Lenovo Takes on MacBook Air with ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch
The only reason I’m not using a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is that I’ve gotten too used to the 15-inch form factor of my current Ultrabook. But browsing around the ThinkPad web site this morning, I came across a nice infographic comparison of the X1 Carbon (and Touch) with Apple’s MacBook Air. And they do a nice job of differentiating.
Windows Weekly 312: Paw Friendly
I'm away on a business trip this week, so Peter "Dr. Pizza" Bright joined Mary Jo Foley and Leo Laporte on Windows Weekly and discussed a big week for Windows Phone news, Google and Microsoft argue over the Windows Phone YouTube app, Google I/O, more "Blue" news and clues, and the unofficial start of Microsoft's summer of show madness.
Short Takes: May 17, 2013
An often irreverent look at this week's other news, including Google and Microsoft find some common ground in an unexpected place, Microsoft renews campaign to kill off its best-selling product ever, Dell tanks while Carl Icahn tries to rob its corpse, Gates is ironically number one again thanks to monopoly busting, the DOJ details its evidence against Apple in e-book price-fixing case, and Apple responds by pointing in the other direction.
Surface Pro Comes to Europe
Microsoft announced today that the Windows 8-based Surface Pro tablet would ship in numerous European countries this month, with the first country getting the device starting tomorrow. Additionally, Microsoft revealed a special deal for new Surface RT customers in Europe.
Office 365 Tip: Enable Offline Access for Outlook Web App
While Microsoft doesn’t seem too interested in adding offline support for the Office Web Apps—the web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote—it does in fact support this capability in Outlook Web App, the web-based email, contacts, calendar, and tasks management solution in the business versions of Office 365. Here’s how to enable it and how it works.
Windows Phone is Now Number Three
It’s all coming together, baby: Windows Phone has surpassed Blackberry to become the number three smart phone platform in the world, behind Android and iOS. OK, maybe it’s not that dramatic. But in the battle for ecosystems, Microsoft and Nokia are betting that there can be only three.
New Video Parodies Google Chrome Ad
A purported Microsoft internal video parodies Google’s “Now Everywhere” ad for the Chrome web browser, noting that Chrome is, in fact, tracking you and targeting you with ads to monetize your personal info … now everywhere. Regardless of the source, it’s actually pretty brilliant.
Larry Page Blames Microsoft for Rift with Google
Google CEO Larry Page got tripped up by a bit of hypocrisy during his appearance at his firm’s annual Google I/O developer conference. At an event at which the firm didn’t announce a single product or service that runs natively on Microsoft’s Windows platforms, Page complained that Microsoft recently added support for Google Chat to Outlook.com without enabling the reverse.
Google I/O 2013, Day One: A Flood of New and Improved Google Services
Google--Microsoft’s biggest platform competitor—launched its annual Google I/O developer show today and as usual the firm made a number of fascinating announcements that had absolutely nothing to do with developers. Google I/O always presents a fascinating peek into what Google is doing at this moment in time, and this year’s show hasn’t disappointed so far. Indeed, it’s almost overwhelming.
Coming this Summer: A Windows Phone 8 Update
I know, I know. It doesn’t seem possible. But buried at the end of a lengthy blog post about the Nokia Lumia 925, the Windows Phone team actually announced that it will deliver an update to Windows Phone 8 this summer.
Report: Smart Phone Market Moving to Android Monopoly
Just last year, industry analysts spoke of a duopoly in the smart phone market, with Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone slicing up the market between them. But today, it’s pretty much an Android monopoly, with iPhone market share falling precipitously.
Microsoft is Adding Google Chat to Outlook.com
Microsoft revealed today that it is adding yet another new feature to Outlook.com: Google Chat compatibility. Soon, you’ll be able to chat with your Google friends in addition to those with Skype and Facebook.
Microsoft Surface Firmware Updates for May 2013
Each month since the release of the first Surface tablet, Microsoft has issued firmware updates that improve the devices. And May is no different: Today, the firm is releasing firmware updates for Surface RT and Surface Pro. It’s the 7th straight month they’ve done so.
Windows Phone Book: Messaging 0.8
I’ve updated Chapter 7: Messaging in Windows Phone Book to the new task-based approach. This is one of the first chapters I wrote for the book, back in late 2012, and this version is significantly cleaned up and shortened.
You'll have the opportunity to experience:
