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Windows for Arm might come to M1: Playing AAA Windows games on Mac with Apple Silicon could soon be possible.

November 25, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 1,140 Comments Apple Games Mac Microsoft News Windows

Apple in 2020 announced it will be transitioning all of its mac line from intel to its own custom-built silicon. This shift meant that bootcamp would no longer work as Windows for ARM was only available from OEM unlike regular X86 based Windows which can be downloaded from the Internet.

Microsoft apparently had a deal with Qualcomm which made Qualcomm the exclusive manufacturer for the ARM based chips that would run Windows for ARM. Two people familiar with the deal told XDA that the deal is “Set to expire soon” but no exact date is put for when will the deal expire.

Apple Silicone based Macs are insanely power and the hardware is absolutely capable to run almost any AAA game title. With the latest integrated GPU in the M1 Max comparing to a RTX 3080 Mobile while still consuming a lot less power.

Apple M1 Pro M1 Max M1 Max GPU Performance vs High End PC 10182021 Windows for arm

Only limitation these new machines have is the lack of available titles for macOS. End of the Microsoft Qualcomm deal might mean that Microsoft could allow Apple users to install Windows for ARM using bootcamp.

Although Apple Silicon Mac don’t offer Boot Camp now, but we can hope that Apple would bring in the feature once Windows on Arm is available to install. Considering the fact that Craig Federighi, Apple’s VP of Software Engineering in November of 2020 said Windows for Arm can natively run-on Apple Silicon, but it is up to Microsoft to let it, we can assume that Apple wont mind bringing back Bootcamp.

Now there are still some problems left with Running AAA titles on these new machines including the fact that all these games are built for the X86 Architecture and not the ARM architecture. But building an emulation layer for X86 based apps for ARM is absolutely possible as we see with the Rosetta 2 emulation layer on MacOS.

Now gaming using an emulation layer is not the most ideal but if Microsoft could speed things up a little bit and try to get performance as close to native as they could the games would definitely be playable at a reasonable resolution and refresh rate.

While the deal is still in place apps like CrossOver allow users to run Windows software on Mac. Users can also use Parallels to run an Insider Preview Build on Windows on the M1 series Macs using virtualisation.

These solutions does not allow users to play every Windows game ever, but running a lot of Windows-only apps and software is possible also allow playing Windows games on Mac.

Microsoft Announces Windows 365, A subscription based cloud PC to carry your windows wherever you go.

July 15, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 227 Comments Featured Microsoft News Technology Windows

Microsoft today announced a new subscription based cloud service that lets you run Windows 11 on the cloud. This new service is built entirely for enterprise and will not be available for consumers. This service is similar to the Xbox Cloud Gaming service but built for productivity and business.

Now we would require a PC to run the Windows 365 so why use it? We’ll this allows users to store apps, files and documents making them available on any device, anywhere just the way they want it. It will be available on devices including Windows PC, Linux Machines, on tablets and even on Macs through the browser. The service takes advantage of Microsoft’s Azure Virtual PC.

The Windows 365 cloud PC can run all of the Microsoft 365 apps as well as any other app that can be installed on a regular Windows machine.

“Windows 365 takes the operating system to the Microsoft Cloud, securely streaming the full Windows experience—including all your apps, data, and settings—to your personal or corporate devices. This approach creates a fully new personal computing category, specifically for the hybrid world: the Cloud PC.” said Wangui McKelvey, General Manager, Microsoft 365.

A major advantage of this type of solution is it makes the task to managing employee machines easier. This also lets employees work from home from the Windows they use for work.

Windows 365 will be available from August 2, in two different versions, Enterprise and Business. The pricing for the subscription will be per user, per month based depending on the size of installation.

Microsoft surprised us by running Android Apps natively on Windows 11: Here’s how this exciting new feature works.

June 25, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 265 Comments Editor's Pick Microsoft Technology Windows

Microsoft recently launched Windows 11 but with a leaked copy already being out nothing at the launch event was really a surprise except Android App Support. Yeah, you read it right, You can now run Android apps natively on Windows.

Window s already has a very vast range of Apps for all types of stuff and this new feature gives users ability do a lot more from their Windows machine. Microsoft has partnered up with Intel to make use of Intel Bridge Technology that makes Android on Windows possible.

How Does all of this Work:

Android Apps on Windows are based on a something called Intel Bridge Technology. This is a runtime post-compiler that originally is a part of the company’s XPU strategy, and is not limited to android apps. This tech was developed to bring applications designed for various different hardware to the X86 platforms.

