Dell XPS 15 (2016) Blazes Ahead With Latest Intel Quad-Core (Mini-Review)

Dell XPS 15 (2016): For a quad Core i7-based powerhouse, it’s thin and has decent battery life.

Put Intel's INTC +1.54% latest quad-core silicon in a thin package with an 8-million pixel display and you’re on the cutting edge of laptop design — which, by the way, is a nice place to be.

What follows is a brief first-take on performance and battery (with a more in-depth review to come later).

After spending some time with the new Dell XPS 15 I can see why speed seduces. Combine high-performance with a 15.6-inch Ultra HD display and it can be addictive. But here’s the clincher for me: Dell manages to squeeze all of the above into a 0.66-inch thick (at its thickest point) chassis with respectable battery life. I’m not a gamer, I don’t use Photoshop, and only do things like video encoding on occasion. So, the XPS 15 — which also houses an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics chip if you need it — would seem like overkill for me. But when everything you do executes with buttery smoothness, maybe it is for me after all. 

Apple's Tim Cook calls Microsoft's Surface Book 'diluted' (updated)

On top of announcing an expansion in Ireland, Apple CEO Tim Cook also took some time to weigh in on Microsoft's newest hybrid laptop, the Surface Book. "It's a product that tries too hard to do too much," he said, according to the Irish Independent. "It's trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It's sort of diluted." Ouch. We actually found the Surface Book to be a pretty darn good hybrid laptop in our review. Cook's comments are particularly rich on the heels of the iPad Pro's launch this week, a large tablet with keyboard and stylus accessories that looks like it was inspired byMicrosoft's Surface hybrid tablet. Of course, the big difference is that the iPad Pro is running iOS, not OS X. Cook seems to be taking more issue with Microsoft's attempt to unify desktop and mobile interfaces in a single platform.

Latest Windows 10 Insider build signals release of first update is imminent

Omits watermark identifying build 10586, just as it did last summer in run-up to launch

Microsoft today shipped a new Windows 10 build to its Insider testers, a refresh focused on bug fixes and improvements that contains a clue that signaled the first update for most users since July is imminent.

Thursday's build, labeled 10586, is the successor to version 10565, which Microsoftissued more than three weeks ago.

Build 10586 is a polish on last month's Insider update, and introduces no new features, hinting that it is among the last before Microsoft gives the code the green light for mass distribution.

The Surface Mini is a real tablet that you can't buy

You've heard the rumors: Microsoft axed the launch of a small "Surface Mini" Windows tablet just before the Pro 3 hit stores. Hints of the canceled launch showed up in news articles, Microsoft earnings reports and even the Surface Pro 3's user manual, but now we finally have confirmation that the tablet actually exists -- and it was pretty much ready to ship alongside the Surface Pro 3. So ready that, for a time, Surface VP Panos Panay used one on a daily basis.

"It was like a Moleskine," the Microsoft executive told WIRED recently. "It was awesome." Panay described waking up in the dead of night to jot down notes and write himself emails on the little tablet, painting the picture of a fully realized, ready-to-ship device that simply got the axe. In fact, the Surface Mini was the device he was using when he realized the Surface Book needed to be more than just a laptop. "That's not evolving the category," he said.

Sadly, the Surface Mini seems to be doomed to remain a minor footnote in the history of consumer electronics. Panay says he loved the little tablet, but gave WIRED no indication the project would gain a second life. Still, this marks the first time Microsoft has publicly confirmed a product named the "Surface Mini" exists -- despite not being something you can actually go out and buy.

SOURCE: WIRED, 

Surface Pro 4 review: Yes, it can really replace your laptop

With the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft's surprising hybrid tablet journey finally makes sense. It's as if Microsoft was laser-focused on fixing the issues we had with the Surface Pro 3. We liked that device quite a bit, but its Type Cover was endlessly frustrating, with a sloppy keyboard and wonky trackpad. The new keyboard, on the other hand, is far sturdier and more laptop-like, and its trackpad is no longer a thing of nightmares. It's taken a while, but the Surface Pro 4 shows Microsoft has finally accomplished everything it set out to do when it unveiled its crazy hybrid tablet concept three years ago (which makes the announcement of the Surface Book even more curious). Aside from improving the battery life and bundling in the Type Cover (just do it, already), it's hard to imagine how much better the Surface Pro line can get.

Surface Book review: the ultimate laptop, even if it isn't perfect

For years, Microsoft has been telling us that the future of PCs was actually the tablet. The Surface Pro in particular is powerful enough that it could truly keep pace with your laptop, and Microsoft hasn't been shy about comparing it to the MacBook Air. The message seemed clear: The Surface Pro was like a notebook, only better.

Microsoft antagonizes users with intrusive new Windows 10 upgrade tactics

Says one approach was 'a mistake' even as users struggle to stop the OS from installing

Microsoft has gone aggressive -- far too aggressive, say some -- in its push to get users onto Windows 10, including setting the upgrade to automatically download through Windows Update, and on some PCs, blocking all other updates from installing and offering only the choice of upgrading to the new OS or delaying the deal for 48 hours.

