Microsoft Office for iPad review

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmNpXQvRK5NM32Q4OQVgOhw0U61OG-2lJ9CkXKoRiRCK3o83P2DmCwNAPO0KxEWTFzmVGh4yMfrGsPoi7tb5biiR0U46QhyOBOFBRNIavXCBchwVL3GMdRZZZR1O4VH9jMlqkpOxCyh0/s1600/office-for-ipad-powerpoint-edit-100252400-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmNpXQvRK5NM32Q4OQVgOhw0U61OG-2lJ9CkXKoRiRCK3o83P2DmCwNAPO0KxEWTFzmVGh4yMfrGsPoi7tb5biiR0U46QhyOBOFBRNIavXCBchwVL3GMdRZZZR1O4VH9jMlqkpOxCyh0/s1600/office-for-ipad-powerpoint-edit-100252400-large.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Microsoft Office for iPad</span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Apple announced that its iWork suite would be bundled, free of charge, with new iOS and Mac devices, it seemingly slammed the door on Microsoft’s Office ambitions for the iPad. How could Microsoft bring its pricey Office suite into a world of free (and almost free) apps?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer: Outdo iWork in both form and function. Apple claims that products like its Pages are the most beautiful office software for iPad and other Apple devices. With Office for iPad, Microsoft has stolen that crown.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft’s Office for iPad is a collection of three apps: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. (OneNote for the iPad has been available since 2011, and Microsoft's Lync, Skype, and Yammer are also available.) Users can download each, free of charge, from Apple’s iTunes on an iPad running iOS 7.0 or above. And each is free to use to view documents that have been created elsewhere.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.75em;">But Office 365 also includes a subscription to OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage solution, a central repository from which one can withdraw and store documents. In a nice twist, you can connect both your personal OneDrive and OneDrive for Business accounts and connect to SharePoint as well. </span>However, to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">create</em> or <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">edit </em>documents, you must subscribe to Office 365: either Office 365 Home Premium ($9.99 per month), the upcoming Office 365 Personal ($6.99 per month), or one of several business options. Each Office 365 subscription includes at least one tablet subscription, which covers Office for iPad. // <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2111900/microsoft-office-for-ipad-review-finally-true-productivity-on-your-tablet.html" target="_blank">PCWorld</a></span></div>

Microsoft Office for iPad review

Microsoft Office for iPad When Apple announced that its iWork suite would be bundled, free of charge, with new iOS and Mac devices, it ...

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Xbox One's first major update split in two, launching in February and March

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPFnFW_EWiGFUJuCxdEpenlomzhpp_t7y7nufRKgrS0zMGyrBwoy7ti_i6CXyPD0ANNrWNl-zGtuWrEOtmI2Du80G8_3nkXDk0SnwMoN0g1_UF9xXJ9WQ2r_C8pwwULMEwFmsAuve6uY/s1600/home_2_4_2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPFnFW_EWiGFUJuCxdEpenlomzhpp_t7y7nufRKgrS0zMGyrBwoy7ti_i6CXyPD0ANNrWNl-zGtuWrEOtmI2Du80G8_3nkXDk0SnwMoN0g1_UF9xXJ9WQ2r_C8pwwULMEwFmsAuve6uY/s1600/home_2_4_2014.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Xbox One's</span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">When the first component of </span><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/xbox-one-updates/" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">Xbox One's spring update</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> arrives on February 11th, it'll be a few weeks ahead of the first spring flowers sprouting. Like those flowers, much of what's contained in the February update is under the surface: Kinect voice recognition improvement, tools for developers and "stability and product updates to improve the customer experience" to name a few non-specific bulletpoints. What you'll actually care about is the stuff you'll see, which in this case is a battery meter for gamepads (visible on the dashboard) and a reorganized My Games & Apps section.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">That first component is self-explanatory, but the latter piece requires some detail. First, you can actually see how much space you've got left on that 500GB HDD -- helpful! Second, the applications are being broken out from games, and can be more incrementally managed. "Now you can pick the order in which you want your content to load and we've added a boot progress indicator so you can better track updates while they load," Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten says in a blog post detailing the update. Additionally, February's update adds USB keyboard support. Sure, why not? There should also be some other bells and whistles in there, which Microsoft says we'll find out more about soon (er, uh, </span><em style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">before next Tuesday</em><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">).</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Head below for more on the second half of the update, due in March.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">The second piece of seasonal update arrives on March 4th, and it's got a fully revamped party system just in time for the launch of blockbuster game </span><em style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Titanfall</em><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> (a multiplayer-focused experience). What exactly does that mean? We'll have to wait to find out, as Whitten's only offering "a new party and multiplayer system" as detail. And what of promised Twitch.tv streaming ahead of E3 this year? Microsoft's staying mum for now, but we'd be shocked if it didn't show up in the first major system update to Xbox One.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Regardless of the spring update, small and continuous updates to the Xbox One will still occur as time goes on. Whitten also says we'll hear "many" more announcements regarding the upcoming update -- here's hoping next time we find out HBO Go and Spotify are part of the big spring refresh.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><span class="via" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"></span><span class="source" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Source:</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> </span><a href="http://news.xbox.com/" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Xbox</a> Via :<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> </span><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/05/xbox-one-spring-update-2014/" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Engadget</a></span>

Xbox One's first major update split in two, launching in February and March

Xbox One's When the first component of  Xbox One's spring update  arrives on February 11th, it'll be a few weeks ahead of th...

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Microsoft buys $16.7m stake in ..

