A little-known Microsoft program to banish crapware from new Windows PCs has come under the spotlight, with the so-called Signature machine scheme offering a shortcut to a cleaner computing experience. The company's efforts to streamline Windows have often put it directly up against its own OEM partners, who milk a little extra profit from each PC sold by cutting deals with software vendors to preload trials and general crapware. Little do most users know, however, that for an extra $99 there's another option.
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‘Windows 7’ Stories
Microsoft: $99 and we’ll de-crud your Windows PC
Aperion announces ARIS wireless speaker for Windows
Having a large music collection is swell, but piping it around the home can be a bit of a chore. Aperion has announced a new wireless speaker that should make things somewhat easier, being able to connect to sources over wireless and ethernet. The ARIS is compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview, and receives music from WIndows PCs using the “Play To” feature.
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Microsoft: We’ll hold Motorola accountable for “broken promise”
Microsoft has fired back at Motorola over its German injunction against Windows 7 and the Xbox 360, accusing its rival of a "broken promise" around fair and reasonable patent licensing. Motorola won an injunction against the Microsoft products - as well as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player - in Germany this morning, over supposed infringement of patents essential to H.264. However, as Microsoft is quick to point out, "Motorola is prohibited from acting on today's decision."
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Motorola wins German Xbox 360 and Windows 7 injunction
Motorola has been granted a sales injunction in Germany against Microsoft's Xbox 360, Windows 7, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, though the ruling is yet to be enforced. The Mannheim Regional Court was convinced that Microsoft's products overstepped the mark on two patents deemed essential to the H.264 video standard last week, though the judgement, FOSS Patents reports, was delayed until today. However, while the ruling does, on paper, allow Motorola to insist Microsoft yank its products from shelves, the actual outcome is less certain.
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Slow Windows 8 downloads indicate low interest
If you rushed to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview the minute it was available, this story probably isn't for you. If you simply went "meh" when it became available and updated your Windows 7 security definitions, then apparently you're in the vast majority. According to the analytics firm Net Applications, just about .11% of Internet users connected from a Windows 8 device last week, showing flat growth numbers from March. When compared with the same numbers during Windows 7's Beta period in 2009, they're at about the 40% mark.
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Windows 7 sales spike despite 8 coming
Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected sales of its current Windows software despite all the buzz surrounding its upcoming Windows 8 revamp. The surprising boost from Windows sales actually helped Microsoft post a 6 percent increase in revenue for its Q1 2012 (fiscal Q3) earnings results, countering the company's slowing Xbox and Kinect sales.
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Microsoft wins delay in Motorola patent case
Microsoft has won a small victory this week in US courts that will help its situation in Germany, where Motorola is seeking an injunction on Windows and Xbox products. The US ruling does not prevent a ban, if any is granted, but instead delays Motorola's ability to enforce such a ban until after the dispute over "fair and reasonable" licensing between the two companies is resolved here in the states.
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Toshiba WT301/D corporate tablet pairs stylus with Windows 7
More and more companies seem to be blowing it as they include stylii with their products. HTC dipped their toe in the water with the Flyer, Samsung are doubling down with the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1, and now Toshiba has their own spin on the idea. The company’s new 10.1-inch tablet, the WT301/D, features support for an electromagnetic induction stylus.
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ViewSonic follows Apple’s lead with MWC phones & tablets
ViewSonic has outed its Mobile World Congress line-up of smartphones and tablets, and with the Android-powered ViewPhone 4s running a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 display it's clear the iPhone 4S is the company's key target. The ViewPhone 4s matches Apple's smartphone with a 326ppi IPS display, but squeezes in twin SIMs and a copy of Ice Cream Sandwich, along with a 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing VGA webcam. It's not the only new ViewSonic device, though; read on for more.
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Kinect for Windows ships today; SDK v1.0 released
Microsoft's Kinect for Windows hardware has shipping from today, along with v1.0 of the Kinect Windows SDK and runtime, bringing motion-sensing from the Xbox 360 to the desktop. The sensor bar is priced at $249 - with an educational discount of $100 promised in the pipeline - while the software supports up to four bars plugged into a single computer and delivers "significantly improved skeletal tracking" than the earlier beta.
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Asus B23E 12.5-inch high-end ultraportable revealed
When it comes to notebooks being released inside 2012, Asus isn't holding back with its Ultrabook line, but it's also got a high-end ultraportable ready to go for business users as well. This device is known as the B23E and will be available with Intel Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processors under the hood, complete with a 12.5-inch 1366 x 768 pixel LED backlit anti-glare display. It's ultra-simple profile and black hood look the part for your everyday computing action in the office or in the home.
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Acer Iconia Tab W500 hands-on shows the laptop tablet that wasn’t
We've seen this device before, it having been on display early last year at Mobile World Congress 2011, but it being here at Pepcom during CES 2012 is more than a little telling for a device that was supposed to be a hit with Windows users throughout most of last year. When it comes to convertible tablets, your humble narrator's favorite device is the Transformer Prime, not least of all because it's able to fold down and be a laptop whenever you decide you want to transport it in such a way, not to mention the fact that it's got a fully functional trackpad to make it a high-class convertible in every aspect of the word - so why is it selling off the shelves while the Iconia Tab W500 remains one of the loneliest tablets in Acer's line of otherwise amazing hardware?
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