iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c free in India on a two-year contract with RCom: Report

　　The iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, which are set to be available in India from Friday, will be sold under a direct carrier subsidy model in the Indian market, according to a report.
　　Telecom operator Reliance Communication(RCom) will be offering the new iPhones at upfront costs as low as zero, with fixed monthly charges, under a 2-year contract, as per a report by The Hindu BusinessLine.
　　Under the subsidy scheme, the 16GB version of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c would be available at zero upfront cost, with a monthly fee of Rs.2,500 for the iPhone 5c and Rs. 2,800 for the iPhone 5s, in lieu of which consumers will get unlimited voice calls, SMS and 3G data. It's not clear if a fair usage policy would be applicable. Consumers would be locked-in into a 24 month long contract and would not be able to switch their telecom operator before that, according to the report. The non-contract costs for the 16GB iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are Rs. 53,500 and Rs. 41,900 respectively.
　　The report adds that the 32GB and 54GB versions of the iPhones would come at an upfront cost of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 18,000 respectively, with the monthly payment being the same.
　　RCom will reportedly offer the subsidy scheme to credit card users and has tied up with banks, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank for the same to ensure that consumers don't dishonour the contract.
　　A major reason for the success of Apple's iPhone in first world markets is the operator subsidy model that allows customers to pay a small (or no) upfront cost for the phone and pay a fixed monthly amount in exchange for services, under a contract that ties them up with the operator for a fixed period. Operators have always been hesitant to offer subsidy schemes as India is majorly a pre-paid subscriber market and it's hard to ensure that people will honour contracts due to a lack of a centralised credit check system.
　　It's worth mentioning that Apple is launching the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in India, today.
　　The iPhone 5s will be available for Rs. 53,500 for the 16GB model, Rs. 62,500 for the 32GB model and Rs. 71,500 for the 64GB model. iPhone 5c will be available for Rs. 41,900 for the 16GB model and Rs. 53,500 for the 32GB model. All prices are inclusive of all taxes.
　　iPhone 5s comes with the Apple-designed A7 64-bit chip, all-new 8 megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. iPhone 5c features an all-new design, comes in multiple colours and packs internals almost identical to the iPhone 5.

At most effective the adjustments created

　　Subsequent week, on October 18, Microsoft will release Windows 8.1, a fairly massive update that Microsoft hopes will lastly give it relevance within the tablet space, and in the identical time make Windows 8 less abhorrent for desktop and laptop users. Microsoft is deluding itself, even though: Windows eight.1 certainly improves upon the horrid state of affairs which has persisted because the initial public preview more than two years ago, but there’s no way that it is going to unseat iOS or Android within the mobile arena. At most effective, the adjustments created to Windows 8.1 will let the OS to continue along the extremely gradual incline treaded by Windows eight. Next year, even though, when Windows 9 is released across each and every kind element and unifies the app ecosystem across smartphones, tablets, and desktops, then Microsoft basically stands a chance against Google and Apple.
　　Ever since Windows Telephone 7 limped out the gate in 2010, after which the lackluster launch of Windows eight a year later, it has been clear that Microsoft has been moving to merge the touch, mobile, and desktop ecosystems. From an early date, Microsoft was speaking up how Windows 8′s Metro apps were just about compatible with Windows Telephone 7 - and after that, just a little later, Microsoft created a great deal of noise about how Windows Telephone eight would make use of the identical kernel and also other low-level libraries as Windows 8. Most not too long ago, with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft will edge yet closer to cross-platform compatibility using a shared app retailer.
　　More than the years, it appears virtually each and every Microsoft vice president has discussed how Windows and Windows Phone apps are virtually compatible - but, as evidenced by the slow development of Windows 8, Windows Telephone, and their respective ecosystems, virtually compatible just isn’t very good enough. The factor is, every person knows how great comprehensive cross-platform compatibility will be. Everybody knows that it could be the magic bullet that would instantaneously give Microsoft a chance at competing against Apple and Google. This is why Microsoft keeps teasing us, keeps spinning a yarn, to assure everybody - customers, developers, and tech pundits - that it knows how crucial a unified ecosystem is.
　　With Windows 9, I bet that Bill Gates’ 1980s dream of Windows Everywhere will ultimately come to fruition. Barring another civil war, I strongly anticipate that Windows 9 will run on smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and everything else in among, and developers is going to be capable to create a single Windows app and have it run across each kind issue.
　　Hopefully, Windows 9′s unified ecosystem will resemble iOS: You check out the new app retailer (presumably being debuted in Windows eight.1), and then you are only shown the apps that will operate well on the kind element of your present device. Developers will have the decision of having the ability to write one app that scales to distinct screen sizes/resolutions, or 1 app with multiple views/layouts that are optimized for every screen size/resolution - however the key issue is that precisely the same code will operate on any Windows 9 device, due to the fact the underlying kernel/libraries/abstraction layers will be the identical.
　　In a single fell swoop, as an alternative to becoming coerced and cajoled by Microsoft into publishing apps for its distant-third platforms, the combined user bases and ecosystems will actually make Windows 9 a desirable platform that can compete with iOS and Android when it comes to reach and money-making potential.
　　But what about game consoles? Properly, with regards to sheer numbers, consoles are still tiny fry; more than their entire seven-year span, Microsoft and Sony have only sold around 160 million Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles combined. By comparison, analysts estimate that 700 million smartphones and around 400 million PCs have been shipped in 2012 alone. Still, even though the absolute numbers are pretty modest, Microsoft knows complete nicely that the usefulness and desirability of a computer software ecosystem grows exponentially with the addition of new form aspects and use situations. Visualize in the event you could invest in a single app on your Windows 9 smartphone, and after that have it automatically installed on your Windows 9 desktop and Windows 9 game console, or have your gameplay videos automatically sync from your console to your smartphone and Computer - that’d be fairly awesome, suitable?
　　The great news is that the Xbox One already appears to become compatible with Windows eight apps, by virtue of running a cut-down version of Windows eight for apps, alongside the Xbox OS for games. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed that you will have the ability to run Windows 8 apps straight around the Xbox A single, but we’d be surprised if that wasn’t the case. At the extremely least, there will in all probability be an update towards the Xbox 1 - maybe around the identical time as the unified Windows eight and WP8 app shop is launched - that brings Windows 8 apps towards the Xbox A single. Then, by the time Windows 9 rolls about for smartphones/tablets/PCs, we really should have apps that run across the whole gamut of devices, like consoles.
　　If Microsoft had unified its mobile device, Pc, and console operating systems last year, together with the release of Windows eight, then I think the consumer computing landscape will be quite, extremely diverse. Microsoft would most likely be on top and calling the shots, as opposed to trailing behind the massive boys, squeaking tremulously for interest and not receiving it. Because of prevarication, internal strife, gutless equivocation, and likely a slew of other reasons that we’ll under no circumstances get to the bottom of, Microsoft has had three of its weakest OS releases in history: Windows Phone 7 and 8, and Windows eight.
　　If Windows 9 is released next year, Microsoft might stand a likelihood, specifically if Windows eight.1 as well as the acquisition of Nokia can bolster its mobile efforts inside the meantime. No matter if such a utopian unified platform can unseat iOS and Android, although, remains to become seen. Apple and Google aren’t standing still, and continue to solidify their market share in spite of Microsoft’s very best efforts to stay relevant. If Windows 9 does not come out in the next 12 months, or if Microsoft doesn’t have some other super-secret strategy up its sleeve, the company’s future will creep ever closer towards comprehensive untenability.

