Items tagged with Micro
Remember that neat little Micro 3D printer that we covered a few days ago? The one that was looking for $50,000 in funding via its Kickstarter campaign? It was doing well out of the gate, nabbing about $1 million on its first day, but that frenetic pace has not abated much. The current total in pledges is at $2.28 million and counting, and the campaign still has 25 days left to go. The Micro 3D Printer’s appeal is obvious. It promises incredibly simple functionality, at least reasonable quality, a small size to fit comfortably in the home or office, and--most importantly--a relatively low price point. It appears that the Micro 3D Printer could cost as little as $299, but that number is...
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In the race to drive down costs for and increase the capabilities of 3D printers, the team behind the Micro 3D printer believe they’re among the frontrunners. The Micro is designed to be inexpensive and incredibly easy to use while also offering reliability and consistency. “It is the most affordable 3D printer that can be used right out of the box. Perfect for beginners and experts alike, just plug in the printer, download or create models, hit print, and watch your custom creations form right before your eyes,” reads the team’s Kickstarter pitch. The Micro features auto leveling and auto calibration with a Micro motion chip; it’s quiet and consumes little power;...
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Microsoft introduced its latest Zune models, as well as the version 3.0 update of its software in September. And here we are, already facing a price cut, and a pretty good one at that. Although Microsoft would like to call it a holiday price cut, one would have to wonder if the difficult economy, which has led to some pretty sad forecasts from retailers, has anything to do with this.Just FYI, these cuts are only for flash-based Zunes and accessories. According to the official Zune blog, the prices, starting tomorrow, will be as follows:Zune 4GB - $99.99 (-$30)Zune 8GB - $139.99 (-$10)Zune 16GB - $179.99 (-$20)Car Pack - $69.99 (-$10)Home/AV Pack - $59.99 (-$20)Dock Pack - $39.99 (-$10)Note that...
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Malware writers sobbed Tuesday as Microsoft announced that it will cease sales of its security product, Windows Live OneCare, as of June 30th, 2009. Instead, Microsoft announced that it would begin shipping a free product, codenamed "Morro," in the second half of 2009. The new offering will be less of a resource hog, according to the press release, which would obviously enable Microsoft to protect PCs in developing nations more effectively. In other words, they want to make sure they have some sort of product covering all the security holes in their OSes. But seriously, let's face it, the product never really gained a large market share, as it was buggy and performed poorly in various antivirus...
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Like many enthusiast system manufacturers, Velocity Micro makes hand-built, high-end gaming rigs using the latest components, such as Intel’s Core i7 processors. Velocity Micro claims that they pride themselves on their extensive customization options, meticulous assembly procedures, a technically trained staff, and in-house US-based support.Velocity Micro offers two series of gaming rigs—the Raptor and Edge series. The Raptor is “the best of the best” with more customization and tweaking options along with higher-end specs. The Raptor line offers two models: the Raptor Signature Edition (starting at $5,499) and the Raptor Z90 (starting at $3,599). The Edge series is also geared...
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Whenever AMD or Intel release a new processor and chipset platform, you can bet there’s going to be a good amount of excitement surrounding the release, along with anticipation as we eagerly await the arrival of systems that incorporate the new technologies. Velocity Micro’s new Edge Z55 Intel Core i7 Gaming System is out and we’ve had the chance to run it through our tests to see just how it stacks up. As you’ll see, the new Intel Core i7 CPU and X58 chipset enables the Velocity Micro Edge Z55 Gaming System to hold its own against the elite PCs of just a few months ago.The new Core i7 brings with it new chipsets, motherboards, and a new LGA1366 processor socket. What sets the Core i7 processor...
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In an attempt to gain a stronger foothold in internet "cloud", Microsoft has revamped their Windows Live services with new applications and third-party integration. By providing a hub for web access to e-mail, instant messaging, photos, and other web applications, Microsoft hopes to enhance the consumer experience by consolidating the digital content scattered throughout the PC. Not only is it a one-stop interface for users, but it also hopes to be the point of contact between friends. This service puts Microsoft into competition with social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. “Our customers have friends across the Web. They communicate through many unconnected...
