Acer Aspire M5 brings Haswell to your home [Review]
I continue to hear about the death of the PC, but trust me, I am not writing this story or anything else, on a tablet. I have three of them, and enjoy using them -- "Under the Dome" looks great on the Kindle Fire HD while I am "Under the Covers" at night -- but they are essentially useless for my job. In fact, I mostly work from a two-year old Gateway laptop -- the device is more than suitable for my needs and I rarely venture to my home office to touch the desktop.
Acer, however, has decided to try and tempt me away from what I had been considering more than adequate at this point. I write this latest missive from the brand new Aspire M5 that FedEx dropped off to me for review, courtesy of the hardware maker.
Halo: Spartan Assault gets free Operation Hydra expansion
Last month, Microsoft released Halo: Spartan Assault for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. I declared that the game was "the best smartphone game I have ever played" -- a statement I stand by today. However, Microsoft has chosen not to rest on its laurels. Today, the company announces an update to the popular game called Operation Hydra.
Microsoft says it is a "free game update with five new missions to battle through". The company further says that the update "also adds support for phones with 512MB RAM, making the game available to even more Windows Phone models".
Inevitably, Windows 8.1 RTM leaks on to the Internet
Microsoft might want you to wait until October 18 before upgrading to Windows 8.1, but the ever-impatient Internet has other ideas. The RTM versions of the OS refresh are now available to download and install if you know where to look (i.e. the usual torrent sites).
The leaks began on Tuesday with a Chinese version, and then there was a WIMs (Windows Imaging Format) release in English that had less technically minded would-be installers scratching their heads and begging for help.
Logitech introduces Touch Mouse T630 for Windows and Mac
Logitech has been rolling out new products at break-neck pace just recently. Yesterday saw the unveiling of a new gaming mouse, which somehow packs 11 buttons onto the tiny peripheral. Now, the company takes a sleeker approach for those who just wish to use the computer -- be it a Windows or Mac.
The T630 comes in two models, separated by the mindset of the user. "The Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse T630 in black is designed for PC users while the Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse T631 for Mac in white perfectly complements the look of MacBook computers", the hardware maker announces.
Microsoft, if you want apps for Windows 8.1, don’t piss off developers
Microsoft needs better Windows 8 apps, and in greater numbers, but, at times, it seems at a loss on how to get them. The company has introduced various initiatives, but then for reasons that are hard to fathom, does its best to hamper developers.
In a blog post yesterday, following the announcement of Windows 8.1 hitting the RTM milestone, the Windows Apps Team put out a call to developers to get their apps ready for the Windows 8.1 launch. It went down like a lead balloon with app makers asking exactly how they're supposed to do this without early access to Windows 8.1 RTM.
THIS is how Microsoft should advertise Windows 8
While every armchair tech pundit and analyst pontificates on Steve Ballmer’s retirement bombshell and speculates on who Microsoft’s next CEO might be and what the future holds for the tech giant, I’d like to take a moment to just enjoy this video of Steve selling Windows 1.0.
Sure, there are many amusing videos of the departing CEO on the web -- including his famous monkey boy dance, this one where he disses the iPhone, and of course developers, developers, developers etc. But it’s Steve in full used car salesman mode that I really like.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week
Looking at the the biggest stories on BetaNews from August, 18 - 24, 2013. Perhaps the biggest news from the last seven days -- at least in part because it came as such a surprise to most people -- was the announcement that Steve Ballmer intends to resign from Microsoft within the year. The CEO is planning to step down as soon as a suitable replacement is found, but there has been speculation that Ballmer may have been pushed rather than opting to jump.
Getting my hands on a Surface Pro for the first time gave me an opportunity to try out Windows 8 as a touchscreen operating system. Despite loving the Surface in general, I pondered whether the use of the same version of Windows 8 as on desktop machine may have been what's stopping Microsoft’s convertible devices from becoming more popular. At the same time, Brian fell in love with the Lenovo Yoga, citing Windows 8 as one of the computer’s strengths.
Lenovo partners with Pokki -- Microsoft should be worried
While many people dislike the Windows 8 Modern UI, it is easily avoidable by installing a third-party Start menu replacement like Classic Shell. However, this is generally bad for Microsoft as it fragments the user experience and potentially steers users from the Microsoft Store. Today, the software giant was dealt another blow as Lenovo partners with Pokki to pre-install that company's Start-menu replacement software on the ThinkPad and IdeaPad line of computers.
"We’re excited to announce that the #1 PC maker in the world, Lenovo, will be shipping Pokki on new Windows 8 devices worldwide! In other words, you’ll soon be able to buy a brand new Lenovo laptop or desktop with our full Pokki software suite integrated and ready to use out-of-the-box!", says Pokki. Yikes, Microsoft cannot be happy!
