Microsoft Unveils Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2!

A few days ago, Microsoft unveiled the new Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 tablets, the successors to the previous Surface and Surface Pro tabs. These new tablets have got a new hardware, are more thinner and lighter, and work just as a laptop would.

Surface 2

Image credits: Microsoft

The Surface 2 now comes up with Windows RT 8.1, which has great new features for real multitasking and more personalization, along with the return of the long-lost and beloved Start button!

The Surface 2 has an improved 10 hour battery life, so you can complete your pending work without the worry of loosing it!

The processor! The Surface 2 runs on a "super-fast" NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, so it's always your friend on hard tasks! Also, it features a high definition display and a full-sized USB 3.0 port, along with the microSD card reader.

Surface 2 comes pre-installed with Office 2013 RT and also Outlook 2013 RT, so it's ideal to manage office work like email, calendar and to-do list.

Microsoft has also given away 200GB of FREE cloud storage on Skydrive for 2 full years, now share your favorite pictures, music, and videos without the hassle of less storage! Another good news, get 1 year of free voice calling to landline number through Skype, along with a FREE Skype Wi-Fi!

Users can pre-order their Surface 2 for a reduced cost of $449.00 from Microsoft's website here!

Surface Pro 2

This powerful great tablet... uh, tablet? It deserves to be called a laptop! Running Windows RT 8.1, and powered by the new Intel® i5 processor, Surface Pro 2 provides you all the great performance that a laptop does!

It has a stronger battery life, more than 2 times of the predecessor (thanks to its processor), and a truly brilliant widescreen HD display, with all the great features of Surface 2!

Surface Pro 2 comes with The Pro Pen, which fulfills all the needs of drawing and taking down notes if you're in a hurry.

You can reserve your Surface Pro 2 at a price of $899.00.

Both the new Surfaces an be connected to new accessories, like the Docking Station, Touch Cover 2, Type Cover 2, a Surface Music Kit, a wireless touch mouse and much more!

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10+ Things You Didn't Know Your Lumia 620 (Windows Phone 8) Could Do!

It hasn't been much time since another member was added to the Nokia Lumia family, the Nokia Lumia 620, powered by Windows Phone 8. It's a lot cheaper than the other ones, but has awesome features and is really worth the price.

If you've recently bought a new Lumia 620, read this post to know about the 10 great things you probably never knew your Lumia 620 could do!

1. Share data wirelessly!

The Lumia 620 comes packed up with NFC (near-field communication) which allows you to transfer data (files, images, contact details) to other NFC-capable devices without the need to connect any cables.

Enable the NFC feature from the Settings page and go to Tap+Send. Once turned on, enable Bluetooth also found under the Settings page. Do the same for the other device.Now open up the files you want to share with another device, choose the Tap+Send option, and 'pair' the back of the devices together.



2. Take a screenshot!

Taking a screenshot has, at last, been made easier. To take a screenshot of what you're seeing on your Lumia 620, press the power key and the Windows (start) key simultaneously. You'll hear a capture voice and you're done!

Go to Photos > Albums > Screenshots to view your screenshot.

3. Voice control

Finally, Microsoft now isn't much behind the Apple's Siri and Samsung's S Voice  in creating a virtual assistant!

To control your Windows Phone 8 with voice, press and hold the Windows (start) key until you hear a voice speaking.

Ask to call a contact, compose a new tweet, start an app, send email and much more!





4. Connect with and control your Xbox 360

You can use your Lumia 620 as a keyboard and a mouse to control your Xbox 360. Go to the Windows Marketplace and download and install the app 'Xbox SmartGlass.' Once it's installed, start it up and after pressing the three dots in the bottom right, tap 'Connect to your Xbox.'

Make sure your Xbox is turned on and is using the same Wi-Fi connection as your Lumia 620. Now, tap the 'Connect to Your Xbox' button from the app home.

Once successfully connected and no errors arise, browse with Internet Explorer, play a game, swipe left or right or do pretty much anything you want and you'll see it being done on your TV.

If errors do pop up, check that your Lumia and Xbox 360 are connected over the same Wi-Fi. Still no luck? Reinstall the app, or if needed, restart your Xbox and mobile.

5. Find your destination and routes

With the Nokia Lumia 620, reaching to your destination and finding routes have become an easy job to do. With Nokia's HERE Drive app, you get real-time directions for your destination while driving, and there's no need for a data connection!

