Windows 8 only recently hit the market and the tech press has already given it a test drive. Some of them have published their findings online. This is great for the general public, as it gives them an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the new operating system. InfoWorld writer J. Peter Bruzzese recently wrote about several cool features of Windows 8. Below we cover a few of the things he found.
The charms bar
The charms bar is essentially a shortcuts bar that exists on the right side of the screen in Windows 8. An example of a shortcut available to users is that by clicking “settings” then clicking “power” they can put their computer to sleep. The charms bar has many settings for searching, switching to the Windows 7 desktop, if you liked that better, and for sharing.
Retrieving lost files
What’s worse than losing a file? Not much in relation to computing. Fortunately, Windows 8 can help. The operating system comes with a new way of saving copies of files that lets users obtain previous versions if their current file is lost or damaged. This feature works in much the same way as does OS X’s Time Machine utility.
Windows on the go
This is a really cool feature if you are on the go but don’t want to take your whole computer with you. If you have the Enterprise Edition of Windows 8 you can put your entire Windows environment onto a USB drive and take it with you. You can then pull it up on another machine that is compatible with Windows 7 or 8.
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