BallStrike

You can actually control BallStrike by waving your hands in the air. you must have a webcam to use this one, but it uses your webcam like a Kinect. What you do is stand about 7 feet from your computer and smack at floating balls on your screen. It's fun and it's good exercise.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: BallStrike

Agent P Strikes Back

In Agent P Strikes Back you guide Perry through this side-scrolling adventure to find missing agents, while avoiding robotic guards. This one supports touch, keyboard, and even your Xbox 360 controller. I don't think you'll find any Ipad games that support an Xbox 360 controller. This is a fun side-scroller that should be tried at least once.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Agent P Strikes Back

Woomerin

Woomerin simulates a musical instrument called a Theramin.You drag your mouse or your finger across the board to make strange, spacey sounds. It's really that simple. There's not much more to this app than that. I took a liking to this app for just that reason. If you're into freaky sounds then this app is for you.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Woomerin

Doodle Hangman Free

One of my favorite little games in the Windows Store. Doodle Hangman Free isn't just some ordinary hangman game. It is full of humorous animations to watch as you get deeper into each game. You'll love watching your little guy get angry with you as you miss a letter in the game. Watch his reactions as he gets closer and closer to being hanged.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Doodle Hangman Free

Freda

Freda is an ebook reader app. It can read EPUB (DRM-free), FB2, HTML and TXT format books. It can connect to many online ebook sites where you can get more free ebooks. I haven't seen another app like this one in the store. If you like reading free ebooks then this app is for you.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Freda

Jigsaw Puzzle - Beginner

Even if you've been scouring the Windows Store for good apps, you probably overlooked this app. Honestly, the tile icon for it in the store isn't very attractive. The game itself could use some graphic polish. But it's the best jigsaw puzzle game I've found in the store. You can create puzzles from jpegs on your computer for up to 300 pieces. Just as a precaution, some of the reviews on the app's page say the app does nothing but crash. If that happens to you, just uninstall it. It works fine for me though. It still doesn't hurt anything to give it a try.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Jigsaw Puzzle - Beginner

File Brick

Windows 8 doesn't ship with a Windows 8 version of as file manager, but there are many options made by others. I usually use the desktop file explorer myself, but I like File Brick as well. File brick is much more than a simple file manager. You can also view videos and pictures, and listen to your MP3s right inside the app. There are many other options to explore in this handy little app as well.

Price: Free, $2.49 to unlock extra features
Windows Store Link: File Brick

Attack Comments Will Not Be Tolerated

This website is only about a month old, and I've already received several hate filled attack comments. I guess I should have expected that, considering the controversial subject matter of this site. You know, apps. I mean, everybody knows there's not a more dubious subject than an operating system's apps, right?

Some of the comments I've received have been brilliantly scathing words, such as, "Windows 8 suxxx," or "This is the most terrible article evar." Sure, stuff to make me reconsider the whole direction of my humble little website. I guess the subject of apps is just too upsetting for the normal computer user.

Let me get a little more serious. I'm grateful to all of you who are reading my site this soon. I never expected this many readers in the first few weeks. But for the little clowns who like to send attack comments, you will never get a foothold in my comments section. I will delete your comments immediately. This is purely a place to appreciate Windows 8 and inform about apps. We don't need any unreasonable negativity here.

The only people who have opinions like I demonstrated above are petty little jerks who are afraid of the new Microsoft operating system for one reason or another. It could be that they think it threatens their precious little device, so they are trying to make us feel bad and to steer us away. These people obviously have some negative agenda. Trying to wreck our enjoyment of something is worthless and petty, and it accomplishes nothing.

Constructive criticism is always welcome though. Anything to add to a post or conversation is always good. It's obvious that some people aren't yet ready for Windows 8. It's sometimes good for us to understand why. But most of you who come to this site are fans of Windows 8 and its apps. You are the people this site is for, not the childish idiots who's minds are too simple to be able to deal with the slightest change.

I started this site because I saw a need for people to be informed about Windows 8 app news and recommendations. I waited for someone else to do it, but there were no takers, so I decided to do it myself. This is a safe place for those of us who like Windows 8 apps, and it will stay that way. I hope you continue to enjoy it. We will, of course, return to our normal subject of Windows 8 apps in my next post.

