0 How to shut down Windows 8

If you read my post the other day and decided to test-drive Windows 8 by setting up a dual-boot configuration, you've probably encountered the same conundrum as every other user: How the heck do you shut down your PC?

In pretty much every version of Windows prior to this one, you'd click Start, then Shut Down.

Windows 8 notoriously lacks a Start button, so obviously the old rules don't apply here. More on that in a moment; in the meantime, here's how to shut down Windows 8:

1. Mouse over the little gadget in the lower right corner of the screen. (You can also move your mouse cursor to the upper left corner; same result. Or, you can press Windows-C on your keyboard.)

2. In the slide-out menu (known as the Charms Bar) that appears, click Settings.

3. Click the Power button, and then click your desired action: Sleep, Shut down, or Update and restart.

So, there you have it. In Windows 8, it requires four actions to shut down your PC: hover, click, click, and click.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's always been something of a joke that shutting down your PC required a click of the Start button. Now the joke has turned downright cruel, with Microsoft seemingly going out of its way to hide one of the most basic computing options. In. The. Settings. Menu.

Shutting down a PC is not a setting. It should not require three clicks. Windows 8 arrives with a bunch of cool-looking tiles in its Start screen; how hard would it have been to add a Power tile?

The unfortunate reality here is that Windows 8 doesn't work as a desktop operating system. On a tablet, it's pretty sweet. But I have a feeling I'll be sticking with Windows 7 for a long time to come.

Check back Friday when I'll teach you how to create a Windows 8 shut-down shortcut that works with just one click.

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0 Microsoft's $499 version of Surface tablet faces three-week delay

Less than a day after pre-orders began for Microsoft's Surface with Windows RT tablet, new orders for the $499 model of the device face a shipping delay of up to three weeks.

The $499 Surface, with 32 GB of storage, doesn't include Microsoft's Touch Cover, a touch-sensitive keyboard and track-pad that doubles as a screen protector. But it does offer more flexibility than pricier models with bundled Touch Covers.

Both the $599 (32 GB) and $699 (64 GB) Surface models come with a black Touch Cover, and Microsoft is still promising delivery by Oct. 26 for those models. If you want a different color cover, you must buy it separately for $120. That is also the case if you want a Type Cover, which has a mechanical keyboard; it is sold separately for $130.

In addition to online sales, Microsoft will sell Surface its own brick-and-mortar stores, but not at other retailers. Microsoft has big retail plans for the launch of Windows 8 and Surface, with 34 “pop-up” stores opening around the United States and Canada, and four new permanent locations on the way. In total, Microsoft should have 65 stores up and running across 27 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Some of the stores will have midnight launches for Surface on the 25th, while others will start selling the tablet on the 26th.

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