The Home Assistant connected device market seems to be massive in the United States, with an estimated 60.5 million users this year taking up the devices, according to a recent report from eMarketer (that's a little under 1-in-5 human beings in the country) . So it stands as no surprise …
Read More »Microsoft waiting for “meaningful change” before making a Surface Pro 5
It looks like there won't be a new Surface Pro model any time soon as Microsoft's head of Surface devices has recently moved to squash recent rumours. Over the last few months, there have been increasing reports surrounding the ‘Surface Pro 5' but according to Microsoft's Panos Panay, no such …
Read More »Retail licenses of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 can still upgrade to Windows 10
If you purposely missed the upgrade window for Windows 10, on your totally legit Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 machine, and now you are regretting the decision because Windows 10 is really the only way to go to keep your PC up-to-date, then there might be a little light at …
Read More »Qualcomm confirms release of Windows 10 devices by year’s end
During its quarterly earnings call, held last night, Qualcomm revealed its plans to deliver a Windows 10 on ARM-based PC by the end of the year. While Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf was short on details about the device, he did state it would be a mobile PC – the “Cellular …
Read More »Microsoft ‘Cloudbook’ is looking increasingly real
It seems more and more likely that Microsoft will release a new cheap, portable, device running a Cloud-based version of Windows, in time for the next back-to-school shopping season. It's been a busy 12 months for Microsoft. Early on we heard Windows running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon hardware. Even a trial test …
Read More »Maker gets Cortana with Windows 10 IoT Core Creators Update
Maker aficionados of the Windows 10 IoT Core persuasion will be happy to know that Cortana has landed. The Windows 10 Creators Update milestone has delivered on a number of new features, including the Cortana voice assistant, which can now be used by makers in their Windows 10 IoT implementations. …
Read More »AR brings back an oldie-but-goodie: meet HoloLems
Globacore, a Canadian company specializing in creating unique AR/VR experiences, has dug deep in the ol’ chest of fond memories and converted a childhood favourite into a HoloLens game. Aptly named HoloLems, the AR adaptation is basically a tribute to the classic 90s videogame. Lemmings was a 2D side-scrolling puzzle-platformer …
Read More »New Microsoft Surface Pro 5 details leak out
There have been quite a few Microsoft Surface rumours lately, most of which have surrounded the future of the Surface Book. However, this week, the rumour mill has turned its attention to the Surface Pro 5 instead, with reports this week revealing a few details about Microsoft's upcoming tablet. According …
Read More »Surface Book 2 and Surface Pro 5 may not appear next month after all
It looks like Microsoft's upcoming Surface Book 2 might take a bit longer than expected. We previously heard rumours that Microsoft might be planning to launch its next-generation laptop at its next event in April but reports this week point towards that not being the case, with reliable sources coming forward …
Read More »Microsoft is facing more legal complaints following buggy Windows 10 upgrades
It looks like Microsoft is facing more lawsuits over the rollout of Windows 10 as this week, three new complaints have appeared at the Chicago District Court. These new complaints claim that Microsoft “failed to exercise reasonable care” when pushing out the Windows 10 update, which caused data to be …
Read More »Microsoft’s massive service outage has been fixed
A few weeks ago, Microsoft services suffered an outage, affecting services like Skype, Outlook, Office 365, Xbox Live and more. This week, those service outages appear to be popping up again, with users across Europe and the US complaining about issues connecting to Microsoft services. These issues first appeared yesterday …
Read More »Microsoft may be unveiling the Surface Book 2 next month
Microsoft turned quite a few heads when it first announced the Surface Book. The two-in-one laptop had a detachable display and a custom Nvidia GPU built into the dock, making it a good choice for tablet use, as well as more serious work while in docked mode. Since then, Microsoft …
Read More »Project Scorpio rumoured to finally kill off the Xbox power brick, 4K/60fps game capture possible
Microsoft is currently gearing up to unveil Project Scorpio at E3 this year but thanks to some leaks, we have a bit of an idea of what to expect beforehand. Earlier this year we got some additional details on the hardware capabilities of the console but this week, some sources …
Read More »Microsoft’s service-wide log-in issues should now be fixed
Update: Yesterday, we learned that many users across the world were having issues with Microsoft's account-based services, with customers unable to login to Xbox, Outlook, Office 365 and even Skype. At the time, we didn't have official acknowledgement from Microsoft on the wide-spread issue but today, the company finally got …
Read More »Microsoft lowers Surface Book cost barrier by cutting out discrete GPU
Microsoft's took its first steps into the laptop market back in 2015 with the launch of the Surface Book and as impressive as it was, the laptop was also very expensive and thanks to the inclusion of a discrete Nvidia GPU, its value hasn't really depreciated at all since. This has …
