Consumer Reports refuses to recommend Microsoft Surface Book 2
Just a few days ago, Microsoft revealed details of the Surface Book 2 which is due to launch in November. But before the device is even available, it has been dealt a blow by Consumer Reports.
Earlier in the year, the review group said that problems with reliability meant that it was impossible for it to recommend any Microsoft laptop or tablet. Now Consumer Reports says that this extends to the Surface Book 2, meaning that the device will not be recommended.
System76 'Lemur' and 'Galago Pro' Ubuntu Linux laptops get 8th gen Intel Core CPUs
Earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the all-new Surface Book 2. People all over the world are probably very excited about the device. Oh, what? You aren't excited? You mean, you don't want a super-expensive non-upgradeable Windows 10 tablet that plugs into a keyboard? What a shocker! All joking aside, that is very understandable. After all, most consumers would be better served by a traditional laptop.
If you don't want a gimmicky Windows 10 tablet, a laptop running a Linux-based operating system, such as Ubuntu, is a wise alternative. System76 is one of the best sellers of these types of notebooks, and today, two of its most popular models are getting huge upgrades. You see, both the Lemur and Galago Pro laptops now have 8th generation 'Coffee Lake' Intel Core CPU options.
Microsoft launches its most powerful Surface Book yet
Microsoft is set to begin shipping its second generation Surface Book in November and says it wants to offer the power of a desktop with the versatility of a tablet.
Surface Book 2 will be available in both 13 and 15-inch versions, weighing in at 3.38lbs and 4.2lbs respectively, both will have a PixelSense Display with multi-touch, plus Surface Pen, and Surface Dial on-screen support. The 15-inch version will have nearly seven million pixels -- 45 percent more than a MacBook Pro.
Microsoft is hilariously pretentious as it unveils Surface accessories in aqua color
Microsoft Surface computers are rather nice, but sometimes Panos Panay and team get a little wacky when describing the design process. Look, I get it, Panay is passionate about his job, and that is respectable. But come on, creating Surface devices isn't exactly like painting the Mona Lisa.
Today, Microsoft announces that some Surface accessories will soon be available in a new aqua color. Now, I suppose the color is decent, although it reminds me of a hospital. It is the type of color you paint the rooms of an assisted-living facility for the elderly. As Microsoft describes the process of selecting the color aqua, however, you would think they cured a disease -- the explanation is hilariously pretentious.
Microsoft killing Surface line is just a 'tabloid rumor'
Even though Microsoft is not making a lot of money by selling Surface devices, it is hard to imagine that the PC line will be put out to pasture by 2019 because of it, as some top industry executives believe. It plays too big of a role in the PC ecosystem to be killed off.
As I explained in the article discussing those claims, we should not look at Surface "as a standalone effort, but rather as part of a long-term strategy" through which "Microsoft is not only making high-end Windows devices more attractive, it is also encouraging its partners to come up with better designs." Unsurprisingly, my view is mirrored by Surface chief Panos Panay, who calls those claims the "tabloid rumor of the week."
Microsoft will kill Surface line by 2019
It is difficult to imagine what the PC market would look like today had Microsoft not introduced the Surface RT and Surface Pro back in 2012. The software giant created a category, set the benchmark for high-end productivity-oriented tablets, and pushed rivals, like Apple, to compete in this space.
Despite this, Canalys CEO Steve Brazier and Lenovo COO Gianfranco Lanci believe that the Surface line will be put out to pasture by 2019. Why? The Surface business is not a huge money-maker for Microsoft, making it harder and harder to justify the cost to produce new devices and the low margins involved.
EFF resigns from W3C in protest against Encrypted Media Extensions DRM standard
Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has resigned from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) because of a move to standardize the Encrypted Media Extension (EME) API for controlling DRM in web browsers.
The EFF is far from being the only group to be unhappy with the W3C for the decision to standardize EME, but this is the first -- and possibly only -- one to have gone as far as resigning as well as filing objections. The group says that it proposed compromises that were ignored, and the opposition of EFF and other W3C members were simply overruled.
Managing customer expectations before, during and after a new product launch
Whether you are an established brand or a fledgling startup, there are a number of things to consider as you prepare to launch a new (or your first) product or service -- from creating buzz and designing attractive packaging, to running tests and staking out the competition. It goes without saying that your customers are central to the success of your product, but many business and marketing leaders fail to turn their critical eye inward and acknowledge the pivotal role customer service representatives play in the lead up and aftermath of your launch.
