Items tagged with Windows 8
At CES, Lenovo revealed its ThinkPad Helix which it marketed as having a "groundbreaking 'rip and flip' design" that enables this 11.6-inch ultrabook to transform into a powerful Windows 8 tablet. When detached, Lenovo claims the Helix is the thinnest full-function Intel 3rd generation Core processor-based tablet with vPro support. The ThinkPad Helix lets you work in four different modes: laptop, tablet, stand, and tablet+. When attached to the Enhanced Keyboard Dock in laptop mode, you’ll also get additional battery life and additional ports as well as Lenovo’s ThinkPad Precision keyboard, a five button trackpad that supports Windows 8 features, and TrackPoint mouse... Lenovo ThinkPad...
Read more...
Convertible laptops and ultrabooks had a big presence at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). At CES, Lenovo revealed its ThinkPad Helix which it marketed as having a "groundbreaking 'rip and flip' design" that enables this 11.6-inch ultrabook to transform into a powerful Windows 8 tablet. When detached, Lenovo claims the Helix is the thinnest full-function Intel 3rd generation Core tablet with Intel's vPro technology for the enterprise. The ThinkPad Helix lets you work in four different modes: laptop, tablet, stand, and tablet+. When attached to the Enhanced Keyboard Dock in laptop mode, you’ll get additional battery life and additional ports as well as Lenovo’s ThinkPad...
Read more...
Microsoft's message to resellers is, 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch your back.' To be more specific, Microsoft introduced a new program called "TouchWins" that allows participating retailers to receive $5 to $10 for each Windows 8 device they sell from a list of 21 Windows 8 touch-enabled PCs and tablets. "The whole idea is to provide incentives for the commercial channel for featured devices and tablets, PCs and tablets, and through this program we will provide incentives directly to authorized distributors, as well as reseller partners, who sell featured PCs and tablets that have Windows Pro and are touch-enabled," Tami Reller, CFO of Microsoft's Windows division, said during a keynote...
Read more...
Microsoft has reason to celebrate today, as its Windows Store is now filled with over 100,000 Windows 8 apps. It's an important milestone en route to a much larger goal of building out a rich ecosystem, and while it's true Apple and Google have Microsoft beat in the apps department, the Redmond outfit reached the 100,000 mark much faster than the competition. It took a mere eight months to flesh out the Windows Store with 100,000 apps, versus two years for Google to reach the same goal after opening the Android Market (now called Google Play) and one and a half years for Apple to get there. Not only that, but the Windows Store has doubled the number of apps in just the past three months alone....
Read more...
There will indeed be another version of the DirectX application programming language (API), though Windows 7 users won't be invited to the party. Neither will Windows 8 users, for the matter. Microsoft confirmed that DirectX 11.2 will be exclusive to Windows 8.1 and its Xbox One console, or at least that's the way it appears. Some sites are reporting that DX11.2 could also end up on other next generation consoles. Regardless of it ends up, the headlining feature of DX11.2 is a new Direct3D feature called Tiled Resources, which exposes a limited virtual graphics memory model to apps. This prevents loose mapping between logical resource data and physical memory, and also allows the creation of...
Read more...
Samsung's Premiere 2013 event in London is well underway and as you might expect, product announcements are coming in fast and furious. One of the new items Samsung unveiled at the event is the Galaxy NX, purportedly the world's first interchangeable lens camera with 3G/4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity baked in. According to Samsung, the Galaxy NX combines cutting edge optical performance with connectivity capabilities with a bevy of Android applications, all in a single handheld device. "The Galaxy NX reflects the unique needs of a user who needs to take professional photos and share them immediately in any situation. For those who want to express themselves and the exciting moments that make up...
Read more...
On the lookout for the ultimate Windows mouse? Well, given that's how Microsoft touts its Sculpt Comfort Mouse, the company looks to have you covered. Microsoft calls the mouse "Sculpt" because it's designed to fit perfectly in your hand, with a contoured left side - unfortunately, lefties are once again ignored. Also on the left side is what sets this mouse apart from all the rest: a Windows touch tab. This blue button has multiple functions. You can click it to switch between your desktop app and the Windows Start screen, swipe up to cycle through all open apps (in the Start screen) or down to reveal the All Apps section of the Start screen. As someone who's come to rely heavily on back / forward...
