Apple articles We like

Five Apple articles We like

With the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) just about the corner, and in account of CEO Tim Cook's hour-long assay by WSJ's Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, I absitively it was time to say something in actuality nice about the company.

Y'all (I spent an hour alert to Cook's Alabama drawl) apperceive I've occasionally been a teensy bit harder on Apple over the years, but that's because it's allotment of my job as a technology columnist to authority the aggregation to a top standard.

Now, I'll accept I adopt Windows over the Mac's OS X, but that doesn't beggarly I haven't bought Apple products. In fact, I accept 5 Macs now (okay, so three of them run alone Windows). My wife and I accept iPhones and iPads, and we've got a agglomeration of added Apple articles including a complete set of 4th bearing iPod shuffles in every color.

Granted, the iPod drag accumulating wasn't my idea, but that doesn't beggarly I'm not an Apple user. Heck, I acclimated to arch up a aggregation at Apple, way aback in the day.

Given all my grousing, I'm generally asked if there are any Apple articles I in actuality like. The acknowledgment is yes. On the afterward pages are 5 Apple articles I like absolutely a bit. I'll acquaint you my admired artefact at the end of this piece.

HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook

HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook: Bigger awning yet (reviews)

Chromebooks are abreast and baby to my affection as I acquisition them to be abundant accoutrement in my plan kit. I accept I accept acclimated a lot of every one accessible and if I heard HP had a new 14-inch archetypal I confused heaven and apple to get one to test. The Pavilion 14 Chromebook has the bigger awning currently accessible on a Chromebook.

Hardware as reviewed:

• Processor: Intel Celeron, 1.1GHz
• Display: 14-inch, 1366x768
• Memory: 2GB
• Storage: 16GB
• Connectivity: Ethernet; Wifi a/b/g/n; Bluetooth
• Ports: 3-USB 2.0; RJ-45; HDMI; SD agenda slot; Audio in/out
• Battery: 37WHr; 4.25 hours
• Dimensions: 0.83x13.66x9.37in; 3.96lbs

The case on the Pavilion 14 is atramentous sparkly artificial that looks nice but feels a bit cheap. Tapping on the lid and on the palmrest if opened doesn't adjure animosity of athletic construction, but in convenance it holds up fine. This is acutely a acknowledgment to accumulate the amount low and the weight down.

The island-style keys feel nice and solid and all of the accepted Chrome OS ascendancy keys are area you apprehend to acquisition them on the top row of the keyboard. Despite the ample affectation size, the trackpad is baby compared to a lot of added Chromebooks. This is due to the admittance of two ample abrasion buttons in foreground of the trackpad. Rather than use a bottle buttonless trackpad as begin on added Chromebooks, HP has acclimated a artificial textured awning on the Pavilion 14. It works accomplished but is not absolutely as aqueous as added bottle models acclimated by Samsung on its Chromebooks or of that on Google's Chromebook Pixel.

Keyboard trackpad

The 14-inch awning is nice and ablaze with appropriate examination angles. Having the bigger affectation it would be nice had HP acclimated a awning resolution bigger than 1366x768. While this accepted resolution works fine, the big awning could use a college resolution to yield abounding advantage of it.

The Altec Lansing stereo speakers complete bigger than those begin on abounding laptops. The aggregate is appealing loud for a laptop and doesn't alter awfully at top aggregate as abounding anthology complete systems do.

The array activity of the Pavilion 14 Chromebook is just over four hours due to the baby battery, which is acceptable a acknowledgment to accumulate the weight down. Fortunately, HP chose a disposable array architecture which makes a additional array an advantage for those absent a abounding day abroad from a ability outlet. This is not accessible with some added Chromebooks application a closed array design.

Conclusion

The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is a solid access into the Chrome OS amplitude that is advised to address to those who like bigger displays. The architecture of the laptop doesn't feel the sturdiest due to the all artificial design, but that keeps the weight down for a ample notebook.

The Celeron processor is able abundant to accumulate Chrome OS bent after bogging down. Aggregate runs calmly and while I wouldn't play accelerated amateur on this Chromebook aggregate abroad runs just fine.

The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is a solid accessory and is accessible now from assorted retailers. It is aswell accessible from HP online currently priced at $299.

Fun fact: According to HP these address to retailers in aggregate by the pallet. They are arranged 72 to a bassinet with a shipment weight of 562.2 lbs.

What's New in Windows 8.1

A after piece attending at what's new in Windows 8.1

Earlier this anniversary Microsoft offered a aboriginal attending at what’s traveling to be in Windows 8.1. As I acclaimed in my advantage yesterday, this is a cogent amend and not just a kneejerk acknowledgment to criticism of the antecedent release.

See also:

Windows 8.1 unveiled: will it change your apperception about Windows 8?

The Start button is back. But that's just one of a actual continued account of changes you'll acquisition in Windows 8.1. Here's what's central the Windows 8.1 update, which will be accessible as a examination in backward June and will be delivered chargeless to all Windows 8 users afore the end of the year.

In this follow-up, I wish to blow on some of the abate abstracts that got adeptness accept gotten absent in yesterday’s flurry of coverage.

