10 Facebook tips Mark Zuckerberg would never tell you about
As much as we all like to say we're definitely definitely going to delete Facebook this time, somehow we are all still on it - still liking those baby photos and wedding announcements, still posting that one picture from Saturday night that we look great in even though everyone else looks terrible.
But are you getting the most out of Facebook? Could you be posting more things to fewer people and having a nicer time as a result? We went digging around in the annals of the social network to bring you these ten tips that Zuck would never tell you about (because he just won't reply to your fanmail, dammit).
1. Hide all your updates from that one judgy aunt
Just hit the button next to 'Post' (it shows your current settings, so on my profile it says 'Friends' but yours might say 'Public' or 'Custom') on your status update and go to Custom. Here you can specify exactly who you do and don't want to see what you're saying. To save time, you can also create lists of annoying people to hide things from on the regular.
2. Look at your profile as if you're the aunt you've hidden all your photos from
3. Clear out your apps
Click 'Apps' in the menu on the left-hand side of your Facebook homepage and check out what Facebook apps you have installed. I guarantee there'll be at least two that you have no memory of ever interacting with, and a host of other apps you no longer use but still have access to your profile and data. Have a clear out. For the full list of apps you have connected to your account, you'll need to hit 'App Settings'.4. Export your friends' birthdays
5. Get cosy with browser plug-ins
There's a whole ecosystem of plug-ins designed to make your Facebook experience more pleasurable. Social Fixer is the Splinter to your Leonardo (or whichever Turtle you identify with most closely) and it lets you completely customise your account - Lifehacker has done an exhaustive guide here. I particularly like how granular you can get about what stories you see in your newsfeed and what you mute. Goodbye spoilers, farewell X Factor chat, they think seeing football stories in your newsfeed is over and it is now.If you're a particularly secretive type, install Facebook Unseen which lets you read Facebook messages without your correspondent ever knowing you've read them. Sneaky. Whatever browser you use, it's worth having a dig through the plug-in and apps stores to see what else is on offer.
6. Use the Graph Search to your advantage
Other uses include "people who like The LAD Bible" so you know who to unfriend, "friends of friends who live in London and like Bob's Burgers" so you can casually engineer a group hang - which all sounds quite creepy in theory, but in practice I'm sure it will only be a bit creepy at first and then fine after that, just like most of your social interactions.
7. Use secret groups to plot world domination
8. Save Interesting Internet Content to read later
Facebook realised it too when it added the option for you to save links, events, videos, places, books, music and pretty much anything else you may have stumbled across on the big blue network for catching up with later. Anything save-able will have a save option in its dropdown options - you can find them all in Saved Items in your favourites bar on the left.
9. Download all your data
10. :putnam:
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Is the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus getting a Note rebranding?
There seems to be a lot of evidence that Samsung is planning a super-sized version of the S6 Edge - not least the pictures that leaked a couple of weeks ago - and now we have a few more hints to go on.
First up are reports from Galaxy Club in the Netherlands that Samsung has trademarked the S6 Note name in South Korea, suggesting that the upcoming Plus device will in fact join the Note family.
Based on what we know so far, there doesn't seem to be any other device that could be the S6 Note. The device would probably feature an Edge-style curved screen to distinguish it from the upcoming Galaxy Note 5.
Extra inches
We also have some new updates on the specs of the S6 Note (or S6 Plus or some kind of variation on that theme). SamMobile says the phablet will have a huge 5.7-inch screen, bigger than previously thought.It will indeed have the distinctive curved edges of the Galaxy S6 Edge and it's going to come with Android 5.1.1 out of the box, according to the sources SamMobile spoke to.
That's all the new information we have right now, but with a Q3 2015 launch date rumoured (July, August or September) it shouldn't be too long before we see the handset confirmed.
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In-flight Wi-Fi: where is it and why is it taking so long?
Introduction and retro experience
Back in 2006, I Skyped my wife from a laptop while flying over the icy wastes of Siberia on my way from London to Tokyo. A month later that was impossible, with Boeing ceasing its Connexion Wi-Fi service due to lack of interest.A decade after they disappeared, Wi-Fi zones at 35,000ft are at last making a comeback – at least in the US. Many US domestic carriers offer in-flight Wi-Fi as standard, but European airlines are seriously lagging behind.
The right stuff
"In the US, in-flight Wi-Fi is available on most internal flights, and Wi-Fi is complimentary to the passenger, regardless of class," says Sergio Galindo, general manager at IT software and hosting company GFI Software. "Some airlines in Europe have not adopted the service to its fullest potential and it is something that we might see appearing on flights." While Wi-Fi is now available on some select flights in Europe, it's incredibly sporadic.It's not that the non-US world doesn't want to get online while they fly. A recent global survey conducted by GoGo (a global aero-communications service provider that offers in-flight internet) revealed that 80% of air travellers across Europe and the Middle East want to see Wi-Fi on their flights.
Of these, 38% are able to expense in-flight services, says GoGo, more than any other region, making these passengers a huge untapped resource. The very fact that GoGo underlines this point tells you everything you need to know about in-flight Wi-Fi – Europeans are paying for it, and will continue to do so even as it spreads.
A retro experience
"Ten years ago, internet access was still viewed as being geeky," says Andrew Ferguson, editor at Thinkbroadband, who thinks that a decade ago the demand for Wi-Fi just wasn't there. "However, everyone now wants to be able to check social media and as a result, more and more of us are constantly checking our mobile phones … sitting on a plane without internet access feels like a retro experience."It definitely does, and though the chance to switch off from work and relax with a movie is cherished by some folks, for business travellers in particular, it's a bind. Many are on the way to meetings that demand research and preparation, and increasingly staff are made to fly economy class.
However, Wi-Fi in the sky is a big challenge. "Providing an internet connection at 30,000ft is faced with a whole different set of challenges than providing a fibre optic cable connection on the ground," says Galindo. "Because the technology wasn't mature enough [a decade ago] many airlines were getting inundated with complaints about bad Wi-Fi service, and it was starting to impact their brand reputation."
From a hardware point of view, Wi-Fi in the noughties was also unsustainable. "The required hardware on-board weighed nearly 1,000 pounds, which made operating costs unreasonable," says Phil Penuela, Head of Global Consumer Insights at GoGo. "Ultimately, the cost of the technology at the time was higher than customer demand."
The return of in-flight Wi-Fi
Since the technology has improved and costs have decreased, in-flight Wi-Fi is back – just about. "Smaller antenna design is a big factor as previous designs required larger bulges on the aircraft body, increasing fuel costs," says Ferguson. "Consequently, completely flat, streamlined solutions are just around the corner."GoGo has long been connecting business aircraft, but in 2008 when the service launched on commercial aviation, the iPhone had just been announced and social media was starting to explode. Since then, of course, smartphone usage has skyrocketed. "This has forced airlines to listen to customers and begin implementing in-flight Wi-Fi," says Penuela.
Capacity issues and security risks
How in-flight Wi-Fi works
In-flight Wi-Fi generally operates in one of two ways. What's dominating in North America is an Air to Ground (ATG) network, which is operated exclusively by GoGo in the US, Alaska and Canada. "Air to Ground solutions use a network of cellular towers on the ground to provide connectivity to an aircraft," says Penuela, calling it the smallest, lightest, and most economical connectivity solution. "It can be installed to an aircraft overnight.""The second solution is satellite connectivity, which is used when coverage from ATG-based systems isn't possible, such as when the plane is flying over water. That explains why Europe is a more difficult market than North America. A satellite is placed on top of the aircraft, and the antenna pans and rotates in order to stay pointed at the directed satellites to bring passengers Wi-Fi access," says Penuela. "Satellite solutions generally deliver higher speeds, but are more expensive than ATG and require a longer installation time."
The capacity problem
Virgin America became the first airline to offer GoGo In-flight ATG Wi-Fi service on every flight back in 2009, and now claims peak speeds of 9.8 Mbps, three times that of six years ago.Satellite speeds are consistently higher, though don't expect to stream movies as easily as on a domestic fibre service. "While in-flight Wi-Fi might not be able to provide the bandwidth to stream movies from services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, it will be enough for customers to handle some emails, or social media," says Galindo. That's largely because of the fact that capacity must be shared between passengers.
