The desktop in the Windows 8 beta offers no Start button and a few shortcuts. How can you easily populate it with your favorite programs? Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and ...

Microsoft is bringing more of the Metro user interface to Windows 8’s desktop, swapping frosted glass for sharp edges and minimalist icons. The aesthetic change, spotted by Engadget, was quietly ...

Microsoft introduced a completely redesigned user interface called Metro with the release of Windows 8, but it didn't make it easy to turn it off if you or your employees prefer desktop-based, ...

Leaked builds of Microsoft's Windows 8 are providing more clues as to what kinds of user behaviors will and won't be permitted. Skipping Metro is right out. Mary Jo Foley Mary Jo Foley has covered the ...

Windows 8 has two environments: the full screen, touch-centric Windows Store App interface (also called Metro) and the Desktop interface, which looks and acts like Windows 7. If you install programs ...

The desktop environment in Windows 8.1 is pretty good. This was not the message that Microsoft conveyed at its Windows 10 launch event last week, a presentation that had Microsoft’s historically ...

A rumor is making the rounds, based on leaked Windows Blue code, that the newest version of Windows will let you bypass the Start screen and boot directly to the Desktop. If true, that solve a major ...

Microsoft has provided a detailed explanation of how desktop search will work in Windows 8, spelling out a future where the default results will all be apps. For one thing, search will be activated ...

Buying a new Windows 8 device isn’t as simple as, say, picking up a new Android tablet. The device-spanning nature of the overhauled operating system means Windows works on a vast array of hardware, ...

Blurry desktop wallpaper on a Windows 8 system may be an indication of a problem with the device's display settings. Desktop wallpaper can be detailed or visually impressive, so that if there are any ...

Windows 8 has two environments: the full screen, touch-centric Windows Store App interface (also called Metro) and the Desktop interface, which looks and acts like Windows 7. If you install programs ...