Windows 8 is approaching its one-year birthday, and while that usually means a new version is in the works for most products, Microsoft usually puts a few years in between versions to keep things steady. However, the company may be speeding things up, as, according to Geek.com,  it’s rumored that Windows 9 is planned for release sometime next year.

According to an anonymous source who goes by WZOR (and who has been behind numerous Microsoft leaks in the past), Windows 9 will see the light of day in 2014. No other details were provided, other than the claim that Aero would be making a comeback in Windows 9 after disappearing in Windows 8, since it was a hot feature that many avid Windows users missed.

Details on Windows 10 were also provided, with claims that the future operating system will be a “cloud OS,” meaning that all of the processing and computing would be done on Microsoft’s servers, and be streamed to your computer, completely eliminating the need for a powerful rig and only requiring the basic bits to run peripherals and such. Windows 10 would essentially just be a new cloud service for Microsoft, on top of Office 365 and the new Xbox Cloud on Xbox One, pushing the company further into the cloud ecosystem.

Of course, we would like to remind you to take these rumors with a grain of salt, as WZOR says he received the information from a third party, which means the info could’ve easily gotten misinterpreted on the way, similar to a game of telephone that you used to play in grade school. The technology for a full cloud OS is certainly there, but it definitely needs a bit of work before Microsoft can make it a mainstream product. Here’s hoping that the company can pull it off, and by then local storage may be a thing of the past.

Until then, we’re still waiting for Windows 8.1′s release in October, so let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. 

 despite a very great attempt by Canonical and some big companies such as the Bloomberg, the Ubuntu Edge has failed to reach it's 32 million USD goal, ending up with just a mere $12,809,906 pledged instead. While the goal was pretty far from being reached, there's a lot more proven about this effort than just not reaching the goal.

It may be hard to find your files in Explorer on Windows 8. Due to the hidden functions, you are limited in your file searches and basically do not have full control of your own computer system.

The limitations can be very frustrating. Wouldn’t it be great to have access to all settings in just one folder – like having divine overall access to your computer, to have the ability to do anything, with every single option available within reach?

In Windows, this is aptly termed ‘GodMode’. It is a hidden control option, which gives you access to all the options on your computer. In this tutorial, you will learn how to activate it.

To activate God Mode in Windows 8, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Desktop

2. Right-click and select New Folder.

3. Right-click on the New Folder and select Rename.

4. Change the name of the folder [just copy & paste the following string]:  
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} 

5. Open the folder and you will find every utility Windows 8 has under the sun.

Note: With God Mode, you can easily access all the Administrative options and make any desired adjustments.

Enjoy!

Sony updated its smart watch Tuesday, introducing the Sony Smart Watch 2 at Shanghai's Mobile Asia Expo.

Designed to be used as a second screen for your Android smartphone, the water-resistant smart watch has NFC (near-field communication) connectivity, and can be personalized with apps based on how you want to use it.

“Competitors are only now launching first-generation devices, while we are already launching a third-generation device with all the insight gained from over half a million customers combined with Sony’s wealth of technology expertise to create the best ever smart-watch experience,” Stefan K Persson, head of companion products at Sony Mobile Communications, said in a press release announcing the watch.

“We have over 200 unique apps dedicated for Sony SmartWatch, with over one million downloads to date, and we are continuing to work with our strong developer network to deliver ever more compelling smart-watch experiences."

For fitness buffs, mapping apps for the SmartWatch can help track your biking excursions, while apps such as Runtastic can make it easier to monitor progress towards your fitness goals.

The watch also includes basic features, such as displaying caller ID information, calendar entries, as well as Twitter and Facebook notifications.

The Sony SmartWatch 2 will be available worldwide this September.

Mere hours after the Moto X made it to stores, the iFixit guys have already torn it apart, revealing its innards to all. The guts of the American-assembled handset aren't entirely a surprise: under the hood we've got a motherboard, 16GB of eMMC NAND storage, the usual rear and front camera modules, inductive charging coils and a 3.8-volt 2200mAH lithium-ion battery. The disassemblers praised the replaceability of various modular components, as the tablet uses only one type of screw throughout. Its taped-in battery, display-fused digitizer and sticky adhesives took the Moto X down a few pegs, but its final score of 7 out of 10 still makes this one of the more easily repairable smartphones on iFixit's list. To have a look at just how Google and Motorola's lovechild was put together, hit the source link below.

For years now, Microsoft watchers have wondered about the timing and other specifics of Steve Ballmer’s departure. Now we know them — or a lot more than we did yesterday, anyway. After 33 years at the company, the executive who started at Microsoft in 1980 and has been its CEO since 2000 has announced that he’ll retire within the next 12 months, once a successor has been named.

For folks interested primarily in the stock market, Ballmer’s time as Microsoft’s head honcho is defined by the fact that its shares have largely flat-lined during his tenure. Here, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha, is a chart comparing how MSFT has compared to AAPL during that time period:

If you — like me — don’t care much about Microsoft’s stock price, Ballmer’s legacy is far more complicated. It can’t be summed up in a chart or a tweet or even in one blog post.

I am not among the man’s harshest critics, in part because I believe that all tech-company hegemonies are destined to decline, sooner or later. The dustbin of tech-company history is littered with outfits which were once market-defining behemoths: Lotus, WordPerfect, Netscape, Palm and oh, so many more. Microsoft in 2013 is not a company on the verge of joining them: It’s still making vast amounts of money and managing to be highly competitive in everything from mundane business software to blockbuster videogames.