"The capacity limits of the satellite solutions mean catering for a full flight of at least 200 people is still difficult," says Ferguson, whose own in-flight Wi-Fi testing has shown speeds to be variable, but always slow. You can email, surf and book a cab to pick you from the airport, but that's about it.
In-flight Wi-Fi = public Wi-Fi
There are always security risks associated with connecting to a public Wi-Fi network. "There is a possibility that the network can be compromised with malicious software that can infect your device, or that your emails or other personal information can be at risk," says Galindo.It's also true that 'safe' is a relative concept, and applies to far more than your emails being hacked. "Wi-Fi in aircraft is a lot safer than the large volumes of flammable alcohol that most planes carry in the passenger cabin," suggests Ferguson, but he fears that concerns about people hacking the aircraft control systems are real. "If any Wi-Fi system installed is linked to control systems, and thus a potential target, that would be a very poor design," he says. "The best security would be physically separate networks."
Real-time data saviour
There's also the smaller matter of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished last year while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with the loss of 239 people. As a result, aircraft are looking to send and receive more real-time data to keep in touch, which almost all airline passengers presumed they were already capable of. Flight MH370 suggested this wasn't the case at all."For some flights they are potentially in permanent contact now," says Ferguson, but he points out that unpredictable weather and intermittent satellite coverage means that Wi-Fi can easily be interrupted. "It is possible that in-flight data connections may not be 100% reliable."
For now, if you're on a transatlantic plane, you're on your own. "The next step for GoGo will be to not only provide passengers with connectivity and entertainment, but to provide operational solutions for the flight crew," says Penuela. "This includes connecting pilots through an electronic flight bag so they can get real-time data to improve flight safety and operate more efficiently, and connecting components on the aircraft like engines and other key hardware so they can be monitored instantaneously."
The technology still isn't perfected, the speeds are slow, and the business models unsure. While in-flight Wi-Fi is on the way, some say it may not reach maturity until 2020. Even then, Europeans will likely have to pay, though they will likely get a service which is superior to that in the US.
For now, seamless and high speed internet in the air across the globe is still a flight of fancy.
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The future of TVs may not be OLED after all, but something quite different
OLEDs are hard to make in TV sizes. Smaller devices like phones have been using them for a while now, with great success. The problem is, when you try and make a TV of 50-inches or more you have production problems.
For 2015 Samsung has pulled all of its OLED TVs and has moved back to LCDs, some of which use a technology called "quantum dots" to produce a very bright and colourful image that comes close to the range OLED offers.
Quantum dot is desirable because making them is reasonably easy, and the yield should theoretically be the same as any LCD TV.
So what's next, and does Samsung have a secret weapon in TVs that it will launch soon? Perhaps, so here's what we know about the technology called QLED.
Is this quantum dot?
No, this is a different technology to quantum dot. In a TV that uses quantum dots a blue LED is used as a backlight source - more than one actually, but focus on just this one for now. This replaces the white LED that is in most LCD TVs with an LED backlight.Why replace the white LED? Well, because there's no such thing as a white LED in reality.
To make an LED white you take a blue LED and put a substance in it that changes the blue light and makes it white. This is usually phosphor. There's no problem with this, but light from it isn't as pure as it could be, which affects colours and the phosphor also uses up some of the light, so the TV won't be as bright.
So, in a quantum dot TV the white LED is replaced with a blue one, and then some special liquids are used which glow a specific colour when struck with light. The colour they glow is dependent on the size of the dot - larger dots are used for red, and smaller for blue.
Because these colours are reasonably precise, the output needs less filtering, which helps with the output levels and accuracy.
So what is the next step from quantum dot then?
The technology which Samsung has been working on for a while is perhaps best called QLED. This is not a derivative of LCD panels as quantum dot panels are, but a new display technology.The idea here is that instead of a layer of quantum dots producing light which illuminates an LCD panel, the LCD panel would go and the quantum dots would produce both the light and the picture itself. This would make the QLED basically the same as OLED, but perhaps simpler and cheaper to make. And without the shorter operating lifespan that's still an issue for OLED.
Sony has also previously demoed a technology at CES called "Crystal LCD" that works in much the same way. Instead of having an LCD panel that's lit from behind, the Sony technology creates an image from LEDs themselves. So what you in effect do is create an LCD TV that operates like a plasma did, or a CRT worked.
If it helps, imagine this technology with full sized LEDs.
Like all TV pictures you would have a red, green and blue LED arranged in a "pixel" together. The amount each of the three colours was illuminated by would affect the colour of the pixel, and thus produce the final image.
It's not really known if Sony is even pursuing this technology any more. It mentioned it once at CES 2012 and then hasn't said a thing about it since. But as with all such tech, it's possibly just waiting until it can produce the finished product at an affordable price, with good yields coming off the production line.
The advantages of these emissive displays are always the same though. Gone is the backlight, so you can get near perfect black levels. In turn, those blacks mean the contrast is great and the colour reproduction is much wider.
This all becomes important as we move toward 4K when we will also see wide colour broadcasts - as well as support announced from Netflix - and HDR. HDR is very exciting because it expands the detail in light and dark areas, it's arguably the most significant chance to TV since we went from SD to HD.
When?
You're keen then - well as far as we can tell the most likely date for widespread QLED TVs is 2020, which is a very long time away, and that might cause some problems.At the moment OLED isn't that practical because only LG has really managed to commercially produce TVs with that technology. However, Panasonic has invested significant money in its own OLED production facility, and shutdown plasma too. Sony has always had OLED sets on the go, and is bound to be working on new models. Even Samsung, with its interest in QLED is likely to be working on OLED TVs as well.
Meanwhile Fujifilm is doing some impressive-looking research on the matter too.
So it's perhaps sensible to consider whether QLED will replace OLED. While OLED is a great technology questions still remain about how well it will support new broadcasting services like high dynamic range as that tech relies on very bright images, which will cause OLED panels to age more quickly, thus reaching their end of life much faster.
So the future is somewhat clear, but the fine details remain to be worked out.
For now, quantum LCDs will continue to be mass-market TVs. After that we may see another plasma/LCD battle between OLED and QLED TVs, but only time will tell. So if you were going to wait for these new technologies, don't, go and grab a lovely 4K TV now!
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OnePlus 2 tipped for July launch - but what's the price?
If you enjoy the rumour-filled buzz in the run up to most flagship phone launches then there are a couple of new morsels to chew on while we wait for the OnePlus 2 to officially break cover.
OnePlus has told us that the phone is arriving in "Q3 2015" and Chinese media sources say that it will hit right at the start of that three-month window in July. The less time we have to wait the better.
The same part of the rumour mill places the price at 1999 Chinese Yuan - a rough and ready conversion would suggest you're looking at something in the region of £207, US$322 or AU$416. Once you factor in the cross-border bump-up it's likely to be slightly more expensive than the OnePlus One originally was.
Event countdown
On Friday we got what appeared to be our first look at the long-awaited flagship phone, but for now OnePlus hasn't confirmed much, so we'll have to wait and see what appears when the time comes.Industry insiders have said that OnePlus is going to hold a dedicated media event to launch the phone, as you would expect it to, and as soon as we hear news of it we'll let you know.
We're expecting the OnePlus 2 to offer a Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 1080p display and a 16MP camera around the back, though at the moment nothing's certain - except that once again you're going to need an invite to get one.
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Week in Gaming: 16 massive E3 predictions that we really hope come true
Have you heard the news? E3 2015 is kicking off in just a few hours! But what do we expect to see? It's a great question that, oddly, nobody else on the internet seems to have an opinion on - so allow us to step in.
There's just one problem: we don't actually know what's going to happen. So we've taken a stab at some stuff that might go down. We promise £100 to every reader for each one of these things that comes true. We haven't had this agreed with by our publisher, so we really hope they're not reading this.
Oculus Rift is exposed to be nothing more than a joke that went too far
"It started when we stuck some binoculars on my friend Steve," reveals Oculus founder and wonderkid Palmer Luckey. "He thought he was actually up a mountain. What a chump! So anyway it gave us this idea and we ended up making some tech in my shed that was kinda cool for porn. But nobody's really doing anything. John Carmack just sits around coming up with Dangerous Dave sequel names and I spend most of my time doing what I love most in the world: white water rafting." He confirms that the Oculus Rift won't ever launch and that they only announced an early 2016 announce date to shut the press up.
