A Microsoft tablet with Windows 8 has been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. Sort of. We got our hands on a developer’s preview yesterday and while flawed, it’s extremely impressive. More »
Curious what the minimum specifications for Windows 8 will be? As are we. Microsoft’s remaining mum on specifics, but the outfit’s Steven Sinofsky — President of Windows and Windows Live — just confessed during the opening Build 2011 keynote that an antediluvian Lenovo S10 was potent enough to run Windows 8. And in fact, it’ll do so with more poise than with Windows 7. A brief demonstration explained that Win8 demanded fewer system resources (barely, but still) than Win7 on the same hardware, proving that an early-gen Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM is “enough” to run the outfit’s upcoming operating system. We highly doubt it’s enjoyable, but at least you (probably) won’t be forced into an upgrade if you don’t want to be. Have a gander at the actual numbers just after the break!
Continue reading Windows 8 can run on an Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM
Windows 8 can run on an Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding what’s going down at this week’s Microsoft Build developers conference, and now we’re here, in the land of the cartoon mouse (that’s right — right around the corner from Disneyland), hoping to get to the bottom of all the Windows 8 talk. We’ve already been privy to a number of previews and teases and even caught a quick glimpse of a handful of ARM-equipped Windows 8 development devices. We’ve reported on an upcoming Windows 8 App Store, a WP7-style Start Menu and, most recently, some super speedy boot times. All of these are part of a much bigger puzzle, one that’s already promised to shake up the Windows brand, but we’ve yet to get a full reveal. If you ask us, it’s about time Microsoft let it all hang out, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. So keep it locked here for updates from the Anaheim Convention Center — we promise you won’t regret it.
Protip: Use our “build2011” tag for all the Build news this week!
We’re live from Microsoft Build 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sprint launches Drive First Android app to curb texting and driving, keep chatty teens at bay originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Shopping for a new smartphone is an exciting and arduous experience. It holds the promise of something better and the fear of a two-year commitment. For gadget enthusiasts, it also involves pouring over specs and reviews, and fretting over what’s coming out in the near-term. As we publish this buyer’s guide, we face potential upheavals in the mobile space. Samsung’s Galaxy S II lineup will arrive at three major US carriers, the next iPhone perpetually looms in the distance, and a new generation of Windows Phone handsets is close upon us. You might ask, “Why would anyone buy a smartphone today, when something better is coming tomorrow?” Friends, that’s the blessing and curse of the mobile world — there’s always something better coming. You can’t wait forever, though, and if you want to purchase a smartphone today, we’re here to make the process easier and help you make an informed decision.
While our choices are sometimes contentious, they’re backed with experience that you can rely upon. If you’re looking to make a quick decision without much effort, you can rest assured that our selections won’t steer you wrong. Still, we encourage you to educate yourself before you decide on a smartphone that best fits your needs. Our Primed series is an excellent place to start, where you can learn about dual-core processors and mobile displays. As always, you’re encouraged to share your own experience in the comments, and we hope you have fun listing your own favorites, too. Just remember that we have an $80 ceiling for our budget selections. Compared to our previous buyer’s guide, Samsung has begun to lose ground, and while Android maintains dominance, it’s found some unexpected competition. Curious to see how it played out? Read on, as we round up the best smartphones of the day.
Continue reading Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2011 edition
Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2011 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This article was written on November 05, 2007 by CyberNet.
Microsoft Monday
Microsoft is best known as a successful software company, but they’ve also worked to make themselves known as a hardware company. Microsoft’s Hardware group was established in 1982 which means that they are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. Because of this, we thought it was a perfect time to take a look at all of the different hardware options that they offer and how they’ve made a difference in the world of peripherals through keyboards, mice, Internet communication devices, and more.
Among the hardware that Microsoft has available under the Internet Communications category are webcams and headsets optimized for Windows Live Messenger. The newest LifeCam (webcam) is the VX-7000. Features include:
Price: $99.95
LifeChat
Aside from Webcams, Microsoft also offers their own line of LifeChat headsets. While the two options that they offer aren’t “top of the line,” the LifeChat ZX-6000 would be perfect for calls made with Windows Live Messenger. Its best feature is that it’s wireless. Features include:
Price: $69.95
Most of you are probably aware that Microsoft offers all kinds of mice and keyboards to fit your needs. They’ve got everything from rechargeable mice like the Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 to Bluetooth enabled keyboards like the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 which is one of Microsoft’s newest offerings. It includes the keyboard and a rechargeable mouse. Features include:
Price: $299.95
Obviously we know that Microsoft’s most prized possession in the gaming category would be the Xbox 360. Aside from the console itself and the controllers, they also have products for PC gamers. Those products include gaming keyboards and gaming mice. The gaming keyboard that they offer includes features that gamers would love like six programmable gaming hot keys, a Razer Hyperesponse Gaming Key Action, four bumper buttons and two 360-degree Jog Dials. It is priced around $69.95.