Gameloft bringing more games to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
I’ve played many a Gameloft game on my iPad (and other iOS devices), and although the company now likes to focus on Freemium titles packed with ridiculous in-app purchases, it is still a name synonymous with quality gaming.
Which is why it’s great news for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devotees that the company plans to bring 15 of its new games to both of those platforms over the next twelve months, starting with Asphalt 8: Airborne and Dungeon Hunter 4 this fall.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S -- Windows 8 done right [Review]
My relationship with Windows 8 is very tumultuous; sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it. However, this is due to the inherent problem with Windows 8 -- depending on what you are doing with it or what hardware you are using it on, the experience is different. I have used Windows 8 devices that are wonderful and others that are horrible. I often ponder, what if there was a device that could change based on what I was doing? I am happy to say, such a device exists and its called the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S.
The name "Yoga" is very appropriate as the convertible laptop offers multiple positions. No, I am not talking about the downward-facing dog -- this device can be a laptop, tablet and desktop. Lenovo calls these modes "Laptop", "Tablet", "Tent" and "Stand". However, "Tent" and "Stand", in my opinion, have duplicate functionality -- I refer to both of these as "Desktop Mode".
Surface Pro -- is Windows 8 the biggest failing of this expensive tablet?
Almost every time I have written about Microsoft in the past, I have been accused of being on the company's payroll when I write something positive, or being a hater out to bash the firm when I write something negative. Fair warning to anyone inclined to make such accusations (and a slight spoiler); this is one article in which I am going to sit firmly on the fence.
Let’s get one thing out of the way to start with. I quite like Windows 8. It’s not perfect and I have my complaints, but it is my primary operating system on three computers, and has been for some time. Until now, my only experience of Windows 8 has been on a traditional desktop and a laptop -- this means I have only interacted with the OS using a combination of a keyboard, mouse and trackpad.
Latest Microsoft ad targets students while dissing iPads
In a recent ad Microsoft levelled its guns at Google, but this time around it is Apple who finds itself in the crosshairs. The thinly veiled attack pits the Lenovo Yoga against Apple’s iPad in a bid to win favour in time for the ‘back to school season’.
The advertisement is set in a lecture hall and finds the lecturer’s audience divided into three distinct camps -- old-school pen and paper fans, iPad users, and a solitary student with a convertible Windows device. As the cue comes to start taking notes, the Windows user casually stops playing the word game she was engrossed in, flips the Yoga into ‘notebook’ mode and starts typing.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week
Looking at the the biggest stories on BetaNews from August, 11 - 17, 2013. This week there has been a lot of Microsoft related news setting tongues wagging -- and it's been something of a rollercoaster. Early on in the week we got a sneak peak at what to expect in the upcoming Windows 8.1 update after a new build leaked online. Build 9471 includes a number of changes from the official Preview, including new tutorials, extra personalization options, changes to a few of the built-in apps and integrated Skype.
Not long after the leak version was discovered, Microsoft went on to talk about creating a unified experience across different Microsoft and Windows devices and services. And for anyone who is sick of the Windows 8.1 hype there was some good news -- the official release date is only a couple of months away, after which things should start to quieten down.
Internet Explorer at 18 -- Microsoft's web browser comes of age
It's a big day in anyone's life -- turning 18. The strike of the clock at midnight opens up a world of opportunity that simply did not exist before. Things may not be quite so dramatic in the life of a web browser (they can't vote, for starters), but today is a big day for Internet Explorer nonetheless; today marks the 18th anniversary of the release of Microsoft's much loved and hated browser. There's something of a nostalgia-fest underway at IE's Facebook page!
Whichever side of the fence you fall on, there's no denying that Internet Explorer has been, and continues to be, an incredibly important tool in opening up the Internet to a wider audience. Usage figures may not be quite as high as they were back in the heady days at the turn of the century when there was slightly less competition in the market, but IE continues to do well -- amazingly well considering the criticism and ridicule often levelled at it.
Windows 8 is 21 times safer than XP, and 6 times safer than Windows 7
I remember the UK launch of Windows XP very well. It took place in London a few weeks after the attacks of September 11 and security around the event was tight. Steve Ballmer was there to discuss the new OS in his own inimitable style, and afterwards we were given a copy of XP to try out for ourselves. That was 12 years ago, and obviously a lot has changed in the tech world since then, yet plenty of businesses are still running XP -- a major source of frustration to Microsoft.
In a blog post yesterday, Tim Rains, Director of Product Management in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, discussed the risks of running Windows XP after support ends in April 2014. In a second post elsewhere Chris Hallum, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, talked about how the evolution of security threats impacts businesses.
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