The playing field in the world of Windows tablets became a bit more level today, as Microsoft has announced that Office Home and Student 2013 will be bundled for free with all Windows RT computers. Perhaps the move shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, as the company had previously revealed the inclusion of Office on its own ARM-based Surface tablet. For those who’d feared that Microsoft wouldn’t play fairly with its hardware partners, however, it seems that at least some of those concerns can be put aside. Naturally, everything you’ve come to expect in the Home and Student edition will be there, which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint. If you’re unsure of what to expect, be sure to check out our recent preview of the productivity suite.
While I particularly like the look and programmability of the L8 SmartLight, it might be a bit showy and overkill for many needs. If you’re looking for a simpler way to indicate activity on your computer or the internet, you might want to check out this little gadget instead.
It’s called the blink(1), and it’s a tiny programmable RGB LED with a USB connector on the end of it. Just plug one into a spare USB port, and you can program it to blink or glow in any color based on software triggers from your computer. For instance, you can have it glow when you have a new email, or maybe when a friend signs on to Skype. It can be used to indicate pretty much anything you’d like. And if you’ve got more than a single available USB port, you can go to town with multiple blink(1)s.
The blink(1) will ship with apps for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, and since its designed to be Open Source, you’ll be able to custom program it for other applications as well – and there are C and Java APIs for low-level access. Each tiny blink(1) sells for $30(USD), or you can pick up a two-pack for $55 over on Kickstarter. The project has already surpassed its funding goal, so it’ll definitely go into production.
We’d have gone with “smaller than a breadbox,” but book-sized seems to work just as well, when describing Giada’s new mini-PC. The i53 packs an Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor standard (i3 and and i7 versions are also available), 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive into its sub-one kilogram, bookshelf-ready form factor. The system supports USB 3.0 and HD video and comes with a colorful remote control, so you can boot it up from a distance. The i53 should sell for around $520. More info can be found in the press materials after the break.
The latest Windows-related rumor might be a big one, depending on what you’re tempted to believe. According to Microsoft insiders Paul Thurrot and Mary Jo Foley, the company may be looking to drop the retail version of Windows 8 entirely. This would leave Windows 8 with just two versions: the $40 upgrade DVD and the Windows 8 System Builder Kit (OEM version).
With the Windows 8 OEM licensing rate starting at $60, this rumor is leading some to believe that Windows 8 might end up costing quite a bit less than Windows 7 did. Consider, for a moment, that the OEM version of Windows 7 only cost $134.99, while the retail version’s price tag came in at a whopping $299.99. It isn’t that hard to imagine that with a price of admission that high, at least a few customers shied away from picking up the retail version of Windows 7.
So, it might be that Microsoft is looking to scrap the retail version of Windows 8 altogether and give potential users a couple less expensive options. Indeed, we were all a bit surprised when Microsoft announced a $40 price point for the Windows 8 upgrade DVD, so maybe this time around the company is more concerned with getting Windows 8 on as many computers as possible than it is with high profit margins. If it isn’t looking to ditch the Windows 8 retail version entirely, it’s possible that this particular iteration may run significantly less than past retail versions. We shall see.
This week we’ve got our hands on the orange and black beast of a gaming desktop computer known as the Acer Predator AG3620G-UR21P. The build we’ve got comes with a beastly set of hardware, starting with the new Third Generation Intel Core i7-3770 processor, 3.4GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.9GHz. This tower also comes with NVIDIA graphics, a 128GB SSD drive, and so many ports on the top and back that you wont know what to do with all of them.
Hardware
The actual casing and set of ports is extremely similar to other Acer models such as the AM3970 – though that model is made much more for the everyday user while this Predator unit brings on a shape and color scheme much more suited to the gaming-specific user. Sharp angles are clear to be seen all around the unit while bright fire orange stripes run up and over so you’re ready to race.
Up on top you’ve got what Acer calls their Multi-in-One digital media card reader with essentially every sort of card port you can imagine. Though if you’re a modern gamer you’ll probably either be using disks or digital downloads, these will come in extremely handy when you switch camera types or are handed a strange card from a friend full of photos of your last LAN party – if you’re the kind of person to take photos at such an event, of course.
Also on top are 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports as well as a mic port and a headphones port. On the back you’ll see every sort of port you could need to get off the ground for a fabulous one-display gaming experience. This includes a couple of covered ports in our build that you’ll be able to have active should you choose them for your build (you might want that display port, for instance), but we’re perfectly alright with using the DVI Video and HD-capable HDMI ports for now.
Included with this tower, as it is with most/all Acer desktop units, you’ll get a pretty standard USB keyboard and optical mouse if you’re currently going without. They work fine, but you might want to think about an upgrade if you’re actually going to go hardcore with your gaming love. Also included inside are 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN and 802.11b/g/n Wireless for some sweet connections, and High Definition 5.1 Channel Audio Support ready to go as well if you’ve got a massive room you want to fill with the crunching bone sounds of your digital enemies.
Up front we’ve got a 16X DVD+R/RW SuperMulti Drive, inside a 2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive, and the whole bit is running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit – and of course it’s upgradable to Windows 8 if you do so choose in the near future. Inside we’ve also got the lovely NVIDIA GeForce GT630 Graphics with 2GB Discrete Video Memory as well as a 2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive, Intel B75 Express Chipset, and again, that lovely new Ivy Bridge i7.
