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This article talks about a new tablet line from Microsoft called "Surface". It is supposed to go with the new Windows 8 operating system which is supposed to be a more touch and mobile friendly system. At an event in LA Steve Ballmer showed 2 versions of Surface.  One is running Windows 8 Pro the other Windows RT. Each tablet comes with a stand and magnetically attachable covers to allow the tablet to be like a laptop. The type cover has a keyboard and trackpad, while the touch cover is a thinner keyboard cover that comes in many colours and has an accelerometer to let the system know when it's folded to deactivate the keyboard. Both have a 10.6-inch display. The RT version is 9.3mm thick and weights 673g while the Windows 8 Pro is 13.55mm thick and weighs 903g. Only the RT comes with productivity software like Office Home and Student pre-loaded. This release ties in with portable computing because it is an all new portable tablet that is from Microsoft. It also ties in with their new operating system that goes hand in hand with this tablet. It is something with a new innovative style and can be used in various ways as a laptop or tablet. It also ties in with economics and the whole Apple vs. Microsoft competition. Microsoft has created an "even better" version of the iPad. Now instead of going for the iPad people that like PC's and working with them can make the choice to use the Surface tablet which once again puts Microsoft and Apple in competition with one another for sales. All in all this is a great new tablet and I think it is great for all those Windows users that can get their hands on a new tablet from Microsoft.  It will be interesting to see if this new technology will blow up compared to the iPad and now the iPad Mini.

This article is rather interesting, because it talks about a patent Apple recently filed. The patent, "Sensing capacitance changes of a housing of an electronic device," - it sounds quite confusing, and the article described what it is.  Basically the patent is talking about the ability for our mobile devices to differentiate between how we hold our device, and react to it. For example, to open up our camera app, we have to unlock the phone and select it, but with this new technology we could simply hold our device with our fingers around its perimeter and have the app open up. Another example is turning on the device, instead of pressing a button we could simply squeeze the device slightly and it will turn on. We might also not need to lock our phones or have passwords if they are configured to recognize only our grip and fingertips. One last interesting feature is the ability to wave our hand over the device and reveal a keyboard that would later disappear when you wave your hand again.  It all sounds terribly interesting until you realize that it's only a patent and Apple hasn't even begun building a prototype. Right now it's an idea that I hope can exist in the near-future, so that accessing certain applications would be a lot easier and faster. Also, if the keyboards become tactile with thin, bendable metal plates that may solve a lot of the complaints about typing on most current tablets and smartphones. 

 IPhone 5 is a the new phone that everybody wants. However is it actually everything we expected? Many IPhone 5 users are talking about how they have been noticing their phones flickering. The first reports were as soon as the device was launched. The main thread for the issue is over 12 pages long with reports of flickering screens. When people began investigating they realized that this issues seems to most frequently occur when a user accesses the virtual keyboard in the App Store. Because the users don't see flickering each time they use it , it only affects the virtual keyboard which means it is a software issue. My personal opinion on this topic is that if Apple doesn't want to lose the rank they have they need to fix this!  

This article describes weather or not Windows 8 tablet like the Surface really replace any ordinary laptop. The surface would be able to make a decent laptop replacement because it is thin and lightweight, comes with a keyboard, it can run the traditional windows desk top, and its decently cheap. However, Windows RT does have a very small selection of apps, it doesn't even have a facebook app. Without having a good selection of apps, you may miss out on a bunch of other fun stuff. Windows RT is the toned down version of Windows 8. This is very good for low powered, cheap tablets. But it won't replace Windows 8. So at the moment, the tablet will not be good replacement but that could change. Early 2013 the Surface Pro will be coming out and it runs Windows 8. So you will have access to all the apps, and take advantage of more powerful hardware. In my opinion, if you don't need as much features as a laptop offers, and you are looking for a cheaper device, go with the tablet. But if you need access to all the apps, and more powerful software, the surface at the moment is not a very reliable replacement.

This app allows you to exchange yours photos, by just bumping your iphone to another phone.  You can also do it on your macs by tapping the spacebar with your phone, but in order to do that you have to download Bump cloud to exchange the photos on your computer.

This article talks about how our technology has become more advanced over the last 30 years. Before computers, people used typewriters to type, but then PC's were made and it made life easier for everyone. Many people say that we are now in the post-PC era because we are developing things like the iPad or the Amazon Kindle Fire where you don't need a keyboard or huge desktop to surf the net or send out an email. But some say there is no "post- PC" era because PC's were just the beginning of a much bigger computing era. Either way, PC's were the first of something that would and already has drastically changed our lives.

This article is about how the operating system Windows 8, has passed 200 million license sales. Within the first six months of windows 8 release, it passed 100 million license sales. However after that, the progress stayed the same and there weren't any spikes in sales. Windows 8 is doing slower at its sales than windows 7, as windows 7 passed 240 million sales after its first year. The reason for the slowdown in sales is the general PC market. People haven't got used to the tablet style computers with a touch screen interface. Microsoft is slowly going to change that and bring back the keyboard and mouse UI. By the time April 2014 hits, windows 8 should have a new 8.1.1 update.

Most would think that, what with all the new laptops and computers coming out these days being so thin and portable, the desktop era would be finished, right? Wrong. The desktop is part of Internet Culture, that is to say, it's been around for as long as the Internet has, and it will stay. Just because the Internet will eventually make newspapers, TV, and radio obsolete, the desktop will never disappear, because it is based on the same process as other computers. It provides everything it always had (QWERTY keyboard, everything else that made it so huge in the first place). Therefore, the day the desktop dies will be the same as that when the Internet does.

We have already heard that bbm will be coming to android, but it wont be coming that cheap. the service will cost about 3.99 a month So here's the thing. Assuming the photos are real and the tips are true, why is RIM doing this? Why use DevCon Americas next week in San Francisco to announce to your community that BlackBerry Messenger is going cross-platform? BBM is arguably BlackBerry's most attractive selling point - I'd say the sheer addictiveness of their messaging-centric OS and awesome physical keyboards are right up there. If RIM opens BBM up to Android and iOS, the very platforms who've been kicking their butts over the past 24 months, will anyone still want to buy a piece of BlackBerry hardware?

RIM and Porsche team up to create the new P'9981 Blackberry. It has a stainless steel frame, leather back cover, QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, and PINs that identify other P'9981 users. I would definitely buy this phone.

A man has created a controller out of an empty lotion bottle, because why not. The creator said that "mouse and keyboard games are pretty common, so I thought I'd make a weird controller." I honestly think that this is a great idea. The character in game is just a lotion bottle with wings. This is probably not a game that anyone would play constantly, but it is a game nonetheless. The fact that he made a controller out of a lotion bottle, surprises me. It makes me think about the many other possibilities that can happen.

This article represents a tool called the AutoHotkey. This is a downloadable program that will help you create shortcuts for system tasks in Windows. This tool can assign hotkeys such as shutting down or restarting your computer, adjusting volume, and opening/closing the CD drive, etc. I find this very convenient for people who use their computers everyday because it arranges a more faster and easier use for system task. It is also very useful for people who are lazy and don't want press buttons on certain areas of the computer or monitor.