In a cunning move to pull customers away from the iPhone, Microsoft has launched an Xbox LIVE app onto the Apple App Store. Xbox LIVE is currently one of the best features of Windows Phone, and a feature that allows Windows Phone owners to connect their smartphones up to their favourite games console.

But Microsoft is not sacrificing one of their best features just for the sake of some App Store sales – the Xbox for iPhone app is available for free. The app is instead intended to show the many Xbox owning iPhone users what they are missing by not owning a Windows Phone.

The app, known as My Xbox LIVE, allows users to connect with their Xbox and edit their profile and avatar. They can also add new friends and compare achievements with other Xbox players. The app stops short of providing the sort of functionality available on Windows Phone. iPhone users cannot interact with the content on their console, play games or purchase content from the Xbox store.

In fact, the My Xbox LIVE app is fairly useless and impotent, but for many iPhone owners who are also keen Xbox gamers, it may give them something to think about when their iPhone contract is about to expire. Buy another iPhone, and be stuck with the likes of Cut the Rope and Angry Birds, or buy a Windows Phone and be blessed with all the goodness of their Xbox?

Sneakily, the My Xbox LIVE app also resembles Windows Phone, with its Live Tiles interface. This is also to get people more familiar with Microsoft’s mobile OS – as lack of exposure is perhaps one of the main reasons that Windows Phone has not performed as well as Microsoft would have liked. That could be about to change with the launch of the new Nokia Lumia, as the Finnish phone company has promised to spend an unprecedented amount of money on marketing this phone.

One of the best features about Windows Phone is the Xbox LIVE support that comes as standard. The iPhone may have its Game Center, and Android has some N64 and PlayStation emulators, but aside from the rather slapdash Sony Ericsson Xperia Play there has not really been any smartphones that fully utilized gaming from the world of consoles.

Now news has emerged that Microsoft is putting one of its best smartphone features onto the iOS App Store for iPhone owners to use. However, the new My Xbox LIVE app does not offer the same sort of functionality as Xbox on Windows Phone, as it only allows users to redesign their profile, edit their friends list and compare achievements.

The app does not allow iPhone owners to play games or interact with content on their Xbox console. The primary motivation behind Microsoft’s decision to release this app for iOS appears to be to tempt iOS users over to Windows Phone. This can be seen by the fact that Microsoft has designed the app to resemble Windows Phone in its look and feel, thus making people more familiar with the overlooked mobile OS.

Microsoft recently launched an online simulation of Windows Phone that people can use on Android and iPhone, so they can see roughly how the system works on a touchscreen device. This simulation and the new Xbox LIVE app appear to demonstrate that Microsoft is really quite keen on upping its presence in the smartphone market.

Since it was launched in 2010 Windows Phone has not managed to get much more than around 5% share of the smartphone market. Compared to iPhone, which is roughly 30%, and Android which is usually floating around the 50% mark, Windows Phone has been largely ignored due to criticisms of a lack of features and apps. Windows Phone is a much younger OS though, and its app store is growing at a rapid rate. Features like Xbox LIVE offer something to phone users that Android and iPhone cannot compete with, and Microsoft hope that this will help to win over many Xbox owning iPhone users over the next year when there will be plenty of new Windows running Nokia phone deals on offer.

Nokia had put a lot of its hopes and dreams into the new Lumia 800. The company, once undisputed kings of the mobile phone industry, have been having a hard time for the last few years. Since the launch of the first iPhone back in 2007, the industry has changed dramatically and consumer demand has shifted with it, and Nokia has not managed to adapt as well as some other companies like Samsung and HTC.

The decision made earlier in the year to partner with Microsoft and exclusively produce Windows Phones was a big gamble, and its first Windows Phone, the Lumia 800, was bound to set the tone for all future Nokia Windows Phones. As Nokia and Microsoft have signed their deal for the next few years, it is important that it gets off to a good start, and Nokia decided to push the boat out and spend more money marketing the Lumia than it has done for any phone it has previously produced.

While Nokia claim that the first week of sales for the Lumia have been the best for any new phone they have released, there are also reports that Nokia have cut their expected sales figures for the new phone by more than half. Nokia had expected to sell 2 million by the end of the year, but now expects to sell less than a million – making this a slower phone launch than the Nokia N8 Symbian phone.

Part of the problem may be that, while the Lumia has entered into the public consciousness through a large dose of television advertising, the phone has been experiencing severe battery issues much like the new iPhone 4S. But while Apple were at least quick to appear to try and solve the problem, Nokia have stated they will not be launching a software patch to fix the issue until well into 2012.

