Cyanogen reportedly planning “deep Cortana integration” for Cyanogen OS
Back in April we first learned of Microsoft and Cyanogen’s new “strategic partnership”, which would see the inclusion of select apps like Bing, Skype, Office, and a few others. This only applied to the commercial Cyanogen OS and not CyanogenMod ROMs, though the announcement still was met with with mixed reception. Now it looks like Cyanogen and Microsoft are getting ready to expand that relationship, this time by baking in Cortana integration into Cyanogen OS.
In an interview with International Business Times, the notorious Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster revealed that Microsoft and Cyanogen are working to bring Microsoft’s digital assistant over to the OS but in a way that goes much deeper than the current Cortana Android app.
Natural language coupled with intelligence is very important but as an application it doesn’t really work because you need to be embedded into the framework of the OS because that is where you get all the signal from the services that makes that intelligence smarter.
The idea is that Cortana could be used to do a lot more than just an app can accomplish, baking it into the UI’s controls, allowing it to be used in apps, and the list goes on. Not a lot more than that is known just yet, though supposedly we can expect to see the first fruits of this integration in the next major version of Cyanogen OS.
Cyanogen has made it clear on more than one occasion that, despite being built on the Android backbone, the company has big plans for the OS and hopes to separate its association with Google, at least to some degree. For now, though, Cyanogen continues to be pretty stock-like in many ways and utilizes Google services like the Play Store. McMaster envisions a time when this won’t be the case, though most of us doubt that Cyanogen could every really stand on its own.
What do you think of the idea of deeper Cortana integration with Cyanogen OS?
Microsoft puts Windows 10 installer on PCs even if you don’t ask for it
Taking the idea of “automatic updates” to the extreme, Microsoft has confirmed that it’s downloading Windows 10 installation files on PCs just in case you might want to upgrade, The Inquirer reports. As a Microsoft rep tells it, the company is placing the files on computers that have opted into automatic updates through Windows Update. Normally that just entails getting a few security fixes every few weeks, but the Windows 10 installer can take up around 3.5GB and 6GB on your system. That’s a lot of precious hard drive space for something you might not even want (though it’s definitely worth upgrading). Microsoft probably figures it’s worth preloading files to make the Windows 10 installation faster, but it seems like a boneheaded move when storage is scarce on some machines (especially if you’re stuck with flash memory or a small SSD). It makes more sense for Microsoft only to preload the files after you’ve decided to “reserve” the free upgrade.
Basically, it seems like Microsoft is just a bit over-eager to juice Windows 10 installation figures. It already announced that the new OS reached 75 million PCs after just one month, but Microsoft said earlier this year that it hopes to bring it to a billion PCs within a few years. But rather than forcing Windows 10 on people, Microsoft would likely be better off just extending its free upgrade offer for existing Windows 7 and 8 years beyond one year.
If you’re on automatic updates and don’t want Windows 10 at all, you can delete the installation files (located in the hidden $Windows.BT folder) by following these instructions from Addictive Tips.
[Photo credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under:
Software, Microsoft
Via:
Ars Technica
Source:
The Inquirer
Tags: microsoft, Windows10
November’s Xbox One update boosts speed and social
Microsoft has revealed new details on the major update coming to Xbox One this November. The tile-based Xbone dashboard that we’ve grown accustomed to since the days of the 360 will be replaced with a sleeker and faster UI based on Windows 10 and geared heavily towards social interactions. The company initially revealed the update back at E3 in August. The new dashboard will reportedly “get you to popular gaming features up to 50 percent faster,” according to a recent post by Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management for Xbox.
The high points of the update will include backwards compatibility for 100 Xbox 360 games with the ability to enter multiplayer games with folks still on the 360 (though we already knew that). Additionally, the Home screen and Guide have been revamped to enable players to jump into games and parties without waiting (though we already knew that too). What’s more, the Community section will be rejiggered to allow users to see what their friends are up to through the redesigned Activity Feed (again, nothing new here). What you may not have already heard about is the Xbox’s new OneGuide which lists trending live TV shows and now includes picture-in-picture. The Store has also been re-optimized to help you spend money faster with clear and concise categories as well as a new vertical gallery view.
