One simple fix for a Windows 8 annoyance...boot to desktop!

From an article from Paul Thurrott on his site, winsupersite.com on how to fix the biggest Windows 8 annoyance.

The ability to boot to the desktop is a fairly obvious request, I know. And given that Microsoft is clearly pushing towards a future in which the desktop is eventually phased out, you may believe that this particular change can be safely ignored. I couldn’t disagree more.

Yes, Windows 8 represents an amazing transition from PCs to devices, but Windows 8 is designed for PCs and devices. And unless something unexpected happens, most Windows 8 installs will occur on traditional (non-touch) PCs or on traditional PC form factors that also happen to have touch screens. As such, most Windows 8 users will in fact spend most of their time—in some cases, virtually all of their time—in the desktop environment. Why punish your own customers, Microsoft?

Now, I’m not calling for the return of the Start button or the classic Start menu. Far from it: The new Start screen may not be ideal on the traditional PC form factors that everyone actually uses, but it’s at least consistent and it does work. And those who do use the desktop exclusively or nearly so are certainly well served by tasking app pinning.

But I think Windows 8 users deserve more than a cheap Registry key hack. I think Windows 8, modern and intelligent OS that it is, should do the work. And when you first boot into Windows 8, and the Start screen appears, you should see something like the following:

If this were a touch-screen device—not a traditional PC—this message could be changed to note that, or it could simply not appear, since users of such devices will probably want the Metro interfaces by default.

You should also be able to choose between the Start screen and the desktop in PC Settings at any time.

It’s just customer-centric common sense.

Seems like do not like Windows 8 very much

If you listen to Microsoft, Windows 8 is not only the greatest operating system ever designed, it's also selling really well. Microsoft in November claimed it sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in the first month, an impressive figure, even after you factor in all the OEM systems that come pre-loaded with Windows. But is Windows 8 truly off to a fast start? There's evidence to suggest that might not be the case.

According to data compiled by web analytics firm Net Applications, Windows 8's online usage share is a hair under 1.6 percent of all Windows PCs through December 22. When Windows Vista launched in 2007, its online usage share of all Windows PCs was 2.2 percent through the same time period.

In other words, Windows 8 is seeing a slower adoption than Vista, the latter of which stumbled out of the gates to complaints of slow performance and file transfer issues. Looking closer at the data, Windows 8 adoption grew by just 0.4 percentage points from November 22 to December 22, whereas Vista's adoption more than doubled during its second month on the market.

It should be noted that these are just raw numbers; they don't account for the decline in PC sales or any other factors that might skew the results. Still, with so much riding on Windows 8, it's a bad sign that Vista got off to a quicker start.

Same Scam, new variation...don't fall for it

Cyber extortionists shilling "ransomware" have upped the ante by pushing users' panic buttons with claims that their malware will wipe hard drives, a security firm said Monday.

The claim is bogus, said Symantec, and is simply a ploy by scammers preying on people's fears.

"This is an attempt to extort money from computer users by taking advantage of human weakness when under panic and pressure," wrote Symantec researcher Jeet Morparia in a Dec. 24 blog post.

Ransomware is a long-standing label for malware that, once on a personal computer, cripples the machine or encrypts its files, then displays a ransom note that demands payment to restore control to the owner. The technique, flatly called "an extortion racket" by Symantec last month, has been in use for at least six years. Until relatively recently, it was rare and ineffective and seen mostly in Eastern Europe.

The new ransomware variant, which Symantec identified as "Trojan.Ransomlock.G" but is called "Reveton" by other antivirus vendors, claims that any move to circumvent the lockdown will trigger disaster.

"An attempt to unlock the computer by yourself will lead to the full formatting of the operating system. All the files, videos, photos, documents on your computer will be deleted," the on-screen message reads.

Not true, said Morparia, who added that Symantec's analysis found no disk wiping capability in the malware's code. More importantly, Symantec was able to remove Ransomlock.G and unlock the machine without any formatting taking place or files deleted.

The new version also featured other changes, Morparia said, including a $100 price hike, from $200 to $300, to "unlock" the PC, and a fake deadline of 48 hours shown by an on-screen countdown timer.

Yes, you can add storage to your tablets and smartphones

Kingston Digital introduces 128GB Wi-Drive for storage-constrained iOS and Android devices

Kingston this week added a 128GB capacity drive to its Wi-Drive line, which hitherto only included 16GB, 32GB and 64GB offerings. With the Wi-Drive being aimed mainly at storage-starved tablet and smartphone owners, the 128GB drive seems like a good addition to the lineup and should make Kingston's wireless storage solution attractive to even those who own smart devices with external storage support.

The higher storage capacity aside, everything else is the same as before, meaning that the latest Wi-Drive drive retains the overall ease of use that helped its 64GB cousin score a stellar 9/10 from MaximumPC back in October. But this also means that the 128GB model also retains the many small annoyances — including its refusal to power up while charging — that forced us to dock one precious point from its review score.

“The 128GB Wi-Drive allows even more sharing on Wi-Fi enabled devices and is a perfect addition to the existing 32GB and 64GB capacities,” Kingston Digital said in a press release. “With integrated Wi-Fi and four hours of battery life, Kingston Wi-Drive offers easy file sharing and pocket-sized portable storage for Wi-Fi enabled devices such as Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android devices, Kindle Fire and more.”

Up to three devices can access the Wi-Drive at once using either a standard web browser or the free Wi-Drive app, which is available from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore. The 128GB Wi-Drive is available on Amazon for $176.

About as small as you can get for a flash drive

Patriot Memory's latest USB flash drive is aimed at car audio enthusiasts.

Patriot Memory today announced the availability of its new ultraportable Autobahn USB 2.0 flash drive. The tiny storage container sports a micro size form factor that measures 0.29 inches (D) by 0.63 inches (W) by 0.74 inches (H), which is small enough to swallow, though we highly discourage trying to pass potentially toxic gear through your digestive system (besides, it's not a flavored USB drive).

As you might have guessed, one of the applications Patriot Memory envisions for its Autobahn is for plugging tunes into your automobile.

"Car audio enthusiasts can now rock their tunes with ease," Patriot Memory says. "The Autobahn is plug-and-play compatible with stereos that support USB connections for hours of music playback, without the hassle of plugging in an external player. The Patriot Autobahn is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities to take all your data with you in and ever increasing mobile world."

It's also handy for plugging into a laptop without taking up a lot of space.

Patriot Memory says the Autobahn is available n

ow for $12 (8GB), $17 (16GB), and $25 (32GB).

Google does it for free, Apple $24.99 a year....you pick

The scan-and-match technology Google rolled out to Google Play last month in Europe is now available in the U.S.

The option saves you from having to upload all your music song by song; Google will scan your music library and add matching songs online via the cloud.

"Add up to 20,000 songs from your music collection to Google Play and stream it to your Android devices and your computer, anywhere you go," the Google Play team said in a post to Google+.

The move "gets your songs into your online music library on Google Play much faster," Google said. Music will be streamed at up to 320 kbps.

Amazon and Apple have similar services, but both cost $25. Scan and match was added to Amazon Cloud Player in July, while iTunes Match went live in Nov. 2011.

Google Music launched just over a year ago, and it lets users store songs in the cloud for free and buy tracks directly from Google Play. Users can store and stream up to 20,000 songs in the Google cloud for free, and buy other songs from Google Play.