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlyK2wNb1w5l0Wkzg-MdWlv-OLYf5B5UC5EcsL9YLOB1hhO-iEprwkNhGbz7vk3f0FXzddxPDrlAy0w_-qZRNHcmSgfisCiZ-pChob-YAs5uTMvd6dIWBrCpq2R_8KufY83Ke_Gnl7_Q/s1600/Microsoft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlyK2wNb1w5l0Wkzg-MdWlv-OLYf5B5UC5EcsL9YLOB1hhO-iEprwkNhGbz7vk3f0FXzddxPDrlAy0w_-qZRNHcmSgfisCiZ-pChob-YAs5uTMvd6dIWBrCpq2R_8KufY83Ke_Gnl7_Q/s1600/Microsoft.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Microsoft</span></i></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft has invested $US15 million ($16.7 million) in Foursquare Labs, forging a partnership that will help Windows-powered phones offer location-based restaurant and entertainment suggestions to their owners.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The investment, confirmed in an interview by Foursquare chief executive Dennis Crowley, is part of a funding round from late last year that valued New York-based Foursquare at more than $US600 million, people with knowledge of the terms said in December. It comes as Microsoft announced <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-new-ceo-as-bill-gates-steps-down-as-chairman-20140204-hvb6d.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a new CEO and chairman</a> effective immediately.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft is adding features to its Windows Phone software in an effort to compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android software, which together dominate the smartphone market. Location data from Foursquare will appear in a voice-activated assistant, code-named Cortana, that has yet to be released and will go up against Apple's Siri technology, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"This is huge validation for the stuff we've been working so hard on," Crowley said. "It's one of the leaders in the space we work in looking at us and saying we can really help power the next generation of devices."</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Foursquare, which has struggled to generate sales in almost five years on the market, will get a new stream of data licensing revenue from the partnership, Crowley said. Foursquare's valuation has been stagnant since 2011.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft and American Express were both vying for a stake in Foursquare last year. Microsoft has been courting start-ups to add features to its phones and tablets, which lag behind Apple and Android in the number of applications available to users.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cortana, named for the artificially intelligent character in Microsoft's popular Halo video game series, is scheduled to be part of the Windows Phone 8.1 release, to be shown within several months, according to a person familiar with the project and Foursquare agreement, who asked not to be identified because details haven't been made public.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As part of the deal, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft will gain access to more of Foursquare's data than the company makes available publicly and to other partners. That data would allow Microsoft, with a user's permission, to push out tips, suggestions and discounts tied to a person's location, said Zig Serafin, a vice-president in Microsoft's Bing search unit.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"We're building some contextually aware experiences to power some upcoming products in Windows Phone," Serafin said. "This will be for anywhere you get a Bing-powered experience." // <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/it-pro/business-it/microsoft-buys-167m-stake-in-foursquare-20140205-hvbaa.html">brisbanetimes</a></span></div>

Microsoft buys $16.7m stake in ..

Microsoft Microsoft has invested $US15 million ($16.7 million) in Foursquare Labs, forging a partnership that will help Windows-powered...

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Microsoft : Satya Nadella is named chief executive

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkn7XHKUrIx9PThMZZrkTKRS7K4UlmyBQvwwDA20iHRMUaEs25cTT8chKXq0GYSEprI2RqXwC1AoicTwtmiuNSwOnUIIj6dB_mp303yIL0GEH00hpQ_oc7yo9FiSdJtDwk_VzWIHliGY/s1600/Bill-Gates_2771615b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkn7XHKUrIx9PThMZZrkTKRS7K4UlmyBQvwwDA20iHRMUaEs25cTT8chKXq0GYSEprI2RqXwC1AoicTwtmiuNSwOnUIIj6dB_mp303yIL0GEH00hpQ_oc7yo9FiSdJtDwk_VzWIHliGY/s1600/Bill-Gates_2771615b.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 itemprop="headline name" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1e1e; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: start;"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Bill Gates</span></i></h1> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="firstPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828;"> <div style="line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bill Gates has quit as Microsoft chairman to take up a new role as technology adviser in a management shake-up that will see Satya Nadella become chief executive.</span></div> </div> <div class="secondPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828;"> <div style="line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The announcement ends a long search for a new chief after Steve Ballmer announced his intention to retire in August.</span></div> </div> <div class="thirdPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828;"> <div style="line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mr Nadella is only the third chief executive in Microsoft's 39-year history, following co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.</span></div> </div> <div class="fourthPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828;"> <div style="line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Bill Gates in a statement. “Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.” // <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/10616998/Bill-Gates-quits-as-Microsoft-chairman-and-Satya-Nadella-is-named-chief-executive.html">Telegraph</a></span></div> </div>

Microsoft : Satya Nadella is named chief executive

Bill Gates Bill Gates has quit as Microsoft chairman to take up a new role as technology adviser in a management shake-up that will ...

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Gates will surrender Microsoft shareholder in 2014

