Making a serious rival to AirPods is harder than Microsoft thought. It just pushed back the release of Surface Earbuds until well past the holiday shopping season.
November 21, 1985: Following Steve Jobs’ departure, Apple comes close to signing its own death warrant by licensing the Macintosh’s look and feel to Microsoft.
The deal, between Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple CEO John Sculley, comes hot on the heels of the Windows operating system’s release. The pact gives Microsoft a “non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, nontransferable license to use [parts of the Mac technology] in present and future software programs, and to license them to and through third parties for use in their software programs.”
Oh, boy!
Microsoft has confirmed plans to kill off Cortana — but only on mobile in only eight countries.
A new support article confirms that the Cortana app will disappear on January 31. You will still see it in Windows 10, and Microsoft says it will be more deeply integrated into Office 365.
November 10, 1983: Microsoft tells the world about an upcoming product called Windows, which will bring the graphical user interface to IBM PCs. Although Microsoft’s announcement about the new operating system comes before Apple launches the Mac in 1984, Windows 1.0 won’t actually ship until November 1985, earning it a reputation as “vaporware.”
At the time, Apple doesn’t view Windows as much of a threat. That doesn’t take long to change, however.
Apple’s current line of MacBooks is probably its worst laptop lineup in years. The keyboards are so broken that even the newest MacBook Air is covered under Apple’s keyboard repair program. There are too few ports, and too much heat. And if you want to upgrade any internal parts? You’ll have to buy a new MacBook. But what are the best MacBook alternatives?
If you want to ditch the MacBook, you will find plenty of options. However, none of them offer one essential element: macOS. Switching to another operating system is like moving house and having to leave everything but your clothes behind. But there are workarounds even for that. Let’s check out the best alternatives to the MacBook in 2019.
Microsoft is preparing to make its Outlook app for macOS better than ever. An overhaul will introduce new sync technology and big performance improvements, as well as welcome design tweaks.
Here’s what you can expect.
Microsoft today dropped a brand-new Office Mobile app that brings Word, Excel, and PowerPoint together in one place. The company calls it a new vision for how people get work done on a phone.
Microsoft today rolled out a bunch of updates that bring a long-awaited dark mode to its Office suite on iOS.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are all a little easier on the eyes (if you want them to be). Dark mode will also help them be kinder on battery life on iPhone models with OLED displays.
Microsoft just unveiled a very innovative dual-screen mobile computer that also makes room for a physical keyboard. The Surface Neo folds, but doesn’t use a folding screen, and combines features of a laptop and a tablet.
Most Surface products compete directly with Apple offerings. Apple is also exploring multi-display laptops and tablets, but Microsoft might get there first. Might, because the device unveiled today won‘t be out for a year.
The newly-unveiled Surface Pro X is a 13-inch tablet that seems designed to take on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple dominates tablet sales but Microsoft clearly wants a bigger piece, is hoping this slim and light Windows device will accomplish that.
Microsoft also finally added a USB-C port to the Surface Pro line in the seventh-generation model.
