We’re almost there. Just a few more days until the big reveal. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few final Windows 8 secrets to be disclosed. Two of those are the price and the packaging, which online retailer Newegg has just let slip. There are four packages listed: Windows 8 Professional Upgrade ($69), Windows 8 Pro Pack ($69, product key card only), Windows 8 OEM ($99) and Windows 8 Professional ($139), with the latter two being available in both 32- and 64-bit versions (for the same price). If you go into the product page, however, we can see that the original price for the upgrade and product key card only versions is listed as “$199″ suggesting that this might either be a launch offer, or subject to change. Don’t forget though, there’s still the chance to upgrade for an even lower price, for those who qualify. You can officially reserve your copy of Pro from today for $69.99 at all the main retailers, but if you can hold back on that impulse purchase for just a little longer, you’ll be able to upgrade to Pro online for $39 (until January 31st). Follow the source for details.

SOURCE via Microsoft

Mozilla knows how to keep on the fast track. Just weeks after the Firefox 16 beta first showed, the finished version is ready and waiting. Surprises are few if you were an early adopter, although the update still has some welcome changes for the right audiences. Mozilla is most keen to talk about preliminary web app support for the Mozilla Marketplace, but you’ll also find device-specific additions like a Reader Mode for the Android flock and VoiceOver support automatically switched on for Macs. More responsive JavaScript and on-by-default Opus audio playback give existing surfers extra reasons to upgrade. Firefox 16 is immediately available through all the usual channels, so hit the relevant source link if you’re ready to live on the not-quite-bleeding edge.

SOURCE via Mozilla

Everyone’s favorite messaging service, BBM has broke from cover in its new BlackBerry 10 digs at BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012. The software is sporting a redesigned UI, which places the focus on your contacts’ photos instead of the regular ol’ list of names. Speech bubbles that we’ve all become familiar with are still here and emoticons get cozy as well. Another new feature is the predictive keyboard that’s capable of detecting the language that you’re typing in and offers the appropriate suggestions that you may need — even if you’re switching back and forth.

It’s been 30 years since we saw Deckard track down replicants by having a machine “enhance” pictures, and yet we’re still stuck with distant-looking photos when we want more detail than our smartphone cameras can manage. While we’d argue that a few phones already live in that Blade Runner future, Google has just obtained a patent that could give the rest of us a helping hand. If the zoom isn’t up to snuff, the proposed software could gauge a mobile device’s position and orientation to offer a closer, already-taken photo from a server as a substitute, whether it’s a Street View shot or a more traditional image. The geocoded system could even cue photos based on the time of day and year to provide that extra dash of authenticity. We already get a trace of the concept through photo overlays within Street View itself, although there’s no indication as to whether or not Google will link our camera apps directly to a cloud of substitute photos — suffice it to say that the industry has changed a lot since Google was using the iPhone 3G to illustrate its photography concepts.

SOURCE via USPTO

After Google effectively killed Sparrow’s apps when it purchased the company (they’re still available and supported, but don’t expect much future development) there was some worry about the future of Nik Software. Well, Vic Gundotra took to Google+ to salve some of those fears.

Earlier this week I proudly welcomed +Nik Software to Google. They’ve been making pictures more awesome for 17 years, and we’re excited to bring Nik’s expertise to the entire Google+ community!

I also want to make something clear: we’re going to continue offering and improving Nik’s high-end tools and plug-ins.

Professionals across the globe use Nik to create the perfect moment in their photographs (e.g., http://goo.gl/aDtkO), and we care deeply about their artistry.

There is one bothersome caveat in that quote: “high-end.” Gundotra may be promising a future for Capture NX and Efex Pro, but it’s clear that the popular Snapseed doesn’t fit that description. Now, he has not expressly announced the death of the Instagram competitor, but it seems to us that the writing is on the wall. The Android camera app may already have a set of friendly filters, but it lacks the simplified sharing and marketing buzz of Facebook’s recent acquisition. Don’t be surprised if the Snapseed team simply gets folded into Google+ or Android while its creation slowly withers and dies.

SOURCE via TheNextWeb

Many who’ve been following Microsoft’s tablet efforts for years will have a soft spot for the Courier, a creative-focused device axed because it didn’t fit the Windows puzzle. However, it looks like you just can’t keep a clever idea down. Developers at Microsoft have revived the dream through Project Austin, a Windows 8 app based around the visual concept of a notebook. Pen aficionados can choose different paper types and paste in photos, but they’re deliberately kept away from typing, searching and other elements that would complicate the idea. It should sound familiar: it’s a rough (if possibly unintentional) Windows doppelganger to FiftyThree’s Paper for iPad, which itself was designed by some of the former Courier team. A company spokesperson won’t say if or when Project Austin will be available in a complete form for the public, although there’s not much point until Windows 8 arrives on October 26th. Thankfully, programmers keen to see what Courier might have been — if just in bits and pieces — can already download the source code for themselves.

SOURCE via CodePlex

Google makes a lot of acquisitions, some of them more important than others. Its latest purchase might skew towards the grander side, as it just bought imaging app developer Nik Software. While the company is known for pro photography apps like Capture NX and its Efex Pro series, the real prize might be Snapseed, Nik’s simpler image tool for desktop and iOS users. Both Nik and Google’s Senior Engineering VP Vic Gundotra are silent on the exact plans, but it doesn’t take much to imagine a parallel between Facebook’s buyout of Instagram and what Google is doing here: there’s no direct, Google-run equivalent to Instagram’s social photo service in Android or for Google+ users, and Nik’s technology might bridge the gap. Whether or not Googlegram becomes a reality, the deal is likely to create waves among photographers of all kinds — including those who’ve never bought a dedicated camera.

SOURCE via Vic Gundotra (Google+)

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

It’s tough to ignore that the Zune era at Microsoft is quickly winding to a close. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be out of options for syncing a Windows Phone’s contents by the time the Zune desktop app fades away, however. A tip to The Verge has shown a companion app for Windows 8 users that will reportedly load the first time a Windows Phone 8 device syncs up, giving a fully Metro-friendly place to transfer any media. Windows 7 would get its own parallel, just in case some of us aren’t willing or able to upgrade our PCs in concert. The replacement desktop apps could be available at about the same time as the Windows Phone 8 launch, if the claims are at all accurate — which might leave less than two months before one more vestige of Microsoft’s MP3 player days goes away.

SOURCE via The Verge

Nokia first kicked off the City Lens beta back in May. That was just four months ago, but it feels like an eternity in the mobile space. The wait has come to a welcome (if abrupt) end with the finished version quietly reaching the Windows Phone Marketplace for Lumia owners. From initial appearances, the augmented reality app is functionally the same as its test edition. Point the camera and you’ll be shown points of interest in your field of view, with ratings and directions to get you on your way — if you’ve seen Yelp’s Monocle mode, you’ll know the score. Don’t be surprised if the source link doesn’t initially work, as City Lens is slowly trickling out to Microsoft’s servers, but do expect a quicker trip to the sushi bar when the app is in your hands.

SOURCE via Microsoft