59290447
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
It was quite a surprise when we heard back in September, last year, that Microsoft was going to acquire Nokia’s Devices and Services unit for just $5 billion. And today, more than eight months after the announcement, the company whose name was once synonymous with “mobile phone”, gets officially acquired by the Microsoft behemoth. Just as a reminder, $7.2 billion is the price that Microsoft paid for the acquisition. The merger will have a big impact on Nokia’s employees, as Microsoft will transder approximately 25,000 workers from around the world. The company also mentioned that Nokia’s factory from Masan, South Korea, and the factory in Chennai, India, will stay with Nokia.
59209003
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
It was quite a shock for many when Facebook announced that they would acquire messaging service WhatsApp for a staggering amount of $19 billion. At the time, Zuckerberg was quite confident that WhatsApp could reach to one billion users, and it seems that they're now half way there, as WhatsApp announced it has now more than 500 million users across the entire world. WhatsApp has seen fast growth in countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, and Russia. Also, more than 700 million photos and 100 million videos are being shared on a daily basis.
59043323
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
The Apek Maxpad is touted as the world's first Windows 8.1 powered smart touch TV, available in 39, 50 and 63.5-inch screens with full-HD multi-touch screens and powered by AMD A10 APU based PCs. The processor runs at 3.8GHz and packs Radeon HD7660 graphics. As for the RAM, the spec sheet says it comes with a 8GB DRDR3 model, expandable up to 64. It’s quite a power, house, as we can see. But it's definitely not cheap, being available in the following prices $5,400, $9,000 and $12,000. Still, we must agree that a Blue Screen of Death would look terrific on such a big screen, heh?
58909215
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
While we are still waiting for the official Windows 8.1 touch-enabled apps to get launched on the Windows Store, Microsoft went and decided that it’s time to finally bring the Office online apps to the Chrome Web Store, instead. Thus, Microsoft is making the Web versions of its Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote apps available to users through the Chrome Web Store and also improving all of them with new features, along with several bug fixes and performance improvements.
58606375
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Right now, there are already plenty of cheap and good Windows 8 tablets, with prices between $200 and $300, but it seems that even cheaper slates are on their way. According to a recent report, a not so popular Chinese company, called Emdoor, could be the first one to release full Windows 8 tablets under $100. Shortly after the Build 2014 event, Intel has announced at the IDF conference that they are going to use their low-end Baytrail solution for Windows tablets at the $99 pricetag. Hermann Eul, a top executive at Intel, said Windows tablets could cost only $99 by lining up low-cost processor models up with the removal of Windows licensing costs. He also said that there are already more than 90 tablet designs coming to the market, with prices ranging from below $100 to $500.
58572359
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Today Windows XP officially dies and Windows 8.1 update is also being rolled out in the same day. Another product which gets the axe is Internet Explorer 6, the “most hated browser” in the world for which even a “funeral website” has been created with a countdown until its final day. The sixth version of Internet Explorer has been criticized for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards. Nonetheless, with all the campaigns which were urging users to ditch and stop using it, at the end of March, this year, Internet Explorer 6 had a IE market share of 4.15%.
58360395
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Andrew Huang and Sean Cross have spent over a year working on the Novena laptop — a fully open source laptop with customizable hardware . Huang is widely credited as the man who broke open the original Xbox. Since the laptops and all the instructions are aimed at a small number of buyers, they aren’t exactly cheap. Just the Novena board will cost you $500 and ships November this year while a pledge of $1,995 to the Novena campaign at Crowd Supply will land you a laptop with an estimated shipment deadline in January, 2015. The open source Novena laptop is powered by a 1.2 GHz Freescale i.MX6 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 240GB solid state drive, a 45Whr battery, WiFi, HDMI, and Debian Linux for the operating system.
58330173
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Microsoft today said it will make Windows free of charge for phones and tablets with screens smaller than nine inches, a move designed to help boost the company's market share. Microsoft didn't say what version or type of Windows is covered under this new policy— but most likely we're talking about a new Windows version. "Windows for Internet of Things" or "Windows on Devices" could be its name, as we've seen information on a "Windows on Devices" website offering a short glimpse this new version. Besides smartphones and smaller tablets, this new Windows version will also become available for IoT devices and other wearable gadgetry.
