Operating Systems

Microsoft is betting big on artificial intelligence and generative AI at all levels of the company, from servers and Azure down to individual Windows PCs. And that big bet is about to become a lot more visible on Windows machines in the future, as Microsoft has instructed Windows OEMs to change their keyboard layouts to include a dedicated key for their Copilot AI service. Replacing the Menu key (or equivalent) on Windows 11 laptop keyboards, the repurposed key will instead provide direct access to Copilot, launching Microsoft's hub application for on-system AI. The Copilot key's primary function is to activate the Copilot generative AI assistant in Windows 11, provided that it the system has Copilot installed and logged in to a Microsoft account. Otherwise, on...

Windows 8.1 Update Now Available

October 17th is here, and as previously announced by Microsoft Windows 8.1 is now shipping. Microsoft’s service pack/update for Windows 8 is being distributed through the Windows 8 Store. Microsoft...

105 by Ryan Smith on 10/17/2013

Windows 8.1 Preview Released

Coinciding with Microsoft’s BUILD 2013 conference this week, the public preview of Windows 8.1 has been released over at Microsoft’s Windows website. Windows 8.1 (née Blue) is Windows 8’s first...

52 by Ryan Smith on 6/26/2013

Windows 8.1 Sings the Blues

There’s a saying dating back to the early MS-DOS days: “Wait for the point release.” The implication was that the x.0 version of any new MS-DOS was sure to...

76 by Jarred Walton on 5/30/2013

The Windows RT Review

Meet Windows RT. It’s Microsoft’s first major foray into the modern tablet market, the shipping version of Windows-on-ARM, and it’s one of Microsoft’s most important product launches ever. Windows...

233 by Vivek Gowri & Anand Lal Shimpi on 10/25/2012

Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Goes Gold; GM Released To Developers

In a bit of a double-whammy of operating system news today, word comes that Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion has gone gold. Apple released the Golden Master (GM...

12 by Ryan Smith on 7/9/2012

In-Depth with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Windows has changed a lot since Windows 95 ushered in the modern era of the desktop operating system almost two decades ago—the underlying technology that makes Windows what it...

286 by Andrew Cunningham, Ryan Smith, Kristian Vättö & Jarred Walton on 3/9/2012

Microsoft Demonstrates Windows to Go

Windows 8 supports installation to removable flash media via a feature called Windows to Go. Your apps, settings, and OS can all be installed to a USB stick and...

12 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/29/2012

Microsoft Demos Windows 8 on 82-inch Touchscreen

Microsoft is talking a lot about the importance of touch input to the Windows 8 experience in everything from tablets to high-end desktops. To show just how far you...

23 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/29/2012

Microsoft Shows Windows 8 CP on Tegra 3, Krait, OMAP 5 & Clover Trail

Update: Despite Microsoft referring to the test platform as running on a next-generation OMAP processor, TI tells us that the Windows 8 tablet was running an OMAP 4470, not...

4 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/29/2012

The Windows 8 Copy Dialog Box

Microsoft revamped the Copy Dialog box in Windows 8. You now get useful visualizations of the progress and speed of your file copy. You can also pause/resume individual copies...

17 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/29/2012

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Event Scheduled For Feb 29

Windows aficionado Paul Thurrott has just confirmed that the Windows 8 Consumer Preview event will be held in Barcelona, Spain on February 29, 2012. Coming from Mr. Thurrott, we...

12 by Saumitra Bhagwat on 2/9/2012

Windows Thin PC: Windows, Slimmed Down

Last month, Microsoft released a Community Technology Preview (CTP, in essence a public beta) of something called Windows Thin PC. This business-oriented operating system’s given purpose is both to...

47 by Andrew Cunningham on 4/28/2011

Windows Home Server v2 'Vail': Drive Extender v2 Dismissed

Back in April we dissected Drive Extender v2 – Microsoft’s storage pool and data duplication technology for Windows Home Server – based upon the first preview release of Windows...

45 by Ryan Smith on 11/24/2010

Windows Home Server v2 'Vail' Beta: Drive Extender v2 Dissected

Yesterday Microsoft released the first public beta of the next version of Windows Home Server, currently going under the codename of Vail (or as we like to call it...

52 by Ryan Smith on 4/27/2010

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