Many Lumia phones have this app already installed in them, but if you can't find it, download it from the Windows Marketplace for free!

Once installed, start the app, go to settings, and select Manage Maps. Now tap the + button and download the maps for the country where you live, this way you can enjoy your way without the need to connect to a data connection.

Wait for the map to download. Now go back, tap Set Destination, and type in your desired destination. You'll see a list of destinations, select yours and tap Drive To. Drive, and watch yourself on the map moving!

6. Create animations!

Create cool (well, not cool, but nice and funny) animations with the Cinemagraph app from your Lumia 620. Find someone doing something funny or amusing, open up the camera and press the button located at the bottom of the screen with two small arrows. Select the Cinemagraph app, if it's not there, do the same old step, download and install it from the Store.

Now focus the camera on the moving object doing hilarious things, and press the screen to record its actions. You'll see a round bar loading, inside which you'll have to focus that object. Once recorded, increase or decrease the length of the animation loop. Select the areas that you deny from being animated and, that's it!

You can then share your animation with friends via your Nokia Account.

7. Discover close places with your camera

Searching for places with your phone has never been easier and so much fun! No, it's not the same old method in which you turn on your GPS and open up Google Maps or any other maps to search for nearby locations.
With HERE City Lens by Nokia in your Lumia, you explore nearby attractions using your device's camera! Move the camera left or right, and you'll see hotels, shops, restaurants, cinemas and play areas, famous and historical city attractions and almost everything else!

Download and install the HERE City Lens app or open it if it's already in your phone. Select what you want to explore, move the camera wherever you want to, and click on the place you want. The app will tell you its distance and rating. You can get its direction, save it to favourites, or share it. There are some places which are smaller and clogged up together, tap to expand and see them clearly.


8. Use your Lumia 620 as a Wi-Fi router!
Via Internet Sharing, you can transform your Lumia 620 into a Wi-Fi router and let eight people use it!

To enable and set up Internet Sharing, go to Settings and turn it on. Tap Setup and choose a broadcast name for others to identify the network and create a password so that only those people use it to whom you offer it.

Remember, this feature can be costly because it uses your data connection. And it might not be much useful as it would be much slower when altogether eight people would be using it—of course!


9. Hide your identity

Hiding your Caller ID (your number) can be useful when you're calling an anonymous person or someone who spams your caller history so that he doesn't disturb you once the talk has been done.

To use this feature, open up your call history and go to Settings by pressing the three full stops on the bottom right of the screen. Now, under the 'Show my caller ID to' label, change the setting to 'no one'.

10. Create a child corner
If your child uses your Lumia 620, it's a great idea to set up a Kid's Corner for him. Via that, the access to your phone by your child is limited. You don't have to keep an eye on him, or have the fear of all contacts or images being deleted, other people being spammed by random emails or buying something unaffordable.

To enable the Kid's Corner on your Lumia 620, under Settings, tap 'Kid's Corner' and turn it on. Select what can your child access in the Kid's Corner (incl. games and apps, music and videos).

Once done, press the Lock button on the right side of your phone twice. Now swipe left and you'll see a different background than that of your lock screen with the title Kid's Corner. Make your kid slide it upside, as you do it with your lock screen and you don't ever need to keep an eye on him!

11. Linking email account inboxes

Forwarding emails one by one from multiple accounts to an email account inbox or opening inboxes one by one can be a tedious and tiresome work if you have multiple email addresses.

To accomplish this task without wasting your time to open every single inbox and forward emails to another account, the Lumia 620 offers a very great and easy feature to do so!

To put in all your emails into one inbox, go to your email account and press the '...' button. Select 'add email account' and select what email address you want to merge into the current one. Enter your details, and sign in.

This way, you link your other email accounts with your current one.

12. Got late? Notify everyone!
If you're getting late for an office meeting or a birthday party, remind everyone with this great useful feature.

This way you won't have to manually send each message to every single person in order to notify them.
Go to calendar and select the event that you're running late for, press the three full stops as usual and select the button labelled 'late' with an image of an unlucky stickman running for an event.

You'll see a message already written for you, if you're in a hurry, hit the send button. If you want, edit the message. Every attendee would receive your message. If you're the only one attending the event, this feature would be hidden.






