Does Windows 8 Pro Belong on a Phone?

We’ve all thought it at one time or another. And lucky for us, the two most prominent mobile platform creators, Apple and Google, are bringing their desktop and mobile operating systems closer with each iterative update. Chrome for Android is just the beginning of integration between Android and Chrome OS. Some have predicted the two will eventually be coupled into one, that Android will eventually envelop the full power of the Chrome browser. And Apple is continually bringing more mobile-like features to the OS X.

At some point, most of us snap out of dreamland, wipe the crusted drool trail from our chin and wake up in the real world where a full desktop OS would likely offer a sub-par experience on a pocket-sized device. There are constraints created by size, form factor and a technology gap that keep this concept from truly taking off.

At least that’s what we thought.

Ubuntu for Android allows the user to run simultaneously run Android and Ubuntu.

Last year, Canonical announced Ubuntu for Android, a unique fusion of Ubuntu and Android that allowed the two different operating systems to run simultaneously. In normal use, the device runs Android, plug the proper peripherals into the device (a monitor, keyboard and mouse) and the operating system switches to the desktop version of Ubuntu. The two platforms share the same kernel, which allows them to run side by side, share the same file system and even run Android apps on Ubuntu when docked.

Technically, this would be the raw power of a desktop OS in your pocket.

On the other hand, it doesn’t quite deliver on the entire dream. While this option would be much more portable than your run-of-the-mill desktop, it’s not that much more portable. It still requires a keyboard, mouse and monitor, which means you would have to carry those things with you to be able to access said power.

But earlier this week, a weather cell phone manufacturer, i-mate, seemingly rose from the dead to announce its latest development. The Redmond, California-based company unveiled a Windows 8 phone. Not a Windows Phone 8 phone … a Windows 8 phone, a phone that runs Windows 8 Pro called Intelegent.

The i-mate Intelegent is a 4.7-inch phone that runs Windows 8 Pro.

Alleged specifications include a 4.7-inch WXGA (1,280 by 768 pixels) display, 2GB RAM, an Atom processor, 64GB of storage and HSPA+/LTE connectivity. It will retail for a competitive $750, and will come as a package deal with a “hardware suite” for $1,600, says The Seattle Times. This suite will include a 23-inch touchscreen monitor, desk telephone dock (called “hub”), keyboard, mouse and auxiliary 10.1-inch 1080p tablet.

Still a bit of a mystery, the Intelegent is said to run not Windows Phone 8 or Windows RT, but Windows 8 Pro. That’s right, the exact same software you would find on a brand new PC. One interesting bit The Seattle Times’ Brier Dudley wrote:

“The company isn’t setting out to topple the iPhone or Android models that dominate  the smartphone business. Instead it’s positioning itself as a challenger to the BlackBerry, which is also re-emerging with new models aimed largely at business users.”

On paper, the i-mate Intelegent sounds like a dream come true – if Windows is your thing, that is. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Windows 8. I moved to Linux and OS X five years ago and never looked back. I gave Windows 8 a whirl and quickly backtracked. But if i-mate were to hit another grand slam, it may be enough to bring me back into the Microsoft ecosystem, and it could foretell an unfortunate fate for the future of Windows Phone.

However, I’m not holding my breath that the Intelegent will strike anyone as awe-inspiring.

The concept is phenomenal. A truly mobile device that harnesses the power of a full-fledged desktop? This is practically the exact concept I explained on the Pocketnow Live Hangout yesterday evening, one I’ve been talking about for about four years. It would open up the world of legacy PC applications, Office, PC games and more to a device that fits in your pocket. When you get to the office or home, throw the phone in the hub and you have a full PC. It’s incredible, novel even … in theory.

The Intelegent will come with an option add-on hardware suite for a total price of $1,600.

But using a full OS on a 11-inch device is difficult enough. Cut that down to less than half the diagonal size and I can only picture myself throwing the Intelegent at a wall in frustration. This demonstration of Ubuntu on an Android phone should suffice as an example of how poorly a desktop interface works on a mobile device.

It means literally every application that is designed for a full PC – for displays between 10-inches and 30-inch monitors – would have to be updated with a phone-based interface, else the interface elements would be microscopic and impossible to accurately hit without a stylus.

For example, try imagining using CS7 on you pocket-sized phone. Without phone-optimized apps, it wouldn’t be any more bearable at 5.5-inches. It might be barely useable at 7-inches, but still not enough to convince me full Windows 8 Pro on a phone would be worth using.

If its true usefulness stems from the hub and monitor, what’s the point to begin with? Windows 8 Pro was not designed to be a phone; therefore, beyond the Start screen, the interface will be cumbersome to use. The entire purpose of having the capability on a phone is defeated.

