Windows 8 RTM milestone reached

Last week Microsoft announced the RTM milestone has been reached. This means they've completed the development and testing phase of Windows 8 and is ready to release the code to PC Manufactures for OEM versions (Release To Manufacture). The OS will be available to the public beginning Oct 26th.

If you have Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 you qualify for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99 in specific markets.

More information on the upgrade can be found here.

Microsoft has blogged that there are going to be three versions of Windows 8. This keeps it simple as opposed to previous versions which to say was confusing.


For PCs and tablets powered by x86 and AMD processors (both 32 and 64 bit), there is two editions: Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. For most consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice. It will include all the features above plus an updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support, and language support.

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies. It includes Windows 8 standard features plus features for encryption, desktop virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be only available as an "add on" to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family. This single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors and will help enable new thin and lightweight form factors with impressive battery life. Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

NASA/JPL Mars Curiosity rover landing

(Aside from the typical tech blog entry)
The Mars Curiosity rover landing caught my attention last week and I've been following it closely. Congrats NASA and JPL for the Curiosity Rover Landing on Mars! Just watching it on NASA TV it was a tense few minutes watching for the acknowledged from the rover.

 It had an unusual landing deployment. As the rover was 200ft in altitude the "skycrane" would deploy the rover by tether and lower it for touchdown. The skycrane would then fly away.

 Touchdown :)

Tech News: iPads handed out for Qantas in flight entertainment

If you are ever the one to rake up major flight miles flying to/from Australia on a weekly basis, and your tired of squinting to see the tiny LCD screen in front of you here's some great new for those long endurance boring flights.

Qantas Airlines now offers iPads not only to first class or business, but to all passengers flying the 767's in thier fleets. The rollout of the iPad program started last year with the removal of the in-flight headrest systems.


Why the switch to tablets? It has everything to do with weight. Typically an in flight LCD system weighs 3lbs verses the 1.5lb for the iPad. This is an tremendous amount of wieght reduction that the airlines seek to gain in fuel economy which on a typical 375-seat 767 could see the iPads pay for themselves within years, if not sooner.

American Airlines on the other hand, plans to deploy 6,000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices onboard select flights beginning later this year. The tablets will replace the airline's current personal entertainment device in the First Class premium cabins of the 767's flying transcontinental to and from Europe and South America served with 767-300 aircraft; and transcontinental flights departing from Boston to Los Angeles served with 757 aircraft.

More information can be found over at Engadget

Microsoft reveals Office 15

Yup - you heard it correctly..Office 15.
Years ago I still recall Office 95 with the bland gray borders, the basic Excel formulas, the introduction of "Clippy" in Word. Now Microsoft is taking the Office suite to bold territory...The Cloud

It's the most complete overhaul of the Office products revealing a new web-like look, the ability to start video chats from your email program, add YouTube videos to essays, and share any documents online with Facebook friends.

We live in the cloud era, and Microsoft says that the new Office has been designed accordingly. "We're transitioning Office as a cloud service" said CEO Steve Ballmer, introducing Monday's launch.

"Rather than store documents on your computer, Microsoft's newest edition of Word will store letters, essays and more in the cloud," corporate vice-president Kirk Koenigsbauer said.

Microsoft stated in it's Office Blog that it will make it easy to sign in to upload your documents so you can use the same Microsoft account that you're already using with other Microsoft services, including SkyDrive, Hotmail, XBox, Office.com and soon, Windows 8.  If your business or school is a customer of Office365, you can also use that account to connect to your work world while away from your desk.

This brings to mind of the battlefield between Microsoft and Google. Google as you know already has Google Docs where you can upload documents, presentations, spreadsheets and share & collaborate these with coworkers.

Office 15 users will also let users share documents to Facebook or as a blog post from a pop-up menu, and other programs including Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel will feature low-profile menus that only expand when selected, making the programs look more like web pages.

The verdict is still out though. Even as Ballmer claims that Office 15 "is the biggest and most ambitious release in our history", the true test is how well the Office platform ties in with Microsoft's cloud servers.

It's a brand new redesigned look from the ground up and configured with the Metro Windows 8 touch interface in mind. It will take time though as using any office products from a tablet is still awkward for me, but using the platform on a PC, I'd say Microsoft has a powerful suite.

Tech News: UK High Court rejects Apples claims against Samsung

The case is part of a bitter, worldwide intellectual war between Apple and Samsung, and the High Court in the UK has determined that, even though the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is "not as cool" as the iPad, the court saw in favor of Samsung.


“They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,” Judge Colin Birss QC said. 








“From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back,” the judgment said.

This comes as a relief for Samsung which last month Apple files an preliminary injunction in a San Jose court. On 26 June 2012, Apple was granted a request for a preliminary injunction against the sale of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in United States by District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

This in effect prevents the sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the U.S until July 30th. That's when the CEO's of both companies will appear in court. The sales ban takes effect after Apple has paid a $2.6 million bond to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong.

The UK High Court judgement can be read here.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html