Read More »Microsoft reportedly scraps Hololens 2 in favour of skipping to Gen 3
Microsoft first revealed its Hololens augmented reality headset around two years ago during the build-up to Windows 10 and since then, most of us have been waiting on some form of upgraded version. Now, it seems that while a second gen Hololens was in the works, Microsoft may be scrapping its development …
Read More »Surface Books are hit by latest Brexit price hike
While many people around the country continue to debate the impact of the Brexit referendum from mid-way through last year, the effects are being felt all over. The tech-sector has had several responses to its effect on the value of the pound too and the latest is Microsoft's Surface Book, …
Read More »Here’s what Windows 10 could look like under Project Neon
Microsoft is going to be changing the way Windows 10 looks, or at least empower application makers to do so. Project Neon is a currently unannounced feature that we all know is coming to Windows 10 and this week, during a developer day livestream, Microsoft inadvertently revealed it. We have seen …
Read More »Voice driven VR game, Starship Commander lets you talk to everyone
Starship Commander's debut trailer showcases a new and exciting way to play a game: using just your voice. In this story-driven, VR game, players take control of a new and advanced military space ship and must give commands to it and their compatriots out there in the inky black of …
Read More »Federal Court upholds ruling, US gov can’t obtain Microsoft emails from Ireland
Way back in July 2016, a court ruled that the US government could not force Microsoft to hand over emails stored on a foreign server in Ireland, even if US authorities were granted a search warrant for the data. However, the government were quick to appeal the judgement, escalating it …
Read More »Microsoft is experimenting with foldable phone/tablet hybrids
It looks like Samsung and LG aren't the only ones working on flexible display technology as it appears that Microsoft has also been experimenting with new designs. This week, a new patent from Microsoft was discovered, detailing what appears to be a Surface device with a foldable display, allowing you …
Read More »Former NFL player sues Epic/Microsoft, claims he’s in Gears of War
The trend of celebrities trying to sue game developers for using their ‘likeness' seems to be continuing this year. However, this time around it is not Rockstar in the hot-seat, instead, it is Microsoft and Epic Games. Late last week, former NFL player and professional wrestler Lynwood Hamilton came out …
Read More »Microsoft Azure to augment driving at CES 2017
Microsoft will be one of many companies showcasing automated driving features at CES 2017, but while many are striving for full automation, Microsoft and others' systems will augment human drivers. They will encourage inter-car communication, use AI bots that can analyse traffic and run in-depth analytics on everyone's driving style. …
Read More »Most Steam gamers are running Windows 10
Microsoft's strategy of giving away free upgrades to Windows 10 looks to have been worthwhile, as a year and a half on from its release, most gamers on Steam are running it. While Windows 7 64 still maintains a foothold, nothing else even comes close. Windows 10 adoption rate has …
Read More »Microsoft wants Cortana in the home, Amazon Echo competitor coming
It looks like Microsoft wants to get into the smart home business and it will be using Cortana to make it happen. Cortana has been Microsoft's digital assistant for mobile and Windows for quite some time and now, Cortana will be hitting smart home devices, like Harman/Kardon's new Amazon Echo …
Read More »Microsoft Hololens to go on sale in Japan in December
Microsoft is continuing the international roll out of its flagship augmented reality headset, the Hololens, by introducing it in Japan. Set to go up for pre-order in the country on 2nd December, devices are set to ship out in early 2017. This move will bring the number of territories where …
Read More »Tesla has been hiring Hololens developers
Elon Musk's electric car company, Tesla, has been making waves over the past year for its Model 3, its acquisition of Solar City and its push for power storage technology, but its future cars could be rather eye catching too. Tesla has recently hired on its second ex-Microsoft and more …
Read More »Xbox One Oculus Rift streaming mode coming soon
The Oculus Rift will soon be able to support streaming games from the Xbox One, in a cinema-mode that puts the user in front of a giant virtual screen. That means the games themselves won't be automatically turned into VR experiences, but you can play them in a variety of …
Read More »Microsoft is joining the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member
Microsoft has been going through some huge changes internally over the last couple of years and it looks like things aren't slowing down just yet. Today, Microsoft made the surprise announcement that it would be joining the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member, joining the likes of Intel, IBM, Samsung …
Read More »Microsoft doubles wind power investment to 500 megawatts
Microsoft has made another large investment in clean energy by signing two new agreements to purchase additional wind power. These deals will see it acquire a further 237 megawatts of green energy, nearly doubling its total to 500 megawatts. Microsoft considers this another step on the road to making its …
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