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Nokia Debuts Lumia 2520 Tablet & Lumia 1520/1320 Phablet Smartphones

Zain Siddiqui — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 20:35:23 +0000

Nokia, a company that once dominated the mobile industry, has experienced a rapid slow-down of sales in the past few years. The truth is, Nokia’s recent devices have failed to compete with offerings from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

Nokia’s mobile department recently was bought out by software-giant, Microsoft. October 22^nd’s Nokia event held in Abu Dhabi marks the beginning of a potential fortifying relationship between the two. At the event, two “phablets” running Windows Phone and a tablet running Windows RT were announced.

The Lumia 2520 is a full-size Windows RT tablet. From a design standpoint, it represents a larger Lumia smartphone. The 2520 is available in red, white, cyan, and black and these colors really make the tablet “pop.” The tab features a full 1080p display on 10.1-inch panel. Performance is still something many question on a Windows RT device. Microsoft’s first crack at today’s tablet game with the Surface RT didn’t go so well. Application bugs and slow performance plagued the device, but Microsoft fixed up these issues in the Surface 2.

This same level of expertise is seen here with the 2520. There’s a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU running the show here and the device is far from feeling slow. Windows RT has many benefits like full access to desktop Office apps and Nokia takes advantage of RT by including what they call a Power Keyboard. It adds a keyboard and track pad, similar to what is seen with the Surface 2, but also includes some extra goodies. There are two USB ports and an extra reserve for battery life that should add five hours of juice, making for a total of sixteen hours with the keyboard and eleven without. The Lumia 2520 also features LTE connectivity as well as a 2MP front-facing camera and a 6.7MP rear-facing sensor. The device will be ready for consumers’ hands before the end this year for $400.

Two new Lumia smartphones were also announced. Except these aren’t your average Lumia phones. They’re “phablets” and they’re called the Lumia 1320 and the Lumia 1520.

The Lumia 1520 is the higher end smartphone here and features a 6-inch 1080p screen. The 1520 retains Nokia’s design philosophies, with a glossy and colorful polycarbonate case. Being a “phablet”, however, means the device is one behemoth of a cell phone. It’s 3.36 inches wide, 6.4 inches tall, 0.34 inches thin and weighs 7.37 ounces. Windows Phone has always felt fluid; even with lower end hardware, but jam specked specs should make for an even better user experience. The 1520 features a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU paired with 2GB of RAM.

We’ve seen specs like this on Android phones, like the Galaxy Note 3, and they perform extremely well. Camera-wise the Lumia 1520 is rocking a 20-megapixel variant of Nokia’s PureView camera technology. It is basically a lower-resolution version of the 41-megapixel PureView senor on the Lumia 1020. It has optical image stabilization (OIS) and the awesome retainment of clarity while zooming. Instagram, a popular photo sharing application available for Android and iOS, is coming to Windows Phone in the coming weeks; so that’s a big plus for photo enthusiasts. The device should land before the end of the year and is going to go for around $749 unlocked. In the U.S., the device will be exclusive to AT&T. However, Verizon is expected to launch a variant of the 1520 known as the Lumia 929 this year.

The Lumia 1320 is the second jumbo-screened from Nokia. However, it’s a lower end device with the purpose of providing a big-screened smartphone experience at a price that won’t lighten your wallet too much. It suits up with a 720p display instead of a 1080p display and takes it down a notch to a dual-core Snapdragon 400 CPU. The 1320 also contains a scarce 1GB of RAM and drops the fancy PureView camera in exchange for a standard 5-megapixel shooter. The Lumia 1320 is going to be avalible in orange, yellow, black, and white. The device, like the 1520, is expected before the end of 2013 in U.S. and is only $339 unsubsidized.

These new products from Nokia are a step in the right direction for the company. The Lumia 2520 looks to compete with budget laptops and other tablets in its size range. The Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 look to join the “phablet” race and are the first Windows Phones to do so. Additionally, Microsoft and Nokia have added some software tweaks to enhance the Windows Phone experience on a larger, “phablet” display. The 1520 provides high-end specs and a flagship status while the 1320 proves you don’t have to break the bank for a good “phablet” experience.