Perhaps coincidentally, the latest stratagems coincided with a noticeable increase in Windows 10'susage share, a measure of an operating system's online activity, as tracked by Irish analytics vendor StatCounter.

Microsoft's 1TB Surface Book will cost you a hefty $3,199

Microsoft talked about the Surface Book having up to a 1TB solid-state drive when it announced the laptop/tablet hybrid, but you couldn't actually buy it on launch -- 512GB was as good as it got. Well, that extra-capacious model is now available for pre-order... and to no one's surprise, it won't come cheap. This ultimate configuration (which also includes a Core i7, 16GB of RAM and dedicated graphics) will cost you an eye-watering $3,199, which makes the $2,699 512GB model suddenly seem like a bargain. Not that there's a rush to buy the 1TB version right away. This and most other Surface Book models won't ship for another 7 to 8 weeks thanks to brisk demand, so you might as well think it over before you drain your bank account.

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Microsoft's next OS is Windows 10, will ship later in 2015

Instead of announcing the next version of its iconic operating system in front of a massive crowd of thousands, Microsoft chose an intimate venue with 50 or so reporters to launch the new Windows, which it's calling Windows 10. The company looks at the new number (yes, it skipped a number) as an indication of the direction it's taking with the OS; Microsoft says it'll be "the most comprehensive platform ever," featuring a full range of products that'll be placed under the Windows 10 umbrella as part of "one tailored experience." That means it will support everything from the "Internet of Things" to enterprise servers. Microsoft's Joe Belfiore showed off an early beta version of the new Windows on stage, which looks very much like the leaked screenshots we saw not too long ago; Belfiore says that they wanted to bring the familiarity of Windows 7 and combine it with the functionality of Windows 8.

Microsoft chooses cloud and enterprise head Satya Nadella as third CEO

Microsoft has officially named Steve Ballmer's successor: Satya Nadella. Now the third CEO in the company's history, he most recently has led Redmond's efforts in the cloud and enterprise space. With 22 years at the company, Nadella is certainly not the outsider many predicted would take over the role. But the board, including co-founder Bill Gates himself, believe that he's just the man to lead Microsoft into the future. His success in pushing the platform-agnostic Office 365, in addition to both consumer-facing and enterprise cloud solutions, bodes well for a company who has seen its bread-and-butter products of Windows and Office struggle in the post PC world.

Windows 8.1's first major update leaks online: improved Store app integration, time-saving tweaks

Microsoft's incoming Windows 8.1 update might not make any grandiose changes, but it looks as if it will offer some appreciated navigation and start-up improvements. A new build with an unreleased upgrade in tow, has leaked online, offering risky types the chance to try it several weeks before its official release. As teased last month, the update will let you pin your Windows Store apps alongside other programs on your desktop start bar. It sounds like a timesaving improvement, as before you'd have to labor through the Start screen to launch those aforementioned apps. Windows 8-styled apps also pick up a new bar with close, minimize and snap options available to click on, forgoing those keyboard shortcuts. Live Tiles now have contextual menus available with a right click, making them easier to resize, move (or remove). A new shutdown button, as leaked justlast week, also throws up a new drop-down menu for restarting, shutting down and sleep mode. This experimental build is apparently a three-week old one -- the real deal is expected to arrive next month.

Don't even bother trying to upgrade to Windows RT 8.1 today

If you're one of the few people who own a Windows RT tablet (don't all raise your hands at once, now), you just got a chunk of your Saturday back. Citing a "situation affecting a limited number of users updating their Windows RT devices to Windows RT 8.1," Microsoft has pulled the upgrade from the Windows Store. The company hasn't supplied an explanation, though various sources cite boot configuration issues that can cause the update to fail. Microsoft says it is "working to resolve the situation as quickly" and "will provide updates as they become available."

Windows 8.1 Start button makes cameo in Server 2012 R2 Preview

It's back! Yes, what you're looking at above is the Start button (plus matching options) that's been rumored to return with Windows 8.1 (formerly "Blue"). Yesterday .NET developer Robert McLaws tweeted a series of screenshots of Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview (build 9431) which show the new Start button and a revised "Taskbar and Navigation properties" dialog -- among other things. Microsoft faced massive criticism last year after shipping Windows 8 without the Start button -- prompting third parties to create replacements (like Start8 and Classic Shell) -- so this is a welcome change. Stay tuned for Build 2013 (the company's developer conference) which starts Wednesday in San Francisco -- we're likely to find out more about Windows 8.1 and the Start button in short order

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Virtual Networks in Windows 2012 and Azure VMs

Today's Foundational Building Blocks for a Microsoft-based Private and Public Cloud Environment

This article addresses a key function built-in to Windows 2012 that on first blush may seem like a complex technical networking feature, but that functionality has GREAT implications when extending your on-premise Windows to the cloud (like Azure VMs).  You don't recognize the value of Virtual Networking in Windows 2012 utnil you truly start to see where the functionality is CORE to an organization that in a few years (or sooner) have servers on-premise as well as in the cloud.  Given the direction of most organizations networks, that is basically ALL organizations in a very short period of time.  AND, this functionality built in to Windows completely changes the competitive advantage Microsoft has when it comes to having servers both on-premise as well as in the cloud.

