Microsoft embraces Surface RT price cut -- and $900M write-down -- by poking fun at Apple's iPad

The day after Microsoft took a $900 million charge against its Surface RT tablet -- sparking rumors that it would dump the poor-selling device -- the company unveiled a new ad that again took on Apple's iPad, this time by touting the Surface RT's lower price of $349. The 30-second ad relied on the same Siri-like narrator used in an earlier Windows 8-versus-iPad campaign, this time to contrast Microsoft's tablet against Apple's full-sized iPad. "Oh, no, here we go again," said the Siri mimic at the beginning of the ad. "Oh, snap. You have a real keyboard, too?" the iPad's virtual spokeswoman continued as the Surface RT's built-in kickstand and USB port were shown. The iPad lacks those features. "Less Talking. More Doing," the ad concluded. A week ago, Microsoft chopped the price of the 32GB Surface RT by $150, or 30%, to $349 -- the number the Redmond, Wash. "devices and services" firm used in the comparison with the 32GB iPad, which retails for $599. Microsoft also lowered the price of the 64GB Surface RT by $150, a 25% cut, and is now selling both models with the Touch Cover for $100 more. But the Surface RT discounts didn't come free. Yesterday, Microsoft wrote off $900 million from its earnings for the second calendar quarter to account for Surface RT "inventory adjustments." CFO Amy Hood later defined those adjustments as losses due to the discounts, and for an unspecified quantity of components -- likely parts purchased but not yet used to assemble more tablets -- and accessories. Some who commented on the YouTube version of the ad objected to the price comparison, arguing that the Surface RT's $349 was deceptive, at least during the portion where the Touch Cover was shown, as that was not included at the price. Fine print shown in the ad, however, acknowledged that the Touch Cover was sold separately. But it was the kicker at the end of the ad that garnered the most raves in comments. "Do you still think I'm pretty?" asked the iPad. A day after writing off $900 million in Surface RT assets, Microsoft takes on the iPad in a price-comparison advertisement. download speed test my website download cheats for plants vs zombies yeti download iphone 6 june release download yahoo messenger offline installer terbaru download testbase co uk 2 login asp download virtual dj home chip download explain 4th amendment 5th grade words download heroes of might and magic 3 patchvtrialdemo download readon tv movie radio player - software s and download adobe flash player 11 for samsung

Microsoft to patch zero-day IE bug now under attack

Microsoft today said it will ship eight security updates next week to patch critical vulnerabilities in Windows and Internet Explorer (IE), with the one aimed at IE plugging the hole attackers have been exploiting for months. "The Critical update for Internet Explorer will be a cumulative update which will address the publicly disclosed issue described in Security Advisory 2887505," confirmed Dustin Childs on the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) blog today. Security experts identified the IE update as the one to deploy first, citing the fact that one of the vulnerabilities has been used by cyber criminals in targeted attacks against users in Japan and Taiwan. "IE is always top of the list," said Andrew Storms, director of DevOps at cloud security vendor CloudPassage, in an interview today. On Sept. 17, Microsoft confirmed that hackers were exploiting a critical unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). The bug, however, existed in all versions of the browser, including the 12-year-old IE6 and the newest IE11. Over the next two weeks, security companies reported that attacks had been aimed at Japanese and Taiwanese organizations since July. And earlier this week, exploit code went public as a working module was added to the open-source Metasploit penetration framework. Researchers predicted that the Metasploit appearance would result in an increase in attacks as less-capable hackers copied the code and added it to their weaponized toolkits. "Once it went into Metasploit, I anticipated an early release of a patch by Microsoft," said Storms today. "Obviously the patch is done, but Microsoft's and its partners' telemetry must have shown that there were no reasons to go out-of-band." Historically, Microsoft has issued "out-of-band" updates -- those outside the normal monthly release schedule -- only when it believes large numbers of its customers are at risk. The company has never publicly disclosed how it decides when to ship an out-of-band security update. The early date of October's Patch Tuesday -- always the second Tuesday of the month -- may have played a part in Microsoft's decision to hold the update and not go out-of-band, Storms said. The IE update was just one of four rated "critical" by Microsoft. The remaining three critical updates were all aimed at Windows, including one that applied to the newest Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, according to Microsoft's advanced notification distributed today. Experts recommended that customers install the Windows updates as soon as possible after their release. "Bulletins 2 and 3 are through the stack and might end up rating more attention than the IE update," warned Storms. Microsoft said Bulletin 3 did not affect Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, but that Bulletin 2 did. The other four updates will patch vulnerabilities in Excel, other pieces of Office, the SharePoint collaboration server software and Silverlight, a media format Microsoft seems to have discarded or at least isn't interested in developing further. Because the Office-related vulnerabilities were ranked as "important" even though Microsoft said hackers could exploit them to plant malware on customers' PCs, Storms said it was probable that any attack code required considerable user interaction to work, such as downloading files, opening shared folders or clicking through multiple warnings. download cisco vpn client windows 8 regedit download project tv the walking dead download network controller for windows xp download x264 video codecs xp-win7.exe download pdf to word document converter download hate story trailer in mp4 download an occurrence at owl creek bridge download instant messenger for java mobile download linksys wireless-n home router wrt120n download baixaki br avast pro antivirus

