Ask Need: microsoft

Showing posts with label microsoft. Show all posts

Microsoft Surface Power Cover extends battery life by 70%

Microsoft made the announcement via <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and also opened up pre-orders. According to a post on ZDNet
 (which claims the tech specs on Micro<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">soft’s</a> page are incorrect), the 
Power Cover weighs in at 1.2 pounds and is double the thickness of the 
listed 9.75mm – so, 19.5mm.<br />

<div style="text-align: center;">
 </div>
That’s a lot of extra weight and girth but according to the company, 
the cover will extend battery life by up to <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">70 percent</a>. That’s better 
than the 50 percent claims the company made when the tablets launched 
and could certainly make a difference in terms of productivity for road 
warriors or those that frequently take long flights.<br />

The Power Covers will be available in the <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">US</a>, <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">Canada </a>and <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">Japan</a> starting
 March 19 for $199.99. That may sound like a lot of coin for added 
battery capacity but it is worth pointing out that the covers also 
include a Type-style keyboard. If you happen to need a physical keyboard
 as well, you could essentially kill two birds with one stone here.<br />

A spokesperson for Microsoft did not <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-surface-power-cover-extends.html" target="_blank">confirm </a>when or if the covers would make their way to other regions.

Microsoft Surface Power Cover extends battery life by 70%

Microsoft Surface Power Cover extends battery life by 70% Microsoft’s refreshed Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro tablets launched late last year and at the time, the Redmond-based company promised to provide battery-extending Power Covers in the not-too-distant future. That time is now upon us as Mic…

12Mar2014

Microsoft leaks Windows 8.1 Update early

The overall process to install Update 1 required the download of six 
separate updates totaling roughly 770 MB. Some users who downloaded and 
installed Update 1<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-leaks-windows-81-update-early.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">said</a>
 the final build string matched what was reported to be the RTM build, 
suggesting Microsoft was testing methods of delivering the update before
 links were leaked.<br />

It only took a few hours for Microsoft to block public access to the 
files both through the download links and registry edits, however the 
files are still available through several other sources. While it 
shouldn't be too hard to find, download and install the update, if 
you're interested in checking out the changes, we recommend waiting for 
Update 1 to go live officially.<br />

Most of the changes and improvements in <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-leaks-windows-81-update-early.html" target="_blank">Windows 8.1 Update 1</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">
</a> are geared towards improving the experience for keyboard and mouse 
users. There are new right-click context menus in some parts of the 
'Modern' interface, power and search buttons right on the Start screen, 
title bars at the top of all Metro-style apps, and some desktop-oriented
 changes. The official launch of Update 1 is expected to be April 8th, 
according to <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-leaks-windows-81-update-early.html" target="_blank">several rumors</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">.</a>

Microsoft leaks Windows 8.1 Update early

Microsoft leaks Windows 8.1 Update early Microsoft won't be officially releasing Windows 8.1 Update 1 until after their BUILD conference in April, but late on Thursday the company accidentally leaked the update to the public. Eager users were able to make a small registry change that made the u…

10Mar2014

Karbonn's new smartphone with Android and WP OS

You may recall that <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank">Karbonn </a>is one of the new Windows Phone partners that Microsoft announced
 at the start of <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank">MWC</a> 2014. Thanks to eased regulations on Windows Phone 
hardware, <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank">Karbonn</a> has been able to develop a dual-booting phone set for 
release in June, along with a few other Windows Phones that we'll see in
 a few month's time.<br />

The company's dual-booting handset is supposed to target "office-going 
professionals and 'techies'", although no <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank">specifcations </a>nor a price for 
the smartphone has been revealed.<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank"> Karbonn</a> devices are typically found 
across Asia were competition is fierce, so it's unlikely the handset 
will be high-end or expensive.<br />

Most devices that run more than one operating system aren't 
particularly successful, as two separate environments can be tricky to 
manage and unfriendly to use. How <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/karbonns-new-smartphone-with-android_4.html" target="_blank">Karbonn's </a>Android and Windows Phone 
smartphone will turn out remains to be seen, but at least it's doing 
something people haven't tried before.

