Microsoft confirms it was working on Surface Mini
It stopped short of actually naming the device, however Microsoft has admitted it was planning to add a second new Surface to its line-up.
Although leaks and rumors are usually best viewed with a heavy dose of skepticism, when they are as insistent as the talk regarding Surface Mini was, it’s safe to assume there’s at least some fire under all that smoke. We were fully expecting to see a seven inch version of the tech giant’s slate rolled out alongside Surface Pro 3, but there was no sign at all of it at the New York launch event two months ago. So what happened?
Help fund a solar-powered Raspberry Pi school
The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Eben Upton was inspired to create his bare-bones credit-card sized computer after noticing a decline in the number of children learning to code. He wanted to create a cheap computer designed to be programmed, much like the BBC Micro, which was hugely popular in UK schools back in the 1980s.
Although the Raspberry Pi has since found a massive audience outside of schools, it’s still an educational tool at heart, and its low cost and energy efficiency make it ideal for introducing computers into rural schools in developing nations.
New Windows 9 screenshots show Start menu and windowed apps
Windows 9 hasn’t been officially announced yet (we don’t even know if that will be its name) but already we’re starting to see screenshots purportedly showing off the feature that is set to get most, if not all of the attention -- the restored Start menu.
Myce.com managed to get hold of two new screenshots -- one showing off the new menu, and the other providing an example of windowed apps. They were taken from build 9795, which was compiled on July 13 (the calendar says both shots were taken a day later).
Ferrari beats Mercedes at the German Grand Prix -- in the battle of the F1 team websites at least
Sports fans are increasingly demanding a multi-channel experience, wanting all the news and all the facts on multiple devices. Website owners can’t afford to ignore this, as creating a superior user experience to that offered by rivals can mean a competitive advantage in terms of user happiness and, ultimately, website traffic.
Mobile, cloud and web performance specialist Keynote believes that not enough sites consider online performance during high-profile sporting events, and so decided to monitor and compare the performance of 11 popular Formula One constructor team web pages -- including Caterham, Ferrari, Force India, Lotus, Marussia, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Sauber, STR and Williams -- during the German Grand Prix (19-20 July). The results make for interesting reading.
Microsoft looking to end bugs in software by monitoring developers
Modern programs are so complex that bugs are pretty much unavoidable, but Microsoft is looking at ways of reducing coding errors as much as possible, including trialling an experimental approach that involves monitoring developers as they work.
The idea is to track eye movements and other mental and physical characteristics of the developers, in order to spot when their alertness levels drop or they are struggling with a task -- which is when errors are most likely to creep into their work.
PlayStation 4 outsells Xbox One for sixth consecutive month in the US
Microsoft might have seen sales of the Xbox One more than double in June, but the games console is still being outsold by Sony’s PS4, according to industry-tracking firm NPD Group.
While the uncoupling of the Kinect and introduction of a $399 base model has caused a clear sales spike it will likely be some time before we see whether that's enough to help the Xbox One catch up to its rival.
[Updated] Lenovo ends sales of small-screen Windows tablets in US due to lack of interest
Microsoft is keen to get its tiled OS on as many devices, from as many hardware makers, as possible. It introduced the license-free Windows with Bing back in May as part of this push, but prior to that, at Build 2014, it announced it would be offering Windows for free to OEMs and ODMs on all tablets smaller than nine inches.
The dream of an army of smaller devices running Windows 8.1 has suffered a major setback now though with news that one of the largest Windows device makers, Lenovo, has decided to kill off its smaller tablets in the US, citing lack of interest.
Under the Dome goes over the top in promoting Microsoft Surface
Microsoft is the master of product placement. Watch almost any American-made TV show and at some point it’s likely one of the characters will whip out their Windows Phone, fire up their Surface, or use Windows 8.x. No one in those shows ever seems to own an iPad or an Android phone, which is odd considering that in the real world, most people do.
I caught up with the latest episode of CBS show Under the Dome last night, and for a brief moment thought I was watching an advert for Surface, so prevalent was Microsoft’s slate. The problem was… [spoilers ahead]
Xbox One sales more than doubled in June, says Microsoft -- means nothing
A fan of Microsoft’s new gaming console? Prepare to rejoice. While up until now the Xbox One has been roundly thrashed by its arch rival, Sony’s PlayStation 4, it seems uncoupling the Kinect in order to allow the device to compete on price is paying dividends.
According to Microsoft, since the new Xbox One offering launched on June 9th, the company has seen sales more than double in the US, compared to May’s figures. Fantastic! But hold on… Maybe don’t start that party just yet.
Watch Satya Nadella's keynote at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is delivering a keynote today at the Worldwide Partner Conference and you watch what the tech giant’s new boss has to say here.
Monday's Vision Keynote covered a wide range of topics, including Windows Phone’s shipments, forthcoming Windows devices, and there was even some hints on what to expect from Windows 9.
Watch the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference keynote here
The Vision Keynote for the WPC 2014 has ended now, and Microsoft covered a wide range of topics, and even delivered some surprising news -- Windows Phone is apparently now the fastest growing mobile operating system, with more shipments than iPhone in 24 markets.
Microsoft also talked about forthcoming Windows devices, including $99 tablets, and even had some news about the next version of its operating system, Windows 9. If you didn’t attend the conference, and would like to know more about what Microsoft revealed, you can watch the keynote here. And because it’s not live, you can even skip through all the boring bits, and the music!
Wondering what Windows 9's Start menu might look like?
We got our first glimpse of the future Windows Start menu at this year's Build Developer Conference, but since then Microsoft has kept the much requested feature well under wraps.
Over the past couple of weeks we've seen some screens purporting to be from leaked versions of the next major Windows release. They certainly look the part, but are they the real deal?
Raspberry Pi introduces an improved model -- the Model B+
We’re big fans of the Raspberry Pi here at BetaNews. The popular (not to mention super-affordable) credit card-sized ARM GNU/Linux computer was designed to bring programming back into schools but has quickly found an audience way beyond that.
The Pi is available in two variations -- the $25 Model A, which comes with just the one USB port and no Ethernet, and the more advanced $35 Model B with Ethernet and two USB ports. Today, however, there’s a third choice -- the Model B+.
Selling a smartphone? Here's how to securely wipe your personal data
As a test, Avast purchased 20 used and supposedly wiped Android phones and discovered that it was able to recover vast amounts of personal user data. My colleague Brian Fagioli reported the story here.
Google responded to the news, stating "This research looks to be based on old devices and versions (pre-Android 3.0) and does not reflect the security protections in Android versions that are used by the vast majority of users". It went on to offer users advice on how to make sure when selling an old mobile phone you aren’t also gifting your personal data to buyers.
Windows 8.x's failure will be the making of Windows 9
I know it’s a little crazy to talk about how well a future operating system will do, especially when Windows 9 hasn’t even been officially announced yet. But we do already know a fair bit about Windows 8.1’s successor and that, I think, is enough to build a reasonable case.
Windows 8.x is a flop. As much as I love it, I’m a realist. The operating system has taken 20 months to grab just 12.54 percent market share. Windows Vista, the previously used example of a failed OS, was at 19.82 percent in the same time frame. Windows 7, which followed Vista, has been a great success, and there’s every reason to think Windows 9 will do much, much better than Windows 8.x has.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 30 years now. He’s written for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a fair few of them in his time also. If you like what you read, you can Buy Me a Coffee!
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