I’m still leaning towards Canonical’s adaptation – Ubuntu for Phones, Ubuntu for Tablets or Ubuntu for Android. You get a mobile experience – Ubuntu Touch or Android – when mobile, and a full desktop experience when docked. With the Intelegent, you would get Windows 8 Pro the entire time you use the device, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I can’t help but imagine a phone thats terribly over-encumbered.

Again, another theory that sounds awesome but might not translate so well in practice. I reserve my final opinion until I get the device in my own hands, of course. But my initial reaction is to keep Windows Phone around for devices smaller than 7-inches.

What say you? Does Windows 8 Pro belong on a 4.7-inch device?

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Jujuba Software Releases Ping Modern UI App for Windows 8 to Improve TCP/IP Connectivity

TCP/IP connection quality between the PC and the servers is essential to productivity. Jujuba Software recently released a new Modern UI app that will test an Internet connection regardless if it is to a Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet.

(PRWEB) February 26, 2013

A solid TCP/IP connection guarantees productivity and efficiency when connecting to the Internet. If a connection is weak, it can prove to be frustrating when trying to accomplish essential tasks in the workplace or daily life. Testing a TCP/IP connection provides a way to debug any connectivity issues that can occur during a TCP session.

The Windows 8 Ping app provides a way to test the integrity of a TCP/IP connection to help detect any problems with TCP traffic. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and is a basic communication language used for both private networks and the Internet. The Transmission Protocol monitors the assembly of a file into smaller information packets and the Internet Protocol handles the address part of each packet to ensure it is transmitted to the proper destination.

Periodically, the process of TCP/IP can develop bugs and errors during transmission which compromises the strength of a network connection. The Ping Modern UI app uses a different process to test a TCP/IP which is different from using Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP).

ICMP responds by sending error messages that inform the end user when a connection cannot be established. ICMP connections are commonly blocked by firewall applications. Windows 8 Ping circumvents this issue by establishing an actual TCP/IP connection. When the connection is established, the app measures the percentage of packet loss and the amount of round-trip time. The measurement is accurate down to 0.01 milliseconds.

When the measurement is complete, the results can be viewed on the Ping interface which displays the connection to search engines as well as individual websites on the Internet. The measurements include the percentage of connection success in addition to the minimum, average, and maximum TCP packet measurements in milliseconds. The measurements are displayed in numeric form and in a graph illustration to allow users to determine where to pinpoint specific connectivity problems.

Windows 8 Ping is an unpaid app which provides a way to troubleshoot faulty Internet connections. All Jujuba Software Modern UI apps for Windows 8 are offered with easy access to expert technical support.

A Modern UI app for Windows 8 that helps alleviate frustrating Internet connections: working online has just become easier.

About Jujuba Software

Jujuba Software is a small software company located in Redmond, WA. The company consists of two experienced software developers with strong entrepreneurial mindset working to find ways to simplify daily tasks for mobile users through the release of innovative Modern UI apps for Windows 8.

Jujuba Software is dedicated to providing top quality software solutions. The development team is constantly working on developing new product lines and improving existing ones. People on the development team have been creating software for decades and pride themselves in creating products that push the boundaries of efficiency and reliability.

Check out the expanding line of software products at Jujuba Software or contact by writing an email to info(at)jujubasoftware(dot)com.

Karen Wilson
Jujuba Software
120655515512
Email Information

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How to banish Metro from your Windows 8 PC forever

In a world exploding with tablets and touchscreens, Microsoft's decision to saddle Windows 8 with the finger-friendly Modern interface formerly known as Metro makes a lot of sense—for Microsoft. But if you're among the majority of Windows users who aren't using a tablet or a touchscreen, the focus on Live Tiles and mobile-centric apps is more of a frustration than a feature. Vexingly, Windows 8 is riddled with sneaky ways to drag you out of the desktop and dump you on that shifting, shiny Start screen.

Windows 8 and its controversial interface will come preinstalled on practically every computer sold over the next few years, but fear not! Die-hard desktop jockeys don't have to learn to stop worrying and love the Live Tiles.

Here's a step-by-step guide to banishing the Modern interface from your Windows 8 life. Once it's gone, you might just come to appreciate Windows 8 even more than you do Windows 7. I have.

Given the Modern interface's deep hooks in Windows 8, it's hardly surprising that cutting the cord isn't an instantaneous one-snip process. Every major program you might need for everyday use—from Mail to Messaging to Video—shows up in Modern app form, rather than as a proper piece of desktop software. So before you can excise Modern, you have to find some desktop alternatives for the default apps.