Andrew House isn't real
He was two beavers in a suit the whole time. The illusion is shattered when one of the EVE devs tries to put Project Morpheus on House's head and he literally falls apart on stage.
Nintendo announce that its new Link character is actually a horse
Haha! You thought that human in the trailer was the main character? That's just Jeremy the stablehand. The real star of Zelda Wii U is the horse. You play as the horse. You will have magical horsey adventures across the land of Hyrule, solving dungeon puzzles and fighting big wolf zombies with nothing but your hooves and a good, solid headbutt or two. It will be titled Legend of Zelda: Wizard Horse.
Nintendo announces it's quitting games and entering the paddling pool business
"It's a lucrative market and frankly we don't know why we didn't do this sooner. Seriously, do you know what the margins are like on these bad boys? Screw the lot of you" - Reggie File-Aime, president of Nintendo America.
Xbox One's exclusive Tomb Raider deal will last just 15 minutes
Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer announces that Rise of the Tomb Raider is available RIGHT NOW and urges gamers to download it before it becomes available on PS4 just moments later. "Come on, come on, go, go go!" He looks at his watch anxiously. "Hurry up. HURRRRY."
Konami brings Kojima on to the stage, turns out it's just a sock puppet
"Everything is totally fine and I looooove Konami," squeaks the Koj puppet, attached to the hand of some poor Konami intern in a black morph suit. "Nothing has gone wrong to sour our professional relationship and if any of my games have been abruptly cancelled, it's totally because I just changed my mind about them! Teehee!" The audience is enthralled/totally convinced/confused/enraged (delete as necessary) and storms the stage, flinging Koj puppet into the crowd and chanting "Silent Hills! Silent Hills!" as the Konami PRs slowly soil themselves backstage.
Microsoft's press conference pretty much turns into a Rammstein concert
Following the success of last year's twinkly wristbands during the trailer for Ori And The Blind Forest, Microsoft attempt to ramp it up with this year's Rise of the Tomb Raider by throwing lit flares into the audience during the gameplay demo. This has the unforeseen consequences of everyone in the audience being both unable to see the trailer and also unable to breathe. Subsequent writeups include headlines like "Rise of the Tomb Raider looks a lot like the inside of my barbecue" and "ACK ACK HRGHH CKKHH CKKHHHH".
Sony abandons the Vita entirely and stars making fun of it
"For those who love games, there's the PS4, " says Andrew House in his opening statement at the Sony press conference. "For anyone who doesn't like games, there's the PS VITA! Am I right or am I right!?" He proceeds to pull a PS Vita out of his pocket and throws it off the side of the stage. The audience isn't sure whether to cheer or boo.
Later in the conference a publisher mentions the Vita again and House runs back on stage, yells "More like the ViTANIC! BRRRRMMMMM" and pretends he's a sinking ship.
The PC 2 is announced
"Why do Xbox and PlayStation and Nintendo get to have all the fun?" asks Gabe Newell in a Gabe Newell t-shirt and matching crown. "We have new stuff too. Like… The PC 2! It has two screens, can run two games at once, AND it comes with extra buttons to press - one of which just sends out an email to everyone you've ever known proclaiming how much better you are than them. Apple have been doing it for years!"
All of the games on the Nintendo E3 generator come true
It was a publicity stunt all along! Expect to be playing games like The Legend of Zelda: Diamond of Banana, Boring Decision U and Star Fox Spinach by 2016, and get your preorders in for Palestinian Salad Collection on 3DS and Confident Goat on Wii U - all with special edition Amiibo. "Confident Goat promises to be the new Super Mario," says Reggie Fils-Aime, with the sort of confidence we can only imagine a goat having.
A special conference is held just to bait angry misogynistic gamers
It's going to be called "Why We're Only Making Games For Women From Now On, And Why Men Suck And Smell Really Bad". It's basically a trap: everyone who attends gets a free temporary phallus tattoo on their foreheads, and everyone who heckles gets their shoes confiscated. Soon, a makeshift hierarchy is formed, where the shoeless remain shoeless and those of us with shoes begin to make them more and more elaborate, just to prove some kind of point about not being a colossal idiot about women.
Fallout 4's graphics look average because it's cross-platform with mobile
"Er," says the head of Bethesda, cornered by a rather angry-looking mob wielding actual torches and pitchforks. Perhaps they shouldn't have given those out at the start, he thinks. Bit of a PR stunt backfire.
Women get expelled from games forever
No one quite knew what was happening until it happened: a largeish group of shoeless men swept the conference hall like a group of prisoners looking for rubbish. The prison? Video games. The rubbish? FEMALES. It wasn't long until every single woman in the building was escorted out by the shoeless brigade and told to never come back, ever. Thank GOD. Now we can stop making all those dang feminist games about how women shouldn't be abused or punched in the boobs or whatever.
"Exclusive" starts to lose all meaning
Turns out that this time, some over-enthusiastic PR intern told everyone that they were getting Sweaty Wrestleman 2016 exclusively on their platform. It's not his fault that he didn't understand, because no one really knows what "exclusive" means when it comes to games. Exclusive for precisely 60 seconds before it comes out on the other console? Exclusive box with limited edition Sweaty Wrestleman scratch-n-sniff cover? Exclusive extra mode where Sweaty Wrestleman has to visit his grandmother's grave? The ensuing exclusivity-fuelled kerfuffle leaves 18 dead.
No games are revealed
Everyone was sort of hoping that everyone else would announce all the games, and that they could just get by with some rehashed demoes. Maybe release a new headset or a different colour of light-up keyboard if they were feeling bored. But no - everyone was bluffing! Sony hurriedly releases a press statement saying "oh - uh - we sort of thought Ubisoft would take this"; Ubisoft quickly retaliates with "excuse us, but we've release A BILLION Assassin's Creeds, I think we're allowed the year off." Nintendo shrugs, saying "eh, no one expected us to do much anyway."
Angry Birds gets a dark and gritty reboot
Finally, the origin story we've been clamouring for. "People like Angry Birds but nobody knows WHY they're angry," the lead developer of Birds explains. "They were pretty chill guys at first but I'll tell ya, seeing your first born killed by a pig in a spacesuit. I mean, they're cute, but yeah, that'll f**k you up."
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iOS 9 may try and predict where you're going to tap next
Get ready for the future: Siri knows everything about you, your entire home runs on Apple kit, and your iPhone knows where you're going to tap next. Or at least it may do, if we can trust a newly discovered nugget of code in iOS 9.
Developers now have access to the earliest version of the software in preparation for a full release later this year, and as they snoop through the various lines of code, a number of features are coming to light - like an upgrade for the front-facing camera.
Eagle-eyed devs have just spotted reference to a new "touch prediction" feature coming in iOS 9, clearly visible in the iOS Developer Library documents. Is your iPhone or iPad going to start guessing where you'll tap next?
Mind the tap
The smart money is on some kind of pre-caching feature where graphics and other assets are loaded in advance for faster access, assuming you do tap in the predicted spot. Similar techniques are used by websites and browsers.It could be something as simple as the software recognising the difference between buttons and blank space, or it might mean that your iPhone will get to know your taps so well it will be able to play Angry Birds for you.
With no official comment from Apple, all we know is that touch prediction of some kind is on its way, together with all of the other shiny new iOS 9 features. If you're particularly daring, you can sign up for beta access next month.
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5 notable features which are being stripped out of Windows 10
Introduction
Windows 10 is right around the corner and more information about what the latest offering from Microsoft is going to look like, and how it's going to work, appears every day. The new operating system is going to be free for those with Windows 7 and 8, and comes with a redesign based around user input that places far more emphasis on the users that Microsoft left behind with Windows 8, namely those with a keyboard and a mouse.
The news isn't all good, however. In an effort to streamline the OS, Microsoft has chosen to remove some features and this could upset some folks. Of course, Windows 10 is a free upgrade and allows the vast majority of Microsoft's enormous customer base to run the latest operating system, so there are going to be some people who are angry.
