Windows 8 version of Skype leaked, shows off its “Modern” styling

An upcoming version of Skype for Windows 8 has leaked showing off an interface optimized for touch RBSE result 2018 interfaces (read: tablets).

It’s styled using the Modern UI, characteristic of the upcoming Microsoft platform.

Some highlights include the ability to pin favorite contacts, as well as use pay-as-you-go and monthly payment options for landlines.

The app runs smoothly and with almost no issues with its updated interface. When chatting with different contacts, the background changes to let you easily identify who you’re talking to.

The app preview is in very polished, so we are hoping to see it released in the very near future.

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Motorola and Verizon schedule an NYC press event on September 5th

Motorola sent out invitations for an event in New York City on September 5th. Scheduled only a few hours after Nokia's own upcoming (and seriously hyped) announcement in the Big Apple, Motorola claims that its showcase will be "the day's main event."

There's no information on the product which will break cover, but given Verizon's participation and the recent string of leaks, we would bet on seeing Motorola DROID RAZR HD getting unveiled. It's been a while since we've seen new Motorola hardware on Verizon, so the timing seems just right for such an event.

All in all, we can tell you that September 5th will definitely be a busy day. We will be covering the events live, so expect the full scoop on everything as it unfolds.

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Hands on with Windows 8 RTM

On August 1, Microsoft released Windows 8 to PC manufacturers. Starting August 15, developers can download this final build of the operating system from TechNet or MSDN and reviewers like me are finally allowed to write about the near-final version of Microsoft's big gamble for the future of Windows. The public release of the operating system and PCs running it won't happen until its General Availability on October 26. I got an early look, and tested the latest version of the OS by upgrading an Intel-based Windows 8 Samsung tablet to RTM. The public can still get a pretty close idea of what Microsoft's re-imagining of Windows is like by downloading the Release Preview and installing it on any Windows 7–capable hardware.

Never has there been a more apt application of the acronym FUD—fear, uncertainty, and doubt—when it came to an approaching operating system. Uncertainty can certainly characterize a lot of people's thoughts about Windows 8, and one of the main uncertainties is that they're not sure whether it's a tablet operating system or a desktop one…because it's both. And that, for some reason, confuses people. Microsoft has often used the phrase "no compromises," meaning you get the best of both worlds, but a lot of desktop users will feel that their Windows 8 interface is compromised in favor of touch tablets.

Anyone following the computer industry knows that Microsoft would have been foolish to carry on producing only a desktop-centric OS that ignores the sea surge moving computing to the tablet format, with Apple's iPad in the vanguard. Microsoft made the bold choice of deciding to build one OS to rule them all, offering more than just a tablet OS as the iPad does. People clearly want tablets, but they also want PCs: Since its launch in 2009, Windows 7 has sold over 630 million licenses, compared with 84 million total iPads sold since its launch in 2010. Why not offer an OS for both platforms in one shot?

The tablet and touch friendly face of the OS, formerly called Metro, and now called simply Windows 8-style (and which I'll call new-style to avoid confusion), can be used to launch the new set of Windows 8-style apps, which run full-screen and are designed for touch with simple and consisent interfaces. But it can also serve as a launcher for the desktop-style apps that Windows users have been accustomed to. In RTM, the Start screen tiles for desktop apps get a slight face-lift, with larger and in some cases redesigned icons.

Before delving into an analysis of Windows 8 RTM, which I've had just a day with at this point, let's take a moment to enumerate what the new OS brings to the party for everyone:

• Much faster startup. Let's be honest, there's no comparison with the time it takes to start using an iPad versus a Windows 7 laptop. Windows 8 makes great strides towards eliminating this difference.
• New Start screen with live tiles that update with app info such as arriving emails, news items, weather, and stock tickers. Default apps are included that provide all this.
• Syncing with all your PCs through Microsoft account sign in. This capability syncs personalization preferences, Internet Explorer favorites, backgrounds, WiFi passwords and more with cloud-connected accounts.
• New App Store. The apps sold here will run on both Windows 8 tablets and full PCs. The apps will have to pass standards, and can be updated and installed on multiple PCs in your account (just as with the Mac App Store). They'll also get the ability to connect with other apps for services like email or social network updating.
• Improved battery life for laptops as well as tablets.
• Faster Wi-Fi reconnect times.
• Faster graphics and text performance, thanks to hardware acceleration.
• A much improved Internet Explorer 10, with far better support for the new HTML5 standards and faster performance.
• New file folder window choices.
• New Task Manager
• Trusted Boot. This prevents malware from loading before the OS, on systems with UEFI boot. In general, security is much tighter in Windows 8 than in Windows 7 (though we've heard that song before).
• Built in Consumer apps—People, for social network contacts; Photos, Mail, Messaging, Calendar, Video,
• ISO mounting. The OS can now make a disc image file appear as a drive.

