Barnes & Noble’s NOOK business has been mediocre at best, mostly due to stiff competition from Amazon and its Kindle business. In what looks to be an effort to put more focus on mobile devices and reading on the go, Barnes & Noble has quietly discontinued its native app for both Windows and Mac (except
Adobe teased us with a Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta at the start of the spring, and it’s closing out the season by releasing the finished goods. Mac- and Windows-based shutterbugs can download the completed image management app today, either at no extra charge through a Creative Cloud subscription or $149 for a stand-alone version ($79 for an upgrade). Buyers get the same core updates no matter how much they spend, including an Advanced Healing Brush for removing objects and Smart Previews that let travelers leave their original files at home. Behance publishing is also part of the revision. When Lightroom is free to try for a month, it likely won’t hurt to grab a copy at the source link — especially if your photo collection is growing out of hand.
Filed under: Software
Source: Adobe, Richard Curtis’ Blog
To put it mildly, the EA Maxis team has learned a few hard lessons about launching only when ready. The company is putting that theory into practice: it’s delaying the launch of SimCity for Mac from June 11th to August. The OS X version just isn’t “ready for primetime,” the company says. As compensation, all Mac buyers will get access to the recent Launch Park bonus that they’d otherwise miss. And Windows users, you’re still getting some TLC — EA Maxis has detailed the impending Update 5 release, which fixes some bugs while delivering big improvements to chat and trading. While SimCity still hasn’t shaken its rocky reputation, it’s clear that the developers are determined to (eventually) set things right.
Via: Joystiq
Source: SimCity
These days, the danger of a stolen PC resides less in local files and more in cloud access — presumably, no one wants to share their online storage with a thief. SugarSync’s paid subscribers won’t have to worry, as the company just rolled out a remote wipe option. Customers now just have to sign in through the web to purge a Mac or Windows system of both its shared files and any active logins. A wipe target doesn’t have to be online when the purge starts, either. The new failsafe won’t help if an evildoer moves data elsewhere, but we’ll gladly take what extra security we can get.
Filed under: Storage, Internet
Via: Computerworld
Source: SugarSync
While it’s not exactly our “first look” at Windows 8.1, Microsoft’s put together an official preview video showing off several features of the OS update. If you caught our overview of what’s coming in the next version, there isn’t anything in the clip you won’t know already — in fact, the (sort of) return of the Start button isn’t discussed at all, although it does briefly pop up on the screen of the Surface Pro used in the demo. You’ve been reading about it and inspecting screengrabs, but if an official video talkthrough is what you’ve been hankering for, there’s four and a half minutes of just that waiting for you after the break.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Windows 8.1 is a big deal for Microsoft, the first significant update for the OS, and the opportunity to address some of the lingering user frustrations: not just add in the Start button. The company has shared a new video – which you can see after the cut – walking through some of the more
During today’s Computex keynote, Microsoft Windows chief Tami Reller just announced that new x86 Windows 8 tablets will ship with Office in the box. The executive didn’t detail the software offering, beyond mentioning that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote will all be included. Windows RT devices, for their part, will now also include pre-installed Outlook, beginning with the Windows 8.1 update, which is due to arrive as a preview version later this month.
Update: Microsoft just put up a blog post saying that these free Office applications will come with “small screen tablets” — in other words, not necessarily all Windows 8 tablets. Tami Reller didn’t specify screen sizes during her presentation, and we don’t know if small necessarily means the Iconia W3 degree of small (i.e. eight inches), but we’re seeking clarification.
Update #2: We tracked down a rep at Computex who said that the bundled software will only come with Windows 8 tablets under 10 inches, which will evidently rule out a lot of devices.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft Windows blog
Think of all the things crowfunding has helped bring into the world lately, from gaming consoles to smart watches. And really, with all we’ve given it, the least it can do is help us get a computer. If you’re a student with an active .edu email account, you can use Microsoft’s new Windows Chip In site to convince family and friends to help you get your hands on the new Windows PC you’ve been eying, along with a copy of Office 365 University. The program runs now through the first of September, just in time to get some real work done on the thing. There’s a link to Chip In below, and you can find out a bit more info on the program via the Windows Blog post.
Filed under: Microsoft
Via: Windows Blog
Source: Chip In
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