KitKat screenshots: A first look at Android 4.4?

　　When Google's Android chief Sundar Pichai announced the upcoming release of Android 4.4 with an image of a giant KitKat-themed Android, it seemed that Nestle's chocolate snack would provide the next Android OS name, and replace the previous 4.4 codename Key Lime Pie.
　　A recent leak of one early version of Android 4.4, believed to predate Pichai's 3 September announcement, showed a slice of lime and no hint of KitKat.
　　So far, the drip feed of information on the yet-to-launch-OS suggests new features includingbetter support for wireless printing from Android devices and possibly native NFC payment options, rather than only third-party enabled capabilities.
　　This latest set of leaked images from another release of KeyLimePie/KitKat suggest these features and more are likely to arrive in Android 4.4.
　　The image above is of the Android build running on the Nexus 7 2013 model.
　　The overall assessment is that 4.4 seems to be a more polished version of the Android platform than has been seen in the past, with a feature set that more closely resembles iOS devices out of the box. As Google has said previously, with KitKat it's aiming for the mainstream and this may be its best shot yet shot at tempting loyal iOS users to give it a go.

CPUs and phablets that helps maintain its spec

　　The optimist would say that Windows Phone's prospects have never ever been brighter. The pessimist would disagree.
　　Around the bright side, Microsoft just announced Windows Phone 8 Update 3, which consists of new support for quad-core CPUs and phablets that helps maintain its spec lists searching fresh. Moreover, the buyout of Nokia's smartphone arm will bring Redmond's greatest hardware ally completely in to the fold, all whilst BlackBerry's apparent demise topples the competitors for third-largest ecosystem. All this provides the computer software giant windows 7 ultimate activation key a chance to at least double Windows Telephone growth by 2017.
　　Around the other hand, Windows Phone adoption has been slow, together with the OS fighting for significantly less than 10 percent of mobile's worldwide marketplace share, while Android and iOS gobble up the overwhelming majority.
　　Furthermore, Microsoft features a issue with partners. At this time it really is looking to woo back HTC to when once more expand the Windows Phone ecosystem. If that fails, Microsoft could be the only outfit producing Windows phones. That single-source method may function for Apple, but even the iPhone is having a difficult time standing as much as Android's diverse and seemingly inexhaustible players.
　　Back in 2010, and once again in 2011, Microsoft pleaded for patience in finding its Windows Phone off the ground. But this year, the latest update's most visible enhancements are a modified interface for extra-large phones as well as the capability to close apps in multitasking mode. You also can customize text tones by make contact with.
　　This really is hardly hearty fare, but Microsoft points out that these are the most-wanted additions requested by fans.
　　Nevertheless, Windows Telephone buyers also clamor to get a notification center, a file manager, a private assistant, improved storage help for microSD cards, and indicator lights that signal missed calls and alerts. Lots of of these have been requested because the OS debuted and have lengthy existed on Android and iOS.
　　Then there is Skype, the other enterprise that Microsoft purchased in 2011 (and for 1.three billion more than Nokia), however the company has however to integrate it into Windows smartphones by default to counter Apple's FaceTime and also Google Plus Hangouts. Yes, Windows Telephone eight Skype users can location calls in the People today hub, just after 1st downloading the app. What I am speaking about is making this an out-of-the-box feature.
　　We do know, at the least, that Microsoft is challenging at perform on a private assistant of its personal named Cortana, which understands all-natural language and will replace the legacy TellMe voice input currently in use.
　　Microsoft's next update need to be a significant a single that contains this private assistant, notification center, and Skype integration in the quite least. Just after the Nokia acquisition is total (assuming it gets shareholder and regulatory approval), Windows Phone ought to swiftly incorporate Nokia-designed software tools, like its camera add-ons, in to the native OS experience.
　　From exactly where I sit, Microsoft's biggest asset -- and challenge -- would be to take the major dangers that make a company stand out as a player worth paying interest to. Soon after the transition, the Windows Phone team should really not only use, but push Nokia's venerable design and style philosophy into edgier territory.
　　Microsoft really should waste no time funding projects that explore and apply new finishes and materials (like continuing its work on graphene), publish a few wacky proofs of idea (like this one particular from 2011, also below), and perhaps make a high-end luxury phone of its personal.
　　Why? Microsoft's Windows Telephone project has spent its lifetime being reactionary, looking to catch up to Apple and Google without having definitely managing to help keep pace. This is not the time for you to be conservative with cookie-cutter design and options which can be just very good enough.