Source: PC Magazine

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Apple October 22nd Event Recap: iPad Air, Retina iPad Mini, MacBook Pros & More!

Bob Roche — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 03:04:21 +0000

Today, Apple took the stage in Cupertino for their Fall event. According to the event’s invitation, Apple “still had a lot to cover”, which I feel they delivered on. Much like last year, this event refreshed nearly every product in Apple’s various product lines, other than iPods. Let’s get into the details of what was announced today.

Software Releases

Like we all saw coming, Craig Federighi talked about their latest version of OS X, dubbed Mavericks. Since Apple gave us a pretty in-depth look at their last event, none of what they showed today was new information, other than pricing and the release date. After talking about features such as improved memory management and better dual display support, Craig announced that for the first time, Mavericks is going to be a free upgrade! This is a big deal that makes it very easy for any consumer to be updated to the latest operating system, going all the way back to Snow Leopard. Basically, if you see that App Store icon on your Mac, you can update to Mavericks for free. In addition to it being free, it’s also available right now! A direct link can be found by clicking right here. This is a big deal for Apple, and will not only make adoption of Mavericks higher than ever before, but also make their users happy. Bravo, Apple.

Another big thing that Apple really focused on today was not only updating their consumer software, but to also make it available to the masses like never before. The entire iWork and iLife suites of apps have also been updated, including Garageband, iMovie, Pages, Keynote, among others. The user interface of these apps have been updated for both OS X and iOS to look more modern, and new features have been added. One of the bigger improvements from a technological standpoint is Garageband. Apple has doubled the amount of tracks to 16 for any iOS device. What’s really fascinating is that for any 64-bit iOS device, they allow up to a whopping 32 tracks, all of which can be playing simultaneously. This is a tremendous amount of data, which really helps showcase the power of a 64-bit architecture, even on mobile devices.

Apple also updated their iCloud service, focusing most on documents in the cloud. Users now have the ability to collaborate on their documents within iCloud, which is a very big deal to a lot of people. People such as Alex Lindsay from Pixelcorp rely on this type of collaboration within their organization, but Alex personally hates Google Docs, as it’s not great for visual documents. This gives Google some serious competition for the first time in this area. A nice touch is that because this can be a web-based, Windows and Linux users have the ability to edit these documents as well. Personally, I can’t wait to give it a try, in hopes that I can put Google Docs behind me.

Hardware Releases

As usual, Apple’s biggest announcements were all about hardware. After all, Apple prides themselves on being a hardware company, right? The first hardware announcement of the keynote was the MacBook Pro line. Both the 13” and 15” models received updates today.

MacBook Pro

The 13” MacBook Pro has gotten faster, lighter, and thinner, per usual. The notebook is down to only 3.46 pounds and a mere .71” thin, and packs Intel’s latest, fourth- generation Haswell processors. These processors will bring not only a nice performance bump to these machines, but also improved battery life, as they consumer less power than the last generation Ivy Bridge processors. On this processor is also Intel’s latest ‘Iris’ graphics. Apple boasts an increase over the HD4000 graphics of Ivy Bridge of up to 90%, which is great. One of the popular complaints about the previous Retina MacBook is lag, which is directly related to graphics. These new onboard graphics should, in theory, reduce the overall lag, and allow the user to do more without having a dedicated GPU taking power. With these changes in mind, the battery life has increased over the previous generation from 7 hours up to 9 hours; very nice! Apple gave the 15” MacBook with Retina a similar treatment; Haswell processors with Iris graphics, complete with an increase to 8 hours over 7. The 13” starts with 4GB of memory, a 2.4GHz Haswell Core i5 processor, and 128GB of PCI-e based flash storage for the price of $1299, which is $200 less than the previous model’s introductory price. The 15” MacBook Retina starts with a 2.0 GHz Haswell Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, and 256 GB of flash storage for the price of $1999; once again, $200 lower than the previous model. With that price aside, there’s no dedicated GPU in the baseline 15” model; only the Intel Iris graphics. This is bothersome to quite a few people, as most of the people buying this computer have serious work to get done, which requires a lot of graphical horsepower. It’s too early to tell how the Iris graphics will hold up to applications like Final Cut Pro and the Adobe Suite, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Mac Pro

