Technology, Operating System | featured news

Microsoft is launching the most complete preview yet of its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system, the biggest redesign since Windows 95.

Microsoft's usual plan is to offer a free upgrade to users of older versions of Windows to bump up to the next release version. This time around there will be a cost, according to sources.

Windows 8 is now available for anyone to download, and it already shows a ton of potential. Here are the top 10 ways Windows 8 is better than the iPad right now.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview was downloaded a million times in its first day of availability.

Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 for public testing on Wednesday in the hope that it will help the brand win back some of the ground it has been losing to Apple and Google.

Microsoft has unveiled its Windows 8 logo, and explained its design in detail on Friday. The company wanted to incorporate parts of its new Metro design principles while retaining some classic aspects.

Apple's got a new big cat on the prowl. Its name is Mountain Lion, and it's the next major release of Mac OS X. The software is being released as a preview to Apple developers today, with a commercial release to follow sometime this summer through the company's Mac App Store. Like Lion before it, Apple has imbued the new software with many of the top-billed features from the iPhone and iPad, all with the intent of making its computers more useful and approachable to the millions that have snatched up an iOS device in recent years. It's also a direct response to recently-added features on those devices that--for better or worse--make the Mac a less essential piece of the puzzle.

Huawei honors the hacker community, releases "demo" Android Ice Cream Sandwich ROM for their Honor smartphone.

Android developers have released a version of 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that can run on chips found in most personal computers, from netbooks and laptops to desktop towers.

Some assembly required, at this point, but exciting news, especially if you’re a tinkerer. Microsoft will build a special version of the Kinect motion controller for the Windows, Craig Eisler, general manager of Kinect for Windows wrote in a blog post Tuesday. The Kinect has been a hit on Microsoft’s XBox360 gaming console, but the motion-sensor has also sparked widespread interest from tinkerers, hackers, scientists and startups.