Category Archives: microsoft

Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared

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Sometimes a table says a thousand words. Now that Google has finally announced its cloud service, Google Drive, we're sure more than a few of you are crunching the numbers in your head in an attempt to figure which is the best deal. Far be it for us to tell you which service to use when we've barely had a chance to poke around Drive, but for now, better if we lay out those gigabytes and dollars in number form, rather than squeeze them into a crowded paragraph, don'tcha think? Follow past the break for a brief breakdown of what you'll get from Google, along with Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive and iCloud.

Continue reading Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared

Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook for Windows Phone getting a major refresh

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Facebook for Windows Phone getting a major refresh, now with less suck

The Facebook app for Windows Phone is certainly serviceable, but it's never really been anything to get excited about. In fact, it wasn't really something you looked forward to using and it's been slow to add the features considered standard on competing mobile platforms. Well, with the soon to land version 2.5, that capability gap will get quite a bit smaller. It hasn't hit the Marketplace yet, but when it does it'll bring support for group chats, threaded messaging, tagging in posts and the ability to like or delete not only posts but comments as well. The photo pages have also gotten a visual refresh and you can now tap on links in posts to go straight to the relevant content. For a few more details hit up the source, and keep checking the Marketplace for updates -- Facebook promises it won't be long now.

Facebook for Windows Phone getting a major refresh originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)

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Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of Uncharted (video)

Skype continues to spread itself to anything with a data connection, and while while we don't expect this to be the last gaming device it'll appear on, it's the second. Yes, the Microsoft-owned Skype will be available to download for free on the Sony-made PlayStation Vita later today and it's capable of video calls from the get-go -- although we're yet to test whether that's possible on a 3G signal. Embarrassingly, the app looks far more capable than its recent gone-gold compadre on Microsoft's very own mobile platform. While the Windows Phone version is unable to tick along in the background, the Vita (with all that top-end processing power) can still keep your account online while you're running other apps, even take those video calls mid-game. Thankfully, Skype has drafted in professional gamer Fatal1ty to give us a quick tour of the UI and how it's all meant to click together -- it's included right after the break.

Update: To allow the Skype app to connect in the background, games like Uncharted, which switch off wireless connections, are unfortunately not supported.

Continue reading Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)

Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions

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Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory requirements

Remember the unfortunate news that Skype's new Windows Phone app wasn't compatible with low-memory devices? Well, the app is now working fine with the incoming Nokia Lumia 610. After "some challenges early on", Nokia tells us that the app is primed for use when the entry-level Windows Phone eventually hits Asian store at the end of April. Now one problem remains; which color?

Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 8 Release Preview coming ‘first week of June’

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Reckoning it's about time you replaced that copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview? Microsoft is right there with you. According to the outfit's Building Windows 8 Twitter account, the next major installment of Win8 is due out in "the first week of June," with the Windows 8 Release Preview to hit the intertubes at that time. Go ahead and take off the whole week in preparation -- we're sure you can think of a few DIY activities to bide your time in the event of a Friday release. (Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is just yet another step in the march to a hopeful October ship date for the final build of Windows 8.)

[Thanks, Jignesh]

Continue reading Windows 8 Release Preview coming 'first week of June'

Windows 8 Release Preview coming 'first week of June' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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