Your critical mix will undoubtedly differ, but I found that I could satisfy my basic needs with Thunderbird, a free email client that blows the pants off the Windows 8 Mail app; Digsby, a versatile IM client that works with a cornucopia of chatting services (unlike the Windows 8 Messaging app); the Spotify desktop app, to replace the sultry streaming tunes of the Windows 8 Music app; the SkyDrive desktop app, which is far more flexible than its Modern app counterpart; and Google Chrome. (Sure, Windows 8 includes a desktop version of Internet Explorer, but I prefer Google's browser.) If you want to be able to play DVDs on your Windows 8 machine—something that Windows Media Player doesn't do by default—I recommend picking up VLC along with the other things you're busily downloading.

Once you've compiled a hefty stash of desktop programs, you'll want to make the most-used ones readily accessible, since Windows 8 lacks a Start button. Cluttering up your desktop with shortcuts is one approach, but I prefer to pin icons for my most-used programs to the taskbar. Right-click a program and select Pin to Taskbar to do just that. I use the same trick to pin a Control Panel icon to the taskbar.

Changing your default programs is an important step in exorcising the Metro interface.

Next, you'll want to make those programs the defaults for opening their associated file types—to prevent Windows 8 from opening files with the Modern apps that ship with the system. When you launch them for the first time, many programs will ask whether you'd like to make them the default; just say yes!

Now either search for 'Default programs' on the Modern Start screen (we haven't banished it yet!) or select to Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Set your default programs. (That's why I like to have access to Control Panel from the taskbar.) You'll see a list of all of your PC's programs. Click each of your new desktop programs in turn, enabling it as the default option for its associated file types. If you didn't download VLC, be sure to enable Windows Media Player as the default for video and audio files, or you'll be dumped into one or the other of the Modern interface's slick, vapid Video and Music apps, whenever you open a media file.

Here's where things get interesting. Just how much do you hate the Modern Windows 8 interface? The answer makes a crucial difference in how you should arrange to sift through your apps and search your system.

If you absolutely, positively, soul-searingly loathe the new look of Microsoft's operating system, you'll want to download a program that restores the traditional Start button to the Windows 8 desktop. That way, you'll never have to return to the Windows 8 Start screen to search for specific software or files that aren't already pinned to your Taskbar or otherwise present on your desktop. Start8 and Classic Shell are excellent options for doing just that—and they give you the option of booting directly to the desktop. Win-win!

After months of using Windows 8, day-in and day-out—both with and without Start button Band-Aids—I recommend that you swallow your Modern misgivings in this solitary circumstance. Windows 8 has powerful search capabilities that rock, and I've come to appreciate them much more than the staid ol' Start button.

Unlike the rest of the Metro interface, the All Apps screen is surprisingly handy even on a PC.

Biting this bitter bullet doesn't mean swimming in Live Tiles, though. Instead, you can create a desktop shortcut that rockets you straight to the Modern All Apps screen (or as I call it, my new and more efficient Start menu).

To do so, right-click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut. Copy and paste the following text into the Location box, and then click Next:

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{2559a1f8-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

Give the shortcut a name—I went with the straightforward "All Apps"—and then click Finish. At once, a shortcut to the All Apps screen appears on your desktop, which you can pin to your taskbar if you so desire. The All Apps screen includes a full-screen list of all the programs on your computer, or you can start typing the name of a file to initiate a search.

After you've set up your desktop programs as defaults and sorted out your Start button dilemma, you need to configure your PC to boot straight to the desktop, bypassing the Windows 8 Start screen.

Using Windows 8's own built-in Task Scheduler to bypass the Metro Start screen is a delicious irony.

First, open the Task Scheduler by typing Schedule task in the Settings search on the All Apps screen, or by deep-diving to Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Schedule Tasks.

Once the Task Scheduler is open, click Create Task under Task Scheduler Library in the Actions pane. Name your task "Boot to desktop" or something similar. Open the Triggers tab, select New, and choose At log on in the 'Begin the task' drop-down menu at top. Click OK, and then open the Actions tab, select New once again, and enter explorer in the Program/script field.

Save the action and the task, and you're done! From now on, every time you log in to Windows, you'll automatically jump to the desktop, where an open Libraries folder will greet you.

Can you taste your future Metro-free life? We're almost there. The final step involves creating a custom Shutdown button for your desktop, so that you won't have to "Swipe the charm bar"—the teenager in me just giggled—ever again.

