Daily Tech Briefing: March 26, 2014

HTC has introduced the One M8 smartphone, which is taller and wider than it’s predecessor, while remaining just as thin. The company lined up the announcement of the new phone with its launch date, making the phone available to order from AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile immediately following its introduction. The phone has many impressive features, like dual rear cameras and added sensors. But the question still remains – will people actually buy it?

Google will be hosting free virtual workshops this week for small businesses through its “Get Your Business Online Week” program. The goal of these workshops is to help small businesses boost their online presence. Businesses that sign up will be able to hear success stories of other small companies that got their starts online. They’ll also see website-building demos and get advice on how to be found by customers on Google Search.

Cisco Systems announced that it will be teaming up with a number of different vendors to create an online network of clouds known as the global Intercloud. The company plans to invest $1 billion over the next two years to create this network for delivering its applications and services. This would expand on the cloud offerings Cisco already has on the market and allow them to compete with Amazon Web Services and similar vendors.

Microsoft will soon be ending support of Windows XP, and the company is eager for consumers to upgrade. Just how eager are they? The company is planning on offering users a $100 discount off the price of a new PC that is running a newer version of Windows. All you have to do is prove you’re currently running Windows XP, and choose a laptop worth $599 or more.