Many of the changes are designed to bring everybody onto the same page, especially in terms of design. Windows 10 iterates upon the design of Windows 8, adding elements of Windows 7, and Microsoft aims to make this experience as smooth as possible.
So which important features haven't made the cut with Windows 10? Read on and find out…
Windows Media Center
The demise of Media Center has been a long, drawn out process. Released in XP, the software became an add-on in Windows 8 and has now been officially discontinued by Microsoft.
Windows 10 is, in some ways, a data-driven update and Microsoft's internal metrics obviously showed decreased use of the Media Center application. Various third-party apps have sprung up and "unbundled" the experience, focusing on certain aspects and doing them better.
Microsoft has offered no obvious alternative with Windows 10, simply stating that users who have Media Center installed won't find it available after the upgrade. Whether anyone will miss Media Center remains to be seen as free alternatives such as VLC Media Player offer all of its functionality and more.
DVDs require separate software
Over the past half-decade there has been a gradual shift away from DVDs to online media, especially that which can be streamed. Microsoft has its own Xbox Video service which offers an iTunes-like experience with the ability to rent or buy films and view them on all of your devices.
In this light, the removal of the ability to play DVDs natively – i.e. without a third-party app – seems like a clever play to further move people towards online streaming. On top of this, computers that actually have a DVD drive are becoming rarer by the day, especially among laptops.
It is unclear if Microsoft will include instructions for those who are trying to play DVDs or why they would choose to leave such an easy-to-include feature out of a new version of Windows. Some are speculating that because the company is now so laser-focused on user feedback, they have found that very few potential Windows 10 users would use a DVD drive anyway.
Windows 7 desktop gadgets
One of the most underrated features of Windows 7 was its "gadgets," the little dynamic icons that sat on the desktop and showed information from the weather to your CPU usage. Their death likely comes at the hands of Microsoft's new focus on data from users – if very few people used them, they're on the chopping block.
While gadgets were never part of Windows 8, there has been speculation about Live Tiles that could be pinned to the desktop mode of Windows 10. Those who prefer the desktop mode would be able to see information quickly in a way that is in-keeping with the overall aesthetic of Windows' design.
If you are not content with the lack of gadgets in Windows 10, you can download third-party add-ons that bring the feature to the desktop. It would be nice, however, to see Microsoft innovate and come up with a solution, perhaps in the form of Live Tiles as mentioned.
Image Credit: Ars Technica
Windows updates will automatically install
When Windows 10 lands, you won't be able to choose to not install updates when they arrive, and opt to merely be kept informed about them.
This one is aimed more at keeping everybody who uses Windows 10 up to date with the latest software and, most importantly, security fixes. One of the areas that Apple excels in is being able to keep everybody on the latest software, partly because it produces the hardware, which comes in handy when important security updates are issued.
Microsoft does have a caveat here, though, namely that Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise customers can disable this feature – in order to stop the OS updating to untested software and so on – but the majority of Windows 10 users will start to see seamless updates to software.
Previously, there has been a large disparity between versions of software on Windows as many users choose to "put off" updates, mainly because they take a lot of time. Removing this choice may alienate some but will potentially make the process easier as users are not saddled with hours and hours of updates that they have skipped.
Windows Essentials
Windows Live Essentials (the 'Live' part of the moniker was later dropped) has been around since 2009 and was retired in 2013, but has remained on the PCs of many as a suite of apps that includes Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, OneDrive, Family Safety, LiveWriter and Mail. Windows Live Essentials was, in fact, Microsoft's first attempt at introducing OneDrive, previously known as SkyDrive.
Many of these apps have now been replaced and Microsoft says that installing Windows 10 will replace the OneDrive app with the "inbox version of OneDrive". This is likely part of Microsoft's broader plan to bring – or perhaps drag – people onto the same page in terms of software and which version of said software they are using. Apple often touts its ability to have everybody running the latest OS and Microsoft is trying to get in on that particular act.
However, note that all of the apps listed above are still available via the Windows Store.
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Running Man of Tech: Why Apple Watch OS 2 is briliant news for runners
The dangers of too many electrolyte tablets
I watched the folks at Apple launch myriad software bits and pieces this week, and there was one part that caught my attention above all the other stuff that was announced during the two and half hour presentation.Apple's bringing out Watch OS 2 for the... well, you don't need to be a genius to work out what... and with it comes native application support.
This is something that doesn't mean much to the average user, but if you're harbouring any desires of using the Apple Watch as your primary fitness device, this is a massive leap forward.
Currently only Apple's own apps will work without the phone nearby, meaning the likes of Strava and Endomondo need the handset in close proximity to work correctly - not ideal for those that like to trot unencumbered.
Essentially it's meant that the Watch is nothing more than a smaller second screen if you're not into Apple's overly-basic workout app, and that was infuriating.
But with native apps, developers can create experiences just for the Watch without the need for a phone, so the information will be more comprehensive and complete, with more options available to you when running.
Plus it should mean the app will auto display when you raise your wrist, where now you have to enable such a thing in the settings menu (and then change it back again so you can see the time in day to day life).
Watch OS 2 obviously isn't fixing the main issue - that the Watch has no GPS and therefore won't be accurate for things like cycling when you're phone-less - but it's a step forward and will mean when the Apple Watch 2 appears (and please, please let it have some more fitness-based sensors) users will have much more fully-functioning running watch on their wrist.
The final countdown
So as I post this, it's less than 24 hours until the kick off of this damned triathlon. There's been nothing more I can do this week as I taper down, knowing that all the fitness work can't be increased and I need to start getting some rest into my muscles.Well, that was the plan, but as I popped out to San Francisco for Apple's WWDC conference, it would have been rude not to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Let's just say that the fog and wind made me so scared of being blown over the edge that the run across the actual bridge was BY FAR the fastest on the 15 miler.
However, since then it's been all about keeping the legs and arms ticking over - I spent some time in the new outdoor swimming pool in King's Cross, popped a few more miles on the bike and did some slow runs with quick speed bursts just to keep things going.
The Human Race Windsor Triathlon starts at 6.04AM on Sunday for my wave (which seems unfairly harsh), with the 750m swim, 27km cycle ride and 5km run the only things standing between me and never having to swim ever again.
And that King Size Twix I've been dreaming of.
Eat right and don't poo yourself
I've been working with MaxiNutrition to help get me ready for this triathlon, as I've always been, well, a bit rubbish when it comes to learning what to eat, when, how much and why.We've all felt tired and sick on a run or cycle at some point, and that's mostly down to having eaten all the kebabs the night before. So what are you SUPPOSED to do?
The two elements to think about during the race are simple: fluid and carbohydrates. Your body needs fluid replenishment to offset the loss in sweat, so if you can grab a drink with added electrolytes and sodium, you'll be in good shape to keep all your cells and metabolism working at their most efficient level.
The easiest way to do this is to pick up a normal sports drink like Lucozade or Powerade, but if you want to avoid the added stuff put into those, electrolyte tablets are the way to go.
I'll be using High 5 tablets, which add electrolytes, magnesium and sodium (along with carbohydrates) to normal water to give me a boost during the race. They do taste a bit like berry aspirin though, so you have to really want to speed up to miss out on sugary goodness.
Too many can also make you poop your pants as well. So don't overdo it if you're thinking about giving them a try.
Here's my tailored plan: 48 hours before the race, start carb loading. The idea that a simple pasta-filled dish the night before will suffice is slightly erroneous, as your body can only store so much glycogen (the body's quickest energy source) in your muscles from one night, and overdoing it on carbs can cause, erm, stomach issues (see above).
So a fair amount of carbs (good ones though, no matter how much the Ben and Jerry's tub tells me it's full of carbohydrate) for the preceding two days where possible will keep the glycogen store topped up.
On race day itself, I'll be up at 4AM and instantly start sipping away on my sports drink alongside some delightful porridge. The latter doesn't need to be big, just enough to top up the energy levels for later.
Then it's down the start line, where 30 mins before I'll be looking to slowly drink about 300ml of sports drink again - this time with caffeine.
