Fix: Windows 8 Audio Priority Issue

Hi, again! Recently, I took advantage of the low introductory price and installed Windows 8 on all of my main computers. It has been a surprisingly pleasurable experience thus far and I enjoy using it on a regular basis. It’s quite fast and a dream to use once you get the hang of the new interface.
However! Using their extraordinary gift of foresight, Microsoft decided that Modern UI (Metro) apps must lose audio priority when a desktop app capable of playing audio (but not necessarily actively playing any) is running. Running apps such as Steam or even Firefox will cause this to happen.

Take my experience: I'm a loyal Google Music user but I don’t enjoy having a browser window open just to use the service, so I simply installed the free ‘gMusic’ app from the Windows Store. It’s a great little app that’s constantly improving and the developers are wide open to suggestions from the user-base. Streaming is fine while the app is in focus but once you switch out to any other running app (or even the Start menu), the music drops to barely audible.

As you can imagine, I was quite stumped by this and took to the internet with my problems. Google helped a little, but it was evident that other users of Microsoft’s OS were having the same issue with many other apps . I began to wonder why Microsoft would do something so profoundly stupid and then I decided to try fixing it on my own and, if I succeeded, put it on the internet for everyone else. And here we are today!
Note: This may or may not work for you. Your mileage may vary from my own as it’s largely based on what route your app’s developer decided to use.

• First go to the desktop, then right click the Windows volume icon in the task bar and click on "Playback Devices".

• Next in the "Sound" panel that pops up (and under the “Playback” tab), right click your Speakers and click on "properties" then go to the "Advanced" tab, and deselect the "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" check-box.

• 
  If you notice that Skype has been lowering the volume on other applications when it's open, then go to the "Communications" tab of the same “Sound” panel and select "Do nothing". Restart your PC.

If you still experience this issue even after following these steps, the problem could lie in how the app’s developer coded the app. As a temporary solution, try docking the app until it’s sorted out. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions in the comments below.

Sync Gmail through IMAP with Windows Live Mail

For my first post, (rather than introduce myself) I would just like to dive right into content. If you'd like more information about who I am, a simple Google search of my name should suffice. Now, onto the show!
With the introduction of Windows Vista, Microsoft began releasing an essential bundle of software that some notable tech industry veterans have come to revere and look forward to. More specifically, certain tools such within that bundle such as the venerable Windows Live Writer are on the verge of becoming a staple to journalists, writers and bloggers while Windows Live Mail has become a worthy email client that any old person can depend on.
Google, on the other hand, has also receive tons of praise for their outstanding web apps and tools. There are very little web-centric people I personally know of who don't use and enjoy Gmail or YouTube in some way.
Today, I decided to stop using the Gmail web app as often and rely on WLM where my Windows Live and Yahoo! email are usually accessed from. Setup was simple enough and everything seemed well; that is, until I noticed my Drafts folder wasn't properly synced.

I became very confused as I'm sure the software wasn't an issue and went straight to Googling my problems. I came upon a few similar articles but these were outdated and their solutions simply would not work. To my surprise, the internet was practically devoid of articles about this particular issue so I decided to fix it myself, document it and post it on the internet with the hope that anyone else with this particular issue can sort it out on their own. (That's you!)

• First step: Go to the Gmail web app and click on labels in your settings.

   
 
 

 

• Second Step: Choose to Show in IMAP all the main folders (or those folders you prefer to be visible in WLM).

Click the boxes next to “Show in IMAP” on the right. 

• Third Step: Go to Windows Live Mail and add a Gmail account then open the properties for that account in WLM and go to the IMAP tab and make it look like the image below.

• Fourth Step: Click "OK" at the bottom and then right click the Gmail account in WLM and click "download all folders". After doing that, all your Gmail folders should be visible and fully functional in WLM like the image below suggests.

This information is not readily available on the Gmail help documents or the Windows Live Messenger documentation or forums. I hope this short guide has helped you in some way!