Although demand for personal computers is growing these days, it looks like many notebook makers see growth primarily in the low-end of their product line. According to a media report, the proportion of entry-level Celeron and Pentium processors in shipments of Intel Corp. in the second half of the year …
Read More »HP: The effect of Windows XP’s end-of-life its nearing its end
A number of executives of high-tech companies and some market observers have said that the effect of Windows XP’s end-of-life and increased sales of PCs will last for several quarters. However, Meg Whitman, chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, believes that the effect is about to end. However, a good news …
Read More »Steve Ballmer steps down as board member at Microsoft
Steve Ballmer, a former chief executive officer of Microsoft who spent 34 years at the company in total, said that he will step down as a board member of the software giant. This will mark the end of his career at Microsoft and will eliminate any influence that Mr. Ballmer …
Read More »Microsoft may roll-out Windows 9 ‘Threshold’ preview in September
Microsoft Corp. plans to unveil public preview of its next-generation Windows operating system in late September or early October, a media report claims. The commercial version of the OS code-named “Threshold” is expected to debut in spring, 2015. ZDNet reports that those who install the public tech preview of the …
Read More »Microsoft could change Internet Explorer name to bury reputation
It turns out that Microsoft's Internet Explorer engineering team has considered changing the name of its web browser in order to escape its negative reputation. While the name hasn't changed yet, the team admits that it could one day. During a Reddit Q&A session, users asked Engineer, Jonathan Sampson, if Microsoft …
Read More »Intel demos DX12 benefits: boosts performance, cuts-down power consumption
At the Siggraph 2014 conference Intel Corp. demonstrated how the new DirectX 12 application programming interface can speed up rendering performance and improve battery life of mobile devices. The results of the demo were nothing but impressive: the new low-level API not only rather dramatically improves performance, but also allows …
Read More »Microsoft Windows 9 “Threshold” will add virtual desktops, drop charms
As the launch date of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 9 code-named “Threshold” approaches, more information about its peculiarities emerge. According to the latest reports, the next-gen Windows will not only return the “Start” menu to PC users, but it will also add support for virtual desktops and will drop the charms …
Read More »Netbooks are back? Lenovo plans to launch $199 – $249 laptops in 2014
In a bid to fight Chromebooks – systems running Google’s Chrome operating system – Microsoft has managed to encourage multiple of its partners to return ultra-low-cost personal computers (ULCPCs) to the market. Lenovo Group, along with a number of other PC makers, reportedly plans to release Windows 8.1-based systems that …
Read More »Microsoft sues Samsung over Android-related royalty payments
Microsoft Corp. has sued Samsung Electronics for not paying royalties related to Google Android operating system. Samsung stopped paying Microsoft after the world’s largest developer of software announced its intention to acquire Nokia Corp.’s devices and services division. “We don’t take lightly filing a legal action, especially against a company …
Read More »LG readies Windows Phone 8.1-based smartphone
Although Microsoft Corp. and LG Electronics announced intention to bring Windows Phone-based smartphones to the market earlier this year, LG has not yet introduced any actual products. According to unofficial information, the South Korean maker of smartphones is working on a mid-range Windows Phone-based handset, which is projected to emerge …
Read More »Microsoft set to unify all three client operating systems
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday confirmed rumours that it plans to unify all of its operating systems for client personal computers. The move will help the company to cut its costs and offer similar user experience on different types of devices, including personal computers, tablets and smartphones. “We will streamline the …
Read More »Lenovo denies plans to cease selling small Windows tablets
Lenovo Group has issued a special statement denying plans to cease selling Microsoft Windows-based media tablets with displays smaller than 10” in the U.S. and Canada. Apparently, the company is working on new tablets with smaller screens for the aforementioned markets. The slates are projected to become available later this year. …
Read More »Lenovo discontinues small-screen Windows tablets in North America
Several months after Microsoft Corp. made its Windows operating system free for devices with displays smaller than 9”, Lenovo Group decided to discontinue its Windows-based tablets with 8” screens in the U.S. because of the lack of interest from the end-users. The same actions can follow in other parts of …
Read More »Microsoft to phase-out Nokia X Android-based smartphones
As part of its major restructuring plan announced on Thursday, Microsoft Corp. will phase out its Google Android-based smartphones and will offer more affordable Lumia devices in order to address customers in budget as well as developing markets. Additionally, Microsoft announced plans to focus on higher-end smartphones and fight against …
Read More »Microsoft to announce huge job cuts this this week – report
Chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp. has already implied on strategy changes at the software giant. As it usually happens, strategic shifts happen in a combination with massive layoffs. A media report suggests that the job cuts will be announced as soon as this week. After Microsoft added 30 thousand …
