PA/SA Direct Recruitment- A.P.Circe Division-wise Selected list Released
Circle Office, Hyderabad has released the Division wise list of selected candidates of the Postal Assistant/Sorting Assistant Examination held on 21-04-2013.
Click here to view the division-wise selected list. There are 3 attachments in the link. No provision was made for search option.Candidates have to browse page-wise,Division wise(as per options given in application) to view the result.
Odisha Circle : Result of PA, SA and PA(SBCO) of Odisha Circe held on 5th May, 2013
DAY BY DAY HEARINGS ON DISCIPLINARY VIGILANCE INQUIRIES - DOPT
372/3/2007-A VD-III (VoL. 10)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training
North Block, New Delhi
Dated: 14th October, 2013
Office Memorandum
Subject: Recommendations of the Committee of Experts on Disciplinary & Vigilance Inquiries (Hota Committee) – Para 35 of the Committee’s Report on conduct of hearings on a day to day basis – Acceptance by Government – reg.
The undersigned is directed to say that the Government had appointed a Committee of Experts to review the procedure for Disciplinary/Vigilance Inquiries and recommend measures for their expeditious disposal. The Committee comprised the following:
(i) Shri P.C. Hota, Former Chairman, UPSC ——- Chairman
(ii) Shri Arvind Varma, Former Secretary, DoPT –—– Member
(iii) Shri P. Shankar, former CVC –—– Member.
2. The Expert Committee has, in para 35 of its Report, recommended that “as far as practicable, an Inquiry Officer should conduct the hearing on a day-to-day basis to complete the Inquiry expeditiously. Each Inquiry Officer should be required to maintain an order sheet to record proceedings of the inquiry on the day of Inquiry and other relevant matters. if the Inquiry cannot be conducted on a day-to-day basis, the Inquiry Officer should record in the order sheet the reasons why the Inquiry could not be held on a day-to-day basis.”
3. The aforesaid recommendation of the Hota Committee has been considered by a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary and, as recommended by the CoS, the recommendation has been accepted by the Government.
4. Accordingly, it has been decided that once a regular hearing in a departmental proceeding is started, such bearing should, as far as practicable, be continued on a day to day basis, unless in the opinion of the IO, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, an adjournment is unavoidable in the interest of justice.
5. The above decision of the Government is brought to the notice of all Ministries/Departments for strict compliance.
sd/-
(V.M. Rathnam)
Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India
Grant of Dearness Relief to CPF beneficiaries in receipt of ex-gratia payment w.e.f 01.07.2013.
Click here to view Office Memorandum F. No. 42/13/2012-P&PW(G), dated 17th October, 2013 issued by Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare , Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India.
Microsoft Windows 8.1: Pluses and Minuses
By Anick Jesdanun
NEW YORK: I doubt I was alone in rolling my eyes when I first used Windows 8 a year ago. I found its touch controls and gestures awkward, and I was troubled by how little its primary, tile-based interface could do on its own.
For many basic tasks, I had to return to the system's traditional desktop mode, the one that resembles older versions of Windows. It felt as though I was working on two different computers at once.
Since then, I've warmed up to many of those touch controls and gestures, such that I've even tried to use them absentmindedly out of habit on my touch-less MacBook laptop. And the free Windows 8.1 update released addresses many of my remaining gripes.
Windows is still far from perfect. It continues to come across as a work in progress. But Windows 8.1 shows Microsoft is listening. People who already have Windows 8 will find digital life more pleasant with the update.
What was so bad about Windows 8's tile mode previously?
I could open only 10 webpages at a time in Internet Explorer and pages would automatically close once I had hit the limit, without any prompts or choice of which one. With Windows 8.1, there's no limit.
The browser in Windows 8 didn't let me view more than one webpage at once. Sure, I could open 10 tabs, but I could see only one at a time. I couldn't leave a news site or Facebook open on one side of Window's new split screen for multitasking while I checked Gmail on another. With Windows 8.1, I can open a "new window" rather than a "new tab" using a right click to have a second page visible.
That limitation also applied to Window 8's Mail app. With Windows 8.1, I can now have two messages open at once. And if I click on an attachment, it opens to the side rather than replace what I'm reading. The Mail app's layout adjusts to fit into the remaining space.
I could access some computer settings from the tile-based interface, but Windows 8 sent me to the desktop for many others, including changing the display screen's resolution and controlling how quickly energy-saving measures kicked in. Now I can adjust that and more from the tile-based interface in Windows 8.1, though I still can't check the specific percentage of battery life I have left without going to the desktop.