Laptops vs. Tablets: The Ultimate Showdown

　　Ever since the emergence of the iPad as a major technology product, the question has been asked: laptop or tablet? Is a laptop even necessary when tablets can perform so many of the same functions? Are we truly living in the post-PC era? The answer is, it depends. Every person uses their technology a bit differently, and some can indeed get by with a tablet alone. But don't go assuming that the days of the laptop are numbered. While some can make do with a tablet, there are some compromises required for the tablet-only lifestyle that some users can't make. To help you figure out which device is right for you, here are a few of the best features of each.
　　Laptops
　　Laptops, like desktop PCs before them, have a built-in benefit over tablets, and that benefit is power. As a rule, laptops have more powerful processing hardware, allowing for a wider range of uses, faster performance and better multitasking. Laptops can easily handle common tablet uses—like Web browsing and media streaming—and then go significantly further, with uses ranging from simple data entry to complex tasks like photo and video editing.
　　And while games may be a significant part of any app store, serious PC gaming is worlds away from Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, relying on faster processors and discrete graphics processing to crank out complex rendered environments at resolutions and frame rates that tablets can't touch. Even a PC gaming tablet like the Razer Edge Pro can't match the raw performance offered by the likes of the MSI GX70 3Be-007US, our Editors' Choice for entry-level gaming.
　　Joining the processing hardware is storage. Where tablets may boast anywhere from 16 to 128GB of storage space, the average laptop offers 500GB or more. Even the slimmest laptops featuring smaller SSDs—like the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013)—offer at least 128GB, starting where tablets top out. Add in features like optical drives for DVD or Blu-ray discs, card slots for full-size SD cards, and USB-connected flash drives and portable drives, and you can have mountains of data at your fingertips.
　　There's also the question of form factor. Laptops have the benefit of having a keyboard and mouse built-in, allowing you to do all of the typing and mouse-related work you would do on a desktop. Touch screens don't offer the same level of granular control that a mouse and cursor does, while on screen keyboards are really only fit for entering short bursts of text, such as a status update or a tweet. A physical keyboard is a must for entering long blocks of text, and a mouse is far more efficient than a touchscreen for frequent swapping of windows, clicking of links, and general mousing around. This is even more important in the workplace, where those very tasks may make up the bulk of your day.
　　Then there's the question of ports and peripherals. While both laptops and tablets have an ecosystem of accessories and devices around them, laptops—with their broadly compatible USB ports, HDMI outputs, and other features—work with a universe of accessories that don't need to be tailored to a specific device, but will work with most any properly equipped PC. From mice and keyboards to webcams and storage devices, laptops are the easy choice.
　　Bottom line: If you need to do serious work, need powerful processing or multitasking, or need compatibility with a specific accessory or storage device, there's no good alternative to the laptop. Tablets can fulfill some of these needs some of the time, but when it's time to get things done, the laptop still reigns.

link storage volumes to the Home windows VM

　　Delight in working Windows or Linux applications with your Mac? Which is proper in Parallels Desktop’s wheelhouse, and version nine, which debuted on Thursday, provides much more functions for the virtualization program. But though this system is at present accessible being an update for current consumers of Parallels Desktop 7 or eight, the entire model won’t go on sale right up until future 7 days.
　　Among the most important new capabilities of Parallels Desktop nine is optimized aid for cloud storage expert services like iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive office professional plus 2010 retail pack, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, and even more. You'll be able to sync files among your Mac and your Home windows virtual device with out possessing the files duplicated, thus saving you cherished disk place. And speaking of sharing characteristics between your Mac and Windows VM, there’s now just one Safety Center for applying a complimentary protection computer software subscription for both your Mac and Windows VM.
　　Mac aficionados can now advantage from the number of Apple-like characteristics in their Windows virtual devices, too. One example is, there is assist for Mountain Lion’s Energy Nap function on Retina MacBook Execs and MacBook Airs, letting you retain your Home windows virtual machine’s apps up-to-date even though your pc is sleeping. Also, you'll be able to now use the three-finger-tap in Windows apps to look up phrases in OS X’s Dictionary, link storage volumes to the Home windows VM by way of Thunderbolt and FireWire, and print into a PDF in your Mac desktop ideal from any Home windows application.
　　Also current is enhanced aid for Windows 8 and eight.one, together with the return in the genuine Get started menu, along with the ability to operate contemporary UI applications in a window, somewhat than just fullscreen. Enhancements into the Digital Equipment wizards simplify setting up a new VM, even though you do not have a DVD drive with your Mac; there is also greater help for connecting to an external keep an eye on whilst functioning Parallels Desktop in fullscreen method, and editable keyboard shortcuts help it become less difficult for consumers to tweak their Home windows set up.
　　Parallels Desktop is at the moment out there as being a $50 improve for current consumers of Parallels Desktop 7 or eight; those who bought Parallels Desktop eight on or soon after August fifteen can upgrade at no cost.
　　New buyers, nonetheless, could have to attend until September 5, when they can pick the application up for $80. A student version will run $40, when the Swap to Mac Version, which integrate added tools emigrate from a Pc to your new Mac, prices $100. Also provided with Parallels Desktop 9, to get a minimal time only, is actually a absolutely free six-month trial subscription towards the company’s not too long ago launched Parallels Access, which lets you accessibility your Mac applications from your iPad.

