Eight ways Microsoft can improve Windows 8

Eight ways Microsoft can improve Windows 8
Computerworld (blog)
Windows 8 is the most controversial version of the operating system Microsoft has released. It doesn't have to be that way, ... Killing the Desktop's Start button was one of the most baffling decisions Microsoft made in Windows 8. The Start button is a ...

Apple's Rationale for a Smaller iPad After Steve Jobs
Wall Street Journal (blog)
It seemed more likely that Apple decided to build a smaller tablet because a market materialized thanks to companies like Google and Amazon building smaller, 7-inch tablets. Cook, on the other hand, seems to suggest that was always the plan — people...

Wall Street Journal (blog)

Amazon Is a Black Hole Threatening To Devour Corporate America
Slate Magazine (blog)
NEW YORK - AUGUST 22: Amazon.com Founder & CEO Jeff Bezos poses for a photo before opening The NASDAQ Stock Market at the MarketSite Studio in Times Square August 22, 2003 in New York City. Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images forAmazon.

Slate Magazine (blog)

Apple's Earnings Miss: Analysts Say Don't Fret
Wall Street Journal (blog)
As is always the risk, the top concern for Apple shares over the short- and long-term is whether the company will be able to stay at the top of its industry while competitors such as Google Inc. Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. continue innovating. “The ...

Wall Street Journal (blog)

Apple Posts 'Apology' to Samsung on UK Website
PC Magazine
In the notice, accessible via the "Samsung/Apple UK judgement" link on apple.co.uk, Appleacknowledges that the High Court of Justice of England and Wales found that that Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe on Apple's design patent for ...

Amazon and Its Admirers Shrug Off Report of a Loss as Sales Keep Climbing
New York Times
If Amazon were an ordinary company, investors would long ago have strapped its management to a rocket ship and sent it far, far away. Amazon said Thursday that it lost money in the third quarter, continuing a trend of unimpressive earnings reports for...

New York Times

Microsoft enters hardware business with Surface
Boston.com
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft will be releasing its own tablet computer for the first time when the new version of Windows comes out Friday, as the software company tries to challenge Apple Inc. and its dominant iPad. The initial version of Surface will ...

Apple And Amazon Earnings Show Once Again Jeff Bezos Is Steve Jobs' True Heir
Forbes
But it's an unusual move for Apple, which usually understands the appeal of “X99″ pricing, and has priced the other iPads low. Perhaps it's because it disdains the Kindle Fire (and Google's similarly-priced Nexus 7). Or perhaps it's because it lacks ...

Is Windows Phone 8 Microsoft's last chance?
PCWorld
... as a way to fight against the iPhone's high subsidies and royalties. But it's going to take more than a pretty face to empower a company to compete with Apple and Google, who have both vigorously defended their turf. It's going to take a few things ...

Google adds terrain, vegetation imagery to Maps
CNET
Google freshened up the imagery inside Maps today, adding new visual information to convey terrain, vegetation and natural land formations. Color shading now shows vegetation more clearly, and text labels highlight land formations. "This enriched ...

Apple starts taking pre-orders for fourth gen iPad, iPad mini with ...
By Richard Lawler
Of course, if you need an alternative, Microsoft's Surface should start showing up on doorsteps today, and we're expecting to see some refreshed competition at Google's event next week. The choice is yours, hit the link below to see all of your ...
Engadget

Following The Letter Of The Law: Apple Publishes Non-Apology To ...
By Natasha Lomas
After losing an appeal in a UK high court last week against a judgement that Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets do not infringe the design of the iPad because their design is just not cool enough, Apple has now published an acknowledgement of ...
TechCrunch

Apple Already Sold Out of Initial White iPad Mini Pre-Order Stock ...
By Arnold Kim
Apple started pre-orders for the iPad mini and 4th Generation iPad early this morning at 3AM Eastern / 12AM Pacific. As noted in our forums, the... ... Apple keeps a sizable stock of devices to be available on the official launch day of products. The Wi-Fi iPad mini will be available in retail stores starting on .... Microsoft has updated Skype to version 6, adding Retina display support as well as the ability to sign into Skype using a Facebook account. This eliminates the need to sign up for a ...
MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors...