Across industries, customer expectations are only continuing to grow. Reports show that by 2020, customer experience (CX) will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, which means that brands need to set the bar higher in terms of their own customer experience programs -- or else, they risk losing their competitive advantage.
Blender 2.79 adds new and improved tools, enhances cycle rendering feature
Non-profit organization The Blender Foundation has released Blender 2.79, an update to its cross-platform, open-source 3D graphics tool. The new build further improves its Cycles Rendering feature, bringing feature parity with NVIDIA CUDA and improved performance to AMD OpenCL hardware.
Other highlights include additional tools and options being added to the Grease Pencil, Alembic, Mesh Modeling tools, while simplified video encoding and user interface improvements have also been implemented.
New Microsoft Surface Book and Surface Studio may launch in October
Microsoft's upcoming event in London, called Future Decoded, will have Panos Panay, the Surface head, as one of the keynote speakers, fueling speculation that the tech giant will unveil the new-generation products part of its hardware line at the end of next month.
Microsoft has already unveiled two new Surface devices this year, the Surface Laptop and the new Surface Pro, but it has yet to reveal a successor to the Surface Book or Surface Studio.
Microsoft shows weakness by extending the free Windows 10 S to Pro upgrade deadline
Windows 10 S is a really great idea in theory. By limiting the operating system to applications from the Windows Store, it could make users safer. After all, it should limit the potential of malware since users can't download and install questionable things from the web. Of course, this will only be successful if there is a good library of apps, and I am sorry to say, the Windows Store is a failure in that regard. The biggest selling point for Windows is legacy program compatibility. Once you take that away, there isn't much left.
Thankfully, the company is giving complimentary upgrades from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro until the end of 2017. This will allow a person or organization to easily recover from mistakenly buying into Windows 10 S if it doesn't meet their needs. Today, however, as a sign of weakness, Microsoft extends this deadline.
Logitech Craft keyboard borrows heavily from Microsoft's Surface Dial
The latest device to be announced by Logitech is the Logitech Craft keyboard -- a wireless keyboard with a dial that's remarkably similar to the Surface Dial. It's so similar, in fact, that it's hard to imagine that Microsoft's lawyers aren't stroking their chins and wondering what to do.
Logitech refers to the new hardware as an "advanced keyboard with creative input dial," and the main target audience is people working with Photoshop or other design ventures. Of course, the company wants to appeal to as many people as possible, and points out that the dial -- known as the Crown -- is also useful in the likes of Word and Excel.
Microsoft and Panos Panay 'stand behind Surface'
Earlier today, Consumer Reports caused a huge controversy by pulling its "recommended" status from all Microsoft Surface laptops and tablets. While I personally swear by the consumer-focused organization for its coverage of vehicles and appliances, I take its computer coverage with a grain of salt. After all, it infamously panned the 2016 MacBook Pro for poor battery life, even going so far as to say Chrome provided longer usage than Safari -- totally wrong, by the way. It turns out Consumer Reports's testing of the MacBook Pro was flawed and it later reversed course, recommending the Apple laptop after all.
With all of that said, I was obviously a bit dubious of its criticism of some Surface machines. In my experience, the Surface hardware is extremely well made and owners are generally satisfied with the computers. That's not to say they are perfect -- quite the contrary. Actually, they have been prone to bugs that were later fixed (mostly) with firmware and driver updates. Despite those issues, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any Surface product. Obviously Microsoft and Panos Panay -- father of Surface -- would share my disagreement with Consumer Reports. To solidify that, Panay has now penned a response titled "We stand behind Surface."
Poor reliability means Consumer Reports no longer recommends Microsoft Surface -- or any other Microsoft laptop or tablet
Influential reviewer Consumer Reports says that it no longer recommends Microsoft Surface tablets and laptops. The consumer group says that poor predicted reliability for the Surface range means that it is pulling its "recommended" tag.
More than this, Consumer Reports goes on to say that it "cannot recommend any other Microsoft laptops or tablets." Recent studies suggest that a quarter of laptops and tablets from Microsoft will present problems for users within two years of ownership.
Google Play now promotes apps that crash less and offer better battery life
There are many metrics by which to measure how good an app is, and Google is starting to use a few more when it ranks Android apps and games in the Play Store. The latest app-ranking algorithm now takes into account app stability, performance and battery usage.
As well as improving the relevance of listings for people downloading apps, Google is also using this change to push developers to improve their apps.
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