Beyond fixes, Windows 8.1 offers these improvements:
*Universal search. With one search command, I can access files stored on my computer along with web content on the internet. Type in "Shakira," for instance, and I'm invited to hear her songs through Xbox Music or watch her videos on YouTube. I also get links to her biography, official website and Wikipedia entry. Type in "Toronto" and a map, suggested attractions and the current weather there will pop up. In both cases, I am also shown documents on my computer with those words in the text.
*New features. I can diagnose my medical condition by tapping on a body part on the screen and checking off symptoms. I can also keep track of my workouts, recipes and shopping lists. Another feature lets me save content from webpages and apps to read later offline.
*Customization. I can rearrange tiles and rename groups of apps more easily. With one swipe up from the home screen, I can see all my apps and arrange them by name, category, installation date or frequency of use.
*Old habits. I can set the computer to always boot up in the desktop mode, allowing me to minimize my interaction with the tile-based interface. That said, this seems like cheating, an admission that the tile mode isn't working, when Microsoft is banking its future on it.
That gets me to the things Windows 8.1 doesn't fix:
*It still feels like two separate computers at times. Each mode has its own Internet Explorer browser. Pages I have open in one won't automatically appear in the other. Many programs, including Microsoft's Office, work only in desktop. I can customize the background images so both modes match, but that's cosmetic.
*Although Windows 8.1 lets me adjust how much screen space each visible app takes, that slider only moves left to right. So with three or four apps open, all of the apps are vertical. That's awkward for video and word processing. And while Windows 8.1 doubles to four the number of apps I can have side by side, it was unlimited before Windows 8.
*There's no easy way to open apps without going to the full-page start screen. Before Windows 8, there was a Start button on the lower left corner to do that. The Start button has been restored in Windows 8.1, but its functionality has not. So if I have video playing, it stops as I switch from app to app or do one of those universal searches.
*The touch controls can still be confounding. Windows 8.1 comes with new gesture controls, such as the ability to accept word suggestions as you type by swiping and tapping the spacebar. Too often, I simply add unneeded spaces instead.
Microsoft's tile and touch approach will take time to get used to, even with Windows 8.1. That approach works fine on phones and tablets, but not necessarily on desktops and laptops.
I know change is inevitable. I eventually embraced Apple's Mac OS X, introduced in 2001, after more than a decade of growing up on what became known as Classic. But it took me until 2006 to fully switch. It's been only a year with the new Windows. I'm not ready to cede my Windows 7and Mac computers quite yet.
If you're buying a new Windows computer or already have Windows 8, your choices are limited. In that case, you might as well accept Windows 8.1, which is far better than Windows 8.
(The author is technology writer for AP)
NEW YORK: I doubt I was alone in rolling my eyes when I first used Windows 8 a year ago. I found its touch controls and gestures awkward, and I was troubled by how little its primary, tile-based interface could do on its own.
For many basic tasks, I had to return to the system's traditional desktop mode, the one that resembles older versions of Windows. It felt as though I was working on two different computers at once.
Since then, I've warmed up to many of those touch controls and gestures, such that I've even tried to use them absentmindedly out of habit on my touch-less MacBook laptop. And the free Windows 8.1 update released addresses many of my remaining gripes.
Windows is still far from perfect. It continues to come across as a work in progress. But Windows 8.1 shows Microsoft is listening. People who already have Windows 8 will find digital life more pleasant with the update.
What was so bad about Windows 8's tile mode previously?
I could open only 10 webpages at a time in Internet Explorer and pages would automatically close once I had hit the limit, without any prompts or choice of which one. With Windows 8.1, there's no limit.
The browser in Windows 8 didn't let me view more than one webpage at once. Sure, I could open 10 tabs, but I could see only one at a time. I couldn't leave a news site or Facebook open on one side of Window's new split screen for multitasking while I checked Gmail on another. With Windows 8.1, I can open a "new window" rather than a "new tab" using a right click to have a second page visible.
That limitation also applied to Window 8's Mail app. With Windows 8.1, I can now have two messages open at once. And if I click on an attachment, it opens to the side rather than replace what I'm reading. The Mail app's layout adjusts to fit into the remaining space.
