Windows 8 Central

If you were going to sum up Windows 8 in a single sentence, "It's all about the apps" would do the trick. And that's why a new study from Soluto, a company that offers a remote troubleshooting tool for Windows PCs, suggests a somewhat stark reality for Microsoft's new-look operating system.

I'm all in with Microsoft. I've got Windows 8 running on my primary work machine, I subscribe to Office 365 Home Premium , and I use almost every online consumer service that the company offers.

Microsoft has confirmed that smaller Windows 8 tablets will come to market in the near future. These will fill a gap in the Windows ecosystem and boost demand for Windows 8 by addressing key downsides to the early Surface tablets.

Microsoft just can't seem to keep a lid on it: A new development version of Windows 8.1, aka Windows Blue, was leaked this week on P2P sites, showing some new tweaks and improvements.

Now's a good time to buy a Windows 8 tablet or hybrid for cheap, with Microsoft slashing prices on several PCs in its online store.

Computers just aren't selling like they used to, and many critics, analysts, and longtime Windows users point the blame finger at one culprit in particular: Windows 8. Nobody's using Windows 8, they say. It's worse than New Coke, they say. PC shipments are cratering and it's all Windows 8's fault, they say.

We've had about six months to play with Windows 8 (like it or not) and with the first generation of hardware designed for the new OS. So now, with PCs based on Intel's Haswell CPU poised on the horizon, it's time to take stock of the best Windows 8 hardware available today. You may be able to snap one up for a bargain-basement price as the industry clears out inventory in anticipation of second-gen machines.

Companies make bad decisions all the time. Some of those decisions do irreparable harm, but others--like forcing users to boot to the new Modern interface in Windows 8, and taking away the Start button--can be reversed. Microsoft needs to ask whether it makes sense to backpedal.

It should've been awkward. This year's CES is the first show since Microsoft's amicable split with the Consumer Electronics Association. Redmond severed deep ties, giving up an annual booth in a marquee floor spot, and sidelining the dynamic duo of Ballmer and Gates, who had warmed up the crowd at 15 of the past 18 opening keynotes. Going in to this year's show, we expected the ambiance to match that first uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner after your parents get divorced.

Microsoft made big bets on Windows 8, Windows Phone and Surface tablets in 2012, and now it needs to make those bets to pay off. As more consumers and businesses go mobile, 2013 will be Microsoft's most challenging year yet.

When Microsoft's Windows 8 launched in late October, manufacturers released a plethora of devices to take advantage of the touch-inspired OS.

Lenovo Thursday introduced the IdeaCentre Q190, a follow-up to its Q180, which came out earlier this year.

HTC's fast and well-designed Windows Phone 8X is one of the first to use Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 smartphone operating system.

The HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is a cleanly designed, good performing Windows 8 laptop with a nice array of ports and good input ergonomics. The only issue is weight--the digitizer for the touchscreen, support for it and the overall build quality adds quite a bit of heft to the unit which travels at 5.3 pounds with AC adapter. That's heavy for a laptop with only a 14-inch display.

For users who want a regular monitor, but still want to control Windows 8 using touch gestures, LG Electronics has introduced the Touch 10 monitor.