Best Windows 8 apps this week (Black Friday edition)
Fifty-seventh in a series. The new application count in the US Windows Store managed to stay above the important 1,000 apps mark for the fourth time in a row.
The total number of applications available in the store rose to 93,714, an increase of 1,515 apps in the last seven days.
What is (still) wrong with Microsoft's Windows Phone strategy
Windows Phone 8 has been available on the market since late-October, 2012. That makes it more than a year old in human time and quite a bit older in tech years. So far, I've been through two smartphones running the tiled operating system -- the HTC Windows Phone 8X (in an insanely gorgeous purple) and Nokia Lumia 920 (the boring "businessman-black" version as I like to call it). There is also a Lumia 520 nearby (in a nice shade of red), that I use from time to time to gauge how it gets along with Windows Phone 8 and various new apps.
I have been playing with three important handsets that are available under the Windows Phone 8 umbrella, in order to discover the benefits and the downsides of the platform as well as get an idea of the direction Microsoft wanted to impose for its latest attempt to make great strides in the smartphone OS market. On paper, the software giant only wants the best for Windows Phone, but in practice there are still a couple of bad points about its strategy that indicate, to a certain degree, smartphones are not really a priority for the Redmond, Wash.-based company.
Amazon looks ahead to Cyber Monday
We are currently in the midst of Black Friday, the traditional kickoff for the holiday shopping season. Despite the fury unleashed on retail locations on this day, Cyber Monday, which is a more recent creation, is still ahead and aims to bring that same excitement to web-based merchants.
While Amazon is currently running numerous deals today, the retailer is already looking ahead to December 2nd. Today the merchant provides a sneak peek at some of the deals it has planned for that day.
Unchecky offers a brand new way to avoid adware
It’s happened to us all. You’ve found what looks like some great freeware, downloaded and installed it, only to discover that your browser has a new toolbar, home page, search engine and more. Many setup programs now include these "offers", unfortunately, and they’ll employ all kinds of tricks to fool you into installing them.
If you’re tired of this situation, though, there’s a new way to fight back. The free Unchecky monitors setup programs, checks for any attempts to install adware, toolbars and other unrelated extras, and uses a couple of strategies to ensure they don’t end up on your hard drive accidentally.
5 things you might not think Apple should be thankful for
Today, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and Hanukah, a rare occurrence they overlap. We reflect on the things we feel -- or should be -- grateful. Ahead of the holiday meal I served up "13 things for which Google gives thanks" and colleagues Wayne Williams and Alan Buckingham "5 things to be thankful for in Windows 8.1" and "5 products I'm thankful for", respectively. I would be remiss ignoring Apple.
The fruit-logo company is unique in techdom, inventing or reinventing several hugely successful product categories. Most companies have one- or two-hit wonders. Apple has a string of smash hits, like the rarest of iconic musicians. The Beatles come to mind, because of their 50th-anniversary and name shared -- you know, Apple Records. The many things for which the company should be thankful are obvious, so let's just dispense with those and get to items other list-makers, if there are any, likely will overlook. I present Apple's thankful things from least to most important.
5 tech products I'm thankful for
It's Thanksgiving day here in the states and, with the turkey not yet in the oven and football having not kicked off, I thought it appropriate to take a moment to give thanks. No, not for my family or for the chance to live my life the way I do, though all of those are on my list, but for tech products -- this is a technology news site, after all.
I've given careful consideration to this and looked at what I used most over the past year -- the products that got the most hands-on, that provided the best experience. I've whittled that list down to just five, and now its time to share, to give each a hearty thank-you. I'd offer them a bit of pumpkin pie if I could.
5 things to be thankful for in Windows 8.1
It’s Thanksgiving in the US today (as if you didn’t know) so I’m using that as a feeble excuse to give thanks to Microsoft for some of the best features found in its new operating system. As someone who pretty much detested the turkey that was Windows 8 from the moment I installed it to the moment I updated it, I’m constantly surprised by how much I like the new incarnation.
I appreciate Windows 8.1 is not for everyone, but if you persevere with it for a while, and can let go of the old ways, you’ll find it’s actually a great operating system. Controversially, I’d have to say it’s maybe my favorite OS of all time. Sure, as a desktop user there are some things I hate about it, but the pluses easily outweigh the minuses -- for me anyway. Here are five of the features I like best.
