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Windows XP: 2001-2014

This evening Windows XP will be taken off life support and pass into the ether of magnetic media. Loved by millions across the globe, XP will be missed by many. The child of Windows ME and Windows 2000, Windows XP joined the robustness of a 32-bit NT kernel with a friendly consumer interface, and proved to be greater than the sum of its parents.



In its early years, Windows XP was frequently derided as “garish” or “cartoonish,” but its tenacity eventually won over the hearts of millions. XP experimented in the mobile space with Windows XP Tablet Edition during its adolescence, which ultimately was a growing phase for the young OS that didn’t work out as expected. During a journey of minimalism, XP crammed itself onto pint-sized netbooks that gave people half as much to carry, but took four times as long to launch anything.


While well-loved, XP was a bit shy. Getting to know it closely required greeting it with a 25 digital alphanumeric code. However, if engaged too frequently XP would often shut down and pout, refusing to cooperate unless you talked to its parents on the phone in Redmond. Windows XP spent much of its life on a quest of rediscovery. Every two or three years, it would go on a spiritual journey of service, packing a care package of renewed faith in the form of three Service Packs—each with things to love, and things to hate. Despite it all, XP always tried its hardest to please.

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Windows Phone 8.1 full features

Windows Phone 8.1 features


CORTANA
Cortana is powered by Bing. She gets to know you by learning your interests over time. She looks out for you, providing proactive, useful recommendations. And Cortana keeps you closer to the people and things you care about most, by keeping track of all that matters.

PERSONALIZATION
Windows Phone has Live Tiles, which bring personalized information right to your Start screen. Pin your friends and family to see their timeline posts, status updates, and tweets in real time. You can pin apps, websites, music albums, and whatever else you can’t live without.

START BACKGROUND 
Pick a favorite photo to shine through certain Tiles. Another way your Windows Phone reflects what matters most.

MAKE IT YOURS 
You can rearrange your Start screen Tiles and adjust their size based on the stuff you care about. With two to three columns of personalized Tiles and the ability to switch your phone’s accent color, make it how you want, whenever you want.
Take your best shot

CAMERA
Everyone’s a great photographer with Windows Phone. Whether you want the Windows Phone with the best video recording or prefer one with 41 megapixels for detailed photos, there’s a Windows Phone for you. And no matter which you choose, you can shoot, edit, and share photos instantly.

PHOTO APPS
Apps like Instagram and Photosynth help you enhance your photos. Lens apps, built in to your camera, add great filters and special effects.

BURST MODE 
Capture multiple photos with one press of the camera button, so you can get that perfect action shot.

COLLECTIONS 
It’s easy to find photos since they are automatically organized by date, location, and activity.
Windows across all your screens

CONNECTED DEVICES
Your life is full. Full of people, events, music, photos, and videos. We’ve reinvented the Windows experience across all your screens—phones, tablets, and PCs—so you can shoot, share, work, and play anywhere.

APPS & GAMES
Windows Phone is the only phone with Xbox built-in. On Xbox Live you can stay connected to gaming achievements, friends, and multiplayer action, all across your phone, PC, and console.3 Don’t forget about Xbox Music and Xbox Video, which allow you to bring your favorite music and movies wherever you go. With Xbox in your pocket, you’ll always be entertained.


APPS THAT COME ALIVE
Find the apps you love on your Windows Phone. Discover apps that send real-time updates to your Live Tiles. Whether it’s new Vine videos or daily deals on Groupon, the stuff that matters to you is alive on your Start screen. And Windows Phone is always on the lookout for new apps based on your preferences
Explore apps and games   

EFFICIENCY
Windows Phone is now optimized to help you do more. You get an intuitive smartphone keyboard, intelligent storage, better data usage, a battery that lasts longer, and much more.

WORD FLOW KEYBOARD  
The world’s fastest, easiest, and most intuitive smartphone keyboard. With shape writing, you can glide your finger over the screen,
saving time and effort.

ACTION CENTER  
In one swipe see notifications like email, texts, and social media updates. You can also access four personalized quick actions, so you can easily switch on and off Wi-Fi, Airplane mode, and more.

BATTERY SAVER
Turn it on when you’re running low to make the most of your battery life.

STORAGE SENSE  
See how you’re using storage and easily transfer apps from your phone to SD card, to maximize space.

DATA SENSE
Get a clear picture of how you're using your data and find solutions for conserving it, like free Wi-Fi hotspots.

WI-FI SENSE  Take the hassle out of signing in to free Wi-Fi hotspots by connecting automatically. It can also connect you to your friends' Wi-Fi networks.6

Meet Cortana with Windows Phone 8.1 update

Microsoft finally revealed its long-awaited and oft-leaked Windows Phone 8.1 update at the Build 2014 conference on Wednesday. Don't let the measly ".1" fool you: Windows Phone 8.1 is a sweeping refocusing of the Windows Phone vision, adding some much-needed features to the mobile operating system—including the grand unveiling of Cortana, Microsoft's new digital assistant.



Features of Windows Phone 8.1

Action Center

As previously leaked, Windows Phone 8.1 adds a long-awaited notification center—dubbed "Action Center"—which gathers your new messages in a central location and provides quick access to four basic phone functions, such as turning on Wi-Fi, GPS, or Airplane mode. Those quick-access tools are customizable and can be swapped around as needed. If you have a dual-SIM phone, info about each is available in the Action Center.

The Action Center should be a massive improvement to Windows Phone's usability. Live Tiles are nice and all, but it's even nicer to have all your new notifications in one convenient spot, and nobody likes mucking around in their phone settings any more than they absolutely have to.

Developers will also be able to create custom lock-screen experiences that users can choose to use. The Windows Phone 8.1 update also adds new Start screen personalization options, including the ability to add more tiles to the screen or use a custom image as your phone's background image.

Cortana
But the real star of the Windows Phone 8.1 show is Cortana, the virtual assistant that's Microsoft's answer to Google Now and Siri. Actually, Cortana's kind of a blend of Google Now and Siri—a bouncy, bubbly sphere UI that's powered by Bing's deep and powerful Satori knowledge engine.

Cortana has a Siri-esque personality, responding to personal questions from Belfiore with jokes. For example, when Belfiore asked what Cortana thought of her appearance, she responded "Some things I resemble: A hula hoop, a donut... and a halo." (The last is a sly reference to Cortana's origins; she's named after the Cortana A.I. central to the popular Halo video game series.)

Internet Explorer 11
Windows Phone 8.1 also upgrades the browser to Internet Explorer 11, complete with Reading View, InPrivate tabs, and so on.

more features to add...




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