Nokia 'Amber' Update Rolling Out to Lumia Smartphones

　　Nokia is rolling out its "Amber" update for Lumia smartphones, which adds "a wide range of new and improved features and apps," the firm said.
　　That includes the Nokia Glance Screen with the standby clock (left) and an improved imaging experience.
　　"Lumia Amber builds upon the latest update for Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft," Nokia said in ablog post. "In itself, this provides a number of significant additions: a new FM radio player and improvements to Xbox music and the Internet Explorer browser."
　　The camera gets a big boost with Amber. Nokia said it improved its algorithms for better noise reduction, color reproduction, exposure, and autofocus to phones across the Lumia lineup. "On the Lumia 920, controls to adjust the ISO settings of the camera from 800 to 3200 allow for even better low light performance," it said.
　　Nokia will also extend the Smart Camera app (below), which first launched on the Lumia 925, to other Lumia phones via a standalone app. As PCMag found in our initial hands on with the Lumia 925, Smart Camera is "an advanced camera app that includes many features similar to the flagship camera modes in Samsung's Galaxy S 4, like 'drama shot' and 'eraser mode,' for instance."
　　"Use Best Shot to find the sharpest image from a series of 10; combine several shots of people in movement into one with Action Shot; heighten the appearance of speed by blurring the background with Motion Focus; create ideal group shots by choosing the best faces from a series with Change Faces, or remove unwanted objects from your pictures," Nokia said.
　　There will be some differences among Lumias. The Lumia 720, 620 and 520, for example, will take six burst photos rather than 10 and they will be 1 megapixel instead of the 5 megapixels on devices with more RAM. The Smart Camera app is now available in the Windows Phone store.
　　Those with the Lumia 920, 925, and 928 also have access to the Nokia Pro Camera, which was introduced alongside the 41-megapixel Lumia 1020. "Pro Camera is more than just an app; it's a completely re-imagined user interface that lets you take full control of the imaging process and helps to unlock all your creative potential," according to Nokia.
　　Nokia has also added the Nokia Video Trimmer app for editing and YouTube with Nokia Video Upload app to the Windows Store.
　　Besides photo upgrades, meanwhile, the Lumia lineup is getting Glance Screen, a persistent screen that shows the time, as well as battery and charging status, when the phone is inactive. It will be available on all Lumias except the 520 and 625, which don't have enough display memory.
　　The feature arrived on the Lumia 925 in June. To activate, select "Display and touch" in the Settings and swipe left to "Glance." The new Droid lineup and Motorola Moto X have a similar feature, known as active display.
　　Nokia is also adding a few other shortcuts with Amber: flip the phone over to mute an incoming call and double tap the screen to unlock.
　　The Amber update will first roll out to the Lumia 920 and 820 around the globe and the Lumia 521, 810, and 928 in the U.S. Exact timing will vary by region and carrier, but Nokia said it expects the rollout to be done by the end of September.
　　"Your Nokia Lumia will check periodically for software updates automatically, or you can perform a manual check by going to 'Settings' -> 'Phone Update,'" Nokia said. "You can also check for the availability status of the update on our support pages."

The problem that some XP customers have is the fact

　　Microsoft has reminded, cajoled, and pleaded with customers to move off of Windows XP prior to help for its old OS expires next year. Now Microsoft warns customers that they might be topic to “zero-day” threats for the rest of their lives if they don’t migrate.
　　“The quite very first month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, discover the windows 7 professional retail pack vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to determine if it shares those vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does, attackers will try to create exploit code which will benefit from these vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Considering the fact that a safety update will in no way turn out to be readily available for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will basically have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
　　Zero-day vulnerabilities refer towards the way in which hackers can attack an operating technique or other code just before a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Since Microsoft will never patch Windows XP again following April 2014, ultimately some vulneability that affects XP will be identified.
　　Between July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an impacted item in 45 Microsoft security bulletins. Thirty of these also affected Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
　　Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will help mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware software program could possibly give some protection.
　　“The challenge right here is the fact that you’ll under no circumstances know, with any confidence, when the trusted computing base of the technique can truly be trusted mainly because attackers is going to be armed with public information of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could allow them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their decision,” Rains wrote.
　　That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago used, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till immediately after subsequent April, then unleash them on the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only improved, meaning that your XP machine is even more vulnerable, not much less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
　　The problem that some XP customers have is the fact that they’re so in enjoy using the way that Windows XP does items that they’re reluctant to migrate, especially to Windows eight. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that offer functionality equivalent to XP: here’s tips on how to obtain them.
　　The bottom line is this: while Microsoft stands to get from arguing that buyers need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So should you be nonetheless on Windows XP, start contemplating a migration tactic.
     http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html

Start out button, a boot-to-desktop option

　　Windows 8 keeps clawing its way up the market share charts, but not in the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
　　Based on Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s industry share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it lastly surpassed Windows Vista. As soon as again, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of four.24 %.
　　Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding strong. In truth, Windows 7’s market place share enhanced final month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in marketplace share regardless of the looming finish of XP support by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP remain essentially the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 % with the marketplace, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
　　In other words, any market share that Windows eight gained last month seems to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
　　Even though it’s not surprising that users are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating system, acquiring people to switch from XP or Windows 7 might be tougher for Microsoft, specifically amongst customers who need to stick having a conventional desktop interface.
　　Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for all those customers, with the return with the Start out button, a boot-to-desktop option, faster access to advanced desktop functions, and a technique to prevent modern-style menus from popping up during desktop use.
　　But in the end, Microsoft and Pc makers must convince the masses that they require to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Less costly touchscreen devices could assist on that front, but it’ll likely be a when ahead of the market place share needle moves a lot for Windows XP and Windows 7.

Though it’s not surprising that users are eager to upgrade

　　Windows 8 keeps clawing its way up the marketplace share charts, but not in the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
　　According to Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market place share now stands at 5.4 %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it lastly surpassed Windows Vista. After once more, Vista’s industry share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of 4.24 %.
　　Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding sturdy. Actually, Windows 7’s market share increased final month by 0.12 percent, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in market share regardless of the looming end of XP support by Microsoft. Each Windows 7 and XP stay by far the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 % of your market, respectively, in accordance with Netmarketshare.
　　In other words, any industry share that Windows eight gained last month seems to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
　　Though it’s not surprising that users are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating method, acquiring people to switch from XP or Windows 7 may be tougher for Microsoft, in particular amongst users who wish to stick with a traditional desktop interface.
　　Windows 8.1 will make some concessions for those customers, together with the return on the Begin button, a boot-to-desktop option, quicker access to advanced desktop functions, and also a method to protect against modern-style menus from popping up during desktop use.
　　But eventually, Microsoft and Pc makers will have to convince the masses that they need to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Cheaper touchscreen devices could enable on that front, but it’ll most likely be a even though just before the industry share needle moves substantially for Windows XP and Windows 7.