Not only is this highly annoying for people who have already purchased the Lumia and are having to charge their new phone several times a day, but it is also going to be quite off-putting for people had been considering the Lumia as their next phone. If Nokia really have so much riding on this phone it would be in their best interests to get these battery issues sorted out as quickly as possible – certainly before the mad shopping rush that will take place in the week leading up to Christmas, when many people will consider a smartphone contract with free gift as an ideal way to get two Christmas presents in one.

The battery problems have blighted an otherwise excellent product from Nokia, which is certainly their best smartphone to be released in recent years. It adopts the same design as the earlier N9, which was a hugely popular phone, although it comes with a much more intuitive and feature rich operating system in the form of Windows Phone – the most socially oriented phone OS on offer, that comes with great entertainment features through Zune and Xbox LIVE.

Here is hoping that Nokia get this issue sorted soon, as the Lumia is perhaps the biggest reason for people to consider purchasing Windows Phone deals right now, with HTC and Samsung not having produced Windows Phone handsets for quite some time.

Like Windows 7 Public betas Microsoft has made the first Windows 8 Developer Preview build publicly available for download to all Windows enthusiast.  Unlike Windows 7, Microsoft did managed to keep tight lied on Windows 8 leaks and it was worth the wait for first official preview build since all the new Metro UI and features can be seen on in this Windows 8 Developer Preview which Microsoft demoed today at Build conference.

Windows 8 Developer Preview is available in ISO format for 32-bit and 64-bit OS. Also Microsoft had made Windows 8 Developer Preview Build along with developer tools (x64) ISO. It should be noted that developer preview is pre-beta version hence it may or may not work correctly and should be available on production machines.

All the machines capable of running Windows 7 should be able to run Windows 8 developer preview without any issue however if you are wondering what are the idea specs for running Windows 8 then check the below list,

1. 1 Gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

2. 1 Gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

3. 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

4. DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

5. Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch

In order to install Windows 8 Developer Preview you would require to burn ISO files on DVD. You can use Windows Disc Image Burner which comes with Windows 7.

Download Windows 8 Developer Preview Build ISO

Windows 8 Developer Preview with developer tools (x64).

Windows 8 Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64).

Windows 8 Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86).

A lot of Microsoft users complain about Windows 7 crashes nowadays. Apparently, the system just crashes at random – sometimes after logging in, sometimes during intense games, sometimes while files are being worked, and sometimes even just while surfing the World Wide Web. Several users have even dubbed this glitch with a name: the black screen of death. This name has come about because the computer’s screen just turns black and crashes without warning. This crash can definitely be very frustrating, but the good news is that there are several ways to fix this particular problem. Here’s how.

1. Get a RAM or memory upgrade. Every piece of software that is currently installed into your computer needs a certain amount of RAM for it to run properly. Aside from these applications, your overall operating system will need resources to run properly, too. So, if you want all of your applications to run smoothly and to stop crashing randomly, then you need to make sure you free up enough space for them or simply upgrade your RAM or memory. The choice is yours.

2. Get rid of viruses and spyware. It would be of the utmost essence to perform scans that will check for virus infections and spyware in your computer system on  regular basis. Remember: there might be some dormant and hidden malware in there that you will have to delete, so always make sure you update your computer with the latest security updates and virus definitions. This will ensure that it runs at its optimum performance at all times.

3. Fix your Windows 7 registry. In a nutshell, this registry refers to a database that keeps records of all the activities done on your computer. It also has options and settings that Windows will constantly reference during its operation. As time goes by, more and more information will get added onto this registry and congest it with redundant entries. However, these entries aren’t valid anymore, so crashes may occur in some Windows 7 operating systems.

Yes, a clean registry can help you fix your problems with Windows 7 crashes. However, it wouldn’t be possible to do this manually since the majority of people out there cannot figure out which of the registry entries are actually valid or not. Because of this, you have to install a registry cleaner first, which will scan your registry thoroughly and clean up invalid and obsolete entries. Plus, doing this will create a backup, as well, so you can still restore things to their original state in the future if you ever have to.

If you follow all of the tips mentioned in this article, you will be able to improve the speed of your computer in no time, as well as optimize its overall performance and get rid of all your Windows 7 crash problems. Believe it.

About the author: Ray Sean is a computer savvy and loves to tackle about blogging techniques, SEO, latest technology. He also enjoys covering topics on networking and troubleshooting for an expat community blog that provides  prepaid calling cards and calling cards to India from Germany for international travelers. Take an additional 10% off with coupon code “acc10″.

Windows Phone 7 was Microsoft’s answer to the new touchscreen era with many critics of the older Windows Mobile claiming it was not fit for purpose. WP7 was designed from the ground up and truly offers something unique compared to Android and the iPhone. It has a much more social emphasis with excellent entertainment on offer with Zune and Xbox. Although it was first released over a year ago though, it has so far failed to make much of a splash.