I could access some computer settings from the tile-based interface, but Windows 8 sent me to the desktop for many others, including changing the display screen's resolution and controlling how quickly energy-saving measures kicked in. Now I can adjust that and more from the tile-based interface in Windows 8.1, though I still can't check the specific percentage of battery life I have left without going to the desktop.
Beyond fixes, Windows 8.1 offers these improvements:
*Universal search. With one search command, I can access files stored on my computer along with web content on the internet. Type in "Shakira," for instance, and I'm invited to hear her songs through Xbox Music or watch her videos on YouTube. I also get links to her biography, official website and Wikipedia entry. Type in "Toronto" and a map, suggested attractions and the current weather there will pop up. In both cases, I am also shown documents on my computer with those words in the text.
*New features. I can diagnose my medical condition by tapping on a body part on the screen and checking off symptoms. I can also keep track of my workouts, recipes and shopping lists. Another feature lets me save content from webpages and apps to read later offline.
*Customization. I can rearrange tiles and rename groups of apps more easily. With one swipe up from the home screen, I can see all my apps and arrange them by name, category, installation date or frequency of use.
*Old habits. I can set the computer to always boot up in the desktop mode, allowing me to minimize my interaction with the tile-based interface. That said, this seems like cheating, an admission that the tile mode isn't working, when Microsoft is banking its future on it.
That gets me to the things Windows 8.1 doesn't fix:
*It still feels like two separate computers at times. Each mode has its own Internet Explorer browser. Pages I have open in one won't automatically appear in the other. Many programs, including Microsoft's Office, work only in desktop. I can customize the background images so both modes match, but that's cosmetic.
*Although Windows 8.1 lets me adjust how much screen space each visible app takes, that slider only moves left to right. So with three or four apps open, all of the apps are vertical. That's awkward for video and word processing. And while Windows 8.1 doubles to four the number of apps I can have side by side, it was unlimited before Windows 8.
*There's no easy way to open apps without going to the full-page start screen. Before Windows 8, there was a Start button on the lower left corner to do that. The Start button has been restored in Windows 8.1, but its functionality has not. So if I have video playing, it stops as I switch from app to app or do one of those universal searches.
*The touch controls can still be confounding. Windows 8.1 comes with new gesture controls, such as the ability to accept word suggestions as you type by swiping and tapping the spacebar. Too often, I simply add unneeded spaces instead.
Microsoft's tile and touch approach will take time to get used to, even with Windows 8.1. That approach works fine on phones and tablets, but not necessarily on desktops and laptops.
I know change is inevitable. I eventually embraced Apple's Mac OS X, introduced in 2001, after more than a decade of growing up on what became known as Classic. But it took me until 2006 to fully switch. It's been only a year with the new Windows. I'm not ready to cede my Windows 7and Mac computers quite yet.
If you're buying a new Windows computer or already have Windows 8, your choices are limited. In that case, you might as well accept Windows 8.1, which is far better than Windows 8.
(The author is technology writer for AP)
Source:-The Times of India
PFRDA Orders : New Pension Scheme (NPS) - Changes in Investment Guidelines for the Government Sector
PFRDA Orders : New Pension Scheme (NPS) - Changes in Investment Guidelines for the Government Sector
PENSION FUND REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
CIRCULAR
File No.: PFRDA/2O13/16/PFM/4
Date: 15 Oct 2013
To,
All Pension Funds
Subject: Investment Guidelines
1. Changes in Investment Guidelines for the Government Sector
1.1 Debt securities selected for Investments should have a minimum residual maturity period of three years from the date of investment by the Pension Fund.
1.2 Debt securities must have an investment grade rating from at least two credit rating agencies. Apart from ratings by agencies. PF shall undertake their own due diligence for assessment of risks associated with the securities before investments.
1.3 Credit Default Swaps (CDS) on Corporate Bonds are eligible derivative instruments.
1.4 Rated asset backed securities (ABS) are eligible securities for investments provided they have a residual maturity of not less than three years and have an investment grade rating from at least two rating agencies.