Here Is The Apology To Samsung Apple Was Forced To Post ...
By Jay Yarow
Apple actually just rips Samsung in it. ... Unboxed: Here's Microsoft's Surface Tablet ... AMAZONDIVES AFTER EARNINGS MISS · Sports ... And it talks about how Samsung has been found to steal Apple's design elsewhere in the world.
Business Insider

Apple CEO: Microsoft's Surface Is Probably Terrible - AllThingsD
By John Paczkowski
Microsoft's new Surface tablet began shipping today, and while Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn't yet used the device, he's already given it a bad review. Asked about ... Amazon's Q3 Results Fall Short of Analyst Expectations. Tricia Duryee in Commerce. Windows 8's Big Day. Ina Fried in News. Apple'sMini Pitch: Just as Good as an iPad, Better Than Everything Else. Peter Kafka in Mobile. View all today's news » · From Google, the Toughest Challenger to the iPad. Walt Mossberg in ...
AllThingsD

Microsoft Security Essentials - Microsoft Windows
Find out how Microsoft Security Essentials helps guard your PC against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software and download Microsoft Security ...
windows.microsoft.com/en-US/.../security-essentials-download

Apple - Mac mini
Up to 2x faster processors. 60% faster integrated graphics. High-speed Thunderbolt port. And still the world's most energy-efficient desktop computer.
www.apple.com/mac-mini/

Google Drive
Google Drive is a free service that lets you store all your files including documents, photos, videos and Google Docs online and access them anywhere.
www.google.com/drive/start/apps.html
Samsung Galaxy Note II (AT&T)
PC Magazine
Pros. Fast LTE. Massive high-definition screen. Fast quad-core processor. Includes a pressure-sensitive stylus and well-designed note-taking and drawing software. Runs Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" out of the box. Stellar call quality. Cons Very large. A few minor ...

Windows RT Tablet Showdown: Asus Vivo Tab vs. Microsoft Surface
PC Magazine
We've got our second Windows RT tablet in the labs, the Asus Vivo Tab RT, so it's time to ask the big question: Which one do you want? On the one hand, there's the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT ($699 for 64GB, 4 Stars), Redmond's pristine example of ...

Apple Kicks Off iPad Mini Preorders
InformationWeek
Consumers interested in preordering the iPad Mini can now do so. It can be preordered directly from Apple's website. The Wi-Fi model ships first, with a delivery and in-store date of November 2. If you want LTE 4G, you'll have to wait until "mid-November" ...

HTC can't take the heat, warns of rough holiday quarter
CNET
HTC today warned that its revenue and profitability will continue to slide in the fourth quarter amid continued pressure in the smartphone business. The Taiwan-based company, which primarily builds smartphones and some tablets, warned that its revenue will ...

Early human 'Lucy' swung from the trees
Fox News
Acientists looked at two complete shoulder blades from the fossil "Selam," an exceptionally well-preserved skeleton of a 3-year-old A. afarensis girl dating back 3.3 million years from Dikika, Ethiopia. The arms and shoulders can yield insights on how well they ...

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display)
PC Magazine
Pros. High-resolution Retina display. Includes two Thunderbolt ports. Standard 8GB of memory. Good battery life. Supports Power Nap. Cons Pricey. Requires Retina-optimized apps for best user experience. Bottom Line. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch ...

Apple shares rise in wake of earnings miss
USA TODAY
Log out of Facebook. Search. Close. Apple shares rise in wake of earnings miss. Geri Coleman Tucker, USA TODAYShare. Comments. iPad Mini on stage. Shot of the Apple iPad Mini at San Jose, Calif., launch event. (Photo: Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY) ...