While the effects of caffeine on endurance sports are still not fully verified, I've found that it really helps. This is apparently because it allows you to release energy from your fat stores, rather than using up that precious glycogen, which means you can go for longer without it feeling super hard.
I won't go into the specifics of my eating and drinking during the race - I did write it all out, but then read it back and saw it was frightfully dull. Summary: no drinking during swimming (beyond the nasties I'll be trying to spit out from the water), a little sports drink every 10-15 minutes on the bike and two energy gels too.
One normal one at the start, and one with caffeine towards the end to boost me for the run. Gels are gooey tubes of carbohydrates, easily digested by the body, and if you can avoid them globbing all over your fingers are a handy tool for longer exercise.
If all goes well, I'll let you know how I got on next week. If you don't hear from me, it was such a horrendous experience that I gave up all sport. Either way, it'll be done soon.
- If you've got any tips, tech you want tested out or just want to mock me, I'm @superbeav on Twitter, and you can see my stumblings on Strava too.
- Read the rest of the Running Man of Tech story here
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Battle of E3: How Nintendo can win the battle of E3 2015
Nintendo at E3 2015
Let's be honest, it'll be tough for Nintendo to be recognized as the winner at E3 2015.Over the last few months, the house that Mario built has made some pretty major announcements - such as the fact that it's already working on next-generation hardware, code-named Nintendo NX, and that it's teaming up with DeNA to bring all-new games to mobile - but Nintendo has also acknowledged none of that will be at E3.
Furthermore, Nintendo has stated that its most anticipated game, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U, has been delayed to sometime after 2015, and that it'll be an E3 no-show too.
But don't give up yet. With all that working against them, Iwata and Co. could still have a come-from-behind victory, but they'll need to have a lot up their sleeves.
We already know much of what will be there: Mario Maker, the create-your-own-Mario-platformer title, will undoubtedly get a ton of attention at E3, and the new Star Fox for Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Yoshi's Woolly World, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon and the 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors are certain to be there as well. The much-anticipated Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem could even make an appearance.
Though these known quantities may be enough to satisfy some Nintendo enthusiasts, it'll take much more to win over the entire gaming community.
For Nintendo to claim E3 victory, it'll have to unveil new entries in one of its most renowned series: Metroid.
Considered by many to be one of Nintendo's top properties, Metroid has yet to see new releases on Wii U or 3DS, but if Nintendo knows what it's doing, it'll reveal both. Ideally that would mean a brand-new first-person Metroid game on Wii U in the vein of the Metroid Prime series; the Wii U Gamepad has already proven that it works great for shooters with the recently released Splatoon, and there could be plenty of other unique functions for the controller. (Perhaps, for example, you could hold up the gamepad to mimic heroine Samus Aran's various visor options.)
Retro Studios, developer of the Metroid Prime series, has been quiet for a while now, so it's very possible they've been stealthily working on a new Metroid.
Over on 3DS, though, Metroid would benefit from a more traditional side-view, third-person treatment, especially if the system's dual screens were used in tandem to display the vertically scrolling environments the series was once known for.
While Metroid is great at delivering atmospheric sci-fi action, Nintendo will also have to appeal to the cute and creative side of its audience, and a new Animal Crossing game for Wii U would be just the way to do it.
The last Animal Crossing game was a big hit on 3DS, but rather than delivering more of the same on Wii U, the developers would do well to shake things up with new activities, enhanced online capabilities, and crossover features with the upcoming Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for 3DS.
Speaking of cute, E3 would be a perfect place for a Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament – the arcade Pokémon fighting game developed by Bandai Namco – to make an appearance.
However, it'll take more than tried-and-true franchises to give Nintendo the edge at E3. It'll also need something different and new, and for that they should turn to one of their biggest recent success stories: amiibo.
Since their release last November, Nintendo's NFC figurines have proven so popular that most of them can't even be found in stores, despite the fact that there's no killer software to go with them. It's time to change that.
Just as the Skylanders games give users a reason to interact with their matching toys, a new Nintendo game – preferably some sort of expansive action-adventure with RPG elements – would provide the perfect excuse for those amiibo to do more than sit on a shelf. If you don't own any amiibo, fine — you could still explore a variety of famous Nintendo worlds with a few stock characters or Miis.
But if you do have amiibo, you could play the game as Mario, Link, Little Mac, Shulk, Toad, Mega Man, Ike, Charizard, or any of the dozens of characters released in amiibo form, each with their own abilities and attacks, resulting in the biggest Nintendo mashup available this side of Smash Bros. Of course, Nintendo would be foolish not to announce several new amiibo, too.
Nintendo would also be wise to capitalize on the impending 30th anniversary of one of its biggest brands: Super Mario Bros.
Sure, in some ways Mario Maker does the job, but if the company were really smart, it'd push the nostalgia buttons as hard as it could with a premium collector's edition containing not only a compilation of Mario's best games, but a multi-disc CD soundtrack and a hardbound book overflowing with artwork and interviews.
Throw in an exclusive amiibo and you'd have a package that no Nintendo fan would be able to resist.
Along with such heavy-hitters, Nintendo should further appeal to its core fanbase with less mainstream but highly desirable games from Japan, such as the next big thing from fan-favorite publisher Platinum Games, and North American versions of hotly demanded RPGs Dragon Quest VII and VIII.
Nintendo could also turn some non-fans into believers with Devil's Third, from Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.
Although it was looking pretty shabby last year, the game re-emerged earlier this week looking infinitely better than it had previously; if this mature-focused title can back it up in the gameplay department as well, it could help give Nintendo the balanced library it requires.
A lot of these suggestions might sound like nothing more than wishful thinking, but if Nintendo's going to take E3, it's gonna need to do something special — and if there's one thing fans have learned over the years, it's that you can never count Nintendo out.
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Cortana will get its own button on Windows 10 PCs
Toshiba will differentiate its notebooks, convertibles and desktop PCs by making a huge change to the keyboard. On the Windows 10 systems that will arrive later this year, Toshiba will add a dedicated key to access Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant.
The change will be one of the most significant change to the keyboard since Windows 95 when Microsoft's OEM partners began adding a dedicated Windows key for quick access to the Start menu. Toshiba says that the key will sit in the upper left area of the keyboard near the function keys.
The Cortana key will appear on all of Toshiba's Windows 10 systems, Jeff Barney, general manager of Toshiba America, told PC World.
Borrowing from mobile
Cortana initially was unveiled on Windows Phone as a competitor to Google Now on Android and Siri on iOS. On Windows Phone – which will be renamed Windows 10 Mobile when the platform gets upgraded this year – Cortana is accessible accessible via the search key on the phone.On the PC, Cortana is currently accessible via a mouse click or on-screen tap of the Cortana icon that sits adjacent to the Start menu on the task bar. Toshiba's dedicated physical key will make it less cumbersome to access one of the most important new features of Windows 10.
To make Cortana work better, Toshiba said that it has added better microphones to its systems so Cortana can better understand user's spoken queries.
It's unclear if other PC vendors or peripheral manufacturers – such as makers of mice and keyboards – will follow Toshiba's lead. Windows 10 will arrive on July 29, and we don't expect Toshiba's new PCs with a dedicated Cortana key to launch before that date.
- Read our coverage of Windows 10
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Facebook is creeping on your News Feed habits
If you thought Facebook's all-seeing eye was pervasive before, the social media giant is now tweaking its algorithm to analyze how long you look at a post in your News Feed.
As ominous as it seems, it's likely that Facebook is adjusting its algorithm because the like/commen/share system doesn't fully represent users' interests. With the current method, your News Feed is primarily built from patterns in your interactions with certain posts.
The problem with this is there are certain stories in your News Feed that you certainly care about, but don't necessarily want to see "you like this" underneath. You could comment and show your interest and/or concern that way, but if you're a more passive Facebook user, most of your comments are probably relegated to friends and family.
So, to make a more accurate News Feed, Facebook will essentially keep tabs on how long you hover on certain items. If you linger on a post for long enough, Facebook will start to take that into account and increasingly pepper in similar posts in your feed. Conversely, if you rapidly scroll through certain posts in your feed (think endless wedding photos,) Facebook will take your social distastes and log them.
