Software : Microsoft rolls out Delve, its precursor to unified search strategy |
- Microsoft rolls out Delve, its precursor to unified search strategy
- Yes, Twitter is definitely testing a buy button
- HP Stream is a Chromebook-killer Windows laptop with a higher-end price
- Apple sends its first iCloud alerts notifying users of login attempts
- Amazon Fire Phone flames out, plummets to under a buck on contract
| Microsoft rolls out Delve, its precursor to unified search strategy Posted:  Microsoft has announced that it has begun to roll out its smart search service, Office Delve, for Office 365 customers. A post written by Julia White, general manager of Office 365 Technical Product Management, highlights what users of Microsoft's business suite can expect from the new addition. Delve uses the Office Graph to facilitate information discovery. "Information finds you versus you having to find information", she added. Yammer, Delve and SharepointThe interface of Delve is elegant and non-intrusive, and similar to the likes of Google Now or Flipboard. As expected, it aggregates, curates and analyses content pulled from your inbox, OneDrive, SharePoint and Yammer. In addition, email attachments, OneNote and Lync are also expected to be added over the next few months. Delve, which was previously codenamed Oslo, is already available for free to Enterprise users of Office 365 (E1 to E4) and will come to the rest of Office 365 users next year. Delve was originally presented back in June 2013 and is built on enterprise search technology from FAST, a company that Microsoft purchased more than six years ago. |
| Yes, Twitter is definitely testing a buy button Posted:  There have been rumors all year that Twitter is developing a way for users to buy things directly from tweets, and now the company has confirmed it. Twitter Head of Commerce Nathan Hubbard told Bloomberg that Twitter is testing the "buy" button now, and confirmed several other prior rumors. That includes the news that Twitter is working with e-commerce company Stripe to process payments, which was first reported way back in January. Stripe will save users' credit card info so they can make purchases with just a few clicks, Hubbard said. Celebrities and rock stars firstBloomberg says the Twitter "buy" button is being developed partially in response to pressure from investors, and partially to show that tweets can have a direct influence over users' buying decisions. They'll also use the button to test what kinds of tweets are most effective in getting people to buy things. However the feature won't roll out for everyone equally. Twitter will start by giving it to celebrities, musical artists, non-profits, and brands that are already influential, including possibly Pharrell and Burberry. "We want to be a bridge between a consumer wanting something and getting it," Hubbard said. "Conversations are happening every second on Twitter with artists and charities and consumers, and many of those conversations are leading to transactions already." The Twitter buy button is in testing now, and it's unknown when it will begin to roll out. |
| HP Stream is a Chromebook-killer Windows laptop with a higher-end price Posted:  After weeks of teasing and leaks, HP and Microsoft's super affordable Chromebook killing Windows 8.1 laptop is finally here. Meet the HP Stream laptop. It's an affordable little machine sporting a 14-inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution display. Underneath the machine's plastic exterior lies an AMD AR Micro-6400T Quad APU that delivers both computing power and drives the graphics engine. The budget laptop is also equipped with 2GB of Memory and 32GB in SSD storage, which thankfully can be expanded though a MicroSD card slot. In a Google-like move, Microsoft is offering Stream laptop owners two years of free OneDrive storage amounting to an additional 100GB of online disk space. Throw in the speculated 6 hours and 30 minutes of battery life plus a one-month trial of Microsoft Office 365, and this seems like a Chromebook killing deal…except it's not. So much for a planThe only problem with the HP Stream is it actually costs $300 (about £186, AU$322), which is proportionally steeper than the $200 (about £124, AU$215) price tag Microsoft COO Kevin Turner first posited at the Redmond company's Worldwide Partner Conference in July. Even with the higher price point the HP Stream is still a fair deal for any Windows laptop. However, there are more than a handful of Chromebooks users can get for less including the touchscreen equipped Acer C720P and the premium looking Samsung Chromebook 2. Last week at IFA 2014 even HP announced a new Chromebook competitor that comes in at the same price as the Stream. Called the Chromebook 14, this will be HP's second 14-inch Google cloud-powered laptop, except the internals have been upgraded to an Nvidia Tegra K1 processor with a purported nine-hour battery life. But before we get too down about the HP Stream's higher than expected price, we'll have to reserve our final judgment for our review. The Stream ships on September 24.
Via PC World |
| Apple sends its first iCloud alerts notifying users of login attempts Posted:  It's looks like Apple is making good on its promises to ratchet up its iCloud security following a rash of leaked celebrity photos. Letem Světem Applem, a Czechoslovakian site, caught an Apple email alert asking to confirm if the user accessed iCloud from a new browser. The message seems to be a one-time confirmation that's sent whenever the user or someone else accesses the iCloud account from a new browser. As with Facebook login activity notifications users will either toss away these messages to their virtual recycling bin or report malicious behavior. The support message follows Cook's recent remarks noting that Apple would improve user awareness by sending out email alerts as well as smartphone notification. This latest message coincides with Apple's plans to roll out a new alert system within the next two weeks. What is it good for?Ultimately the new alerts won't prevent future hacking attempts but users will be notified much sooner. As the recent leak of celebrity photos revealed there is a major vulnerability in Apple's cloud service even if the hackers allegedly targeted celebrity accounts. The real problem is no one noticed or said anything until the mass of revealing photos was posted onto 4chan, Reddit and other internet communities. Now with this new early warning system users will be notified much sooner rather than never. The alerts also allows users to regain control of their accounts, hopefully stopping or tracing the individuals who are breaking in virtually. It'll be interesting to see if Apple has any new comments to share about the recent attack on iCloud at its iPhone 6 and, very likely, iWatch event tomorrow. Stay tuned to this space for more.
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| Amazon Fire Phone flames out, plummets to under a buck on contract Posted:  With one of the quickest price reductions in tech history, Amazon's debut smartphone has gone from meteoric rise to a spectacular flameout back on Earth, where the handset can now be found for less than a US dollar. Amazon today announced that US customers can now purchase a Fire Phone with 32GB onboard storage for only 99 cents (about UK£0.61, AU$1.07) with a two-year agreement - a steep drop from the initial asking price of $199.99 (about UK£124, AU$215) only two months ago. The base model Fire Phone, also available in the US without service agreement for $449 (about UK£279, AU$484), remains locked in an exclusive agreement with AT&T, but still includes a full year of Amazon Prime benefits, a $99 (UK£79, about AU$107) value. Amazon also announced Fire Phone is finally heading abroad, where it will be available for £0 on O2 Refresh (with a £33 tariff) in the UK, or the equivalent of €1 in Germany on T-Mobile contract with a tariff as low as €35.95 per month. Dousing the FireAmazon's press releases offer no real clues to the reasons behind the steep drop in price so soon after launching Fire Phone, instead reminding the world what an incredible value the device is, especially now that it's practically free. The 64GB model also received a price cut Monday, dropping from $299.99 (about UK£186, AU$323) on contract to only $99.99 (about UK£62, AU$108), although with the 32GB base model selling for a fraction of that price, we don't see too many takers lining up to spend a hundred bucks on the troubled handset. The discount also applies for early upgraders taking advantage of AT&T Next, where the 32GB model drops from $0 down and $27.09 per month for 24 months to only $18.75 per month, effectively spreading the contract-free price over the next two years. Although Fire Phone has been almost universally panned by critics, Amazon's US press release serves up six quotes' worth of gushing praise for the smartphone, all apparently written by a few of the customers who actually paid for the device.
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