Heading to the Windows Store, customers will see a
variety of apps -- the tiny programmes for mobile computers -- divided into
categories of services offered or ones that have received top ratings from
other users.
However, Microsoft still does not offer a comprehensive
search of its store.
An alternative is heading to the MetroStore Scanner site,
which offers a selection of interesting and free apps.
BROWSER: Internet
Explorer 10 now comes as a sleek app. If it won’t open a page, it’s possible to
easily switch to the desktop browser. So far, no alternative browsers are
available for the system.
CHATTING: A
pre-programmed app lets users chat in Facebook with Windows Live Messenger. A
Skype app can also be installed for video chats.
DOCUMENTS AND NOTES: OneNote
can be used for jotting down ideas.
That service can access the online storage device
Skydrive, so those ideas can be shared with other devices. Meanwhile, the app
Doo organizes, sorts and labels various documents.
DRAWING: A touchscreen
invites artistic creativity, especially with SketchBook Express or Paint a
Story. There are also kid-friendly apps like Fresh Paint, Paint 4 Kids or
Finger Paint.
GAMES: The pre-installed
games app leads to Microsoft’s XBox Games platform. It’s not necessary to
create a profile. Just break off that process and then it is possible to
download free titles. The store also has countless non-XBox titles, including
Cut the Rope or BallStrike.
INSTALLATION: A
lot of standard apps from Microsoft come pre-installed, including ones for
email, calendar, contacts, camera, maps, news, pictures, music, videos and
games, as well as Internet Explorer and Skydrive.
KNOWLEDGE: The Wikipedia
app offers the standard search functions and presents beautiful photos and
readable entries. Also consider the Ponsa dictionary app, which spans 13
languages.
MAPS: Microsoft’s map app
merges route planning and traffic data.
Inrix Traffic is also a good option.
MUSIC: Pre-installed apps
offer the option to play one’s songs as well as stream music from the internet,
with ads blended in. TuneIn can pull in thousands of internet radio broadcasts
while Soundrivin accesses the music platform Soundcloud, which includes many
non-mainstream tracks.
Other options include Soundtracker, while Music Maker Jam
allows people to compose their own tunes.
NETWORKS: Updates from
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be followed via the pre-installed contact
apps. There’s also MetroTwit, or Mine for Facebook, which can both be
downloaded.
NEWS: Microsoft’s news app is not the only source for
Windows 8 users. Consider Dark RSS Reader or Pulse News, which allow the
creation of individualized news feeds. The Big Picture specializes in photos.
PHOTOS: Photobucket is
a good resource for getting pictures online so they can be shared. TLVstagram
is also good for accessing the flood of images from Instagram with the use of
keywords.
SEARCH: If you don’t
like the pre-installed Bing system, find Google in the Windows Store.
VIDEOS AND TV: Microsoft’s
video app isn’t just a player, but a video library. There’s also a Windows 8
app in development for the popular open source software VLC Media Player.
Zattoo is good for watching live television, while Vmetro is good for watching
news.
No comments:
Post a Comment