First look at Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1—a free update to Windows 8—is coming later this year, and a prerelease version is available now for you to try. Windows 8.1 has new ways for you to personalize your PC and includes a wave of awesome new apps and services.



How to install Windows 8.1 Preview from an ISO file 

To install Windows 8.1 Preview from an ISO file, you must first convert the ISO file into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive.

If you're using Windows 8, follow these steps to install Windows 8.1 Preview from an ISO file:

• Download the ISO (.iso) file.


• Double-tap or double-click the ISO file.


• Double-tap or double-click setup.exe and follow the steps.

Download:-

Product Key: NTTX3-RV7VB-T7X7F-WQYYY-9Y92F

Important: Windows 8.1 Preview isn't currently supported on some tablets and PCs with newer 32-bit Atom processors. Get the details

Language		Link to download		SHA-1 hash value
English 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0xD8076E029292FBC933792D215793045031255FF6
English 32-bit (x86)		Download                                     (2.8 GB)		0x447CCD24EB3DC6CFD9A42E62A5F6418B578E3CBF
Arabic 64-bit (x64)		Download (2.8 GB)		0x15C3DD68E53C6B4602D06E2CAC577480D2E9331E
Arabic 32-bit (x86)		Download (3.8 GB)		0xC76BBB780893851892739768019EB8B9F235DF2A
Chinese (Simplified) 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.9 GB)		0xA34B8F71DCE39303F81402E2B44DA17117BB8970
Chinese (Simplified) 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.9 GB)		0xF394D21EB655867E455B2DCAAEC37A4160F6F812
Chinese (Traditional) 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.9 GB)		0x8A8F583D23B55F8D0BD1E3F6F3B3376F60A6498B
Chinese (Traditional) 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.9 GB)		0xF394D21EB655867E455B2DCAAEC37A4160F6F812
French 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0x77B998037F5117A0339E3C575DC575812186A36B
French 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0x938EAAF0CED4A4D80A4619945D22AECD8368F360
German 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0xD36DCEB20A734905D45FCC8A29CAFAEB83D8821F
German 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0xB59B03B978C9B9C79937E77F4FD86E6D4B3F605B
Japanese 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0x90550D4CF6084177F4D8B15FF1935F04E02A8C91
Japanese 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0x39AC35DC262DE7BA1E4FA76D22840A135F98C383
Korean 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0x42334C1334A3A5F3AF7D7BDBACA328ABA24E4514
Korean 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0xE15BB0ACD03AF0B034BC9C9C35F20C56D7702F97
Portuguese (Brazil) 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.7 GB)		0xFC163AB555EE347C3D70C608DFBC6860C48F1FCD
Portuguese (Brazil) 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0x8EE8EE031C656AE547E4076540562CEC132F741C
Russian 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.7 GB)		0xD23B862AE7FA349BBE84FCE4833CAF6EBE524104
Russian 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0xB2804B267B131C100E030B68EA826CC5328BDAFB
Spanish 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.8 GB)		0x83D93447997167F5DF1C37C1BE5DC897DAC28096
Spanish 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.8 GB)		0xE397E9B50FE449BFB3EBD68793CDE8B8C92E9036
Swedish 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.7 GB)		0xEE699B6D8B1B010E2F7AE56CF8A07683E3E077B2
Swedish 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.7 GB)		0x46830490C8A9D8B92FB5C1EB123915D55AB6C973
Turkish 64-bit (x64)		Download (3.7 GB)		0xF82792BD5629FE04CCD67EDA64E03DB1AFD2B7C7
Turkish 32-bit (x86)		Download (2.7 GB)

Shape-Shifting Dresses Respond To Stares

A great dress can easily move people into long fits of staring. Conversely, now those long fits of staring can actually move a dress.

It’s not polite to stare. But you might not be able to help yourself if you see someone wearing either of these two dresses made by fashion designer Ying Gao. Each one contorts and lights up whenever it detects a fixed gaze.

“We use an eye-tracking system so the dresses move when a spectator is staring,” Gao toldDezeen. “(The system) can also turn off the lights, then the dresses illuminate.”