Perspective: iPad and the keyboard -- getting inside Apple's head

By arming a larger iPad with a 64-bit processor and a keyboard cover, Apple could crack the nascent 2-in-1 device market -- out-Surface Microsoft and its OEM partners as they push the concept of tablet-as-notebook, notebook-as-tablet -- if it decides the effort's worthwhile, a noted analyst said today. "Apple's not driven by what the competition does," said Tim Bajarin, founder of Creative Strategies and an industry analyst since 1981, or almost as long as Apple and Microsoft have been around. "But history says if Apple sees a segment of the market, and they believe they can improve on it, they consider it." Bajarin was reacting to speculation that started with several Wall Street analysts trying to make sense of Apple's move to the 64-bit A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC) in the iPhone 5S, its flagship smartphone. Like the industry analysts Computerworld spoke with a month ago about the A7 and its long-term implications for the Cupertino, Calif. company, financial experts theorized that Apple could use the more powerful ARM-based processor, more system memory -- which a 64-bit CPU can address -- a keyboard and perhaps even a larger screen to transform the current iPad into a convertible device. The resulting device could entertain like a tablet and produce like an ultra-light notebook, depending on the circumstances. More recently, other pundits -- mostly bloggers -- have picked up on the idea, adding fuel to the hypothetical fire. "We're not picking anything up from the [supply] channel" that Apple will actually make such a move in the short- or mid-term, Bajarin cautioned. "But they do look at markets if they see potential, look at the good and the bad about something that already exists, and if they can make it better, they do." Apple does have a market to examine in this case. Rival Microsoft has pinned high hopes on the tablet-notebook concept, betting that its Surface line will find hordes of customers eager for a single device to replace the two they own, even promoting the Surface Pro as a substitute for both an iPad and an Apple notebook. Microsoft's OEM (original equipment manufacturing) partners, like Lenovo and Dell, have also grabbed hold of the idea and released devices, called "convertibles," "hybrids" or "2-in-1s." Even though Microsoft hasn't convinced many that the concept is worthwhile -- in an eight-month span that ended June 30, the company recorded Surface revenue of just $853 million, or less than Apple's iPad generated in a typical two-week stretch during the second quarter -- the company will stick with it: The Redmond, Wash. firm launched its second-generation Surface devices today. The devices, which start at $449 for the Windows RT-powered Surface 2 and $899 for the Windows 8 Pro-equipped Surface Pro 2, come minus a keyboard cover, -- an odd omission considering the use model. The keyboards cost between $80 and $130, putting a 64GB Surface Pro with the Touch Cover at $1,029, or close to double the current ASP (average selling price) of a Windows 8 touchscreen notebook. download rate my professors top 300 download silverlight 4 for mac download angry birds for samsung galaxy i9003 download plants vs zombies ipod touch dd download xampp terbaru 64 bit download excel viewer for mac download tmz on tv cast download kamus bahasa jawa kromo inggil gratis download videora iphone converter windows download wifi hack tools 2012

