Today’s business jargon gem: TAM, Total Addressable Market. AMD feels that Windows 8 comes with plenty of the stuff, so it sees no commercial need to make its forthcoming tablet chip — codenamed Hondo — play nice with Android as well. Speaking to The Inquirer, corporate VP Steve Belt said it was a “conscious decision” not to go after compatibility with Google’s OS, because AMD doesn’t want to spread itself into “other markets.” What could this mean for us tablet-buyers? No dual-booting Windows / Android magic on AMD devices, for one thing, which is perhaps a shame now that ASUS has shown off the combo’s potential. On the other hand, Belt made it clear that Hondo will support Linux, which — for now, at least — is more than can be said of Intel’s rival low-power silicon, Clover Trail.

SOURCE via The Inquirer

Windows 8 tablets have had their specs bandied about for months, but their prices have continued to remain off the radar. Now, however, a purported ASUS holiday roadmap sent to ZDNet may give us a glimpse as to how badly bank accounts could be affected this fall. According to the slide, the ASUS Vivo Tab will carry a $799 price tag and its Windows RT counterpart will come in at $599, which matches the previously reported price difference between slates running Redmond’s latest OS with Intel and AMD processors. The ASUS Taichi dual-screen notebook / tablet hybrid is said to ring up at a heftier $1,299. As for the firm’s Transformer Book, it will supposedly set purchasers back $1,399. If these prices are any indication of what we can expect from other OEMs, Microsoft’s Surface might be pricier than hoped.

SOURCE via Zdnet

For all the explaining that Microsoft has done, there’s still a fair bit that’s not clear about what Windows RT will actually look like when it ships next month. The company has filled in one of those gaps today, though, detailing what it hopes will be one of the operating system’s big selling points: Office for Windows RT. Perhaps the biggest news is Microsoft’s confirmation of earlier reports that the productivity suite will actually ship as a preview release on Windows RT devices, with a free upgrade to the final version promised between early November and January depending on the language. What’s more, Microsoft has also confirmed that Office for Windows RT will unsurprisingly be a bit stripped down compared to its standard Windows 8 counterpart — there’s no macros, for starters, and you’ll have to make do without add-ins and some other features like the ability to record narrations in PowerPoint. It’s also only going to be available as a pre-installed component of Windows RT — no standalone release is planned. You can find a full breakdown of the differences at the link below.

SOURCE via Microsoft

It’s been a long time coming, but Microsoft has finally sent out the invites for its Windows 8 launch event. As you can see, Redmond’s new multi-faceted OS will be officially revealed in Gotham on October 25th. Microsoft isn’t giving us any details about the celebration itself, but rest assured, we’ll be bringing all the action to you live when the Win 8 party gets poppin’.

Naturally, there’s a good amount of anticipation surrounding the release of Windows Phone 8 handsets, but before that day arrives, developers will need proper software to code apps. Microsoft stopped short of releasing the requisite tools, but today, the company announced the Windows Phone 8 SDK preview program — essentially a way for developers to get in line for when the software becomes available. As is, all developers must submit an application to the Microsoft Connect website by Monday, September 17th, at which point, they’ll be provided instructions “the following week” of how and where to download the SDK. As for why the company has stopped short of an immediate release, Microsoft blames it on the fact that not all Windows Phone 8 features have been announced — which gives us reason to hope we’ll see a full disclosure in the near term.

In related news, the Redmond giant has also revealed that the Marketplace will be renamed the Windows Phone Store, which is intended to harmonize the naming scheme with the Windows Store. It’ll first rear its head in both Australia and New Zealand, but the company promises to roll out the new storefront to other countries in the weeks ahead. As for what you can expect, a cleaner design and new menu options are said to be in the mix, along with news and reviews from various technology blogs and journalists. Other improvements will include new search functionality to account for typos, along with suggestions for similar apps, regardless of what’s in the title. Finally, Microsoft will also introduce new categories such as Best Rated, Top Free and Top Paid. We’ll initially see these designations in the online store only, but the company promises to mirror the functionality on its phones later this year.

SOURCE via Microsoft

As Microsoft ramps up for its next big Office release, the company is apparently getting ready to offer up a program to help cushion the blow for those who pick up the current version of the suite. ZDNET is reporting that Redmond will begin its Office 2013 upgrade program on October 19th, keeping with its policy for past Office and Windows releases, ensuring that those who pick up the software between that date and the end of April get the upgrade. The word comes from some anonymous sources, so there’s no guarantee here — there’s also no info on whether the upgrade will be fully free or will have a small fee attached. We’re still not quite sure when Office will officially be hitting the market, but the site’s sources put it at around February.

SOURCE via Zdnet

Forget Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 is where it’s at… if you’re a corporate IT manager, that is. Microsoft has just posted the finished version of its suit-and-tie OS for immediate sale in download form. Not surprisingly given Microsoft’s big cloud push, the emphasis with the upgrade is on improving how well the software scales for internet hosting — the company wants one common backbone that can handle as little as a small e-mail server to large-scale Azure deployments and virtualization. Server 2012 is also defined by what you won’t find: while the Metro-style interface from the platform’s Windows 8 cousin shows its face in the Essentials version, it’s noticeably stripped down and goes away in the more advanced tiers. The real shakeup for some might just be the new price points, which drop the cost by a large amount for offices that don’t need more than a slice of what the all-out Datacenter edition has to offer. We’ll admit that most of our attention as end users will be focused on what happens several weeks from now, but if you’re one of those rare server operators that can’t wait to start testing a new OS release almost immediately, you’ve got a head start on most of us.

SOURCE via Microsoft

Microsoft has just announced that it will be providing security patches for the Windows 8 IE10-specific version of Flash, despite the software giant initially suggesting it wouldn’t. The patch will be available “shortly,” and hints at a return to the update cycles of old. More significantly, as ZDNet points out, unless Microsoft coordinates these releases with Adobe, there could be a constant cycle of IE10 being vulnerable in the future. On a positive note, the fix should be released before Windows 8 goes prime time, but for those who jumped on board early, you might want to keep one eye locked on the update page, and get it when it lands.

SOURCE via Zdnet

Microsoft provided us with a good look at Windows Phone 8 earlier this year, but today the company is showing off some new features coming to the platform during Nokia’s big Lumia 920 announcement. One of the new features is the ability to capture screenshots, something us device reviewers have been wanting in the Windows Phone platform for some time. It had been rumored earlier this year that screenshot capabilities were coming with Windows Phone 8, but this is the first official mention of the feature by Microsoft.

Additionally, Microsoft showed off a revamped camera app with new pinch-to-zoom features, “lens applications” for instant effects, and a built-in panoramic setting using Microsoft’s PhotoSynth technology. The camera app also features a burst mode that will lt users choose the best picture from a series of snaps. We can be sure that Nokia will take full advantage of these new camera features in the Lumia 920 and its PureView camera technology.

Microsoft demonstrated several different lens applications — many from third parties — but one of the most impressive was Smart Shoot, which can analyze moving objects and allow you to tap and remove them. Think of taking a photo of a famous monument with tourists swarming around — you can just tap to remove everything other than the monument. The second lens that got lots of attention is called Cinemagraph, which allows you to create partial animated images just like Cinemagram.

eBay’s money-exchanging service has brought its payments platform to Windows Phone 7.5 handsets. PayPal’s new app lets you send and request cash and check your account details (hopefully while laughing maniacally at your own affluence). A “local” feature will also direct you toward vendors who accept the standard, just remember that NFC supporting handsets don’t get here for another few weeks.

SOURCE via Windows Phone