Third Generation Apple TV Arrives With New UI, Support For 1080p

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The San Francisco based Apple Media Event is on its way. With some of the world’ss leading technology press packed into the Yerba Buena Arts Center, Tim Cook and his team took center stage to unveil the expected next-generation iPad as well as a revamped and improved Apple TV set-top box.

The run up to the media event was surrounded as usual by the normal high levels of speculation and conjecture with what have turned out to be accurate reports about the release of the third-generation Apple TV unit. The previous model ATV has enjoyed far more success than anyone could have predicted since its launch in September 2010, but with it being eighteen months since anyone hardware upgrades it was time for a change.

So just what do we know about the new and improved Apple digital media receiver, and is it worth parting with your hard earned cash at the checkout? As many predicted prior to the event, the release of the new Apple TV doesn’t come with the inclusion of any earth shattering technologies, and is certainly an evolutionary upgrade rather than a revolutionary one, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a very capable release on our hands.

Features

Building on the success of the previous model Apple TV, the company have given the hockey puck a little more bang for the consumers buck. The latest Apple TV will also feature full, Blu-ray quality, 1080p video streaming capabilities which will take media playback to the next level for consumers and could possibly see the introduction of a dedicated, full high definition iTunes movie store, all credit goes to its new revamped internals.

The biggest blockbuster in the new Apple TV is its software, it runs on top of a new iOS-esque interface unlike its predecessor, therefore it’s a guaranteed eye-candy for existing adopters and really ups the ante in the set top box market.

Price

As we have previously learned with Apple, improved quality and improved features does not always equate to an increased price. When the iPad 2 was launched in March 2011, the pricing structure was actually lower than that of its predecessor even though it was a new and improved tablet they were introducing to the world. The new Apple TV unit will remain competitive in the market thanks to the continuing pricing point of $99.

Availability

The good news is that the third-generation Apple TV unit will be available on March 16th, meaning that consumers will be able to get their eager little paws on it imminently. With a strong pricing point, almost immediate availability and the inclusion of a number of impressive features, the new Apple TV looks set to continue where its younger brother left off by remaining strong in the marketplace.

(image credit TheVerge)

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Microsoft Needs To Release An Office for iPad App

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The Daily posted two screenshots of what they claim to be Office for iPad. One screenshot showed what looks like the “start screen” of the app, where you can open and create documents, and the other showed the “Office” app icon.

Long story short, Mary-Jo Foley contacted Microsoft PR only to receive a response in which Microsoft flat-out mentioned that the photos are not of a real Microsoft product. They did not comment, however, on whether Office for iPad is indeed in the works. The Daily stood behind their screenshots, saying that they are not fake, and Microsoft fired off a tweet stating that they have “bad info”.

While no solid information really surfaced that day, Microsoft’s PR reaction was interesting; they didn’t deny outright that they were working on an Office for iPad app. Furthermore, there’s even speculation that Microsoft plans to announce Office for iPad at the special iPad 3 announcement event on March 7th, and Microsoft wishes to keep its plans a tight secret until then.

But I mean, why would Microsoft not create an app for the iPad?

Microsoft’s Business Division – home to the Office group – recently overtook Windows as Microsoft’s main source of operating income, so it’s only right that they continue to cultivate and grow this cash cow. 55 million iPads were sold in total since the tablet’s debut in 2010, and it has proven to be untouchable in the tablet sector.

With those numbers in mind, surely Microsoft at least have plans to create an iPad app at some point. And as the iPad is sure to maintain growth and market share, I don’t think that by not already releasing an Office app, they will miss out on much revenue. In fact, one likely reason for this delay in releasing an app is that they wished to reserve Office as exclusive functionality of Windows Phones (having the world’s most popular productivity suite on your mobile device is yet another selling point, after all). Perhaps they may also have wanted to wait until the details to their own tablet strategy were worked out as well.

On that note, Microsoft’s strategy with Office on tablets is interesting; there won’t be a proper WinRT application, but they will be implementing a touch-optimized mode in the legacy version of Office. There is skepticism (including from myself) that this mode won’t be pleasant to use, but it’s still far too early to tell. What I suspect (and I’m crossing my fingers for) is that Microsoft plans to develop an awesome Metro touch alter-ego for Office.

Perhaps – if Microsoft will actually release an iPad version of Office this year – the edge that Microsoft will tout that Windows on ARM tablets have over the iPad is the ability to use the full-featured version of Office.

Whatever the case, profit is profit. Diversifying to iOS – and Android, too – would both increase income and show that Microsoft are maintaining relevance with newer mobile devices.

For discussion on this topic: Check out the threads on Facebook or Google+.

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Windows 8 themes: panoramas, auto color, and more

You may have heard that Windows 8 Consumer Preview was released last week! We also published a theme that showcases some of the new desktop theming features available in Windows 8.

