Finally there is a one-stop solution for tweaking Windows 8 Metro UI and other features on Windows 8 explorer. In fact it can be called as a ‘live’ replacement for the old Start menu and the taskbar. The following screenshot gives us an idea of how the Metro UI looks like.

For this all you have to do is to run the Metro UI Tweaker ( portable EXE file in Download link at the bottom) and select the applicable options.

How to Customize Metro UI

• Disable Metro Start menu to get back Windows 7 like Start Menu( screenshot below)

Windows 7 start menu in Windows 8

• Disable the Explorer Ribbons to get back normal Windows 7 like explorer (screenshot below)

• Add Log Off / Sleep / ShutDown / Lock / All application shortcuts to Metro UI (screenshot below)
• Add any file or application to the Metro Start Menu.

Hope the tutorial answers all questions about partially or completely customizing the Windows 8 Metro UI, Windows 8 explorer. Do drop in your comments.

Links: Download Windows 8 Metro UI Tweaker

Related posts:

• Metro Styled Twitter Client for Windows – MetroTwit
• How to enable Hibernate Option in Windows Vista/Windows 7
• Microsoft to Introduce Windows Store with Windows 8 Platform
• Customize Your Folders According to Priorities

-- This Post Customize Windows 8 Metro UI with Metro UI Tweaker is Published on Devils Workshop .

Shareware is not bad, for example, Gimp can’t replace Photoshop. But unless and until it’s worth it, you should keep avoiding shareware. Here are a few types of softwares you never really need to buy.

1#. Anti-Viruses

If you’re spending money on buying, renewing Anti-virus licenses, note that Microsoft itself provides an Anti-virus, completely free. MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) is just more than enough, to run it, all you need is genuine Windows. Best of all, it’s light with very less memory foot print.

Finally, sometimes common sense is all you need to remove viruses from your Windows.

Link: Microsoft Security Essentials 

#2. Registry Cleaners

The web is full of these crappy registry cleaners advertisements which literally do nothing, they rarely effect the performance of Windows.

#3. Maintenance Softwares

If you’re thinking that softwares like Tune Up Utilities will increase your system’s speed, then you’re completely wrong. I myself have tried many maintenance softwares and I have never experienced a performance boost. All they do is, clean temporary files (which you can do with CCleaner), fix registry errors (not necessary), defragment drives (only needed for XP, it hardly has effect on Vista and 7).

As Windows is evolving, system maintenance is getting automated and you don’t need a special software for that, though, it’s good to have CCleaner.

Link: CCleaner

#4. Backup and Sync

Paying for File-backup services like Dropbox is not a bad deal, but take a look at other services, especially the space they give, before paying for any such service. If you’re using Dropbox and 2GB is not sufficient for you, then I would suggest you to check out Wuala (detailed review here) or Livemesh.

Link: Livemesh | Wuala

#5. Download Accelerators

Download accelerators like DAP (Download Accelerator Pro), IDM (Internet Download Manager) etc. offer premium version of their apps, if you end up buying such softwares, here are a few freeware apps which do the same thing, for free.

Down Them All

If you use Firefox, you must have already knew about this, it’s the best download manager built into a browser. Unfortunately, it’s not available for other browsers, nor as a standalone app.

Link: DownThemAll 

Microsoft Download Manager

Developed my Microsoft itself, has a clean UI and does what it suppose to do. Although, I would recommend Down Them All over Microsoft Download Manager.

Link: Microsoft Download Manager

These are just the top 5, CD/DVD burning softwares like Nero are also really not worth buying (when is the last time you used a CD burner?). In this web, a percentage of paid apps are just bloatware. They are stuffed with unnecessary features which increase the size of it and certainly the price of it will also be high.

Related posts:

• Top 5 Types of Facebook Users
• #4: PHP Tutorials for Beginners – Data Types
• [Infographic] The 6 Different Types of Twitter Profiles!
• #5: PHP Tutorials for Beginners – Data Types (Continued)

-- This Post 5 Types of Software You Don’t Need To Buy is Published on Devils Workshop .

Here is a list of Windows 8 features, and these are confirmed ones, not rumors.

What’s new in Windows 8?