So here’s the deal…  With Windows 2012, Microsoft included a thing called “Network Virtualization” that basically allows you to create a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) without having to buy VLAN hardware, setup complicated appliances, use a 3rd party product (ie: Cisco, Brocade, etc) to create these virtual networks.  The benefit of VLANs is to isolate traffic, so if you have your finance department that wants to be the ONLY ones to access a finance server / application, you can create a VLAN between finance users and the VM/app!  This becomes important when virtual servers are in play because if you have say 10 virtual guest sessions running on a single host server, and 12 VMs on another server, and say 8 on a third server, but a VM on each “host” should be “grouped together” so the finance department can access the 3 VMs without anyone else in the org accessing those servers, you would create a VLAN between the finance users and the VMs on each host server, makes sense…

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango review

Let's face it: Windows Phone, as we know it, has an enormous amount of potential, but it's a first-generation operating system. For the first eleven months of its existence, it's lacked many of the common features we've come to enjoy (and take for granted) on Android and iOS, but then again, even those platforms have taken their turn getting the major wrinkles ironed out. So it comes as no surprise that Microsoft's mobile darling -- the innovative rebirth of a weak and faltering Windows Mobile platform that was quickly falling into obscurity -- would need to go through a similar process.

Microsoft patents modular Windows Phone with swappable batteries, keyboard, and gamepad

We've seen slider phones with speakers, gamepads, and of course, the standard keypad -- but what if you want to swap out your slider accessory for something new? A new patent from Microsoft is exploring the possibility, showing off a concept smartphone with a sliding modular bay. Tired of that keyboard? Replace it with a gamepad, or a life-giving battery pack. According to the patent claims, some of the modular components would even function wirelessly, citing a touchscreen module which doubles as a wireless handset or a media remote. Neat? You bet, but we wouldn't get our hopes up -- Microsoft typically keeps out of the handset manufacturing game, and the last modular phone to pique our interest didn't exactly make a splash.

Windows 8 ditches '80s BIOS boot for streamline UEFI

Every time we reboot our computers, that scrolling code takes us right back to the days of War Gamesand Tab. Bringing us into the 21st century, Microsoft has decided to ditch the old boot by beautifying the whole experience with a graphical menu. Windows 8 will replace the standard fugly BIOS system with a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) -- giving users a high resolution logo and a graphical menu to gaze upon while powering up their PC. Besides just looking better, the menu lets you boot to a different disc, OS or USB drive using pretty pictures and words as prompts. If you're into a little self-inflicted eye torture, you can always pull up the command prompt menu from nightmares past. Check out the throwback video tribute to the computers of yesteryear after the break. 

AT&T announces Mango lineup: new phones and updates coming this fal

In the first of what we expect to be many announcements related to Windows Phone Mango devices, AT&T stepped up to the plate this morning by unveiling three new handsets that use the latest version of Microsoft's OS: the HTC Titan, Samsung Focus S and Focus Flash. We already know quite a bit about the Titan, but details on Sammy's selections are slim for now -- images aren't even available for either phone, though it's likely we've seen at least one of them before. In addition, the carrier's also planning to update its entire existing lineup with Windows Phone 7.5.

The Focus S will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.4GHz CPU, 4G speeds (we're assuming HSPA+ at this point in the game) and an 8 megapixel rear camera accompanying a 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam for video chat. Also bearing Mango is the Samsung Focus Flash, considered the lower-end offering by Sammy, still brandishes a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen -- no Plus involved on this one -- as well as a 1.4GHz CPU and 5 megapixel rear shooter along with a front-facing camera that for now has no specified resolution. Each of the phones are expected to arrive in the fourth quarter, and the existing lineup should be on the receiving end of the update sometime "this fall."

Windows 8 to feature drastically reduced boot time, shown off in video

Watch the above video closely, because you might just miss the moment: according to the latest post on MSDN's Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft's next-gen desktop OS will see a hugely improved boot time thanks to a clever technique. Rather than closing both the user session and the kernel session like in a traditional shutdown, Windows 8 will preserve the kernel session on the disk, thus creating a "hiberfile" that's much smaller than that of the usual Windows hibernation -- see the diagram after the break for a clearer idea. The result? An amazingly fast system bootup -- even with the battery removed to begin with -- that claims to be 30 to 70 percent faster than most systems tested by Microsoft. We're itching to test this feature on an SSD ourselves, but until then, you can head over to MSDN's blog for the full technical explanation.

Fujitsu LOOX F-07C review

For those who've been dwelling on this planet long enough, you might just remember a category of mobile computers by the name of UMPCs. In particular, think Sony's VAIO UX, the OQO devices and the elusive xpPhone. Alas, those Windows devices were -- and probably still are -- well ahead of their time no thanks to their battery life, bulkiness and sometimes cost; though for some bizarre reason, Fujitsu begs to differ. In fact, said company took one step further and released a hybrid device in Japan: the LOOX F-07C, a QWERTY slider phone that can switch between Symbian and Windows 7 at a click of a button. Interesting combination, right? Read on to find out how this weird device fares in real life.