September, 2013 | Syntax 3.0

Start menu

One of the common complaints that Microsoft regarding Windows 8 was the absence of the start menu, it’s back, sort of. The new start button is added to the familiar left corner, but it’s not a menu rather it takes the user back to the start screen of Windows 8.1. It’s understandable but still a bit weird since hovering the mouse cursor in the lower left corner until the start-screen thumb appears and then click on it has the same effect in the original version of Windows 8.

3D Printing

3D printing is here to stay, and Microsoft is betting on that the technology will be in people’s home in the future by adding 3D printing features to the operating system. Most people who have already 3D-printed know that it is often conversion between different file formats involved, sometimes the conversion makes you lose important data about the 3D print. In Windows 8.1 the user will just hit “Print” and Windows will take care of the rest.

The file format used will be 3MF ( 3D Manufacturing Format), the 3D printing software sends the data to Windows in 3MF, which then sends it to the 3D printer. Microsoft also claims that 3D printers will work with plug and play, as regular printers do.

To find out more about 3D printing in Windows 8.1 watch the video below:

Internet Explorer 11

A new version of Internet Explorer, 11 will be launched with Windows 8.1. New features in the browser include a reading view, do not track support , WebGL, enhanced developer tools, improved user experiences on touch devices and improved overall performance when it comes to loading objects and JavaScript.

In the reading view font styles, size, colors and zoom levels etc can be changed. The do not track options include an option of sending do not track requests to website visited, but also the option of limiting third party cookies and location data sent.

New mail app

Apparently there are still people who use a desktop version of e-mail, in Windows 8.1 Microsoft has revamped the mail app. The new design and features are more oriented towards Outlook.com than the previous version, according to the company.

Watch this video from Microsoft with some of the key features in Windows 8.1:

Have you upgraded to Windows 8.1 or are you running the preview version? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Crowdfunding is all the rage and small businesses are lining up to get a piece of the action. We have sifted through the wide range of app crowd-funding campaigns, below you will find three campaigns that seem promising.

Ubuntu Edge

Perhaps the most obvious one. Canonical is looking for a whopping $30 000 000 in financing for their future device and platform Ubuntu Edge. The Edge will basically be a mobile with a desktop in one device. It will run Android, Ubuntu Mobile, and Ubuntu Desktop, have 128 GB of storage and 4 GB RAM.

Since the Ubuntu Edge will be able to run Android its users will already be able to use a vast number of apps, had Canonical only chosen Ubuntu Mobile and Desktop they would be in the same situation as Windows Phone, without any apps.

Ubuntu Edge is an interesting project with many backers already, however we have seen attempts of it in the past, failing because of the trade-off and compromises that has to be done when developing a mobile and yet being able to use it as a desktop. However the potential is also huge, we haven’t forgotten the great Nokia phones running Linux.

MailPile

MailPile is a project with the aim of creating a web-based and desktop e-mail client with user friendly support for encryption such as OpenPGP. This project is interesting, especially since given the different privacy concerns on the Internet. It also has a number of other aims regarding creating a user friendly interface with themes and a platform for plug-in development.

Unfortunately the project is currently developing for Linux and MAC, which is a fraction of the Windows operating systems on the market, if the project is backed there will be a Windows-version as well.

Ghost Blogging Platform

Ghost is a Kickstarter project with the aim of developing yet another open-source blog platform and content management system.

One of the key benefits with Ghost is publishing and the attempt to make it easier to write your own blog posts within the actual platform. In order to do this there will be a split screen, on the left side it’s possible to write a blogpost in markdown, with a preview of the post on the right.

Another interesting feature is the built-in statistics dashboard, which will not only show the number of visitors, bounce rate etc, but also social media statistics and subscribers to newsfeeds.

The Ghost project also have the aim of improving the actual content management part of the blogging experience, the inspiration is the way email is handled with different labels and drag and drop. Expect a review on Syntax30 when the Ghost blog platform is released.

Syntax 3.0

Month: September 2013

What’s New in Windows 8.1