The future of the feed
The only halfway-concerning part with this algorithm change is that it effectively removes the user from deciding what's in his or her news feed, a gradual progression that's been maligned by Facebook users for years. I think almost everyone can relate to the strings of top 10 lists and adorable (yet annoying) baby photos conquering feeds.It's definitely going to take some time to perfect the new system. For example, I'd hate to accidentally hover over a cat meme while I make a cup of coffee. The algorithm will most likely be gradually implemented, as the social network improves its accuracy. Still, be careful of what you look at: Facebook's watching.
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Opinion: Oculus Rift doubles down on gaming, but it's a double-edged sword
Oculus Rift is doubling down on gaming.
That's the resounding takeaway from Oculus' pre-E3 event this week, where, in typical E3 press conference fashion, made-for-VR game after made-for-VR game marched across the stage.
Just how committed is Oculus to gaming? In addition to partnering with Microsoft and a number of well-known game studios, the company is putting its money where its mouth is and pledging more than $10,000,000 to help indie developers create virtual reality titles.
CEO Brendan Iribe made it abundantly clear: Oculus is committed to making the Rift a legit gaming peripheral, replete with a strong game lineup all its own.
While beating the gaming drum days before the biggest gaming event of the year makes perfect sense, there's an earnestness to Oculus' message I hadn't seen until Thursday. Though it gives purpose to the Rift and helps convince developers that it's worth creating games for the headset, it's also a message that may prove hard for non-gamers to swallow. Worse yet for Oculus, it may ultimately keep them from buying one.
Mixed messages
I interviewed Iribe at GDC 2014, and here's what he said about Rift at the time:"It's going to go far beyond just games. We really believe the ultimate application for this is actually social communications. That's where it's long-term going to go."
He described a scenario where I could be interviewing him in San Francisco while he was home in Irvine, Calif., and we would feel like we were in the same room together - until he stuck his hand out and through the virtual image of me.
"[W]hen we hit that, and we'll hit it soon ... it can fundamentally change communication," he said at the time. "Billions of people communicate, and want communication devices, so that's where we see it going."
To be sure, Iribe hasn't forgotten about the Rift's non-gaming applications, just perhaps de-prioritized them. He told Re/code's Eric Johnson after Thursday's event the company wants to encourage non-game developers, but Oculus is "letting the ecosystem right now take care of all the non-gaming [content], and there's a huge amount of it out there."
He noted Oculus itself is "really focused on gaming."
Projects like Oculus Story Studio illustrate the company's non-gaming interests, and it hasn't chucked away that social interaction element either. Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey, an Oculus Touch controller in each hand, spoke of giving another player in your virtual world a thumbs up, the ultimate human-to-human gesture.
Compatibility with Windows 10 and Xbox also suggest non-gaming experiences will come to the Rift (how exciting would Microsoft Office VR be?), though Xbox One game streaming and the bundled controller are the ties that bind, at least for now.
Oculus is clearly still (somewhat) interested in the Rift becoming more than "just" a gaming device, but for right now (and perhaps up to and after its Q1 2016 launch), gamers are its target audience.
A quote to illustrate this from Thursday:
"The Rift has always been about delivering the technology that unlocks true next generation gaming," said Nate Mitchell, vice president of product at Oculus, before he introduced the Oculus Home UI.
He continued: "We've designed the Rift's software and user experience from top to bottom for gamers."
A good day, for some
Going this hard after gaming isn't a bad approach, especially given the Rift's serious PC requirements, but it may be shortsighted and could ultimately do more harm than good.For Rift to become more than a niche product, it needs a killer, non-gaming app. As one TechRadar staffer said, there's excitement around virtual tourism, but will people dismiss the viewer "as a gimmicky add-on for gamers" before it takes them to the Colosseum, if ever?
Facebook can't be that killer app ... not for the price.
With the focus Oculus is putting on gaming, Rift could easily land in the "that's cool, but not for me" pile, if some haven't tossed it in there already.
Rift already has two huge things going against it: the souped-up PC required to run smooth VR experiences and a cost of around $1,500 (viewer + PC).
"It sounds like a lot, but it seems most diehard adopters will already have a nice rig and may just need to upgrade a few parts here and there - though those without a decent PC are out of luck," wrote Wearables Editor Lily Prasuethsut in discussing the price [bolding my own].
The upside of devices like Gear VR (which Oculus helped develop) is that you only need a viewer and your smartphone to run apps and games. HoloLens isn't free of the PC yet, but its holograms are of all stripes and make even the most mundane tasks, like fixing a broken sink, way cooler.
Oculus is, somewhat necessarily, positioning the Rift as an amazing gaming peripheral that will deliver immersive experiences unseen before, an enticing pitch to gamers who are always looking to be on the cutting edge and take their gaming to the next-gen level.
It also sounds incredible to non-gamers, but peel back the hype and they're looking at an expensive gadget, a system they likely don't have nor want to invest in and content that isn't made for them.
By the time Oculus starts to change its message - if ever - it may be too late to win those non-gamers over. It could be relegated to niche-dom, and that'd be shame.
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NASA and YouTube embark on 4K outer space video
Have you ever wanted to experience the vastness and wonder of space for yourself? NASA is about to take you one step closer with 4K UHD videos at a silky framerate of 60fps on its ReelNASA YouTube channel.
In a tantalizingly beautiful 20-second teaser, we get to catch a brief glimpse into the horizon, a look into the future of modern video content and space exploration. The short flashes and images in ReelNASA's UHD debut video show just how far technology has come since we huddled around the television to watch the grainy footage of Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon.
ReelNASA is no stranger to breathtaking videos uploaded from the International Space Station. One of the channel's biggest upload, "Astronaut's Eye-View of NASA's Orion Spacecraft Re-Entry," is an exhilarating peek into the helmet of a space explorer.
With an endless pool of video inspiration and a limitless amount of wonders unseen, ReelNASA's uploads makes perfect sense. Even though most common devices aren't equipped to support UHD content at 60fps with ease just yet, NASA is looking to the future. And thanks to this innovation, the people of planet Earth will get to witness the exploration of space like never before.
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Analysis: What does Microsoft's partnership with Oculus mean for HoloLens?
We all knew Facebook took the Oculus Rift under its wing, but now we know that Microsoft has joined the flock in a big way, too.
Not only is the Xbox One controller shipping with the headset come Q1 2016, all Xbox One games will be ready to stream through Windows 10 to the Rift device.
It's a partnership that makes sense, considering the Oculus Rift will only run on Windows machines. This was announced last month, when Oculus revealed the minimum hardware required for a PC to run games through the Rift properly. In fact, it's this this piece of info that should have been the biggest clue foreshadowing the partnership.
Yet we were surprised by the revelation of Microsoft's involvement during Thursday's event, primarily because it already has its foot in the virtualized door with HoloLens.
The partnership then begs the question, if Microsoft is backing Oculus Rift, what does it mean for the future of the Windows 10-maker's ambitious augmented reality headset?
Phil chimes in
After Thursday's event, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer took a moment to answer questions about the whole shebang with a small group of journalists. When asked how the relationship would impact HoloLens, he focused on the positives for everyone involved."It felt like the right move to me when we were talking to the whole HoloLens team," Spencer said. "It's funny, they [the HoloLens team] sent me a picture. They actually watched the briefing with a HoloLens on, streaming the picture on the wall - it's the most surreal thing but they were all really excited about [the Oculus Rift briefing]. So it's good."
Is it though?
This move is no doubt great for Oculus and should continue to propel it forward as the leader in virtual reality. But it doesn't leave much room for its competition (e.g. HoloLens) when it comes to consumers' purchasing decision - how many of these headsets will every household realistically buy?
There's still hope
It's too soon to say HoloLens is dead on arrival, but surely the thought crossed many folks' mind when Spencer took the stage, at least as far as gaming is concerned.But during Spencer's post-event discussion about the motivation to work with Oculus, he sounded confident about Microsoft's headset making it to living rooms.
"For the real motivation, I go back to our origins with Windows when there were software companies and hardware companies doing real innovative work on top of our platform, and I think that's a good spot for us to be, with Windows supporting these ecosystems," he said.