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-SqjqNYMks6-qnL0FZDf7M4pCBWK7IXcaC_V4tbh4ltF7fSvwTzPYLDSzkv6Wr8_SXgTj8khVGVJYyEDE8kC8x8AXBmtFzO8YQUgKzo-u5gGuNJaaYQwmyvNCrFI6u0iqDYBzAA5JTU/s1600/Bill-Gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-SqjqNYMks6-qnL0FZDf7M4pCBWK7IXcaC_V4tbh4ltF7fSvwTzPYLDSzkv6Wr8_SXgTj8khVGVJYyEDE8kC8x8AXBmtFzO8YQUgKzo-u5gGuNJaaYQwmyvNCrFI6u0iqDYBzAA5JTU/s1600/Bill-Gates.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Bill Gates</span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' once-invulnerable position as the company's biggest stockholder continued to erode in the fourth quarter of 2013 as he sold another 20 million shares.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As of Friday, Gates remained Microsoft's single-largest shareholder, but his lead over friend and current CEO Steve Ballmer was less than 25 million shares, giving the latter the chance to become the prime stockholder within months.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over the last decade, Gates has sold an average of 80 million shares annually, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), part of a plan to divest holdings in the company he and Paul Allen founded in 1975. Gates has pledged to give away the bulk of his wealth, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a tool for that task.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Between Oct. 28 and Nov. 1, Gates sold 20 million shares worth $711 million, leaving him with 357,990,173 shares at the end of 2013, down from 1.1 billion shares in September 2004. Meanwhile, Ballmer's holdings remained at 333,252,990 shares.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gates' shares were worth approximately $13.2 billion as of Friday, or 17% of his estimated $78.1 billion net worth, as calculated by Bloomberg. That amount made Gates the world's richest individual.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At his 10-year pace of selling stock, Gates will hand over the shareholding crown to Ballmer before mid-2014. Gates will have exhausted his holdings by September 2018 unless he stops or slows his selling.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While Gates' position as chairman and his influence on the company are not solely based on his stock holdings -- he is an iconic technologist, credited with building Microsoft into the world's leading software maker, its wares on more than 90% of the globe's personal computers -- those millions of shares carry enormous weight.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gates has always been Microsoft's largest stockholder, according to proxy filings with the SEC, which are available as far back as 1994, eight years after the company went public. For him to cede that position will be historic.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even though his stock holdings are shrinking, Gates may not be stepping down from the head of Microsoft's board any time soon, as some have urged him to do. // <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245168/Gates_will_surrender_Microsoft_shareholder_crown_to_Ballmer_in_2014?source=rss_keyword_edpicks&google_editors_picks=true">Computerworld</a></span>

Gates will surrender Microsoft shareholder in 2014

Bill Gates Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' once-invulnerable position as the company's biggest stockholder continued to erode ...

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Supply pinch dogs Microsoft's Surface tablets

<div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 593px;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Surface Pro 2: a dearth of the tablets has impacted sales." class="cnet-image" height="541" src="http://asset0.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/12/28/surface-pro-2-ms-store-edit-small.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="593" /></span><div class="image-caption" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surface Pro 2: a dearth of the tablets has impacted sales.</span></div> <span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Credit: Brooke Crothers)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A dearth of Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 tablets has persisted during the holiday shopping season, though that situation may finally be easing a bit.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are the new Surface <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tablets</a> flying off the shelves or just not reaching the shelves? That's not clear because Microsoft doesn't provide sales numbers, but limited supply -- not excessive popularity -- of the tablets appears to be a factor.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Windows 8.1-based <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/microsoft-surface-pro-2/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Surface Pro 2</a> and <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/microsoft-surface-2/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Surface 2</a> models have been largely "out of stock" at Microsoft Stores -- both the physical stores and online stores. This situation has persisted during much of the holiday season, spanning November and December, according to Microsoft Store sales representatives contacted by CNET.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take this weekend, for example. The online Microsoft Store, as of Saturday morning, showsonly the 512GB model of the Surface Pro 2 available for $1,799. (Update: the online store later on Saturday showed the 256GB model also available.)</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Windows RT-based Surface 2 is also out of stock at the online store.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Checks by CNET at physical stores on the East and West Coast also indicate limited availability. For example, Microsoft stores in Los Angeles and Boston had only the 256GB Surface Pro 2, which goes for $1,299, as of Saturday morning.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft said it's working to address the supply issue. "We're actively working with our manufacturing teams and retail partners to get Surface in customers' hands as soon as possible," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET in a statement.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some signs that the supply may be easing, though. More Surface Pro 2s are arriving at Best Buy stores this weekend across the country.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Buy store representatives contacted by CNET in the Los Angeles area indicated that, until this weekend, supply had slowed to barely a trickle in the last couple of weeks -- indicating it was less of an excessive popularity issue and more of a supply problem.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The public response to Surface has been exciting to see," the Microsoft spokesperson said.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Microsoft is undoubtedly wary of flooding the market with too many units. Back in July, Microsoft announced a $900M Surface RT "inventory adjustment" charge due to a lack of demand for the first-generation Surface RT tablet</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Via:<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57616327-75/supply-pinch-dogs-microsofts-surface-tablets/"> CNET</a></span></div>

Supply pinch dogs Microsoft's Surface tablets

Surface Pro 2: a dearth of the tablets has impacted sales. (Credit: Brooke Crothers) A dearth of Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 tablets ha...

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Analysts say: PC makers plan rebellion against Windows at 2014 CES

