Highly rated gadgets
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9.0
FujiFilm XF10
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9.1
Apple iPhone XS
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9.0
Panasonic LUMIX LX100 II
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9.0
Sony WH-1000XM3
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8.0
BlackBerry Motion
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8.5
Xiaomi Mi A2
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10.0
FujiFilm X-T3
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9.1
Apple iPhone XS Max
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10.0
Nikon Z 7
Zune HD isn't dead after all: Microsoft rolls out new apps
Like UnlikeFiled in: Portable Media PlayersMicrosoftZune HD
Microsoft has released nine new Zune HD apps: Finger Paint, Calendar, Trash Throw, Slider Puzzle, ColorSpill, Splatter Bug, Vine Climb, Decoder Ring, and Tug-O-War. Microsoft also updated the following Zune HD apps: Shuffle by Album, Zune Reader, Penalty! Flick Soccer, Email, and Echoes.
There has been talk for quite a while now that Microsoft is getting ready to kill off the Zune. The company has been viciously denying speculation that it will clear out inventory of the stock it has, and stop producing more units of the various Zune models. There still hasn't been any news about a retail store running out of stock yet, but the rumor suggesting that Microsoft will kill off the Zune hardware ...
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Microsoft reconsiders usage of Live.com geolocation data
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Microsoft has decided to rethink its plans to use the geo-location data of Live.com, following renewed privacy concerns amongst users.
Cnet reports that Stanford Security Laboratory postdoctoral researcher Elie Bursztein, who was investigating the company's ability to track where a laptop had been by analyzing Wi-Fi data stored by Microsoft's MAC location database, was one of the first to notice that access to the database had been restricted.
Privacy versus usability
This follows a similar move by Google, which limited the access to its geo-location database back in June, following similar privacy concerns from users.
Companies such as Google and Microsoft collate these geolocation database...
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Google: Apple, Microsoft are trying to 'strangle' Android with patents instead of competing
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Apple and Microsoft are playing dirty, according to a new blog post by Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond. Instead of attempting to build innovative products and features, Drummond says Apple and Microsoft are content with filing repeated patent complaints in an attempt to impede Android’s rapid growth. Apple, Microsoft and others are carrying out “a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents,” Drummond wrote in his post. “They’re doing this by banding together to acquire Novell’s old patents (the “CPTN” group including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel’s old patents (the ‘Rockstar’...
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Voice texting demoed for Nokia Windows Phone, Mango to have voice map navigation as well
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While it's probably nothing Vlingo doesn't do already, the head of Nokia US has demonstrated voice texting while driving for a briefing seminar at the Center for Automotive Research.
The interesting tidbit here is that this tech will be available in Nokia Windows Phones and other Mango devices, and the Windows Team blog even posted how it is supposed to work while you are driving:
WP: [music pauses]You have a text message from Cody Pardi. You can say read it or ignore.
Me: Read it.
WP: “When will you be home?” You can say reply, call or I’m done.
Me: Reply.
WP: Say your message.
Me: “In about 20 minutes.”
WP: [The phone transcribes and repeats the message] You can say send, try again, or I’m...
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Skype developing native “video engine” for Windows Phone 7
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A job posting by Skype has dispelled any rumour that Skype video calling will not be coming Windows Phone 7.5.
In the job posting Skype is looking for a developer to optimise their Video Engine solution for Windows and Windows Phone , with the aim of releasing an update every 2 months.
The fact that they are looking for a C++ developer confirms the solution will be native rather than 3rd party, given that those developers are confined to Silverlight and XNA.
So far we have only seen one confirmed device with a front-facing camera, the Samsung SGH i937, but the Nokia Sea Ray is also expected to sport one.
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Windows Phone 7 maintains 30% developer interest despite slow take-off
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The latest Appccelerator/IDC developer poll shows Windows Phone 7 maintaining its position as the 3rd mobile platform, up 1% from 3 months ago, when 29% if mobile developers were “very interested” in developing for the platform, despite having only around 1% market share.
The survey shows the situation remaining in general relatively static with no major shifts in developer interest, with more however planning to add cloud-based and social networking features to their apps, with 20% of developers looking to add Windows Azure support.
50% of developers are planning to monetize their applications using in-app purchasing, an area which Microsoft still has to address in Windows Phone 7.
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Nokia may unveil first Windows Phone this month
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Nokia may be planning to unveil its first Windows Phone later this month, the unwired reports. The site claims to have obtained an invitation to a party hosted by both Nokia and Microsoft. Scheduled to take place on August 17th during the annual GamesCom trade show in Cologne, Germany, the event will apparently include a raffle of three Xbox 360 consoles and three Windows Phones built by Nokia. The invitation does note that the aforementioned Windows Phones will be delivered to winners “as soon as available,” so we’re not entirely convinced the event will follow any sort of announcement. And the choice of venue for such an announcement is at the very least curious, if not illogical. We know ...
