Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:41 AM PDT

If you remember few weeks back there was a leak regarding Windows 8 which showed how system could be reset to factory conditions in just a few minutes. Win7china(Translated page) has posted a screen shot of an image that shows the reset button and that it will be located near the system restore option within Windows.It was stated before March 2 that it will only take two minutes to restore the default Windows 8 instillation, although it is completely hardware dependent. states that when you press the system reset button, it will remove all installed software and return the OS to default settings. The source also states that you can choose to keep you user account information and personal files.

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The rapid reset feature will come in handy for times when malware has infected your PC and all you want to do is wipe it and start over.But I prefer to do a back up image of the pc making use of software’s like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows 8 system reset image leaks is a post from: Tech Mania

By Blogsdna

Microsoft creates giant 234 inch interactive touch-screen

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:03 AM PDT

Earlier this month at the annual CeBit Germany tech fair, Microsoft Germany and long-time partner Stereolize, who specialize in elaborate interactive presentations, had an interactive 234 inch big screen that would even make Minority Report jealous.The software giant's "Microsoft Cinema" display is the largest touch-screen in the world according to its creators.Company spokespeople were able to present the latest details on Windows Phone 7, Internet Explorer 9, Silver light, Visual Studio and Office by just swiping, flicking, panning and tapping on the screen.Long Zheng reported that it showed a subtle hint of Metro styling, the content animation and transitioned like a scripted screen visualization straight out of Iron Man 2.Check out the video below and be amazed like me.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Microsoft creates giant 234 inch interactive touch-screen is a post from: Tech Mania

By Blogsdna

Microsoft says sorry for the rocky Windows Phone Update process

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 09:17 PM PDT

Recently the N0D0 update for Windows phone was released and Microsoft has admitted & apologized that Windows phone update process has been rocky.Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, Director of the Windows Phone program, explained the Windows Phone "NoDo" update delays in a video.The explanation followed fierce criticism from Windows Phone 7 owners.The company has started pushing the copy and paste update to unbranded devices in Europe and is scheduling carrier devices soon. A number of European carriers have confirmed that the update will be available in the next couple of weeks, some claiming that Microsoft is to blame for the delays.

Belfiore's video explanation triggered a new wave of critical comments, from Channel 9 posters and those across the web. One poster claimed the Windows Phone 7 team is "FULL OF BS" with another saying "Joe is spouting corporate bs." Belfiore responded to the criticisms with a post on Channel 9.

Many of you are making critical comments here which are certainly fair. First, I was wrong when I said "most people have received the February update." There are many of you who have yet to receive it, and I don't blame you for speaking up and pointing out my mistake. Second, I referred to our updates as "complete" because I was thinking of the internal process where we pass completed software to another group who delivers them – but of course no update is complete until you all have it. Plus, at the time I did the interview we had started the NoDo ("march update") delivery process and I knew "it was going well" from our perspective: people were officially getting it, the success rate of its deployment on real-world phones was looking good, and we were happy that the process had STARTED well. Still—these are NOT the same as all of you getting it and I'm sorry that I came across as insensitive to that fact.

I am a very, very big advocate for all our end-users and developers, and it bothers me a lot if I sounded out of touch. I wasn't as prepared for this interview as I should have been—I walked into the studio with an informal state of mind, thinking about MIX and what we WILL be talking about, and I didn't have the right up-to-date information to give a good explanation on updates which I know to be a very high-interest topic right now.

I have read all of the comments here (and many of them on the other blogs) and so has pretty much everyone in our management team. We know it's been frustrating to wait for features/fixes and (probably worse) to hear little from us on specific dates. We are sorry the process has been rocky. The "where's my phone update" table is our first step to try to remedy this in the face of technical problems that have made our first wave of updates take longer than we expected. We know the table would benefit greatly from more detail, and we are hoping to add more to it by working with the Operators who own the "testing" phase to get more clarity. If your phone is shown in "scheduling", it'll be worth checking the table next week.

In the spirit of "MIX as a conversation" – I will make sure that when I show up in Vegas that I'm well prepared to give an update in person and to try to answer your questions as best I can. You folks are obviously a very important audience for us and it's right for you to expect us to communicate and execute better. I know at this point it's our actions that matter… The main thing we are trying to do is to get the updates out to everyone in a way that is reliable and works, and then make our process better and more transparent in the future.

Belfiore explained that the company "found some situations" where Microsoft "hadn't anticipated the way that OEM phones would be configured." Microsoft wanted to get fixes in the channel before people went and updated to NoDo. Belfiore also explains the phased approach for the March NoDo update. "The way we're going to do that is we're going to throttle it so that it goes to a limited number of phones first so we can make sure that the update is working really well and that people are going to have a smooth experience," says Belfiore.

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The admission that Microsoft hadn't anticipated OEM changes is a worrying one. The company owns the platform and the Samsung issues with the February update are a far cry from what many were expecting. Microsoft has one chance to get back into the market and its first set of updates have been less than smooth. It appears that Microsoft is learning from the update glitches though, but at the expense of every device owner who will now face an uncertain delay if they are randomly throttled or blocked by their carrier. The situation is messy and as a Windows Phone owner

Belfiore has promised a more in-depth status chart for the March 2011 Windows Phone Update. The change will likely appease some frustrated Windows Phone owners still in the dark over carrier plans to distribute the NoDo update. If you missed the original explanation video, check it out below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via Winrumors

Microsoft says sorry for the rocky Windows Phone Update process is a post from: Tech Mania