Probably the most-anticipated hardware announcement today was the legendary Mac Pro. This desktop hasn’t received a true update in years, and today, Apple finally delivered. Just like Mavericks, we did receive a sneak preview of this desktop a little while back, but today, we were given much more detailed specs. This desktop focuses on Apple’s two most important features at the moment; raw computing power, and power consumption. This desktop is going to pack the latest Ivy Bridge-E Xeon processors in 3.7 GHz quad-core, 3.5 GHz hecta-core, 3.0 GHz octa-core, or even 2.7 GHz deca (12)-core models.

In addition to having the latest processors, this machine will also come with dual FirePro graphics cards at every configuration. Despite having this much GPU power, the

amount of video memory is what’s going to change. At the quad core level, there will be 4GB of video memory (2GB per GPU), 6GB on the hexa-core model, 8GB on the octa- core model, and a whopping 12GB on the top of the line model. A better way to think about it is that there’s 1GB of video memory for every core the system has. The Mac Pro will also have PCi-e based storage, configurable with up to 1TB of space (256GB, 512GB, or 1TB).

In terms of memory, the Mac Pro still start out with 12GB of memory, and is configurable up to 64GB. Personally, I feel that this is a little low, considering that even a socket 2011 PC can handle up to that same amount right now , and in some cases, even more). If Apple want this desktop to last as long as the previous Mac Pro did, I feel that they need to increase this limit. In a day & age of memory-intensive applications, being able to keep that information in memory instead of having to go out to the disk is more important than ever, regardless of the speed of that disk. Not only that, but Apple restring the memory limit depending on the model you purchase. For example, if you buy the quad-core model, you can only upgrade to 16GB. This is definitely a bad move on Apple’s part, as this is a machine that already isn’t very upgradeable. As this is likely just a simple check in the firmware of each model, I can already see the firmware hacks.

The starting price isn’t necessarily cheap, but then again, you can’t expect it to be. Not only do these desktops pack a ton of power, but this is Apple we’re talking about here. That in mind, I’ll just come out and say it; the Mac Pro will start with a price tag of $2999. For that price, you’ll get the 3.7GHz quad-core, dual FirePro GPU’s with a total of 4GB of VRAM, 256GB of flash storage, and 12GB of memory. Of course, all of this is contained within that truly revolutionary cylindrical enclosure. Be sure to let us know if you’ll be investing in this machine (or why not) in the comments below!

iPad

Today, the forth generation iPad was replaced with the “iPad Air”. This is an iPad that has a lot of the internal specs from the iPhone 5S, with an all-new enclosure. This is Apple’s fastest and thinest iPad to date,which is a big deal to a lot of people. The iPad Air packs that same 9.7” retina display, but the enclosure it sits in has been completely re-done . The bezels have shank by nearly 50%, making the screen pop out a lot more over the previous generation. This also makes it easier to hold and carry around, as the overall surface area is now smaller. The iPad Air has also shaved 1.9 mm from the thinness of the previous model, going from 9.4mm to a mere 7.5mm. These changes alone will make a lot of people purchase this iPad over the iPad mini, in my opinion.

Inside, the iPad Air has the same A7 chip that the iPhone 5S has, which means that the iPad Air is now a 64-bit platform. This is great for developers to make true, desktop- class apps. This also drastically increases the speed of day-to-day tasks, such as taking pictures, editing those pictures, or even just opening applications. Included with that A7 chip is also the M7 co-processor, whose sole purpose is to monitor motion. The iPad Air also has dual antennas for the Wi-Fi, making sure that you always get the fastest, most reliable connection possible.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t an upgrade to the cameras of the iPad Air, meaning that it’s still the same 5 megapixel back and 1.2 megapixel cameras with the same sensors as before. With that said, the performance of these cameras will increase drastically with the new processor and better onboard graphics. The iPad Air starts off at the same price as the previous model; $499, which gets you 16GB of flash storage, in addition to all of the new features.

