E-Tech: How to download and install Windows 8.1 Update 1 for free (right now)

E-Tech: How to download and install Windows 8.1 Update 1 for free (right now)

Nokia 3310 given 41-megapixel camera upgrade on April Fools’ Day

ust when one thought that Nokia will launch even more products in its Nokia X family running Android or new Lumia devices based on Windows Phone 8.1, April Fools’ Day comes and Nokia announces its heritage 3310 in a new avatar.

The Nokia 3310, which was initially launched in 2000 and is one of the most successful phones ever released by Nokia, has made a modern-day comeback.

The Finnish giant has introduced its 3310 sporting a

41-megapixel PureView sensor with Zeiss optics and Xenon flash. Further, the 3310 is seen boasting a huge camera hump at the back panel, much like Nokia 808 PureView and Nokia Lumia 1020.

The company claims that the Nokia 3310 now runs a modified version of Windows 8 (yes, you heard it right) with a new ‘ClearDiamond’ 3-inch WXGA (768×1280) display.

The Nokia 3310 PureView will be available in Blue, Dark Blue, Green, Red and Yellow colour variants.

The revamped Nokia 3310 is a touchscreen device and also sports three soft-touch navigation buttons, alongside a Windows Phone ‘home’ button.

Other specifications of the Nokia 3310 include a 1.5GHz dual-core processor; 2GB of RAM; 1430mAh battery; 32GB inbuilt storage; Bluetooth 4.0; Wi-Fi and 3G.

The yesteryear device Nokia 3310 comes with pre-loaded with four games – Snake II, Pairs II, Space Impact and Bantumi. Other pre-installed apps include MS Office, Xbox Games, Outlook and OneDrive.

Nokia notes that the Nokia 3310 will be rolled out with 3G connectivity, while LTE-enabled devices will follow later this year.

Commenting on the Juha Alakarhu, Nokia’s Head of Imaging Technologies said, “I’m really excited that we’ve found a way to marry our innovative PureView technology with such a beloved device. With its durable design and iconic look, we think even more people will enjoy our signature PureView magic.”

Earlier on Tuesday, HTC and Samsung both showed off smart-gloves on April Fools’ Day.

Samsung hit the hammer first, announcing its first ‘all-over-hand’ wearable device dubbed Samsung Fingers that features a flexible Super Emo-LED for the technology-sensitive consumer. HTC on the other hand teased its HTC Gluuv, which is also a smart-glove.

Google, despite being one of the biggest tech companies showed off its unique sense of humour and that’s most apparent on April 1 every year. The Mountain View giant has a long list of gags that include Google Pokemon Maps, Gmail Shelfie, Emoji Translate in Chrome, Auto Awesome Photobombs, Google Magic Hand, Nest Total Temperature Contro and WazeDates.

NOKIA 3310 GETS 41-MEGAPIXEL, WINDOWS PHONE MAKEOVER

Heritage, much-loved and foolproof handset brought back from the ashes with powerful PureView imaging capabilities.

Initially released in the year 2000, the Nokia 3310 went on to be one of the most successful mobile phones ever. More than 125 million were sold and, thanks to a small group of Nokia fanatics, this cult handset is making a modern-day comeback.

Staying near-true to the original design, the Nokia 3310 with

PureView will add a 41MP PureView camera with Zeiss optics and Xenon flash, and will run a modified version of Windows Phone 8 to fit the unique ‘ClearDiamond’ three-inch touch screen.

As well as the classic metallic dark blue, the Nokia 3310 with PureView will also come in yellow, blue, red and green.

Three ‘soft-touch’ navigation keys still feature a Windows Phone ‘home’ button has been introduced to you straight back to the Start Screen.

LiveTiles and App Folders are supported and it comes pre-installed with MS Office, Xbox Games, Outlook and OneDrive that offers 7GB free cloud storage out of the box.

Juha Alakarhu, Nokia head of Imaging Technologies, said:

“I’m really excited that we’ve found a way to marry our innovative PureView technology with such a beloved device. With its durable design and iconic look, we think even more people will enjoy our signature PureView magic ”

To power the next-gen operating system and class-leading camera, Nokia engineers have achieved the unthinkable, scaling down a dual-core processor, 2GB RAM and 32GB of on-board storage into a case that mimics the original size (113 x 48 x 22mm) and weight (133g).

A side-mounted MicroSD card slot offers additional storage expansion. The first devices will rollout with 3G connectivity while LTE-equipped devices will follow later in the year.

With a nostalgic nod to yesteryear, the Nokia 3310 with PureView comes pre-loaded with four games – Snake II, Pairs II, Space Impact and Bantumi -, a currency converter and original monophonic ringtones.