13. Notify people when an event has been cancelled

If the event you were attending has been cancelled, you can send a message to all the attendees involved with that specific event.

To do so, go to Calendar and select that event. Now press the Delete button on the bottom (the one that's a shape of a bin). You'll be asked whether to notify the event attendees that the event has been called off. Type in your message in the Comments box and automatically send your message to all the people involved.

The Nokia Lumia 620 is a budget-friendly and a great Windows Phone 8 smartphone and is really worth its price. If you have any more tips, do comment in the comments section below!

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10 Useful Windows 7 Utilities to Make the Most Out of your PC!

Windows 7 has come up with a lot new features and great useful utilities, some of which were not present in the previous versions of Windows. These utilities can save us our time, help Windows to run more efficiently, and help us to make the most out of our PC.

1. Math Input Panel

This is an easy to use, useful, and a handy program in Windows 7. If you want to solve mathematical problems or create documents that have math expressions written in them, Math Input Panel is a great tool. You can write maths in the writing area with a free hand tool, correct, erase, undo or clear the area. Once done, press Insert.

To access the Math Input Panel, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories > Math Input Panel.

2. Snipping Tool

Uninstall all screen capturing software, there's no need of 'em once because of this new small, but a helpful Windows utility. If you want to capture what you're seeing on your screen, and want to share it with your friends, just use the Snipping Tool! The Snipping Tool offers four snipping options to 'snip' your screen: Free-form, Rectangular, Window, and the Full-screen snip. Use the Options button to setup the tool. Once you're done, the Snipping Tool expands itself and offers you a variety of options to edit and customize your image the way you want it.

To access the Snipping Tool, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories > Snipping Tool.

3. Sticky Notes

These are useful if you want a reminder when you switch back to your desktop or when you don't want to open Notepad to save something. You can resize your sticky note, add another or change its colour.

To access the Sticky Notes, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories > Sticky Notes.

4. Magnifier

Well, there's probably nothing on your PC that's too small to be seen or read clearly. Magnifier is useful when you're recording a video tutorial so that you can magnify a part of your computer screen. You can increase the magnification to 1600% and set up how much percent to increase with each magnification. Also, there're a several tracking options.

To access the Magnifier, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories >  Ease of Access > Magnifier.

5. Narrator

Narrator is great for blind people. It 'narrates' or reads out screen text, announces system messages and notifications, and echoes user's keystrokes. It also has an option to change voice settings.

To access the Narrator, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories >  Ease of Access > Narrator.

6. On-Screen Keyboard

Your computer is almost nothing if your keyboard's not working. The small handy tool is a 'virtual' on-screen keyboard. This virtual keyboard has every single key that you see on your original keyboard.

To access the On-Screen Keyboard, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories >  Ease of Access > On-Screen Keyboard.

7. Windows Speech Recognition

Siri on iOS and S Voice on Samsung looks cool, but wouldn't it be awesome to have a virtual assistant on your PC and control it with your voice? The Windows Speech Recognition, using your voice, can open up documents, files, programs, menus, click on buttons, type in text, and do much more!

To set up Windows Speech Recognition and start using it, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories >  Ease of Access > Windows Speech Recognition.

8. Private Character Font

This one is not much famous and is described as a 'secret' utility in Windows. Using this tool, you can create a new character for a specific font or all, using a hand tool on a pixelated graph. You can also use other tools, for example a rectangle, box, or a line one.

To access the Private Character Font, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories >  System Tools > Private Character Font.

9. Windows Mobility Center

The Windows Mobility Center allows you to control several options like Muting, Battery settings, your Wireless Network, Sync and Presentation and Display settings. The Windows Mobility Center is a useful utility because it has several mobility options in one place.

To access the Windows Mobility Center, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories > Windows Mobility Center.

10. Tablet PC Input Panel

This tool is a little like the Math Input Panel but you can write in everything, and it converts your handwriting to text. It has several buttons and options to correct your writing and also has the option to view the same virtual keyboard about which I told you earlier.

To access the Tablet PC Input Panel, click on the Start button, go to All Programs > Accessories > Tablet PC > Tablet PC Input Panel.

There are a lot more utilities packed up in Windows 7! To take a look at every single one, click on the Start orb, go to All Programs > Accessories and explore them all!