Samsung outdoes Apple 2-to-1 in smartphones; Nokia falters
CNET
Samsung and Apple are dominating the smartphone market, new data from research firm IDC has revealed. During the third quarter, Samsung shipped 56.3 million smartphones worldwide, helping it to secure 31.3 percent ownership of that space. Just a year ...

Windows 8: A Bridge Too Far For Enterprises?
InformationWeek
The wait is over. Windows 8 arrives for real this week and we'll soon see whether the product Steve Ballmer admits is a bigger deal to Microsoft than the epically successful Windows 95 will live up to the company's hype and expectations. Although this isn't a ...

My AdWords Debacle: A Wake Up and a Fix
New York Times (blog)
Over the last few years, I have made a conscious effort to find ways to get advice from other business owners. Writing this blog was the first thing I did, and I have found the feedback from commenters to be valuable. This year, in an effort to find a more focused...

New York Times (blog)

UPDATE 1-Worried banks put brakes on Brazil lending in September
Reuters
Lending growth slows to 15.9 pct on annual basis. * Private banks put brakes on Sept. disbursements. * At current pace, lending growth may miss target. By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tiago Pariz. SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Bank lending in ...

Humanoid Robot Challenge Kicks Off At DARPA
InformationWeek
Beginning Wednesday and for the next two years, researchers and scientists from the nation's top robotics shops in government, academia, and the private sector will compete for a $2 million prize to see who can build a robot that can use human hand tools, ...

Mars and the Science of Skipping Stones
New York Times
When I was a kid, my dad taught me the science of skipping stones. There on the rocky banks of a little stream behind our house in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, he coached me not only on the proper pitching motion, but on the significance of the right...

New York Times

Apple posts unapologetic advert acknowledging Samsung UK patent decision
Telegraph.co.uk
Apple posts unapologetic advert acknowledging Samsung UK patent decision. Apple has posted an unapologetic advert on its website acknowledging a court decision that Samsung did not infringe its design patents in the UK. Who is 'coolest' - Apple or ...

Telegraph.co.uk

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City coming to iOS and Android later this fall
SlashGear
This coming Monday will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which was the sequel to the ground-breaking and completely-revolutionizing Grand Theft Auto III. To celebrate Vice City's 10th anniversary, Rockstar Games will ...

SlashGear

Freemium app revenue growth leaves premium in the dust
GigaOM
Freemium app revenue is now dominating premium for developers on both iOS and Android, said AppAnnie. The analytics firm said that freemium apps generate 69 percent of the worldwide iOS app revenue and 75 percent of global Android app revenues.

GigaOM

Nexus 10 caught snapping Google exec's holiday photos
SlashGear
Google's Vic Gundotra has been doing some Samsung Nexus 10 teasing, using the unannounced but broadly-expected Android tablet to share some holiday snaps on Google+. Gundotra does not mention the tablet by name, but the Nexus 10 is listed as the ...

AMD to show off Windows 8 tablet PCs using its Hondo chip at CES 2013
ZDNet
AMD to show off Windows 8 tablet PCs using its Hondo chip at CES 2013. Summary: After a slow start to its latest tablet initiative, the chip company claims up to 19 design wins for its Z-60 processor. Sean Portnoy. By Sean Portnoy for Laptops & Desktops ...

ZDNet

Admiral goes in to bat for Huawei
Sydney Morning Herald
When John Lord joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1965 as a cadet midshipman, Australian Diggers were fighting alongside Americans in the jungles of Vietnam against black-clad Vietcong guerillas supported by Red China. Forty-seven years later, after ...

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturn storm cranks the heat WAY up
Discover Magazine (blog)
In late 2010, amateur astronomers discovered a white spot on Saturn – a gigantic storm forming in its northern hemisphere. The storm grew rapidly, and within weeks had embiggened to an almost unbelievable size, much larger than our entire planet.