Karbonn's new smartphone with Android and WP OS

Karbonn's new smartphone with Android and WP OS Karbonn Mobile might not be a household name outside of India, but the company is looking to do something no other smartphone manufacturer has done yet: produce a handset that dual-boots both Android and Windows Phone. You may recall that Karbonn i…

04Mar2014

Microsoft announces Xbox One bundlefor $499

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlo_WSi3Q2i6TW_R0d8aslLWNwHc0imQOOaey9XrQVDCD22HhhDGHGIXgwFeWhgT2ATWYSMIv_U_BvCNUGMWNJU1TjfBMH38HSxDKU2_NFgwIuIPWCfJw4bEU_WAYC2woTS1tX4Uy3rc/s1600/2014-02-24-image-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlo_WSi3Q2i6TW_R0d8aslLWNwHc0imQOOaey9XrQVDCD22HhhDGHGIXgwFeWhgT2ATWYSMIv_U_BvCNUGMWNJU1TjfBMH38HSxDKU2_NFgwIuIPWCfJw4bEU_WAYC2woTS1tX4Uy3rc/s1600/2014-02-24-image-18.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft announces Xbox One bundlefor $499</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Xbox </a>One is only a few months old at this point but that isn’t stopping Microsoft from issuing the console’s <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">first price cut</a>.
 Well, sort of. Gamers around the world will soon be able to purchase 
the next generation system for $499.99 with a free game in an effort to 
better compete with Sony’s more affordable PlayStation 4.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Microsoft </a>will be bundling <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Titanfall</a>
 with the $499.99 Xbox One. The special edition bundle includes a 
digital copy of the game and a one month Xbox Live Gold <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">membership </a>in 
addition to the standard issue console, <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Kinect,</a> wireless controller and 
chat headset. It's still more expensive than the PS4 but you're 
basically getting a free game now.<br />
<br />
Harvey Eagle, <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Xbox's </a>marketing director in the UK, said the reason they
 were doing this is because they are committed to giving gamers the best
 value possible. He added that we are only a few months into a 
generation of consoles that are going to last for many years to come and
 now just feels like the right time to make the adjustment on the price.<br />
<br />
Despite the fact that the <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank">Xbox</a> One has enjoyed record-breaking success 
and has outsold the Xbox 360 by a wide margin during the same time 
period, the truth of the<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank"> matter</a> is that Microsoft’s machine is lagging 
far behind in sales compared to the PS4. According to at least one 
report, sales of Sony’s console were nearly double those of the<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/icrosoft-announces-xbox-one-bundlefor.html" target="_blank"> Xbox</a> One in January.

Microsoft announces Xbox One bundlefor $499

Microsoft announces Xbox One bundlefor $499 The Xbox One is only a few months old at this point but that isn’t stopping Microsoft from issuing the console’s first price cut. Well, sort of. Gamers around the world will soon be able to purchase the next generation system for $499.99 with a free gam…

04Mar2014

Microsoft promises to fix Skype chat syncing

It’s been nearly three months in the making but Microsoft is finally 
delivering on a promise to fix an annoying issue that has plagued Skype 
users for several months.<br />

Frequent <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/02/skype-61432104-full-version-offline.html" target="_blank">Skypers </a>are no doubt familiar with the product’s synching 
issues. Using the service to chat with friends and family on your 
desktop doesn’t present much of an issue but when you move to a 
smartphone or tablet, messages often fail to sync properly. As a result,
 it’s not uncommon to be bombarded with outdated message notifications.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcRHhfQG-H6ECQx6WBUnzj2jhiEoMxsEKE_qkQyLn2oXpqtHMHeuyOQJvY-Czg_uWAmP-CpJ6b469uaAIo8aUXH3R0OWQRRNn4ntv3dFWdqsbG_lkSwksdA9BjiphVawmSTfA2AsiSNY/s1600/2014-02-13-image-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcRHhfQG-H6ECQx6WBUnzj2jhiEoMxsEKE_qkQyLn2oXpqtHMHeuyOQJvY-Czg_uWAmP-CpJ6b469uaAIo8aUXH3R0OWQRRNn4ntv3dFWdqsbG_lkSwksdA9BjiphVawmSTfA2AsiSNY/s1600/2014-02-13-image-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft promises to fix Skype chat syncing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />

