next batch of Windows Phone models will be called Nokia Prodigy and they will are "Incredible”.

The rumor seems to have originated from the Twitter stream of user Cosimo, who recently posted the following tweet: -

"Today I met a Nokia employee. Nokias Apollo devices will be incredible. But still Microsoft…Meh..Also have some good news for Meltemi.”

Even though he praises the Windows Phone Apollo devices, the twitter stream shows a clear bias towards the N9 and apathy for Microsoft, which is strange for a Nokia employee because he ought to be rather busy with showing the upcoming Windows Phone in a good light, especially since it has not been been launched yet. But on the other hand, it is possible for employees within Nokia to disregard Windows Phone and stick to the older Symbian platform.

Nokia has of course not made any comments on this story and neither have they released any information regarding Apollo phones. And they would not do so till it was just about time to launch them.

The Finnish phone maker is currently busy promoting the Lumia phones all over the world. It is Nokia’s ticket to recapturing a lot of the lost smartphone market and for the world’s largest mobile handset manufacturer, that is quite a shame.

Internet Explorer 10 or IE10 on Windows 8 comes in two version — the Desktop and Metro — and here’s how they are similar yet so very different.

Dealing With The Split Personality Of IE10 On Windows 8

You can choose which version of IE10 will be your default browser on Windows 8. The factory setting is contextual — links clicked in Metro open in Metro and links from Desktop open in Desktop. Which is basically great for those who have a different workflow for each Metro and Desktop. However, most of us just want a simple, one thing does it all browsing experience. So here’s a closer look at the two sides of IE10 and you can then choose which on you like best. Spoiler: if you have a tablet or touchscreen PC, things are pretty much self-explanatory — you are far better of using Metro.

There are two major differences between the two side of IE10 and one major similarity. The first and obvious difference lies in the UI, of course, as the Desktop side looks more like what have been used to on Windows so far and the Metro side is more about touch based controls and minimal design. The other difference lies in the fact that IE10 on Metro is devoid of any plugin. It is pushing the Internet to become self-reliant using recent developments like HTML5. So there’s no Flash or Active X. However, those technologies are still present in the Desktop side.

The major similarity is in the background — they are both based on the same engine and they share things like history items.

Experience-wise, Metro is much more immersive. Everything gets out of your way as soon as you stop using them, leaving you with a fullscreen view of whatever page you are on. If you need any of the tools, they are just a swipe or a tap away. Plus there are quick shortcuts to frequently visited sites and pinned sites that you can access on the fly. The Desktop mode on the other hand is exactly what Internet Explorer has been like all this time with its toolbars and menus; perfect for power users and those who absolutely must have plugins.

So choose your use-case scenario and you will automatically know which one’s the best for you. However, if you are on a touchscreen, you will absolutely love using the Metro version and would probably have a frustrating time with the Desktop edition.

News reports from a tech expo in Bahrain talk about Microsoft putting end of this year as the launch date for Windows 8.

Microsoft Says It Will Launch Windows 8 By The End Of This Year In Bahrain

A two day expo called Microsoft Open Door has just taken place in Bahrain. It is an event support by the Bahrain Government in order to take advantage of the upcoming Windows 8 OS and Office 365 cloud service. But the main point of interest is what Microsoft had to say about the OS. Regional news reports suggest that Microsoft officially answered a question about the launch timings of Windows 8, saying that it would launch some time towards the end of the year. As for Office 365, they said it was coming summer this year, which is not that far away.

Microsoft has so far made no official announcements about when it intends to release Windows 8. So the news of this statement comes as a surprise. These reports fall in with what has already been rumored about Windows 8 — Microsoft is very close to achieving Release Candidate stage by this summer and that would translate in to a late 2012 commercial release. Some have even claimed that Windows 8 is currently on schedule for an October release so that it can build up to the holiday season sales.

The expo was majorly sponsored by industry stalwarts HP and Dell with exhibits from other companies like Fujitsu, Exceed, docuBox also present. A regional Microsoft manager for Bahrain and Oman also stated that Microsoft has a long standing with Bahrain and these kind of activities are important for boosting nation building efforts with access and introductions to newer platforms and technologies.

Installing Windows 8 themes requires you to replace system files, here’s how you would do that in Windows 8

Sometimes you may see that Windows is not running properly because one or more system files (like autochk.exe, msscntrs.dll, msdtcprx.dll etc.) got corrupted. In that situation to avoid fresh installation of windows corrupted system files need to be replaced.

Not only that, to use some custom themes or to change the default Start Orb you need to change explorer.exe, shell32.dll etc. files, which are also system files. So, it is very important to know how to replace system files before doing all these stuffs.

Creating Back up

Before starting with the following process, make sure that:-

A. System Image back up has been taken.

B. A set of bootable recovery media has been created.

Steps to replace system files in windows 8

The whole process can be divided in two main steps:-

A. Taking ownership of system files.

B. Changing the name of original system files and copying new file in exact location.

What is Ownership?

Ownership of a file means permission of owner of that file. In an Operating system, during some file operation, you may get an error message "Access Denied” and one of the reason behind this error message is that you are not the owner of that file or folder. So you don’t have the permission for that operation. In that case you have to take the ownership of that file.

Follow the instructions below to replace system files in Windows 8.

1. Download the file Take Ownership.zip from here.

2. Extract the file .You will get 2 registry editor file in that folder. One is Install Take Ownership and another one isUninstall Take Ownership .

... Read more »

It seemed for a while that Media Center was to live as an integral part of Windows 8 as a feature but now there are rumors that it will have a separate version.

Windows 8 Professional Media Center Version?

Windows Media Center has been through a lot of evolution and it was finally settled that it will live on as a major feature inside Windows 8. However, industry whistle blower Winunleaked has offered a different perspective in the case. According to a post, there’s a Pro Pack edition that is called the ProfessionalWMC. There’s no telling what this is for though. It could just be a separate SKU for Windows 8 Professional but then that separate mention of Windows Media Center does look suspicious.

There are reasons for Microsoft to leave out the Windows Media Center from the main builds of Widnwos 8 though. One the main being the licensing costs. There codecs used inside the Media Center that are licensed from Dolby Digital and the likes. These codecs must be paid for by the buyer with every copy of Media Center that is sold. That is how it works. But then that also means it will raise the price of any OS that it is part of. Higher costs will mean slower adaptation and that is not something that Microsoft should want to risk right now.

Windows 8 is banking on the fact that there will be quick user adaptation followed by the enterprise. This is the only way Microsoft can pave way for a rapid development that will usher in the new era of touch first that this new OS is so very emphatic about.

As of now, there’s nothing really to go by on, so we will just have to be satisfied with speculations. There are rumors that the launch of the new OS will happen in the fall this year but nothing’s final so far.