Watch Microsoft try to kill Surface
The Microsoft Reliability Lab is where the tech giant tests its hardware to the limits, dropping devices, soaking, smashing and bending them, in a quest to find out where the weaknesses lie.
In the latest episode of Microsoft’s regular "On the Whiteboard" series, presenter Pamela Woon takes a look inside the Reliability Lab as Microsoft does its best to try and destroy a whole bunch of Surface PCs.
Will you buy Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone?
Today, US mobile operator AT&T starts taking pre-orders for Nokia's latest Windows Phone -- the Lumia 1020. The Finnish maker's new handset follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 900, by being exclusively available at the aforementioned carrier in the local market. It goes for $299.99 on a two-year contract, which is on a par with what AT&T charges for a similarly-specified Apple iPhone 5, and $100 more than the equivalent HTC One.
The Lumia 1020 contract pricing is rather bold considering that, on a two-year agreement at AT&T, the Lumia 920 can be had for $99.99 (which makes it $200 less expensive). Although the cost of the new Windows Phone 8 handset has yet to be revealed in other major markets, it's safe to assume that it will be priced higher than the Lumia 925 or last year's Lumia 920.
Automated migration makes for a cloudier business outlook
One of the things that puts businesses off moving their systems to the cloud is the problem of migrating all of their applications and data to a remote platform. Californian company CloudVelocity aims to address this with its launch of One Hybrid Cloud, a package that streamlines the movement of information to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
One Hybrid Cloud effectively makes AWS an extension of the corporate data center, making it possible to run existing Linux and Windows apps in the cloud without modification. It automates many of the processes required to migrate apps to the cloud and in the process the developers reckon it can reduce migration expenses by more than 90 percent.
Run Chrome extensions in Opera
The rebooting of Opera 15.0 saw the niche browser switch to a new rendering engine, adopting Chrome’s Blink in favor of its own proprietary Presto engine. In restarting the browser from scratch, Opera has opted not to include a lot of popular functionality from previous versions -- some of this is temporary, while others (specifically bookmarks) could be permanently lost.
One way of restoring some functionality is through extensions, small programs written in HTML, CSS or JavaScript. Opera has its own Extensions store, but the great news for early adopters of Opera 15 is that -- with the aptly titled Chrome Extension for Opera 2.0 installed -- you can use Google Chrome Extensions too.
clink brings Bash’s powerful command line editing to Windows
From experts to novices, most PC users benefit from launching a command line session occasionally. This is one area of Windows which hasn’t changed significantly in years, of course, but if you’re tired of its various annoyances there are steps you can take to improve the situation. And clink could be a great place to start.
This open source program installs quickly and easily. The only setup option to consider is whether you want the program to launch when you run a command line session; we’d recommend you allow this, as it keeps the process very straightforward. Open a command window immediately afterwards and you should see new copyright messages for clink its other components (see the grab), a useful indicator that everything is working.
The great Yahoo email address gold rush begins -- stake the claim for your name today
A month ago Yahoo announced plans to offer up old email addresses that have been inactive for a year or longer. My colleague Brian Fagioli pointed out the worrying privacy flaws of such an undertaking, but Yahoo says it’s confident its plans won’t compromise user security. Hopefully that’s true.
If you want to try and claim a recycled Yahoo username/email address -- your own name without a ridiculous string of numbers after it, for example, or something else entirely -- you can now register your interest with Yahoo.
Nokia Lumia 1020 is NOW available to pre-order at AT&T
Five days after its official unveiling, the Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone is now available to pre-order at US mobile operator AT&T. The new smartphone runs for $299.99, on a two-year contract, and will ship on July 23. It goes on sale starting July 26.
By contrast, on a two-year agreement, similar devices like the Apple iPhone 5, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 are available for $199.99, at AT&T. The US mobile operator also offers the Lumia 920, which can be had for $99.99, alongside the same type of contract (24 months).
New platform helps enterprises control documents and embrace BYOD
Point.io has released its new Baas (Backend as a Service) platform. Aimed at document management and workflow, Point.io's offering is designed to help companies maintain control of their content whilst enabling BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).