Right-click any empty space on your desktop, and choose New > Shortcut. Copy and paste the following text into the Location field, and then press Next:

shutdown /s /t 0

On the next screen, name the shortcut "Shutdown" and click Finish. The shortcut will appear on your desktop, sporting a generic icon. Swap the icon out by right-clicking the shortcut and choosing Properties. Open the Shortcut tab and click the Change icon button at the bottom. A big list of available icons will appear—I recommend using the Power button icon.

I also recommend placing the Shutdown shortcut far away from any other files on your desktop. The shortcut shuts your computer down immediately, without any warning or additional prompts, and it's a major pain if you click it by accident.

That's it: You've banished the Modern interface from your Windows 8 life! If you've followed all of the instructions above—and opted to go the All Apps route rather than installing third-party Start button software—your desktop should look something like the one showwn in the screenshot. (The folder with the green arrow in the taskbar is the All Apps shortcut.) Enjoy Windows 8's lightning-fast boot times and extensive improvements under the hood, without the annoying new interface.

Still feeling frisky? Technically, the Windows 8 lock screen doesn't have anything to do with the Modern interface; but it's superfluous on a nontouchscreen computer, and frankly its default inclusion simply serves as a reminder of Windows 8's tablet-first design. Terminate it with extreme prejudice (or at least with some quick configuration tinkering).

Search for "Run" or press Windows + R on your keyboard to open the Run command. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization in the Local Group Policy Editor's left-hand menu pane. Click the Do Not Display the Lock Screen option that appears in the main pane, select the Enabled option in the new window, and click OK to save your changes and never see the silly lock screen again.

Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.

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Torvalds strongly objects to Windows 8 secure boot keys in the Linux kernel

It started innocently enough. Red Hat software engineer David Howells asked Linus Torvalds, Linux's founder, to move on code that would let Microsoft-signed binary keys be added dynamically to a kernel while running in secure-boot mode on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML). Torvalds wasn't having it. "Quite frankly, this is f*cking moronic."

Linux Torvalds and Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Specifically, Howells was asking "to embed an X.509 certificate containing the key in a section called '.keylist' in an EFI PE [Extensible Firmware Interface Portable Executable] binary and then get the binary signed by Microsoft." Howell was asking for this so that Linux users can add keys with new Linux software in Windows 8 PCs' UEFI Secure Boot prisons. These keys would be needed to help properly boot Linux that needed to use proprietary, binary-only drivers such as some graphic chipsets from AMD and Nvidia.

Like it or lump it, the easiest ways to get Linux installing or running on Windows 8 PCs with Secure Boot all involve using Microsoft signed UEFI keys.  Matthew Garrett, a Linux UEFI expert and creator of the shim boot method used by Red Hat, pointed out that these keys are only available from Microsoft as PE binaries.

As anyone who follows Linux closely knows, Linux developers have no love for programs that have no source code and are only available as binaries. It goes against the very grain of open-source software. While most Linux users and programmers will grudgingly use such binaries as proprietary graphic and Wi-Fi drivers, the closer a binary comes to the Linux core, to the kernel itself, the less they like it.

Thus, it shouldn't have come as no surprise when Torvalds blew up.

If you want to parse PE binaries, go right ahead.

If Red Hat wants to deep-throat Microsoft, that's *your* issue. That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the kernel I maintain. It's trivial for you guys to have a signing machine that parses the PE binary, verifies the signatures, and signs the resulting keys with your own key. You already wrote the code, for chissake, it's in that f*cking pull request.

Why should *I* care? Why should the kernel care about some idiotic "we only sign PE binaries" stupidity? We support X.509, which is the standard for signing.

Do this in user land on a trusted machine. There is zero excuse for doing it in the kernel.

Garret responded, "Vendors want to ship keys that have been signed by a trusted party. Right now the only one that fits the bill is Microsoft, because apparently the only thing vendors love more than shi**y firmware is following Microsoft specs. The equivalent isn't just Red Hat (or anyone else) programmatically re-signing those keys, it's re-signing those keys with a key that's trusted by the upstream kernel. Would you be willing to carry a default trusted key if some sucker/upstanding and trustworthy member of society hosted a re-signing service? Or should we just assume that anyone who wants to ship external modules is a f*cking idiot and deserves to be miserable?"

Torvalds fired back, "Quite frankly, I doubt that anybody will ever care, plus getting me to care about some vendor that ships external binary-only modules is going to be hard as hell."

Garrett replied that he can't see Red Hat getting into the key signing business. Peter Jones, a Red Hat software engineer and member of the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee, agreed: " Red Hat will not sign kernel modules built by an outside source. We're simply not going to sign these kernel modules. That's one of the big reasons we want a setup where they can sign their own modules in the first place."

