Windows 8, Microsoft reported yesterday, has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in its first month of retail. That’s an indisputably huge number, outpacing even Windows 7 sales at launch. But it’s also a number that raises more questions than answers. More »
We reported last week that Microsoft was looking into complaints stating that HTC and Nokia handsets running Windows Phone 8 were randomly rebooting. The company didn’t have much to say on the issue aside from that it was “currently investigating reports of these incidents.” Now, a little over a week later, Microsoft says that it has pinpointed the problem and will have a fix out soon.
In addition to randomly rebooting, Windows Phone 8 users are also having issues with email syncing. These trail on the recent launch of the mobile OS, which already has an uphill battle against the powerhouse likes of Android and iOS. The longer it takes for Microsoft to push out a fix, the more it could suffer in the long run as consumers shy away from the buggy system.
Microsoft plans to roll out an over-the-air fix sometime in December, but did not specify what problem is causing the random rebooting and email syncing issues. “We’re continuing to investigate some reports of phones rebooting and have identified a cause with our partners. We are working to get an over-the-air update out in December.”
There’s no word on whether the update will be pushed out to all Windows Phone 8 users, or if it is only for those with certain handsets. Until the fix is released, users experiencing this issue may alleviate the problem by uninstalling Skype, something that has been reported to lessen the number of random reboots. Those experiencing email syncing issues, however, are out of luck for awhile.
[via AllThingsD]
Windows Phone 8 random reboot fix coming soon is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The folks at Microsoft are glad to report that they’ve reached 40 million Windows 8 licenses sold in the new operating system’s first month on the market. Microsoft notes specifically that “to-date Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses” and wants to make it clear that they’re not just pumped up about this pace of upgrade and new users, they’re glad to share that it’s outpacing the adoption of Windows 7.
Microsoft’s aim with Windows 8 (it’s aim amongst many, many aims, of course) was to make the upgrade process from Windows 7 to Windows 8 as easy as it could possible be. With news today from Microsoft’s own Tami Reller setting the tone, industry and financial analysts galore sat with their fingernails grinding into their kneecaps at the news at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference. Reller’s presentation was brief, and let us all know the simplicity of the truth.
“The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far.”” – Reller
It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft’s latest update on the number of Windows 7 operating system licenses sold was over 600 million to-date in June – that more than a few months after the company announced 525 million Windows 7 licenses (in January.) This news was also accompanied (earlier this week) by a tip that Microsoft had sold a whopping 750,000 Xbox 360 gaming consoles over the holiday weekend – impressive for a system that’s more than its fair share of months in the market.
What’s missing from this equation is the sales numbers pushing the rest of the Microsoft made-and-sold products. If you’re thinking we’re going to get the low-down on how many Microsoft Surface tablets have been sold thus far, you might want to think again. With the less than pleasing press those bigs of hardware have received thus far, we wouldn’t be surprised if they keep said numbers under wraps until investors come knocking.
[via Microsoft]
Windows 8 licenses blast past 40 million sold is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It took just four days for Windows 8 to hit four million machines (ours included), and in just over a month, Microsoft has managed to sell some 40 million licenses of its tiled OS. To date, Windows 8 is outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades, but given that the company had moved 600 million copies of the latter back in June, the new kid on the software block still has quite a ways to go. The news comes just hours after Microsoft also announced that it had sold a whopping 750,000 Xbox 360 consoles during the Black Friday weekend, which makes the omission of one other number that much more glaring — after all, if it’s so easy to dig up Xbox and Windows 8 numbers, why are we left with awkward adjectives to describe Surface sales?
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Four years is a long time. Most people only need four years to graduate high school or college for instance. Microsoft launched its Surface tablet running Windows RT about a month ago. When the tablet launched there was no official support policy for Windows RT. Most large enterprise buyers want to know that Microsoft will continue to support a platform for multiple years before they start purchasing and rolling devices out in quantity.
Microsoft has now officially confirmed that it will support Windows RT on its Surface tablet platform for at least four years. Microsoft recently updated its support lifecycle page noting that four-year support period. If you’re familiar with Microsoft and its support pledge for most of its software, you might know that typically consumer and business oriented versions of the Windows operating system are supported for five years.
Business specific versions get an additional five years of extended support. Windows RT is a hardware and software combination and therefore has different rules for support for Microsoft. The mainstream Support End Date for Windows RT on Service will be April 11, 2017. That is roughly 4 and a half years from the launch of the product.
Since the Surface tablet running RT is a consumer product, there is no Extended Support End Date. What that support period means in a nutshell is that anyone who purchases a Surface RT tablet be able to get updates until April 2017. It’s interesting to note that Microsoft’s service window for Windows RT is significantly longer than what Apple has been providing iPad buyers. The original iPad for instance no longer qualifies for iOS updates and it’s only 2 1/2 years old.