58326475
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
As expected, at the Build 2014 event currently taking place in the Moscone Center, San Francisco, Microsoft has announced the first update to Windows 8.1. Albeit the update has leaked before, it now has become official. It comes with improvements especially for mouse and keyboard users, such as the minimize button that now works inside modern Windows apps. Also, switching between Win 32 and modern apps is now also possible form a single place. The Start center comes with a the PC Settings tiles and the power button. Right mouse click features have also been added to the Start screen. Also, the Windows Store will be redesigned in the coming days. Windows 8.1 Update will be made available on April 8, ironically, when support for Windows XP is discontinued.
58287089
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Satya Nadella has named three executives to its cloud, devices and Xbox gaming divisions in his first management shakeup over at Microsoft. Scott Guthrie has been promoted to head of the cloud and enterprise group, the $20 billion division that Nadella helmed before replacing Steve Ballmer as CEO in February. Stephen Elop will join Microsoft as executive vice president of the devices group and will also play a role in developing the Xbox. Phil Spencer has been name to lead Microsoft's Xbox operation, reporting to operating systems group chief Terry Myerson. Nadella made the announcement through a public email on Microsoft's website.
58186293
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
The industry of 3D printing is growing day by day and new amazing devices get unveiled. Foodini is a 3D printer that can print food like ravioli, pizza, burgers, crackers, cookies, chocolate vases and more by using fresh ingredients . This 3D printer comes with empty food capsules where you can put the mashed ingredients. Thus, you don’t have to buy pre-filled food capsules. The minor disadvantage is that you will need to prepare the food by blending it first; but hey, it’s a small price to pay for healthy food that gets modeled according to your desires. And we all know who loves to eat food in different shapes – kids.
Foodini has a built-in 7 inch touch screen (powered by Androdi) on the front and you can use it to connect to an online community site where users can view recipes, online demos, and have access to a personalized online recipe box. You can access it from your smartphone, tablet or laptop and also upload and share your own recipe creations.You can buy Foodini for $999 currently on Kickstarter, but this is an early bird limited price, so there are limited units for purchases.
58164699
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Just like expected, at its first press briefing, Satya Nadella and his team has finally unveiled the much awaited and perhaps overdue Microsoft Office suite of products for the iPad . It’s not a standalone product and yes, of course, it does require subcription. Microsoft has released Office Mobile for iPhone users back in June, last year, and now Redmond has just unveiled the Microsoft Office suite for the world’s most popular tablet – the iPad. This morning, in San Francisco, at an event focused on discussing the intersection of cloud and mobile, the Microsoft Office suite for iPad has been released and it is free to download, but requires a subscription if you want to edit files, naturally. Just as expected, it comes with the traditional trio of apps: Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
58128113
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Peter Molyneux is one of the most famous personalities in the history of gaming, especially recognized for having created God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous, Black & White but also the Fable series. After creating the Fable series, Molyneux announced in March 2012 that he will be leaving Lionhead and Microsoft to start another company – 22Cans. During a recent interview, the former Microsoft employee has shared some interesting details regarding the time when he was working over at Redmond. He says Microsoft is a “big supertanker of safety” and that working there is “like taking antidepressants“. Here’s the excerpt from his interview:I left Microsoft because I think when you have the ability to be a creative person, you have to take that seriously, and you have to push yourself. And pushing yourself is a lot easier to do if you’re in a life raft that has a big hole in the side, and that’s what I think indie development is. You’re paddling desperately to get where you want to go to, but you’re also bailing out. Whereas if you’re in a big supertanker of safety, which Microsoft was, then that safety is like an anesthetic. It’s like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable.
58062875
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 2 tablet in October 2013 with several hardware upgrades, like the new 1.6GHz Core i5-4200U processor specifically optimized for longer battery life and increased performance. Three months later, Microsoft decided to upgrade the CPU with a 1.9GHz Core i5-4300U unit that would be capable of taking these improvements even further. Albeit Redmond has kept a low profile for the somewhat significant improvement, tech savvy buyers were aware of the change. Now, according to some new reports, it seems that the company is still shipping the old models to buyers, despite the fact that Microsoft has promised to deliver only upgraded models featuring the new CPU. The new processor is said to come with 20% higher clock speed and 15% to 20% better overclocked clock speed.
57919651
submission
SmartAboutThings writes:
A new study conducted by IDC and the National University of Singapore and reported by the Microsoft Cybercrime Center has revealed some interesting numbers regarding the malware affecting pirated software. Businesses worldwide are said to spend nearly $500 billion (such a huge number!) in 2014 to deal with the problems caused by malware on pirated software. Individual consumers are expected to spend $25 billion and waste 1.2 billion hours this year because of security threats and expensive computer fixes.