Read more...
As much as I've wanted Microsoft to hit a homerun with its advertising efforts, I haven't been super impressed its commercials the past few years. I didn't really care to see Seinfeld shopping for shoes or Bill Gates talking about churros, neither of which were worthy retorts to Apple's Mac vs PC ad spots. And let's not even talk about Microsoft's ads in other parts of the world. I bring this up because Microsoft's finally showing signs that it can produce a comical commercial that's both informative and disparaging of the competition, but in a tasteful way. Check it out for yourself. One of the chief complaints about the iPad since its introduction is that it's poorly suited for productivity...
Read more...
For some critics of Microsoft's latest OS, this should come as no surprise: IT departments are wary of adopting Windows 8. This information comes from a new Forrester report which sourced its results from interviewing nearly 10,000 IT employees. Interestingly, while IT managers themselves have little interest in rolling-out Windows 8 for various reasons, demand by individual employees at these companies expressed slightly more interest in Windows 8 (38%) than 7 (35%). Even with some Windows 8 demand, however, IT managers seem disinterested in the costs of moving to this particular version. Instead, many are looking at Windows 7. But from an ROI perspective, many companies prefer to adopt the...
Read more...
Acer President Jim Wong earlier this month stated he doesn't see the value proposition in Windows RT tablets, but that doesn't mean Acer wants nothing to do with Windows 8. Need definitive proof of that? Just head over to Acer's Finnish website and spy a new entry for its upcoming Iconia W3, an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet that optionally snaps into a full-size keyboard for productivity on the go. We're not sure if Acer meant to let the cat out of the bag just yet, so it's possible the site will be taken down sometime today. We've already plucked the pertinent parts of the revealing portal, however, so there's no taking a mulligan on this one. Here's what you need to know. The Iconia W3 runs Windows...
Read more...
There's no reason for Windows 8 and Windows RT to be treated like second class citizens, so why isn't Adobe's free Photoshop Express program available for either platform when you can grab it on iOS or Android? That would have been a good question a week ago, but is no longer valid, as you can now find the freebie photo editing app in Microsoft's Windows Store. "On-the-go photo editing was never so fun, fast, and cool. Touch your way to better-looking pictures with automatic fixes and filters," Adobe explains on the app's product page. "Get your pictures to pop! And after sharing, you'll be the talk of your friends. This isn't like the full version of Photoshop that's available for desktop systems,...
Read more...
Microsoft earlier this week said it's sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses to date, though admitted that figure includes pre-installed copies of the touch-friendly operating system to retailers and OEMs. Perhaps a better gauge of where Windows 8 stands is to look at its market share, which is up slightly in April (around 4-5 percent, depending on which data collection agency you trust), but still trailing Vista. Looking long-term, what does Microsoft need to do with Windows to ensure it remains the PC platform of choice? That's a topic PC makers have been offering feedback on, and according to Acer President Jim Wong, Microsoft's been adopting suggestions from hardware partners "at a high percentage."...
Read more...
This is just getting awkward, leaving me more convinced than ever that Microsoft needs to tap into its riches to hire some creative folk who's collective task, and only task, is to come up with commercials that don't suck. Remember when Apple blitzed the TV screen with its Mac vs PC ads? Those were funny, even if largely misleading. Microsoft's answer? Hire Jerry Seinfeld and have him shop for shoes. Seriously. More recently, Microsoft's attempted to sell the world on its Surface RT and Pro tablets/notebooks/hybrids with a series of ads that failed to inform the public what these devices really are, choosing instead to focus on that wonderful CLICK sound when you slap a cover to the devices....
Read more...
As we noted earlier, Windows 8's reception to date has been tepid at best. As much of a train-wreck that many considered Vista to be, even it had greater adoption six months after launch. There are multiple factors that can be blamed here, with one at the forefront being Microsoft's new-fangled Start screen. Many have considered that interface to be ideal for tablets, not desktops, and that's something I can't disagree with. But on the topic of tablets, the Windows 8 situation hasn't fared much better than on the desktop. According to Mark Whittard, managing director at Toshiba Australia, Microsoft "confused" consumers with its dual-OS approach; that is, Windows 8 and Windows RT. This...
Read more...