It is unclear how well would this work with AMD based devices however the Chip maker did say “Intel believes it is important to provide this capability across all x86 platforms and has designed Intel Bridge technology to support all x86 platforms (including AMD platforms), However, Intel delivers platforms that result in an optimized experience making Windows platforms running on Intel Core processors the best choice.”

The Microsoft-Amazon app store.

Amazon AppStore Android Apps on Windows 11 — Amazon AppStore in Microsoft Store app

windows 11 amazon app store listing Windows for arm — Amazon AppStore in Microsoft Store app

Microsoft did team up with Amazon to bring the Amazon App Store to Windows and right into the Windows Store App. You can download all the Android apps you need directly from the store app.

Conclusion

Microsoft did a great work with Windows 11 and bringing Android apps to its own Operating System. The mobile app support for Windows on ARM and Windows machines with AMD chips is still a bit suspicious. How well these apps work is something we will find out once the beta versions of the system start rolling out.

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Microsoft just announced its beautiful new Windows 11 and it definitely feels like the next generation of Windows.

June 25, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 1,590 Comments Featured Microsoft News Technology Windows

June 24, 2021, 8:30 pm IST Microsoft announced what it calls the ‘Next Generation of Windows’ a.k.a the Windows 11. The new Operating System comes with a completely rebuilt UI and a whole new way to do things.

The so-called Windows 11 under the hood is mostly the same Windows 10 but with a whole lot of improvements that make the overall user experience way better than what Windows 10 could deliver.

Reimagined Design

Windows 11 comes with a beautiful new UI that is different in every aspect. A new centered taskbar with centered icons and a Start Menu that comes in to the center are the first changes you would notice in the Windows.

The Start Menu on the Windows 11 is centered and now a lot simpler visually when compared to the ugly and complex start menu of the previous OS. The live tiles are no more and are replaced by a section of pinned App icons. Below this pinned apps section lies a recents section that shows all your recent files and documents for easy access.

The centered taskbar clearly gets its inspiration from macOS and Chrome OS with primary focus on icons and little to no text on the bar.

The entire OS now comes with rounded corners making the ui look more modern and fluid.

This new design language spans across the system making it a lot more consistent and uniform.

Screenshot 2021 06 25 at 00 47 22 Microsoft Windows Event Watch the June 24 LIVE stream Windows for arm

The new interface also extends the Acrylic backgrounds a lot more areas in apps.

Performance and Gaming

Windows 11 has a major focus on performance with support for direct storage allowing Major improvements to speed.

Direct storage there is a major feature hired from Xbox. Direct storage will require latest NVMe drives to speed up app and game load times.

WIN Xbox Game Pass 16x9 en US 1 1024x576 1 Windows for arm

For gaming Microsoft now has a new Xbox app that integrates Xbox game pass right into windows, Allowing users to stream games right from the Xbox app.

Microsoft announced DirectX 12. Games running on DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 will support auto HDR allowing Windows to enhance graphics of the game you’re playing.

Windows widgets

Microsoft has added a new icon to the taskbar Labelled as widgets. These new windows widgets provide information you need and want through a beautiful set of tiles that slide in with one click.

The Widget section also hosts latest news stories from Microsoft news.

WIN Widgets Light Theme 16x9 en US 1 1024x576 1 Windows for arm

All New Microsoft Store.

Microsoft has redesigned the Microsoft Store from the ground up. The new store app comes with new and beautiful UI. This new store is more open than ever allowing developers to submit their apps with their own commerce solution and technologies they choose.

Store Home Standalone 1 1600x900 1 Windows for arm

Android Apps

Windows 11 now natively supports Android Apps, using Intel Bridge Technology to run the apps and integrating the Amazon AppStore directly into Microsoft Store to access thousands of Android Applications directly from Microsoft Store.

Android Collection 1024x683 1 Windows for arm

When Will I be able to download Windows 11

Well Microsoft hasn’t announced a particular date for when will Windows 11 be available to the public. By the end of the year is what was told by Microsoft but we can definitely understand if the update gets pushed back due to Covid-19 and WFH situation.

We expect it to come out by October along with new hardware for Microsoft, Dell, Hp and all others.

Upgrade

Even though Microsoft broke its promise about Windows 10 being the last Windows. Windows as a Service lives hence all Windows 10 users will be getting a free upgrade to Windows 11 if using a supported machine that meets the minimum requirement.

Windows now have its own Linux-like package manager and it is really good.

June 21, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 361 Comments Editor's Pick How To Microsoft Technology Windows

If you are comfortable with a Linux-based machine you probably know what a package manager is and you probably do miss it when using a Windows machine.

For those who don’t know what a package manager is, well it is usually a command-line program that automates the process of downloading, installing, configuring, upgrading, or removing applications from your OS.

