Windows Phone Proves it’s Faster Than Other Phones at CES 2012
Ben the PC guy went to CES to challenge other phones to a speed competition to prove that Windows Phones are faster than the competition. The challenges were simple post to Facebook the fastest, take a photo and upload to Twitter that fastest, identify a song the fastest, etc. If Windows Phone lost the challenger would receive $100, but if you lose then you have to say that you just got smoked by a Windows Phone. Read the rest of this article…
Intel Shows Off DirectX 11 But Not Really
Yeah so this is pretty bad. At CES Intel was trying to show off DirectX 11 for Ultrabooks by showing a racing demo, cool stuff right? They got a steering wheel hooked up and everything then he hit play, huh? They thought they were being pretty slick after pretending to drive then eventually saying that he can drive without hands because they are actually playing it backstage. Right, using VLC media player to play it back stage… Take a look at the for yourself. Read the rest of this article…
At $249.99, Kinect For Windows Is A Massive Rip-Off
At Microsoft’s last CES keynote, the company unveiled that a dedicated version of the Xbox 360 Kinect sensor would be arriving specifically for Windows on February 1st. If you’ve been under a rock since the Kinect released originally, you’ll know that hackers and modders have taken the sensor through its paces to develop some really cool applications, including 3D modelling, crazy motion capture, and all of this at a higher resolution than the Xbox 360 can handle natively. What Microsoft didn’t unveil tonight was the price, which is an absolutely gob-stopping $249.99. Yes, for over twice as much as a Kinect sensor that you can buy at any electronics store, you can own the Kinect For Windows in a special box (because it’s for Windows, yo!), comes with the Kinect SDK (because you couldn’t just download it) and a shorter cable. On top of that, Microsoft states that this specific version of Kinect is inoperable without the SDK installed. So what exactly are you getting for $249.99, aside from the brazen feeling of being ripped completely off?
Uh, well, you get a cool box, I suppose. I certainly hope this is a joke because we’re going to see the Xbox 360 Kinect disappear off shelves long before people sink bongo cash into this. Better luck next time, Microsoft.
Source: Amazon via Major Nelson
Skype, Get Your Act Together Or We’re Leaving You
We at FleshEatingZipper have been using Skype in all in its previous iterations for the past two years. In fact, we made our start with the program, we probably wouldn’t be around today without it: it’s how we made and recorded our podcasts. We dealt with the various interface changes and so on since then, but now… now it’s hard to say exactly what we’re gonna do, now that we’ve been faced with this latest batch of Skype problems.
PS4, XBOX 720 To Be Unveiled At E3 2012?
Rumors abound that the next generation of consoles will be unveiled at this year’s expos and between CES, this month, and E3 later this year, if new consoles are coming, these shows should be when they’re revealed.
But do they exist?
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Feeling a Little Nostalgic? Cure it with The Restart Page
This nifty little piece of the web lets you remember the restart process of a bunch of operating systems, seriously. I never thought in a million years I would want to sit through watching Windows 3.1 boot up but I did it twice just now. I’ve never seen the Next OS boot process until tonight either. This feels like it is perfectly timed also and includes startup sounds! I’ve got this huge grin on my face as I watch these and remember them perfectly! Read the rest of this article…
Is Microsoft Caving To Carriers By Removing Update Notes For Windows Phone?
One of the biggest advantages in forcing OEMs into very tight hardware specifications for their Windows Phones was that they could make upgrading super easy. Since the phones are all so similar, it wouldn’t take long to move their updates across all their devices, in a way similar to what Apple does with their iPhone and what could only be a pipe dream for Android owners. Microsoft reinforced this by maintaining a page that listed when specific phones on various carriers were getting the newest updates.
Well, for some strange reason, they’re not going to be doing that anymore.
Microsoft’s Newly Awarded Patent Helps You Avoid The Hood
Microsoft was recently awarded a new pedestrian GPS patent that will give you options like avoiding rain, high traffic places, the ghetto, only indoor routes, etc. Whoa, hold on there Microsoft, the what? Here’s how Microsoft explains it. Read the rest of this article…
Apple’s iMac Can’t Lead In A PC Market It Created
Nearly fifteen years ago, with Steve Jobs having just returned to Apple and the niche PC maker now in seriously trouble, the company released one of its first new products: the iMac. An all-in-one computer encased in a colorful transparent eggshell, it looked vaguely hideous, but managed to become pretty popular. Over the years, the design got better and better as Apple rose to consumer electronic dominance, but marketshare is one thing they’ve never been able to capture.
SOPA Support Drying Up As Gaming Companies Feel The Heat
We’ve talked before about the evils of the SOPA bill, which is temporarily shelved for Congress’ holiday recess, and that everything must be done to prevent its passage. The bill would allow the government to shut down entire web sites on the suspicion of transmitting or harboring pirated material. While tech companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Foursquare have argued against it publicly, media conglomerates and content holders still comprise a long list of supporters of the bill who are looking to protect their content. Well, that crowd just got a bit smaller.
