Latest Technology News

On Tuesday, even with all the CES 2013 madness, Microsoft introduced a host of new features addressed to the company's Windows Azure SDK for .NET. The latest version of the software development kit focuses on expanding support in roles, increasing productivity, making new tools available and delivering new and updated libraries.

The revised Windows Azure SDK for .NET allows users to run cloud service applications in Windows Server 2012, and provides access to more features in IIS 8 (Internet Information Services) and .NET 4.5 when the server operating system is selected. The updated software development kit also introduces support for Visual Studio tools, delivering improved tooling for Cache and Server Explorer for Storage and Service Bus, diminished context switching to portal as well as support for up to 25 management certificates per subscription.

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There is no shortage of new tablets being announced at this week's Consumer Electronics Show -- Acer Iconia B1-A71, Polaroid M7 and M10 and VIZIO 11.6" Tablet PC, among many others. Meanwhile, NPD DisplaySearch forecasts that global tablet shipments will surpass notebooks this year. But what's interesting is a dramatic shift in size preference, which is why I want to know: Which is right for you?

DisplaySearch predicts that tablets with 7-to-8 inch screens will overwhelmingly dominate the market, with 45 percent share. Meanwhile, 9.7 inches -- the size Apple popularized with iPad -- will fall to just 17 percent share. Yet many of the slates debuting at CES are in the larger categories, typically between 10.1 and 11.6 inches. Does size really matter that much, and is smaller better?

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CyberLink has released a notable update to its popular and powerful consumer video editor range. With release GM4, both CyberLink PowerDirector 11 Ultra and CyberLink PowerDirector 11 Ultimate add ultra hi-def resolutions to file production, support for editing GoPro HERO3 clips and an additional seven transitions to the Transition Room.

The new release, which is available for a 25 percent savings with exclusive bundle of extra goodies worth nearly $70 from the Downloadcrew Software Store, also promises improved program stability and frame accuracy, plus resolves a number of issues.

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Even though at CES 2013 manufacturers reveal some of the most high-tech products, such as 4k OLED TVs, which are, price-wise borderline unreachable for most consumers, there are some affordable and appealing devices, too. Case in point are Polaroid's M7 and M10 tablets that feature dual- and quad-core processors, respectively, as well as Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The US-based consumer electronics company aims for the stars by pitching the two tablets against more established market competitors. Polaroid aims at Apple's iPad Mini with the M7, while the larger M10 takes on Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 in the company's wishful thinking. On a more down-to-Earth note, the dual-core M7 packs 7-inch panel with 1280 by 800 resolution, giving it a pixel density of 216 ppi, among the highlights.

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Whether you’ve accidentally deleted a file, a partition or an entire drive, there are plenty of recovery tools you can turn to for assistance. And most of these claim ease of use as a key selling point. You won’t have to worry about low level drive structures or other complexities, as the program will try to handle everything for you.

If you’re at home with file systems, though, and familiar with partition tables and the MFT, you may sometimes get better results with a tool which lets you take more hands-on control. And the free (for personal use) DMDE is a great example.

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Following on from Huawei's announcement of the Ascent Mate yesterday, Chinese electronics company Lenovo has unveiled its own phablet at CES 2013. However, unlike Huawei, which opted to give its device a "huge" 6.1-inch HD IPS+ panel, Lenovo has chosen a more restrained 5.5-inch display for its K900 smartphone, bringing it in line with the current Samsung Galaxy Note II.

Lenovo has provided few details concerning the K900's specifications. The smartphone is known to ship with a 5.5-inch IPS display sporting a resolution of 1920 by 1080, delivering a pixel density higher than 400 ppi. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Power comes from a "forthcoming" Intel Atom processor. According to Lenovo, Intel has yet to "release complete specifications", which explains the lack of specifics regarding the component.

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There was a time when Play.com looked set to rival Amazon in the UK. The online retailer, which focussed initially on selling DVDs, made a big splash when it launched in 1998 by offering its products for the same price as Amazon but, crucially, threw in postage for free, a move which made shopping there a lot cheaper overall.

However, time hasn’t been kind to Play.com. First it was sold to Japanese company Rakuten for just £25m in September 2011, and then the government closed a Jersey tax loophole that allowed retailers to avoid paying VAT (Value Added Tax) on items under £15. With Rakuten seemingly unwilling to back up its investment, Play.com limped on, but the writing was on the wall for the once great retailer.

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For those of you still using Microsoft's long-standing Instant Messaging service, bad news is on the horizon. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant revealed in early November last year, that it was planning to retire the aging Messenger and replace it with Skype "in the first quarter of 2013". Well, Microsoft is not backing down and just added the precise expiration date  -- March 15.