Microsoft ships IE11 for Windows 7

Microsoft today released Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) for Windows 7, and announced it would soon start pushing it to customers as an automatic update. Three weeks ago, Microsoft signaled that the debut of the final of IE11 was imminent when it shipped a blocking toolkit for enterprise IT departments who wanted to ban the browser from their desktops. "We will begin automatically updating Windows 7 customers to IE11 in the weeks ahead, starting today with customers running the IE11 Developer and Release Previews," said Rob Mauceri and Sandeep Singhal, a pair of IE group program managers. Microsoft launched IE11 on Windows 8.1 on Oct. 17. The automatic upgrades on Windows 7 from IE10 -- which didn't reach the widely-used operating system until February -- will quickly drive up IE11's user share. From February through September, for instance, IE10's share of all copies of Internet Explorer soared from next to nothing to nearly 34% due to the forced upgrade from IE9, as well as some traction from Windows 8, before slipping for the first time last month as IE11 appeared in Windows 8.1. That automatic upgrade may be welcomed by consumers, but analysts see it as a significant pain point in the enterprise, where change is often met with skepticism, even hostility. "The faster pace is absolutely the biggest pain point," said Gartner analyst Michael Silver in an interview last month, talking about Microsoft's accelerated development and release tempo for Windows. "The problem with faster release cycles is that [enterprises] don't know if their apps will work with each new version. [And] IE is the biggest inhibitor to continuous upgrades" Today, Mauceri and Singhal touted IE11's better JavaScript benchmark scores, claiming it's 29% faster than the current Chrome 30, 32% faster than Firefox 25 and 26% faster than Opera Software's Opera 17, citing the SunSpider test suite. Ironically, Microsoft once dismissed JavaScript benchmark results as bogus. Three years ago, Dean Hachamovitch, the executive who still heads the IE team, said speed trials like SunSpider were "at best, not very useful, and at worst, misleading." Not surprisingly, as IE's scores have improved, Microsoft's tune on the topic has changed. IE11 for Windows 7 can be downloaded from Microsoft's website. The installer file is approximately 28MB in size. download 2 demo hot need pursuit speed download drs gangsta lean song download how do i add new brushes on gimp download tiki tane always on my mind download usb disk security son surum full indir download adobe flash player 12 cnet download quick memory editor chip online download easy tv mpeg b/g w/fm download how do i netflix on psp download patch angry birds space 1 2 0

New iPhone 5C theory: Apple missed out on China's 'Golden Week' carrier subsidies

