If you like using our Windows Central app for Windows 8.1, you will want to head to the Store to grab the latest update.

Version 1.3.1 is now out, and it finally addresses the formatting issues with articles. Specifically, if you noticed odd text and code in the middle of the story, that should now be fixed.

InstaBlender is marketed as a simplistic and creative Windows Phone app for combining images with different blend modes. The photography app has fifteen blend filters, a photo editor powered by the Nokia Imaging SDK and support for sharing your images on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other photo sharing networks.

InstaBlender normally runs $.99 and for the next twenty-four hours you can pick the app up for free through the myAppFree campaign.

Google has released a new tool for developers, Play Games Player Analytics, which will give more information about how people are playing the game.

Play Games Player Analytics, the latest development tool from Google, will allow game developers to better understand in-game player behavior as well as manage your games business. Google understands that analytics are a key part to any business, including running a game as a service.

Microsoft took us by surprise somewhat with the announcement of the new Surface 3, a ‘slimmed down’ alternative to the current Surface Pro 3. It’s smaller and less powerful while also being less expensive and offering the same overall experience as the Surface Pro 3. It’s got that 3:2 form factor, digital pen support and a whole range of great accessories to turn it into the tablet to replace your laptop.

There’s a lot to take in and a lot more still to come. Fortunately we’ve rounded up everything you need to know in one handy place. So bookmark the link below for absolutely everything about the Surface 3.

• Everything you need to know about the Surface 3

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environmental Initiatives and former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, talked about Apple’s environmental impact at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference.

Jackson, who joined Apple in 2013, talked about Apple’s efforts in renewable energy, as well as the impact of their products on the environment. She spoke about Apple serving as an example to lawmakers about sustainability in business, according to The Wall Street Journal:

But I do think Apple owes something back and that is to bring the innovation that goes into our products and technology to this field of clean energy or resource efficiency. And I do believe that when the private sector figures out how to do it, it makes it so much easier for policy makers in Washington to say, “OK. Now we see a real example that a company can make money and return lots of money to investors, but still be on the right side of sustainability.”

Apple has moved forward aggressively into using renewable, environmentally-friendly energy sources at its data centers and other company facilities. The company is also investing $850 million in a new solar farm in California, which will power all of their upcoming Campus 2 facility.

You can watch the video from Jackson’s interview that the ECO:nomics conference below.

http://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/iframe.html?guid=535E9EEF-7210-470F-9E36-81274BF25BC4

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Microsoft’s leader of its Surface team, Panos Panay, stated in a new interview that the company’s early attempts to keep the tablet a secret from competitors hurt the product at first. However, feedback from customers has resulted in improvements being put into the current Surface models.

If you are like us, joining the millions with a ‘connected’ home, then Nest is likely on your list of devices. Nest is a smart thermostat that not only learns your heating and cooling patterns to predict changes, but lets you remotely check in and alter your home’s temperature from a PC or phone.

Previously, developer Rohit Rajendran had an app named Nestle on Windows Phone. The app was a Nest app, but due to user limits with Nest’s API and naming issues (Nestle was awfully close to Nest), the app was pulled down. The good news is Cozy is an all new app from the developer of Nestle, and it is entirely rebuilt.

Microsoft has gone into more detail today about a nasty bug affecting machine virtualization in the recently-released Windows 10 build 10049.

Windows 10 build 10049 was released just yesterday, but it was recommended that those running virtual machines hold off on updating due to a bug with virtualization software Hyper-V.

The best text editors for Chrome

Your Chromebook is more than a browser. Chrome is a complete application platform, and crafty developers have built out the Chrome Store with apps that fill just about every requirement a modern laptop needs — including text editors.

I write for a living. Anything from thousands of words to review a smartphone or tablet, or a smattering of code for a small project, or just a list of things I don’t want to forget. I write a large portion of it all on my Chromebook. I’ve tried most every app for writing things down in the Chrome Store, and keep coming back to a few different apps that are the best at what they do.

Have a look, give them a try and tell us what you think.

Over 275 million people use Foxit Reader (foxitsoftware.com) as their PDF reader on their computers. If you’re a Windows Phone user, you can now install the company’s MobilePDF Reader on your phone. It has been released as a Universal Windows app, so you can also install it on your Windows tablet. It’s quick and dependable. Want to see it in action? Check out our hands-on video.