Hasta La Gadget!

The Surface RT’s full-fledged Pro counterpart just got an update. Today, Microsoft unveiled the follow-up to that x86 / Windows 8-compatible tablet: the Surface Pro 2 and it still comes with a stylus. According to Microsoft’s claims, this new tablet boasts 50 percent more color accuracy, better graphics performance, an improved speaker setup and some speed gains — it’s purportedly 20 percent faster than the original.

For those wondering, the Pro 2’s display has been kept consistent with the original, which means it remains a 10.6-inch 1080p panel, and it’s even been ported to the new Surface 2. Battery life has gotten a significant 75 percent boost as well thanks to the 1.6GHz Core i5 Haswell processor inside and now runs much quieter. The Surface Pro 2 can also be paired with Microsoft’s new Power Cover to give the tablet 2.5x its standalone battery life or the Type Cover 2, which is now 1mm thinner and backlit.

The kickstand has also been revised for the refresh, as it’s now a two-stage affair, addressing the issues many users had with the old Pro’s awkward angle. As for ports, Microsoft says the Surface Pro 2 is loaded up with support for three USB 2.0, one USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, audio in/out and, of course, charging. The Surface Pro 2, when docked, can output up to a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution on an external display and is capable of editing 6K video, backing up the company’s repeated assertion that this tablet is actually a “full power PC.”

Pre-orders for both of Microsoft’s next-gen Surface tablets go live tomorrow, the 24th, at 8AM EST with units set to ship to 21 markets on October 22nd. Pricing for the base Surface Pro 2 (i.e., 64GB / 4GB RAM) starts at $899 (the same as the original Pro), although that retail sticker shock will climb depending on the model — it’ll be available in configurations of up to 512GB / 8GB RAM.

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Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

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Windows 8 die-hards waiting on Mozilla’s Metro Firefox update will have to wait a little longer: the company says it won’t be ready until next year. According to a recently published archive of meeting notes, the final public release of the Windows 8 interface won’t be available until January 21, 2014. The document is filled with meeting jargon and completion numerics, but the notes do pin the delay a “decrease in average team velocity” across previous iterations. A bummer, perhaps, for folks waiting for a stable build, but at least you can still get your fix through Firefox nighties, right?

Filed under: Internet

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Via: Computer World

Source: Mozilla

HP’s 2012 mobile workstation range was powerful, but would we have called it exciting? Not exactly. The company may just liven things up with its new ZBook line, however. The three-laptop series is based on a thinner and lighter design template that includes a 14-inch Ultrabook variant, the ZBook 14 (pictured above). Basically, Dell’s Precision M3800 now has a big-name competitor. Those willing to trade some portability for power will also get a few welcome additions. The mid-size ZBook 15 (after the break) has a 3,200 x 1,800 display option, while both the ZBook 15 and the flagship ZBook 17 carry Thunderbolt ports.

All three PCs ship with Haswell-based Intel processors as well as the latest pro graphics from either AMD or NVIDIA. Mobile workers can order the 15- and 17-inch ZBooks today, or wait for the 14-inch system’s arrival in late October. You’ll find more details of HP’s workstation updates after the break, including a more conservative refresh to the Z desktop line that brings Ivy Bridge-based Xeon processors and Thunderbolt 2.

Filed under: Laptops, AMD, HP, NVIDIA

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Source: HP (1), (2), (3)

Parallels usually does a pretty great job at heavily improving its Mac / Windows fusion software, and we’d say this newly minted version doesn’t fall remotely short of that. Parallels Desktop 9 brings an array of improvements and enhancements to the table: integration with popular cloud services (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and more), support for Power Nap on compatible laptops, the ability to have a keyboard customized for Windows and, perhaps most importantly, being friendly with OS X Mavericks. This new iteration is on sale now to new customers for $79.99 or $39.99 for the Student Edition, while Desktop 7 and Desktop 8 users will only have to shell out $49.99 to upgrade. The full list of novel features can be perused in the PR after the break, and there’s also a video in case moving visual images are something you prefer.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

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Source: Parallels

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Last week’s Switched On discussed the initial confusion and rough ride for Windows RT, which became a dealbreaker for inventive PC designs that used the operating system. Despite ASUS dropping out of making Windows RT devices and joining such abstainers as HP, Acer and Toshiba, the operating system is due to be updated to include improvements in Windows 8.1, creating what will apparently be Windows RT 8.1.

While Windows RT may have survived the chopping block, Microsoft faces some tough decisions regarding its future. Here are a few scenarios on how its future may play out.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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