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Top 3 FREE Online Storage Websites to Store Your Files on the Cloud!

In my last post, you learned how to save a backup and restore Windows files. In this post, I've gathered and taken a look upon some online services which offer to store our files 'on the cloud,' which means that they can be accessed from anywhere!

Many online storage websites offer free storage, from up to 3-25 GB, including files, photos, videos, programs and other documents.


1. SkyDrive by Microsoft

SkyDrive is a great free online service by Microsoft for uploading files and sharing it with your Outlook contacts. SkyDrive offers free 7GB of cloud storage, but if you've been a loyal SkyDriv-er and have used it for a little more longer, Microsoft will add 18 more GB to your storage.

www.skydrive.com

2. ADrive by ADrive LLC



ADrive is another great free service for storing files on the cloud. ADrive now also has a Data Recovery option for lost files. Your files in ADrive are secure and you can edit, manage and share them online. ADrive offers us FREE 50GB if we're starting out with a new account. You can transfer up to 16GB files.

www.adrive.com

3. Dropbox by Dropbox



'Drop' off your stuff in Dropbox and access them from any device. Share your files with friends, and don't worry about safety because Dropbox secures your files with AES-256 bit encryption and two-step verification. Dropbox starts off with giving you 2GB, but allows you to earn a 20GB more without asking for money.

www.dropbox.com

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5+ Easy Steps to Backup or Restore Windows 7/Vista (using Windows)!

You don't want that morning you boot up your PC and you're in great trouble. Your files are missing, normally due to an error or a virus, and you can't even restore Windows back to its normal state.

Backing up or saving essential Windows files and apps is really important, even if your PC's running smoothly and great.

In this post, I'll show you an easy way to backup or restore Windows without using any software, and it does not require a connection to the Internet.

To perform a Windows backup and save up your files, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the Start button, and search for 'backup,' and click on 'Backup and Restore.'

2. Now click on 'Set up Backup' from the Backup panel from the Backup and Restore window.

3. Buy or borrow a rewritable disc or a USB (which is enough to hold large sums of data) or delete files from a current one and plug it into the PC.

4. From the 'Set up Backup' window, click on Refresh and select the drive/USB on which you want to store the backup, and click Next.

5. Now select if either you want Windows to choose what files to backup, or go ahead and do it yourself.

6. Once done, click on the 'Save settings and exit' button and you're done!

Wait for the backup to complete. It may take some minutes or a couple of hours, depending on the size of the files chosen for backup.

To restore files from a previously performed backup, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the Start button, and search for 'restore,' and click on 'Backup and Restore.'

2. From the Restore panel, click on 'Select another backup to restore files from.'

3. Now insert a disc/USB in which the backup has been stored.

4. Click on Refresh and Windows will look for backup devices.

5. Now click on Next and follow the steps to restore files from your disc/USB.

Choose what files you want to restore from the backup. It might take a few minutes or seconds to restore the files back.

In my next post, you'll learn how to backup or restore Windows files using online services.

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Send Photos with Your Nokia Lumia Directly to Another Device!

Sharing photos via Bluetooth, social media, email, NFC or other old methods have got boring and dull. Nokia, at last, has created out another great and fun way to share photos from your Nokia Lumia device to any other device! The new method is so great and easy to use, and best of all, it's free of cost!

First of all, with your Nokia Lumia device, go to the Windows Store and download an app 'PhotoBeamer,' by Nokia Corp. Once successfully installed, follow the steps below:

1. Start up the new PhotoBeamer app you've just installed from the Windows Store

2. Choose any one of the photos you want to share with another device

3. Open www.photobeamer.com on the device to which you want to send the media

4. Scan the QR code shown on the website using your Nokia Lumia phone

5. Let the image load on the other device, don't move your phone away from the screen yet

Tadaa! You've used an extremely awesome way to share photos with your friends!

Tips:

a. The QR code on the PhotoBeamer website always changes when you refresh it, so saving an image of the QR code on another device won't help.

b. PhotoBeamer does not require Bluetooth to be turned on, nor NFC, WiFi or GPS.

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Bring Back to Life the Windows 8 Start Menu and Button with Pokki!

