As fans of Apple and its products, we love things like this. Sure, these kinds of results should be taken with a grain (or three) of salt, but still, it’s kinda cool to see and makes us love Apple stuff even more.

What are we talking about? Well, this week ZDNet reports that based on a new study from Soluto, which uses “data from its massive online database of PC crashes, hangs, and performance metrics to identify the 10 most reliable Windows PCs you can buy today”, the most reliable Windows PC in the world is a 13″ Retina MacBook Pro running Windows via Boot Camp.

How abou that? According to the study, the MacBook Pro is “at the top of the list” with other hardware like the Acer Aspire E1-571, the Dell XPS 13, the Dell Vostro 3560, the Acer Aspire V3-771 and Apple’s 15-inch Retina-equipped MacBook Pro taking the next spots.

What about other vendors like Toshiba, Lenovo or market leader HP? Yeah, they don’t even crack the top ten. Sad, but true.

So, if you need to run Windows and are looking for the best, most reliable hardware out there to run it on, guess you should get a Mac. We’re not really surprised. We could have told you that.

If you’re tired of using that old version of Windows like XP or Windows 7, you’re in luck because Microsoft announced on Monday that its next-generation Windows 8 operating system will launch this October. The company confirmed during an event on Monday that the new OS is on track to be released to developers in August with a final release to eager consumers in October.

In addition, Microsoft will also release new devices, including the Surface, to coincide with the OS’ release. The company also promised that users who purchase Windows 7 PCs before the release of the new OS will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro following its release for just $14.99.

Darn nice of them, don’t you think?

As we first told you a few weeks ago, Microsoft has today released the first “Consumer Preview” of the latest version of its Windows software. The new software has been dubbed Windows 8 and is, according to Micsosoft, is “Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability.”

According to the company, here’s what you can expect from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview:

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows 8 that focuses on people and apps and gives you powerful new ways to use social technologies to connect with the people who are important to you. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows, but we’ve made it even better. It’s fast, and it’s made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices.

Well, there you go. You can go to Microsoft’s website and download Windows 8 to try for yourself. Although, unless you have a touch monitor you won’t be able to experience it exactly as it was intended.

Even though we are mostly Mac and Apple users here at The Flickcast, that doesn’t mean we don’t know or care that another, more popular, company exists that provides software to run computers and the like. That company is, of course, Microsoft.

With Windows 7 being our favorite version of the OS so far, Microsoft is going to have to go a long way to convince us that they have something better up their collective virtual sleeve. That something is, at least according to them, Windows 8.

We will all get a chance to see if they are right come February 29 when the company releases what they are calling a ‘Consumer Preview’ of the new version of Windows. The company will reportedly announce such a preview at a special, invitation-only event in Barcelona.

It’s interesting that they aren’t referring to this release as a “Bata.” I guess that has too much of a stigma of unfinished software or something that still needs a lot of work. The truth is Windows 8 probably still does need a lot of work and a big service pack will follow its final release as it does for most Windows versions. Not that Apple and most other software companies are immune to updates, they aren’t of course.

Still, we do like the looks of Windows on the smartphone so if Windows 8 is anything like that, it might be worth checking out later this month. What do you guys think? Are you going to take the plunge and try out the Windows 8 preview?

One of the most useful applications I use every day on the Mac has now arrived for Windows. That’s right Windows-using writers Scrivener is now available to you.

No matter if you’re writing the next great American novel (something for National Novel Writing Month perhaps?), research paper, script or any long-form text document that involves more than hammering away at the keys until you’re done, Scrivener, made by the fine folks at Literature & Latte, can help you get your work done. The multi-featured program excels at helping you collect research, bring order to fragmented ideas and avoid shuffling index cards in search of that elusive structure.

Scrivener can help you from the moment an idea comes into your imagination until the final finished pages are output. In short, it pretty much does everything for you except the actual writing.

Unfortunately, that will still be up to you. The rest you can leave to Scrivener.

As someone who uses this app daily (the Mac version) I can safely say it really helps me get my work done. Without it, I would be back to posting index cards to cork boards and trying to make things work that way. I like the 21st Century’s technological advancements and I like Scrivener.

Scrivener requires Windows XP, Vista, or 7 (32 or 64 bit). 1GB RAM; 1ghz Processor; 100mb disk space; 1064 x 786 screen.