Norman Gage, who has been campaigning for the return of the Nokia 3310 since its discontinuation, said:

“It’s an historic day. For five years, we’ve worked hard to make our voice heard and now our dreams are about to become reality. Personally, I’d have preferred to keep the five-line, monochrome screen, six ringing-tone volume levels and original message templates, but you can’t win them all!”

Were you an original Nokia 3310 owner? Will you upgrade? Let us know, below.

Specifications

Dimensions
Height: 113 mm
Width: 48 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight: 133 g
Display and User Interface
Display size: 3-inch ‘ClearDiamond’
Display resolution: WXGA (1280 x 768)
Display features: Brightness control, Nokia Glance screen, Refresh rate 60 Hz, Sunlight readability enhancements, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3, PureMotion HD+, Sculpted glass, Wide viewing angle
Display colors: TrueColor (24-bit/16M)
Touch screen technology: Super sensitive touch
Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Barometer,
Gyroscope, Magnetometer
Keys and Input Methods
User Input: Touch + Softkey
Operating keys: Volume keys, Camera key, Power/Lock key, Microsoft Home, Navigation keys.
Hardware
Connectivity
SIM card type: Micro SIM
Charging connectors: Micro-USB
AV connectors: 3.5 mm audio connector
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi: WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
Network: 3G
Battery:
Battery capacity: 1430 mAh
Battery voltage: 3.7 V
Removable battery: Yes
Wireless charging: No
Processor
Processor type: Dual-core 1.5 GHz
Memory
User data storage: In device
RAM: 2 GB
Mass memory3: 32 GB
Free cloud storage: 7 GB
Photography
Primary camera sensor size: 41 MP, PureView
Camera Focus Type: Auto focus
ZEISS optics: Yes
Sensor size: 1/1.5 inch
Main camera f-number/aperture: f/2.2
Camera focal length: 26 mm
Camera minimum focus range: 15 cm
Camera image formats: JPEG
Camera Flash Type: Xenon flash
Flash operating range: 4.0 m
Flash modes: Off, Automatic, On
Main camera features
Main camera – other features: 6-lens optics, Backside-illuminated image sensor, High resolution zoom 3x, Optical image stabilization, PureView
Image capturing
Capture modes: Video, Still
Scene modes: Automatic, Sports, Night
White balance modes: Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Automatic
Light sensitivity: Automatic, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200
Video
Camera video resolution: 1080p (Full HD, 1920 x 1080)
Camera video frame rate: 30 fps
Camera video zoom: 6 x
Video playback frame rate: 30 fps

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NOKIA 3310 LOADED WITH 41MPs running Win8

Don’t wait for Windows 9: How to get a Start Menu, windowed Metro apps today

THE ALL NEW BUNCH OF CHANGES YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE

Between the release of the PC-friendly spring update for Windows 8.1 and the newfound introduction of universal “buy once, play anywhere” Windows apps, Microsoft is doing all it can to spur the One Microsoft vision while, well, letting a PC be a PC and a tablet be a tablet. But, sadly, the most anticipated improvements have yet to arrive.
At Build 2014, Microsoft operating system head Terry Myerson teased bringing the Start Menu to Windows 8, along with the ability to run universal Metro apps in desktop windows rather than the full screens they consume today. (See screenshot above.) Myerson didn’t say when the features were going live, however—only that they’d eventually appear in a later update for Windows 8.1 users. Does that mean later this year? The Windows “Threshold” update rumored for April 2015? Windows 9? No one knows.
But you don’t
have to wait to get those killer features. With the first universal apps hitting the various Windows Stores this week, here’s how to bring a Start menu and windowed Metro apps to Windows 8.1 today.

The return of the Start Menu

A slew of Start menu replacements hit the web the second the Start Menu-less Windows 8 hit the streets, but when it comes time to put your cash on the line, the decision boils down to just two programs: Stardock’s Start8 and Classic Shell.

THE START MENU

Those reviews have all the nitty-gritty details, but you’ll probably want to start with Classic Shell
since it’s donationware. Classic Shell includes options for both Windows XP- and Windows 7-style
Start menus, along with numerous customization options. You can tinker with what’s listed in the
Classic Shell Start Menu, or even change the look of its Start button to an icon of your choice. Cool
stuff, indeed.
Start8, meanwhile, offers either a Windows 7 Start Menu or a Modern UI-tinged Windows 8 Start
Menu that’s more in line with what Microsoft itself is cooking up. The $5 Start8 app is more polished
and easier to use than the open-source Classic Shell, which is chock full of ugly buttons. Start8 still
offers plenty of options and features, though, and you can’t go wrong with either program.

