With the launch of Windows 8, people are about to discover a computing experience unlike anything they've seen before. The main thing to know is that Windows 8 is designed especially for touchscreen PCs, to make desktops and laptops work more like tablets. However, Windows 8 will work with mouse and keyboard shortcuts too.
There are two versions of Windows 8. More precisely, there is Windows 8 and there is Windows RT. Windows 8 will run programmes written for older versions of Windows but Windows RT won't. Here are some tips on how to navigate the new Windows 8.
Welcome screen
When you start a Windows 8 machine, you're greeted with a screen that shows the time and a pretty picture. To get past it with a touchscreen device, swipe upwards with your finger from the bottom edge of the screen. If you have a keyboard, hit any key.
New Metro Desktop
Next, you'll see a mosaic of Live Tiles, each representing an application. Programmes specifically written for Windows 8 will run in this new environment, which is unofficially nicknamed Metro. Each application fills the screen when you run it.
Applications written for older Windows versions will open up in something that looks very much like the old Windows desktop environment. You can switch back and forth between Metro and the new desktop, though Microsoft wants people to eventually use only Metro.
Starting without a Start button
The desktop screen lacks a Start button, so it's hard to start programmes from there. Microsoft's idea is that users should learn to go to the Metro tiles to start programmes or access settings, even if many programmes, including some Windows utilities, will open up in Desktop.
To get back to the tiled Start screen with a mouse or touchpad, move the mouse cursor to the top right corner of the screen, then swipe it down to the "Start" icon that appears. If you have a touchscreen, reveal the Start icon by swiping in from the right edge of the screen.
In the desktop environment, you can glance at the taskbar to see which desktop programmes are running. If you're a mouse or touchpad user using Metro and want to see what's running, you have to know this trick: Move the cursor to the top left corner of the screen, then drag it down along the left edge of the screen. If you have a touch screen, swipe in from the left edge, then quickly swipe back in.
Neither environment will show you programmes that are running in the other environment, but if you have a touchscreen, swiping in from the left side of the screen lets you jump between open applications. The "Alt-Tab" combination does the same thing with a keyboard, in case you aren't using a touchscreen.
There are two versions of Internet Explorer, one for each environment. A webpage you open in one doesn't appear in the other, so if you're trying to find your way back to a page, it helps to remember which browser you were using.
In the Desktop version of Internet Explorer, you can see at a glance which pages you have open in "tabs." In Metro, each web page fills the screen, leaving no room for tabs.
To see which other pages are open on a touchscreen computer, you swipe your finger down from the top of the screen to reveal thumbnails of the other windows. Don't sweep too far, or you'll shrink the window instead.
Closing programmes
When using Metro on a touchscreen, you close a programme by first swiping your finger down from the top edge of the screen. That shrinks the window. Then you swipe your finger down to the bottom edge of the screen. Don't stray to the right or left edges of the screen, or the app will end up "docked" in a column along that edge. You can perform the same action with a mouse cursor by clicking and dragging from the top edge of the screen, but using the old "Alt-F4" command is easier.
Not the 'right' click
If you're using a mouse in Metro, you right-click anywhere on the screen to reveal the tabs. Of course, this means right-clicking no longer does any of things it can be used for in previous versions of Windows, such as letting you open a link in a new tab.
Shutdown Windows 8
When Microsoft introduced Windows 95, some people thought it was amusing and counter-intuitive that the procedure for shutting down the computer began with the "Start" button. In Windows 8, that incongruity is gone along with the Start button, but shutting down with a mouse or touchpad isn't obvious either.
Move the cursor into the top right corner of the screen. A menu will pop out. Sweep down to the "Settings" button that appears, and click it. Then click "Power," then "Shut down." If you're on a touch screen, start by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, then tap "Settings."
Source:-The Times of India
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