• Windows 8 (beta) aka Windows Next(beta) is confirmed to release in September (that’s just a few weeks away), although the stable version will be available in 2012.
• Windows 8 will support Tablets too, just like Android and iOS. So, the mobile OS wars won’t be boring anymore.

• Windows 8 will feature a customizable start screen showing tiles of most of used apps (as in the picture above), so you don’t need to keep those shortcuts on your desktop.
• Windows 8 will support web technologies like HTML5 and Javascript. These apps will run just like the normal ones. If you haven’t experienced HTML5 yet, check out Beat The Boot, it’s a game from Google, powered by HTML5.
• Windows Explorer will get a ribbon UI just like Paint, MS Office and other Microsoft products. It will also get a ‘up’ button beside the forward button.

• Windows 8 will come preloaded with Internet Explorer 10, even though most of them might not be interested in it.
• You can integrate Windows 8 with your Live ID, this means all Microsoft products like Hotmail, Live Mesh etc will be easier to manage. Although, this is optional.
• The ‘Time Machine’ feature which is present in the Mac OS is available as History Vault in Windows 8. With History Vault you can backup important files to another drive.

• Another feature ‘System Reset’ will let you to restore system settings to default ones (factory settings). This is useful especially when you find your system unstable and unable to find which software is the culprit.
• If you’ve a Pen drive of at least 16GB size, you can run Windows 8 from it! This feature named ‘Portable Workspace’ let’s you run Windows 8 from a USB (which contains the setup files).

• Compared to Win 7, Windows 8 will take less time to boot with ‘Hybrid Boot’. With Hybrid Boot, Windows 8 keeps certain files pre-loaded, thus, it takes less time to boot.
• Another improvement in the interface section is ‘Aero Auto-colorization’, with this you can predefine the color of the elements like Taskbar, Start menu, Windows Explorer etc.

• You don’t need to use file copiers like Teracopy etc on Windows 8 as the File copying process is optimized, check the full article.
• Windows 8 will support USB 3.0 which promises super fast file copying, as fast as 1 GB/ 5 seconds!

• Windows Appstore is now confirmed, this also means that installing and uninstalling apps will be as easy as pie!
• Built in PDF viewer, no more sluggish Adobe Reader. This is another feature Microsoft took from Mac OS.
• Native ISO and VHD files support, you will no more need 3rd party tools to create and manage ISO files.

 

Those are the confirmed Windows 8 features with leaked screenshots.

Will Windows 8 be another Vista? Do tell us what do you think.

Source: Building Windows 8

Related posts:

• New Features in Windows Live Writer 2009
• [Confirmed] NASDAQ systems hacked!
• Microsoft to Introduce Windows Store with Windows 8 Platform
• Windows 8 Shows-off Super Fast Boot Up

-- This Post 17 New Confirmed Features with Windows 8 is Published on Devils Workshop .

Unselect / Select Applications with msconfig

• Click on start (the windows icon), in the search column, type in ‘msconfig‘ and select the ‘msconfig’ program that appears. It’s a configuration option that microsoft had made to help users.

• It will open a new window. If you want to disable all the start up item, you can deselect the ‘Load startup Items‘, in the general -> Selective Startup -> Load startup items ( see the image). I don’t actually recommend it, because there will be several useful startup programs like security softwares and all. So, navigate to the tab ‘Start up‘

• Under the startup tab, you can see a list of all the programs that are designed to load at the Startup. You can individually stop these services by unselecting them.

Doing this can help you to stop those irritating startup programs like Gtalk, PC suites etc, which you might not use all the time and hence want it not to run by default every time you start the computer.

If you are using laptop then reducing this load on your computer will see a good increase in your computer’s speed along the battery lasting a lot longer.

Do drop in your comments.

Related posts:

• [Windows Tip] Get Notified When Any Program Registers Itself to Run at System Startup
• 2 ways to remove start-up items to decrease Windows boot time!
• Easily Launch Applications on your Computer with ‘Launchy’ [Windows & Linux]
• 7 Essential Applications after Fresh Windows Installation

-- This Post [Windows Tip] Select Which Applications You Want to Run During Startup! is Published on Devils Workshop .

Microsoft UK, has launched a website which will add to the confusion by giving its own recommendation

Microsoft introduces “The Collection”

• In case you are looking at purchasing a new computer than runs on Windows 7, then looking up Microsoft’s recommendation will be quite helpful.

