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Microsoft show how cool the Surface Music Kit is on video

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The Surface Music Kit was announced with the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro slates back in September. It is a detachable cover that will let you create and remix songs on your Surface.

The pricing and availability is yet to be announced, though, but now you can learn in detail how the creative process works via nine demo videos. Read more »

Microsoft posts record revenue, Surface sales double

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Microsoft announced a record quarterly revenue for Q1 of its fiscal year and along with that the tech giant announced some good news about the Surface tablets – sales for the quarter have more than doubled. Granted, sales were less than spectacular to begin with but it’s great that things are picking up.

Microsoft as a whole announced $18.53 billion in revenue for the quarter that ended in September with operating income of $6.33 billion. This includes a $113 million deferral of revenue from Windows 8.1 pre-sales. Read more »

Surface Pro to cost $699 after another $100 price cut

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Back in August Microsoft dropped the price of the Surface Pro tablet by a $100, bringing it down to $799. Now, after the launch of the new Surface Pro 2, Microsoft has made another price cut.

Starting today, the older Surface Pro will be sold for $699, which is another $100 off the price tag. That might still seem a bit steep for a tablet but when you consider that it is practically a notebook underneath it is not all that bad. Read more »

Microsoft Surface Pro 2 is a nightmare to repair

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iFixit has published its Microsoft Surface Pro 2 teardown, revealing all internals of the slate as well as how easy each of them can be replaced.

As it turns out, not very easy with the Surface Pro 2. The tablet seems more or less the same as last year’s model – featuring the same exact battery, same screws (many, many screws) and the same flaws that brought the last Surface Pro a low repairability score. Read more »

Windows 8.1 introduces mouse lag, gaming issues

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As it turns out Windows 8.1 update may cause some trouble with popular action games. If you update to Windows 8.1 you may experience severe mouse lag on Call of Duty, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Metro 2033 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Various users are reporting on Reddit they’ve started to experience mouse lag after they updated to Windows 8.1. Read more »

Microsoft resumes seeding the Windows RT 8.1 updates

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The official Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 updates kicked off on October 17. Shortly after that the RT update was pulled from the Store, because it was reportedly failing the installation on a small percentage of RT devices, leaving them unbootable.

It seems Microsoft has found the problem and resolved it, because the Windows RT 8.1 update is back in the Store. Read more »

Nokia Lumia 2520 treated to an official hands-on video, couple of ads

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The Lumia 2520 is the first ever tablet to come from the Nokia and understandably, the Finns are very excited about it.

They have released a trio of videos, the first of which features Nokia’s Adam Giles, who touches upon the slate’s key features. The 10.1″ slate runs Windows 8.1 RT and packs a microSD card as well as a microSIM card tray for the full 4G LTE support. Read more »

Windows RT 8.1 update pulled

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Microsoft launched the free Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 updates just four days ago. Lots of Windows 8 users are probably already running on the latest version of the OS, while many of you owning Windows RT-powered slate still can’t download the update.

Don’t you worry, the problem is not in your device, it’s in the update itself. As it turns out Microsoft has removed the update from the Store because it causes boot issues to some RT devices. Read more »

Windows 8.1 updates kick off today

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Microsoft is releasing its Windows 8.1 OS today. It will be available as a free update to existing Windows 8 users and will also come pre-installed on new Windows 8 PCs sold after tomorrow. The stand-alone retail version also launches on October 18.

Windows 8.1, previously known as Blue, will bring back the Start button, make the Start screen optional (boot to Desktop), will offer more customization options, new spit screen mode, IE 11, better SkyDrive integration, new apps, new connectivity options and lots of other improvements. Read more »

Facebook releases official app for Windows 8.1

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Although Windows 8 has always had Facebook integrated in the OS Facebook has now released a proper app for those who are into that sort of thing. The app is being released on the same day as Windows 8.1 and is only compatible with the new version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system.

As you can see from the screenshot, the app looks similar to the web version of Facebook, but has a flat look to blend with the general UI design of Windows 8.1. It also supports Snap View so you can run it alongside other apps and with Windows 8.1 now improving the Snap View functionality by letting you adjust the size the apps take and having up to four apps on the screen simultaneously, this is going to come in handy. Read more »

Updated: Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet dressed in cyan and red leaks out in press images

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The upcoming Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows RT tablet made yet another unscheduled appearance, thanks to @evleaks. After allowing us to potentially catch a glimpse of its kickstand three days ago, the slate leaked out in a press image, dressed in a cyan outfit.

Update: @evleaks posted another press image of the upcoming tablet, this time dressed in a red outfit. Read more »

Windows Phone 8.1 to power 10″ tablets, swallow up Windows RT

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We’ve been hearing that Windows Phone and Windows RT might merge but a new rumor suggests it will be more like Phone displacing RT. Microsoft is working on a Windows Phone 8.1 update, which will allegedly add support for 7 to 10 inch screens to enable WP8.1-powered tablets and merge parts of the API so developers can easily create apps for both platforms.

Multitasking is reportedly the biggest issue ahead of this plan – the GDR3 update will let users close apps manually, but apps running in the background are still a no go. Not until the 8.1 update that is. Read more »

Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet to have a kickstand and 1080p screen?

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A new photo of the Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows RT tablet indicates that the rumored tablet will follow in the footsteps of the Microsoft Surface tablet and have a kickstand on its back. The image is low quality and doesn’t even show the whole tablet, so trust it at your own risk.

The Lumia 2520 has leaked before – an alleged photo of the Verizon-branded version didn’t show any trace of a kickstand, while the FCC diagrams revealed almost nothing but the beveled edges. Read more »

Latest updated to Chrome developer version turns it into Chrome OS under Windows 8

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The current stable version of Google Chrome has two modes under Windows 8. On the desktop mode, it runs the same way it does on Windows 8. In the new Modern UI, it is again basically the same app, but running in a permanent fullscreen mode instead.

Google has been playing around a bit with the browser and how it works under this mode in Windows 8 and you can see that in the latest developer build. The latest update essentially turns Chrome into Chrome OS that runs within Windows 8, complete with a new UI and its own app drawer. Read more »

Dell announces Android and Windows based Venue tablets

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Dell recently revived the ill-fated Venue brand for their tablets. Today, the company has launched four new tablets under the Venue brand, two of which run Android and the other two Windows 8.

The Android based Venue 7 and Venue 8 are basic budget tablets, with each having a 1280×800 resolution IPS LCD and Intel Atom Z2580 SoC with 2GHz dual-core CPU. The Venue 7 will have 16GB internal memory and the Venue 8 (pictured above) will have a choice between 16 and 32, with both models having a microSD card slot. Read more »