You'll get all this and more for a mere $39.99 upgrade from Windows XP and later. And don't forget that Windows 8 runs on any hardware that can runs Windows 7. It will also be able to run any programs that run under Windows 7, unless you opt for a Windows RT tablet, which will only run new-style Windows 8 apps.

What's New in Windows 8 RTM vs. Release Preview?
Very little changes from Windows 8 Release Preview to RTM. Microsoft has mostly squashed bugs and made performance improvements. But there are a few visual differences you'll notice right after upgrading to RTM: The default lock screen now shows the Seattle Space Needle, with mountains in the background and a green hill that evokes the original Windows XP default desktop. And in the desktop view, we can finally see the "flattened" look of the new windows borders, which do away with the glassy transparency of Windows 7 interface elements.

Something I consider extremely important for new Windows 8 users debuts in RTM the first time you log in: You're now treated to a mini-tutorial on using Windows 8 during initial setup: Simple text and diagrams show you how to swipe in from the sides of the screen (if you're on a tablet) or to move the mouse pointer to the corners of the screen if you're using mouse and keyboard. Once users digest these two simple gesture types, they've got a lot of what's needed to operate Windows 8 under their belts.

In another instance of new eye candy, 14 new personalization "tattoos" have been added for the Start screen. To choose one of these, head to PC Settings > Personalize > Start screen. These tattoos are variants on the background swirls behind the tiles of the Windows 8 Start screen. The new ones range from discreet brush strokes to some that are more colorful and elaborate than any we've seen up to now. Each tattoo is customized to match the basic color scheme you chose from the 25 options.

A new app-switching option has also been introduced in Windows 8 RTM: Instead of always having your last app pop in to take over the screen when you swipe in from the left, you can now set this action to just bring up the list of recently used apps in a left panel. These tiles formerly only appeared when you swiped in and out—a gesture that took me some time to discover. Changing the setting makes the full app list display whenever you swipe in from the left. 

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Lenovo hints Windows RT tablet pricing would start at $300

So far, Microsoft has not revealed even the tentative pricing of its two upcoming tablets, Surface for Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT, or those of its OEM partners’ offerings.

Now however, Lenovo’s David Schmook, in an interview with news agency Bloomberg, let slip the expecting price range of the two versions of Windows 8 tablets, with the x86-based Pro editions expected to be between $600 and $700, and the ARM-based RT editions expected to be $200 to $300 less, putting them between $300 and $500.

However, previous reports speculated that Windows RT tablets would be introduced at roughly $200. While that price might actually be a little too good to be true, we can expect that Microsoft and its OEM partners would be pricing them very aggressively, trying to capture the market from the bottom up, taking on budget Android tablets (including the $249 Nexus 7) and older generation iPad tablets at the same time.

In the same interview, Schmook also expressed a lack of confidence in Intel’s ultrabook market saturation estimates, which aimed to capture 40% of the laptop market by 2012, even with Windows 8, saying:

"It’s going to require a very strong first couple of weeks of launch of Win 8. They'll be a lot bigger than they are now, but I don't know if it will get all the way up to 40 percent."

Lenovo showed off its first x86, Windows 8 Pro-based tablet earlier this month, with the Lenovo ThinkPad 2 Tablet, and later, sparked off rumours about a Windows RT version of the IdeaPad Yoga convertible laptop-tablet.
 

Source: Bloomberg

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MRP: 1499

Rating: Average

2.5/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

• Installation needs minimum wiring
• Promised speeds, for the most part
• Plans are less expensive when compared to Airtel Broadband
• There seems to be no FUP limits either
• Unique looking router

CONS

• Cannot connect a PC via the wired route with wireless router
• Limited PCs can be used at one time
• Connectivity drops out at times
• Speeds dip considerably at times
• Logging in and out every time is a pain

Summary

Tikona attempts to reduce the roadblocks usually faced by a wireline home broadband network, and mostly does well if you are within the service area. We got good speeds and ping rates most of the time. But even on what is essentially a 4G (OFGM and MIMO) network, we did face the same issue of speed drops and connectivity loss at times, just like on a 3G network. Unfortunately, service reliability is not as solid as we had hoped for, and it can be very frustrating.

Before we start off with the review, let me just get a fact out of the way. I have used Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom Broadband (came rather close to using BSNL broadband as well) and Airtel Broadband over the last half a dozen years, and the experience with Airtel has been the most peaceful. The service is reliable, speeds are delivered as promised and the response time in case of a fault is quite quick. For consumers, Airtel Broadband is a sort of benchmark that they can compare any rival services to.