Discover Magazine (blog)

Apple Plans for Internet Radio
Music Business Journal
When Pandora Internet radio entered the market with a strong initial public offering in 2011, a reporter from Bloomberg TV asked the Chairman and CEO, Joseph Kennedy, about how his company compared to Apple. He said that, out of all the people who ...

Music Business Journal

Leveling the playing field for internet radio
Boulder iJournal
The way we watch movies and listen to music is changing almost day by day, as new internet-based media streams and social platforms proliferate. For a growing number of music fans, channels like Pandora and Spotify are the new standard, enabling ...

News Networks Migrate To Windows 8
mediabistro.com
Microsoft is releasing the latest version of its Windows OS today, Windows 8. Unlike previous installments of the ubiquitous software, Windows 8 is also optimized for use on tablets, and features an integrated app store, a la Apple's iOS and Mac platforms.

mediabistro.com

You Can Jailbreak Smartphones Acquired Before This Coming January, After ...
Geekosystem
Even presidential candidates -- nay, especially presidential candidates, are prone to saying and doing some silly things. One wonders if the Internet watches the presidential debates because they're important, or because a load of material comes from them.

Fomalhaut b regains planetary status
TG Daily
The nearby star Fomalhaut does host a massive exoplanet after all, say NASA scientists following a second look at Hubble data. Back in 2008, astronomers announced that they'd discovered a planet, named Fomalhaut b, shrouded by dust as it orbited ...

TG Daily

Rock that hit Novato home may be meteorite
San Jose Mercury News
NOVATO, Calif.—A mysterious rock that hit a Novato home may be a meteor after all. Lisa Webber's roof was struck during last week's meteor shower that lit up skies over the San Francisco Bay area. Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute in Mountain View ...

Deer dare drivers to take the wheel
Alton Telegraph
You're cruising along the seemingly empty road at night when off to the side they appear: Little more than circular glints of light. You get closer and the lights dart directly into your path. Your headlights illuminate a deer — majestic in nature, a nightmare on the ...

Boarding pass barcodes 'can be read by smartphones'
BBC News
A vulnerability in US domestic airline boarding pass barcodes could allow travellers to bring unauthorised items on board, says a security expert. The codes reveal what kind of airport checks a passenger will face and can be read by smartphones, he says.

BBC News

Dear Android manufacturers: Please sell me the phone that I want
ZDNet
Dear Android manufacturers: Please sell me the phone that I want. Summary: Unless Google has a 4.3-inch trick up its sleeve for Monday's big Nexus announcements, Android fans who want a moderately-sized yet powerful smartphone are left with no ...

First feathers on dinosaurs were for mating, not flight
Los Angeles Times
The short, wing-like forelimbs of one of the adult ornithomimids were covered with long feathers with stiff shafts down the middle, much like modern feathers. Ornithomimids are seen in this drawing. (Julius Csotonyi / Science / October 25, 2012) ...

2009-2012 Mac minis Benchmarked
123Macmini.com
Here's a chart of our Geekbench scores for the 2009, 2010, 2011 and new 2012 Mac minis. All of our Mac minis were tested straight out of the box with their stock RAM and hard drives. And as you can see, it's been a nice and steady climb up the charts.

123Macmini.com

EU antitrust regulators let Microsoft limit browsers on Windows RT
Computerworld
Computerworld - European Union regulators will not force Microsoft to open its Windows RT operating system to rival browsers, the Brussels-based antitrust agency said Wednesday. At the same time, the European Competition Commission served Microsoft ...

Antarctic Ozone Hole 2nd Smallest in 20 Years
Christian Science Monitor
Antarctic Ozone Hole 2nd Smallest in 20 Years. On the Earth's surface, ozone is a pollutant, but in the stratosphere, it reflects ultraviolet radiation back into space, protecting us from skin cancer-causing UV rays. By Live Science Staff / October 25, 2012 ...