Word Search

I have always liked word search puzzles. They can be challenging without being too hard. Word Search has plenty of topics to choose from so you can play a game that is close to your heart. It has over 150 different categories, featuring 3 unique game modes and 4 challenging difficulty levels.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Word Search

Photo Editor

If you need to do some light photo editing then you probably won't find anything much better than this in the Windows Store. I must say that I've found comparable photo editors to this one in the store, but I kind of like this one. With a few extra features to something like this I'd rarely ever feel the need to use the Windows desktop again. Photo Editor is worth a look. It might be exactly what you need.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Photo Editor

Sudoku Free

Sudoku is a fun 9x9 grid number puzzle game. Sudoku Free is maybe the best app to play it on
Windows 8. If there is a better one, I haven't found it yet. You can play with 4 different difficulty levels, and you get a new random game every time. Sudoku is one of my favorite games.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Sudoku Free

Latermark

Latermark is a Pocket client. You use your free Pocket account to save links from your web browser to read later. You can either read them right in Latermark or read them in your browser. I like to save links for later and then snap Latermark to the side  of my screen so I can open my saved links in my web browser.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Latermark

The Future Of Windows 8 Apps

One thing I've noticed that's lacking in Windows 8 is the lack of good full featured apps. You know what I mean, apps that are the equivalent to good desktop programs. There are actually a few, but most of the apps so far are cut down toy apps like you will find on Android or Ipad.

It doesn't have to be this way, and it can't remain this way. Actually, the toy apps are good to have, but good full featured apps will be what takes Windows 8 into the future. We all know, even though some of us hate the idea, that these Windows 8 apps will eventually replace the old desktop. But that can't happen until this new way is better than the old way. So far it's a good addition to the old way, but it's not better yet.

I think it will eventually get that way. Microsoft will continue to tweak Windows 8 until most of our complaints are addressed. One day we will wonder why we ever wanted to go back to the old desktop way. It will seem clunky to even think about it. We are already seeing a hint of this in leaks of the next version of Windows 8. I said hints.

But somebody has to be the first one. Windows 8 apps shouldn't be cut down versions of desktop programs. They should be better versions of them, or something entirely new. We should be able to compare them with the old way and be unwilling to go back.

OneNote is a good example of both problems. If you look at the OneNote app as a Windows 8 app version of the original OneNote program, you'll find it is lacking a few features. It's a good app, but it is still just a cut down version of the original OneNote.

But I don't look at it that way. I look at the OneNote app as more of a Notepad replacement. You can jot down notes with both, but you can also include links, pictures, and videos in OneNote. You also save your notes in the cloud so they are available on all of your devices. You can't do any of that with Notepad. I wonder if Microsoft sees this same comparison.

Until they see things the way I do, I will just have fun with the apps we have today. I will point out the best of them and ignore the worst. There are some great apps in the store, but they're still mostly toys. With a little bit of progress that will all change.

Flixster

With Flixster you can see which movies are available in your area, and you can watch trailers from the list of movies in the app. You can check out current theater releases and upcoming DVD releases. I think this one is the most useful of all the movie apps out there.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Flixster

Card Games Chest

Card Games Chest was one of the first card game apps in the Windows Store; it's also one of my favorites. You have several card games to choose from in this app, such as Crazy Eights, Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Mau-Mau, 101, Switch and DUO, and its all free. If you like card games, then I know you'll like this one.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Card Games Chest

Advanced English Dictionary

A dictionary is a handy thing to have close by. Sure you can go to a website, but an app is much easier to get to. Advanced English Dictionary is the best dictionary app I've found in the Windows Store. I think you'll agree.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Advanced English Dictionary

Reddit on Reddhub

Reddit has become one of my favorite social networks, and I owe that love all to Windows 8. I never knew about Reddit until I discovered the wonderful Reddit on Reddhub app. With Reddit you can read groups called sub-reddits about almost any topic you wish. I like the technology sub-reddit. Each article there points you to an interesting article or website and then you can read the group's opinions on your chosen topic. It's the closest thing I've found to the old Usenet newsgroups that I used to love so much.

Price: Free, but you can upgrade to Silver for $2.99 or Gold for $4.99.
Windows Store Link: Reddit on Reddhub

Comparing Shutdown In Windows 7 And Windows 8

I've been reading a lot of complaints about shutdown in Windows 8 being too difficult. These people say that they can't find out where to go to shut down their computers. Or they say that it takes too many steps to shut down with Windows 8. Frankly, I don't understand the problem. I do agree that shutdown is different than it was before, so you do have to learn it the first time or two. But it can also be even easier with Windows 8. Let's examine it a bit.