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJabv08Ijrizb-HGuytr7-Ynj0hsU_boP-tTVl42V99XUV8QNXYsZ3XEizlNFk1Rn-0KsRYSmNDcEbKpsQq88uzkxWRWaOb6SAC58il_9nDLIlhQpRq3k2fG0_01AGnZp0cGi3mKMJug/s400/LG+Chromebase.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>LG Chromebase</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJabv08Ijrizb-HGuytr7-Ynj0hsU_boP-tTVl42V99XUV8QNXYsZ3XEizlNFk1Rn-0KsRYSmNDcEbKpsQq88uzkxWRWaOb6SAC58il_9nDLIlhQpRq3k2fG0_01AGnZp0cGi3mKMJug/s1600/LG+Chromebase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fearing rapidly plummeting sales of traditional laptops and desktop computers -- <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24466513" style="color: #183a52; cursor: pointer; outline: none 0px;" target="_blank">which collapsed</a> by as much as 10 percent in 2013 -- manufacturers are planning a revolution against Microsoft and the standard Windows operating system, analysts say.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in early January, multiple computer makers will unveil systems that simultaneously run two different operating systems, both Windows and the Android OS that powers many of the world’s tablets and smartphones, two different analysts said recently. The new devices will be called “PC Plus” machines, explained Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"A PC Plus machine will run Windows 8.1 but will also run Android apps as well," Bajarin wrote recently for Time. "They are doing this through software emulation. I'm not sure what kind of performance you can expect, but this is their way to try and bring more touch-based apps to the Windows ecosystem."</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"This is going to make buzz at CES," <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244953/Microsoft_to_face_computer_makers_rebellion_at_CES" style="color: #183a52; cursor: pointer; outline: none 0px;" target="_blank">Moorhead told Computerworld</a>. "OEMs will be trumpeting this ... it's going to be a very hot topic [at the trade show]."</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The move is the latest push back against Microsoft and its Windows 8 operating system, an attempt at dramatic transformation of the traditional Windows desktop to incorporate touch screens and portable tablet shapes.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Consumers responded poorly, with widespread complaints about an interface that, while wonderful on tablets, essentially ignored the hundreds of millions of computer users worldwide that rely on mice and keyboards to interact with their systems. Desktop and laptop PC sales fell dramatically in 2013, according to data from research firm IDC. And sales of tablets running Windows 8, while growing, have in no way replaced them.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"The Windows-based tablet market … is expected to grow to 39.3 million units in 2017 from less than 7.5 million in 2013 and less than 1 million in 2011. However, relative to a PC market size of roughly 300 million units, these Windows tablets would add just a couple percent a year relative to PC growth," said Loren Loverde, <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24466513" style="color: #183a52; cursor: pointer; outline: none 0px;" target="_blank">a vice president with IDC</a>.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source : <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/12/27/pc-makers-plan-rebellion-against-windows-at-ces-analysts-say/">Fox News</a></span></i></div>

Analysts say: PC makers plan rebellion against Windows at 2014 CES

LG Chromebase Fearing rapidly plummeting sales of traditional laptops and desktop computers --  which collapsed  by as much as 10 per...

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Best 25 apps to install on your Windows tablet