That was true and looked likely to remain true until Nokia announced the new Lumia 800. To date only Samsung and HTC have released a small number of Windows Phone 7 devices, but Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft, announced at the start of the year, should bring a great deal more Windows Phones to the market. Nokia is investing a lot of advertising money to push Nokia Lumia contracts and it certainly looks like the most appealing Windows Phone yet.

At first glance the Lumia looks a lot like the MeeGo powered Nokia N9. It has the same brightly coloured design and identical physical proportions. The big thing about the N9 was that it operated on a purely touchscreen basis – with absolutely no buttons on the front. The Lumia does come with buttons though, Windows softkeys placed beneath the display. Because of this the Lumia’s screen is ever so slightly smaller than the N9′s – although this is the only recognizable difference between the two phones from the outside.

Of course, in the software department the two phones are entirely different. Although there was originally a lot of interest in MeeGo it has since been dropped by Nokia – meaning that future support for updates and apps will be limited. On this phone Windows Phone 7 actually looks a whole lot more appealing – and like a much more complete operating system.

Windows Phone 7 is not very customizable, and so there is not much about the Lumia’s interface that is very different to, say, the HTC Titan or Samsung Omnia W. Nokia has endeavored to include some of its more traditional services on its Windows Phones though, including its maps and navigation services. The Lumia comes with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Music – helping to differentiate the Lumia from other Windows Phones somewhat.

The Lumia 800 comes with the new Mango update for Windows Phone 7, including all the new features for cloud computing and improved social networking integration. One new feature that was added into Mango is the support for front camera video calling – unfortunately this is not a feature that has made its way into the Lumia as it does not have a front facing camera.

On the other hand, it does have an excellent main camera. The 8 megapixel camera comes with Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and 720p video – and is easily as good as the camera on the earlier Nokia N8.

It is make or break time – for Nokia and for Windows Phone 7 – which is evident by the amount of money that Nokia is spending to market the Lumia (more than any previous Nokia phone). The adverts look tantalizing, as does the phone itself – and this could easily become one of the best mobile phone deals of 2011. This could indeed be the start of a great new partnership between Nokia and Microsoft.

The new Windows 8 download has a number of features that will not only make it easier to use cloud computing, it will also encourage us to use cloud computing. There is no reason to fear cloud computing – are you getting ideas of calling your computer repairs professional already? Actually, the term does not do it justice. There is not really a cloud and when we understand that, we can see how much we can benefit. Here is a look at cloud computing and why the new Windows 8 operating system will encourage us to use it, and more importantly, seriously benefit from it.

Not cloud
Cloud computing means your files and applications are not stored on your computer. We are using cloud computing in many ways already, from email accounts, Facebook and personal banking. When we access Facebook, we are actually accessing an online application, the same as any other application on our personal computer. There is no difference except the application is not on our computer, and our files are stored on the Facebook servers. If you have a fear of cloud computing and safety, with this explanation it should be gone.

Install Windows 8
After you install the new operating system, you will notice some big changes immediately, and other differences you will not be able to see. Windows is going to take us into the world of cloud computing with the features we cannot see. The biggest on being the applications that work in our browsers, such as Facebook, will be able to work directly on our operating system. This will mean they will work faster, and we can expect many more new applications as there are many people who can program for browsers. The Facebook application is already being developed.

Many devices
The new operating system will be the same operating system on any Windows devices. This means you will have the same operating system on tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktops. If you are working on one file on your laptop and you want to continue that on your smartphone on your way to work on the bus, it only pays to use cloud services. This means you will store your file on a server, and not on your laptop or smartphone. The new operating system will have these choices. No more copying a copy to your phone before you leave home. Changing a file on a single device will include it being synched on all your devices.

With less messing around, much easier use because of a simplified interface, and more online applications, we can use our computer support services for more positive and business building, instead of getting them to fix our current issues and problems. The new Windows operating system will make personal computing easier, and much of that is done because of cloud computing. Even your operating system will update itself each time you turn it on. In effect, the operating system is based on cloud computing itself.

HTC has had a number of forays into the Windows market and the latest is the HTC Radar which uses the new and also highly acclaimed Windows Phone 7 Mango operating system. This new OS update is meant to offer a complete multitasking experience to users and is seen as bringing Windows Phone 7 contracts a big step into the mobile phone market.

Lucky for Windows the HTC Radar is quite a nice looking phone and it feels strong due to its aluminum casing and other features such as its large screen look attractive and premium. The phone is a 3.8 inch mid range device that HTC will be expecting to sell as well as anything they have released before in the Windows arena. The device comes in both black and white and has three buttons on the bottom, as is the Windows way – the only downside being it may be considered a little thick.