When Tikona responded to our call for a review connection to test the service, we were in the driver’s seat to experience what the new wireless-broadband hype has been all about.

Installation & Hardware
Let us just run you through how the installation process works. First, the installation team will identify the position of your home in relation to the tower that services the area. From what the engineer explained, the service is offered only up to a maximum of 300-400 meters from an individual tower. Critically, you need a line of sight with the tower as well, because there is a greater chance of service failure / non-connectivity later, if that isn’t the case – reflected signals aren’t something you can install your connection based on. In my case, we had the tower and the outdoor equipment looking directly at each other, with the outdoor unit on the 8th floor and the tower on the next building on the 14th floor, with nothing in-between.

Essentially, there are three pieces of hardware that are installed, also known as Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). One is the outdoor unit, which connects wirelessly to the service tower. That is connected to a powered intermediary device, from which the connectivity is sent to the router, which sits indoors. In comparison to something like an Airtel Broadband, this one doesn’t need wiring to be run up to your home, right from the junction box outside the apartments. Does save time, resources and a lot of headache!

Once installed, the calls are then made to the “back-end team” to activate the service, on the installed hardware. It is a matter of luck with regards to how quickly the service will be activated – depends probably on the requests pending with the team already or probably their mood on the given day!

Speaking of the hardware, the outdoor unit needs to be mounted and secured. If it moves around, chances are the link with the tower will get disturbed. The indoor unit – the router, along with the tiny intermediary box, need power. The router does have a very unique shape. And it is named as Ruckus, which is a rather different name too! Multiple notification lights on the front, but no power on/off key on the device. Compared to the Beetel 450 Wi-Fi router that Airtel Broadband offers, this one does seem rather inferior. The Beetel, in addition to the Wi-Fi, also has the option of connecting 4 devices to the router, via the wired network. Tikona’s Ruckus doesn’t have any ports to connect more devices via the wired route. That is rather unfortunate.

Features & Plan Details
For our review connection, we were offered the ADULM4096 plan, which is the fully loaded monthly tariff package offering. As a part of this plan, they offer 4Mbps broadband speeds, and it clearly looks like it has no Fair Usage Policy limits on it. Nothing is mentioned on the website regarding any limits, and neither did the installation engineer have any details on that. We have used it for quite a while now, and do not see any FUP limits seemingly kick in either. Be sure to confirm the FUP limits on the plan that you select before selecting the plan.

For the plans that do have a FUP, Tikona uses a slightly different implementation of it. Unlike other operators who will straightaway chop your speeds down to 256kbps (Airtel, for example) or 512kbps (BSNL, for example), Tikona changes the contention ratio. For example, the default ratio is 1:4, but that will go up to 1:16 or something like that, once you cross the data usage limit.

One thing that is slightly inconvenient is the fact that you have to sign in and sign out from the account every single time you connect to the Internet, with your User ID and password. And this is true for every individual device that you may wish to use this service on. And is particularly inconvenient on a smartphone or a tablet. Plus, clean the browser cache, and chances are that you would have cleaned up the auto-saved ID and password as well, and send you scurrying to retrieve it from some sheet of paper saved somewhere. In comparison to this, Airtel Broadband is far more convenient – switch on the Wi-Fi router, and the connectivity arrives in all devices where that network is saved. No need to sign in or sign out.

Unfortunately, there is a limitation with the entire package. You cannot sign in to more than 3 devices at a time. This is because you need to sign in individually from each device before you can start using the Internet. Some users have found a workaround for this – by connecting the Ruckus unit to a Wi-Fi router. Sign-in from any machine, and then you can browse on any other device without having to sign in again and again. We have not tried that, and wouldn’t recommend it either, for the sake of service consistency and reliability.

Performance
Since this was a 4Mbps plan, we were hoping for a much quicker broadband experience than what my 2Mbps Airtel connection offers. And for the most part, the speeds were fine. We even recorded a test that showed that we getting a full Mbps more than the promised speed!

We got 4Mbps at most times, but the speed delivery scenario isn’t as stable and consistent as what Airtel offers over the wire-line broadband.

The screenshots will prove that speeds do tend to drop, but there is no fixed time of the day when that happens. Transfer rates, as expected, hovered between 380 KB/s and 410 KB/s when the speed was as promised. When the speed is close to normal, ping times were always slightly lower than the ones Airtel offers, something that may be critical for the gamers.

A couple of issues with the service, though, and we begin first with the CPE devices. The wall plugs for the two devices are huge – width, length and thickness, and they will not fit in two side by side points even on the back of a big UPS. We have seen enough smaller sized plugs to know that such a thing exists in the real world! It is a surprise how this got through the Tikona team who must have finalized the hardware. Also, am not sure how many people will have two wall sockets lying free in a room, for these two indoor devices to hog. Maybe Tikona should be ready to offer a three-way plug or something.