It’s worth stating that Apple keeping the iPad 2 around. Personally, I think this is a questionable move on their part, as I was hoping they’d keep the iPad 4th generation around instead, resulting in a full-retina 10” iPad line. With that said, I see the need in academic institutions or even business organizations for a low-cost, reliable iPad.

iPad Mini

The iPad Mini is also one of the biggest upgrades that people have been waiting for, ever since the first generation Mini was announced. The main reason for this is because of the lack of retina display up until now. Apple has brought the iPad Mini into the world of retina, which pleased a lot of people, myself included. Apple held off so long because they didn’t want to affect two things; performance and battery life. Apple waited a year for their technologies to improve, and have now delivered on adding the retina display. this 7.9” display now has the same amount of pixels as the 9.7” iPad Air, and has the same 326 ppi pixel density as the iPhone 5S; very impressive!

The iPad Mini also got the addition of the A7 processor and M7 coprocessor, which makes for a drastic increase over the previous generation. Much like the iPad Air, the cameras haven’t changed over the last model, which could be something they’re saving for next year. The iPad Mini’s body is almost the exact same dimensions as the previous model, except that it’s .3mm thicker, and weighs 23 grams more. This is to be expected when adding the retina display. This also happened going from the iPad to to the iPad 3rd generation when it’s retina display was added.

Unlike the iPad Air, the pricing of the iPad Mini did change. The addition of the retina display and much faster CPU performance resulted in a $70 price increase, bringing this 16GB base configuration to $399. This seems steep, but keep the perfomance:size ratio in mind here. Apple is also keeping the first generation iPad Mini around, and dropping it’s price to $299 from $329. I feel that this is a good move on their part, and may end up making more of a dent in the budget tablet market than it did at it’s initial price.

Well, those were the main points of today’s keynote! If you feel there’s something that I didn’t cover in enough depth, be sure let us know what that is, and your thoughts about it, right down below in the comments! Will your wallet be getting any lighter after today’s announcements, or are you going to skip this year’s products? We’re eager to hear what you have to say!

About the Author:

Bob Roche has been producing technology content for about 5 years, including Hackintosh tutorials, PC hardware reviews, and much more. His work can be found at RocheTechnology.com, as well as on his personal YouTube channel.

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NVIDIA’s Outs 331.58 Drivers, Prepares You for Upcoming Big Titles

Kevin Kenson — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 04:31:44 +0000

With the end of October we’re going to be seeing the release of a lot of big name titles, and two of the first big ones to kick things off are Batman: Arkham Origins and Battlefield 4.

In preparation of this, Nvidia today released it’s latest Drivers meant to bring optimal performance for these games and more, with them saying results have been seen as high as 13% increase from previous drivers when used on a GTX 770/780 or TItan, using examples like Sniper Elite v2 (13%), Sleeping Dogs (8%), Metro: Last Light (9%), and Dirt: Showdown (11%).

Of course these results can vary based on your own PC build and overall system setup. These Drivers will also be adding support for 4K Surround for those using 4K Displays, and is now starting the beta stages of allowing the Nvidia Shield to stream games via GeForce. The holiday releases will shortly be upon us, make sure you update your driver’s properly and get ready for back to back game releases!

Release Summary

This Game Ready WHQL driver ensures you’ll have the best possible gaming experience in Batman: Arkham Origins and Battlefield 4. GeForce Game Ready drivers also provide performance increases for a variety of different games.