The case was settled, and the firm Microsoft

　　Inside the late 1990s, a single technologies business became so unfathomably wealthy and powerful?aand so hellbent on dominating not just its own market but a huge and swiftly increasing new one?athat the U.S. government dragged the enterprise into court and threatened to break it up over anti-trust violations.
　　The case was settled, and the firm, Microsoft, agreed to play nicer. However it turned out that the world had nothing at all to be concerned about. As generally occurs in the technologies industry, what has really destroyed Microsoft's choke hold around the international individual computing marketplace more than the past 15 years hasn't been a legal threat but a market place shift.
　　Just when it looked like Microsoft's vision on the Computer because the center of your tech planet would bring about the creation in the world's very first trillion-dollar company, the online world came along. And it washed more than the Pc market like a tidal wave swallowing a pond.
　　In terms of market worth, Microsoft's loss of power has extended been visible: The stock continues to be trading at about half the level it hit at the peak in the tech boom 13 years ago. The effects around the actual Computer sector fundamentals have taken longer to create, but they are also now crystal clear. Microsoft's ?°Windows monopoly?± hasn't been a lot destroyed as rendered irrelevant. That due to the fact, due to the explosion of Internet-based cloud computing and smartphones, tablets, as well as other mobile gadgets, the as soon as all-powerful platform from the desktop operating program has now been reduced to tiny greater than a device driver. As long as your gadget can connect towards the Web and run some apps, it does not matter what operating method you use.
　　3 charts really bring property the challenges that Microsoft along with other PC-powered giants like Intel, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard face in adapting to this new Internet-driven planet. Initial, look at international device shipments. For the two decades by way of 2005, the private computer system was the only game in town, promoting about 200 million units a year. But then smartphones and tablets came along. And now they dwarf the Computer marketplace.
　　This shift in private computing device adoption, meanwhile, has radically diminished the power of your Windows operating system platform. As lately as 3 years ago, Microsoft's Windows was nonetheless totally dominant?athe platform ran 70% of individual computing devices. Now, thanks to the rise of Google's Android and Apple's iOS, Windows' international share has been cut in half, to about 30 %. Far more remarkably, Android is now a bigger platform than Windows.
　　Lastly, and most not too long ago, this chart from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco illustrates that the Pc company is no longer just getting dwarfed by the explosion of smartphone and tablet sales ... it has now really begun to shrink. Now that people have a choice of devices, it turns out that a full-blown individual computer system is often not by far the most cost-effective, convenient, or simplest method to do what a user desires to do. Instead of becoming the center in the private computing world, in other words, the Computer is becoming a specialized office-productivity device.
　　The news for Microsoft is just not all negative. The business has been fairly effective at moving from a "unit-driven" sales model to a licensing model, in which companies spend a fee per user per year in lieu of getting a perpetual license with every new personal computer. And Microsoft's Workplace franchise continues to be extraordinarily lucrative and dominant, in portion for the reason that Google, Apple, along with other extra Internet-centric firms have created so little investment in their competitive merchandise.
　　But only 15 years right after the government went following Microsoft for anti-trust violations, the concept that the organization ever had a "monopoly" on anything is tough to even comprehend. Along with the outlook for Windows, and also the standard Pc enterprise generally, appears sure to get even worse going forward.

