Past rumors purport that Windows Blue and Windows 8.1 may actually be one and the same. At a conference today, Microsoft CFO Tami Reller validated those rumors, stating that Windows 8.1 is not only Blue, but 8.1 is on track for…
Rumors earlier this month suggested Apple's iOS 7 may be running behind schedule. Sources in contact with Bloomberg indicate this delay stems from a impending overhaul of iOS' user interface and "dramatic" changes to Apple's e-mail and calendar apps. These…
Posted April 26, 2013, 12:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Gaming
Nintendo has released a major system update which promises Wii U owners numerous improvements, most notably faster boot times, load times and task switching. The highly repairable console has been criticized for its long loads and sluggish performance, prompting Nintendo's president…
Posted March 26, 2013, 3:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, Software
As promised, Windows 8 and Windows RT's native productivity apps have finally received some update love. Although severely spartan in both design and features, Mail, Calendar and People now boast a number of new tricks which aim to make your…
Apple today released iOS 6.1.3, an update to its mobile OS which contains "improvements and bug fixes". Perhaps the most importantly though, Apple has finally fixed the lock screen (aka. passcode) bug which allowed potential miscreants to bypass lock screens…
It appears mainstream support for Windows Phone 8 is slated to end on July 8, 2014. Prior to recently updating its support website, lifecycle information for WP8 hadn't been officially published by Microsoft. However, this date confirms previous suggestions of…
Posted March 13, 2013, 4:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, IT Security
Microsoft's Patch Tuesday yielded an interesting security fix for a glaring vulnerability in how the Windows kernel handles USB device enumeration. The critical vulnerability allowed potential hackers with physical access to a Windows PC to run arbitrary code with system…
Posted March 12, 2013, 4:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, Software
Starting today, Microsoft says Internet Explorer 10 will enable Adobe Flash content by default while immersive mode is engaged (i.e. "Metro mode" for IE). The change will be delivered via Microsoft's usual round of "Patch Tuesday" updates for both Windows…
The successor to Windows Phone 8 may reach consumers as soon as this holiday season, according to a recent Microsoft job posting. Until then, at least two much needed updates named "GDR2" and "GDR3" are expected to hit smartphones running…
Posted February 25, 2013, 1:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, Software
Windows Blue, according to anonymous sources in touch with The Verge, is being targeted for an "aggressive" summer launch. The news outlet notes that Windows Blue just passed its "Milestone 1" build and says Win8China reported the first public preview…
Posted February 18, 2013, 4:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, Software
Not much is known about Microsoft's upcoming "Windows Blue", but if a couple of recent job postings are any indication, the secretive project will introduce user interface and experience "improvements", particularly in relation to the Windows Start Screen, windowing and…
Posted February 12, 2013, 11:15 AM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Mobile Computing, Apple
Apple released yesterday a supplemental update to iOS 6.1 which claims to resolve potential cellular issues for iPhone 4S owners. iOS 6.1.1 comes with only a single bullet point in its release notes: "This update fixes an issue that could…
Posted February 7, 2013, 6:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Microsoft
Microsoft is currently working on a feature pack update for Windows 8, codenamed Blue, that’s expected sometime this summer or fall. This isn’t the first time we have heard about Blue as early rumors suggested it could be the follow-up…
Posted January 9, 2013, 1:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Software, The Web
Continuing to adhere to its rapid release cycle, Mozilla has published the latest stable release of Firefox 18. "The Firefox of today," Mozilla VP Jonathan Nightingale believes, "is significantly better than the Firefox of a year ago in every way".…
Posted September 6, 2012, 6:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, IT Security
Are you running the Windows 8 RTM yet? If you are, you may want to be careful out there, suggests Ed Bott from ZDNet. Internet Explorer 10's embedded Flash component suffers from a number of critical vulnerabilities which allow hackers…
Posted July 26, 2012, 2:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Software
To the dismay of some users, Power Nap -- Apple's whimsically named, sleep-like power state which quietly polls for updates -- was curiously absent from Mountain Lion's official release yesterday. Today though, the company rolled out an SMC update which adds…
Posted June 20, 2012, 6:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Software
Apple has released a new Thunderbolt update (1.2.1) which promises not to crash your Mac this time around. For those of you who have been patiently waiting in hopes of avoiding a system crash, it should now be safe to…
Posted June 12, 2012, 2:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Software
In addition to a number of major product announcements, Apple also showed off its new Thunderbolt-based gigabit network and FireWire adapters Monday at the 2012 WWDC. In order to enable support for the adapters on older Macs, Apple rolled out…
It's not often we see new features rolled out for Google Voice, but yesterday the search giant announced it would be adding two new call groups to its service: All Contacts (people who are in your address book or circles)…
Posted May 29, 2012, 5:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Gaming
In an article posted on Battle.net, Blizzard talks about its Diablo 3 character-nerfing philosophy, discusses a couple of upcoming patches and shares with us some interesting facts regarding Diablo 3. Interestingly, the blog-style post follows a hastily deployed hotfix which…
As we reported in April, Sony teased the public with upcoming plans of an Android 4.0.x roll out on its range of Xperia smartphones. The electronics company has finally offered up more details regarding the upgrade via its mobile blog.…
Some Verizon and T-Mobile device owners will be pleased to hear that Ice Cream Sandwich may be making its way to their subsidized smartphone or tablet. Please bear in mind these are rumors and haven't been officially confirmed. ICS, or…
If you've logged into Google+ today, you may have noticed some big changes. On Google's official blog, the maestro of search has outlined those changes, which include a thorough user interface revamp. These alterations, the company hopes, will make the…
Posted March 15, 2012, 6:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Software, The Web
In a post at Mozilla's "Hacks" blog, technical evangelist Robert Nyman has reiterated the foundation's plans for Firefox in 2012. In addition to silent updates in Firefox 13 -- and this shouldn't come as a surprise -- we can expect…
HTC has confirmed plans to release Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) for a number of its smartphones -- 16 to be exact. One thing all of the phones seem to have in common is they were released in 2011. If…
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