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqFIr7DznNMX7iQ2JtoS2CfTHiWmIGHqTqDdpcwfxLfwpSc7ausf3HK_0shBVo0RQOpSQj5z-TczIA1L7EFGmPJoO6fg2IBr01oCb6dUFUSL0GMcXyciKCagwX-TRoeLA-Dp_QNqWEVk/s1600/tablet_app.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: start;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: normal;">Embracing touch</i></span></h2> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqFIr7DznNMX7iQ2JtoS2CfTHiWmIGHqTqDdpcwfxLfwpSc7ausf3HK_0shBVo0RQOpSQj5z-TczIA1L7EFGmPJoO6fg2IBr01oCb6dUFUSL0GMcXyciKCagwX-TRoeLA-Dp_QNqWEVk/s1600/tablet_app.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div> <h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Embracing touch</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s start with apps that highlight the strengths of Windows 8 and Microsoft’s quest to deliver a singular, unified experience across a multitude of devices. Surprise! They all come straight from Microsoft.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="fresh paint" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/fresh-paint-100160791-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft’s Fresh Paint app offers a rich selection of artistic tools. </span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/fresh-paint/1926e0a0-5e41-48e1-ba68-be35f2266a03" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Fresh Paint</a></strong> was a star at Windows 8’s 2012 launch, and it still shines brightly a year later. The free app comes chock-full of watercolors, oils, and pencil tools that will keep you doodling for hours in full multitouch glory. If that gets boring, try something else: Fresh Paint also allows you to paint over pictures stored on your PC, or to pull in “inspiration” from photos on Bing. You can purchase optional “packs” (read: coloring books) for your kids, including some starring Disney characters such as Mickey and Nemo. As simple as it sounds, Fresh Paint is a blast.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="xbox one smartglass" height="362" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/xbox-one-smartglass-100160799-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Xbox One Smartglass in action. </i></span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t feel like finger painting? <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/smartglass" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Xbox Smartglass</a></strong> lets you navigate and control your Xbox 360 or Xbox One console with your slate, and much more. Games with Smartglass support (such as <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Halo 4, Ryse: Son of Rome,</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dead Rising 3</em>) offer unique gameplay capabilities in-app, and a number of movies provide supplemental content through Smartglass. You can also use Xbox Smartglass to buy videos from Xbox Video and shift them from your tablet to your TV and back again.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you’d rather game on your tablet, check out <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/skulls-of-the-shogun/c919c1a7-ad5d-4423-9a30-32cf731c04d7" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Skulls of the Shogun</a></strong></em> or <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/halo-spartan-assault/8fe2d694-baa2-4011-99c0-3a22216223bb" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Halo: Spartan Assault</a></strong></em>. <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Skulls of the Shogun</em> syncs your progress between the Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone, and Xbox Live Arcade versions of the game (assuming you’ve bought more than one), and allows players on one platform to go head-to-head with users of other devices. “<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2044126/one-microsoft-all-the-time-what-ballmers-newly-unified-vision-could-mean-to-you.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">One Microsoft</a>” indeed.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="skulls of the shogun" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/skulls-of-the-shogun-100160797-large.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Find strategic gameplay in ‘Skulls of the Shogun.’ (Click to enlarge.)</span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Halo: Spartan Assault</em> is, well, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Halo</em>, even if it can’t cross platform borders as <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Skulls of the Shogun</em> can. And hey—if those don’t scratch your gaming itch, you can pick up fun, touch-optimized versions of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/1a36fd17-5161-4651-ae2d-13384e427ea8" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Solitaire</a></strong></em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/microsoft-minesweeper/45ac18d7-e742-494f-a1b1-009aa412a179" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Minesweeper</a></strong></em>.</span></div> <h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Getting social</span></h2> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="twitter windows 8" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/twitter-windows-8-100160798-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Tweeting my peeps. </i></span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No Windows tablet is an island, given Windows 8’s cloud-centric nature. The Windows Store lacks apps for many social networks, but the big two—<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/facebook/add3d66a-358d-4fe2-be68-8a3f934e9ea1" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a></strong>and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/twitter/8289549f-9bae-4d44-9a5c-63d9c3a79f35" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></strong>—are available, along with a surprisingly awesome <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/3b4b8be2-f224-4827-9449-019739d9c4c8" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Foursquare</a></strong> app.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The two big-name apps each have some quirks: Twitter lacks in-stream retweet/favorite options, and you can’t share content to Facebook via the Share charm. Overall, however, the two apps are rock-solid. They deliver systemwide notifications, as well, and you can “snap” them to a portion of the screen for handy multitasking, just as you can any other proper Windows app—two highly useful additions.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="foursquare" height="327" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/foursquare-100160793-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Windows 8 Foursquare app is purdy, and it can point you toward local businesses and restaurants.</i> </span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beyond social networks, you’ll want to download <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/im-instant-messenger/99c049c4-5ef8-4b17-802e-4cf5463d4ef3/m/ROW" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">IM+</a></strong> if you use instant messaging services. The Messages app in Windows 8 offers bare-bones IM support, and the Skype app that replaced it in Windows 8.1 doesn’t even have Messages’ Facebook chat support. IM+, in contrast, plays nice with Facebook, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and plenty of other IM services—including Skype.</span></div> <h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">A portable boob tube</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately, the Windows Store has a solid lineup of entertainment apps just waiting to please your peepers, and video and audio apps are an especially good fit for the modern UI.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="hyper for youtube" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/hyper-for-youtube-100160796-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hyper for YouTube offers an elegant video-viewing interface. </span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/d8d75bb2-c5cd-44f2-8c26-c1d1ae5b13fa" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Netflix</a></strong> and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/ad77e4ed-0398-4f5b-a41e-88973007dca1" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Hulu Plus</a></strong> subscribers will want to check out those respective apps post-haste. YouTube, unfortunately, isn’t available as an app, but you won’t mourn its loss if you check out <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/hyper-for-youtube/aa71044c-c4b9-4a9c-96fa-2ab6f9d716c8" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Hyper for YouTube</a></strong>, a slick YouTube viewer that includes video-quality options and full YouTube account support. (Most of the YouTube-related offerings in the Windows Store don’t.) Or, if you’re just into YouTube for the free tunes, check out the free <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/60041c70-3a67-4917-b120-eef7180a16c9" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Vevo</a></strong> app.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="slacker radio windows 8" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/slacker-radio-windows-8-100160800-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Slacker Radio app contains a wealth of artist and album info, beyond its killer station selection. </span></div> </figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you’re looking to soothe your savage breast, install <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/bd964815-8620-4a05-abf9-ad1f87f68027" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Slacker Radio</a></strong>. Sure, Windows 8 bakes in the Xbox Music service by default, but Xbox Music restricts your free listening after six months and has limited device support outside of Microsoft’s ecosystem. Slacker Radio offers free, unlimited listening to the service’s superb<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">,</em> 300-plus, DJ-curated radio stations, while subscribing for $10 per month unlocks on-demand music and playlist support.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But what if you’re already a Spotify subscriber? The fan-made <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/cbbddd16-5d65-453b-b556-de3e7b3afa15" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Spotlite</a></strong> app lets premium Spotify subscribers jam to the service’s tunes, and it sports a sleek, Xbox Music–esque interface.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="plex windows 8" height="326" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/plex-windows-8-100160795-large.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, if you have a large music and movie library of your own, grab <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/plex/647bfcf7-7f87-4a72-ad86-2e6274f969e3" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Plex</a></strong>. </span></div> <h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Go read a book</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Display resolutions are only climbing higher, and with a flood of easily graspable 8-inch tablets such as the <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2068828/dell-venue-8-pro-review-windows-8-1-in-a-pint-sized-package.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Dell Venue 8 Pro</a>, <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2054399/lenovo-shows-off-an-8-inch-bay-trail-t-tablet-the-miix2.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Lenovo Miix2</a>, and <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2055580/acer-joins-the-8-inch-windows-tablet-fray-with-the-atom-powered-iconia-w4.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Acer Iconia W4</a>hitting the shelves, Windows tablets can be a great way to catch up on your reading.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="nook windows 8" height="327" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/nook-windows-8-100160807-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span></figure><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Windows Store features both <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/kindle/1d7e4396-0143-4aed-8892-84eb75e799f3" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Kindle</a></strong> and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/05dbbb07-cd42-4a5f-9cd3-a329d52bd372" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Nook</a></strong> apps. Each serves as a gateway to the bounty of ebooks and magazines available in their respective digital bookstores.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If your tastes skew toward shorter forms, try the stellar <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/e62e393a-acc9-40d9-a34a-13a41f2eeef0" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Flipboard</a></strong> app, which finallytouched down in the Windows Store this fall. It compiles stories from around the Web into a beautiful magazine-style format. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/comics/39c58b6e-8b89-4127-a7a3-914cc7918b98" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Comixology</a></strong>, meanwhile, has more than 40,000 digital comics available for purchase from top-name publishers such as Marvel, DC, and Image. Some people have run into minor bugs with the app, but nothing crippling, and its deep troves are a wonderful way to spend any day.</span></div> <figure class="large " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="comixology windows 8" height="343" src="http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/12/comixology-windows-8-100160794-large.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="580" /></span><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Comixology is a comic lover’s dream app. </i></span></div> </figcaption></figure><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Cool extras</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of Windows 8’s best apps don’t fit into the neat boxes we’ve talked about. If you’re not overwhelmed with all the choices yet, check out the following.</span></div> <ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 23.33333396911621px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;"> <li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.45em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/bing-maps-preview/75ce2a6a-8a25-4916-83d0-19b8e7b60787" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Bing Maps Preview</a></strong> is a version of Bing Maps that supports <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2068830/bing-maps-preview-is-microsofts-answer-to-google-earth.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Google Earth–like 3D maps</a>. It’s a big improvement over the basic Bing Maps, and with Google largely sitting on the Windows Store sidelines, it’s the marquee maps option available for Windows tablets.</span></li> <li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.45em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you go cuckoo for Coco Crisp or any other athlete or sports team, you’ve got to grab the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/3c3536bd-f432-468c-a6e4-fa1ecd49e5fc" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">ESPN</a></strong> Windows 8 app, which dishes out up-to-the-minute scores, analysis, and videos from the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Plus, you can pin live tiles for your favorite teams to the Windows 8 Start screen.</span></li> <li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.45em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/5980cefa-aafa-47e4-8ef1-8d72fc208dc0" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Music Maker Jam</a></strong> lets you make your own jams, man, complete with an orchestra’s worth of premade loops and a multitude of effects. It’s a blast.</span></li> <li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.45em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you’re over 21, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/88e08b7c-10d0-45b8-9280-946bd889e243" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Cocktail Flow</a></strong> is the personal bartender you’ve always wanted. The app packs alcoholic-drink recipes and recommendations by type, by spirit, by whatever you have in your liquor cabinet, or heck, even by color. Grab the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/41465f3f-1ecd-4e43-814d-a77b12ff2fbd" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Allrecipes</a></strong> food app to go with it, and you’ll never have to think about dinner again.</span></li> </ul> <div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.546875px;"><i>Source  : <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2080811/25-excellent-apps-to-install-on-your-new-windows-tablet.html">PCWorld</a></i></span></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.546875px;"><i>Image : TechHive</i></span></span></div>

