The New Task Manager

One of the stand out features of Windows 8 that hasn’t got much attention is the updated Task Manager. It displays a wealth of useful information laid out logically and in a very aesthetically pleasing way. Some of this functionality existed in previous versions of Windows but was not nearly as accessible.

I am very impressed with Windows 8′s new dual approach of supporting novice and power-users alike. A good example of this can be seen on the initial launch of Task Manager where it is launched in a minimal state and can be expanded easily to the full fledged manager. Some of these exciting features and more can be seen in the new Windows 8 Developer Preview or you can follow the Building Windows 8 blog from Microsoft.

Control multiple PC’s with one mouse & keyboard

There has always been a very effective way to control all your PC’s across multiple operating systems by the use of Synergy. Until now there has not been any serious competition in this field.

Today Microsoft has introduced it’s alternative named Mouse Without Borders. This further develops the Synergy idea by allowing files to be dragged across the multiple PC’s. Unfortunately it is currently only available for Windows. Definitely worth taking Mouse Without Borders for a spin.

Windows 8, a preview

One of the things previewed today at the D9 conference was an early version of Windows 8 demonstrated by Steven Sinofsky. Looks like a giant Windows Phone? Well they seem to have finally incorporated the Metro UI into the next version of Windows.

Here’s a detailed look at what’s in store:

UPDATE: The full Windows 8 demo from the D9 conference is now available.

Streaming AirPlay on Mac & Windows

For those of you who own or have used an iOS device with AirPlay know how awesome it is when you can stream your content to another device with zero configuration. Currently your choices are limited to an Apple TV or an AirPlay enabled device.

For those of you with a Mac there is an elegant solution available called AirServer, which can stream audio, video and photos on to your Mac.

There are several apps available that have partial functionality on Windows.

• Shairport4w – Stream only audio
• AirMedia Player – Stream only video
• AirPlay for Windows Media Center – Streams all types (early beta)

They all require the Bonjour service to be running and QuickTime installed.