The device is powered by a Snapdragon 1GHz processor that we have seen in a number of other phones and is considered to be an excellent little chip that is deserved of it popularity. This will impress many and we found it to be excellent when dealing with the multitasking abilities of the Windows Mango operating system

HTC have included a 5mp camera with the phone which is capable of 720p recording. This will go well with the WVGA screen which is one of the best HTC have produced in recent times and is good in bright conditions – not a HTC strong point.

The device comes with a mixture of HTC apps and also a number of applications which are reserved for Windows phone such as a new and improved social media option and the excellent carousel feature which comes in very handy when multi tasking.

The device also comes with DLNA streaming and the Watch app from HTC. This app allows you to stream movies much in the way of Love Film or other providers to your phone for a set fee every month. You can then stream lossless via DLNA to your TV allowing you to watch full HD footage on your television.

The phone comes with 8GB of memory so streaming is a great option for such a phone, as well as being useful it also is a great way not to eat up memory.

Overall we like the HTC, it may be a little thick, though is an attractive and very capable phone – a Window’s phone at that.

Do you know the number one threat that can cause harm to your computer? If you have been using the Internet for 24 hours 7 days in a week, then for sure your computer has already been infected with spyware. Spyware is a kind of malware that can retrieve personal and private information without your knowledge and permission.

Is your personal information at risk? Actually, every time you go online without enough protection on your computer, there will be programs that automatically install onto your computer such as cookies and tracking devices. This is where spyware comes into the picture. Spyware and other forms of malware can track your internet behavior. Not only that, they can embed malicious activities like monitoring every activity you do online as well as getting information from your personal files.

So what can you do to stop this kind of malicious activity going on into your computer? Well, the easiest and the simplest solution to resolve this dilemma is to install a good anti-spyware software. But first and foremost, what are you going to look for in anti-spyware software? Well, to guide you in acquiring one, here is a list for your serious consideration when you are looking for the best anti-spyware software for your computer.

• Ease of Use – The software that you are about to use must be a user friendly. It must come with a manual that is easy to understand.
• Effective in Detection – You need to know how effective it can detect spyware getting into your computer. Aside from this, you must have to see if it got real time protection from spyware and how effective it is in detecting spyware and other malware.
• Effective in removing spyware – You need to be assured that the anti spyware software can effectively remove spyware from your computer
• System Performance – Once the software has been installed into the system and it will not cause the computer to crawl, then this is a good sign that the software can provide good system performance in your device.
• Scan Performance – You need to know if  you can continue using your computer even if the anti spyware software is performing a total scan on your computer. If your computer can go on with its work as usual even with the scanner doing its thing, then the software is a good one. Some softwares totally paralyzes your activities since you need to wait until the scanning is completely finished before you can use your computer.

Learning to select the best anti-spyware software can help you remove spyware and even block them beforehand before they can penetrate into your computer’s system and do serious damage.

Windows Phone 7 devices have been given a new lease of life with the new Windows Mango update. We compare two of the best, the colossal HTC Titan deals and the relatively demure Samsung Omnia W, which still manages to have a 3.7nch screen and somehow seems small relative to the HTC.

The biggest talking point with these devices is the large 4.7 inch screen that HTC have packaged the Titan with. This huge screen makes the Titan one of the largest available phones on the current UK market and is impressive size for watching footage and web browsing, though its huge size means you may need to have huge pockets.
The Omnia W is something smaller, though is still a decent device as far as size is concerned. It has an excellent Super AMOLED screen and though not as large as the HTC, it surely is a more impressive phone in the quality stakes. So, this is a case of size versus ability to an extent.
Looks wise the Omnia has an industrial styling, whereas the HTC is very typical of the Taiwanese company and doesn’t stand out from their many other handsets. So for sheer balls we prefer the Samsung, even though HTC’s typical design of phones is an excellent one that has always been popular with consumers.
The Omnia comes with a 1.4GHz processor which certainly powers it adequately and ensures the Windows Mango phone works to a good degree. This is contrasted with the effort from HTC, which involves a 1.5GHz chip with 512MB of RAM. The two are pretty much the same pace and there is little sign of lag with the large chips and the multi-tasking operating system does what it does best.

Samsung have given the Omnia W a 5mp camera that can shoot 720p video – great for everyday needs although not quite on par with some more recent Android phones from Samsung and HTC. HTC have given the Titan the same, though it seems to have a better lens and takes better quality pictures.
The operating system on both phones is nice and multitask orientation means the phones are very enjoyable to use. Both offer similar speed when in use, however we just loved the Samsung’s screen and even though the HTC has a great big WVGA display the Samsung trumps it for quality.

Overall both phones have their benefits and downsides and it is nearly too hard to pick a winner, though we would just slide the Omnia in front due to its styling.