Windows 10 Leak Reveals Cortana Search Bar, Updated Apps

Microsoft has already shown the groundwork for Windows 10 on the Developer Preview, the new start menu, build in metro-apps on desktop and various interfaces for power users show a gradual move to one OS design for all types of users. The second event for Windows 10 is scheduled for January 21, but the big announcements may have already been leaked online, in a new ‘Build 9901’, cited as the Windows 10 consumer edition preview.
Released a few days ago, the main features on the new preview include Cortana, an new Xbox app and various updates to the interface.

Starting with the Cortana search menu, Microsoft is essentially importing all data from Windows Phone or starting from scratch on Windows 10. Cortana will be a virtual assistant and offer information about the weather, local places, general information and tap into other third party apps for updates.

On Windows 10, Cortana is located on the task-bar, either in a search button or search box (depending on preference). The task-bar has been updated with a new shadow design, taking a dark color from the current theme.
The next big change on Windows 10 is the Xbox app. Right now, it just looks like a place to check the Xbox news feed from friends, but advertisements of exclusive Xbox One games hint at PC cross-platform support.
Having exclusive Xbox One games on PC would be a nice idea, but the catch may be only gamers with the Xbox One game can download it for PC. It is still unclear what Microsoft is attempting to do with Xbox.
Microsoft has built in a contact support app, allowing users to potential screen share their problems with a member of staff. There is a new startup guide for Windows 10, which hints at users being able to make phone calls on Windows 10.
The leak shows all of the visual updates to the apps on desktop mode, giving them a Metro redesign. Microsoft still has not announced availability or price, this information will most likely come on the January event.
[Image via geek]

Source : http://www.filehippo.com/

The Best Alternative Browsers

We recently discovered what you, the TechBeat readers, prefer to use when it comes to browsers, however we noticed that some of you commented on how you have chosen alternative browsers over the mainstream ones like Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. So if you are looking for a change and want something a bit different, why not try one of these alternative browsers.

Comodo IceDragon

Comodo IceDragon is a Firefox-based browser that offers a high level of security for those who are particularly concerned about malware and phishing websites. One of the main reasons for this is because you can route web browsing through Comodo's own DNS servers, which the company claims are faster and more secure. Checks are performed on SSL digital certificates and you are given reports on how strong a secure website really is. At the same time an on-demand site inspector checks for malicious code. It features a virtual browsing mode so that it can run completely separate from the rest of your system, therefore ensuring that malware cannot infect your PC. It looks and feels just like Firefox but with added security, however if you prefer the Chrome framework then you have the option of using Comodo Dragon, which is specifically for Chromium based browsing.

Maxthon Cloud Browser

Maxthon Cloud Browser is renowned for its numerous extra features but like most browsers still synchronizes all bookmarks, options, tabs, address bars and new tab links across all your PCs and mobile devices running Maxthon. The Cloud Download enables you to download files directly to the cloud so that they don't clog up your local machine. They are then available from any device. Other handy extra features include MagicFill - a mulit-account password manager, Snap - a screen capture tool and SkyNote - this will save text that is then made available to all your devices running Maxthon. If you love having lots of functionality and the ability to synchronize across all your machines then Maxthon is the ideal alternative browser for you.

Avant Browser

Avant is an alternative browser for those of you who want a Microsoft-based engine but don't really like Internet Explorer. As a browser it is fairly fast, comes pre-loaded with twenty four skins and features tabbed browsing and modular toolbars. You can save personal data so that your bookmarks and form content are accessible from any machine, so handy if you like to synchronize your content. Avant provides you with automatic updates, a password manager and an integral Internet Explorer search engine. Although it may not be the most secure browser out there, it does protect you against pop-ups and malware but not phishing websites.