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It's no secret that most radio talk shows have a slight delay before a caller's audio reaches the air. The obvious reason: to make sure no "f-bombs" reach the sensitive ears of the public --- or the FCC. Well, Microsoft has been awarded a patent that might eliminate the need for that delay. The patent, 7437290, is for "Automatic censorship of audio data for broadcast" was first filed in 2004. Here's how it's described: An input audio data stream comprising speech is processed by an automatic censoring filter in either a real-time mode, or a batch mode, producing censored speech that has been altered so that undesired words or phrases are either unintelligible or inaudible. The automatic censoring...
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Microsoft Kicks Off Competition for Developers Who “Dare to Dream Different”Contest provides developers with opportunity to create simple yet powerful embedded devices based on the .NET Micro Framework. REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. today announced a call for entries for the Microsoft Dare to Dream Different challenge, a skills-based competition for software developers to design and build innovative devices on the Microsoft .NET Micro Framework, Microsoft’s smallest embedded platform for resource-constrained devices. The Microsoft Dare to Dream Different competition is designed to recognize the many unique and creative ways that developers can use the .NET Micro Framework to spur the innovation...
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Earlier this month Steve Ballmer spoke about a cloud-based development environment, though he wouldn't go into detail, saving it for the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) at the end of this month. However, a look at the PDC sessions on Wednesday would have revealed a possible clue to the name of it: Windows Strata. There were eight sessions tagged with Windows Strata early on Wednesday. If you checked back later in the day, you would have seen that tag vanish from the list of PDC sessions, however. Ooops. The eight sessions originally tagged Strata were also tagged Cloud Computing, and that is where they sit now. Yes, yes, we know strata is a geological term, but our guess is it's a take-off...
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At a conference in London on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees that Microsoft later this month will show off its new development environment for Internet-based applications dubbed "Windows Cloud."Now, it was already expected that Microsoft would show its cloud-based developer platform at the Professional Developer's Conference (PDC) toward the end of the month. However, the terminology, "Windows Cloud," hadn't been used before. Windows Cloud is a separate project from Windows 7, and is an OS targeted at those developing for cloud computing. Ballmer was pretty close-mouthed about it, saying he didn't want to ruin the announcement. What he was clear on was that Microsoft doesn't...
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The third ad in Microsoft's massive ad campaign designed to enhance the image of the company and Windows has hit the web. If you remember, the first ad featured Jerry Seinfeld stumbling upon Bill Gates shopping in a Shoe Circus store for some discount shoes. The second ad also featured Bill and Jerry, but this time as houseguests trying to connect with an ordinary family.The first couple of ads didn't resonate well with the general populace, however, and Seinfeld has been nixed--at least for now... This latest ad (finally) directly addresses Apple's "Get a Mac" ads, and features a myriad of Windows users saying that they're PCs, and talking about what they do with their systems. The ad isn't...
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Large corporations, universities, and research labs have relied on high-performance computers (HPC)--or "supercomputers"--for years to solve complex problems in science, engineering, financial modeling, and other similar uses requiring advanced, heavy-duty computations. The high cost of these systems and their complexity have often kept them out of the hands of smaller companies, institutions, and departments that don't have the budget or resources to purchase and maintain them. Cray ("The Supercomputer Company"--yes, that supercomputer company) in partnership with Microsoft, hope to rectify that with today's announcement of an "affordable" supercomputer, the Cray CX1. Credit: Cray...
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Microsoft and Pioneer Enter Into Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement to Foster Mutual Innovation in Consumer TechnologyAgreement covers a broad range of consumer products for both companies. REDMOND, Wash., and TOKYO — Sept. 16, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. and Pioneer Corp. signed a patent cross-licensing agreement that furthers the development of each company’s product lines and will expand technological innovation to enhance the overall customer experience. The cross-licensing agreement covers a broad range of consumer products, including Pioneer’s auto navigation products and televisions, as well as Microsoft’s software products. The agreement allows greater mutual access to each partner’s respective...
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