Apple mistimed the launch of the iPhone 5C and priced the smartphone too high, missing out on aggressive subsidies offered by Chinese mobile carriers during an important holiday, a research firm said today. On Friday, NPD DisplaySearch, a researcher that tracks display orders from smartphone, tablet and PC makers, became the latest to posit a poor reception for the iPhone 5C, the $549 smartphone Apple launched more than a month ago alongside the flagship iPhone 5S. "Our latest channel checks confirm that Apple indeed has cut back 5C production by 35% and increased 5S production by 75%," said Tina Teng and Shawn Lee, two senior analysts with DisplaySearch, in a post to their firm's blog. Earlier this week, media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and the Reuters news service said Apple had cut orders for the iPhone 5C by between a fifth and a third, respectively. The production cuts, argued some on Wall Street, proved that Apple misjudged the appeal of the lower-priced iPhone 5C. Others, however, countered, saying it was historically a waste of time to judge sales or product acceptance from production numbers because there were too many unknowns. Teng and Lee of DisplaySearch pointed out that Chinese mobile carriers offered aggressive smartphone subsidies during "Golden Week," a multi-day national holiday that began Oct. 1, the anniversary of the 1949 founding of the Communist People's Republic of China. Carriers budget for Golden Week sales long in advance, said Teng in an interview today, and with the iPhone 5C's Sept. 10 debut and price disclosure, the Cupertino, Calif. missed the boat: Carriers had already made their decisions on how much to offer consumers in new phone subsidies for the various brands and models they wanted to promote. The actual timing was secondary, however, to Apple's insistence on pricing the iPhone 5C at a relatively high level. Before its launch, many analysts expected that Apple would offer the 5C at a dramatically cheaper price, perhaps as low as $350 unsubsidized. Instead, Apple substituted the iPhone 5C into the middle of its three-tier sales strategy for the superseded iPhone 5, selling the new plastic-covered phone for $549 sans subsidy. U.S. carriers that offered subsidies sold it for $99 with a two-year contract, half the price of the iPhone 5S. That price point wasn't what Chinese carriers had hoped for, Teng said. "The carriers were looking to get more subscribers through that whole week," said Teng of Golden Week. "But because Apple wanted to sell the iPhone 5C at the same profit margin and because the carriers didn't want all the eggs in the same basket, they weren't willing to give even more subsidies to Apple's devices." iPhone, iPad dwarf mobile rivals in small- and mid-sized firms iOS 7 now powers 3 out of 4 Apple devices China Mobile-Apple iPhone pact 'very big deal' Aggressive iPad discounts signal Apple's move for market share Why smartphone food photos look horrible Apple ditches discounts, goes with gift cards for Black Friday sale Apple's new iPad Mini: With a Retina Display, it's a Mini in name only Malware: War without end Second take: The iPad Air sets a new benchmark for performance and style Retina iPad Mini inventory tracker returns from dead Complete coverage: iPhone download easeus todo backup home 2.0.2 download kodak gallery software for ipad download video youtube lewat google chrome download manageengine firewall analyzer 7 download skype 5 5 chip online download joomla meta tag generator download password easy v3.3 software download adobe ovation full version download skype version 5 5 0 119 download uc browser 8 for htc

Samsung takes baby steps in touting Tizen OS to developers

The open source Tizen mobile operating system is one of the most visible examples that Samsung isn't completely dependent on the Android mobile OS. At the Samsung Developer Conference here this week, Samsung held a single breakout session on developing apps using Tizen. The session was led by two engineers from Intel, which is working jointly with Samsung to create code to enable Tizen to run across multiple hardware platforms, including tablets, smartphones, cars and smart TVs. Most of Samsung's smartphones and tablets run Android or the company's own Bada OS. In fact, Samsung is by far the largest Android smartphone maker globally, as well as the largest maker of smartphones overall, according to IDC and others. The company makes Windows Phone smartphones as well, though a Windows Phone session wasn't among the 50 scheduled at the developer conference. Nearly all of the sessions focused on applications or services that work on Android. Tizen has a modern Internet interface for use on devices, supporting HTML 5 and other Web technologies, so developers can theoretically write applications once to work on many devices. A Samsung roadmap for Tizen rollouts hasn't been announced. At the Tizen session on Tuesday, two developers in the audience said they had different experiences with their early Tizen development efforts. Developers at MightyMeeting, a maker of business collaboration applications, have been using Tizen with promising results because of its use of HTML 5 across platforms, said Mighty Meeting CEO Dmitri Tcherevik. On the other hand, Shivakumar Mathapathi, chief operating officer at Dew Mobility, said his company tried the Tizen 2.1 Software Development Kit (SDK) with Windows 8.1 desktop and found it wasn't very stable. He didn't provide any details. Tcherevik said that Samsung's interest in Tizen demonstrates that it's "willing to try many different things" even as a large company. Some attendees at Samsung's first developer conference said they were glad to see Samsung show off its distinctive features with Android at an event other than the Google I/O conference. Here, Samsung could separate itself from other Android smartphone and tablet makers. A few analysts have said Samsung is going a step further in offering its own developer conference, using it as preludes into Tizen and its own Samsung app store. Further, those analysts say Samsung is clearly trying to show off its own brand of products and software and emphasize that it is not entirely dependent or aligned with Android and Google. In an interview, Curtis Sasaki, vice president of Samsung's Media Solution Center in the U.S., said that Samsung's separate app store, its developer efforts, its interest in Tizen and other moves are "not about forking Android or any of that stuff ... Android is big enough and continuing to grow. If we can continue to grow that ecosystem, then that's good for everybody." "Google is a great partner of ours. Our job as a platform provider is to really help developers take advantage of core applications," Sasaki added. Abe Elias, chief technical officer at Sencha, a Web application developer, praised Samsung for supporting Tizen and HTML 5. Sencha uses HTML 5 to provide cross-platform applications to many large companies. There are 2 million registered developers using Sencha's tools. "We're a huge fan of Tizen, and HTML is native in Tizen," Elias said in an interview. One reason application developers should support HTML 5 for making Web apps is to avoid the 30% fee charged by app stores to host a native app, he said. Elias agreed that Samsung isn't trying to fork Android, but noted that the company has been separating itself from Google with a number of forked apps that ride atop of Android. For example, Google uses the Chrome browser with Android, while Samsung's browser is simply called Internet. Also, while Google has Hangouts, Samsung has Chat-On. "Samsung's forking apps, not Android," he said. download quicktime player new version download plants vs zombie setup download software acer aspire 4920 download teamspeak for league of legends download millionaire city gioco per pc download real racing for ipad download utorrent for mac slow speed download parallels transporter agent 5 download vanguard 993cc v twin engine download plan for windows 7