2. Guidelines for Private Sector — Corporate CG and NPS lite
Please note that both Corporate CG and NPS Lite Schemes follow the Government pattern of investment and hence investment guidelines as applicable to the Government sector and any subsequent amendments to investment guidelines of Government sector will also be applicable to Corporate CG and NPS lite Schemes. Investment guidelines, and any subsequent changes thereto as applicable to the Government sector, therefore should be adopted simultaneously for Corporate CG and NPS Lite Scheme.
sd/-
(Subroto Das)
Chief General Manager
Source : www.pfrda.org.in
[http://pfrda.org.in/writereaddata/linkimages/changes%20Investment%20Guidelines968531261.pdf]
Income-Tax Deduction from Salaries during the Financial Year 2013-14: IT Circular No. 08/2013 Part-I
CIRCULAR
NO : 08 /2013
F.No. 275/192/2013-IT(B)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
New Delhi, dated the 10th October, 2013
SUBJECT: INCOME-TAX DEDUCTION FROM SALARIES DURING THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2013-14 UNDER SECTION 192 OF THE INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961.
Reference is invited to Circular No.08/2012 dated 05.10.2012 whereby the rates of deduction of income-tax from the payment of income under the head "Salaries" under Section 192 of the Income-tax Act, 1961(hereinafter ‘the Act’), during the financial year 2012-2013, were intimated. The present Circular contains the rates of deduction of income-tax from the payment of income chargeable under the head "Salaries" during the financial year 2013-2014 and explains certain related provisions of the Act and Income-tax Rules, 1962 (hereinafter the Rules). The relevant Acts, Rules, Forms and Notifications are available at the website of the Income Tax Department- www.incometaxindia.gov.in.
Courtesy : http://karnmk.blogspot.in/
Rates of Income-Tax on Salaries for AY 2014-2015 FY 2013-2014: IT Circular 08/2013 Part-2
2. RATES OF INCOME-TAX AS PER FINANCE ACT, 2013:
As per the Finance Act, 2013, income-tax is required to be deducted under Section 192 of the Actfrom income chargeable under the head "Salaries" for the financial year 2013-14 (i.e. AssessmentYear 2014-15) at the following rates:
2.1 Rates of tax
A. Normal Rates of tax:
Sl No
|
Total Income
|
Rate of tax
|
1
|
Where the total income does not exceed Rs. 2,00,000/-.
|
Nil
|
2
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 2,00,000 but does not exceed Rs. 5,00,000/-
|
10 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 2,00,000/-
|
3
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs. 10,00,000/-.
|
Rs. 30,000/- plus 20 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/-.
|
4
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-.
|
Rs. 1,30,000/- plus 30 Per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
B. Rates of tax for every individual, resident in India, who is of the age of sixty years or more but less than eighty years at any time during the financial year:
Sl No
|
Total Income
|
Rate of tax
|
1
|
Where the total income does not exceed Rs. 2,50,000/-
|
Nil
|
2
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 2,50,000 but does not exceed Rs. 5,00,000/-
|
10 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 2,50,000/-
|
3
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
Rs. 25,000/- plus 20 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/-.
|
4
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
Rs. 1,25,000/- plus 30 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
C. In case of every individual being a resident in India, who is of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the financial year:
Sl No
|
Total Income
|
Rate of tax
|
1
|
Where the total income does not exceed Rs. 5,00,000/-
|
Nil
|
2
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000 but does not exceed Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
20 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/-
|
3
|
Where the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
Rs. 1,00,000/- plus 30 per cent of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 10,00,000/-
|
2.2 Surcharge on Income tax:
The amount of income-tax shall be increased by a surcharge @10% of the Income-tax on payments to an individual taxpayer, if the total income of the individual exceeds Rs 1 crore during FY 2013-14 (AY 2014-15). However the amount of Surcharge shall not exceed the amount by which the individual’s total income exceeds Rs 1 crore and if surcharge so arrived at, exceeds such amount (assessee’s total income minus one crore) then it will be restricted to the amount of total incomeminus Rupees one crore.
2.3.1 Education Cess on Income tax:
The amount of income-tax including the surcharge if any, shall be increased by Education Cess on Income Tax at the rate of two percent of the income-tax.
2.3.2 Secondary and Higher Education Cess on Income-tax:
An additional cess is chargeable at the rate of one percent of income-tax including the surcharge if any, but not including the Education Cess on income tax as in 2.3.1.
TOOL FOR SB AND RD STATEMENT
Statement Tool For SB And RD Scheme
- Download Statement.exe
- Provide SQL information using Settings option.
- Now Statement Tool ready to fetch SB and RD for the specified period.
- Export Option included with this tool
Thanks to:
Anil Reddy
Courtesy : http://potools.blogspot.in
Microsoft Windows 8.1: Pluses and Minuses
By Anick Jesdanun
NEW YORK: I doubt I was alone in rolling my eyes when I first used Windows 8 a year ago. I found its touch controls and gestures awkward, and I was troubled by how little its primary, tile-based interface could do on its own.