If you've recently installed Windows 8 on your PC, you'll probably notice something changed and missing. Yes, that's the new Windows 8 desktop which does not include the traditional Windows Start Button and Menu. No one knows why, but Microsoft decided to finally kill the Start Button and Menu. You might be happy because of the new change, or sad, but wait—you're not alone!

Fortunately, there're some tricks you can apply and finally defy Microsoft's nasty decision to kill the Start Button and Menu!

Pokki

Pokki is not just a simple Start Button and Menu replacer for Windows 8, it's a lot more, a lot lot more. It has a nice simple, and of course a cool Start Menu skin with a ton of features. You can 'search and organize' your favorite apps and documents and enjoy a thousand free apps with the App Store.


Personalize your Pokki's Windows 8 Start Menu the way you like! Search, access, pin, and organize your favorite apps and documents your way!

What's more is that you can access your email with Gmail and connect with friends with Facebook out of the browser!

So if you're looking for an app which replaces the Start Menu for Windows 8, not with another traditional old Start Menu, but with an extremely cool one, Pokki is the right choice for you!

Download Pokki here and resurrect the long-lost Start Button and Menu!

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Windows Phone 'Blue' screenshots leaked - new Notifications Hub, detailed Live Tiles, UI Changes and more!

A Reddit user has posted several screenshots from his recently bought Lumia 920 via eBay. 

Looks like Microsoft is working on and testing a better Windows Phone OS. The OS identifies itself as version: 12084.WPMAIN(wpbldlab).20130509-1407, which means that it was compiled on the ninth day of March, 2013 (take a look at the bolded figures).


As you can see in the screenshots posted, the rumored Windows Phone 'Blue' would include a Notifications Hub, better detailed and more informative Live Tiles, a redesigned calendar interface and a new network data usage sensor (cellular and WiFi) called the 'Data Sense'. Along with all these, the Windows Phone 'Blue' would also have the power to sort the most used apps with their frequencies and respected names. Also, a bunch of beta applications to be tested were given the prefix Z.

The 'Battery Status' settings app gives every information about the battery driver and some miscellaneous battery info which includes most of the questions which are answered in a positive or a negative. Also, an app named 'TEST APP' adds more curiosity to looking forward for an updated rumored mobile OS.

The HERE Drive+ app adds to its end the words 'Beta BLUE' which tells us that this is an early version of the new Windows Phone Blue. Another one app that adds to this evidence is Facebook which is named as 'zFaceBlue.'

It's not completely clear that the title 'Blue' refers to the new Windows Phone 'Blue', but the updated and redesigned User Interface and new app and features too add to this obviousness that a new and updated version of the Windows Phone is soon going to be released.

For the latest news and coverage on this topic and others, follow @WindowsProGuide on Twitter.

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Crazy for Temple Run on Windows Phone 8? Well...

UPDATE: Temple Run can now be downloaded on phones with half a GB ram.

A couple of months ago I was exploring the new Nokia Lumia 620 and got to know of this...

It's more than a year that Temple Run was released and the second version of the 100 million+ downloaded game was also released a couple of months ago. Temple Run, the 'endless running' game was first released for the App Store and later hit the Android platform in February 2012, thus gaining a billion crazy fans.

The game was at last also released for the Windows Phone Store. At last! It's available to entertain Nokia and Windows Phone 8 enthusiasts which means that the whole Lumia family would be able to run it. 

Nope. Exclude Lumia 520 and 620 from the family being able to run it as Temple Run needs at least 1 GB RAM to be able to run on the Windows Phone 8.

Sadly, neither versions of the app can be installed on Lumia phones with half a GB RAM.

The image against this text tells us that apps that require a GB of phone's RAM or more won't show up in the Windows Store. 

An adventurous guy tried to manually install the app from the Windows Store on his PC, and copied the .xap file on his Lumia 620's SD Card but it was listed under the phone's Unsupported Apps section.

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Quick Tip #1 - Taking A Screenshot from your Nokia Lumia!

Finished customizing your start screen and want to share it with your friends? You can now take a screenshot of what you're seeing on your Nokia Lumia!

To do so, press the Power Key and the Start Button (the Windows Home button) simultaneously. CLICK, and you're done! Go to Photos > Albums and you'll see a new album named Screenshots.

Image Credits: Nokia

So, why are you still reading this post? Take a screenshot and brag about it!

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