First of all, I just want to clarify one point – all of our Windows 7 themes also work in Windows 8. But the reverse is not true. Themes created in the Windows 8 format will not work in Windows 7, because Windows 8 introduces a few new desktop personalization features that aren’t supported in Windows 7, and the file format is different.

The new feature I am most excited about is the ability to create and use panoramic themes that extend a single background across two monitors. I don’t know how many of you are running multimon, but now we can stretch a single panoramic image across both displays.

You do need to have each monitor set the same. If the displays are different sizes or have different resolution settings, the panorama will not automatically extend across both monitors. Instead, a different image will appear in each display.

Incidentally, you don’t need to have a dual monitor setup to use a theme that contains panoramic images. If you have only one monitor, each image will be cropped to the center. So those of you without multimon can still enjoy the images in the Windows Personalization Gallery’s very first Windows 8 theme, Nightfall and Starlight.

The next new feature is also aimed at users with dual monitor setups: Themes containing regular-size (non-panoramic) images will display a different image in each monitor, instead of just duplicating the same image, as occurs in Windows 7. Windows 8 actually does this automatically, even with Windows 7 themes.

The last new feature is auto color. Windows 8 themes created with the auto color setting will smoothly and automatically shift the Windows desktop glass and taskbar color to match the dominant color in whichever background image is currently being displayed. I really like this feature because it means I won’t have to struggle to try to find one single glass color that goes with every image in a set!

I hope you’ll enjoy trying out the new desktop personalization features in Windows 8 Consumer Preview. And keep visiting the Windows Personalization Gallery for new Windows themes and wallpapers – I add more almost every week.

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Today, HP is launching updates to their HP Z Workstation lineup. If you are a small business seeking big horsepower in your PC, look no further than HP’s latest offerings. With three different workstations available, there is one workstation guaranteed to fit the needs of every small business. Before I hit the specs, let’s review where this trio of workstations can be expected to deliver first class performance.

As a group, the HP Z line is awesome for small businePastesses that use professional programs and applications on a daily basis. This line has a workstation designed to handle everything—from running programs like Autodesk AutoCAD, Adobe Premier Pro, and Avid Media Composer to the daily use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, the HP Z line of Windows 7 Professional workstations has your businesses back.

 

No task is too large for the HP Z820 that can handle big tasks like creating action packed films, mapping and analyzing oil fields. The HP Z820 has up to 16 processing cores allowing for higher computing performance, up to 512 GB of memory, and up to dual NVIDIA Quadro 6000 graphics. The NVIDIA professional graphics card will give you 5x faster performance across a broad range of design, animation and video, allowing you to complete projects in less time.

The Z620 is HP’s most versatile workstation. Ideal for SMBs in a wide variety of occupations including finance, video production and architecture, this workstation includes support for both single- and dual-socket processors.

The HP Z420 is the predecessor to HP’s most popular workstation, the Z400. If your life includes activities like using CAD, editing videos and pictures, or designing buildings then the HP Z420 is an awesome candidate for your next workstation. With up to eight processing cores, the latest Intel Xeon processor E5-1600 and E5-2600 product families, and support for up to NVIDIA Quadro 5000 or dual NVIDIA Quadro 2000 graphics, this workstation will give your business a powerful boost in both horsepower and productivity.

If you are running a PC that was around when either Brazil or Italy won the World Cup last decade, then I would strongly recommend that you take a look at the impact these new workstations from HP could have on your business. When outfitted with Windows 7 Professional, these workstations will give your small business the tools that it needs to maximize its potential and keep up with the ever changing technological environment that exists today. Windows XP end of support is on the horizon and this new line up from HP should be the excuse that you have been looking for to bring your business up to a whole new level of technological possibilities.

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Microsoft Hardware Announces New Mice and A Pinterest Contest - #pinterest #sweeps

Microsoft Hardware Announces New Mice and A Pinterest Contest - #pinterest #sweeps

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Today Microsoft Hardware is launching 6 new Artist Edition mice and a few other colors of their signature mice lines. I think that’s awesome. What is even more exciting is the fact that today we are also launching Microsoft’s first Pinterest Sweepstakes around the new Microsoft Hardware mouse designs and colors.

To enter the Pinterest sweepstakes, visit the Windows Pinterest page and re-pin one of the new mice designs from our sweepstakes board. Then, simply create your own Pinterest board, using the mice as inspiration. Focus on the colors, the design or your favorite workspace- surprise us! Lastly, make sure to share a link to your board in the comments section of the Pinterest sweepstakes announcement pin. We’ll choose a winner at random from the entrants and alert you via a post in the Pinterest comments section. If you have questions about how it works, tweet me @Kristinalibby.

Here are some of my favorite mice below or find them all on our Pinterest board. Legal rules and conditions here.

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