Windows in pictures

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  In Pictures: Greatest comebacks in tech history
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  In Pictures: The big, wide world of Windows 8 hardware
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  SLIDESHOW: Most Anticipated Tech Products of 2012
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  SLIDESHOW:9 festive Microsoft themes for Windows 7

• Windows 8 Update: Microsoft sacks iPad in Windows 8 ad, joins forces with NFL

  By Tim Greene | 24 May, 2013 14:18

  A new ad from Microsoft mocks iPads by comparing them a unfavorably a to tablets running Windows 8, which receive live updates on their Start screens, run office apps, display two apps at a time and support Microsoft Office applications a things iPads don't do.

• Windows 8 Update: Microsoft sacks iPad in Windows 8 ad, join forces with NFL

  By Tim Greene | 23 May, 2013 20:33

  A new ad from Microsoft mocks iPads by comparing them – unfavorably – to tablets running Windows 8, which receive live updates on their Start screens, run office apps, display two apps at a time and support Microsoft Office applications – things iPads don't do.

• Windows 8 users snub 'Modern' apps, stick to desktop

  By Gregg Keizer | 23 May, 2013 19:29

  A majority of consumer and small business Windows 8 PC users launch fewer than one "Modern" app a day, signaling that they're spending most of their time on the classic Windows 7-style desktop, according to data released Wednesday.

• Google engineer bashes Microsoft's handling of security researchers, discloses Windows zero-day

  By Gregg Keizer | 23 May, 2013 09:47

  A Google security engineer accused Microsoft of treating outside researchers with "great hostility" days before posting details of an unpatched vulnerability in Windows that could be used to crash PCs or gain additional access rights.

• And the study says: Windows 8 users rarely touch Metro apps

  By Brad Chacos | 22 May, 2013 20:56

  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.

• Touchscreen notebooks snag 10 per cent of the laptop market, report claims

  By Ian Paul | 21 May, 2013 20:40

  Windows 8 was rebuilt from the ground up with a finger-friendly focus. That proved to be a problem during the operating system's early days. In the months immediately after launch, touchscreen Windows devices cost an arm and a leg, and that's if you could even find one; during the 2012 holiday season shoppers were hard-pressed to find a touch-based laptop.

• Boutique PC seller laughs all the way to the bank on the back of Windows 7

  By Gregg Keizer | 20 May, 2013 18:04

  A boutique system builder has bucked the industry trend of slumping PC sales by continuing to focus on selling Windows 7 machines.

• Microsoft's $300M Nook investment hasn't paid off -- yet

  By Gregg Keizer | 20 May, 2013 10:14

  Microsoft has gotten next to nothing from its $300 million investment in Barnes & Noble, analysts said, but it may reap some rewards as it prepares to ship smaller tablets.

• Q&A: Microsoft's Windows marketing chief says Apple's 'scared'

  By Eric Lai | 09 June, 2009 08:51

  Do you love Microsoft Corp.'s recent TV ads? Hate its "Apple Tax" marketing campaign? Then meet Brad Brooks. As Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows consumer product marketing, Brooks approved both campaigns as part of his goal of burnishing Windows 7's image in advance of its October launch (and tarnishing Apple's).

• Windows 8 is an enterprise 'non-starter' because IT sees no value in changes

  By Gregg Keizer | 17 May, 2013 14:43

  Windows 8 faces a number of hurdles in the enterprise, but the biggest reason it won't replace the current corporate champion, Windows 7, is simple: IT shops don't think it's worth the upgrade hassle.

• Is Windows 8 really killing the PC market?

  By Ian Paul | 14 May, 2013 00:12

  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.

• Microsoft's counter-attack against Windows 8 coverage makes it 'look weak'

  By Gregg Keizer | 13 May, 2013 18:49

  Microsoft on Friday called some media coverage of its plans to update Windows 8 sensationalist and an effort to drive website page views.

• Why Microsoft won't charge for Windows Blue - this time

  By Gregg Keizer | 13 May, 2013 10:24

  Sometime soon, Microsoft will tell Windows 8 users whether they will have to pay for the upgrade code-named "Blue," and if so, how much. Analysts don't expect it to charge anything for the update.

• Analysts challenge Microsoft's commitment to Windows RT

  By Gregg Keizer | 10 May, 2013 18:17

  One of Microsoft's top Windows executives this week said the company remains bullish about Windows RT, but analysts remain suspicious of RT's chances unless Microsoft makes changes.

• Microsoft's drip-drip-drip Windows communications strategy dubbed a washout

  By Gregg Keizer | 07 May, 2013 20:22

  Microsoft's Tami Reller, the CFO and head of marketing for the Windows division, went on a mini publicity spree. But she didn't say very much.

• Would you use a Cloud-based version of Windows?

  By Ian Paul | 02 May, 2013 22:24

  It's been two years since Chromebooks running Google's Chrome OS appeared on store shelves. So far, Google's plan - to turn your Web browser into an operating system and websites into desktop-app replacements - does not appear to be catching on

• The best Windows 8 machines you can buy today

  By Melissa Riofrio | 22 April, 2013 15:25

  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.