Windows 10: Microsoft revives Power Toys program, makes it open source

Remember Power Toys? If you worked on PCs when Windows 95 or XP were en vogue, you may remember that Microsoft released a number of useful tools back then to extend the functionality of the Windows operating system.

In 2006, we reviewed TweakUI, an official program by Microsoft to make several changes to the operating system. Other programs included XMouse, a program that would focus a window with the mouse without clicks, Power Calculator, an advanced graphical calculator, Virtual Desktop Manager, Send to X which added more locations to the Send To menu, or CabView which displayed the content of Cab files.

The Reboot




Microsoft made the decision to reboot the PowerToys project; development stopped after Windows XP for the most part, and the new project is the first attempt to revive it.

The project is inspired by PowerToys from the Windows 95 era according to the project description on GitHub.

Inspired by the Windows 95 era PowerToys project, this reboot provides power users with ways to squeeze more efficiency out of the Windows 10 shell and customize it for individual workflows
​

It is unclear if the tools of the new PowerToys program will work under previous versions of the Windows operating system, or only on Windows 10.



The rebooted PowerToys project is open source; source code and programs will be released on GitHub, and Microsoft hopes that the first bits will become available in Summer 2019.

The company revealed the first two programs of the new PowerToys.

• Maximize to new desktop widget -- The first program displays a new button when users hover with the mouse cursor over the maximize button on any window. A click on the new button sends the app to a new desktop and maximizes it on that new desktop.
• Windows key shortcut guide -- The program displays a shortcut reference or cheat sheet when the Windows-key is held down for more than one second. It displays available shortcuts "for the current state of the desktop".

Microsoft considers several other tools currently. While no decision has been made, the company asks the community for active input.

• Full window manager including specific layouts for docking and undocking laptops
• Keyboard shortcut manager
• Win+R replacement
• Better alt+tab including browser tab integration and search for running apps
• Battery tracker
• Batch file re-namer
• Quick resolution swaps in taskbar
• Mouse events without focus
• Cmd (or PS or Bash) from here
• Contents menu file browsing

If you ask me, I'd like to see an official keyboard shortcut manager, improved window manager, and Win+R replacement. PowerToys are extra components that users may install on their devices just like any third-party application.

Closing Words


I used different PowerToys a lot back in the days and the revival is certainly a good idea as it adds optional functionality to the Windows operating system. Whether the tools will be Windows 10 exclusive remains to be seen, though.

Now You: Feel free to share your opinion about the reboot or PowerToys in general below. (via Born)

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open source software

ok guys i seriously need some help on this one. *Eek! at school i took a programing class with having no previous programming knowledge. any ways the teacher told us to pick a open source program and make a presentation about it.*Mad

i have no idea about any programs besides Mozilla, and limewire.
i tried googleing but not many useful results.

can you help make a list of popular open source programs?*Smile

thanks guys.

 

Microsoft Makes it Official: Becomes Sponsor of Open Source Initiative

Source: Microsoft Makes it Official: Becomes Sponsor of Open Source Initiative | Open Source Initiative

 

HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community. HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.

webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.

“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.

HP will engage the open source community to help define the charter of the open source project under a set of operating principles:

• The goal of the project is to accelerate the open development of the webOS platform
• HP will be an active participant and investor in the project
• Good, transparent and inclusive governance to avoid fragmentation
• Software will be provided as a pure open source project

HP also will contribute ENYO, the application framework for webOS, to the community in the near future along with a plan for the remaining components of the user space.

Beginning today, developers and customers are invited to provide input and suggestions here.