• The categories that the PCs and laptops are arranged, are Everyday, Mobile Companion, Professional, Entertainment and finally Gaming.
• There were over 29 computers recommended by Microsoft for Windows 7 and most of them were the latest models. I could not find many older models on the website.
• Once you click on one of the recommendation, it pulls up complete specifications of the computer.
• It also has a line explaining why Windows recommends that particular model along with price.

In case you are looking to buy a new computer running Windows 7, a good idea would be to look up Microsoft’s “The Collection” for the latest models and why it is recommended by Microsoft Windows.

I do not think this will encourage more people to opt for Windows, but it is a valuable tool for people to look up for people who are already set on buying a computer with Windows 7. Do drop in your comments.

Link: Windows 7 The Collection

Related posts:

• Microsoft to Introduce Windows Store with Windows 8 Platform
• Microsoft to Launch Windows 7 on October 22
• Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC1 is Officially Released by Microsoft!
• Microsoft plans to remove browser from Windows 7 in Europe; E.U. not impressed!

-- This Post [Windows 7] Get Help from Microsoft While Choosing New PC or Laptop is Published on Devils Workshop .

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is used extensively in Web Development and maintenance. Using FTP is simple and does not need any software (only the protocol has to be installed on your Operating system). You can even directly connect to your web server using the following pattern: ftp://yourwebsite.com/, however this might be a tedious thing using it directly on your Web browser. FTP clients are meant to make this work much easier and systematic.

The three popular FTP clients I know of, available on web are:

1. FileZilla – It’s a Free, fast and reliable cross-platform FTP client and even supports FTPS and SFTP protocols.

Courtesy: Official website

Few of its features are:

• Cross-platform support for Windows, Mac OS, Linux and more
• Supports IPv6 pattern
• Supports multiple languages
• Supports drag & drop for files
• Supports file editing remotely
• Supports remote file search

2. FireFTP – It’s a fast and secure FTP client for Mozilla Firefox and offers cross-platform support, in simple words, it works wherever Firefox works. Its even supports SSL/TLS/SFTP protocols which are considered excellent in terms of Web security.

Courtesy: Official website

Few of its features are:

• Offers Directory comparison support, even compares Sub-directories
• Support for more than 20 languages
• Supports Dragging & Dropping
• Offers file compression using MODE Z
• Supports Proxies
• Supports IPv6 protocol

3. SmartFTP – And here’s the last but not the least FTP client which lets you safely manage files on your web-server. It does offer FTP, FTPS, SFTP and SSH protocols which makes it pretty reliable in terms of security as well. There are limitations in the features based on the license you select.

Courtesy: Official website

Few of the common features are:

• Full File and Folder synchronization
• 20+ Languages supported
• Offers IPv6 support
• Compression supported with MODE Z
• Drag & Drop supported
• Establish Multiple Connections simultaneously
• Transfer verification using: XCRC, XMD5, XSHA
• Server to Server File Transfer support
• Supports Proxies and Firewall
• Caching of Remote Directories

I hope the above information is useful to you while working with your files on a remote server. You can also get detailed information on their specific websites and download the software directly. Do drop in your comments.

Related posts:

• 2 WordPress Plugins to Make FTP Clients Obsolete
• View Passwords Stored by Internet Explorer, Yahoo, Google Talk Messengers & Email Clients!
• 10 Most Popular Posts This Week! [07 - 13 Nov 2011]
• Popular websites still not using SSL

-- This Post 3 Popular FTP Clients for Windows is Published on Devils Workshop .

1. Drivers : You can install drivers from your motherboard CD or if you want latest drivers for your PC go to the official website of which the motherboard is and download the latest drivers and install them in your PC.
2. Winrar : The most commonly used tool is Winrar. After installation of fresh copy of Windows, it is a must have tool.
3. Anti Virus and Firewall : If you want a free antivirus product, I recommend using AVG 11 Free or Avast Home Edition. For a free firewall product, you can go with Commodo Firewall Pro.
4. Download Manager : There are many download managers out there but one of my favorites is Free Download Manager, alternatively you can also go for Flashget.
5. Tweaking Software : You must have a Windows tweaking application installed in your system. I use Tuneup Utilities 2009 and if you want a freeware I recommend you to use TweakNow PowerPack.
6. Internet Browser : No doubt, Firefox still takes the first place. Although it is a personal choice when it comes to browsers. I personally like Chrome.
7. Pdf Document Viewer : The most commonly used pdf viewer is Adobe Acrobat. If you want a light and easy to use reader than you can try Foxit.