Read More »Microsoft: ultra-affordable Windows devices are incoming
At its annual worldwide partners conference Microsoft Corp. said that later this year its partners will release ultra-affordable devices running the company’s Windows operating system. The family of such devices will include notebooks that cost $199 – $249 and tablets that are priced at $99. Microsoft’s most important rivals these …
Read More »Satya Nadella vows to ’innovate and delight gamers with Xbox’
Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., on Thursday wrote an open letter to the company’s employees revealing some of his thoughts about the future of the company and the world we are heading to. Among other things the CEO of the world’s largest software developer said that the …
Read More »Microsoft to end mainstream support of Windows 7 in early 2015
Although Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 operating system is nearly five years old and it has been almost two years since the release of the Windows 8 OS, the Win7 is still the world’s most popular operating system, according to Netmarketshare. Moreover, some PC makers continue to install it on new PCs. Still, …
Read More »Canon and Microsoft sign broad cross-licensing agreement
Microsoft Corp. and Canon on Wednesday said that they have signed a broad patent cross-licensing agreement. Thanks to the new pact the two companies gain licenses to each other’s highly valued and growing patent portfolios. Theoretically, Canon’s licensing of Microsoft patents may indicate that the company is preparing a family …
Read More »Windows 9 preview could arrive this year
Rumor has it that Microsoft is preparing a Windows 9 preview for the end of this year ahead of the Operating System's full release next year. It is currently believed that the next iteration of Windows will mainly target those still using Windows 7. “Before Threshold is released next spring, Microsoft …
Read More »Android and Windows Phone will add ability to remote brick device
The call for Google and Microsoft to offer a remote “kill switch,” on their smartphone handsets seems to have been heard, as both manufacturers have announced that future versions of their respective operating systems would include the ability to brick your device by choice, remotely, thereby rendering a stolen phone …
Read More »Apple launches new cheaper iMac
Whenever the Apple store goes down, it is usually a sign that the company is launching a new product or refreshing its current line. Today Apple quietly launched a cheaper iMac in order to compete with other All in One PC's on the market. The “new” iMac comes in at …
Read More »Intel raises revenue expectations as demand for business PCs increases
Intel Corp. on Thursday announced that as a result of higher demand for business personal computers its sales for the second quarters will be significantly higher than expected. The world's largest chipmaker also increased its revenue and gross margin forecasts for the whole year. It is believed that businesses and …
Read More »Kinect for Windows v2 available for pre-order, costs £159/$199
Microsoft Corp. on Friday began to take pre-orders for the Kinect for Windows v2 motion sensor. The device is initially intended only for software developers who plan to take advantage of the Xbox One’s motion sensing capabilities on the PC. The software giant plans to start sales of the Kinect …
Read More »Microsoft smartwatch expected to be a breakthrough, set to land in 2014
Rumours about Microsoft Corp.’s smart-watch have been circulating for a couple of years now, but no trustworthy details have ever emerged. On Friday Forbes reported that the device may be released already this year and may feature rather advanced health and fitness tracking capabilities. But, perhaps, the most important thing …
Read More »Microsoft has no plans to spin off Xbox division, says Satya Nadella
Recently a lot of discussions about the possible future of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division arose. A comment regarding the Xbox unit made by Bill Gates even inspired talks that the software giant could spin-off its console business. However, according to Satya Nadella, the new chief executive officer of Microsoft, there …
Read More »Valve introduces in-home streaming feature for Steam
Valve Software on Wednesday introduced in-home streaming for video games, a new feature of Steam software distribution service. The technology will let users to stream games from a gaming PC to an HTPC [home theater PC], a laptop or even a tablet. Many people have multiple personal computers at home, …
Read More »AMD’s ‘Mullins’ APU fails to win designs with tablet makers – report
While Advanced Micro Devices was late to market with its chips for netbooks, the company’s accelerated processing units for inexpensive low-power laptops are quite popular nowadays thanks to relatively high performance, rich functionality and low cost. Unfortunately, AMD’s APUs designed for tablets still have not become any popular. Although AMD …
Read More »Microsoft has no plans for portable Xbox – company
Microsoft Corp. has no plans to create a portable game system, the head of Xbox division said. Instead, the company plans to focus on advancing smartphones and tablets. This is not the first time when Microsoft denies any plans to develop a handheld Xbox dedicated video game console. “I don't …
Read More »Microsoft fixes IE security flaw- even on XP
Earlier this week we reported on an Internet Explorer bug that could potentially hurt Windows XP users since the decade old OS was no longer supported. However, Microsoft decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to leave its XP users at risk and fixed the bug. Microsoft announced the …
Read More »