"Some of them will be go-to market products; HoloLens is clearly one of those, or Xbox is one of those. In other opportunities, it's best to find people who are doing amazing work and just say, 'What can we do to help you guys be more successful with your product on our platform?'"
Two headsets better than one?
Oculus definitely falls into the category of "people doing amazing work," as does HoloLens, but now that two viable products will compete for user attention, it's time Microsoft reassures us its own device still has merit.The headsets are already expensive niche products that require PCs to function properly. Does Microsoft expect people to buy two headsets? Or is the company simply happy to ride on the coattails of whichever one becomes more successful, knowing full well it's in a good place now that it has stakes in both?
At this point, it seems like the latter. It's a great move for the company, though it leaves the rest of us wondering what HoloLens' roadmap will look like.
Hopefully the company's big Monday press conferences at E3 will shed more light on the topic.
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Windows 10 will come with universal Skype app
After Microsoft announced that it will shutter its Modern app version of Skype, forcing Windows users to use the desktop version instead, it promises that a universal app of the messaging platform will be ready soon for Windows 10.
"Later this year we'll deliver a set of lightweight UWP apps for messaging, calling and video that cater to users who want simplicity and efficiency," a Skype spokesperson clarified with TechRadar. "They'll be built into Windows 10 which means you'll get the same experience on phones, tablets and PCs. For users who want the rich, familiar Skype experience, the full Skype app will also come with Windows 10. Our users can choose the right experience for them."
Essentially, this means that the situation for Skype will basically be the same as it today – PC users can choose between a universal Skype experience, which should be similar to the Modern or Metro UI version of the app available through the Windows Store, or they can use the desktop version of the app that contains more functionality.
Sending mixed signals
For an app based on communication, the announcement yesterday that the Modern version of Skype will be discontinued on July 1 sent a mixed message to users.At the time, Microsoft made no mention that a universal app – Microsoft refers to this as UWP, or universal Windows platform, app – is incoming, creating speculation that Microsoft is backtracking on its push for universal apps.
Fortunately, as we found out today, this is not the case. It's unclear if the universal Skype app will arrive in time for Windows 10's launch this summer.
In addition to the Skype apps, Microsoft is also testing Skype for the browser. Launching in beta, the Skype for Web experience doesn't require any downloads and runs inside the browser.
Universal apps
With Windows 10, Microsoft is not only leveraging the Windows branding across different platforms – PC, tablets, phones, Internet of Things (IoT), Xbox and more – but it will also bring these platforms together. Instead of asking third-party developers to create separate apps for different platforms, universal apps would run across all platforms with minor changes to code.Hopefully, this minimal effort will help Microsoft attract developers to building out a robust software ecosystem for Windows 10 devices. Rivals Google and Apple each have roughly 1.5 million apps for their Play Store and iOS App Store, respectively.
Windows 10
Microsoft recently announced that Windows 10 will arrive on July 29. There will two versions offered to home PC users – Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro.The OS will be a free upgrade for users migrating from Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. With Windows 10, Microsoft will introduce new features to users, including Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Continuum.
Read our Windows 10 review
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Updated: Apple TV 2 release date, price, news and rumors
What will Apple TV 2 look like?
Update #1: The next Apple TV will indeed have third-party apps instead of first-party channels, according to a report from MacRumors. The site discovered the feature after a developer tweeted a screen that shows Apple TV as an eligible platform to test upcoming apps.Update #2: The Apple TV set is officially dead, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. After 10 years of research and development, Apple has decided to cease funding to the TV division.
Original story follows:
In the battle royale of set-top boxes that has erupted over the last few years, there's always been one contender who's not afraid to quietly sit on the sidelines and garner attention by being inclusive, sleek and to-the-point, and that's Apple TV.
Now, before you go down into the comments and leave a nasty retort, we know that Apple TV 2 - technically a moniker for the second version of Apple TV - has come and gone.
But Apple bows to no numerical and/or logic system, and Apple TV has yet to see a true sequel, instead receiving iteration after iteration of internal upgrades.
It's been about two years since the last minor change to the system and three since the last major one. Which, for a company that's bound and determined to release a new iPhone every 12 months, seems a little strange that Apple's popular streamer has been MIA since the iPhone 5.
So what's the hold-up? Why hasn't Apple launched a stick to fight the Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku Streaming Stick? Why hasn't it taken the fight to Roku 3 and Nexus Player by launching a new set-top box based on iOS 8?
Honestly? It's just a matter of time. There are a ton of possibilities with Apple's next streaming system. From a small stick to a 4K streamer, from a TV service like Sling TV to a 40-inch TV, anything and everything is on the table for the future of Apple's must-own A/V accessory.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next generation of Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV
When is it out? We don't know. Apple hasn't set a release date, or shown it publicly.
What is it? The next generation of Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV
When is it out? We don't know. Apple hasn't set a release date, or shown it publicly.
Apple TV (fourth generation)
UPDATE: New hardware could be coming sooner than we think if a report from Buzzfeed is to be believed. The listicle site claims that Apple's World Wide Developers Conference should have both "new Apple hardware" alongside the Internet-based TV streaming service that has been rumored to be in development. Finally the report claims that Siri could also be en route to Apple's streaming system, alongside an App Store that would finally give third-party developers a crack at the little black box.The most likely path Apple TV will take is another streaming box, not unlike its third iteration. Rumors floating around the internet claim that the new box will have an 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna, Dolby 5.1 audio, a new processor and 1GB of RAM to potentially turn out 4K streaming.
If it does turn about to be a new box, chances are good it will look - and have many of the same apps as - iOS 8. This could include some of the announced Apple initiatives like HomeKit and HealthKit, as well as a few in the works, like the Beats music streaming service or live-TV streaming service. It could also have a heavy emphasis on gaming.
Some fixes we're hoping for are an included wireless HD TV tuner and a slightly more open ecosphere that allows a few of Apple's closest third-party developers to develop apps for the system. A smaller streaming stick and a remote with built-in voice search would also be welcome additions, though, at this point those are more of added bonuses than necessities.
Apple TV (streaming service)
We'd give 2:1 odds that, like its last three iterations, Apple TV 2 is going to be a set-top box. If you're more of a gambler however, we'd say the chances Apple's got an ace up its sleeve in the form of a streaming service are about 10:1.
This possible-but-not-probable scenario was first given life on the web around the same time Sling TV made a splash in the US. The only problem with this plan is that Apple would need a lot of partners - FOX, NBC, ABC, Viacom, etc… - within a short time period.
Possible? Sure. Probable? Not likely.
The potential package in question would have a number of channels you know and love from cable but streamed over your Internet service for a lower monthly cost than traditional vendors like Sky, Virgin, Verizon or Time Warner Cable.
A service like that, exclusive to Apple TV, could be a huge differentiator and killer app for Cupertino. Whether Apple's TV streaming dreams come to fruition - or actually exist at all - however, remains to be seen.
Apple pulls the plug on TV
After 10 years of research and development, Apple has officially stopped working on the fabled Apple television set, according to The Wall Street Journal.According to a source familiar to the situation, because it was unable to add anything new to the world of flat-panels and 4K Ultra-HD TVs, Apple has thrown in the towel once and for all.
Apple is still expected to release both an updated version of the traditional set-top box as well as an over-the-top streaming service like Sling TV at its World Wide Developers Conference which starts on June 8.
How could have Apple's iTV worked? We have a few ideas.
The history of Apple TV
The history of Apple TV
The first Apple TV launched back in 2006 and stuck out from the crowd by boasting its own hard drive and composite cables to hook up to then-new SD TV sets. It had a measly Intel Crofton Premium M processor and 256MB of DDR2 memory.
Version 2 ditched the internal storage for a better 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi antenna, upgraded Apple A4 processor and favored streaming media over anything stored on physical drives. While some lamented the disappearance of a HDD, some appreciated the Apple TV's smaller size as a result of the change.
Launching in 2012, Apple TV Version 3, the latest version of the Apple TV, didn't offer much of an upgrade over its predecessor. It still streamed media and had a streamlined user-interface based on iOS (at that time it was iOS7). Of course the processor got a bump to the A5 to handle 1080p video and it finally doubled down on RAM to a solid 512MB.