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Microsoft's Windows Phone revenue "abysmal," $613 million at best
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Microsoft's annual report for the company's fiscal 2011 reveals more than what is on the surface – an interesting tidbit about Windows Phone revenue seems to be hiding under the Entertainment and Devices Division section. With a total of $8.716 billion and a reported revenue from Xbox 360 alone standing at $8.103 billion, the biggest Windows Phone revenue one could end up with by a simple subtraction is the “abysmal” $613 million, Seattle Pi concluded.
This would put Zune, Mediaroom, Surface and hardware revenue at close to zero, which – of course – seems unlikely, so chances are that the final sum is even lower for WP. In addition, we also have to count the fact that Redmond's fiscal year s...
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Windows 8 Will Run Windows 7 Software Just Fine
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While the jump from Windows XP to Vista resulted in some compatibility headaches, the move from Vista to Windows 7 was far more pain-free. What will the upgrade to Windows 8 be like? According to Microsoft, it'll be easy.
“The gateway to get to Windows 8 is Windows 7, and we will have backward compatibility with Windows 7 embedded into Windows 8. That's something that we're very committed to. But that's a really important first pillar,” Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO said at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2011.
Despite having a slick new tile interface, the desktop underneath for Windows 8 appears to closely resemble that from Windows 7.
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Anyone Can Access Microsoft's Massive Location Database and See Where Your Laptop and Smartphone Have Been
Like UnlikeFiled in: Operating SystemsMicrosoftWindows 7
Microsoft has been going around and building a database of publicly broadcast MAC addresses (along with their corresponding street address) for location services purposes. That might include those of your phones and laptops. Problem is, Microsoft didn't secure the database.
According to a report from Cnet's Declan McCullagh, Microsoft is gathering data from Windows 7 handsets that connect to wi-fi networks, along with cars that go around sniffing out hotspots, and logging it all here. But because they're being lax in protecting that database, anyone can get access to the data. Cnet entered in various MAC addresses into the database themselves and had very specific location data returned to t...
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Custom HTC WP7 ROM’s Iminent?
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Windows Phone Hacker have just reported that the Dark Forces Team (DFT) have successfully created an RSPL / HSPL solution for a majority of HTC’s Windows Phones. This of course comes our way via XDA-Developers. If you are unfamiliar, HSPL is the bootloader that allows for custom ROM’s to be loaded onto phones. Chefs on XDA-Developers have done an amazing job releasing custom Windows Mobile 6.x ROM’s for the past few years. In fact, this was normally the only way you could get WM6.5 on your device, because software updates were very inconsistent between phone manufacturers.
With Microsoft’s new update approach for all devices, will HSPL be necessary for Windows Phone 7? There are a couple...
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Windows Phone 7 “4G” promotional material show up at T-Mobile retail
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Here is some great news. Apparently T-Mobile stores are getting promotional material featuring “4G Windows Phone”.
Tmonews also have pictures of Windows Phone stickers without the 4G label, indicating not all Windows Phones on T-Mobile will have that feature.
Of course the news would be more exciting if 4G on T-Mobile was not just HSDPA +, rather than LTE or WIMAX, but new Windows Phones with competitive specs are still great.
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Microsoft releases 'complete' Mango SDK
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Microsoft has made its third big Windows Phone Mango announcement of the last 24 hours by releasing a "more complete" build of the operating system to assist app developers.
Earlier on Wednesday we learned that the Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T will be the first handset to boast Mango, featuring a 13.2mp camera, 32GB internal storage and an 800x480p, 3.7-inch display.
Yesterday Microsoft revealed it had finished work on the long-awaited OS upgrade and had handed the completed build over to manufacturers.
Now app developers will have access to an all new version of the SDK in order to create new and exciting applications for the Mango platform before its launch this autumn.
More complete build
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Microsoft renews alliance with SUSE, throws $100 million in pocket change at Linux
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Microsoft and Linux haven't always had the friendliest of rapports but, a few years back, the folks at Redmond decided to cozy up to Novell and the enterprise-focused distro SUSE. The German arm of the company even wished Tux a happy 20th birthday last week, in an attempt to further thaw their notoriously chilly relationship. Now the Windows crew have decided to renew their partnership with SUSE and have committed to purchasing $100 million in technical support for Microsoft Enterprise customers who also happen to be running Linux boxes as part of their operations. It's not about to stop claiming that the open source OS violates several of its patents, but at least they've learned to get alo...
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Microsoft's Windows Revenue Falls Flat, Still Posts Record Quarter
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Windows and Windows Live Division revenue dipped 1 percent for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2011, and was down 2 percent for the year even though Windows 7 sold more than 400 million licenses, Microsoft announced. Nevertheless, the Redmond software giant posted big numbers overall, with $17.37 billion for the quarter, an 8 percent increase from the same quarter one year ago. For the fiscal year, Microsoft reported record revenue of $69.94 billion, a 12 percent jump from last year.
"Throughout fiscal 2011, we delivered to market a strong lineup of products and services which translated into double-digit revenue growth, and operating margin expansion," said Peter Klein, chief financial of...
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