![]() The popular Pulse News reader (and its vast library of sources) is also available on Windows 8, but it has a few more negatives than News Bento. …but the darker Pulse News offers cross-platform integration. The app only has a modest selection of baked-in news sources, but it allows you to subscribe and News Bento-ify any RSS feed from the web, meaning its content reach is pretty much unlimited. Of the two, News Bento offers the better pure Windows 8 experience, with a slick white-and-blue look that blends right in with the modern UI and articles that expand in fill the screen in newspaper-like fashion. News Bento looks great and can use the Share charm… Two great newsreaders make it easy to stay on top of your favorite online news sources in easy-to-read formats, but the specific one you should install depends on just how-and where-you hope to read. Pass on this if you’re rocking a traditional desktop, but it’s a shining star on touchscreen devices. It worked! The various brush types and color options will have you losing yourself in doodles for hours even if you’re not the artistic type. Microsoft whipped up the Fresh Paint app to show off the finger-friendly prowess of Windows 8. Jujuba’s free Clock app-which also includes a calendar-displays the current time and date in its Live Tile, making it a must-have download.įresh Paint Microsoft Fresh Paint’s a blast even if your talents aren’t quite as honed as Microsoft’s artists’. Some people would say that Microsoft made several miscues when it transitioned the Live Tile interface over to the desktop, but one omission in particular rubs me the wrong way: The modern Start Screen doesn’t include any time or date information unless you pull up the Charm bar or desktop. ![]() Plus, you get full access to your Xbox Live profile and Friends list. At its best, Xbox SmartGlass serves as a full-blown second screen companion for your console experience, divvying up complementary maps, stats, and song queues for games as well as a dizzying array of video and stat-tracking features for the ESPN and NBA GameTime Xbox apps. In a slightly more intriguing role, the app lets you push media you’ve bought through Microsoft’s services from your PC to your Xbox and back again. ![]() Now it’s time to get down to the fun stuff! The Games section of the Windows Store is the most saturated of all, but we’ve already done the legwork to single out the best Windows 8 gaming apps available.Īt its most basic, Xbox SmartGlass allows you to control your console from your PC or tablet, quickly launching apps and games much faster than you can with a controller. Games! Robotek mixes strategy, slot machine mechanics, robots, and a hefty dose of neon. Unfortunately, the rest of the Windows 8 video app options aren’t nearly as enticing. If you subscribe to either $8 per month streaming service, you should pick its Windows 8 app post-haste. Netflix and Hulu Plus, on the other hand, transferred to Windows 8 absolutely beautifully, complete with slick UIs that blow the pants off of their browser-based iterations. The native Video app, unfortunately, places more emphasis on selling you premium a la cartedigital downloads than actually displaying your video library. The modern UI found in Windows 8 seems tailor-made for watching videos, with its emphasis on full-screen windows and large, touch-friendly controls. Netflix or Hulu Plus (or both!) The modern UI’s tiles seem tailor-made for Netflix. Plus, the app keeps streaming while docked or minimized, which can be a hassle if you try streaming music in-browser with the modern version of IE10. ![]() Those excellent ad-supported stations can be streamed for free, forever, while upping to a $10 per month subscription opens on-demand listening for Slacker’s entire catalog. Slacker’s Windows 8 app is gorgeous example of modern UI design, and its 200-plus stations cover the width and breadth of the musical landscape, with each curated by an honest-to-goodness, flesh-and-blood DJ. Instead of relying of Microsoft’s native Music app -which only grants you 6 months of unlimited gratis tunes and doesn’t play well with non-Microsoft devices-head to the Windows Store and download the Slacker Radio app, instead. Slacker Radio Your Slacker Radio setup carries over to (and from) Slacker apps on other platforms. ![]()
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