Microsoft sent an email detailing the process to what is most likely a considerable number of current as well as former Messenger users. I upgraded my Hotmail account to Outlook in August last year, and have not used the service in ages, yet Microsoft sent me one anyway probably emphasizing, "Hey, don't you think of using it anytime soon". There is some good news for Chinese users though -- Messenger will continue to be available in mainland China, likely due to high local demand.

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I like a good mystery. When Samsung teased us with ‘something new’ I wanted to know what it was (I’m still not entirely sure, to be honest, given Samsung announced so many products at CES). When Microsoft says it’s sold 60 million licenses I want to know how many of those were sold to consumers (Microsoft remains tight lipped).

And now a new mystery has arrived to pique my interest, this time courtesy of Facebook. The social network has sent out invitations to the press inviting us to a media event at its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters on January 15 to "see what we're building". Since press events are rarely held at Facebook's corporate HQ, it’s likely to be something big.

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What do you really want from a security suite? Most companies appear to believe the answer is "as many features as possible", and so they’ll cram their products with as many vaguely security-related tools as possible, in the hope that the sheer weight of functionality might win you over.

Comodo Internet Security Pro 2013, however, takes a very different route. There’s no spam filter here. No parental controls, or backup tool. And it won’t add warning icons to your web page search results. Instead, the program concentrates very much on the core security basics: detecting and removing known malware immediately, while preventing even brand new threats from causing any damage.

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I can name more than a few tech executives who would kill to have this kind of failure. Despite weak PC sales, Microsoft manages to sell 60 million licenses of Windows 8, which nickname around the InterWebs is increasingly "disaster" and "flop". Oh, yeah. Such a tragedy. Has anyone got a hanky, because I'm gonna cry. Assuming 30 bucks a license (a number randomly chosen) that's what? One point eight billion dollars? Yes, such a failure.

But that has got to be much less dough than Windows 7 generated for about the same number of licenses. Microsoft slashed retail upgrade prices. Windows 8 Pro upgrade is $39.99 compared with $199.99 for its comparable predecessor. Yes, Microsoft did offer a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for $119.99 and limited-time three-license package for $149.99. You do the math. Windows 8 Pro upgrade still generates less revenue per retail copy and, presumably, OEM license, too. All things being equal, Windows 8 sales aren't anywhere as good as its predecessor, if Microsoft needs fire-sale pricing to generate similar license sales. So where's the handkerchief? My eyes are teary.

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Just because Microsoft is not in Las Vegas -- other than a cameo appearance by CEO Steve Ballmer last night...oh, and all of its software, which is powering many of the gadgets you see at the Consumer Electronics Show -- the company is not standing still, today announcing updates to cloud storage service SkyDrive.

That is important because all of those Windows 8 computers and tablets, and even the Windows Phone 8 devices that are being displayed in Sin City can utilize SkyDrive for storage. In fact, the upcoming Office 2013 will do so as well. That means the company's cloud needs features to get customers interested.

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I rarely quote press releases, but analyst missives are a rare exception because sometimes they make the point so much better than any paraphrasing. "Despite the hype, and hope, around the launch of Windows 8, the new operating system did little to boost holiday sales or improve the year-long Windows notebook sales decline", according to NPD. That's the dismal news for US holiday retail sales between Nov. 18 and Dec. 22, 2012. Windows 8 is a disaster, as I expressed when NPD released early sales data in late November. Matters are worse. This is no longer the Titanic sinking but a fleet of ships.

Gartner and IDC are about to drop global fourth-quarter PC shipment data, but in context of today's separate report from NPD DisplaySearch, expect blood in the water and post-PC sharks circling the victims. According to DisplaySearch, tablet shipments surpassed laptops in the United States last year. Stated bluntly: "increasing tablet PC adoption is stymieing notebook PC growth". Yikes!

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Yesterday I reported on a jailbreak method that allows Windows RT users to run unsigned apps on their tablets. And usually, after hacks are made public, large software companies promptly respond by issuing updates to reign in the rebels or release vague, almost standardized, PR statements to reassure customers. But that's not Microsoft's response. The Redmond, Wash.-based corporation actually commends "the folks" that uncovered the hack.

The developer that goes by the name "clrokr" says that the hack is only possible because Microsoft did not patch a vulnerability in the NT kernel, which was later carried over to Windows RT. The software giant, however, begs to differ and says that the documented jailbreak method does not represent a security vulnerability.

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Some trends are really bad. Take set-top box designs, which are headed in the wrong direction. Entertainment devices used to have traditional box shapes. Some were longer or deeper or taller, but they all stacked on a shelf. They fit neat and tidy in your media center. Those days are gone.

Where did this madness all begin -- insanity that sweeps though the Consumer Electronics Show this week? Boxee is as good a place to start as any. The original Boxee Box had a "unique" shape -- I am being kind. However, version two, not surprisingly, went with a more traditional shape in an effort to raise sales and fit better within the living rooms of customers. Lesson learned.

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