SiSoft Sandra 2014 adds Windows 8.1 support, new Scientific Analysis benchmarks
UK-based SiSoftware has released SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2014, a major new release of its system information, diagnostics and benchmark tool for Windows PCs.
The 2014 version adds official support for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, but also includes a number of new benchmarks as well as updating commercial-only features such as device performance certification validation for benchmark results.
The best tools for removing malware
Antivirus software is generally seen as being about protecting your system from infection, but sometimes you get caught out and it's necessary to call on the product's removal capabilities. If you're lucky, or careful, you might never have to try out the malware removal ability of your security product, but it's good to know it can step up to the plate if needed. To help you see if your chosen solution measures up AV-Comparatives has released the results of its latest malware removal tests.
Tests were carried out on a range of 11 malware samples including Trojans, worms, backdoors and ransomware. Using a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit system each infection was loaded, the system rebooted and then the anti-virus product installed, updated and put to work.
Microsoft targets Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 in new Surface RT ad
After pitting its Surface 2 against Apple's iPad Air (unsurprisingly, the former wins that round), Microsoft is now going after Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 in a new Surface RT ad that focuses on the connectivity options offered by the two devices.
It is a no-brainer as to which one wins the battle in this new ad -- yes, it is the Surface RT. The slate comes out on top as the superior device because it allows users to connect an external display, connect a drive to the full-size USB port and charge it, at the same time. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is portrayed as the sore loser due to its significantly limited hardware design.
13 things for which Google gives thanks
U.S. Thanksgiving Day comes late this year for retailers, but makes more time for Google to count its blessings and to offer gratitude for them. Oh, they are bountiful, and there is still another month of them to come. The year 2013 will be remembered as one of the finest in Google history. The company has so much to be thankful for, I could have trebled the list.
But for succinctness, I whittle down to those things that mean more than others or that otherwise would be overlooked in the typical yearly review. The list goes from that for which Google should be least thankful to most. Gobble. Gobble.
CyanogenMod Installer disappears from Google Play -- that's a good thing
When it comes to the Android custom ROM community, CyanogenMod is considered by many to be the holy grail. If your smartphone or tablet receives official support for the ROM, you can be assured of regular updates. However, for many, the stock Android experience has now matured to a point where custom ROMs are no longer needed.
Despite this (or maybe because of this), CyanogenMod decided to monetize its ROM and form a company. To easier facilitate the process of installing it, the company released a helper app on the Play Store. Yesterday, the app was pulled from the store -- and that's a good thing.
AOC e2752She 27-inch monitor -- a Black Friday bargain [Review]
During the month of November, the advertisements for Black Friday sales start coming fast and furious. It is easy to miss the truly good deals among the noise. However, one such sale caught my eye -- a 27-inch LED LCD monitor by AOC for $179. When I worked at CompUSA, I sold many AOC monitors and really liked them. Not only were they inexpensive, but they proved to be reliable.
According to the monitor manufacturer, "the limited time promotion on the e2752she is available Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 at Office Depot, OfficeMax, Best Buy, Newegg, Staples and Amazon, among other retailers". In anticipation of the sale, I obtained this model to see if it is worth your money on Black Friday.
Is Microsoft really killing off Windows RT?
There’s been a lot of talk in the press over the past few days that Microsoft is planning to kill off RT, its ARM version of Windows. Speculation about the future of the tablet OS has been rife for ages. Five months ago I declared, "Stick a fork in it, Windows RT is done" and although the OS is still with us -- thanks mostly to its inclusion in Surface and Surface 2 -- its days look to remain numbered.
The cause of this latest round of death knells for RT is something Julie Larson-Green, executive vice-president of Devices and Studios at Microsoft, said at a UBS seminar in Sausalito, California, last week. When asked about RT, and whether there was a future for it, Larson-Green replied:
Logitech names the top 10 PC gaming characters of all time -- do you agree?
Gamers are very particular about which games they play and which characters to worship. Nintendo loyalists are partial to Mario, while fans of Sega love Sonic. However, when it comes to PC gaming, it is less clear-cut. After all, these games are usually more adult-focused and have less opportunities for cute mascots.
Still, Logitech has managed to compile a list of the top 10 PC gaming characters of all time. Sadly, Larry Laffer of the Leisure Suit Larry series is not represented. However, I am sure he is not the only overlooked character.
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