Hulu Owners Talking With Time Warner Cable for Investment

　　Hulu LLC’s owners are in talks to sell a stake in the streaming service to Time Warner Cable (TWC) Inc. as they seek to create a stronger competitor to Netflix Inc. (NFLX), according to people with knowledge of the situation.
　　An agreement, while not imminent, could be reached in as little as two weeks, said the people, who sought anonymity because the talks are private. Time Warner Cable had previously sought to acquire a 25 percent stake, they said. Owners Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Comcast (CMCSA) Corp.’s NBCUniversal yesterday called off plans to sell the service.
　　The talks coincide with a $750 million commitment from Hulu’s owners backing the online company’s drive to attract subscribers and take on industry leader Netflix, which has 34 million paying customers. The money will help Los Angeles-based Hulu buy programming, market its service, develop technology and attract employees, Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said yesterday on Bloomberg Television.
　　“We ultimately concluded that, even though we had some very compelling offers on the table, the future of Hulu is bright,” Iger said at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. “And if the future of Hulu is bright we should hold on to it.”
　　The moves underscore the popularity of services like Netflix and Hulu, which deliver films and TV shows to smartphones, tablets and computers, as well as living rooms. With their investment, the owners say they have settled differences over Hulu’s future. The service faced uncertainty and management turnover as the companies debated its direction.
　　‘Compelling’ Offers
　　Hulu attracted suitors including Time Warner Cable, DirecTV (DTV) and Peter Chernin with AT&T Inc. (T), people with knowledge of the matter have said. DirecTV, the biggest U.S. satellite TV service, and the Chernin-AT&T partnership each offered about $1 billion, people with knowledge of the bids said this week. Time Warner Cable, the second-biggest U.S. cable system, has wanted to invest with Hulu’s owners, they said.
　　Meredith Kendall, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Hulu, declined to comment on the Time Warner Cable talks, as did Maureen Huff at Time Warner Cable. Reuters reported the talks earlier yesterday.
　　Time Warner Cable, with about 12 million video customers, would probably use Hulu Plus to promote its high-speed broadband product, Amy Yong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities in New York, said in June. The New York-based company could bundle a subscription to Hulu Plus to new Internet subscribers, she said.
　　Throughout the auction that started in March, Hulu’s owners continued to weigh the value of the service and its long-term potential, Iger said. During that process, Disney and Fox overcame disagreements about Hulu’s direction, he said.
　　‘Same Breath’
　　Hearing people at Sun Valley talking about Hulu in the same the context as rival video services from Amazon.com, Apple Inc. and Netflix Inc. helped assure Iger that not selling was the right decision, he said.
　　“Hulu mentioned in the same breath, I mean that says something, doesn’t it?,” Iger said.
　　The company has grown to 30 million unique monthly visitors, with annual revenue that doubled to $690 million last year, and more than 4 million paying subscribers.
　　Hulu offers a free version on computers and an $8-a-month Hulu Plus with more content on more devices. Shows on both have commercials. The fresh capital puts it on better footing competing for content with Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
　　“We also decided we would infuse it with the kind of capital necessary to grow it significantly and aggressively,” Iger said.
　　Media Confidence
　　Netflix spends about 5 percent of its annual $2 billion programming budget on original shows, Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, said last month.
　　Deal talk at Sun Valley this week underscored the confidence media executives have in their future. Moguls arrived at the annual event with the 16-member Standard & Poor’s Media Index up more than 40 percent in the past year and $53 billion of mergers already announced in 2013.
　　Online players such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are creating new revenue streams for the owners of TV shows, while traditional sources, such as advertising, also increase, said David Zaslav, president and chief executive officer of cable-TV network Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA)
　　“There’s never been a better time to be in the content business,” Zaslav said. “The markets recognize it.”
　　‘Scale Economics’
　　Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone, already pressing for a merger of Time Warner Cable with Charter Communications Inc., suggested satellite TV providers Dish Network Corp. and DirecTV should also be consolidated. Liberty owns stakes in both Charter and in DirecTV.
　　“Scale economics in the media business drives down costs and makes it possible for larger investments,” Malone said. “In order to improve the service for the consumer, you need larger, I’m not saying monopoly players, but you need larger players.”
　　Programming executives also said they are in favor of consolidation.
　　“It makes everyone more efficient,” Time Warner Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bewkes said in a late night scrum with reporters. He said he wasn’t concerned pay-TV providers would outmuscle him in content negotiations.
　　DirecTV Blow
　　Hulu would have given a pay-television acquirer the ability to offer a lower-priced alternative to their own cable and satellite video subscriptions. Online services are popular with people who cancel or cut back on pay-TV services, along with younger viewers who have never subscribed to pay TV.
　　Robert Mercer, with El Segundo, California-based DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite TV service, declined to comment, as did Charles Sipkins, a spokesman for Chernin.
　　“It’s a setback psychologically for DirecTV,” said Todd Lowenstein, portfolio manager with Highmark Capital Management in Los Angeles, which owns 91,325 shares. “Hulu represents a clear path to a future that makes DirecTV viable in a new, mobile media landscape. These are scarce assets. When that option is removed, the attractiveness of DirecTV in some investors’ eyes is diminished.”
　　Hulu’s free, ad-supported business is already profitable, a person familiar with the matter said last month. Hulu Plus, the paid product, loses money, the person said. Even though it generates monthly subscriber fees, the paid service has higher content costs. Hulu Plus could be profitable in 18 months depending on how it grows, the person said.
　　“Hulu has an incredible set of apps and distribution that the networks just can’t duplicate, it never made sense to sell to a distributor,” said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG LLC. “We are very pleased and advocated the owners hold onto Hulu from the very beginning.”
　　Previous Efforts
　　Disney, based in Burbank, California, rose 0.6 percent to $66.98 yesterday in New York. Comcast, based in Philadelphia, slid 0.5 percent to $44.68, while New York-based 21st Century Fox advanced 0.8 percent to $30.19.
　　Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable TV company, fell 0.2 percent to $115.16. DirecTV gained 0.8 percent to $64.91, while AT&T, based in Dallas, retreated 0.2 percent to $35.81.
　　The canceled auction wasn’t the first time Hulu’s owners had a change of heart. They put the site up for sale in June 2011 and called it off in October. Hulu never advanced a planned share sale in 2010 that envisioned a $2 billion value.
　　The auction this time stemmed from disagreements over Hulu’s direction between Disney and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, which control the company. Each had each considered buying the other out. Comcast is barred from an operational role because of conditions placed on its purchase of NBCUniversal, an original investor in Hulu.

The question now is irrespective of whether or not Microsoft

　　When Microsoft added help for the revamped Start page into Windows eight.1, that eliminated the need to have for committed third-party Start off menus, ideal? Wrong, say developers like Stardock, Classic Shell, and other folks.
　　Possibly not surprisingly, the third-party devs say there's still a will need for their products, despite the fact that buy cheap adobe photoshop cs6 Windows eight.1 will probably be additional friendly to those employed for the conventional, or legacy, Get started menu found in Windows 7. Many have released updates for the Windows 8.1 preview, but none that spoke to PCWorld stated that they've thrown within the towel.
　　These products fill a need to have: to ease the transition to Windows eight and its unfamiliar Start page. In a lot of approaches, Windows eight is just Windows 7 having a tablet interface layered on major of it, but?asorry!?ano Start button. Customers upset by the jarringly distinctive Start off page had no refuge from it besides third-party options.
　　"The start off button shortcut to the get started screen that Microsoft is giving with Windows eight.1 doesn't replace the start menu within the eyes of our increasing client base," Robert McElroy, the advertising and sales manager at Stardock Corp., stated in an e-mail. "Customers on the lookout for the functionality of the classic begin menu to help them navigate Windows eight within a way that has been familiar to them for years will still find Start8 from Stardock enables that capability seamlessly."
　　Microsoft, for its element, has stated that Windows 8.1 represents a "heck of a great deal of movement, a heck of a great deal of innovation, as well as a heck of lots of responsiveness, all coming to market in a really really speedy timeframe," within the words of Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer in the course of the company's Build 2013 conference in June.
　　Some of the functionality that the third-party applications added for Windows eight users, however, now overlaps with a few of what Microsoft has added for the upcoming Windows eight.1. Start8, Classic Shell windows 7 professional product key, and StartMenu8 all boot straight for the desktop, which means that piece of your puzzle, at least, is duplicated by Microsoft. But all three also present the classic Commence menu, with Classic Shell providing either a "classic" menu, or one within the style of either Windows XP or Windows 7. (Classic Shell's version 3.6.eight, released in June and compatible with Windows eight.1, was asked to get rid of its version in the Windows flag, which it calls the "Metro button", at the behest of Microsoft.) For its aspect, Start8 also presents an solution to shut down from the desktop, that is now in Windows eight.1 too.
　　Nevertheless, the developer of Classic Shell mentioned that his item was as viable as ever. "Nobody killed something," he said, through an exchange even though his Facebook page. "The only function they added that Classic Shell (and other individuals like it) has, would be the immediate boot to Desktop."
　　The question now is irrespective of whether or not Microsoft's Windows eight.1 update, and also the functionality it added, supplies yet more possibilities for developers like Classic Shell to add options. They'll have some time; Microsoft has stated that it'll hand over Windows eight.1 to OEMs in the end of August, using a consumer update sooner or later thereafter. PCWorld asked the developers what their plans are, however the Start developers are not talking.
　　"Too early to inform. It is nonetheless a preview, not even a beta," the Classic Shell developer stated. "Even with out it I've my hands full in the moment."