Source : http://news.filehippo.com/2014/06/the-best-alternative-browsers/nggallery/image/avant-browser/

Internet Download Manager 6.20 Build 5 Free Download

Internet Download Manager is the choice of many, when it comes to increasing download speeds up to 5x. IDM has a clever download logic accelerator that features intelligent dynamic file segmentation and incorporates safe multipart downloading technology to increase the speed of your downloads. IDM reuses available connections without additional connections to gain the best acceleration performance.
Internet Download Manager houses a comprehensive error recovery system with resume capability features. These will restart interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network issues, power outages and system shutdowns. IDM has a simple GUI, which makes it easy to use, or if you prefer, you can use Internet Download Manager from the command line interface.
Features include:

• Resume and schedule downloads.
• Resume capability
• Error Recovery
• Proxy Server Support
• FTP and HTTP Protocol Support
• MP3 audio and MPEG video content processing
• Multilingual support

IDM will integrate effortlessly into your web browser of choice, whether that be Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, in fact almost all other popular browsers are supported to automatically handle your downloads. You can download music and video files in the form of MP3, FLV, MPEG and a multitude of other formats.
This latest version of IDM (6.18) has resolved issues with 1080p HD video recognition in Google Chrome. There is also a new feature to take over https downloads in Google Chrome (it adds a feature to Show download this video/audio panel for https videos in the browser). IDM has also added Windows 8 compatibility and it features Windows 7 and Windows Vista support Internet Download Manager also adds improved integration for IE 10 and IE based browsers, has an improved toolbar, and lots of other improvements and features such as a video page grabber, a redeveloped scheduler and MMS protocol support.

Click here for Download
Source : http://www.filehippo.com/download_internet_download_manager

VLC Media Player 2.1.3 (32-bit) free download

VLC Media Player is the most popular and robust multi format, free media player available. The open source media player was publically released in 2001 by non-profit organization VideoLAN Project. VLC Media Player quickly became very popular thanks to its versatile multi-format playback capabilities. It was aided by compatibility and codec issues which rendered competitor media players like QuickTime, Windows and Real Media Player useless to many popular video and music file formats. The easy, basic UI and huge array of customization options have enforced VLC Media Player’s position at the top of the free media players.
Flexibility
VLC plays almost any video or music file format you can find. At its launch this was a revolution compared to the default media players most people were using that often crashed or displayed “codecs missing” error messages when trying to play media files. VLC can play MPEG, AVI, RMBV, FLV, QuickTime, WMV, MP4 and a shed load of other media file formats. For a full list of compatible file formats please click here. Not only can VLC Media Player handle loads of different formats, VLC can also playback partial or incomplete media files so you can preview downloads before they finish.
Easy to Use
VLC’s UI is definitely a case of function over beauty. The basic look does however make the player extremely easy to use. Simply drag and drop files to play or open them using files and folders then use the classic media navigation buttons to play, pause, stop, skip, edit playback speed, change the volume, brightness, etc. A huge variety of skins and customization options mean the standard appearance shouldn’t be enough to prevent you choosing VLC as your default media player.
Advanced Options
Don’t let VLC Media Player’s simple interface fool you, within the playback, audio, video, tools and view tabs are a huge variety of player options. You can play with synchronization settings including a graphic equalizer with multiple pre-sets, overlays, special effects, AtmoLight video effects, audio spatializer and customizable range compression settings. You can even add subtitles to videos by adding the SRT file to the video’s folder.
Summary
VLC Media Player is quite simply the most versatile, stable and high quality free media player available. It has rightly dominated the free media player market for over 10 years now and looks like it may for another 10 years thanks to the constant development and improvement by VideoLAN Org.

Click here for download

Source : http://www.filehippo.com/download_vlc_32

uTorrent 3.4.2 Beta 31574 BETA new!!!

The features which are present in other BitTorrent clients are here in µTorrent, including scheduling, bandwidth prioritization, RSS auto-downloading and compatibility with BitComet-Mainline DHT. µTorrent also supports peer exchange and the Protocol Encryption joint specification (compatible with Vuze / Azureus 2.4.0.0 and above and BitComet 0.63 and above).
Unlike many other torrent clients available, µTorrent does not eat away at valuable system resources; in fact, the program typically runs on approx. 6MB of memory. µTorrent is contained within a single executable file, smaller than 1 MB.
Features include:

• BitTorrent Labs icon to the status bar
• Help menu items for bundle and BitTorrent Labs
• Change logging in settings to remove OpenX
• Keyboard shortcut to refresh ads now
• Overlay image when "i" is hovered over
• Custom PDD
• Teredo Tunneling / IPv6 support
• UPnP support for all versions of Windows
• Peer exchange
• Protocol Encryption

The customization options for icons, toolbar graphics and status icon replacements are vast, you can even create your own. µTorrent incorporates localization support and has language support; therefore it will automatically change to your system language.
The µTorrent software was designed to use only minimal resources, yet still offering the functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients. µTorrent is very user-friendly; the program updates are not scheduled and are only released when thoroughly tested. This product is available for all major releases of Windows.
µTorrent provides high quality service in a tiny package.

