Microsoft is set to expand the international availability of its Surface tablets significantly over the next two months, according to a blog post by the company early Tuesday. At the end of February, we announced that we were broadening the availability of the Surface family. Since then, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback that people want us to expand availability further and faster. We know it took us a while to get back to you, but we hear you, and
Apple Dominates 2012 Digital Video Purchases and Rentals
While Netflix controls subscription-based online video, Apple dominates online video purchases and rentals in the U.S., according to a new report from the NPD Group. Apple’s iTunes held a commanding lead in both categories during 2012, reaching unit shares of 67 and 65 percent for online TV Show and Movie purchases, respectively. Microsoft’s still developing Xbox Video service and Amazon’s Instant Video took third and fourth place in terms of digital purchases. Online movie rentals were also controlled by Apple,
A Boon for the Lazy: Order Pizza Hut from Your Xbox 360
In a move that can be classified as either the next major step in integrating living room devices into our lives or the beginning of the end of Western civilization, Microsoft and Pizza Hut have teamed up to offer a new Xbox 360 app that allows users to order food directly from their console without ever leaving the couch. After logging in and determining a user’s location, the entire local Pizza Hut menu is browsable via the app. Users can
Netflix Adds 4-Stream Family Plan But May Lose Content in 2013
Video service Netflix posted positive results Monday for its first calendar quarter of 2013 and the company is now moving to expand its appeal to an even broader customer base. As expected, Netflix announced a new family plan to accommodate heavier users of its streaming service. As part of the company’s $7.99 streaming-only package, users are limited to two simultaneous video streams. As online streaming becomes more popular each year, and as the Netflix video library grows, more subscribers are
What the Tek? Welcome to TekRevue!
Welcome to TekRevue! My name is Jim and I’ll be your tour guide today. Please keep your hands on your keyboard or tablet for the duration of the ride. Okay, ready? Here we go… Now that you’ve found our little slice of the Internet, let me tell you a bit about what’s happening here. There are already a ton of reputable tech sites, but none of them perfectly match our “ideal” news destination. Some sites cast a huge net and
Microsoft Rumored to Launch 7-inch Surface Device This Year
After significantly overhauling Windows last year, we knew that Microsoft was committed to its new mobile strategy, even in the face of disappointing sales of its first generation of Surface tablet devices. What remained unclear, however, was whether the Redmond giant would venture into the crowded 7-inch tablet market, which now contains products from Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and many others. According to a report late Wednesday from The Wall Street Journal, that’s exactly what Microsoft plans to do. The
Quickly Navigate a Website Hierarchy With Safari’s Title Bar
The majority of those browsing the Web navigate websites using their browser’s forward and back buttons. Click a link > read the page > click back to return to the site’s homepage. Easy, right? While this works great for simple websites, or for occasions when a user only navigates one or two pages deep, it can become a confusing and time consuming process while browsing deep into complex websites. For these situations, Apple provides an alternative way to navigate a
NetWare File Server Runs Continuously For More Than 16 Years
6,030 days, 5 hours, 21 minutes, 19 seconds. That’s how long a server monitored by Ars Technica forum user Axatax has been faithfully operating without interruption. The 16-year-old server, powered Novell’s NetWare operating system, finally shut down last week after its 5.25-inch SCSI hard drives started to fail. The NetWare File Server’s impressive uptime was due to the server’s use in a large financial company; a centralized UPS system insured against any power failures that might have brought the computer
Next Xbox Gains AMD x86 CPU, Loses 360 Backward Compatibility
After earlier rumors suggested that Microsoft’s next Xbox will be powered by an AMD GPU, new information Monday points to an AMD CPU as well, opening the door for an advanced integrated offering from the struggling chip maker. According to sources speaking with Bloomberg, Microsoft will use an AMD solution that combines the company’s Jaguar CPU technology with a 7000 series GPU. This closely matches the hardware specifications for Sony’s PlayStation 4, which was announced in late February. Microsoft’s current
Fix Multi-Monitor Gaming Issues with Flawless Widescreen
Multi-monitor gaming can provide a fun and engrossing experience for users willing to purchase an array of displays and at least one high performance GPU. But despite a strong marketing push by GPU firms AMD and NVIDIA, many games still do not display properly by default across multiple monitors. Issues with some games and multi-monitor displays can often be resolved manually by editing the games’ configuration files, and sites such as WidescreenGaming.net exist to guide users through this process. For
Falcon Ridge Thunderbolt 2 Coming End of Year With Twice the Speed
Thunderbolt, the ultra-fast Intel-developed interface, will soon double in speed. Intel demoed the Falcon Ridge Thunderbolt controller Monday at NAB, the annual National Association of Broadcasters’ trade show in Las Vegas. The new design, named Thunderbolt 2, promises to double Thunderbolt’s current speeds from 10 Gbps to 20 Gbps, which equals a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 2,560 megabytes per second. The jump in performance is necessary to accommodate the video production industry, which is quickly moving to 4K resolutions
How to Disable Taskbar Transparency In Windows 8
Microsoft notably left Aero Glass, the company’s transparent design featured prominently in Windows Vista and 7, out of the new Windows 8. Application windows in Microsoft’s latest operating system now take on a flatter opaque look. While many like the new look, Microsoft oddly included a transparency effect in the desktop Taskbar. The result is a clash of designs that can be quite distracting with certain wallpapers. To remedy this, a small software company called WinAero has stepped in with