Microsoft transitioned from peer-to-peer networks to cloud-powered 
servers to power the service but unfortunately, Skype’s infrastructure 
wasn’t<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/02/skype-61432104-full-version-offline.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/02/skype-61432104-full-version-offline.html" target="_blank">adapted</a> quickly enough to handle the influx of mobile users with 
multiple devices which is what caused the issues to begin with.<br />

But now, the sync issues have all been rectified in the latest versions
 of the app for Android, iOS, Windows and Windows Phone. Additionally, 
Microsoft has improved the push notification experience within Skype and
 also baked in some performance enhancements.<br />

As<a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-promises-to-fix-skype-chat.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/02/skype-61432104-full-version-offline.html" target="_blank">outlined</a>
 in a recent blog post on the matter, Microsoft also improved load times
 for the app and for recent conversations. Furthermore, it is now faster
 to return to the app as it runs in the background and battery life is 
also said to be improved.<br />

Looking ahead, the Skype team is planning to <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-promises-to-fix-skype-chat.html" target="_blank">enhance</a> the experience 
even more by limiting notifications to the device you’re actively using.

Microsoft promises to fix Skype chat syncing

It’s been nearly three months in the making but Microsoft is finally delivering on a promise to fix an annoying issue that has plagued Skype users for several months. Frequent Skypers are no doubt familiar with the product’s synching issues. Using the service to chat with friends and family on …

02Mar2014

Microsoft plans for free version of Windows 8.1 for Windows 7 users

<table 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/AVvXsEjdJZfTU_dgyTHxZA12Jgp-asP62Pf5Rcep5JziwRJN3vRfKZXHR5PMVe0BXFIsN6LLkxHBNVpKDCxfaXk6W49hbEK9n81KSXkHeecZKO3xltQ_0ANAiIsQAVxmdTxPvIynioz7jKVL8Sc/s1600/2014-02-28-image-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJZfTU_dgyTHxZA12Jgp-asP62Pf5Rcep5JziwRJN3vRfKZXHR5PMVe0BXFIsN6LLkxHBNVpKDCxfaXk6W49hbEK9n81KSXkHeecZKO3xltQ_0ANAiIsQAVxmdTxPvIynioz7jKVL8Sc/s1600/2014-02-28-image-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft plans for free version of Windows 8.1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
One sure fire way to boost the number of people using your software is 
to give it away for free. That’s the approach Microsoft is reportedly 
taking in creating a new version of their latest OS, tentatively dubbed 
Windows 8.1 with Bing.<br />
<br />

The software will come bundled with select Microsoft apps and services 
according to sources familiar with the company’s plans as reported by <a href="http://askneed.blogspot.com/2014/03/microsoft-plans-for-free-version-of.html" target="_blank">The Verge</a>.
 It will be marketed as a low-cost upgrade option for those currently 
running Windows 7 although a target price point wasn’t mentioned. The 
Redmond-based company may license the software to PC makers for devices 
in the sub-$250 price range.<br />
<br />

In addition to growing its Windows 8.1 user base, Microsoft is also 
hoping the experimental initiative (and others like it) will help 
monetize their cloud services and apps like Bing, OneDrive and Xbox 
Music. But perhaps the real reason that Microsoft is looking into a 
freebie version of Windows is to combat the growing threat of 
Chromebooks and Android.<br />

Another such experiment is the consideration of low-cost or free versions of Windows Phone, we’re told.<br />
<br />

Sources say we can expect to hear more about Windows 8.1 with Bing and 
plans to merge Windows Phone with Windows RT during Microsoft’s annual <a href="http://www.buildwindows.com/" target="_blank">Build conference</a>. That event is scheduled to kick off on April 2 from the Moscone Center in San Francisco and run through April 4.<br />

Microsoft plans for free version of Windows 8.1 for Windows 7 users

Microsoft plans for free version of Windows 8.1 One sure fire way to boost the number of people using your software is to give it away for free. That’s the approach Microsoft is reportedly taking in creating a new version of their latest OS, tentatively dubbed Windows 8.1 with Bing. The softwar…

01Mar2014

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