[via ZDNet]
Microsoft promises to support Surface with Windows RT for at least four years is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The larger of the two big-hitters in the Acer Aspire S7 series Ultrabooks sits here on our desk like a high-powered glass-covered knife, ready to bring the best we’ve seen in touchscreen-toting Windows 8-optimized notebook action to the market. This machine has been delivered to our doorstep in its most powerful configuration, all $1,649 USD of it – complete with a 3rd Generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7-3517U Processor clocked in at 1.9GHz. The 13.3-inch display here is a beastly Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit bit of technology with 10 finger touch and a 16:6 aspect ratio. Now we’ve got to see if this is enough to match up with that price – or if after all is said and done, the price will be the last of your thoughts in this next-generation experience!
This machine works with a set of two USB 3.0 ports, one micro-HDMI-out port, a combo headphone/mic jack, and a DC-in jack for your power cord. On the right you’ve got a dual memory card reader for SD and MMC, and also included in the box you’ve got a couple of adapter cords, one made for VGA output, the other allowing you to use an Ethernet cord (USB to RJ-45). The camera up front is a 1.3 megapixel HD webcam able to pick up 1280 x 1024 for video chat, the battery inside is a 4-cell lithium polymer at 4680mAh, and you’ve got 4096MB DDR3 dual-channel memory (4GB onboard memory) as well as Intel HD Graphics 4000 to keep that massively dense display high-powered.
This machine works with Optimized Dolby Home Theater v4 audio enhancements with two built-in stereo speakers and high-definition audio support. There’s also a built-in digital microphone for use with your video chat adventures, and under the hood you’ve got a lovely 256GB SSD drive as well. The touchpad is what Acer calls their “ZoomPerfect” unit with single and multi-finger scroll action – that’s up to 5 fingers to scroll, pinch, rotate, flip, and the like.
Weighing in at 2.86 lbs / 1.3kg and measuring in at 17.2″ W x 3.58″ D x 10.67″ H (437mm W x 91mm D x 271mm H), you’ll find this mix of metal and glass to be a joy to use – and to look at. When you open it and feel the unique edges around the touchscreen as well as the Gorilla Glass top, you’ll find yourself dually impressed. This machine is an Acer triumph without a doubt in its hardware build – the aesthetics alone make this easily one of the most beautifully full-looking notebooks on the market – and not just in the Windows 8 category.
The machine folds down to a thinness that’s straight up surprising, making it opening it for the first time an experience that may very well have you skipping the pleasantries and kicking your pocketbook out immediately. But you’ll want to take heed: there are some drawbacks to such a thin beast with a display that’s both touch-capable and incredible sharp, not to mention bright as you could possible want it to be. Battery life – as I’m sure you’re wondering about – will betray you if you’re expecting to go more than 4 hours at full-blast high-action video streaming and interactive touchscreen gaming.
But if you’re a realist and never go anywhere with your notebook computer without a power cord anyway, you’re going to have a bit more difficult a time finding reasons not to want this machine. Of course the price is always going to be a factor here in our present when it’s above $1,600 USD. That’s a massive price for a computer, especially if you only plan on using it to impress your friends and surf the web. That’s not what this computer is made for.
Instead you’re going to want to focus on what you get for the price. Acer has created a masterpiece for the Windows 8 generation. This is the computer Steve Ballmer should be carrying around to show off what Windows 8 can do – it’s that slick.
Peruse the rest of the reviews of this machine as they appear popping up across the web over the next few weeks and see where the low points are – you’ll find many folks saying the price is prohibitive while the rest suggest that the battery life in any notebook should be 6 hours or more. First you should know that we’ve gotten 5+ hours out of the device on multiple heavy-use occasions – great by your average user’s standards. Next you’ll be glad to hear that standby time for this notebook is undeniably great – Acer assures that with “Acer Hybrid Standby Technology” you’ll be able to get 80 days of standby power: that’s intense, and we’ve not seen any evidence yet to suggest they’re telling us anything less than the truth there with months of up-time. These “low points” are completely forgivable for what Acer is presenting here in the Autumn of 2012.
The 10-finger touchscreen you’re working with here includes some software enhancements – most of them aesthetic – that make your Windows 8 experience the best we’ve seen thus far. You get tiny momentarily-visible transparent dots wherever you tap the screen, and as you move your fingers around, you get ghostly trails from your fingertips, allowing you to instantly understand how your tips are touching and moving. Having used several touchscreen PCs before the dawn of Windows 8, we can safely say that this is a major leap forward in real-world usability, without a doubt.