For many basic tasks, I had to return to the system's traditional desktop mode, the one that resembles older versions of Windows. It felt as though I was working on two different computers at once.
Since then, I've warmed up to many of those touch controls and gestures, such that I've even tried to use them absentmindedly out of habit on my touch-less MacBook laptop. And the free Windows 8.1 update released addresses many of my remaining gripes.
Windows is still far from perfect. It continues to come across as a work in progress. But Windows 8.1 shows Microsoft is listening. People who already have Windows 8 will find digital life more pleasant with the update.
What was so bad about Windows 8's tile mode previously?
I could open only 10 webpages at a time in Internet Explorer and pages would automatically close once I had hit the limit, without any prompts or choice of which one. With Windows 8.1, there's no limit.
The browser in Windows 8 didn't let me view more than one webpage at once. Sure, I could open 10 tabs, but I could see only one at a time. I couldn't leave a news site or Facebook open on one side of Window's new split screen for multitasking while I checked Gmail on another. With Windows 8.1, I can open a "new window" rather than a "new tab" using a right click to have a second page visible.
That limitation also applied to Window 8's Mail app. With Windows 8.1, I can now have two messages open at once. And if I click on an attachment, it opens to the side rather than replace what I'm reading. The Mail app's layout adjusts to fit into the remaining space.
I could access some computer settings from the tile-based interface, but Windows 8 sent me to the desktop for many others, including changing the display screen's resolution and controlling how quickly energy-saving measures kicked in. Now I can adjust that and more from the tile-based interface in Windows 8.1, though I still can't check the specific percentage of battery life I have left without going to the desktop.
Beyond fixes, Windows 8.1 offers these improvements:
*Universal search. With one search command, I can access files stored on my computer along with web content on the internet. Type in "Shakira," for instance, and I'm invited to hear her songs through Xbox Music or watch her videos on YouTube. I also get links to her biography, official website and Wikipedia entry. Type in "Toronto" and a map, suggested attractions and the current weather there will pop up. In both cases, I am also shown documents on my computer with those words in the text.
*New features. I can diagnose my medical condition by tapping on a body part on the screen and checking off symptoms. I can also keep track of my workouts, recipes and shopping lists. Another feature lets me save content from webpages and apps to read later offline.
*Customization. I can rearrange tiles and rename groups of apps more easily. With one swipe up from the home screen, I can see all my apps and arrange them by name, category, installation date or frequency of use.
*Old habits. I can set the computer to always boot up in the desktop mode, allowing me to minimize my interaction with the tile-based interface. That said, this seems like cheating, an admission that the tile mode isn't working, when Microsoft is banking its future on it.
That gets me to the things Windows 8.1 doesn't fix:
*It still feels like two separate computers at times. Each mode has its own Internet Explorer browser. Pages I have open in one won't automatically appear in the other. Many programs, including Microsoft's Office, work only in desktop. I can customize the background images so both modes match, but that's cosmetic.
*Although Windows 8.1 lets me adjust how much screen space each visible app takes, that slider only moves left to right. So with three or four apps open, all of the apps are vertical. That's awkward for video and word processing. And while Windows 8.1 doubles to four the number of apps I can have side by side, it was unlimited before Windows 8.
*There's no easy way to open apps without going to the full-page start screen. Before Windows 8, there was a Start button on the lower left corner to do that. The Start button has been restored in Windows 8.1, but its functionality has not. So if I have video playing, it stops as I switch from app to app or do one of those universal searches.
*The touch controls can still be confounding. Windows 8.1 comes with new gesture controls, such as the ability to accept word suggestions as you type by swiping and tapping the spacebar. Too often, I simply add unneeded spaces instead.
Microsoft's tile and touch approach will take time to get used to, even with Windows 8.1. That approach works fine on phones and tablets, but not necessarily on desktops and laptops.
I know change is inevitable. I eventually embraced Apple's Mac OS X, introduced in 2001, after more than a decade of growing up on what became known as Classic. But it took me until 2006 to fully switch. It's been only a year with the new Windows. I'm not ready to cede my Windows 7and Mac computers quite yet.
If you're buying a new Windows computer or already have Windows 8, your choices are limited. In that case, you might as well accept Windows 8.1, which is far better than Windows 8.
