Pedro Hernandez

Microsoft’s splashy Xbox One launch overshadowed news that could have a potentially huge impact on the company’s efforts to mainstream gesture-based computing. The company announced on Fri. Nov. 22, the same date that the Xbox One hit store shelves in select territories, that it had begun shipping Kinect for Windows v2 Developer Preview kits. The […]

Microsoft’s big bet on the future of living room tech is showing early signs of paying off. The company announced that during the first 24 hours after the TV-friendly, voice control-enabled Xbox One launched, Microsoft managed to get more than 1 million of the devices into the hands of consumers. It’s a feat that sets […]

Eclipsed by iTunes and streaming apps like Spotify, Winamp and Shoutcast are being shut down by AOL next month. The move came to light after AOL issued a brief statement on the Winamp website. It states, “Winamp.com and associated web services will no longer be available past December 20, 2013. Additionally, Winamp Media players will […]

Microsoft officially launched its Xbox One console at midnight, Friday, Nov. 22, and as expected, the company drew crowds at midnight store openings and splashy launch events. The Xbox One arrives with “the richest and most varied games lineup in Xbox history,” according to the company. The launch lineup includes 22 titles, 10 of which […]

The rivalry between Microsoft and Google is spilling over into the realm of physical merchandise. The online Microsoft Store, currently festooned for the holidays, has a new section called the Scroogled Store. While the selection is limited to a handful of items, the intention is clear: Microsoft is pushing its anti-Google marketing campaign into retail […]

While the Windows Phone software catalog can’t hold a candle to Google Play and Apple’s App Store in terms of the sheer amount of apps, it at least is making big strides in getting the most in-demand apps covered. Microsoft announced that two popular apps, Instagram and Waze, have finally been published for Windows Phone […]

Apple iPad Mini Retina No Longer Riding Its Big Brother’s Coattails by Pedro Hernandez The New iPad Mini’s Touch-Screen is a Stunner Apple packed a uniformly lit, 2048 by 1536 resolution display into 7.9 inches. At 326 pixels-per-inch (PPI), it delivers a level of visual fidelity beyond that of the full-sized 9.7-inch iPad Air at […]

Microsoft’s SmartGlass app for the Xbox One is now available, giving users an early, if limited, look at what the companion app has to offer. And it’s not much, at least for now. The Xbox One SmartGlass app is hardware-specific, dashing hopes of a unified app for owners of both the Xbox 360 and One. […]

Apple’s original iPad Mini, first introduced on Oct. 23, 2012, could never seem to step out of the shadow of the company’s full-sized iPad. While a strong seller, it was essentially a shrunken iPad 2—complete with the same 1024 x 768 resolution. It trailed behind the more powerful fourth-generation iPad and its pixel-packed Retina touchscreen […]

Microsoft is giving the presentation remote a big upgrade. Microsoft Research has teamed with the Office engineering group to develop an app that allows Windows Phone 8 users to control presentations using their handsets. Rather than just allow presenters to advance PowerPoint slides, the free app, called Office Remote, unlocks more functionality than what is […]

Microsoft is a major step closer to acquiring Nokia’s handset business. Nokia’s shareholders overwhelmingly voted to go ahead with the sale of its devices division to Microsoft, revealed Reuters. “More than 99 percent of shareholders registered in advance of a meeting in Helsinki to vote on the deal, accounting for around 45 percent of the […]

On a mission to bring 3D printing to the masses, Microsoft is playing to its strengths, namely developing software. The company released 3D Builder, a Windows 8.1 app that allows users to create and print 3D objects. In a Nov. 15 Windows Blog post, Kristina Libby, head of consumer communications for Windows, announced that the […]