Windows 8.1 Spring update reportedly signed off to RTM

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-81-spring-update-reportedly-signed-off-to-rtm

8 Monitors on Windows 8.1 with USB 3.0

I've only used their (Pluggable's) USB to serial adapter for connecting to Cisco console ports but that worked flawlessly.

This also looks promising:



Now I just need 8 thin bezel monitors all lines up vertically... mwhahaha

Samsung to unveil the S5 in January?

So Samsung, although selling well with the S4 has supposed not met internal sales targets. This could mean an early revision for the next release. To loosely tie that in with other rumours, could we see it dual booting with Windows Phone 8! 

I was very tempted by the Ativ S... a 5S with windows phone could be a real crowd pleaser... 

http://www.t3.com/news/samsung-to-unveil-the-s5-in-january

Rumor: Microsoft working on "Cortana" personal assistant

I hope so. Windows 8 voice control is shocking.

http://www.neowin.net/news/rumor-microsoft-working-on-cortana-personal-assistant

Suggestion / ramble for Nokia & Microsoft

So Microsoft and Nokia have jumped into bed together. Its been a while coming but with Mr Elop being an ex-MS employee it was set in the stars. 

There is hope but it's still a fledgling platform in comparison to Android and iOS. The market share is growing but slowly.

Nokia have really carried the Windows Phone platform forward but I go get the feeling that HTC, Samsung and maybe even Dell seemed like they were left for dead a bit which is a shame. (I really liked how thin the HTX 8X was and the Ativ S really did no bad in my eyes either). i hope they continue with the OS and models. 

The platform has hardware restrictions... Thats a good thing in many respects. I means less variation which means more targeted software which in theory should mean less development time and better quality. 

Nokia have a  few headline features in their 41 megapixel camera and design. The iPhone 5c has clearly given a nod to the Lumia range. I think the ecosystem needs to keep current with hardware changes though against the competition. quad-cores, resolutions, AV format support are major features lacking here. 

Now here comes the kicker(s), they've struggled for developer support in a lot of areas. Namely Instagram being one of the biggies. At the moment the platform has some great alternatives but the average customer doesn't want or go exploring for alternative services that use the service they want via another app. 

So what can be done? Well MS and Nokia seem to like developing and maintaining apps for others (The Facebook app was an example of this). Thats good as it gives some assurance but surely getting a bigger market share will temp devs over when there is more to gain. 

Nokia are somewhat going in the right direction with their decently specced lower end devices targeting the younger, growing population. They have product placement in programs like HollyOaks and various others. I think this has been their main area of growth for the platform. Especially with the recent financial climate.

Then comes the release date: 25th September (UK)... The iPhone 5c and 5s come out on the 20th September. Thats going to gut Nokia's straight away... Next up... Specifications... generally more is better in peoples eyes... Stick a bloody quad-core chip in your phone, make it 64-bit... If not, make it a damn sight cheaper! 

Next, your competitors sell ecosystems..They combine into an experience but they all fair pretty well as stand alone separates. Now you may have seen on this blog that i'm a recent fan of the Xbox music service. In does well as a stand alone product on various platform and I like it because its like Spotify without the clutter. Push the ecosystem! Here maps is actually quite nice to use but I always think of google maps first when i go to type on my keyboard. 

Raise awareness of the product links as well as how well they work separately. I.e. I'll stick with your music service if I can still use it and change my phone! 

Next the bundles! Below is one you really need to get operators to subsidise and make. It'd be awesome. Hell, shove this on Vodafone in the UK with their 4G and Spotify deal and make a big deal of the headphones and that'd win a few customers. The camera is great but the specs sheet is lacking, you have a fight on your hands this time a round Nokia. Not sure your good looking but fat top ender will handle it without a helping hand. 

Also whats with the bloody red version being missing! That was the best one!   

I should point out I had a Lumia 920, I wanted to love it. It didn't love me. Dust kept getting in the earpiece and breaking the sensor so I couldn't get the screen back on during a call as the phone thought my ear was still pressed to the phone...I gave up after the 4th handset replacement and sold it. Also the OS need a bloody rotation lock! I now use a Samsung S4, it's not great and doesn't look as nice but it's big, thin and has swift key which I absolutely love! I do miss the Xbox live achievement games though! 

Microsoft explains 3D printing standards in Windows 8.1

Microsoft is pushing its own 3D data format (3MF) in Windows 8.1 that addresses the current's (STL) shortcomings -- most notably its lack of support for different colors and materials.



http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/extremewindows/archive/2013/08/22/3d-printing-support-in-windows-8-1-explained.aspx

Former Valve business head now at Microsoft to lead PC gaming division

 Lets hope he gets the support he needs. Microsoft have never really been good at pushing the PC as a serious gaming platform (apart from all their work on DirectX). Its weird as this is where some of the biggests RTS's and MMO's are and generally the platform pushes graphics forwards in the later years of the console markets life-cycles.

http://www.neowin.net/news/former-valve-business-head-now-at-microsoft-to-lead-pc-gaming-division

Windows Phone update in testing, includes rotation lock and text syncing to PCs

About time for the rotation lock. That was so annoying I gave up on the platform. What a pain trying to check your emails in bed when you woke up.