Filed under:
Gaming, Microsoft
Source:
Xbox Wire
Tags: E3, microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Windows 10, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, XboxOne
Microsoft is closing its Xbox Live Indie Games program
After nine years, Microsoft has decided to call time on its Xbox Live Indie Games service. In an email to developers, the company says it has begun “the sunsetting process” for the program, which encourages anyone without a studio or dedicated business to create games for the Xbox 360, by locking down new signups ahead of a late-2017 shutdown. What does that mean for you? Well, developers have been told they have exactly a year to get their games ready for publishing. You’ll then get an extra year after that to enjoy their projects (as well as the ones already published), before the indie store is closed forever. You will still be able to download and play the games you’ve bought in the past, though.
When Microsoft introduced the Xbox One and it didn’t feature the Indie Games channel, the Xbox Live Indie Games’ fate was effectively sealed. Xbox One developers are encouraged to sign up for the ID@Xbox program instead, which allows them to work directly with Microsoft to publish new titles to the console. While the Xbox 360 is now considered an old console, 84 million of them have been sold since 2005 and will still be present in living rooms and kids’ bedrooms all over the world. Gamers can maybe find solace in the fact that the majority of blockbuster games for the platform will now cost a lot less.
Filed under:
Gaming, Microsoft
Via:
Gamasutra
Source:
Xbox Forums
Tags: microsoft, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox Live Indie Games. indie, xbox360
Office 2016 starts rolling out on September 22
Microsoft’s next major Office update is now only a few weeks away: the software giant just announced that it will start rolling out Office 2016 starting on September 22. While it’s not nearly as exciting as new hardware, it’s still a significant release for Microsoft. It’ll be the first version of Office built specifically for Windows 10, and it also brings in some long-awaited features like real-time co-authoring and the addition of OneDrive attachments in Outlook. It also comes a few months after we saw the release of Office 2016 for Macs. You can still get a taste for Office 2016 on PCs today with the Public Preview, and it looks like you’ll be able to easily upgrade to the final versions of those apps once they’re available.
Filed under:
Software, Microsoft
Tags: microsoft, Office2016
Baidu unveils a voice-activated, AI-based smartphone assistant
Chinese tech company Baidu announced at its Baidu World conference on Tuesday that it is launching a voice-activated assistant for its Android-based smartphones. The program is called “Duer”, which roughly translates into “Du Secretary”, is expected to directly compete with Siri, Cortana and Google Now. Initially, the app will allow users to perform tasks like ordering food as well as controlling smart devices around the home and accessing other on-demand services (ride hailing, designated driver services, or housekeeping) via voice command. Eventually, the company plans to integrate Duer into its other apps, like Maps, and potentially even into the self-driving BMW that the company is rumored to be working on.
[Image Credit: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images]
Filed under:
Internet, Apple, Microsoft, Google
Via:
The Guardian
Source:
China Daily
Tags: AI, apple, Baidu, BMW, Duer, google, Google Now, microsoft, search, Siri, voice-activated
Microsoft to launch major Office updates for iOS 9, iPad Pro and Watch
Microsoft’s giving its Office apps for Apple’s devices a huge boost, enabling it to take better advantage of iOS 9’s, WatchOS 2’s and the iPad Pro’s new features and capabilities. To start with, the company’s making it easier to multitask on the iPad — especially on the upcoming supersized Pro tablet — once the latest iOS version drops. You can slide over to a second screen to access another app, use two Office apps at the same time side-by-side and even edit a Word, an Excel or a PowerPoint file attached to an email while it’s open on Outlook via split screen.
If you frequently give presentations at work or school, you can also use PowerPoint’s Presenter View. It enables you to show only slides on a big screen even if you have a OneNote file with your talking points open on the side. As we mentioned on our iPad Pro preview, one of the suite’s sweetest updates is its “inking” feature, which adds new writing tools to the apps. You’ll be able to use those tools to write on your digital Office files as if they’ve been printed out and even highlight text on documents using the new Apple stylus called “Pencil.”
Apple Watch users aren’t getting left out, either: Outlook will start showing details about your next appointment and new email on the wearable when Watch OS 2 becomes available. Plus, you can Time Travel to future calendar entries using the the digital crown. Finally, the Microsoft Translator app for the device introduced in August will be able to replay a pinned translation through the Watch’s speakers. Hopefully, that means you don’t have to keep looking up how to ask where the toilet is while traveling overseas.
Filed under:
Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Microsoft
Source:
Microsoft
Tags: apple, ios9, ipadpro, microsoft, mobilepostcross
A comic predicted Apple’s iPad Pro keyboard 3 years ago
Humor writers are inadvertently prophetic at times — just ask The Onion, whose joke about five-bladed razors was all too prescient. And apparently, that translates to the world of tech-themed comics. Hijinks Ensue and Sharksplode creator Joel Watson drew a comic in 2012 that predicted the iPad would get a Microsoft Surface-like keyboard cover in 2015… which it did, in the form of the iPad Pro’s matching Smart Keyboard. The only real gaffe was imagining that the iPad keyboard would show up at WWDC, not a special event later in the year.