Windowed desktop Metro apps

Sure, the recent update to Windows 8.1 adds plenty of mouse-friendly features, but it still doesn’t let you use Modern apps in desktop windows. If you want that capability today, you only have one place to turn: The utterly superb ModernMix software.

NOW YOU CAN PIN YOU WIN8.1 APPS TO YOUR TASKBAR

Again offered by Stardock—do you get the feeling that the folks at Stardock weren’t impressed by Windows 8?—ModernMix exists solely to let you run Windows Store apps in desktop Windows. It’s wonderful if you use Windows 8’s native apps, such as email, calendar, and Music, all of which stick to the Modern UI.
ModernMix runs like a charm even with the updates recently introduced to Windows 8.1. It’s well worth the $5 admission price.

Bringing it all together

There you have it: For less than the cost of a pizza, you can have Windows 9’s most-anticipated improvements right now. And once you’ve welcomed a Start Menu replacement and ModernMix into your workflow—especially paired with the Windows 8.1 spring Update’s tremendous tweaks —you might just be surprised how well those newfangled Modern apps translate to the familiar desktop experience.

All Users Must Install Windows 8.1 Update Now;

If you have Windows 8.1, you have a little less than a month to install Windows 8.1 Update, or you will miss out on future security updates.
Microsoft announced a fairly large update for the most recent version of its Windows operating system, with the unoriginal moniker “Windows 8.1 Update” (Win8.1U), as part of its April Patch Tuesday release last week. Users who download and install the update (or have updates installed automatically), don’t have anything to worry about. They will continue to receive security updates going forward. Users who don’t install Win8.1U will
not be able to install future patches from Microsoft. If they attempt to install the patch anyway, they will receive a message stating the update is “not applicable.”
Failure to install Win8.1U will prevent Windows Update from patching your system starting in May, Microsoft warned. After businesses protested, Microsoft has extended the deadline for enterprise customers to August, but the deadline for consumers remains May 13.
The new update “reflects Microsoft’s commitment to providing a more rapid cadence of feature improvements for our customers,” Brandon LeBlanc, a senior marketing manager at Microsoft, wrote on a TechNet blog Wednesday.
Who Has to Update by Next Month
In case you were wondering, this doesn’t apply to Windows 8 users who have not yet upgraded to Windows 8.1. They have until January 12, 2016 to upgrade to Windows 8.1—and then will need Win8.1U (or whatever the latest version would be) to continue receiving patches. Windows 8 users, along with Windows 7 and Vista users, will continue receiving security updates. Windows XP users won’t get any security updates, ever, since Microsoft finally, officially, yanked support for the OS last week.
“You cannot afford to miss out on receiving your Windows security updates, so you’ll just have to adjust to the new world order—and hopefully find Microsoft’s changes to the way Windows 8.1 works a positive step,” Graham Cluley, an independent security consultant, wrote on the Lumension blog.
Many of Microsoft’s business customers criticized the move, noting that in the past, Microsoft gave businesses 24 months to install a service pack update. They also said five weeks was not enough time to accommodate the time necessary to test and deploy patches. The problem was compounded by the fact that many users were also having trouble installing the update when originally announced last week.
Microsoft released the fixed update this week, and said enterprises have until August 12 to comply. The same August deadline also applies to Windows Server 2012 R2 Update, also announced last week.
The May 13 deadline is still in place for consumers. “For our consumer customers, Windows 8.1 Update is a required update and needs to be installed to receive new updates from Windows Update starting on May 13th,” said LeBlanc. “The vast majority of these customers already have Automatic Update turned on, so they don’t need to be concerned since the update will simply install in the background prior to May 13th.”
It’s worth taking the time to manual check, since some users report having to manually start the update despite having Automatic Update enabled.
What is Win8.1U?
Windows 8.1 Update offers a slew of user interface changes, such as more friendly support for users who prefer to use the keyboard and mouse over a touch interface, an improved version of Internet Explorer 11, and the ability to boot directly to a traditional desktop rather than the Windows 8 Start Screen. Many of these changes “will probably be warmly welcomed by users,” Cluley said.
Microsoft wants to ensure that customers are running the latest versions of the operating system. The new update for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 RT and Windows 8.1, “will be considered a new servicing/support baseline,” wrote Steve Thomas, a senior consultant at Microsoft, on a TechNet blog last week.
Even so, it will be difficult for small businesses—the ones who don’t have the expensive enterprise support contracts—to test and install a major update, 707 MB in size, with less than a month to go. The clock is ticking, again, for Windows administrators