What Windows 8.1 holds

The new Windows 8.1 lets you watch movies or play games with Xbox, Skype with friends, access files anywhere with SkyDrive, or find your next favorite app in the Windows Store.

If you’re already running Windows 8, no need to buy Windows 8.1—you can update to Windows 8.1 for free through the Windows Store.

Microsoft has already given us a little bit of information about what to expect in terms of fingerprint login support for Windows 8.1 and now we have a new video posted from Microsoft's TechEd conference that gives us a better look at the feature.

Demo: Windows 8.1 fingerprint login support

The video, hosted by Chris Hallum, goes over the feature for Windows 8.1 and it does appear to streamline the authentication process. The video is the on-screen only portion of the presentation but you can find the full video at the source link below.

Windows 8.1 is already set to bring a boatload of new features and we suspect that it will likely be the re-booting of the platform. While Windows 8 may have gotten off to a rough start with brand perception, Windows 8.1 appears to address nearly all of the major complaints with the platform that includes the return of the Start button and the ability to boot to the desktop.

The Laws of Computing

The Laws of Computing

Takeaway: 

"Even in the extremely abstract field of computing, there are some observable "laws" - just like in mathematics. By studying these laws, we can build on our understand of computing and expand innovation.

While computer science isn't exactly like physics, where there are observable laws in nature, there have been a number of "laws" discovered by researchers. They might seem old-school, but they're the foundation upon which innovation is built. Check it out!

Moore's Law

Moore's Law is probably the best-known "law" in the computer world. It's named for Intel founder Gordon Moore. In a 1965 paper, he noticed that the the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubled about every two years. This meant that the chips had more functionality than before for the same price. In other words, as time went on, the chips did more for less.

You've probably seen this in your own life. When you buy a new computer, it's generally faster than the last one you bought - and costs less as well.

Moore's Law is not only observable in microprocessors, but also in memory and storage space. It seems there is no limit, but chip makers can squeeze only so many circuits on those silicon wafers. On the other hand, quantum computers may offer a solution, though they're still a long way off from mainstream use.

By closely studying these laws, we can build on our understand of computing and build even better things by expanding innovation.

More about it in my subsequent post

:)

Software-Defined Anything (SDx)

What does Software-Defined Anything (SDx) mean?

Software-defined anything (SDx) is an important yet ambiguous term that refers to new changes happening in the IT world. It is a movement toward promoting a greater role for software systems in controlling different kinds of hardware - more specifically, making software more "in command" of multi-piece hardware systems and allowing for software control of a greater range of devices.

Explanation According to Techopedia

Experts explain SDx as a fundamentally connective tool that supports evolving network topologies. Another way to think about SDx is as an extension of the bring your own device (BYOD) movement, which is puzzling businesses and security managers. The BYOD movement essentially opened the control of network data from conventional workstations to portable smartphones and tablets. A SDx approach could further open up that field to different types of portable or versatile devices. However, this approach is also a double-edged sword, as expanding network capability can generate even greater security gaps, leaving businesses scrambling to understand how to minimize liability from unauthorized smartphone or tablet usage.

Some also link the emergence of a software-defined anything approach to the Internet of Things (IoT), an emerging philosophy of linking more types of devices and assets to a global IP network. Generally, this supports the most basic definition of SDx as a future system, where one set of software rules over numerous connected machines while directing many different types of user activity.

Posted by: Cory Janssen

When cars could drive themselves!

The Swedish-based Volvo Car Group has joined the race to develop self-driving cars, saying it plans to build 100 such vehicles in a pilot project.

The Chinese-owned automaker said on Monday that it will test its "autonomous'' cars on 30 miles (50 kilometers) of selected roads in the Swedish city of Goteborg, starting in 2017.  In what it called "the world's first large-scale autonomous driving pilot project,'' Volvo said the vehicle would assume all driving functions, though the driver "is expected to be available for occasional control.''

Some of the features of the "autonomous cars" will function by making Parking fully automated, allowing the driver to leave the vehicle as it finds a vacant spot to park by itself.

Volvo is of course not the first company to talk about self-driving cars. Google famously has one running around in its Mountain View Campus and this "driverless" car was borne out of the efforts of the highly clandestine Project X team,which looks beyond existing technologies.

Another example from the Project X stable is Google Glass, which will likely hit consumer markets next year.

Other companies such as Tesla and Continental AG are also mooting "driverless" cars.

Continental is already in an alliance with U.S. network equipment maker Cisco Systems to work on systems for automated and "driverless" automobiles and on data transfer between cars,while Tesla's autonomous car would allow the driver to hand 90 percent of the control of the car over to the vehicle's computer system.