Best 25 apps to install on your Windows tablet

Embracing touch Embracing touch Let’s start with apps that highlight the strengths of Windows 8 and Microsoft’s quest to deliver ...

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Microsoft's 2014 makeover: It's all up to the next boss

<div class="cnet-image-div image-LARGE2 float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Microsoft" class="cnet-image" height="407" src="http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/11/Microsoft_Building_99_610x407.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="610" /><span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Credit: Microsoft)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somebody's got to be up for this job.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Months after Steve Ballmer announced plans to step down as chief executive, Microsoft heads into 2014 still searching for the right candidate. In the last few months of 2013, several names of rumored CEOs-in-waiting got bandied about -- Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Microsoft's VP of its cloud-and-enterprise group, Satya Nadella -- often mentioned as the front-runners. (Mulally has since indicated he plans to remain in Detroit.)</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This latest episode in executive handicapping falls under the heading of "those who talk don't know and those who know aren't talking." But this is what we do know: Microsoft plans to make its selection known sometime early in 2014, and at that point, the close scrutiny begins.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new boss will be walking into a job where there's lots to celebrate and lots to worry about -- not the least being a company still seeking to figure out its place in a post-PC world. Perhaps the most pressing question facing Microsoft's next CEO will be whether it's worth keeping its different pieces together or recasting the company with fewer lines of business.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One school of thought suggests that Microsoft is simply too big to compete with slicker, faster-moving companies born in the Internet era. If the next CEO buys into that worldview, he or she may decide to sell off the <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/microsoft-xbox-one/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Xbox</a> and Bing businesses, as Nomura Equity Research'sRick Sherlund has argued, as part of a scenario in which Microsoft sells Bing either to Facebook or Yahoo while shopping the Xbox business around to a consumer electronics company where it would make a better fit.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's the Wall Street view, at least. Nothing new there as the Street has been down on Bing for quite some time. The online services division, the corporate organization where Bing resides, lost $1.3 billion last year. The year before, it lost $8.1 billion. But with Microsoft integrating its search technology into nearly all of its software and hardware as a service, it's also possible that the new boss may decide, like Ballmer, that there's a nice strategic fit here. After all, there are still good arguments for keeping Xbox -- not the least being that it's a leading brand in a growth area with terrific upside. So why jettison a business just as it's realizing its potential?</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously, Microsoft's management will have to sort through competing visions of the future, but this isn't a tear-down situation. The company's in fairly good shape, and there's nothing forcing the new boss to make a hasty decision.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all the darts tossed its way by kibbitzers, Microsoft's bread-and-butter business of Windows and Office still continues to pay the bills and that affords the company boffins plenty of time to think up how to best deal with tech's new world order. Also, Windows Azure, the company's cloud platform, rates as an unqualified success, pulling in more than a billion dollars each quarter.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-right" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: right; float: right; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 20px 2px 20px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 370px;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Microsoft headquarters, Attkisson piece" class="cnet-image" height="278" src="http://asset1.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbsnews/2009/04/06/image4923799x.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="370" /></span><div class="image-caption" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash.</span></div> <span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Credit: CBS)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, the countdown will start once the baton officially gets passed from Ballmer. The new CEO will be charged with working out where to point Microsoft in a world increasingly dominated by <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tablets</a>and software which resides on the cloud. The final statistics won't be ready until early next year, but they're expected to show a further decline in PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2013. That trend's not going to reverse, a troubling harbinger for the company's cash cow Windows monopoly.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another challenge: Can Microsoft foster the sort of app ecosystem that Google and Apple have so successfully created? The bold decision to buy Nokia's device business opens a more direct front of competition against its two chief rivals. But jumping into the phone hardware business, a market where Microsoft has had uneven success, presents the new CEO with a fait accompli.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it will be up to the new boss to figure out how to make this latest division work with the rest of a newly inherited tech conglomerate.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big questions and no easy immediate answers. Then again, that's why whoever gets this plum job is going to get the big bucks to figure out the answers.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57615937-75/microsofts-2014-makeover-its-all-up-to-the-next-boss/">CNET</a></span></i></div>