At the top of the account is a new Advice & Tips app that will be affianced to the Start awning by absence and will action a tutorial accoutrement 5 or so of the a lot of accepted things a new user needs to apperceive about Windows 8 interface. “If there’s any affliction we had” about the antecedent barrage of Windows 8, said Microsoft’s Jensen Harris, “it’s that we didn’t advice acclimatize people.” Some OEMs (Dell and HP, for example) accept created their own tutorial apps to ample this gap. The official adaptation is behind and welcome.

Improved apps

Windows 8.1 will cover cogent updates to all of the congenital Metro-style apps. With one exception, all of the Microsoft-authored apps will be adapted for the examination absolution due at the end of June. The barring is the communications apartment (Mail, Messaging, People, and Calendar), which will be adapted for the final absolution of Windows 8.1 but will be about banausic in the preview.

 

The Windows 8 Music app is a ambagious mess, with a abstruse and arresting interface that emphasizes the hit-driven Xbox online music service. The Windows 8.1 adaptation looks absolutely different, alpha with the home page. The three capital links on that home page acquiesce you to bound play music from your accumulating (local or online) or play alive music by borer the Radio hotlink (similar to the accepted Smart DJ feature). The third link, Explore, takes you to the Xbox Store, area you can seek and shop. The affectation of the accumulating is neat, crisp, and modern.

In Windows 8, the Camera app is about a adored webcam ascendancy panel. In Windows 8.1, it gets a few new controls, including a real-time accomplishing of Microsoft’s PhotoSynth technology that allows you to actualize and stitch calm panoramas. That affection will accomplish added faculty as abate accessories hit the market. Application a 10-inch book as a camera is awkward, but a 7-inch or 8-inch book works added by itself for photography.

Along the aforementioned lines, the Windows 8 Photos app is aswell slated for a huge amend that adds basal (and some not so basic) photo alteration appearance to the app.

New apps

The accumulating of new apps are mostly utilities:

• Calculator is an accessible addition. It includes the accepted and authentic views.
• Alarms is accession account item, with timer, stopwatch, and admission functions.
• Reading Account is a alluring accession and one I apprehend to use a lot. If you’ve anytime acclimated Instapaper or Pocket or accession “read it later” app, you accept a asperous abstraction of this app’s basal purpose. Unlike Instapaper, however, you aren’t belted to web pages. You can save a hotlink to section of agreeable from any app on the device, application the Windows 8 Share charm. Your claimed Reading Account can abide of links to web pages, email messages, snippets from the Finance and Travel apps, tweets, and so on.
• Health and Fitness aggregates advice about diet and exercise with accoutrement to advice you clue calories and conditioning schedules.
• Food and Drink covers recipes and cooking. Its key affection is a hands-free approach that lets you use a book in the kitchen after accepting your anointed easily on the touchscreen. In this app you “turn pages” by authoritative a annexation action in foreground of the webcam.

File Explorer changes

In Windows 8, Microsoft gave its desktop file-management account a new name (it’s now File Explorer instead of Windows Explorer) and added an Office-style ribbon. Windows 8.1 makes a brace of cogent added changes.The a lot of accessible change is in the aeronautics bar on the larboard ancillary of File Explorer. In abode of the Computer bulge is a new hotlink blue-blooded This PC. Beneath that hotlink you’ll acquisition shortcuts to the abstracts folders in your user profile, as able-bodied as to bounded drives. SkyDrive gets its own top-level hotlink as well.

Microsoft’s able but cabalistic Libraries affection is no best spotlighted in the Windows 8.1 adaptation of File Explorer. The Libraries bulge is gone from the aeronautics pane, and the absence libraries aren’t created if you set up a new user profile, although you can actualize custom libraries if you want.

Input changes

If you use Windows 8 on a touchscreen accessory or a book PC, the Blow Keyboard will attending about banausic in Windows 8.1, but beneath the awning it has two cogent improvements.

First, it’s backed by an autosuggest account that’s adapted always by an online service. In accession to suggesting words that bout the one you’re typing, the new affection aswell tries to adumbrate the next chat you’ll type. And it’s decidedly accurate, application a linguistic archetypal to advice attenuated down the account of words you’re acceptable to blazon next. Microsoft claims the new affection is 90 percent accurate. We’ll wish to put that to the test.

There’s aswell a new action for adeptness users who wish to use autosuggest but don’t wish to yield their fingers off the onscreen keyboard. A quick bash of the spacebar moves through the autosuggest account so you can baddest and admit an item.

Internet Explorer 11

We could accept spent an absolute affair on Internet Explorer 11, which will be included with Windows 8.1. The a lot of notable new appearance are in the Metro adaptation of IE and abode some of the criticisms of IE 10 in Windows 8.

Tabs accept confused to the basal of the screen, just aloft the Internet Explorer abode bar. And you’re no best bound to 10 tabs. You can accept an absolute amount of accessible tabs, with the row of tabs scrolling horizontally. And your tabs roam beyond devices, so you can aces up on your book area you larboard off on your desktop, or carnality versa.

In addition, you now accept abounding admission to your accumulating of Favorites, with the adeptness to add items to the Favorites account from the Metro-style browser.