Google Doodle honors Roswell with point-and-click game

　　Google has turned the Roswell UFO incident into a point-and-click adventure.
　　Head over to Google.com and check out their latest 'doodle" honoring the 66th anniversary of the reported UFO sighting in New Mexico.
　　The black-and-white game starts with an alien crashing atop a hill, and must search for the parts of his spaceship to fly back home. Players use the mouse to point and click in the direction they want the alien to walk or pick up items.
　　On this day in 1947, a mysterious object crashed on a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. The crash is tied to a weather balloon, but the most popular theory is the object was a ship carrying alien life.

Microsoft’s opportunity to converse its roadmap

　　Microsoft will hand over its most up-to-date variation from the working system, Home windows 8.one, to OEMs in late August, Microsoft’s Windows marketing and advertising main informed its associates on Monday early morning.

　　Talking at its Around the world Companion Meeting (WPC), Tami Reller, corporate vp and main internet marketing officer for Windows, claimed that Microsoft would make the RTM (launch to production) variation of Windows eight.1 to OEMs by late August. Microsoft did not say when Home windows 8.1 would be released to shoppers in its ultimate variety, but history indicates that Microsoft must no less than be on course to ship by Oct.
　　Microsoft’s WPC, as its name implies, is Microsoft’s opportunity to converse its roadmaps to its partners; Microsoft started its companion method about 20 years back. According to chief govt Steve Ballmer, 90 p.c with the income Microsoft realizes “in some way, condition or form” is created with the companions Ballmer addressed now as a part of a three.5-hour keynote handle.
　　In combination, those people associates had “quite a good 12 months,” Ballmer stated, with all of its companions rising six.5 per cent around last year, on foundation sales of $650 billion.
　　Ballmer’s message, mainly because it is, was that Microsoft has reinvented by itself as a gadgets and expert services enterprise, as opposed to simply a software package business. “Windows has constantly been additional a device than a bit of software package; it outlined a category of product known as the Pc,” he mentioned, irrespective of whether they be, tablets, all-in-ones, convertibles, and a lot more.
　　Ballmer claimed that Microsoft’s  to  buy office home and business 2010 associates might be proven how Microsoft has improved in the cloud, particularly how Microsoft straddles the general public and personal cloud; “big data,” such as how Microsoft plans to share Bing lookup facts with builders and provide community details to personal clouds along with the Azure Facts Market; how Microsoft’s social initiatives straddle a range of items; and cellular, specially how Microsoft supports its possess goods from alone and many others.

Gold Galaxy S4 sells out; gilded HTC One debuts

　　HTC and Samsung have each been hoping that their HTC One and Galaxy S4 Android flagship phones will become the gold standard for the latest generation of smartphones, but the customizers at Goldgenie are taking the notion quite literally.
　　The British company has been selling gold- and platinum-plated iOS devices and BlackBerrys for a while now, but it seems to have decided that the HTC One and Galaxy S4 have finally presented a pair of Android phones worth the deluxe bling treatment.
　　Given the pace of device development and technological obsolescence, you might think that adding more than a thousand dollars to the cost of a smartphone just to slap some precious metals on it is a little silly, to say the least. But apparently there's plenty of high rollers that disagree with you: The plated version of the Galaxy S4 is already sold out after being available for just a few weeks.
　　Fortunately for the baller in you, the gold, platinum and rose gold-plated versions of the HTC One were just added to the Goldgenie roster today and are still available for between roughly $3,000 and $3,300.
　　That steep price tag gets you a SIM-free, unlocked HTC One plated in shiny precious metal, Beats earphones with a remote and microphone, a dock connector, all the normal cables and papers, and it all comes in a "luxury cherry oak finished box."
　　Also included is the self-assurance of knowing you probably have too much money, but with a nagging voice in the back of your head that questions why you apparently aren't big time enough to spring for a Vertu Android phone with included on-call concierge service (or any of these, for that matter).
　　If you're still sold on the golden One, you might want to order soon, as apparently even paying a more than $2,000 premium doesn't mean your shipping will be expedited. The Goldgenie site claims orders can take up to three weeks to ship, depending on demand.

Microsoft may also add Infrastructure Companies situations

　　Microsoft and Oracle right now declared that they are placing their dissimilarities apart to strike a strategic partnership in the cloud organization space. The deal addresses both equally the private cloud plus the general public cloud, encompassing numerous new alternatives.
　　For starters, Oracle will certify and aid consumers who previously run its application on Home windows Server to operate that same software program on Home windows Server Hyper-V or in Home windows Azure. Oracle consumers also attain the reward to run their Oracle application licenses in Windows Azure “with new license mobility.”
　　Hyper-V and Azure assist begins quickly, nevertheless the partnership doesn’t close there. Microsoft and Oracle have agreed to operate collectively to “add appropriately licensed, and completely supported Java into Windows Azure.”
　　Microsoft may also add Infrastructure Companies situations with preconfigured versions of Oracle Database and Oracle WebLogic Server for customers who do not have Oracle licenses even though Oracle will allow shoppers to acquire and start Oracle Linux images on Home windows Azure. Specifics regarding when just this integration will probably be available were not shared.
　　Throughout a conference phone today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked of a “tipping point” with reference to the partnership. “A large amount has transpired and we’re planning to go on to contend in regions,” he claimed. “I assume both providers have normally, at the least quite a few a few years, have had respect for a single a further.”
　　Oracle President Mark Hurd agreed: “I believe it just makes sense for us to carry on to enhance our possess abilities but also enable consumers to leverage the two of our abilities together,” he explained on the identical simply call. “I feel this will make lots of feeling for the two of us…because it makes quite a bit of sense for our buyers.”
　　Oracle 1st hinted at today’s news in the course of an earnings connect with on Friday. The business business mentioned it experienced programs to announce new engineering partnerships with not just Microsoft, but Salesforce and Netsuite in addition.

