Posted by Korsaan at 5:24 AM | Tuesday

Microsoft Windows 7 News

Have you Noticed… Windows 7 Now HAS an App Store!

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 12:24 AM PST

There’s been talk for a while now about Windows 8 getting a full App store and lots of people are excited about it. There are bound to be a few companies however, perhaps Adobe and Apple, who are used to delivering software to their customers in specific (more traditional) ways and who may not like the idea of an App store appearing directly in Windows. Thus, this is a move that may even prove as controversial as the bundling of Internet Explorer or Microsoft Security Essentials appearing in Windows Update.

So last month Microsoft began quietly rolling out the Games for Windows Marketplace via Windows Update. This is a full App store for Windows 7 and Windows Vista that plugs into the Games panel in the OS. The original announcement of this store at the end of October went largely unnoticed because of the hype surrounding the launch of Windows Phone. Perhaps this was deliberate?

There was no fanfare, no furore, just a quiet release that has gone seemingly unnoticed. Perhaps this is because other companies have their own Games stores and, as such there could be complaints here too. Who knows. The simple fact is that if you want an App store in Windows, there’s no time like the present to get one.

This is an interesting view on what a final Windows 8 App store would be like too. You sign in with your Windows Live ID and the interface is quite simple and, in ways, a little similar to the Zune Marketplace for Windows Phone. This is presumably intentional. It’s a proper software package too itself, not a redirect to a website which some people might expect.

There are quite a few games available for purchase there already as the Games for Windows programme has now been running for four years, giving developers plenty of time to get games out that plug happily into the Games panel that was first introduced with Windows Vista.

The Games for Windows Marketplace itself is a recommended update so isn’t even too easy to miss when the time comes to update your copy of Windows.

As I’ve already said, the impact and response to this App store, if indeed there is one, remains to be seen. It’s clear though that Microsoft are testing the waters ahead of a full store launch in 2012, and in the mean time this can only be good news for Windows gamers.

Windows Phone 7 Cut and Paste Rolled Out to Developers

Posted: 06 Dec 2010 09:13 AM PST

One of the biggest gripes people have had about Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system is the lack of cut, copy and paste. Microsoft said they would be rolling this feature out in an update in January 2011 and, according to PocketNow appear to be making good on the promise.

Some developers are reporting that their update has already appeared on their handsets.

The update has apparently been distributed via the Zune desktop software. PocketNow have reported how the new cut and paste feature works.

A user can tap a word in mail, IE, Word, etc and that word is then highlighted with arrows on both sides. One can then drag to the left or right to include more words. An icon appears above the highlighted word(s) (looks very similar to the copy icon in Office 2010) to copy. Open a new document, once the cursor is set/blinking and the soft keyboard appears, a paste icon (again, looks the same as the paste icon in Office 2010) is shown just above the top row of letters. In “Messaging”, a user can long press a specific IM which open up the hidden menu that now includes copy. Paste where you wish…

All looks set then for a rollout to end users in January, assuming there are no blocks put in the way of updates by networks.