Have a peek also at our full Windows 8 review to see exactly what we’re dealing with here, with a few additions that include mostly new apps and security measures from Acer. You’ve got Acer Theft Shield, Acer Cloud, Acer Backup Manager, ePower Management, and eRecovery Management, and a whole lot more. For the most part, Acer’s additions to the basic Windows 8 build include connections to their own ecosystem – most of which are entirely positive and worth the effort you’ll be using to attach yourself.
| Manufacturer | Acer | Product Type | Notebook |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit) | ||
| Motherboard | Acer Storm | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3517U | ||
| Processor ID | GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9 | ||
| Processor Frequency | 2.39 GHz | Processors | 1 |
| Threads | 4 | Cores | 2 |
| L1 Instruction Cache | 32.0 KB | L1 Data Cache | 32.0 KB |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | L3 Cache | 4.00 MB |
| Memory | 3.82 GB DDR3 SDRAM 666MHz | FSB | 99.8 MHz |
| BIOS | Insyde Corp. V2.05 | ||
You’ll be using your touchpad here in combination with the touch screen, but you’ll be able to use one or the other exclusively if you’re up for it. There’s an on-screen touch keyboard you can use if for some reason you want to move your hands up 4 inches above your perfectly capable physical keyboard, and the touchscreen isn’t necessarily required, so to speak, for anything if you don’t want to. You also get a Bluetooth mouse with the package if you’re feeling like some standard plastic mouse action – it’s standard, and certainly usable, but not a whole lot more than that. The physical keyboard also uses the computer’s light sensing abilities to keep your eyes happy, with backlighting activating as the atmosphere dims.
If you have trouble with “setting up” your computer, you can refer to the included “Setup Poster” included in the box, or you can use your Wireless Setup Card too – Acer has made the process simpler than ever before here – strange since the process includes no more than a few button taps and maybe even a connection with password to your wireless network. Important point here is that it’s simple enough for your parents to do themselves – really!
Have a peek at our standard benchmarking results here with Geekbench and feel the power – it’s a top of the line experience whether you’re cruising through your newest massively power-hungry game or viewing your favorite HD feature film.
| Section | Description | Score | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit) | |||
| Integer | Processor integer performance | 6089 | 8100 |
| Floating Point | Processor floating point performance | 11149 | |
| Memory | Memory performance | 7016 | |
| Stream | Memory bandwidth performance | 6638 | |
The speakers on this machine are good enough for a personal computing experience and accurate even up to their loudest positions. Acer isn’t messing around with the external speaker sound quality here, with two Acer 3DSonic stereo speakers backed up with sound enhancements by Dolby. The fans on this machine, working with Acer TwinAir cooling technology, can get a bit louder than we’d like to hear on a regular basis. It’s not an issue unless you’re working with high-powered gaming or hours and hours of streaming video, and the trade-off is a rather pleasant lap experience – we’ve not felt anything hot going on yet.
This machine has a hinge that allows it to fold back to 180 degrees – that means you’ll be able to go flat against a table, keyboard and touchscreen included. If you’ve used a machine that folds back further than this, you’ll find yourself feeling a bit limited by the flat-stop. If you’ve only ever used a notebook that folds back to 45 degrees, on the other hand, you’ll be surprised by how often you’ll want to push that screen back further, and further, and further. The viewing angles on the display are also near-perfect, making any angle look as great as the next (unless you count the high-gloss reflection-intense glass, of course).
This will also be a new experience for those of you used to using a tablet computer exclusively, as it really does combine the notebook and tablet experiences into one. If you’ve ever found yourself tapping your notebook screen after extensive tablet use, you’ll fall right in line with the S7′s experience. Windows 8 and the developers optimizing their applications for touchscreen action here in the first Windows 8 wave of app upgrades make this touch-and-tap combination one we’re really, truly enjoying. Working with the Aspire S7 will make you want to convert to this new universe – it’ll make you want to change and be assimilated.
This machine is Acer’s best effort yet. It’s an Ultrabook that makes the Windows 8 experience an enjoyable one – and on a personal note, it’s the first in many moons that’s made certain Apple-exclusive family members of mine think about trying a switch (having seen it at Thanksgiving, of course). You’ll certainly have to weigh the benefits of having this top-class machine in your position against the amount of cash you’re going to have to dish out since it’s certainly not the most budget-minded beast on the market, but after that, it’s all smooth sailing.
As with all of our reviews of products large and small, this is not the end of the review – let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the machine and we’ll do our best to let you know what we know! We’ll continue to test this machine into the future and will let you know if anything ground-shattering changes our experience in any grand way – meanwhile feel free ask any and all questions you may have and make requests to your heart’s content!
Acer Aspire S7 Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is rather odd. Mozilla has reportedly discontinued the 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows. The 64-bit version of the browser was available for Windows computer users in testing. The announcement was made by Mozilla via one of its Google Groups titled “Turning off win64 builds.”
