Frustration, Disappointment And Apathy: My Years At Microsoft

microsoft-logoI first used Windows on a TULIP portable computer, some twenty years ago. Graphical user interface, icons, mouse, an amazing new world was ushered in before my wide eyes. At uni, I scored a summer internship with Microsoft. I sported a Microsoft collared shirt and showed off my ?Microsoft Product Specialist? badge with infinite pride. When Windows 2000 launched, I distributed official evaluation copies to the School of Engineering. Lecturers didn?t hide their admiration, and wonder, about my infatuation with this company. They called me the "Microsoft man," which I saw as a compliment.

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Samsung 'GT-i9300' sighted in Brazil, may or may not be the Galaxy S III

GT-i9300

If you've been following the stories of rumored devices within Samsung's 2012 line-up, you may be familiar with a phone with the product number GT-i9300. When we first caught a glimpse of this device in late March, it was rocking a buttonless setup, with software-based on-screen keys in the style of the Galaxy Nexus. But if the latest set of leaked images from ?Gizmodo Brazil? are to be believed, then the phone may have grown a set of physical buttons over the past month. Photos have leaked today claiming to show the front and back of the device, and aside from the different button setup, they match last month's leaked pics pretty closely. Note the front-facing camera position and the trim around the device's corners.

The images are reportedly from a manufacturing source, which claims the GT-i9300 is a high-end product, with a 12MP rear camera (with dual-LED flash) and a high-quality display. It's also reportedly thinner than the Galaxy S II, but slightly heavier, with a larger screen. Whether it's Samsung's next flagship phone -- under the Galaxy S III name or some other branding -- remains to be seen.

As we discussed yesterday, we still know almost nothing about Samsung's next-gen plans. But all will be revealed at the launch event in London on May 3, and we'll be there to bring you full coverage of whatever's unveiled.

Source: Gizmodo Brazil

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0)

Finally?Ice Cream Sandwich has arrived. The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will be the first tablet?from the manufacturer to ship with Google's latest Android 4.0 mobile operating system right out of the box. Despite the progressive moniker, hardware-wise, the Galaxy Tab 2 is actually a minor step back from Samsung's last 7-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ($399, 3.5 stars), making concessions in processor speed. Instead of more powerful components and design improvements, Samsung focused on a well-tuned software experience and an affordable price?just $249.99 (list) for 8GB. The result is a very solid tablet that really shows off the latest Android OS, and is competitive on price with the Amazon Kindle Fire ($199, 4 stars) and the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet ($249, 4 stars), and half the price of the class-leading new Apple iPad ($499, 4.5 stars). If you want Ice Cream Sandwich on a small tablet right now, the Galaxy Tab 2 is your best bet.

Physical Design, Features, and Connectivity
Samsung makes some of the best-looking Android tablets you can buy, and the Galaxy Tab 2 is no exception, with its sturdy yet slim build. It's nearly identical to the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, measuring 7.6 by 4.8 by 0.41 inches?(HWD) and 12.13 ounces. The Galaxy Tab 2.0 is thinner and lighter than the Kindle Fire, which measures 7.5 by 4.7 by .45 inches (HWD) and 14.6 ounces, and the Galaxy Tab 2.0's nicely tapered edges only add to the effect. ?

The Galaxy Tab 2 is still a well-built, all-plastic gray slab. Power and Volume buttons, as well as an IR-port, line the right side of tablet, while a microSD card slot (which accepts cards up to 32GB) can be found behind a plastic flap on the left side. A 3.5mm headphone jack sits on top, with Samsung's proprietary docking port on the bottom for charging and syncing with the included cable. The Galaxy Tab 2 retains the 1,024-by-600-pixel TFT LCD of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. That's fairly standard fare for 7-inch tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire, but not quite as good as the 1280-by-800-pixel display found on the T-Mobile Springboard 4G ($429, 3.5 stars).

Samsung downgraded the cameras on the Galaxy Tab 2, with a VGA front-facing and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with no LED flash. The original Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus features a 2-megapixel front-facing and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with an LED flash. The Galaxy Tab 2 is an 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi only tablet, with Bluetooth 3.0 and DLNA connectivity. The IR emitter lets you use the tablet as a remote control for a variety of media devices.

Performance and Software
The Galaxy Tab 2 is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor, which is a step back from the dual-core 1.2GHz processor of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Given the less-powerful CPU, it was no surprise that the Galaxy Tab 2 benchmarked significantly slower than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. But with Ice Cream Sandwich onboard, the Galaxy Tab 2 felt just as snappy and responsive. The Galaxy Tab 2 packs a 4,000mAh battery and turned in a respectable 5 hours, 48 minutes of continuous video playback. That's less than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, which turned in 6 hours, 33 minutes, but more than the Kindle Fire's 4 hours, 55 minutes. ?

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich works great on the Galaxy Tab 2, with very smooth animations, responsive app performance, and rock-solid stability, at least during the review period. For a more in-depth look at all of the new features, check out our full Ice Cream Sandwich review.

As with nearly all Samsung devices, Android is heavily skinned with Samsung's signature TouchWiz UI. It comes with the typical array of custom widgets, as well as the useful Quick Action bar, which offers up easy access to the alarm, calculator, e-mail, music player, calendar, task manager, and world clock mini apps. These run seamlessly on top of regular open apps, making for simple multitasking. Samsung also included its various hubs (Media, Reader, Game, and Video), but there are better third-party alternatives like the Amazon Kindle app or Netflix?both of which are also pre-installed. Despite Samsung's heavy OS customizations, everything was extremely snappy and responsive in my tests, proving that you don't need the latest quad-core chip to run the latest version of Android.

Alas, some of the same problems facing older Android 3.2 "Honeycomb" tablets still remain here. There are still few tablet-specific Android apps, and they're not easy to find in Google Play (formerly Android Market). Hopefully, developers will start to write apps for Ice Cream Sandwich, which handles phone and tablet screen differences far better than any previous Android iteration. For now, Apple remains the app king with more than 200,000 third-party iPad-specific programs.

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Facebook Offers starts rolling out, spamming your news feed with coupons (video)

Facebook Offers starts rolling out, spamming your news feed with coupons
When Facebook first announced Offers you we're probably wondering if there was even room for yet another coupon service. Between Google, Groupon, Yelp, Living Social and countless others we're not entirely sure there's a niche left untapped for Facebook, but that isn't going to stop Zuck and crew from trying. The service is officially rolling out as we speak, and offering its wares to any business with a Facebook page, regardless of size. The hope is that it'll catch on with smaller businesses in particular, which will now have an easy way to place deals directly into user's news feeds. Of course, after the failure of Facebook Deals, you'd be forgiven for assuming this experiment is doomed from moment one. Check out the video after the break and the source link for more details.

Continue reading Facebook Offers starts rolling out, spamming your news feed with coupons (video)

Facebook Offers starts rolling out, spamming your news feed with coupons (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deal of the Day ? 50% off Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 2012 [download]

Friday’s LogicBUY Deal is a 50% discount on their SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012 software (1 PC license) for $19.95. ?Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012 is effective virus protection that won’t conflict with other security software, and it scans quickly to avoid disrupting your work. $39.95 – $20 discount = $19.95 for free download. You can get an [...]

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