New in GeForce R331 Drivers

Performance Boost – Increases performance by up to 13% for GeForce 400/500/600/700 series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 327.23 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration. Here is one example of measured gains:

GeForce GTX 770/780/TITAN:

Up to 11% in Dirt: Showdown

Up to 9% in Metro: Last Light

Up to 8% in Sleeping Dogs

Up to 13% in Sniper Elite V2

SLI Technology

Batman: Arkham Origins – updated profile

Battlefield 4 – updated profile

Shadow Warrior – added DX9 profile

War of the Vikings – added DX11 profile

Dragon Sword – updated DX9 profile

GRID 2 – updated DX11 profile

Euro Truck Simulator 2 – updated profile

Gaming Technology

Civilization 5 – added HBAO+;

SHIELD

Enables GeForce to SHIELD streaming (Beta). Learn more here.

4K Displays

Adds support for 4K Surround

Additional Details

Installs new PhysX System Software 9.13.0725.
Installs HD Audio v1.3.26.4
Installs GeForce Experience v8.3.23.1
Includes support for applications built using CUDA 5.5 or earlier version of the CUDA Toolkit. More information at http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit
Supports OpenGL 4.3 for GeForce 400-series and later GPUs.
Supports DisplayPort 1.2 for GeForce GTX 600 series GPUs.
Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel and AMD motherboards.

Source: NVIDIA

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ASUS Adding NVIDIA’s G-SYNC Support to Future Monitors

Kevin Kenson — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 21:06:07 +0000

Asus recently announced that it will now be employing NVIDIA G-SYNC in all of it’s new monitors, which is a pretty big deal for Nvidia gaming fans.

G-SYNC makes it so that the Monitor’s refresh rate is synchronized with the GPU’s rendering rate, meaning that images are displayed at the exact moment the GPU renders them.

This gets rid of of various display problems in a lot of games like screen tearing or stuttering without the use of performance hampering settings like V-sync.

Basically it’s all of the good when it comes to smooth visuals with none of the bad. Asus plans to incorporate G-SYNC into it’s monitors beginning in 2014, with the first planned release being an upgraded version of the VG248QE at a price point of $399 in the first half of 2014.

Source: ASUS

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NVIDIA’s GTX 780 Ti GPU-Z Speeds & Specs Leaked

Elric Phares — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:06:21 +0000

Although AMD is making the headlines with news regarding their so-called Titan killer, in a weird twist of events NVIDIA turned around and released information about their possible R9 290X Killer, the all-new GTX 780 Ti.

It seems kind of crazy that as AMD tries to get everyone to believe that they have the world’s fastest single GPU video card it is turning out to really be a lot of hot air and hype as well as not being the card it was rumored to be. Scores have already surfaced showing the R9 290X to be just a tad bit faster than a standard GTX 780 and in no way beating a Titan.

Looking at the leaked GPU-Z shot, GeForce GTX 780 Ti features GK110 silicon equipped with 2496 CUDA Cores, 208 TMUs and 48 ROPs.

It comes with 3 GB GDDR5 memory spread across a 384-bit memory interface resulting in 288.4 GB/s memory bandwidth. There have been rumors that the GeForce GTX 780 Ti will feature 6 GB GDDR5 memory and a 512-bit memory interface in-order to counter AMD’s Radeon R9 290X at 4K resolution. I think NVIDIA is just sitting back and watching things as they unfold and just reacting to whatever happens, as they seem to be very calm cool and collective about everything right now.

In the GPU-Z shot you can see the clock speeds of the GPU have been revealed. The GK110 GPU is clocked at 902 MHz with GPU Boost up to 954 MHz while the memory is clocked at 1502 MHz or 6 GHz effectively. When compared with GTX 780, the upcoming GTX 780 Ti has tiny bits of improvement in terms of specifications. Below is a table, which shows the comparison between GeForce GTX 780, GTX 780 Ti and GTX TITAN. AMD is most likely really pissed off right now as this was the quickest right hook they have ever received from NVIDIA who did not have to do really anything to put them back into the number 2 slot. Like always any pre-release screen shots should be taken with a grain of salt, but the tome is coming really soon when all will be unleashed and revealed to the world. Thanks for reading Tech Of Tomorrow. So what are your thoughts on this information regarding the new GTX 780 Ti is this good news, or just more infighting between the giants?