The application allows developers to build mobile apps that let users access and share content on any device efficiently and securely. Ron Rock, CEO of Point.io says, "By design, enterprises have been locking down their content for decades, but with the shift in workforce mobility it's become critical that content, and the workflows that thrive on it, are unleashed to devices beyond the corporate firewall".
Tony Stark...ahh, Elon Musk teases Hyperloop Transit announcement
Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal, has gone on to start such geek-cool companies as Tesla and Space-X -- the latter of which is the first independent contractor to successfully push a space vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS). Despite seeming to have his hands full with major investments in electric cars and rockets, the billionaire is now turning his attention towards the transit system.
Hyperloop is still a theory -- an alternative to traditional transportation methods that Musk hopes will travel three to four times faster than traditional methods. "You would go from downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes", Musk once proclaimed in an interview. That is quite a claim, and Musk plans to unveil how it will reach this goal on August 12 according to a tweet he posted today -- "Will publish Hyperloop alpha design by Aug 12. Critical feedback for improvements would be much appreciated".
OneNote adds new features for Windows 8
Office has not yet found its way to the Windows 8 Start screen, but Microsoft did at least give a bit of a preview when a Modern UI version of OneNote was released. While no promises can yet be made about what is to follow, the software maker now rolls out a significant update to the lone app.
The OneNote team proclaims "today we're releasing another update to OneNote for the Windows Store that adds two things. First, you can now sign in with your Office 365 account so that you can easily open your work notes. Second, we've made it easier to dismiss the keyboard on your touch device".
How the Ubisoft hack shows the password model is weak, and why device-based authentication is the answer
Just over a week ago game maker Ubisoft revealed that hackers had breached its database and accessed customer information including usernames, email addresses, and passwords. This is the latest in a series in hacks revealing that the outdated password authentication model is weak and does not provide adequate security for user information.
It’s time for a network architecture that considers new access models -- including the device itself. We need a shift to device-based authentication that provides the same added security, but is completely transparent to the user. The cable industry has used this model for years, assigning cable boxes a unique identity so that users do not need to enter a password to change the channel (since the service is delivered to box, not the user). Applied to computing, device-based authentication means that even if a hacker steals your password, they still need your device to log into the website. The foundations of this model are already in place, but there is still work to do.
DVDStyler implements subtle redesign, supports videos with no audio
Alex Thuring has released DVDStyler v2.5, a major new version of his open-source, cross-platform DVD authoring tool. DVDStyler makes it possible to create video DVDs from a wide range of movie formats, including most common ones, and comes with full menu-creation tools for crafting the perfect video DVD.
Version 2.5, also available in portable form for Windows PCs, comes with a number of notable new features, including support for video files without audio streams, new frame spinning controls and redesigned chapters and cell properties dialog boxes.
Do you know the way to San José? Office 365 does
It is 2013, not 1968, and we are talking Microsoft instead of Dionne Warwick, but Office 365 has still found its way to the California town. In the arms race against Google Docs/Apps, Microsoft takes another step towards the front with its latest announcement of a city government adopting its software.
"The City of San José has selected Microsoft Office 365, Windows Azure and StorSimple to expand productivity of its more than 5,000 city employees, reduce operational costs, and deliver improved services to over 984,000 residents in the Capital of Silicon Valley" the software maker announces.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a virus
As superhero fans prepare to gather in San Diego for this year's Comic-Con, McAfee has revealed its first ever Most Toxic Superheroes list. The company has compiled a list of superheroes whose search results are most likely to lead to malicious websites aiming to steal fans' personal details or infect their PCs with viruses.
The top 15 are as follows, the percentages indicating the chance of landing on a website that has rested positive for online threats:
6Sec seeks to replace the need for an official Vine Windows Phone 8 app
Prolific Windows Phone developer Rudy Huyn (known for popular offerings like 9Gag, Fuse and Wikipedia) has finally released the much-awaited, third-party Vine client called 6Sec. The new app arrives in Store after a lengthy development and testing phase and, right from the get-go, is touted to provide complete functionality.
The odds, however, are against Huyn's client -- according to Finnish maker Nokia, an official Vine app will "soon" launch on Windows Phone 8. 6Sec will, therefore, face fierce competition and, in order to gain considerable traction, must offer unquestionable value straight from its first iterations.
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