As for why Mozilla is ending the development of this particular flavor of Firefox, despite the fact that reports indicate is much is 50% of testers were using the browser, Mozilla offered some specific reasons. One reason was that many plug-ins were available in 64-bit versions of the browser. One Mozilla manager also said that many of the plug-ins that were available didn’t work correctly in Firefox because certain features hadn’t been implemented.
Those features including things such as windowproc hooking, which made browser hanging more common. Mozilla said that any crash reports submitted by users of the 64-bit browser weren’t going to receive high priority because Mozilla is working on other things. Mozilla also noted that its crash-status report doesn’t distinguish well between 32-bit and 64-bit browsers.
Mozilla admits to ignoring a set of nightly “topcrashes” because they were specific to 64-bit browsers. In the end, Mozilla simply decided to disable Windows 64-bit nightly an hourly builds for the browser. The developers consider the “discussion closed” unless critical new information is presented. There will reportedly be a custom update that moves 64-bit browser users over to 32-bit builds of Firefox.
[via The Next Web]
Mozilla kills 64-bit Firefox browser for Windows despite lots of users is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Looking to browse with the full weight of your 64-bit hardware? Well, if you’re a Firefox and Windows user, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, as Mozilla has announced it’s closing the development of Firefox for the bigger computer architecture. Mozilla manager, Benjamin Smedberg outlined several reasons for the decision, including limited access to 64-bit plugins, a higher propensity for the browser to hang when using available plug-ins and difficulty distinguishing between 32- and 64-bit versions when dealing with stability complaints. After posting the announcement at Bugzilla, it riled plenty of nightly testers, with one Mozilla dev suggesting that around half of them were currently using the now defunct 64-bit version — presumably due to the fact that an official release never made it out of the gates. What are the options then, if you need your browsing 64-bit? You could return to Internet Explorer or give Opera a try — both offer a higher bit version, or make a switch to either OS X or Linux, both of which have fully-fleshed versions of the 64-bit web browser. Check out some of the (surprisingly vigorous) debate at the source below.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Via: TNW
Source: Bugzilla (Mozilla)
Microsoft’s Jensen Harris, who wears the hat of Director of Program Management for the Windows User Experience team, showed off some Windows 8 mockups minted in early 2010 during a talk at last summer’s UX Week 2012. Now, a video of the presentation has been posted online, giving us a look at the reference designs. Despite roughly two years separating mockup creation and the launch of Windows 8, the OS remained remarkably true to its conceptual roots. During the hour-long talk, Jensen covers the birth of Windows 8, its driving principles and even mentions some distaste for the faux leather aesthetics in some iOS apps, calling them “cheesy visual effects.” Hit the adjacent gallery to catch a peek of the early Start screen, on-screen keyboard, Charms Bar and lock screen. For a video of the hour-long talk covering the story of how Redmond’s operating system came to be, head past the jump.
Gallery: Windows 8 mockups from 2010
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Via: The Verge, istartedsomething
Source: UX Week
Welcome to Tuesday evening everyone! Today we found out that shipping times for the iPhone 5 have gone down to two weeks, which should be good news for those who have been waiting to get their hands on one. HP announced that Autonomy’s “serious accounting improprieties” have left it with a whopping $8.8 billion bill, while afterward insiders were saying that HP never wanted to close on the Autonomy deal in the first place.
We had a lot of talk about Black Friday deals and sales today, with Apple kicking off its Black Friday festivities at midnight on November 23. Xbox Live has plenty of deals for you to take advantage of as well, while we heard that Steam will be kicking off its autumn sale tomorrow. T-Mobile strengthened its 4G network in a number of markets today, while the 2013 Nissan Leaf was revealed in Japan. A new survey is saying that kids want Apple products most for Christmas, with new rumors tipping the Galaxy S IV for a February 2013 launch.
A snazzy looking white Nexus 4 has popped up on TalkTalk, while Lenovo unveiled the new ThinkPad Carbon Touch today. The FTC may not have enough evidence to hit Google with an antitrust lawsuit, and Razer has released its new Death Adder 2013 gaming mouse. Reggie Fils-Aime is saying that the Wii U has a long way to go, while Nintendo says that more Wii U stock is on the way, with the US as a priority. Skype 3.0 has landed on Android, and today was the 27th birthday of Windows 1.0 (they grow up so fast).
RIM’s stock took a jump after an analyst predicted that BlackBerry 10 has a 20 to 30 percent chance of success, and Nokia released HERE Maps for iOS. Sony pushed update 2.0 for the PlayStation Vita out the door today, while Gearbox released Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage for Borderlands 2. Finally tonight, we’ll end with a couple of interesting stories from NASA: it turns out that the Mars Curiosity Rover has discovered something big that NASA isn’t telling us, while scientists have snapped a picture of the Super-Jupiter planet Kappa Andromedae b. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!
SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: November 20, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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