Have a peek at the results from our standard for desktop and notebook computing benchmarks, Geekbench, and certainly feel free to peruse the rest of our results from similar units in our Desktop Reviews portal. You’ll find that this device is right on the cutting edge when it comes to manufacturer assembled units, and
Benchmark Score – Acer Predator G3620
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
12961
16071
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
25559
Memory
Memory performance
8934
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
8024
Have a peek at a few more details on the system in this readout as well:
System – Acer Predator G3620
Manufacturer
Acer
Product Type
Desktop
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
Acer Predator G3620
Processor
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
3.39 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
8
Cores
4
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
8.00 MB
Memory
16.0 GB DDR3 SDRAM 666MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
American Megatrends Inc. P01-A1
Wrap-Up
In the end, what you’ve got here is an Acer machine, through and through, in an iteration aimed directly at the most high-powered and graphics intensive games you’ve got on hand. We’ve played everything from Diablo III to Batman: Arkham City on this device and have found that be it masses of characters smashing up the display or a vast playable world with realism in abundance, you’ll still be running strong.
The unit we’re using here will cost you a cool $1199.99 from Acer’s online store and it is indeed in stock right now. Head to our timeline below as well to check out additional Acer reveals and hands-on experiences we’ve had in the past couple of weeks!
Microsoft had a pretty big announcement to make the Worldwide Partners Conference this week in Toronto, showing off preview builds of some new tools that companies will definitely want to pay attention to. As it turns out, Microsoft has been preparing Windows Server to allow companies to set up virtual machines and servers of their own. The company then revealed a trio of services that will take advantage of the cloud computing tools found in Windows Server 2012, which Microsoft says will be shipping out to select manufacturers in August before getting a wider release in September.
With the CTP of these upcoming services, companies will be able to do three main things. First (and perhaps most obvious), they will be able to set up their own websites and web apps. Companies will also be able to set up their own virtual machines – be they Windows-based or Linux-based – and finally, they’ll be able to set up their own self-service portals.
Even though we have a general idea of when this software will be released, Microsoft isn’t parting with an actual release date just yet. When the software does arrive, however, we know that it will require at least four virtual machines running Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2008 R2, updated .NET framework for both versions 3.5 and 4, System Center 2012 SP1, MySQL 5.1, and SQL Server 2008. For more information on Microsoft’s cloud initiatives with Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, check out our story timeline below!
Microsoft will challenge Apple in every aspect of software and hardware innovation, CEO Steve Ballmer has warned his Cupertino rivals, promising that “we are not going to leave any space uncovered to Apple.” The rambunctious chief exec insisted Microsoft would not sit back on its enterprise range and cede the consumer segment to Apple, telling CRN that “we are not going to let any piece of this [go uncontested] … not the consumer cloud. Not hardware software innovation.”
“We are trying to make absolutely clear we are not going to leave any space uncovered to Apple,” Ballmer explained, speaking after the Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto where he confirmed Windows 8 would hit the market in late October. “We are not leaving any of that to Apple by itself. Not going to happen. Not on our watch.”
The most obvious phase of that challenge has been Surface, Microsoft’s own-brand Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets which have already put the cat among the proverbial pigeons with the company’s own OEM partners. However, Ballmer sees the next steps as definitely including those OEMs.
“We do feel empowered to innovate everywhere and bring our partners with us,” the CEO said. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned, so to speak, as we pursue that.”
As for what that next step might be, despite previous denials, there’s a possibility that it could include a Microsoft-brand Windows Phone. Questioned as to the chances of that happening, Ballmer proved surprisingly coy.
“Right now we are working real hard on the Surface. That’s the focus. That’s our core” he pointed out. “Look, we’ll see what happens. We have good partners with Nokia, [HTC] in the phone space. I love what we’ve got going on with the Surface. We are going to focus on Surface and our other Windows 8 Tablet partners and see if we can go make something happen.”
Surface is expected to hit shelves in Q4 2012, along with other Windows RT hardware, though Microsoft has already seen one high-profile manufacturer, HP, ditch its RT tablet plans.
Even if you’re a Microsoft Office hater, sometimes it’s extremely useful to have access to its features. Well, here’s a quick way to achieve that on OS X, for free, using OnLive’s Desktop service. More »
It looks like Nokia has been playing the blindfolded dictionary game again. Well, that’s if the image we see above is correct. It’s purportedly a table containing names of upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices, found by a curious wallpaper designer. The names listed for Nokia include “Fluid,” “Dogphone,” and the previously seen “Phi.” One slightly less superlative name — Nokia P4301 — caught the attention of PhoneArena, who mused that P might be for PureView? An interesting, if not optimistic leap. There are two other items in the table that might pique interest: a Samsung SGH-1687 and a Juggernaught Alpha. There’s little else to get excited about specification-wise, bar different versions of Windows Phone, however. That said, no one as yet has mentioned the elephant in the room — what about that “Virtual” model in the works from Microsoft?
Google has been talking up the prospects of integrating WebRTC into Chrome for the past several months. It’s now ready to put theory into practice with a fresh beta of the web browser. The upgrade uses WebRTC to let typical microphones and webcams talk to the browser without using a plugin like Flash or something otherwise so very 2011. Just to embrace this future of direct hardware support ever the more tightly, Google is also building in a gamepad programming interface that lets controllers tap into Chrome without having to rely on Native Client‘s magic. There’s more waiting at the source link, including more direct tie-ins with Cloud Print, so the more adventurous among us can get to chatting (and playing) right away.
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