Microsoft will be releasing an update to the current Windows 8.1 OS, tentatively called Windows 8.1 Update 1, on March 11, according to ZDNet. The update will brings several under the hood changes, as well as a bunch of user facing ones that will help bridge the gap between the desktop and ‘Metro’ modes.

One of the new changes said to be present in Update 1 is the ability to pin Metro-style apps to the taskbar in the desktop mode. This will allow you to launch those app quickly just as you would a standard desktop app. You can also hover over the icons of minimized apps to see a thumbnail preview. Lastly, Metro-style apps are also said to get a close button that will make it easier and more obvious on how to quit an app. Read more »

Thanks to some images that popped up over in Russian leakster WZor we get a glimpse of what Microsoft is working on for the first update to Windows 8.1.

In said leaked shots we see metro apps (in this case the Store) pinned on the taskbar in Windows 8.1 update 1 Desktop mode. An option dubbed ‘Show Store apps on the taskbar’ seems the likely culprit here – pictures after the break. Read more »

If you’ve flashed a Samsung Android device then you’ve encountered Odin and you’ve done it through your Windows PC. CASUAL recently launched JOdin3, which is written in Java and supports Linux, Mac OS X and even Raspberry Pi. You can run it in a web browser, too, if you like.

JOdin3 looks mostly like Odin3, which people are familiar with, but uses the Heimdall as a base. This means the app will require a PIT file, but it can automatically grab it for itself if you don’t have it at hand. Read more »

After enabling RAW shooting support for the Lumia 1020 and 1520 with the Lumia Black update Nokia is now helping those that use it to get better results with Adobe Lightroom.

DNG stands for Digital Negative and is basically a file containing all the information that the sensor has captured (rather than the JPEG images which use lossy compression) and give you more options in post processing. The DNG file has its own color profile and you can tinker with it in order to get interesting or more accurate results but to save you time Nokia has released three color profiles that can be inserted straight into Adobe Lightroom. Read more »

Google has released a new version of Chrome (32.0.1700.76) for Windows, OS X and Linux that brings with it some useful new features, such as showing activity of multimedia status on tabs, supervised users and special mode for Windows 8.1.

We often have dozens of tabs open on your browser and then one of them starts playing a sound and we have no idea which one is responsible for it. With the latest update, Chrome will now show a speaker icon on any tab that is currently playing a sound, so you know where to go to mute that annoying sound. It will also show a red dot if a tab is using your webcam and a blue rectangle if a tab is casting to your TV connected to a Chromecast. Read more »

It’s no secret that Windows 8 hasn’t exactly been a resounding success. So what’s the best way to fix a failed OS? Start over. That’s what Paul Thurott, a Windows news maven, believes will happen in April of 2015 with the release of Windows 9.

Thurott believes that Microsoft’s Build 2014 developer conference will see the announcement of Windows 9 this April, with the release of the OS set for the following year.

Windows 8 came under a lot of fire for its wild redesign. The Start menu’s absence being the most notorious omission from Microsoft’s new OS. Well the beloved Start menu should be making a comeback in Windows 9, and it’s rumored that it may return even as early as the Windows 8.1 update. Read more »

Microsoft has released its ‘Project Siena’, which allows you to create your own Windows app without any hassles. The Windows 8.1 app is designed to help also those enthusiasts who would love to build an app without any programming skills.

The new project from the Redmond giant is focused on creating relatively small applications with high visuals, images, shapes and buttons. Read more »

The popular free calling and chat service Viber has expanded its availability today and has now hit the Windows 8 Store.

The release comes 7 months after the company released Viber for PC and Mac and the new app is fully optimized for the Windows 8 touch interface. Read more »

Twitter has updated its Mac application to v3.0. The latest version of the popular social networking client now comes with a refreshed design, which changes the overall look and feel of the app.

Twitter for Mac 3.0 also comes with visual and engaging timelines. You can now preview the photos in the front and center and you are just a click away from seeing the details of the image. Read more »

Everyone’s favorite cross-platform calling and VOIP service, Viber, has announced Viber Out, its latest service that lets users place calls to any phone number.

More importantly, Viber is directly targeting Skype’s similarly-named Skype Out service by offering significantly cheaper rates. Read more »

Google has updated its Calendar service with a couple of new features that can really help you get more organized. First off Google Maps lends a helping hand and you will now receive auto-complete location results when filling the location of events.

Once the event has been created the users you’ve invited will have a click on the map option, which will show them exactly where the event will be held instead of wondering where to go. Read more »

The official CyanogenMod installer was pulled out of the Google Play Store. The app was voluntarily removed after the Google Play Support team contacted CyanogenMod that its creation was violating the store’s terms.

The app specifically violated the Google Play Store Terms of Service by encouraging users to void the warranty of their devices, despite being harmless in its nature. Read more »

Adobe switched to a subscription model for tis Creative Suite earlier this year, renaming it Creative Cloud. It was pricy – up to $50 a month for the whole suite. Now there’s a promotion that will allow you to pay only $10 a month for Photoshop CC, Lightroom 5, Behance ProSite and 20GB of cloud storage over the next year.

Previously, the $10 a month deal was only available for people who owned Photoshop CS3. Read more »

One of the most popular music player of all time will be gone for good next month. AOL has announced that it will be shutting down the iconic Winamp player on December 20, following which you won’t be able to download it again or get any further updates.

Winamp has been available for Windows since 1997 and was one of the most popular music players back then. Not only was it insanely customizable, thanks to support for a myriads of plugins and skins, it was also known for its superb audio quality among audiophiles. Read more »

As promised, the developers from CyanogenMod Inc. released an installer to help users with flashing the company’s popular Android ROMs on their device. The app is currently available for free in the Google Play Store.

The app requires companion desktop software which is available to download on Windows PCs for free. Read more »