In any case, the real issue, as Garrett sees it, is that "RHEL's [Red Hat Enterprise Linux] is going to end up trusting keys owned by Nvidia and AMD [makers of the most popular graphic chipsets] somehow, and chances are that's going to be based on the Microsoft signing service. The question is whether there's a benefit in ensuring that the same key is trusted by RHEL, Ubuntu, Suse and everyone else or whether different kernels are going to have completely different policies." Hence, Red Hat and Garrett's desire to have a means of dealing with this in the common Linux kernel.

The issue has died down for now, which I take as meaning that Torvalds has won the day. Be that as it may, booting Linux on Windows 8 PCs with Secure Boot active is still a headache -- and dealing with binary drivers will only make it more so.

We can only hope, as Ted Ts'o, a core Linux kernel developer said, that "this whole code signing insanity" … "is completely overblown."

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Windows 8 Was Designed with Security in Mind, Microsoft Says

Windows 8 is often described as one of the most secure Windows contraptions to date, as it bundles new technologies supposed to protect users and keep their data on the safe side while browsing the web.

Chris Hallum, senior product manager on the Windows Team, said in a blog post that Windows 8 was designed with security in mind from the very beginning and, aside from the software solutions we can all see in the operating system, the new Windows also relies on some hardware solutions supposed to enhance its security.

“Our goals were to provide ground breaking malware resistance, make data encryption easy enough that everyone can deploy it, and finally we wanted to modernize access control. We understand that these goals can’t be achieved in software alone and that we needed to anchor our security in immutable hardware,” he explained.

The blog post then goes on to describe three of these technologies, namely the Universal Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and the Encrypted Hard Drives that protect users’ data and keep it secure.

“Early on in the Windows 8 product cycle we worked closely with our partners in the hardware industry to make sure that the hardware necessary to achieve our goals would be available as options or even as fundamental requirements for Windows 8 Hardware certification,” Hallum added.

Security experts around the world agree that Windows 8 will be harder to hack as compared to the previous versions of Microsoft’s operating system, as the Redmond-based technology giant has continued its efforts to make the software more secure.

Rapid7 CISO and Metasploit founder HD Moore said in a statement that Windows 8 packs important security improvements, while Microsoft is trying to patch found vulnerabilities in a shorter time.

“The additional improvements in Windows 8 and the sky-high market for zero day may reduce the public visibility of security flaws to an all-time low,” Moore explained. “Microsoft still has work to do, but relative to other large software vendors, their ability to respond to security issues this year has improved.”

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Windows 8 $15 upgrade registration ends Thursday

Those of you who recently bought a Windows 7 PC can score Windows 8 for just $15, but you'll have to register by the end of the day Thursday. To drum up interest in its latest OS, Microsoft cooked up a couple of upgrade deals last year.

The first one allowed any user of Windows 7, Vista, or XP to upgrade to Windows 8 for $40. That deal ended January 31.

The second one lets people who bought a Windows 7 PC between June 2 of last year and January 31 of this year get Windows 8 Pro for just $15. Though that deal expired last month, you can still register for it, but you'll have to act by this Thursday, February 28.

The registration process prompts you for your contact information as well as the brand and model of your Windows 7 computer, the retailer, and the date on which you bought it. The process may also ask for your Windows 7 license key.

Assuming your PC checks out, you then receive an e-mail with a promo code and a link for the Windows 8 upgrade. The link downloads the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, which you run on your Windows 7 PC to pay for the product and install the software.

An FAQ provides more details on the Windows 8 upgrade offer. People who bump into problems with the process can contact Microsoft customer support via the upgrade offer support page.

Related storiesGet your cheap Windows 8 upgrade nowWindows 8 $40 upgrade deal ends todayStudents to get Windows 8 upgrade discountUpgrading to Windows 8: What you need to know (FAQ)How to prepare your PC for Windows 8

What if you want to take advantage of the $15 deal but don't want to upgrade to Windows 8 right now?

You can download the upgrade and simply store the installation files on a USB stick or burn them onto a DVD from an ISO file. You can then install the upgrade anytime you want and on any PC you want. One of my previous articles explains the entire process for creating the Windows 8 installation media.

When exactly does the registration expire? A Microsoft representative told CNET that the registration on the Web site and the promo code redemption will continue to work through February 28 worldwide. That gives people until the stroke of midnight on Friday to complete the process.

Following the cutoff, Windows 8 jumps in price for virtually everyone -- $120 for the regular edition and $200 for the Pro version. Only students will still be able to score a discount.

So even if you're on the fence about the new OS, those of you who qualify for the $15 deal may want to register for it while you still have time.

Update, 11:40 a.m. PT:Adds exact expiration time.

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