Source: Chip Loco

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Intel Delays Production of Broadwell Chips until 2014

Kevin Kenson — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 03:24:50 +0000

Intel has run into a bit of a setback on the development of their new “Broadwell” chip design, pushing the production date of the chips a quarter further away from their originally planned time frame of Q4 2013.

Current chips in development had density defects that were affecting the processor’s performance, and the usual fixes for this kind of issue did not lead to the levels of performance Intel was hoping for.

While new fixes have now been made that do address the Broadwell’s problems, the time it has taken has lead to the current delay, which all things considered isn’t that far back from most people’s initial estimates of the processors wide release, looking to now be around Q3 of 2014.

The Broadwell is a smaller version of the current Haswell design, sizing in at a micro architecture of 14 nm, which is the smallest ever produced. It’s worth noting that while these issues have slightly delayed the release of Broadwell, Intel claims that this has had zero influence over the development of “Skylake”, the current project name for Haswell’s proper successor.

Source: Tech Spot

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Samsung’s Galaxy Round Smartphone Just a Prototype?

Zain Siddiqui — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:06:56 +0000

Samsung just unveiled a new smartphone bound for South Korea dubbed the Galaxy Round last week, but it looks like it may just be a prototype and produced in extremely limited quantities which makes sense given the confused reactions it received on announcement.

While it won’t hit mainstream, Samsung claims there are a few advantages to a curved display. The company highlights a new feature taking advantage of the curves called “Round Interaction.” This feature allows the user to glance at key information like missed calls, the date, and battery life when the sleeping phone is tilted on a flat surface. Samsung also points out that navigating through Touch Wiz’s home screens will feel like one smooth, continuous motion. Improvements to the gallery and music applications have been implemented with unique tilt and tap centered interactions.

Along with the innovative screen tech, the Galaxy Round features some awe-inspiring hardware. It’s a svelte 7.9 mm thin and weighs a petite 154 grams. It also takes some notes from the Note 3 and gives us a leather-esque plastic backplate.

On the camera side of things, the device acclaims a 13-megapixel sensor on the back and a 2-megapixel shooter on the front. It has tons of camera software goodies that Samsung loves so much such as Sound and Shot, Animated Photo, and Eraser Mode.

On paper, performance should be excellent because the device features a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 3 GB of RAM, and the latest version of Android, 4.3 Jelly Bean. Atop of Google’s Android software, the device is skinned by the Samsung-created TouchWiz UI which brings oodles of software features such as Samsung Smart Scroll, Air Gesture, Air View, and Samsung Smart Pause.

The device comes with 32 GB of onboard storage and is expandable via MicroSD. It has our usual set of standard connections, like Korean-optimized LTE, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.0.It also features USB 3.0, which is often overlooked. USB 3.0 allows for significantly faster charging and data transfers when paired with a compatible cable. All of this is powered by a respectable 2,800mAH battery. So what do you guys think? Do you agree with it being just a prototype, or are you genuinely interested in it? Let us know with a comment below!

Source: SlashGear

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AMD R9 290X Reference Video Card Dissected & Taken Apart

Elric Phares — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:53:28 +0000

For those who are more than eager to see what AMD’s latest offering has in store for you some new pictures have emerged.

The card is HIS branded and is obviously a reference designed card from the look alone as non-reference cards have a bit more personality in them and have aftermarket proprietary cooling solutions that are not seen here.

Although the R9 290X is slotted for release at the end of the month information will begin surfacing from around the globe until launch later this month, maybe it will be the Treat, in this years Trick or Treat fest.

The card we are seeing was deconstructed by Experview reveling what lies beneath the plastic shroud showing the AMD cooling solution up close and personal like. You can also se the PCB, VRM and the new “Hawaii” silicon. Earlier leaks match up with what we are seeing here so this most likely is the “Real” deal.

The PCB features the new 7.08 billion-transistor chip from AMD, sixteen GDDR5 memory chips (all of which are on the obverse side), and the 5+1+1 phase VRM, which uses CPL-made chokes, IR-made DirectFETs, and a new IR-made VRM controller. We have already confirmed delivery of both a MSI and Gigabyte version of the cards for review so stay tuned for the actual reviews coming at the end of October.