Starting on March 9, 2015, the currently available Apple TV will drop to $69 (about £45, AU$90) and has first-dibs on HBO's new standalone streaming service, HBO Now.
- What about Apple's screen for your wrist? Read our Apple Watch review!
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Windows 10 Enterprise updates turn consumers into guinea pigs
In a video presentation, Microsoft outlined its plans for Windows 10 as a service to business customers. We had already learned that Microsoft will give more flexibility to IT managers, giving them the ability to place their users on different branches to receive Windows updates, and now we have more details on the update process and how updates will become available to enterprise customers.
The three options available to Windows 10 enterprise customers are Current Branch (CB), Current Branch for Business (CBB), and Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB), with each branch receiving updates differently. Customers will be profiled and placed into the appropriate branch by their IT managers. CB will be available to both enterprise and consumer users, while CBB and LTSB are are strictly for enterprise.
The update process
Once updates are ready, they'll be pushed out to CB users first to ensure that the rollout is smooth before Microsoft makes them available to CBB and LTSB users. At the enterprise level, CBB users will have up to eight months to install the update through Windows Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), while LTSB users can delay the update for up to 10 years.This update process means that CB users will have access to new features and patches sooner than customers on LTSB and CBB. The downside is that they'll also be part of a late-stage testing process to ensure that the update doesn't break any apps or existing functionality and that the process goes smoothly.
If something goes wrong, Microsoft will learn from the experiences of CB users to make the appropriate fixes or changes before rolling the update out to CBB or LTSB customers. This helps to ensure that enterprise customers won't get a faulty update that disrupts their workflow, resulting in lost productivity or revenue.
The update process begins, according to Helen Harmetz, Microsoft Senior Product Manager, with Microsoft building or creating the OS update.
The update goes through internal validation, and then gets pushed out to limited and broad test flights. If all goes well, the update will be available to Current Branch users. Once the update is declared business-ready, it will be available to IT managers to push out to their users on CBB or LTSB.
If it isn't broken, don't fix it
Enterprise users on LTSB will likely get the least amount of updates or new features. In fact, Microsoft encourages IT managers to place most of their users on CB or CBB, with LTSB reserved for mission critical work.Describing the update experience from one LTSB branch to the next, Harmetz says that it is very similar to Windows 7 SP1. Windows 10 LTSB customers will have an in-place upgrade experience to move from one release to the next version, and IT managers can choose to skip an update if they want to.
From a prior leak, we also know that IT managers can delay the deployment of new features to LTSB users for up to ten years, and that the new Microsoft Edge browser will not be available to enterprise users on this branch.
Because of the absence of Edge, Harmetz says that Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) investments for enterprise is ongoing, but she did not provide additional information in her presentation.
LTSB should be reserved for customers working in areas where stability is valued. Interestingly, Microsoft will also make a refreshed LTSB image every few years with new features baked in. Users can install the new image if their administrators permit them.
Keeping current
On the opposite end of the spectrum from LTSB is Current Branch, or CB. This branch is probably the largest update branch for Windows 10 customers as it's available to all consumers running Microsoft's OS, which will debut on July 29 as Windows Home and Windows Professional.CB users will get their updates first as part of Microsoft's defined update strategy. They'll receive security patches, new features and bug fixes before LTSB and CBB users. However, the cost to being early is that if the update isn't stable, CB users will have to go through the growing pains with Microsoft.
In effect, CB users are late-stage beta testers. If something goes wrong, Microsoft will learn from the experience and fix the problems before the updates are deployed for business customers.
The middle ground
Somewhere in the middle of immediate updates available to CB customers and delays of up to 10 years for LTSB customers is CBB. CBB customers will have about eight months to deploy Windows Update after Microsoft makes it available to business branches.Professional, Education and Enterprise customers on Windows 10 in CBB will get new features on Windows Update four months after they're declared business-ready. Enterprise customers on Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) will have eight months to install the updates.
If IT managers cannot deploy the update within the timeframe, they won't be able to install future updates or security patches. In this event, IT managers will have to switch to LTSB and perform an in-place upgrade. Likely, the enforcement will help Microsoft defragment the Windows 10 ecosystem and ensure that users are protected from attacks with the most up-to-date security fixes.
Windows 10 requirements for enterprise
Microsoft promises that Windows 10 will work on systems that are compatible with Windows 7, and that's the minimum hardware requirement needed to upgrade.To upgrade, there will be two paths provided to IT managers. A full wipe and load will allow systems to start fresh with a clean install of Windows 10. There will also be in-place upgrades available to migrate Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 customers to Windows 10 in the event that a full wipe is not needed or desired.
Additionally, for customers who rely on Windows Store apps – also referred to as Metro apps or Modern UI apps for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users – Microsoft guarantees app compatibility moving forward to Windows 10.
When we learned that Edge won't arrive for LTSB customers, there was speculation that fragmentation may occur with compatibility of Store apps on Windows 10, but it looks like Microsoft is laying to rest those concerns.
Even though Windows 10 Home and Pro versions will be available on July 29, Microsoft has not announced when Windows 10 Enterprise will be available.
Source: Windows IT Pro
- Read our coverage of Windows 10
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YouTube Gaming is Google's play against Twitch
Meet YouTube Gaming, Google's answer to live-streaming leader Twitch.
Coming this summer, YouTube Gaming is an app and website built for gamers. It's clear Google is capitalizing on the success of ultra-popular YouTubers like Pewdiepie, who specializes in "Let's play" and walkthrough videos. YouTube Gaming's Twitter description is even, "Let's play."
The new division of YouTube tweeted, "We're connecting you to the games, community and culture that matter to you - by gamers, for gamers." With the service, folks can "hang out with [their] favorite YouTube Creators in our new Live system." Once you've subscribed to a channel, you'll be notified when a live stream is beginning so you don't have to miss any of the action.
Smart.
According to Google, YouTube Gaming is made exclusively for games and gamers, noting "when you search 'call', you'll end up with Call of Duty, not Call Me Maybe." The company revealed that over 25,000 games will each have their own page and make it much simpler for gamers to connect with their favorite YouTubers.Google says that in addition to existing features like 60fps streaming and converting streams into YouTube videos, the site is going to make launching a live event possible with no prior scheduling, making surprise live streams and reveals an easier task.
YouTube Gaming will arrive this summer, starting in the UK and the US, and the team will have a booth at E3 2015 showcasing some of its new features.
- This is the final Oculus Rift
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Star Wars to get the VR treatment this year
In case you needed some more proof that we're truly living in the future, this year, Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is working to put you inside your favorite films to experience them for yourself with VR.
George Lucas created ILM with one goal in mind, to make Star Wars unlike anything that had come before it, and nearly 40 years later, it continues to inspire awe and wonder. ILM's continued work outside of George Lucas's films include the Jurassic Park series, Avatar and the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
With a new set of Star Wars films on the horizon, Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound and ILM have created ILM Experience Lab (ILMxLab,) a new division dedicated to completely enveloping you in its films. USA Today reports that the new arm will debut with its Star Wars experiences later this year, possibly before the release of Star Wars 7 in December.
ILMxLab aims to revolutionize the way we interact with film. In the YouTube announcement video, the new division's creative director, John Gaeta said, "we're entering an age of immersive entertainment where it is possible to collapse the walls that separate us from story experiences."
A galaxy not so far far away
The video itself shows ordinary folks from our galaxy interacting with our two favorite droids in a galaxy far far away, C3PO and R2-D2, via an Oculus Rift headset and a sensor-stacked iPad to navigate through the virtual world. It also showed someone petting, yes, petting a velociraptor, which is only a few steps crazier than Chris Pratt racing the intelligent predators with his motorcycle in Jurassic World.The level of Oculus' involvement is an interesting question as well. At the Oculus event on Thursday, many of the keynote speakers made mention of the impact Star Wars has had on their lives and on the creation of the new technology. It's apparent that the force is in fact strong with Oculus.
Regardless of the technical aspect, the prospect of exploring Tatooine, the Cloud City of Bespin and walking through the gates of Jurassic Park are almost too much to fathom. I've not felt this much like a kid since Han and Chewie made their cameo at the end of the Star Wars 7 teaser. But the most exciting part of all? So far VR Jar-Jar Binks is nowhere to be seen.
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