As Watson himself suggested at the time, this wasn’t really a lucky guess so much as a logical deduction based on Apple’s ages-old business strategy. It’s rarely the first in a category, but it has a knack for refining and popularizing concepts that had trouble getting off the ground before. Witness what happened with tablets, in case you need proof. Microsoft spent 9 years trying to spark demand for Windows-based Tablet PCs, only to watch the iPad take over seemingly overnight — in fact, the Surface line was a reaction to the hype surrounding the iPad. The Smart Keyboard may be far from original, but the only shocking thing about it is that some were shocked by it in the first place.
Filed under:
Peripherals, Tablets, Apple, Microsoft
Source:
Hijinks Ensue
Tags: apple, comic, ipadpro, keyboard, microsoft, smartkeyboard, surface, tablet
The iPad Pro vs. the competition: Super-size your tablet
Last year Apple embraced the mantra that “bigger is better” for the iPhone. Now it’s done the same with the iPad line, in the form of a larger-screen 12.9-inch tablet. But Apple isn’t the first to make a big tablet, and not even the first to call it “Pro.” How does the iPad Pro compare to other large tablets, like the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and the Surface Pro 3? We’ve lined up the specs side by side so you can decide which one you’d rather hold in your lap while you work.
| iPad Pro | Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 | Surface Pro 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $799, $949, $1,079 | $649 | starts at $799 |
| Thickness | 6.9mm (0.27 inches) | 7.95mm (0.313 inches) | 9.14mm (0.36 inches) |
| Weight | 713 or 723g (1.57 or 1.59 pounds) | 750g (1.65 pounds) | 790g (1.76 pounds) |
| OS | iOS 9 | Android 4.4 | Windows 10 |
| Display | 12.9-inch IPS LCD Retina display | 12.2-inch Crystal Clear LCD | 12-inch ClearType Full HD |
| Resolution | 2,732 x 2,048 (265 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,600 (247 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 ( ppi) |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 16:10 | 3:2 |
| Processor | Apple A9X | 1.9GHz Exynos 5 Octa | Intel i3 / i5 / i7 |
| Memory | NA | 3GB | 4 / 8GB |
| Storage | 32 / 128GB | 32GB | 64 / 128 / 256 / 512 GB |
| Ports | Lightning | microSD, HDMI, MHL, USB 3.0 | microSD, USB 3.0 |
| Front camera | 1.2MP FaceTime, f2.2 | 2MP | 5MP, 1080p |
| Rear camera | 8MP iSight, f/2.4, 1080p video at 30fps | 8MP | 5MP, 1080p |
| Cellular radio | Optional GSM/EDGE CDMA UMTS/HSPA/ HSPA+/DC-HSDPA LTE |
None | None |
| WiFi | Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | v4.2 | v4.0 | v4.0 |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | 10 hours | 9,500mAh | NA |
| Accessories | Smart Keyboard, Apple Pencil | S Pen, S Mouse | Surface Pen, Surface Pro Type Cover |
Filed under:
Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Lenovo
Tags: apple, GalaxyNotePro12.2, iPadPro, iphone2015, lenovo, mobilepostcross, samsung, Yoga2Pro
Space-sim ‘Elite: Dangerous’ comes to Xbox One on October 6th
We’re still not sure when No Man’s Sky is coming to PS4, but in the meantime Xbox One fans have their own slice of space exploration nirvana to look forward to. Elite: Dangerous has been out on PC for some time, and since June it’s also been available to Xbox players as part of the Xbox Game Preview program. Now, creator Frontier Developments has confirmed that the full console version will be launching on October 6th. The game is incredibly immersive, with an enormous galaxy and beautifully designed ships to pilot. The vast, empty nature of space comes with its drawbacks, however — if you’re expecting an endless stream of dogfights and nail-biting supply runs, you might be disappointed. The first in a series of “Horizons” expansions is due on PC this holiday, adding planetary landings, but it’s unclear exactly when it’ll make the lightspeed jump to Xbox One.
Filed under:
Gaming, Microsoft
Source:
Reddit
Tags: elite, elitedangerous, FrontierDevelopments, microsoft, PC, xbox, xboxone
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