Have I missed any application which you think should be included in the list? Please let me know through comments.

Related posts:

• Portable Applications for Windows User – Download & Run without Installation!
• Solution for “This installation can only be uninstalled on 64-bit windows”
• Easily Launch Applications on your Computer with ‘Launchy’ [Windows & Linux]
• [Windows Tip] Select Which Applications You Want to Run During Startup!

-- This Post 7 Essential Applications after Fresh Windows Installation is Published on Devils Workshop .

Recently Microsoft Kitchen blog has leaked few images and documents of Windows 8 which are watermarked as “Microsoft Confidential- released to Derek.Goode@hp.com”. The images also give a brief about the features of Windows 8.

Here are few features of Windows 8 according to leaked images:

• Face recognition technique
• Touch Display
• Includes Kinnet-like features
• Automatic shutdown as soon as you move away from your system
• Easily switch between users, as soon as new user comes in front of camera
• Supports USB 3 and Bluetooth 3
• Connect Windows account to Cloud

It seems Microsoft making itself ready for getting into competition with Apple, because the images are titled as “How Apple does it: A virtuous cycle”. But I guess, Microsoft has to cross long distance to get in competition with Apple OS.

Check out the following leaked images of Windows 8:

There is no official announcement from Microsoft that these slides are real nor there is any mention about release date of Windows 8, so until Microsoft don’t announce officially about Windows 8 features and images, enjoy the rumor.

Also read:

• 2 ways to remove start-up items to decrease Windows boot time!
• 3 Tools To Search Files and Folders in Windows OS

Images via: MsfKitchen

Related posts:

• Windows Mobile 7 OS Set to Launch- Pics Leaked
• Microsoft’s Windows 7 Leaked on the Internet!
• Apple iPhone 4S; on sale from October 14th [Leaked]
• Personal Details of 100 mn Facebook users leaked online

-- This Post Leaked Documents of Windows 8 is Published on Devils Workshop .

You may want to reduce the size of hibernate file in order to free disk space. So, if you can reduce the size of hibernate file in Windows 7 by following the simple guide below:

1. Open Command Prompt by typing CMD, right click and select Run As Administrator.

2. In Command Prompt, type the following line

Powercfg –h –size percentsize

Percentsize refers to the percentage value so replace it with a value for instance, 70% but remember that the file size cannot be smaller than 50%

3. And you are done.

Do let us know which operating system you are using? Are you using the Hibernate feature of your Operating system?

Related posts:

• Enable Hibernate Option on Windows Vista
• How to enable Hibernate Option in Windows Vista/Windows 7
• Diffrence Between Actual “Size” and “Size On Disk”
• Windows Software: Copy Handler to replace windows worst built-in file copy/paste feature!

-- This Post Reduce Hibernate File Size in Windows 7 is Published on Devils Workshop .

About Error Goblin

• I very often I get a error code which leaves me totally flummoxed about what has gone wrong. One way to deal with this is to start looking up the error code on Google and get links to some KB article on a Microsoft Support website.
• Sometimes there is no real need for this entire process and you might not be connected to the internet. This is where I feel Error Goblin can be quite handy.
• As you can see in the image above I had checked out what Error code 0xe2 meant. It correctly shows that the file contains a virus and cannot be opened.

The other great feature of this website is I can download the error code descriptions locally just in case when I am searching for a error code and do not have access to the internet. If you liked reading this post you might also be interesting in reading about an application to repair and fix Windows automatically.

Do you use Windows and would you feel this website could help you troubleshoot your way out of error codes? Do let us know through your comments.

(via MakeUseOf )

Related posts:

• Solution: “Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator” [Windows Error]
• [Tip] How To Fix Printer Offline Error on Windows!
• Why Disabling Error Report in Windows is Not a Cool Idea?
• Find Faulty Driver/Software Crashing Windows Using BlueScreenView

-- This Post Find meaning of Windows Error codes with Error Goblin is Published on Devils Workshop .