Wayne Williams

Apple events are always preceded by rumours and occasional leaks, so we usually have at least a rough idea of what to expect prior to the keynote. There haven’t been any major leaks ahead of this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference which could mean one of two things -- there’s nothing really big coming, or there’s something so big to be announced, security is super tight.

We do know some of what Apple CEO Tim Cook will talk about when he takes to the stage later today, and we have a good idea of what else might be announced, so prepare to get excited for the following…

Continue reading →

The BBC’s weather predictions tend to be reasonably accurate, and now you can check the corporation’s latest forecasts on a new app available for iOS and Android.

When you launch the app it detects your location and tells you what the weather is like where you are, providing details such as high and low temperatures, current conditions, humidity, visibility and wind speed.

Continue reading →

The good news for many frustrated users of Windows 8 is Microsoft is bringing back the start button in Windows 8.1. It might not operate in quite the same way as the Start button does in previous incarnations of the operating system, but at least it’s there.

Microsoft released a teaser video a couple of days ago which highlighted many of the new features to look forward to in the OS refresh, but the Start button wasn’t among them. The software giant did however, demo the button -- and the improved interface -- at Computex 2013, and a video captured by NetworkWorld shows our little clickable friend in action.

Continue reading →

To celebrate the theatrical release of Star Trek Into Darkness, Taiwanese PC maker Acer partnered with Paramount Pictures to create a limited Star Trek themed edition of its Aspire R7 touchscreen notebook. Just 25 of these special R7’s were produced, none of which were made available to the general public.

Until now. Acer is putting one -- and just one -- up for sale on eBay, with all proceeds going to two charities -- The Mission Continues and Save the Children.

Continue reading →

We've written a lot about Windows 8.1 lately. We covered what to expect, and reported on the return of the Start button, the official Windows 8.1 announcement from Microsoft, and most recently the changes the software giant has made to woo the enterprise. But unless you downloaded and played around with one of the early leaked builds, you won’t yet have seen the Windows 8 refresh in action.

Well, Microsoft has just released a "First look at Windows 8.1" video which provides a preview showing just some of the highlights to look forward to (or to absolutely despise, depending on your perspective).

Continue reading →

The first version of Windows I ever installed was Windows 3.1, and the most recent was a leaked build of Windows 8.1. In between those two points I’ve installed every new version of Windows Microsoft has produced, most more times than I care to recall.

The installation process has definitely improved over the years, but I shudder to think how much of my life has been spent waiting for each install and reinstall to complete.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is really pushing Windows 8.1 to businesses. As my colleague Ian Barker reported yesterday, the OS upgrade will offer a raft of new features targeted at the "world of cloud computing and connected devices, with enhancements for bring your own device (BYOD) connectivity, enhanced mobility features and security enhancements".

If the global Windows 8 enterprise adoption data released by SysAid Technologies earlier today is to be believed, the software giant is really going to have its work cut out convincing firms to switch to the divisive OS.

Continue reading →

Eye-Fi memory cards can automatically copy photos from your camera to a wireless enabled device, such as your PC, whenever you get in range. The new Mobi card, announced today, is designed to transfer photos from a camera to any iOS or Android handset.

All you have to do is insert the Mobi card into your camera, and use it as you would any ordinary SD card. Install the free app on your phone and pair it to the Mobi by entering a unique 10 digit code. Once paired, photos and videos can be copied over automatically.

Continue reading →

Today at Computex in Taiwan, Asus announced a lot of new products, including a new MeMO Pad HD 7 tablet.

The Android device is 10.8mm thick and weighs just 302g. It packs a 7-inch 1280 by 800 IPS display with 170-degree wide viewing angle. The device is powered by a Qualcomm quad-core processor, has 1GB of RAM, and features a 1.2 megapixel front facing camera and an optional 5 megapixel rear facing camera.

Continue reading →

Earlier today at Computex 2013, Asus Chairman Jonney Shih revealed a new Transformer Pad Infinity. The refreshed Android tablet/notebook boasts a 10.1-inch screen offering a massive 2,560 by 1,600 resolution. That’s higher than the iPad 4’s 2048 by 1536 retina display.

The device is powered by a quad-core 1.9GHz Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, and comes with 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. You can increase the available storage via the SD card slot built into the companion dock.

Continue reading →

Yesterday my colleague Mark Wilson wrote a scathing article on Gmail’s new tabs feature. In it he complained about the total lack of customization options, the wonky sorting, and most damning of all -- the way it’s no longer possible to tell at a glance exactly how many new messages you have.

This morning, in checking my email -- with the tabs active -- I found another reason to hate the latest addition to the webmail service, and it’s likely the reason that Google even introduced tabs in the first place -- advertising messages in your inbox.

Continue reading →

Antoine Leblond, Microsoft’s corporate VP for Windows Program Management, has today made an official announcement on the Windows Blog detailing some of the many changes we can expect to see in Windows 8.1.

There are no massive surprises in the reveal, which is titled "Continuing the Windows 8 vision with Windows 8.1". We’ve already seen and covered most of them previously. But it is good to finally get an official peek behind the curtain.

Continue reading →

Ringo Starr admits he gets frustrated that all people ever want to talk to him about is The Beatles. The developers of Windows 8 must feel similarly annoyed that despite all the changes in the new OS, all anyone wants to talk about is the Start button.

Windows 8 gets a lot of things right, and a lot of things wrong, but the lack of a Start button and menu in the desktop is the one thing that seems to unite all the haters. It’s symbolic of how badly Microsoft judged our attachment to the status quo in its rush to embrace the future. Fortunately with Windows 8.1 Microsoft gets a chance to fix things and give us the OS we should have had in the first place.

Continue reading →

A few years ago, if you wanted to join a website you had to create a brand new account, enter your email address and come up with yet another password to try and remember. That’s all changed of course and now you can log into a vast amount of sites using existing credentials for services like Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

Today, Amazon adds itself to the list of services you can use to gain access to other sites with the introduction of Login with Amazon.

Continue reading →

Although Microsoft has yet to officially reveal the price of its next generation games console, Amazon has decided to set the figure at £599.99 on its pre-order page.

This is considerably higher than most people would have expected -- closer to £400 would have been a reasonable guess -- and dwarfs the launch price of the Xbox 360 which cost gamers £209.99 for the core system back in December 2005.

Continue reading →