Seeing as PowerPoint is a rather large part of Microsoft Office, it makes sense that they develop tools which make presenting both easier and more professional. They offer a Mouse called the Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 which has an integrated slide presenter, laser pointer, and a media remote control (located on the bottom of the mouse and pictured below). It’s priced at $79.95.
They also offer the Presenter 3000 which is a handheld device that allows you to walk around the room and lead your presentation from as far away as 50 feet! It also offers a neat little feature where it will vibrate to keep you on time with your presentation. It’s priced at $59.95.
As Microsoft dives deeper into entertainment with media center built-in to home-premium and Ultimate versions of Vista, they offer some of the accessories you’d need to make your Media Center experience that much better. Offerings include the Wireless Entertainment Desktop series, the Remote Keyboard (replaces handheld remote), and of course the standard handheld remote.
The Remote Keyboard works as a television control and a keyboard, and allows you to control all of your entertainment like music, movies, and photos. It also has an integrated mouse, although it’s frustrating to use. Priced around $90, it’s the perfect accessory to accompany your Media Center PC.
Sick of entering in passwords for all of your password protected web sites? Microsoft has the solution with their Fingerprint Reader. Not only can you swipe your finger to log on to your PC, but you can also use it for all of those sites that require a password. Neat, huh? It’s priced at $49.95.
Are there are Microsoft peripheral fans out there?
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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The days of being tied to a traditional TV to watch your favorite shows is becoming less and less of a dream — at least for Mediaroom 2.0 users, like those who subscribe to AT&T U-Verse. It hasn’t even been a full year since Xbox 360 owners were first able to launch a U-Verse blade to watch TV, but it has been about nine months when we first heard rumors of Mediaroom clients for Windows Media Center (aka Monaco), Silverlight (aka Taos) and Windows Phone (aka Rome) would see the light of day. A recent post on William Zhang’s blog, a Microsoft employee, confirms the rumored code names in addition to giving us reason to believe those using Mediaroom 2.0 software might still realize the three screen dream by the end of 2011 after all.
New Mediaroom clients to bring Microsoft’s TV platform everywhere this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This article was written on June 13, 2007 by CyberNet.
Microsoft is no stranger to Easter Eggs since most of their products seem to have something weird that is itching to be found sooner or later. Instead of being a software Easter Egg, a new route has been taken and could prove to be a very widespread joke…if you have a magnifying glass.
If you happened to purchase a Windows Vista DVD there are a lot of fancy looking "holograms" placed around the outer edge to make it easier for users to notice when they are purchasing an illegal copy of the operating system. On the Windows logo along the outer-rim of the DVD is an extremely small image of three people (as seen above).
There is no word on who these people are, and how many DVD’s their image has been placed on, but I’m sure a lot of people will be checking their DVD’s now. I wish I had a retail DVD laying around to check myself, but my copy of Vista was provided by my university so I had to burn my own DVD.
So the question is…who are the three people in the image? Microsoft apparently doesn’t want to say who it is, or maybe they didn’t even know that the image was on the DVD? Word is that the image is not on recent "prints" of the DVD, and that you would need one of the copies made available closer to when Vista launched.
| Update: | The Windows Vista Blog cleared some things up: "The photo displays members of the team who worked on the Windows Vista DVD hologram design. Microsoft’s Anti-Piracy Team designed a counterfeit-resistant digital "watermark" for the non-encoded surface of Windows Vista DVDs. The photo in question is only one of multiple images contained in the hologram design, all of whose inclusion serves to make it more difficult to replicate a Windows Vista DVD." |
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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Autumn is fast approaching — and you know what that means: it’s round about time for an Xbox Dashboard update. Sure, we got a peek of Microsoft’s upcoming harvest back at E3, but the good folks from Redmond invited us to take a closer look at what they’re calling the “most significant update to the Dashboard since NXE.” Senior project Manager Terry Ferrell was on-site to walk us through an early engineering beta and show us how an updated Metro UI, Bing search and deeper Kinect integration is going to change the way folks manage their entertainment content.
Filed under: HDTV
Xbox Live Fall 2011 Dashboard update preview: Bing search, voice control, and a Metro overhaul originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Windows 8 to feature drastically reduced boot time, shown off in video
Windows 8 to feature drastically reduced boot time, shown off in video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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