This article was last updated on May 25, 2022
Canada: 
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USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…From SkyDrive to Games, Windows 8 apps will get a refresh before October 26 launch
Microsoft begins a 3 week roll-out of upgrades to their Windows 8 RTM today with a Bing update.
Every Microsoft app from the Windows Store will get minor updates to tweak performance and app features before the general release of Windows 8 on October 26, 2012 says the Building Windows 8 blog.
This is the last push before the big day for Microsoft. A list of the built-in apps and changes follows. Computer manufacturers get the update as well, although they may not install them if they have gone to manufacturing. This is why a new Windows computer will always check for updates.
The App updates are only being released on the 90 day licensed Windows 8 RTM which shipped in August. The RTM is not worth the effort since it cannot be upgraded to the release Windows 8. You must do a clean install of Windows 8 when it ships wiping out any software and applications that were installed on RTM. See Windows 8 RTM is not a gift.
I installed the RTM on a separate drive to test Sonar X2 which was just released but don’t use it very often. It’s not worth the effort to install all my applications over and over at the whim of Microsoft. The Windows 8 Release Preview works fine.
Hardware and software partners are making daily announcements of Windows 8 certified hardware so the race to launch day is on. One of the interesting things we don’t see are any multi-touch monitors that uses can buy to upgrade their systems. Mostly the announcements have been for All-In-One computers, tablets and laptops.
Planar announced one expensive multi-touch monitor that won’t be too popular at $800. People expect monitors to cost $200 to $400. The certification requirements for Windows 8 monitors include resolution and multi-touch. The Acer T231H monitor I reviewed in the spring works great but it is not certified.
Most of the Windows Store apps are early products with limited feature sets, except SkyDrive which is a great cloud storage app. They are about the level of the crude applications Apple ships with the iPhone and iPad. Right now they seemed targeted at mobile users with laptop and desktop users heading back to their favourite Windows 7 programs.
By Stephen Pate, NJN Network
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