Most Linux distros have a package manager built-in and it makes the process of installing apps super easy.

On Windows, you had the option to install some third-party package managers like Chocolatey, but Microsoft has its own Windows Package Manager.

Although this does not come out of the box with Windows, but is ready to be used.

How to install the Windows Package Manager.

If you run a Windows Insider build you probably already have the Winget client installed. For those who don’t you can get the winget client with App Installer from Microsoft Store. Details about the process can be found in the documentation provided by Microsoft.

How to find and install apps using the Windows Package Manager.

To use the WPM you need to remember a few super important commands that include

winget search app_name

winget install app_name

winget upgrade app_name

winget uninstall app_name

These are pretty obvious and won’t take long to get used to.

The winget search command searches the app you input in the Microsoft Community Repository and shows you related results.

You can then type in the winget install app_name command to install the required app.

The winget upgrade command is used to upgrade to the latest version of a specific package while winget upgrade—all can be used to upgrade all the packages.

The winget uninstall app_name as the command suggests it uninstalls the specific app.

Summary

This is just the beginning of what the windows package manager could do. We also expect Microsoft to bring a GUI for the tool which is currently command-line only and to also ship it out of the box with the upcoming Windows 11 operating system.

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Windows 11 got leaked: and it’s basically the minimalist Windows 10x for single screen PC.

June 16, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 139 Comments Featured Microsoft News Technology Windows

Just a week before it’s official launch on the 24th of June screenshots of Windows 11 are leaked by Chinese website Baidu. Now the entire OS is available online. All with the new user interface, a new start menu, and more.

The Windows 11 looks very similar to that Microsoft showcased for it’s Windows 10x OS which was to first seen on Microsoft’s Surface Neo. This update looks a lot like the new Windows 11 is inspired from the latest macOS.

Microsoft has updated icons from across the OS with more Fluent design icons.

The start menu is just what we expected with the Windows 10X like app icons and recents, shortcuts and a quick menu to shutdown or restart. The new start is a lot simplified and does drop the Live Tiles.

The Start along with other taskbar icons is centered but can be shifted to the left if user prefers.

Microsoft is now back to using rounded corners across the system and does also include the dark mode.

Windows now also has a new icon in the taskbar that is labelled as Widgets, this works similar to widgets in macOS, sliding in from the side when required. These widgets include quick look and access to news, weather, and other web content.

Windows 11 has new controls to snap the window to different locations on the screen that can be accessed through the maximise button from the app window.

Microsoft was working on a Windows 10X for dual screen devices which later was said to even come to regular laptops but after it was canceled now Microsoft is clearly using a large part of the system in the Windows 11.

This new leak does look a lot more like a refined version of the Windows 10 OS than a new OS because that is what it is. Many of the system apps in this build are same windows 10 apps but this is a very early build and most of the apps including the new Microsoft Store are expected to come soon.

Microsoft is giving up on their promise, but free Windows 11 sounds great.

June 7, 2021

by Aditya Mali with 2,817 Comments Featured Microsoft News Technology Windows

Upcoming Microsoft Event and Windows 11

Microsoft promised that Windows 10 would be the last Windows version and new features would come gradually as free upgrades to the existing operating system, hence providing Windows as a service.

But now things seem different, Microsoft with new leadership is ready to launch what could be Windows 11 by the end of this month.

This tweet about an upcoming event on the 24th of June at 11 am ET hints towards the number 11 with the sunlight falling in through the windows logo.

Join us June 24th at 11 am ET for the #MicrosoftEvent to see what’s next. https://t.co/kSQYIDZSyi pic.twitter.com/Emb5GPHOf0
— Windows (@Windows) June 2, 2021

CEO Satya Nadella also confirmed during the Build 2021 Developer Conference that the next generation of Windows is coming.
The update will host a whole new UI with more rounded and natural UI elements across the Operating System.

What we expect from Windows 11

A Uniform and Consistent UI that will extend to both win32 as well as universal windows platform modern apps. A cleaner look is expected.
The taskbar on Windows 11 is supposed to be cleaner with new features some of which are already coming to the latest Windows 10 build for some users.
A new action center that is similar to what Microsoft had planned for the now-dead Windows 10x OS.
A revamped Start Menu is also a must, with no live tiles but bigger and bolder App icons. We also expect a new file explorer that supports multiple tabs and a fresh look.
Windows 10 has been in the market for almost 10 years now. A new UI
has been a long due and the Windows 10 UI is starting to show its age.
It still remains pretty unclear how much change would come to the stability and robustness of the operating system, how much performance gain would we see. What we do know is that a new and beautiful UI is coming and we can not wait to see it.

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