(The author is technology writer for AP)
NEW YORK: I doubt I was alone in rolling my eyes when I first used Windows 8 a year ago. I found its touch controls and gestures awkward, and I was troubled by how little its primary, tile-based interface could do on its own.
For many basic tasks, I had to return to the system's traditional desktop mode, the one that resembles older versions of Windows. It felt as though I was working on two different computers at once.
Since then, I've warmed up to many of those touch controls and gestures, such that I've even tried to use them absentmindedly out of habit on my touch-less MacBook laptop. And the free Windows 8.1 update released addresses many of my remaining gripes.
Windows is still far from perfect. It continues to come across as a work in progress. But Windows 8.1 shows Microsoft is listening. People who already have Windows 8 will find digital life more pleasant with the update.
What was so bad about Windows 8's tile mode previously?
I could open only 10 webpages at a time in Internet Explorer and pages would automatically close once I had hit the limit, without any prompts or choice of which one. With Windows 8.1, there's no limit.
The browser in Windows 8 didn't let me view more than one webpage at once. Sure, I could open 10 tabs, but I could see only one at a time. I couldn't leave a news site or Facebook open on one side of Window's new split screen for multitasking while I checked Gmail on another. With Windows 8.1, I can open a "new window" rather than a "new tab" using a right click to have a second page visible.
That limitation also applied to Window 8's Mail app. With Windows 8.1, I can now have two messages open at once. And if I click on an attachment, it opens to the side rather than replace what I'm reading. The Mail app's layout adjusts to fit into the remaining space.
I could access some computer settings from the tile-based interface, but Windows 8 sent me to the desktop for many others, including changing the display screen's resolution and controlling how quickly energy-saving measures kicked in. Now I can adjust that and more from the tile-based interface in Windows 8.1, though I still can't check the specific percentage of battery life I have left without going to the desktop.
Beyond fixes, Windows 8.1 offers these improvements:
*Universal search. With one search command, I can access files stored on my computer along with web content on the internet. Type in "Shakira," for instance, and I'm invited to hear her songs through Xbox Music or watch her videos on YouTube. I also get links to her biography, official website and Wikipedia entry. Type in "Toronto" and a map, suggested attractions and the current weather there will pop up. In both cases, I am also shown documents on my computer with those words in the text.
*New features. I can diagnose my medical condition by tapping on a body part on the screen and checking off symptoms. I can also keep track of my workouts, recipes and shopping lists. Another feature lets me save content from webpages and apps to read later offline.
*Customization. I can rearrange tiles and rename groups of apps more easily. With one swipe up from the home screen, I can see all my apps and arrange them by name, category, installation date or frequency of use.
*Old habits. I can set the computer to always boot up in the desktop mode, allowing me to minimize my interaction with the tile-based interface. That said, this seems like cheating, an admission that the tile mode isn't working, when Microsoft is banking its future on it.
That gets me to the things Windows 8.1 doesn't fix:
*It still feels like two separate computers at times. Each mode has its own Internet Explorer browser. Pages I have open in one won't automatically appear in the other. Many programs, including Microsoft's Office, work only in desktop. I can customize the background images so both modes match, but that's cosmetic.
*Although Windows 8.1 lets me adjust how much screen space each visible app takes, that slider only moves left to right. So with three or four apps open, all of the apps are vertical. That's awkward for video and word processing. And while Windows 8.1 doubles to four the number of apps I can have side by side, it was unlimited before Windows 8.
*There's no easy way to open apps without going to the full-page start screen. Before Windows 8, there was a Start button on the lower left corner to do that. The Start button has been restored in Windows 8.1, but its functionality has not. So if I have video playing, it stops as I switch from app to app or do one of those universal searches.
*The touch controls can still be confounding. Windows 8.1 comes with new gesture controls, such as the ability to accept word suggestions as you type by swiping and tapping the spacebar. Too often, I simply add unneeded spaces instead.
Microsoft's tile and touch approach will take time to get used to, even with Windows 8.1. That approach works fine on phones and tablets, but not necessarily on desktops and laptops.
I know change is inevitable. I eventually embraced Apple's Mac OS X, introduced in 2001, after more than a decade of growing up on what became known as Classic. But it took me until 2006 to fully switch. It's been only a year with the new Windows. I'm not ready to cede my Windows 7and Mac computers quite yet.
If you're buying a new Windows computer or already have Windows 8, your choices are limited. In that case, you might as well accept Windows 8.1, which is far better than Windows 8.
(The author is technology writer for AP)
Source:-The Times of India