The dresses are embedded with eye-tracking technology that reacts to an observer’s gaze by activating tiny motors that move parts of the dress in captivating patterns. Both gaze-activated dresses use glow-in-the-dark thread, creating a psychedelic effect when under black lights. One dress boasts an experimental design with luminescent tendrils, while the other has a more traditional cut.

“A photograph is said to be ‘spoiled’ by blinking eyes — here however, the concept of presence and of disappearance are questioned, as the experience of chiaroscuro (clarity/obscurity) is achieved through an unfixed gaze,” writes Gao.

Wearable Computers Make a Fashion Statement

A wearable computing trend is at the heart of the "quantified self" movement in which people track anything from how many calories they burn to how well they sleep or their moods at any given moment.

The notion of being fashionably smart is getting a makeover as internet-linked computers get woven into formerly brainless attire such as glasses, bracelets and shoes. A wearable computing trend is at the heart of the "quantified self" movement in which people track anything from how many calories they burn to how well they sleep or their moods at any given moment.

"We are heading for the wearable computing era," Gartner analyst Van Baker told AFP. "People are going to be walking around with personal area networks on their bodies and have multiple devices that talk to each other and the Web."

Google Glass and other augmented reality projects are about to break onto the scene. But what does an augmented reality look like and how can it enhance our lives.

Understandably, the trend has found traction in fitness with devices such as the Jawbone UP, Nike's FuelBand, and Fitbit keeping tabs on whether people are leading active, healthy lifestyles. The devices use sensors to detect micro movements and then feed information to smartphones or tablets, where applications tap into processing power to analyze data and provide feedback to users.

San Francisco-based Jawbone jumped into wearable computing years ago, building electronic brains into stylish wireless earpieces and speakers for smartphones. Jawbone recently added muscle to its lineup of fitness lifestyle devices with a deal to buy BodyMedia.

BodyMedia makes armbands used to track caloric burn of fat-shedding competitors on US reality television show "The Biggest Loser." "There's an enormous appetite for personal data and self-discovery among consumers that will only continue to grow," said Jawbone chief executive and founder Hosain Rahman.

A Forrester Research survey conducted early this year found that six percent of US adults wore a gadget to track performance in a sport, while five percent used a gadget like UP or Fitbit to track daily activity or how well they sleep. Worldwide shipments of wearable computing devices could climb as high as 30 million units this year, according to Forrester.

Cyborg Cockroach Controlled By Phone

Next time you happen across an enormous cockroach, check to see whether it’s got a backpack on. Then look for the person controlling its movements with a phone. The RoboRoach has arrived.

The RoboRoach is a system created by University of Michigan grads who have backgrounds in neuroscience, Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo. They came up with the cyborg roach idea as part of an effort to show students what real brain spiking activity looks like using off-the-shelf electronics.

Essentially the RoboRoach involves taking a real live cockroach, putting it under anesthesia and placing wires in its antenna. Then the cockroach is outfitted with a special lightweight little backpack Gage and Marzullo developed that sends pulses to the antenna, causing the neurons to fire and the roach to think there’s a wall on one side. So it turns. The backpack connects to a phone via Bluetooth, enabling a human user to steer the cockroach through an app.

Why? Why would anyone do this? ”We want to create neural interfaces that the general public can use,” the scientists say in a video. “Typically, to understand how these hardware devices and biological interfaces work, you’d have to go to graduate school in a neuro-engineering lab.” They added that the product is a learning tool, not a toy, and through it they hope to start a neuro-revolution.

Currently the duo’s Backyard Brains startup is raising money through a Kickstarter campaign to develop more fine-tuned prototypes, make them more affordable, and extend battery life. The startup says it will make the RoboRoach hardware by hand in an Ann Arbor hacker space.

This week the RoboRoach project was presented at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, and stirred up a bit of controversy. Although the RoboRoach creators say the stimulation doesn’t shock or harm the cockroach, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the BBC it has concerns about the technology. The neuroscientists’ opinion that the process doesn’t impose pain isn’t enough for the group.

