Business

Apple recently unveiled its brand new MacBook Pro laptop, which comes with the same critically-acclaimed Retina display found on the company's iPad tablet. While early reviews suggest that the new MacBook Pro is a very powerful device, industry ... experts are slowly discovering that it holds some dirty secrets. Most notably, the new MacBook Pro is almost impossible for the average person to repair, and is also extremely costly to both fix and upgrade. Performance-wise, the new MacBook Pro has a lot going for it. While it's extremely powerful (using the latest quad-core Intel i7 processors), it's ... (view more)

Microsoft is warning its customers that a newly discovered flaw in its Internet Explorer (IE) web browser could allow hackers to execute malicious code and take control of an unsuspecting user's computer. That would give a cyber-criminal the ability ... to use the computer and all its resources for unknown, possibly illegal, purposes. Microsoft has indicated that users of every recent version of the Windows operating system (OS), including Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, are vulnerable to such an attack. Beware Email Links from Suspicious Sources The Redmond, Washington-based software ... (view more)

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's personal email account has reportedly been hacked. According to some observers, security weaknesses in Microsoft's Hotmail email service allowed the hack to occur. In reality, however, slip-ups by both ... Romney and Microsoft facilitated the hack. The incident occurred after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) obtained and printed several emails sent to and from Romney during his time as governor of Massachusetts. The newspaper did not hack the account to obtain the emails, but rather made a legal request for Romney's office to hand them over. The WSJ ... (view more)

Microsoft now says its Windows Defender program, which includes the free Security Essentials antivirus software, will ship as part of the standard Windows 8 package when the new operating system launches during the fall of 2012. However, the ... software giant cautions that the protection afforded by the Security Essentials antivirus software will be activated only in situations where no other antivirus software is installed on a PC. Windows 8, which reached its Release Preview stage just under two weeks ago, has long been anticipated to be delivered with the Windows Defender system included. ... (view more)

Intel is reportedly working on a new facial recognition system designed to help advertising companies target consumers in a more efficient, direct manner. The ground-breaking hardware is said to be able to recognize distinguishing features about ... people watching a TV screen, and individually select target-specific advertisements to display for them. The system is based on a set-top control box that does not identify specific individuals, but does recognize their general characteristics, such as gender and age. (Source: vancouversun.com ) Precise Monitoring, Feedback Intel is currently asking ... (view more)

Microsoft has apologized for one of its software presentations that went beyond tongue-in-cheek all the way to borderline obscene. The show, which included adult-oriented song lyrics and dancing girls, was presented at the Norwegian Developers ... Conference in Oslo. The presentation was supposed to be about promoting cutting-edge advances in Microsoft's Azure cloud computing system. Before the show got into the technical mumbo-jumbo, however, its organizers attempted to grab the audience's attention with some risque dancing and house music. Lewd Song Fails to Impress Audience The song chosen for ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled new software capable of syncing its Xbox 360 video game console with popular portable devices, like the Apple iPhone or iPad, as well as with Android- and Windows-based handhelds. "Your devices aren't so smart because they ... aren't working together," said Marc Whitten of Xbox Live online entertainment service, at the press event that began the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) video game gathering in Los Angeles on June 5, 2012. Microsoft's idea is to tie together all of these popular devices, even those produced by rivals like Apple and Google. (Source: com.lb ) Console ... (view more)

According to a new report, Microsoft will not allow HTC, a major hardware company, to use the upcoming Windows 8 operating system (OS) on its newest tablet devices. Apparently, Microsoft has some concerns about the quality of HTC hardware. Back in ... April, reports suggested that Microsoft was working closely with several manufacturing firms to ensure that their new hardware met certain quality and usability standards set by the Redmond-based software giant. The idea was that Microsoft wanted to make sure its new operating system would make a positive impression on consumers from the very start ... (view more)

Microsoft has launched a website and mobile application service that allows users to program smartphone functions based on their locations and schedules. Microsoft has designed the product to run exclusively on the Android smartphone. This is not ... the first time Microsoft has designed a product that does not run on its very own Windows Phone mobile platform. Photosynth (a digital photograph analyzing software application), for example, ran only on the iPhone. This new service is called "on{X}". It's intended to offer a futuristic glimpse of smartphone use by allowing users to program ... (view more)

According to a new report, Windows 8 will provide the fastest boot time ever posted by any operating system (OS): about seven seconds. However, some observers appear unhappy about such a speedy load time. Generally speaking, older operating systems ... take far longer than seven seconds to start up. This is not necessarily a bad thing because the extended wait time provides users with opportunities to access a computer's boot menu, so they can attempt to repair any problems with their system. Windows 8 Boot Time Under One Second With Windows 8's new speedy loading routine, the amount of time ... (view more)