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Windows 8 upgrades will cost $40 for XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,
The launch of Windows 8 is just around the corner, and Microsoft has finally confirmed upgrade pricing. Users runing Windows XP, Windows Vista, and/or Windows 7 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99. That's a big change for Microsoft, as upgrade pricing was previously $99 for Pro OS upgrades, and is a welcome change for consumers. Apple has been releasing major OS updates for under $30 for years now, with Mountain Lion launching later this month for $19.99, and we'd been hoping Microsoft would follow suit and drop the price.
The $40 upgrade fee applies to the digital download. If you prefer a DVD, that'ss run you $69.99 in stores. Also, both of those prices are just for a limited time, running through January 31, 2013. After that, we expect Windows 8 upgrade pricing to double.
Read More 
| Windows Blog
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Windows 8 picks up new UI, waves goodbye to Aero Glass
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Microsoft, Software,
Microsoft has just revealed some major changes as it pertains to the user interface of Windows 8. Gone is the popular Aero Glass theme that shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. It's being replaced with a flatter design that seems to match the boxy shapes that we've been seeing on the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and the Windows RT Metro UI. It does seem to make sense, although we always thought that Aero Glass was certainly visually appealing. Microsoft says it's confident that users will find the new UI less distracting.
Within the same announcement, the company takes you back in time with a tour through various Windows interfaces, starting with the original Windows 1. Good stuff.
Read More | Building Windows 8
MSI X600 hits the USA
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: PC / Laptop,
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MSI has finally let the X600 portable notebook make its way to America, similar to Eddie Murphy from that 80s movie. It features a 1.4GHz Penryn SFF C2S ULV SU3500 processor, GS45+ICH9M-SFF chipset, 320GB SATA hard drive, Windows Vista Home Premium, a 6-cell battery, plus a 15.6-inch WXGA screen. It is just one inch thick, 5.5 pounds, and is available on Amazon for $800 in either silver or black.
Read More | Amazon
Netflix officially comes to Windows Media Center
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Movies,
Netflix continues their push for dominance today with their integration into Windows Media Center on PCs running either Windows Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate. If your Windows machine runs either of those operating systems, all you have to do is pull up Media Center, and in the TV + Movies section, you’ll now see a Netflix tile, powered by Silverlight. The cool thing here is that, unlike on some other devices, you can browse and search the entire Netflix library, manage both your Instant and DVD Queues, and even sort search results to just show titles available to watch instantly. I must say, we are loving how aggressive Netflix is being about getting their Watch Instantly service on more and more platforms. Wanna bet they soon appear on Apple TV?
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Sony VAIO P Series Lifestyle Notebook
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, GPS, PC / Laptop,
Sony’s new VAIO P Series Lifestyle claims to be the world’s lightest at 1.4 lbs. Available in a choice of four colors, this is one social computer. Use it for emailing, IMing, or catching up with your work when you travel. The P includes turn-by-turn GPS navigation, an Intel Processor (1.33GHz) and Windows Vista. It has an 8-inch LED blacklit display with a 1600x786 resolution, 2GB RAM, and 60GB HDD. You can pre-order now at a price starting at $899.00.
Read More | Sony Style
Sony Vaio Pocket
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, Corporate News, PC / Laptop,
One of Sony’s gadgets to be displayed at the upcoming CES 2009 will be their Vaio Pocket. It has an 8-inch LED backlit display with a 1600x768 resolution and is powered up by an Intel Atom 1.33GHz processor. The netbook will run on Windows Vista OS and will come in either a 60GB HDD or 120GB SSD. No word yet on availability or price, at least until the CES.
Read More | Aving
Fujistu ST6012 Tablet PC
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,
Fujitsu has released their ST6012 Tablet. It features an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, Intel Centrino 2 with Intel vPro tech, a 12.1-inch WXGA TFT with indoor/outdoor wide view display and 1 GB DDR3 800 MHz memory. WiFi and Bluetooth compatible, it also features an SD card slot and fingerprint sensor. Packed with Windows Vista Business, a dock with DVD/CD-RW combo drive is optional. The tablet carries a $2579.00 price.
Read More | Fujitsu
Windows 7 officially named Windows 7
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,
So, you know that follow-up to Windows Vista that Microsoft has been working on for the past couple of years? They’ve been calling it Windows 7 for a while now, but we just thought that was going to be its codename. As it turns out, Microsoft just announced a few hours ago that Windows 7 is the official name of the next version of their operating system. Why not go with another cutesy name like Windows ME, XP, or Vista? Well, they say this is the seventh release of Windows, and that it “just makes sense.” Well, we guess it does. If you’ll be at WinHEC or PDC, you can plan on getting Windows 7 pre-beta code from Microsoft to play with.
Read More | Windows Vista Team Blog
Onkyo TX-NR906 and TX-SR876 THX Ultra2 Plus receivers released
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Peripherals,
Onkyo has just released a couple of new high-end THX Ultra2 receivers upon us all, in their TX-NR906 and TX-SR876 units. Both units feature 7.1-channel surround processing, four HDMI inputs, new THX Loudness Plus processing, XM HD, and the fantastic HQV Reon-VX upscaling processor. These bad boys will upconvert just about anything you throw at it to 1080p. In terms of audio, your got both units conservatively rated - the TX-SR876 is at 140 watts per channel, while the TX-NR906 hits you with 145 watts per channel. The TX-NR906 specifically is also Windows Vista certified, and supports digital audio devices (like the Zune) by way of its front USB port. You can also stream a bunch of audio formats on your local network to it, as well as streaming Internet radio, including SIRIUS iRadio.
Both models are available now. Suggested retail comes out to $1,799 for the TX-SR876, and $2,299 for the TX-NR906, but we are sure you can find them for a lot less if you do a little shopping around. Be sure to also hit up our Onkyo TX-SR906 image gallery.
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Eight Million Download Firefox 3
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
Take that, Vista! Just in case you had forgotten, Tuesday massive download day for the new Firefox 3. We were amazed that over 8 million downloads were made in 24 hours. While Mozilla is still waiting for the official word, we have no doubt that they hit that Guinness world record. If you were part of that, good for you for taking the challenge, and don’t forget to download your certificate that you can proudly display over your cubicle.
Read More | Firefox Download
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