Living in New York City, I battled plenty of cockroach invaders, including the large kind required for RoboRoach. So I can’t really be impartial in this particular ethical debate. But if teachers want to use cockroaches to show kids how the brain works, that sounds OK by me. It’s only when the insects become cyborgs on their own that we’d really have to worry.

Transparent Phone Screen Prevents Collisions

Multi-tasking on a smartphone can be dangerous, especially if it involves trying to read the screen while walking. A new application on the Android market should be a requirement for any smart device user taking to busy streets.

The free app, called Transparent Screen, is pretty self explanatory. Created by German Android application developer Sascha Affolter, the widget uses your camera to display an image of what’s going on behind your phone underneath your regular phone functions.

I took Transparent Screen for a spin on my phone around downtown Boulder, Colo. The app let me adjust the transparency level, showing more or less of the camera’s image depending on my preference.

On a sunny and cold day like today, even just seeing the regular phone screen through the glare and operating the phone with my icy fingertips was a challenge. Boulder’s sidewalks feel luxuriously giant compared to New York City, so there was plenty of time to see and avoid walking into dogs and snow banks.

In a major city, this app would certainly come in handy. You’d still need to either adjust the direction your phone is facing or glance up to avoid peripheral hazards like traffic and cyclists. However, Transparent Screen could save you from walking into posts, signs, walls, people and stepping in gross stuff like dog doo.

Using the camera does drain the battery somewhat and I found there was a slight delay in the image tracking, although that could have very well been the cold. On busy sidewalks, those tradeoffs might be well worth it for safety.

Today I noticed other people walking around Boulder with laser-like focuses on their smartphone screens. But nobody stayed like that for long. When the sun is shining and the Flatirons are dusted with snow, it’s easier to pocket the phone and enjoy the view.

Tilted 3-D Screens Coming Around The Bend

  

Whether for television or mobile devices, most 3-D displays have used autostereoscopic parallax barriers, such as liquid crystal displays, to give users a three-dimensional viewing experience.

However, a team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, have chosen a different route. They've developed Tilt Displays, a new type of screen composed of nine smaller panels that physically tilt and contort to give the impression of depth.

Glasses-Free 3-D Movie Theaters Coming Soon

In South Korea, a team of investigators thinks they have a way to show 3-D movies without glasses in commercial theaters.
3-D televisions are available now, and consumer electronics companies have  been showing off some glasses-free technologies (as on the Nintendo  3DS). But generally, theaters use a two-projector polarized light  system.

 

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Each projector displays an image, but the images are offset slightly. The  projectors, meanwhile, are sending out light that is polarized. That  means that at certain angles half the light is absorbed.

It's possible  to see this effect with sunglasses; two polarized lenses. Put one in  front of the other and start rotating it, and it's not possible to see  through them when one is perpendicular to the other. In movie theaters,  the 3-D glasses are polarized so that each eye only picks up one image  at a time, giving the illusion of depth. Two projectors, though, can be  cumbersome and expensive.
There are single projection methods, but those require even more moving  parts, involving physical barriers akin to venetian blinds between the  screen and the viewer. Called the parallax barrier method, the barriers  limit which image the eye sees, creating a 3-D illusion.
NEWS: Coming Soon: Live 3-D TV Without The Glasses
To fix this, the South Korean team, led by Byoungho Lee, professor at the  School of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University, used  polarizers to stop the passage of light after it reflects off the screen rather than doing so at the projector.

The polarizer is a coating  called called quarter-wave retarding film. It acts like the polarizers  in two-projector systems, except instead of relying on two images, it  splits up the single one coming off the screen to the eye. Basically, it moves the 3-D glasses to the screen, so the audience no longer has to  wear them.
It will be a while before theaters use this, but it's been shown to work  in at least two types of displays, and offers a path to cutting the  costs (and the admission prices) of 3D movies.

4K resolution

4K is a resolution standard in digital cinematography and computer graphics. The name is derived from the horizontal resolution, which is approximately 4,000 pixels (this designation is different from those used in the digital television industry, which are represented by the vertical pixel count). There are several different resolutions that qualify as 4K. YouTube is the only video hosting service that allows 4K videos to be streamed as it allows a resolution of up to 4096 x 3072 (12.6 megapixels).

4K resolution movie sample -