Source: Tech Power Up

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$10,000 Bounty Awarded for Microsoft Windows 8.1 Bug

Zain Siddiqui — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:07:17 +0000

Microsoft recently sent out a bounty for a hefty $10,000 if someone could smash a pesky Windows 8.1 bug. The tech giant has usually shied away from depositing rewards like this in the past, but this year, Microsoft has started to change that.

They started using the same bounty system earlier this year, around June, to knock out some bugs regarding Windows 8.1, and the infamous Internet Explorer 11. Ironically, a Google engineer was the first to claim a bounty with a smashing of an IE11 bug; perhaps he had experience with web browser development over at Google for Chrome.

While Microsoft has offered big bucks for IE exploits, the true cash was really invested in exploitation techniques on Windows 8.1. I mean let’s face it; Windows 8.1 should certainly be the primary source of focus rather than the widely criticized Internet Explorer.

A security researcher over at Context Information Security, named James Forshaw, claimed the most recent $10,000 bounty. Forshaw squashed a bug that worked around some firewalls and protections in Windows 8.1’s preview version. This isn’t Forshaw’s first time in playing pest control, however. He previously won a bounty for his role in scanning, and eventually locating, an IE 11 bug. However, Microsoft is not expanding on the exploit for now.

Microsoft’s very own sensor security strategist, Katie Moussouris, explained that “The reason we pay so much more for a new attack technique versus for an individual bug is that learning about new mitigation bypass techniques help us defend against our entire attack.”

The IE 11 bug bounty program is closed, but Microsoft is still on the look out for Windows 8.1-related bugs. They’ve paid out a grand total of roughly $128,000 in total bounties and are ready for more. Maybe one of you guys reading here at Tech of Tomorrow will put on your gloves and lend Microsoft a hand by spraying some pesticide on some of these nettlesome bugs!

Source: PCPro

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Retina iPad Mini & iPad 5 to be announced October 22nd: What to Expect

Zain Siddiqui — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 19:29:22 +0000

About a month ago, on September 10^th, Apple released their long awaited refresh its widely popular iPhone lineup. The company released two, brand-new iPhones (for the first time ever), the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The new iGadgets brought some neat features to the table such as iOS 7, a fingerprint scanner, and a 64-bit A7 CPU, but Apple may be ready for “Round 2.”

“People familiar with Apple’s plans” tell tech site All Things D that the company is holding an invite-only and exclusive event on Tuesday, October 22. We currently don’t know where the event will take place, however.

October 22^nd looks to be a big day for the world of tech. Interestingly enough, that fine Tuesday will also bring the availability of the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro tablets from Microsoft. Nokia is also bringing some goodies to the table on the 22^nd as well. The company is expected to unleash six new devices, namely the 6-inch Lumia 1520 “phablet.” We are also expecting the unveiling of the heavily leaked and rumored Google Nexus 5 flagship smartphone along with Android 4.4 “KitKat” around the same time frame.

Apple seemingly has a lot on the agenda for the 22^nd.We are expecting to see an iPad lineup overhaul with the addition of a completely redesigned full sized iPad will smaller bezels paired with a more iPad Mini-esque architecture and an iPad Mini with a higher-resolution Retina display (though recent reports have shown this has a 50/50 chance of actually dropping). The new iPads will most likely follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 5S by introducing things like a 64-bit chip and a fingerprint scanning home button.

On the Mac side of the spectrum Apple’s latest computing OS, OS X Mavericks, will undoubtedly make an appearance and broadcast a release date. The long awaited refreshed Mac Pro will also become available to customers soon after the event, and might even bring some R2-D2 nostalgia to Star Wars fans everywhere. We can also look forward to updated MacBook Pros sporting Intel’s latest and greatest Haswell CPUs for huge jumps in the battery life department.

If Apple confirms the date, mark your calendar, because there will be a load of new gadgets just around the corner. As always, thanks for reading on Tech of Tomorrow!

Source: Forbes

Image Credit: Mac Rumors

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