DJI has announced that they’re partnering up with Microsoft to announce new developer tools for Windows. The tools are designed to enable real-time AI and machine learning for drones. This, DJI says, will help businesses “harness the power of commercial drone technology and edge cloud computing”. It all sounds very cool, but I’m having some pretty serious Terminator 3 flashbacks.
Microsoft’s new Surface Book 2 is a monster for creatives on-the-go with up to 17 hours battery life
Ever since I first got my hands on an iPad, I haven’t touched my laptop. It’s sat in a box under the bed for about the past 6 or 7 years. I do all my serious work on desktops. I have considered picking up a tablet/laptop hybrid type deal a couple of times, though. But when hearing reports of how badly most suck for video editing work, I abandoned the idea.
Now, though, Microsoft’s newly announced Surface Book 2 looks like it might finally give me a reason to look at laptops again. Especially now it comes with an Nvidia GPU, up to 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, an 8th generation i7 quad core processor and up to 17 hours of battery life
Your Microsoft Surface device could break within two years, according to Consumer Reports
Microsoft Surface devices have a sleek design, and the Surface Pro laptop seems to be useful for photographers. However, Consumer Reports claims that these gadgets are unreliable. Therefore, they removed the “recommended” label from four Microsoft laptops. According to their report, 25% of these devices will break within two years from the purchase.
Microsoft decides to save Paint after the reactions of public
I must admit I was a bit sad yesterday when Microsoft announced the end of Paint. And as it turned out, I wasn’t the only one. The reactions from nostalgic folks all over the world were so intense, that Microsoft decided to bring it back. Sort of.
MS Paint will have no future updates, as it was planned. However, after the huge outpouring of nostalgia from the users, the developers decided to leave it in life. It will only be moved to the Windows Store, where the users will be able to download it for free.
R.I.P. Microsoft Paint, 1985-2017
A part of my childhood just died. Microsoft Paint was never the pinnacle of photo editing software. But there was a time when it was the most popular image application out there (because it’s all that most of us had access to). It’s the first form of painting or editing application many of us experienced when we first acquire a Windows PC. It certainly was for me.
This venerable application, though, is facing its end. The next Windows 10 Fall Creators Update sends Microsoft Paint into the “deprecated” category. While it doesn’t yet share the same “Removed” category as other long standing applications such as Outlook Express, it does mean no more updates.
Curved sensor breakthrough could dramatically increase digital camera image quality
The idea of curved sensors has been around for a while now. Sony have been working on it since at least 2012, and we even got to see images created by it in 2014. Canon also filed a patent at the end of last year for both curved and “bendy” sensors. So, they’re definitely on the way. But new techniques developed by a team at Microsoft Research could speed things up dramatically.
The team have developed a way to create spherically curved image sensors by bending off-the-shelf sensors. Their quest started with the question “What would an ideal camera be like?”. They decided that very low light performance with sharp result would be vital, and they believed that curved sensors were the solution.
Microsoft’s new Surface Pro gets 13+ hours of battery life, more power, built in 4G LTE and a new pen
Microsoft already looked to start giving Apple a run for its money with the recently announced Surface Studio. Now, Microsoft have announced the new Surface Pro. It is compatible with the Microsoft Dial, announced with the Surface Studio. It also launches with a new pen, offering much better drawing capabilities.
With longer battery usage, better connectivity and full size USB sockets, it will be interesting to see if any make the switch from the rather disappointing 2016 MacBook Pro. It definitely looks like it’s taking aim at the creative market. But, with it also having a max RAM capacity of only 16GB, it may still put a few off picking this one up. Especially those who do video.
Crash drones as much as you like with Microsoft’s new real world simulator
There’s been quite a lot of drone fails recently. And no, I’m not talking about GoPro Karmas falling out of the sky. I’m referring to operator error. Idiots who don’t know what they’re doing, that can’t control their drones putting other people at risk. But, Microsoft think they have a solution with a new drone simulator called AirSim.
The idea is to let people test and train robots in a virtual environment to prepare them for existing in the real world. Designed for autonomous control, it’s probably not going to help drone pilots learn to fly any better or more safely. But, it should mean that the software to prevent them from doing stupid things will get a bit better.
Microsoft’s new Surface Studio wants to kill both the iMac and Wacom Cintiq
Looking at the advert for Microsoft’s new Surface Studio they’re taking a square aim at two very distinct products. Obviously they want to take a big chunk out of the Apple iMac’s share of the designer desktop computer market. It also seems, though, that they want to try and replace the Wacom Cintiq, too. As desktop PCs go, the new Surface Studio has an extremely elegant design, and is probably one of the most versatile units to hit the market.
Of course, it still runs Windows, which will put many users off right away. The vast majority of Windows issues I’ve seen over the years seem to be down to the hardware choices made by OEMs and PC builders, though. That Microsoft are able to specify exactly what hardware goes into the unit should result a much smoother and more stable system (in theory).
Instagram App is now officially available on Windows 10
It’s taken a while, but it’s finally happened. Instagram is finally available for Windows 10 tablets. An app had previously been released for Windows 10 Mobile back in April, but now we have it on the Windows desktop.
It features all the usual features, including Instagram Stories, messaging and Explore. You’ll also be able to capture, edit and post straight from your Windows 10 device. Although, there is a caveat. You have to have a touchscreen Windows device.
