Windows phones sit somewhere between Android and iOS. They aren't exactly open like Android, but they aren't as restricted in both OS features and hardware as iPhones are.

But because Microsoft mandates that each phone contains many of the same components, there is a unity amongst all Windows Phones. Each phone has the same three navigation buttons and the same dedicated photo button, for instance. But in WP7 they also could only run a single-core processor. This quickly became a problem.

While plenty of the WP7 phones ended up being wonderfully colorful and well-constructed phones, their single-core processors were quickly outdated.  This put Microsoft in the unfavorable position of being a budget alternative instead of a sexy disruptor.

So while Windows Phone 8 contains dozens and dozens of welcome little refinements and improvements (not to mention a few big ones), the biggest change to Windows Phone 8 is the new kernel, which allows Windows Phones to have dual-core processors.

Unfortunately, Windows Phones now have some catching up to do. WP owns less than 5% of the mobile market share currently, and while WP8 is a great new OS, the App Store is proof of Microsoft's challenge.

Microsoft claims 46 out of the top 50 apps are already in the store, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Of the handful of must-have apps I currently use, seven were not present in the store (Instagram, Sidecar, Path, Letterpress, Venmo, Uber, and Hero Academy). There's something sort of depressing about automatically assuming your phone just doesn't have the apps you want, and that thought-process pervaded my time with WP8.

But it may not be like that indefinitely, as WP8 is a very solid OS (with what appear to be some very solid hardware options). Windows Phone 8 may very well win over consumers interested in its "otherness" and where the consumers go, so too will the developers.

New Features

Windows Phone 8 has a handful of new features that makes it more well-rounded, polished OS. Live Tiles can now be resized, which will have a significant part in what your home screen looks like. Many apps are able to display additional information in larger tiles - so if you want Facebook to display your current status, or Xbox Music to display the song currently playing, you can do that by expanding your tiles. Certainly not all tiles benefit from the new sizes, but if nothing else having multiple sized tiles breaks up the monotony of your Home Screen.

There are a lot of cool aesthetic changes that can be sorted through settings. For instance, I changed my boring lock screen to display Bing's photo of the day and made it show me Facebook updates instead of Calendar reminders. This sort of tinkering allows you to really personalize your phone, but because it's all native to Windows Phone 8, I was never worried that I would download a faulty keyboard or start experiencing sluggishness due to add-ons, like I sometimes do in Android.

These WP8 add-ons are prevalent throughout the phone. For instance, on the Camera app, you can add something called lenses, which are basically standalone apps that affect your camera. There's currently only a few, but CNN's allows you to quickly upload your photos to CNN and CamWow allows you to distort your images on the fly.

There's also a new group sharing feature called Rooms. Rooms are basically a more complex, integrated version of Groups and allow you to share calendars, photos, messaging, the works. Even if your friends don't have a Windows Phone 8, you can still share a majority of things with them via Rooms, which means this feature is likely to catch on.

Xbox gets plenty of face time on the device. It's now the central hub for both music, video, and games. After loading my Gamertag on my phone I was able to quickly start racking up achievements on Xbox Live-compatible apps.

There are plenty more features to test out (like Kids' Corner, which allows you to hand off your phone without worrying about your kids getting into your stuff), but my initial impression is very positive.

Windows Phone 8 is probably the most aesthetically pleasing mobile OS out there, and it has a slew of interesting features that makes it a compelling option. Ultimately, it's going to need more apps if it wants to compete with Android and iOS, but WP8 is a big step in the right direction.

Nic is the Editor of IGN Tech. He loves technology almost as much as the Seahawks, Fresca, and P.O.S.'s new album. You can follow him on Twitter @nicvargus and IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

by Chris Devers

Question by : HP media center - windows XP freezes / windows recovery fails.?
HP m7680n
HP direct info: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00739902&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
Windows XP Media Center (assumed patch 3, but unknown).
2x250GB SATA HDDs in an unknown RAID configuration.
The computer is 2.5-3 years old.

This computer has recently stopped working properly. Windows freezes up shortly after booting. I tried using the windows XP CD to recover the data, but it said something along the lines of HDD failure, and gave me the following error:
Stop: 0x0000007b (0xf78d2524, 0xc0000035, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

I then attempted logging into windows recovery in safe modem and attempted Windows Recovery from a previous working date from two weeks ago. It gave me the message that an attempt to write ove read-over memory failed refering to win32k.sys. I didn't take note of the following error code.

I then just attempted to start windows normally but I got the same error with code:
0x000000BE (0xBF801269, 0x13584021, 0xB9D1BA14, 0x0000000C)
Win32k.sys -address BF977557 base at BF800000

If you need any more information, I'd attempt to collect it. The computer is currently running from a Ubuntu LIVE CD. The computer also is not my own. I can assume it's some type of HDD failure, due to the age and use of no-name HDDs in RAID. I don't know what informatio is stored on the HDDs, so I don't intend to reformat unless needed. I simply want to upgrade to Vista, but I don't have a license to do this with at the moment and I'd rather stay legit on a computer I don't own. I can't get any information from the owner of the computer because she is currently hospitialized.
The computer would Vista just fine, as long as aero is turned off.

I've run check disk twice, and it came off perfect both times, apparantly!?

I can't even access safe mode anymore after attempting to use windows recovery.
Trying to use a XP live CD failed before even loading. Disk itself is fine, tried 2 different ones.

No new software.
A nasty lil virus possibly in the cache or something is what I'm thinking, and I don't like that thought.
Thank you.
I'll try updating the HDD controller drivers, and hopefully don't lose information upon the raid. I don't know if valuable information is on the raid or not sadly.

If it's a boot sector virus, I got a lot of research to do. From my quick research, it seems that most fixes are for systems that can still run, while this one cannot start at this moment (though I never did try a bios reset just realising). My PSU doesn't have 3 SATA pins either to support hokking up my HDD to the array to attempt a fix from my OS, but I can try a LIVE CD or USB boot (already have what I need for it anyways).


Best answer:

Answer by KirbyApple
If it's HDD failure, then you have to fix your Hard Drive, replace it!

And, if you want to upgrade to Vista.. im afraid the computer will not work well though you have new Hard Disk, because the computer is 2.5-3 years already. Vista requires a lot, as in high specs.

Add your own answer in the comments!