Christian Science Monitor

Sprint, With iPad Mini, iPad 4 on the Way, Intros Tablet Data Plans
eWeek
Sprint will introduce several new tablet data plans Nov. 11, around the time the carrier begins selling 4G-enabled versions of the Apple iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad. Sprint lagged behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless in offering the iPhone, and even ...

eWeek

Glitch halts South Korea's third attempt at rocket launch
Reuters
SEOUL Oct 26 (Reuters) - South Korea called off the launch of a space rocket on Friday after a glitch in the Russian-built booster halted preparations five hours before the scheduled lift-off. It was South Korea's third attempt to put a satellite into orbit and comes ...

Three new crew arrive at space station with fish
Reuters
The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew of U.S. astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin blasts off from its launch pad 31 at the Baikonur cosmodrome October 23, 2012.

Want a Wii U? Nintendo says shortage possible this holiday
NBCNews.com
If you were hoping to buy yourself or someone you love a Wii U this holiday, then here's hoping you've already pre-ordered Nintendo's newest game machine. Nintendo says that it is starting to look like consumer demand for the Wii U could outstrip the ...

Who is Facebook's Oldest User? Fight is On
TopNews Arab Emirates
Facebook currently probably has more than 1 billion users monthly, a recent report reveals, being used by elderly, youngsters, children and who not. But, while creating the social networking website, Mark Zuckerberg would never have thought that he would...

TopNews Arab Emirates

Letterpress, Game From the Creator of Tweetie, Lifts Off
New York Times (blog)
These days, iPhone games are a dime a dozen. But every so often, one breaks free from the masses and begins to generate a bit of buzz. That's the story around Letterpress, a clever new word game for the iPhone and iPad, which is already creeping up the ...

New York Times (blog)

SwiftKey Flow: Predicitve text entry has never looked so good
Recombu
Arguably the pinnacle of predictive text entry right now rests with the team behind SwiftKey, makers of one of the most popular alternative Android keyboards ever created and now they're adding some important new functionality into the mix with SwiftKey Flow ...

Texas Opens Fastest Highway in US
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Texas opened a 41-mile stretch of State Highway 130 today with a new speed limit of 85 miles per hour — the highest legal limit in the U.S.. The new stretch of highway, part of a toll road also called the Pickle Parkway between Austin and San Antonio, ...

Wall Street Journal (blog)

Facebook execs: Zynga is down, but it will snap back
CNET (blog)
Facebook game executives: Zuck's always pushing us to do better. Shortly after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company's gaming revenue isn't where he'd like it to be, his game team talks about where Facebook's gaming platform is headed.

Assassin's Creed 3 – preview
The Guardian
A certain online encyclopedia describes Assassin's Creed III (PS3/Xbox360/WiiU/PC) as a "historical action-adventure open world stealth video game". It is both a long-winded description and an incomplete one. It is, arguably, missing the words "free-running" ...

LG's 84-inch $20k 4K TV available in the US
SlashGear
LG has released the first 4K TV in the U.S., its 84-inch behemoth 84LM9600, which you can pick up for a cool $19,999. While Sony managed to get its 4K TV XBR-84X900 out on pre-order first, LG's newest arrival is still the only ultra-high-definition unit that ...

SlashGear

Dishonored developer announces three add-on packs
VentureBeat
It's not downloadable content in 2012 if it doesn't have a Horde mode. Dishonored, the first-person stealth-action game set in an oil-punk alternative-world London-like city called Dunwall, is getting three sets of DLC. The first add-on pack, called Dunwall City...

VentureBeat

Most Popular (Worst) Passwords Of 2012: 'Password' Tops List For Second Year ...
Huffington Post
"Password" has topped the list of most popular -- or worst -- passwords of 2012. This week, SplashData released its annual list of the most common passwords used on the Internet -- and you may be surprised as to how obvious many of them are. The top ...

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