Click here for Download

Source : http://www.filehippo.com/download_utorrent

Microsoft Windows 8 Banned By Chinese Government

In a move that caught Microsoft offguard, the Chinese government has issued a notice that  agencies are to forego purchasing Windows 8 and installing the software on any new government devices. The notice that was officially sent out is titled “Agreement to supply information about the class of energy-saving products complement the mandatory tender notice“.
If that reads a little awkward to you, ask Google Translate, as the original page is in Chinese. In any case, the announcement highlights energy-saving products, but Windows 8 is specifically mentioned as item #5: “all computer products are not allowed to install Windows 8 operating system.”
Chinese news outlet Xinhua looks back to the termination of support for Windows XP as a reason for the ban on Windows 8.

In a news report, it says that the move was made to ensure computer security. Apparently, the Chinese government is not confident that Microsoft will continue support for Windows 8 in the future, hence the ban.
It is important to note that the ban is only in effect for government-owned devices. Private consumers are free to purchase whatever OS they want to.
On another note, the ban on Windows 8 seems to be only a part of the government’s strategy. In the same report, Xinhua states that China is going to focus on developing its own operating system, based on Linux. Knowing just how China does not lack for talent in this niche, it is not surprising that they will want to work on their own operating system.
On Microsoft’s part, the company says they were surprised by the announcement, but they also emphasized that they are doing what they can – and will continue to do so – to meet the requirements of the Chinese government in terms of procurement. They also mentioned their ongoing relationship with the government by providing Windows 7 and that they will work with the government to evaluate Windows 8.
[Image via sqwabb]

Source : http://news.filehippo.com/2014/05/microsoft-windows-8-banned-chinese-government/

Windows 9 Preview To Come in Q2-Q3 2015

It might very well be only a rumor, but where there is smoke, there’s fire; and what we’re hearing is that the next version of Windows, Windows 9, is already in the works. That’s only logical, as it does take Microsoft a while to get their things together, in spite of erstwhile Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer saying that rapid deployment of their products is integral to their success.
So, while the company is still “forcing” people to update to Windows 8.1, even pushing back the initial deadline it set for updating, rumors about Windows 9 are already starting to make the rounds.

This particular piece of info comes from infamous leaker FaiKee, who posted a screenshot in MyDigitalLife’s forum.

If you’re thinking that image says 02-03 and not Q2-Q3, you can be forgiven. That was my initial reaction as well, but the Windows 9 leaker has tweeted to clarify, saying:

Upto now, I could only see Neowin News said the correct thing: It is Q2-Q3, not 02-03, nor Feb. 3, 2015. LOL.

While skepticism surely is understandable, FaiKee has been known to leak such announcements way before Microsoft releases the official word. Perhaps this time, FaiKee is right once again. Although, whether it’s 02-03 or Q2-Q3, there’s still quite a long wait for Windows 9, to be sure. There are many other analysts and speculators who have made their own predictions as to when the next version of the operating system will be released, and they vary. The only common thing: it will be in 2015.
In the meantime, you’ll have to be content with Windows 8 and make sure that you update before Microsoft puts the hammer down and decides not to extend its deadline anymore.
Given the long waiting time we have ahead of us, what do you want to see in Windows 9? What do you want to be exterminated from Windows 8?
[Images via Digital Trends & FaiKee]

Source : www.filehippo.com

windows 8 theme for free

 click here for download
StartW8 is a FREE but powerful tool for Windows 8 users. Do you prefer desktop to modernUI? Would you like to logon directly to desktop? And than use Start menu for runnig your apps? Then it's right for you. Get Start menu back in Windows 8!
StartW8 allows users to access their apps and folders with greater ease as it adds a fully-functional Start Menu to their Windows 8 computer/notebook. Users can also easily search a specific file or program by entering a relevant keyword, or they can simply shut down their PC, reboot or switch users.
Features:

• Automatically switch to desktop immediately after signing in
• Added Windows Start menu in Windows 8 design, but Windows 7 functionality
• Activate menu with Win key Log off, lock and turn off buttons
• Traditional search field
• Favourite applications
• All user configurable
• Support for silent installation
• Multilanguage support (18 languages)
• Option to ignore the lower left Hot corner 
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•  source : www.filehippo.com