Microsoft's 2014 makeover: It's all up to the next boss

(Credit: Microsoft) Somebody's got to be up for this job. Months after Steve Ballmer announced plans to step down as chief executiv...

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Microsoft pulls faulty Surface Pro 2 firmware update

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="surfacepro2update" height="148" src="http://cdn-static.zdnet.com/i/r/story/70/00/024477/surfacepro2update-200x148.png?hash=BQEyZQquLw&upscale=1" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: auto;" title="surfacepro2update" width="200" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft pulls faulty Surface Pro 2 firmware update</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Following reports by Surface Pro 2 customers of excessively fast battery drain after applying last week's firmware updates, Microsoft has pulled the update.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> "To ensure the best experience for our customers during the holiday season we have taken steps to remove the update for Surface Pro 2 that was previously published through Windows Update on December 10th, 2013. We are working to release an alternative update package after the holidays," confirmed a Microsoft spokesperson.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Microsoft isn't offering users any kind of workaround or additional advice -- at least not at this point.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> WinBeta.org reported word of the troublesome firmware update for Microsoft's second-generation Intel-based Surface on December 18. Some users also have been reporting that they were unable to install the update that seemingly was at fault, though that may have been due to a false error message, WinBeta noted.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The problematic update is one of several that Microsoft delivered on December 10, its most recent Patch Tuesday, across its range of Surface devices. The update for Surface Pro 2 included a patch that was designed to improve Surface Cover interaction including power-saving sleep functionality.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Instead, some users who've applied that update have found the opposite to be true. Their new Surface Pro 2 devices are losing battery power extremely rapidly, rather than hibernating properly. There are <a href="http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro2-surfupdate/system-firmware-update-121013-fails-to-install/b2163f4b-9019-4508-a931-45c44fbbeb9c?page=1&tm=1387397843122" style="border: 0px; color: #005399; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a number of reports about the problem</a> on the Microsoft Answers forum.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> As I noted last week, I've heard from some Surface Pro users that they've been having problems with spontaneous reboots after upgrading to Windows 8.1. There are a couple of threads on Microsoft's Answers site about this. This seems to be a separate issue that predating the December firmware updates and were focused on the first-generation Surface Pro. I still have not received any information about what Microsoft is advising users with this issue, but will keep asking.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I've also seen some users reporting that their ARM-based Surface RT and Surface 2 devices have been sporadically requesting their the Bitlocker Recovery key at boot after they applied recent firmware updates. I also haven't seen any acknowledgement by Microsoft of this issue or suggestions as to what users should do to attempt to circumvent it. I've got a question in to Microsoft on this one, as well. Some of my Microsoft sources have said there is a fix in the works for this one, but no word as to when it will be pushed out.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> In the meantime, in case you haven't seen TechRadar's recent list of 15 fixes for Windows 8.1 "annoyances," it might be worth a look. The first fix is for those who've had problems with SkyDrive syncing since Microsoft integrated SkyDrive into Windows 8.1 -- something I've heard a number of folks have mentioned as having run into with their Surfaces and other Windows 8.1 PCs and devices.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>Via: <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-pulls-faulty-surface-pro-2-firmware-update-7000024477/">ZDNet</a></i></div>

Microsoft pulls faulty Surface Pro 2 firmware update

Microsoft pulls faulty Surface Pro 2 firmware update Following reports by Surface Pro 2 customers of excessively fast battery drain...

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Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="214" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/12/06/FDNewsDOJpatents.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents<br /><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;"><br />The Rockstar Consortium -- made up of several tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft -- is aiming to sell off a portion of its hard-sought wireless patents, Bloomberg</span></span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-23/apple-backed-rockstar-said-to-hold-discussions-to-sell-patents.html" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reported</a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;">Monday.</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unnamed sources told the publication that Rockstar is "holding discussions" to sell off the Nortel Networks patents, largely related to wireless technology, because it hasn't been able to broadly license them. Patent holders can make money by licensing the use of patented technology to other companies.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The consortium, which also includes BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony, fought off Google topurchase 6,000 Nortel patents in 2011 for $4.5 billion.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The patents cover technology related to wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, and semiconductors. Rockstar recently filed suit against Google and other smartphone makers like Samsung and HTC over the patents.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57616258-93/apple-microsoft-group-to-sell-nortel-patents/">CNET</a></span></i></div>

Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents

Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents The Rockstar Consortium -- made up of several tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft...