Also I welcome the feature that we had BACK ON WINDOWS MOBILE CE, which was to be able to send SMS from a PC. It'd be better if we could have it emulate the display like we used to. (With the MobileMe app (program as they were known back then)).

If it gets swype / Swift key then I might even go back to the platform, dodging Nokia unless they have a think high spec model that doesn't fall over at the sight of a bit of dust.

I tried to love the platform.... see historic posts. It just didn't love me... 

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/9/4604990/windows-phone-update-rotation-lock-text-sync-features

Nokia blames Microsoft for poor Windows Phone app selection- The Inquirer

Good to see someone trying to give them a kick up the ass. I'm not going back until there is a decent rotation lock and the high end Nokia phones don't kamikaze them selves at the sight of a bit of dust near the ear piece.  

Nokia blames Microsoft for poor Windows Phone app selection- The Inquirer

Samsung ATIV Q

This looks nice! Android and Win 8 as dual OS's on the device although the android part is emulated. http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativq.html

Windows 8 core apps get an update.

Like most new OS's from MS. It looks to be coming together as we move towards the first large service pack. (8.1)

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-core-apps-updated

Usb to serial adapter

If you need a cheap USB to serial adapter then look no further. I went through a few eBay ones but it looks like a lot use knockoff chipsets and I found issues when using OSX and Windows 7 with them. Plugable are recommended by the chipset manufacturer and only use genuine chipsets. They are also cheap and I have tested them working on OSX and Windows 8!

For a full product break down and drivers see:
http://plugable.com/products/pl2303-db9

Please use my affiliate link below if purchasing to help me cover domain renewal costs if you found this helpful. Thanks!

Nokia Lumia 520 and 720 UK prices tip up- The Inquirer

Windows Phone 8 for £169.99 sim free. Thats better Nokia. It's ALL about market penetration right now!

Nokia Lumia 520 and 720 UK prices tip up- The Inquirer

CES 2013: Panasonic reveals 20-inch, 4K resolution Windows 8 tablet

Look out Wacom. A few manufactures are playing your tune!

Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/panasonic-reveals-20-inch-4k-resolution-windows-8-tablet/

Wordament on iOS with XBOX achievements!

A great game thats been exclusive to MS products for a while, but is now heading over to iOS. The big deal is that it'll be the first game to include xbox live achievements on a non microsoft system.

MS are still trying to encourage users to go with a MS ecosystem as the game will only have 50 points  as opposed to the 200 on Windows phone 8 & Windows 8

http://www.wpcentral.com/wordament-heads-ios-achievements-and-what-means-windows-phone

Windows phone 8 Lumia owners get mirrors edge free!

As the title suggests. This game now appears to be free when you go to the product page although in the listings amongst other apps it still shows the price. Nokia Lumia owners only.

Source: http://www.wpcentral.com/mirrors-edge-gets-update-free-lumia-owners

I've bought a Lumia 920 Red

OK so I got it and its pretty awesome!

There are a few apps which need to be ported from windows phone 7 such as  The harvest and Endomondo sports tracker which I miss but apart from that most stuff is there!

Virgin (on the T mobile network in the UK) gave me a bit of trouble as their sim only rolling contracts don't have micro-sims yet so I had to get creative with a pair of scissors. It all turned out fine.

Virign Mobiles customer services could do with a bit of improving compared to Tesco mobile though. They had a system crash the first time I called which wasn't a good impression for someone porting in. Luckily the port went fine.

The only thing I haven't figured out yet is the NFC payments. I think this is more down to my card than the phone.

Here is a review: http://www.wpcentral.com/nokia-lumia-920-review

Windows 8 and Avast won't play nice.

So so I really like Window 8. I started by trying an upgrade of my windows 7 install but was marred by blue screens of death. Not fun.... So I though it would be best to do a clean install (I wanted to anyway, I was just being lazy) but the BSODs continued....

ndis.sys and aswnet.sys were the culprits... This problem proved to be my Avast security suite... One uninstall and hey presto the system was fully functional again.

Avast say that program version 7.0.1473
 (announcement: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=107531.0 ) is fully compatible but it looks like a fair few people are seeing the same issue:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=107811.0

I think I'll wait for a few more updates before installing it again. Overall I'm really liking the UI of windows 8. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you realise you can just start typing from the start screen to search for what you want its dead quick to navigate!

Windows 8 retail box pictures.

Some pictures of the retail packaging. It's surprising small! 

Windows, reimagined: A review of Windows 8, Ars

I've got my retail copy in the post. Been using the release candidate and at first I didn't like it but its started to grow on me.

I think this would be perfect with a Dell S2340T touch screen LCD in front of you and then a larger LCD just behind slightly raised!

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/10/windows-reimagined-a-review-of-windows-8/