Superbug tracking app hits top medical spot in Apple's App Store

An application that uses big data to enable clinicians to track superbug transmission in their region has reached 100,000 downloads in less than a month. In its first week, the "Bugs + Drugs" app, created by medical software vendor Epocrates, shot to the number one free medical app spot in Apple's App Store when it was released last month. The app was created to track antibiotic resistant bacteria or "superbugs" such as e.coli and staph. A screen shot of Epocrates' Bugs + Drugs app on an iPhone. Every year more than 2 million people in the U.S. contract infections that are resistant to antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people die as a result, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many clinicians who work outside of hospitals are unaware of the bacteria types pervasive in their regions. Epocrates wrote the app and collaborated with its parent company, AthenaHealth, to use the e-health record services and medical billing company's big data warehouse. AthenaHealth's cloud-based clinical database of 15 million patient records has antimicrobial susceptibility data connected to geolocated information about bacteria types and resistance patterns. The new app provides geographical data on the superbugs and information on the appropriate prescriptions to offer for antibiotic resistant strains. The Bugs + Drugs app's results can be viewed for bacteria by specimen types and is paired with Epocrates' free online drug reference app to help with prescribing decisions. "It is sometimes challenging to judge what the resistance is for a presenting bacteria. By displaying resistance patterns in my area, Epocrates Bugs + Drugs helps ensure that I prescribe only one course of antibiotic and avoid medications that have shown to be resistant," said Dr. Tolbert, a family physician in Burlington, Ky., said in a statement. "Epocrates helps me create a successful treatment plan, which provides higher levels of patient compliance and satisfaction." A screen shot of the prescription assistance program. The majority of bacterial searches in the app are in higher-risk metropolitan areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, according to Epocrates. Susceptibility patterns associated with organisms including e.coli and staphylococcus aureus -- commonly found in urine and skin infections -- are among the most viewed by the app's users. Abbe Don, vice president of user experience at Epocrates, said the company adds more than 6,000 antibacterial lab data points to its cloud network every day to generate fresh results. "This is a great example of how aggregated [electronic health record] data can be utilized, and clinicians have clearly responded to it," Don said. "The app has now been accessed more than 300,000 times since launch, with an average of approximately 4,000 uses a day." download the latest trunk build of chromium download flash player ho tro firefox download angry birds on the computer for download youtube mp3 converter per mac download google chrome for mac os x 10.7 download modern combat 3 apk for android download intel hd graphics driver for windows 7 64 bit download 84 lumber bel air download kamus inggris indonesia untuk samsung champ download angry bird full vn zoom