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Latest Gear Live Videos
We're expecting the Windows 8 tablets to debut this morning at Microsoft's BUILD conference, but as is the norm nowadays, we've got what we believe to be a legitimate spy shot of the device right here. Rumor has it that this tablet is a quad-core slate, made by Samsung, and rocking Windows 8 software...and it looks strikingly similar to an iPad. We'll have more later today, once BUILD kicks off.
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| TIMN
Gallery: Samsung Windows 8 tablet image leaks
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Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Microsoft, PC / Laptop,
Samsung isn't new to the tablet game, but the company's newest offering - the Samsung Series 7 Slate - may be exactly what buyers have been waiting for in Windows tablets. We went hands on with the new Series 7 Slate, and we were pleased with what we saw.
The Samsung Series 7 Slate has a spacious 11.6-inch display, with 1366-by-768 resolution and an eye-popping 16 million colors. It should even look good outdoors, with 400-nit brightness coming from Samsung's sharp-looking SuperBright LED backlit display. That extra inch of real estate for the screen also helps to alleviate one of the biggest problems we've seen with Windows tablets, namely the fact that Windows icons become miniscule on a smaller screen. The touch screen is capable of registering up to 10 fingers at a time, or it can be used with a digital stylus for more precise selection or handwriting recognition.
The Series 7 Slate is also light, weighing 1.96 pounds - lighter than many smaller 10-inch tablets we've seen, like the Acer Iconia W500-BZ467, which weighed in at 2.1 pounds. It's thin too, measuring less than a half inch thick. The back appears to be brushed aluminum, and the rich texture of the cool metal surface leaves you feeling that the slate, though thin and light, is still substantial.
Click to continue reading Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Gallery: Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac available September 6
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,
The folks over at Parallels have been hard at work on perfecting the software for OS X Lion, and now it's ready. Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac will go on sale on September 6th, bringing a bunch of Lion features to apps that you're running in Windows. Expect the ability to use Lion features like Full Screen, LaunchPad, and Mission Control with Windows programs, along with the ability to run multiple copies of OS X Lion and Windows at the same time. On the performance end of things, Parallels Desktop 7 is 60 percent faster than the previous version for resuming Windows, and 45 percent faster for 3D graphics. ALso new is improved 5.1 surround sound, and support for 7.1 surround as well.
On September 6th you'll be able to download a trial or full version of Parallels Desktop 7, as well as purchased boxed software from retailers. The standard price is $79.99, while the Switch to Mac edition is $99.99. If you're switching over from VMware Fusion (Parallels competitor) you'll get a special price of $49.99, and if you're upgrading from a previous version of Parallels, you also qualify for the $49.99 price. Lastly, if you're a student, you get it for $39.99.
We'll be testing out all of the new features of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac, and will report back with our thoughts soon.
Gallery: Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac available September 6
Microsoft’s living room vision includes apps, Mediaroom, and Xbox
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet, Microsoft, Video Games,
Microsoft showed off the future of the living room on Wednesday, and it appears to be a combination of Bing, Kinect, and the Mediaroom IPTV technology that forms the foundation of the Xbox.
Oh, and it seems to be taking place first overseas.
In a video embedded below, Microsoft's Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox Live (identified as a corporate vice president of ISS Experiences) showed off short clips of how the living room, as exemplified by the Xbox 360 and Kinect, continued to evolve. The demonstration placed a premium on natural user interfaces, identified by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as one of the most significant advances in personal computing.
"Our goal is really, really simple," Whitten says in the video. "It's about how we make this effortless, intuitive and delightful. And that starts by making the technology fade out of the way, getting it all into the background."
Click to continue reading Microsoft’s living room vision includes apps, Mediaroom, and Xbox
Gallery: Microsoft’s living room vision includes apps, Mediaroom, and Xbox
Bill Gates speaks about the past, present, future of the PC
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop,
The most significant innovation in personal computing over the last 30 years has been the evolution of natural interfaces, with the GUI, speech recognition, gestures and touch receiving equal weight, according to Bill Gates, a co-founder and the former chief executive of Microsoft.
As the PC turns 30, we asked Gates, as well as other industry leaders, for their thoughts on the most significant innovation in personal computing, and how PCs have changed people's lives for the better – or worse. Finally, we wanted to know what the future holds for personal computing – and maybe whether the "Personal Computer" would exist in its current form.
While Apple's Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak arguably invented and popularized the personal computer, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and later Steve Ballmer at Microsoft crafted and shaped the Windows operating system which became synonomous with the term "PC". The Apple Macintosh and Windows pushed the graphical user interface into the mainstream, driven by the increasing performance of microprocessors from Intel Corp., and later from chips designed by Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix, Via Technology, and others.
Click to continue reading Bill Gates speaks about the past, present, future of the PC
Gallery: Bill Gates speaks about the past, present, future of the PC
Microsoft and Twitter working on new deal for Bing integration
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft,
Having recently lost a Google contract that added tweets to the company's search results, Twitter is treading shaky waters in ongoing negotiations with Microsoft over a similar use arrangement.
