This week it’s been confirmed that the newest generation of Sony gaming peripherals – namely the DualShock 4 wireless controller – will be working with Windows machines. This is somewhat of a surprise revelation made by Sony for the PlayStation 4-aimed piece of equipment, mainly because there’s no word from opposing camps (Nintendo for the […]
It was one thing when Google’s Chrome apps managed to break out of the browser
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This article was written on May 15, 2008 by CyberNet.
Adobe has announced that the first Beta of Flash Player 10 is now available for everyone to download. It comes with al kinds of really nice features and improvements, but the best thing that we’ll probably see come out of this is the newly available 3D effects. One example that they gave of where this could be useful is taking 2D images and arranging them in a rotating 3D carousel similar to that seen to the right. Making your own Cover Flow clone wouldn’t take too long either then.
Concerned about performance? According to Adobe they are pushing some of the graphical processing onto the user’s video card so that the processor can be used for rendering special effects:
One of the best things about the creative features now available in Adobe Flash Player 10 beta is that they won’t slow down performance. With Flash Player 10 beta, developers can enable SWF content to render through the memory bandwidth and computational horsepower of the GPU hardware processor, freeing up the CPU to do more – such as render 3D content and intricate effects, and process complex business logic.
Here’s a list of some other notable new features in Flash Player 10 Beta:
It will probably be a little while before we start to see developers making use of the new technology offered in Flash Player 10, but once a majority of users have upgraded the developers will be all over this like a kid in a candy store. 😉
Get Adobe Flash Player 10
Adobe Flash Player 10 Release Notes
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The most pleasant surprise to come out of Dell’s press conference the other day wasn’t its line of new laptops or the silly Android tablets it’s trying to foist on weary consumers. To my utter shock it was the Venue 8 Pro, the company’s first pint-sized Windows 8 tablet.
Let’s start with its looks. The lightweight, plastic body screams “generic,” and you’d be hard-pressed to differentiate it from the Android-powered cousins we looked at earlier. That’s not to say it’s completely devoid of nice touches, though: The back plate features a pattern of concentric circles that break up the monotony of an otherwise plain soft-touch finish and seems to help with grip. The Venue 8 Pro is unexpectedly light, too, as it weighs a relatively scant .87 pounds — that’s well within striking distance of the iPad mini.
That said, the Venue 8 Pro suffers from a distinct lack of style. It’s perhaps to be expected considering that this is Dell’s first attempt at bringing a full-on Windows 8 experience to a device like this, and there’s a lot that could go wrong with this sort of endeavor. Take the screen, for instance. One of my favorite reviews ever written features Paul Thurrott just eviscerating Acer’s Windows 8-powered Iconia W3 tablet for its godawful screen. Some may say he was too heavy-handed in his criticism, but when the primary means of consuming and interacting with your content just sucks, something is very very wrong.
Thankfully, early stinkers like the Acer make Dell’s approach seem all the more palatable. The Pro’s IPS screen — which ran at 1280 x 800 — was bright and well-saturated, and viewing angles seemed more than respectable during the brief moments I spent playing with the thing.
Of course, the screen’s size poses some issues. There’s no denying that parts of Windows 8.1 just aren’t suited for such small displays. The classic desktop mode is cramped and festooned with tiny icons that require a fair amount of dexterity to poke at accurately. Dell plans to downplay some of those issues by selling an active stylus that allows for precise manipulation of screen elements — I took that thing for a spin too and came away impressed. Part of the stylus’s appeal is because Dell fought the urge to make it small enough to slot into the Venue’s chassis. Instead the company opted to make a full-sized pen, which helps dramatically with usability (though you’ll have to tuck it into a case or a pocket).
And then there’s longevity to consider. I’m told that the battery is slated to last between 8 and 10 hours of normal use (whatever that is). That wouldn’t amount to much if this thing wound up trading off performance for power, but the whole package seemed suitably snappy thanks to its 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Bay Trail chipset. We’ll see if that remains the case once the final devices start trickling out into the wild.
After being let down in such a big way by Microsoft’s original Surface RT, I thought I’d never splurge on a Windows tablet again. Now, after having played with Dell’s attempt, I find myself rethinking my earlier position. The prospect of running full Windows apps on a device this light and this cheap is a terribly attractive one, and at this moment Dell’s tiny tab seems well-equipped to take on what few Windows competitors are playing at this size. I may even buy this thing over the iPad mini, which is yet another thing I never thought I’d say. Stay tuned for the full review in short order.
There’s a so-called “tech preview” of the system known as Citrix out there this week, bringing with it access to none other than NVIDIA’s GRID for the masses. What users will be able to do with the setup released this week is access graphics power from remote locations using NVIDIA GRID vGPU, enabled here with […]
Dell has taken the wraps off two new tablets in its resurrected Venue range, the Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro running Windows 8.1. The Venue 8 Pro puts Windows 8.1 on an 8-inch HD IPS touchscreen with an optional digitizer pen and the chance to add integrated LTE, with Intel Atom Baytrail under […]
Windows 8.1 is expected to be released on October 17, and Microsoft has already started ramping up the hype train for its upcoming release. Those who already own Windows 8 will automatically be able to upgrade their machines when Microsoft flips the switch on October 17, although if you plan on making the jump from Windows 7, the company has opened up pre-orders for Windows 8.1. (more…)
Windows 8.1 Now Available For Pre-Order original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Windows 8.1
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If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Windows 8.1, then some good news: you can now pre-order it, Start button and all, on DVD for the princely sum of $120.
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If you’ve been actively waiting to pre-order a brand new operating system on DVD, then a) We’re glad this article found you, and b) You might be gratified to hear that boxed copies of Windows 8.1 are currently available to purchase at the source link, for delivery on October 17th. Unlike Windows 8.0, which came with all manner of introductory deals and discounts, pre-ordering 8.1 on DVD will set you back the regular, final price of $119. Of course, if you’re already running Windows 8, your resurrected Start button will be offered as a free-of-charge download on the same day as everyone else.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software
Source: Microsoft Store
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