Secondly, the connection dropped out at least once a day – from the Ruckus router to the connected laptop. So much so that even the Tikona login page refused to open. Weirdly, Airport notification icon on the Mac or the wireless connectivity notification on Windows did not show any exclamation marks indicating loss of connectivity. Since there is no power on/off key on the router, you have to turn it off from the wall socket itself, and restart it. We did the reset thing – unplug the device from power for 20 seconds and plugged it again. It has been 3 days since, and the same issue has not crept up.

Third is the issue when there is a complete loss of connectivity of service – from the service tower to the CPE. A latest screenshot of this shows that error message. This has happened with us quite a few times for us to be comfortable about the reliability of service anymore.

Bottom Line
If you are considering a buying a broadband connection, or shifting to another service provider, we would recommend that you first check if there are the traditional wireline ADSL operators like Airtel, BSNL or MTNL in your area. If yes, consider them. Unless that isn’t an option, we would only recommend a wireless service then. For all the benefits it may offer in terms of ease of installation and possibly better speeds than what an Airtel may offer in your area, a wireless service does have inherent problems – connectivity drops, signal loss, speed fluctuations and at times even tower overloads that lead to slow speed and pings.

Overall, we appreciate the effort of the Tikona team, and the service does have some solid foundations to begin with. First, the speeds on offer (up to 4Mbps) are more than what Airtel offers in my area for example (only up to 2Mbps). Second, the tariff plans are also less expensive than the likes of Airtel, BSNL and MTNL. Third, the removal of any FUP on most plans is something that we praise and welcome wholeheartedly, hoping this will knock some sense into the operators who still believe in the ridiculous concept of FUP.

But, there are still some tweaks to be made before Tikona can be a recommended service. First off, the manual login and logout system needs to be done away with. If security is the concern, you need to probably lock the router with the user ID and password, but at least make it simpler for users to connect to the Internet. Secondly, the service reliability needs to be more robust, because we aren’t sure how many subscribers will be geeky enough to understand why the Internet isn’t working, or will have enough patience to call the customer care every other day.

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Download Windows 8 Enterprise 90-day trial edition now

Microsoft has released a 90-day trial edition for its final version of Windows 8 operating system, which is slated to go on sale on October 26 this year. The trial, however, is available only for the Enterprise edition of Windows 8 and is aimed at developers who intend to build apps, and IT administrators who want to try out the new OS before making their decision to migrate, all ahead of its official debut. Microsoft recently released final version of Windows 8 to MSDN and Technet subscribers.

The Windows 8 Enterprise trial edition is available in 32 and 64 bits versions. To download the operating system, users need to have a subscription to Windows Live. Also, users need to have a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and 20GB of hard disk space as minimum setup requirement. A number of trial ISO images are also provided for a variety of languages in x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit)versions.

The Enterprise edition comes with all the features of Windows 8 Pro and is more business-focused. It has options such as Windows To Go (which allows Windows 8 installation from a USB key).

If you are planning to download the trial pack, below are some pointers before you start:

• The evaluation edition will expire and cannot be upgraded.
• To upgrade, the evaluation must be uninstalled and a non-evaluation version of Windows must be re-installed from your original installation media.
• Consider running the evaluation edition in a virtual environment or installing on a separate hard drive or partition. The will allow you to upgrade your original Windows installation to Windows 8.
• During registration (required) you must login with a Microsoft account and provide your name, e-mail address and country.
• You are required to activate the product online within 10 days after installing.
• Once the evaluation is installed, you cannot upgrade. To revert to a previous version of Windows, you must do a clean install from your original installation media.

To know more about Windows 8 Enterprise 90-day trial edition activation and usage guidelines, click here.

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Black Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB coming to the UK in October

Not only did the rumors that Samsung cancelled the 64GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S III turn out to be false, but now we actually have a rough launch target. Clove UK blogged that the upcoming black version of the phone will be packing 64GB of storage.

They don't have pricing info yet, but the phone should be available in early October. The black Galaxy S III will also be available with 16GB of storage - MobileFun already has it on preorder (£500) and so does Expansys (same price). There's no availability date info on their sites though.

In case you want the 64GB of built-in storage but prefer the standard Pebble White and Marble Blue colors - Expansys is expecting those too.

Those are all UK retailers, but the black Samsung Galaxy S III will be available across the pond too, as it showed up on T-Mobile USA's web site. It wasn’t clear how much storage that one will have.

There's one more color version of the S III - Garnet Red, which is currently exclusive to AT&T. We don't know if and when we might see this one go international and there's still no clear info which regions will get the 64GB version of the Samsung flagship.

Source

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