Number of steps it takes to shutdown your computer. This is for you mouse users.

Windows 7:  2 steps

1. Click the Start button to go to the Start Menu.
2. Click the Shut Down button. (or the more arrow to go to restart)
3. Click Restart

Windows 8:  3 steps

1. Click Settings on the Charms bar.
2. Click Power.
3. Click Shut down. (or click Restart)

First of all, you don't have to click Start to shutdown in Windows 8; you just have to go to the Charms bar. And before anyone says that going to the Charms is an extra step, going to the Start button would also then be an extra step.

What do we really see up there in our lists. Actually shutting down takes only two clicks in Windows 7, and it takes three clicks in Windows 8. From all of the complaints I've read, that's not the huge difference I was expecting. If you want to restart your computer then it takes the exact same number of clicks for each operating system.

You can also shut down your computer with each operating system by pushing the physical power button on your computer. It does indeed work that way. Pushing that button sends the shutdown command to Windows. That's one step! Not difficult at all.

So, in the end, I don't see what all the fuss is about. It takes just about the same number of steps to shutdown in either operating system. The only real hurdle is that you have to learn how to do it first. You have to learn how to shutdown in Windows 8, and you also had to learn how to shutdown in Windows 7. Do you remember that far back? I admit that I barely do, but I still had to learn it. And I just showed you how to do it for each operating system, so you should be all set.

I hope all of this educates a few people. Complainers are still going to complain, but this should give you the true answer to the shutdown question. Try it out for yourself and see how many steps you get.

Yellow Pages

You've heard of the Yellow Pages already, so you get the idea of just what this is does. It can be a lot easier searching through this little app than lugging around that fat Yellow Pages book throughout the house. Give it a try if you want easy access to the local businesses in your area.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Yellow Pages

Monster Island

Monster Island is a fun game where you get to choose from various monsters who throw smaller monsters at other monsters. That's a lot of monsters! There's a trick to all of this though. You have to aim at just the right spot to take out your adversary monsters. You also have to take out obstacles so your throws can make it to your adversaries. things get harder as you move through the levels. Trust me, you'll love it!

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Monster Island

Format Converter X

Many people think Windows 8 apps are just little toys. Format Converter X is much more than that. You can use it to convert video or audio files to other formats. You can also use it to extract audio from video files. As you can see by the screenshot, there's not much to using this app. It's so simple anyone can use it.

Price: Free
Windows Store Link: Format Converter X

The Gunstringer

The Gunstringer is an endless runner action game with incredible graphics. You are a skeleton cowboy who races through 15 levels of Wild West locations. Avoid deadly obstacles and collect coins as you run at top speed. This game is incredibly fast and amazingly fun.

Price: $1.49
Windows Store Link: The Gunstringer

Multitasking With Windows 8 Apps

I've been reading the myth that you can't multitask with Windows 8 apps. That myth is completely false! I run more than one app at a time in Windows 8 every day. It's also pretty easy to go back and forth between apps with the app switcher in the left of the screen.

Whenever you open an app in Windows 8 it goes to the app switcher. That app will stay open as long as you don't let it sit there for too long. Most apps that are not on the screen in front of you will pause, but that's a good thing. Why would you want an app to keep running when you're not using it? It's right there and ready for when you come back to it. Windows 8 suspends and then shuts down apps for you if you have stopped using them. This is to save memory in the computer. But anything you are switching back and forth to will stay open for you to use as much as you like.

A good way I like to run two apps at a time is to open an app, such as Twitter, and then snap it to the side of the screen in a smaller window. Then I'll open up my web browser in the main window. I can then browse the list of tweets in Twitter and click on any good links I find to have them open up into the web browser. I can also do something like this with OneNote, Latermark, and many others.

Another thing I like to do is go to the Windows File Explore and find photo image files to browse. I'll click on the first one to open it in the Photos app. Then I can snap the Photos app to the side of the screen while putting the desktop Windows file explorer in the main part. Then I can click on any photo file to see it come up in the snapped Photos app. I can do something similar to this with the Music app and the Video app.

These are just a few of the ways that you can multitask with Windows 8 apps. Do you know of any others? Any tips are welcome. This should prove that Windows 8 apps do indeed multitask. So all of those doubters are wrong. Now go have fun running more than one app in Windows 8!