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Microsoft has released a new version of the Facebook app for Windows Phone 8

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsk2LmY8jrQ_7LF5e7H_mmksXUxhAooX79VYk_YDeTdwXXRKRR5VhUN7-CCEbjKWcE1FOVvoa6ckC1ybfP3sKIcC5GizPuz3PZbaW6kpndj8LTM9ED4kI4Cs52F5dT4049l63cw5nnaE/s1600/Facebook+Update+For+Windows+Phone+8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Microsoft has released a new version of the Facebook app for Windows Phone 8</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsk2LmY8jrQ_7LF5e7H_mmksXUxhAooX79VYk_YDeTdwXXRKRR5VhUN7-CCEbjKWcE1FOVvoa6ckC1ybfP3sKIcC5GizPuz3PZbaW6kpndj8LTM9ED4kI4Cs52F5dT4049l63cw5nnaE/s1600/Facebook+Update+For+Windows+Phone+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microsoft is making the festive season merrier with a latest update brought to its official Facebook app for Windows Phone 8.</span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People love sharing their favorite moments with the world through numerous social networking sites today and therefore improving the overall in-app experience of the world's largest social networking site, Facebook makes total sense. The mobile app has been redesigned effectively to give its users a great experience.</span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The update for Facebook Windows 8 app rolled out Monday. It lets users receive toast notifications when tagged or invited or when a message is received. The Redmond-based software giant has also improved Facebook's primary Live Tiles on the Start screen to show updates like friends' updates on the wall. The redesigned app, which brings the version to 5.2, also debuts new secondary Live Tiles to let users pin chats, events, groups, pages, and photo albums to the Start screen. This makes access to any page easier than ever.</span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Only on Windows Phone can you see who commented on a photo, what they wrote and which photo they commented on, from you phone's Start screen Live Tile," Microsoft's Michael Stroh said in the company's <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2013/12/23/official-facebook-app-for-windows-phone-gets-better-notifications-new-live-tiles.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold !important; line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><strong style="list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;">official blog</strong>,</a> Monday.</span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The updated Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 supports 30 new languages, bringing the total to 50. The latest update is one of the biggest WP8 has received in a long time. The new features come after the software giant testing them in the beta versions, which is also available in Windows Phone Store.</span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The app has also received some bug fixes and performance upgrades. The updated app can be downloaded for free via <strong style="list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/facebook/82a23635-5bd9-df11-a844-00237de2db9e" rel="nofollow" style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Windows Phone Store.</a></strong></span></div> <div style="line-height: 24px; list-style: none outside none; margin-bottom: 30px; outline: auto 0px; padding: 0px;"> <i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Via : </span><a href="http://www.hngn.com/articles/20475/20131226/facebook-update-windows-phone-8-brings-improved-primary-tiles-secondary.htm">Hngn</a></span></i></div>

Microsoft has released a new version of the Facebook app for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has released a new version of the Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 Microsoft is making the festive season merrier with a ...

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What we want in 2014: Break the mold, tech companies

<div class="cnet-image-div image-LARGE2 float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="407" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/11/13/HiRes_Google_Glass_MyGlass_Android_iOS_610x407.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="610" /><span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Credit: Jason Cipriani/CNET)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's some unsolicited advice to technology companies drawing up their plans for 2014: Dare to be stupid.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We saw plenty of that this year. Samsung Electronics raced to launch its <a class="cnet-product" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-gear/" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Galaxy Gear</a>smartwatch, and it was widely lambasted. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos talked up the idea of flying drones delivering our Blu-Ray discs and books, which got quickly written off as a publicity stunt. There's even a denigrating term for someone walking around wearing Google Glass: Glasshole.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fact, the tech world could use a little more stupid and crazy. All too often companies settle on incremental improvement, banking on evolution rather than the revolution. Blame complacency, the need to meet quarterly deadlines, or just the fear of failure but what's clear is that companies tend to stay stagnant too long.</span></div> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fact, it's such a rarity to see true mold-breaking breakthroughs that we, as tech journalists, aren't sure how to react when faced with innovation -- we naturally fall back to our default skeptical positions.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just look at the initial reaction to the <a href="http://www.cnet.com/android-atlas/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Android</a>mobile operating system, the dominant platform of our day, or the debut of the <a class="cnet-product" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/apple-ipad-air/" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">iPad</a>, which was dismissed as a stretched out iPhone. Even Microsoft couldn't escape unscathed: After years of criticizing the company for being too slow to innovate, it comes out with a distinct touch-based interface for <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/windows-8-review/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Windows 8</a> -- which was promptly universally panned.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But it is these leaps forward -- which may not necessarily be appreciated when they're announced -- that are what pushes the industry to do better.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The breakthrough products in 2013 -- even if some were just announcements and stuff of vaporware -- gives one optimism that next year will see companies willing to look dumb and endure the wrath of bloggers to blaze a new trail in technology. As jaded as we all are, we all want better. Yes, that includes Apple.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I'm hoping there will be some fundamental innovation coming out of those guys," said Avi Greengart, who covers consumer electronics at Current Analysis.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's are some current breakthroughs we want to see more of in 2014:</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Smart headware</b><br clear="all" />For whatever reason your head was what a lot of technology companies obsessed about this year. There was no bigger breakthrough than the introduction of Google Glass.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The smart headgear, which combines a tiny monitor and camera with bone-conducting audio, was the ultimate-in-geek item this year (only members of Google's Explorer program could buy one, and at $1,500 a pop), and made ripples in the industry as competitors clamored to move into wearable tech.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57615908-94/what-we-want-in-2014-break-the-mold-tech-companies/">Cnet</a></span></i></div>

What we want in 2014: Break the mold, tech companies

(Credit: Jason Cipriani/CNET) Here's some unsolicited advice to technology companies drawing up their plans for 2014: Dare to be stup...

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