According to All Things D's Liz Gannes, there are a few pain points over which the two companies are currently chatting. But, if successfully negotiated, Microsoft could ultimately land the keys to the real-time kingdom: long-term access to the real-time updates provided by both Facebook and Twitter, which would accompany the site's standard search results.
The two companies have six extra months to hammer out the details—Twitter signed real-time search contracts with Google and Microsoft in the fall of 2009, but Microsoft got a slightly longer timeframe than its big competition. Twitter is allegedly asking for an increased licensing fee for use of its real-time information: $30 million, or double the cost of the company's original contract with Microsoft.
Click to continue reading Microsoft and Twitter working on new deal for Bing integration
Gallery: Microsoft and Twitter working on new deal for Bing integration
Top 10 Tech Deals of the Day
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Video Games,
We've got your latest list of items that fall under the best tech Deals of the Day for you, separated out into laptops, desktops, monitors, gaming, and home entertainment. The laptop deals are right here, but be sure to click through to get a look at all the rest of what we determined to be today's top 10 deals in tech, including that lovely Xbox 360 Kinect bundle up there!
Laptops
- 17.3" Dell Inspiron 17R-2nd Gen Core i7-2630QM 2GHz Quad-core "Sandy Bridge" Laptop w/8GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 2GB GeForce GT 525M & Blu-ray for $900 with free shipping (normally $1,444 - use coupon code 4J4XPNDZ1PKR2B)
- 17.3" Dell Vostro 3750 Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz "Sandy Bridge" Latpop w/6GB RAM, 320GB 7200RPM HDD, Backlit Keyboard & Fingerprint Reader for $649 with free shipping (normally $899 - use coupon code R975$?FPRF?31X)
- 17.3" HP Pavilion dv7t Core i7-2630QM 2GHz Quad-core "Sandy Bridge" Laptop w/4GB RAM & 500GB HDD for $700 with free shipping (normally $999 - use coupon code NBP61449)
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.
Click to continue reading Top 10 Tech Deals of the Day
Gallery: Top 10 Tech Deals of the Day
Windows 8 reinvents Windows interface by bringing in Windows Phone 7 shell
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Software, Videos,
Microsoft finally figured out how to effectively bring full-blown Windows to tablets: make it look a lot like Windows Phone 7.
In the first public unveiling of the upcoming Windows 8 interface, Microsoft's president of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, showed off a radically altered Windows start screen that features user-configurable tiles and looks almost nothing like Windows 7. The demo took place during this week's D9 conference in southern California.
The new interface supports gestures, snap, pin, cloud apps, new concepts like a basket for files you'll want to share between apps and services, and a hidden task bar on the right side of the screen. The updated OS is designed to work on "the hundreds of millions of PCs already out in the market," Sinofsky said.
Since it's still Windows, all devices and apps that work with Windows 7 will run on Windows 8, said Sinofsky, adding that consumers will only have to choose which device to run it on. "The interface scales from about 7-inches to a wall-screen display," explained Sinofsky.
In addition to the development screen, Microsoft showed Windows 8 running on tablets from Samsung and Lenovo.
Click to continue reading Windows 8 reinvents Windows interface by bringing in Windows Phone 7 shell
Gallery: Windows 8 reinvents Windows interface by bringing in Windows Phone 7 shell
Nokia planning to release Windows Phone 7 devices on a frequent basis
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Microsoft,
Nokia's Windows Phones will start coming out at a relatively rapid clip after the first one appears later this year, Nokia's executive vice president of smart devices, Jo Harlow said today.
"We should be launching new devices in a rhythm that might be every couple of months, every three months, something like that," she said.
The first Windows Phones came out in October, and we haven't seen many devices since then. According to recent sales figures from Gartner, the phones haven't sold very well, although our Reader's Choice survey shows that the relatively few people who own Windows Phone devices love them.
The slow pace of Windows Phone hardware may be due to Windows Phone 7 being a "secondary platform" for manufacturers like HTC and Samsung, Harlow said. But as Windows will be Nokia's primary platform, Nokia will focus more heavily on Windows Phones, she said.
"We're going to keep coming with new devices in order to have something to talk about," she said.
Click to continue reading Nokia planning to release Windows Phone 7 devices on a frequent basis
Gallery: Nokia planning to release Windows Phone 7 devices on a frequent basis
HTC Trophy hits Verizon Wireless on May 26 for $149, includes free Xbox 360 game
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Microsoft,
Verizon's first Windows Phone 7 device, the HTC Trophy, goes on sale at Verizon's online store on May 26 and in retail locations on June 2.
The 3G device costs $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. If you buy one before July 15, Verizon will throw in a free Xbox 360 game: either Halo: Reach, Kinect Sports, or Lode Runner.
The media-centric device features a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, surround sound through SRS WOW HD, 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and 720p HD video capture, 16 GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/n). It's also quad-band and will work in more than 200 countries, Verizon said in a press release.
