Will an Upgrade to Windows 8 be a Popular Move?

When Apple first announced the iPad, Steve Jobs said in the keynote address that the great thing about it was that it ran on OS X. Microsoft is doing something similar with Windows 8. They said at the last Microsoft Build conference that the new operating system was intended to be just the one OS for both tablets that ran Windows and PCs. Which is quite a step away from how Microsoft usually does things. They usually like at least 10 different versions of the same thing. Well, if you routinely tune out when hearing about the new Windows operating system, perhaps you should listen now. There's a lot to like in Windows 8. It does things that the iPad and the MacBook should, but can't. Suffice it to say that when it comes out sometime next year, you'll be a frantic to upgrade Windows 8.

Every successful computing device out there gets that way because it has a unique feature that people need that no one else has. The MacBook air has its anemic profile, of course. But apart from that, since it's a machine that runs on a solid-state drive, it has (almost) instant-on. You press the button and a couple seconds later, it's completely ready for anything you want to throw at it. There are lots of people who want to upgrade to a MacBook Air just for that one thing. You'll want to upgrade to Windows 8 just for this one thing too. Running on a regular laptop with a regular hard drive, Windows 8 starts up in under 10 seconds.

Certainly, no one really thinks to compare iPhone's iOS with Windows Phone 7. However, there is one thing everyone loves about Windows Phone – the interface that's tile-based. It’s strange thing for a full-blown PC operating systems to mimic a phone operating system, but there it is – Windows 8 borrows the successful tile interface from Windows 7. If you're using this on a tablet, it's far more usable than simple icons. Multitasking becomes very easy too. If you're for instance looking at your Facebook newsfeed, you can just dock it to one side of the screen and switch to something else like a music video on YouTube. At the Microsoft conference, they showed a cool way to set a password without a password. You just have to set parts of the screen that you have to touch in the right sequence to unlock your computer.

Heard more about how the cloud is going to take over our computing lives than you’ve actually seen happen? Well, upgrade to Windows 8 and you’ll actually see it happen. Every Windows user gets to tap into Microsoft SkyDrive. Come to think of it, this should be a great way to control piracy.

The best sign that an upgrade to Windows 8 is a great idea? Remember how journalists always simply hate Microsoft? Vista was barely a twinkle in Microsoft's eye (eww!) when the entire journalistic community joined hands to dismiss it altogether. Well, every story that's been done about Windows 8 so far has been a very gushy one.

Popular Vacation Destinations For the Cash-Strapped Traveler

While I have always loved to travel, I have not always been in the best financial position to traipse off around the world on a whim. That is why I decided a long time ago to research and plan and discover the most popular vacation destinations for the cash-strapped traveler. Here is what I came up with a while back.

One of the most popular vacation destinations for the cash-strapped traveler that I have discovered is Denver. The reason that I say this is because the Mile High City seems to be a place where visitors can really get the most bang for their buck. Besides being a beautiful city itself, one of the things that makes Denver among the more popular vacation destinations is its proximity to so many interesting places and geographical wonders.

From Denver, a traveler has easy access to Rocky Mountain National Park, Arapaho National Forrest, and the Continental Divide, but also to the Red Rocks Amphitheater and other sources of entertainment. One is within driving distance of some of the most beautiful landscapes North America has to offer, and if you are not planning to stay long, it is pretty affordable.

Another of the more popular vacation destinations for the financially challenged tourist is our nation's capital. Washington, D.C. has so many places to go and see and the history that is available is probably unparalleled in the United States. The great thing about D.C. is that much of what one would do in terms of sight-seeing or visiting museums is either free or relatively inexpensive. I know that I can spend an entire day walking around the mall, seeing the different historical monuments.

I have found that it is typically very easy to get a flight to Washington, D.C., regardless of where you are flying from, and the airline tickets are typically not that costly. I think one of the greatest things about this country is that traveling to the capital city and seeing much of what one reads about in books, hears about on historical TV programs and learns about in the news on a regular basis is fairly inexpensive to go and experience first-hand.

One of the more popular vacation destinations for me when I was younger was New Orleans. It may seem like it would be expensive, and it certainly can be, but there are a lot of things to see and experience that don't cost a thing. For instance, a lot of bands play on street corners and in courtyards and all you really have to do is toss in a few bucks, or a few cents depending on how cash-strapped you really are, to listen to some good music!