The Series A Round Is The New Series B Round

　　Editor’s note: Jeff Jordan is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz and is on the boards of Airbnb, Belly, Fab, Circle, Crowdtilt, Lookout and Pinterest, as well as Wealthfront and Zoosk. Previously, Jeff was president and CEO of OpenTable, which he took public in 2009. Before OpenTable, Jeff was president of PayPal, and he was previously the SVP and general manager of eBay North America. Follow him on his blog and on Twitter @jeff_jordan.
　　The venture industry is awash with talk of the “Series A Crunch”, where it’s getting progressively more challenging for seed companies to land follow-on financing. In my short two-year tenure as a full-time investor, I’ve seen this crunch hit very hard at a number of quality, early-stage consumer companies. Why is this happening? A number of factors are coming together to create this crunch.
　　A significant supply/demand imbalance has emerged between seed and Series A financings coming out of the economic near-meltdown of 2008-2009. In 2009, there were about the same number of seed and Series A financings, but the number of seed deals have exploded since then while the number of A rounds grew only modestly. In 2012, there were 2.5x as many seed financings as A-round financings, whereas historically these were more in balance. This suggests something like 60 percent of seeds could be stranded.
　　Investor expectations have expanded substantially. It’s become steadily less expensive to launch many consumer-oriented Internet businesses over the years due to things like Moore’s law, improving programming tools, the cloud and the ability to access users from multiple large platforms. Now we often see the kind of traction that we used to expect from Series B companies in Series A companies, and from Series A companies in seed companies. For example, a number of our recent Series A investments built multi-million dollar revenue run rates on their seed rounds. We’re getting spoiled. Combine this with the above supply/demand imbalance and you’ve got a situation where the bar is being raised exactly when the competition for the A round is becoming particularly fierce.
　　The source of seed capital has been changing. In recent years, the amount of seed investment from non-traditional institutional sources has increased dramatically. More and more seed capital is coming from sources like angels, “super angels,” micro-VCs and incubators. To under-score this point, we have close to a thousand separate angels as co-investors in the consumer companies in our less-than-four-year old portfolio. This influx of new capital has arguably had an inflationary impact on seed valuations, which obviously has an initial attraction to many entrepreneurs but can create challenges in a “crunch” scenario. These non-institutional sources of capital are not inclined or structured to potentially help a company secure additional capital in a crunch. And the higher valuations provide a higher hurdle that must be overcome by potential new investors in a crunched company.
　　The number of potential Series A investors appears to be contracting. The venture business is showing early signs of a significant consolidation. The amount of capital invested has trailed the amount raised for a number of years, and the capital that is being raised is increasingly consolidating among fewer, larger firms. The number of investors who can write that Series A check is starting to fall.
　　The impact of these factors is playing out before our eyes. We’re seeing more and more potentially promising companies who have spent much of their seed rounds to generate solid early traction, but not the kind of traction that sets them up well for a Series A financing these days given the higher bar. These companies face a brutal situation. They are running low on money. Prospective new investors want more proof, particularly given the higher seed valuations. And many of the existing investors, particularly on the angel side, become “tapped out” or “want to stay diversified” when approached for bridge financing. These companies’ futures are rapidly called into question. It’s been very painful to watch.
　　So here are a few suggestions for entrepreneurs who are trying to start consumer-oriented Internet businesses:

Movie Moments allows you to edit videos from a touch-friendly interface

　　Microsoft is tweaking a number of its built-in apps for Windows eight.one, although the Tunes application seems to include the most changes. A freshly redesigned copy of the Home windows Retail store in leaked builds of Windows 8.1 has uncovered the new person interface for Xbox Songs. Microsoft formerly exposed to your Verge that the aim together with the new New music application is on actively playing music about surfacing new material, noting you can now perform music in two clicks rather than six.
　　Screenshots of the new Xbox Songs update display a two panel interface that seems to further improve discoverability of audio and the ability to quickly obtain a collection of tracks. Xbox Music initially launched in Oct for Windows eight and Home windows RT devices, with the power to accessibility tunes from an Xbox 360 also. Despite the fact that the provider consists of hottest tracks and albums, the interface has typically been slow and clunky on Home windows eight and Windows RT units. The current app clearly aims to further improve that, having a "simplified structure and layout" in accordance to Microsoft. There's also a persistent in-app research box with enhanced search results, support for audio documents on SD playing cards, and Participate in To assist for tunes outside from the Xbox New music catalogue.

　　Microsoft can be incorporating several new built-in apps, together with Calculator, Seem Recorder, Scan, Reading through Checklist, Film Times, and Assist & Tips. Movie Moments allows you to edit videos from a touch-friendly interface, and Studying Checklist acts as a super clipboard to retail store URLs and other snippets from applications. The Seem Recorder, Calculator, and Scan apps are all simplified touch-friendly versions to replace the legacy desktop variants. Aid & Tips will contain many tutorials for new Windows 8.1 users that should make improvements to some of your associated confusion together with the new interface.
　　Alongside the Xbox Audio redesign and additional apps, the brand new Home windows Store interface has also been spotted in Windows eight.one builds. Microsoft appears to be altering the design of its Keep, alongside improvements to your top paid and top free sections, new releases, and a "picks for you" section that suggests applications based on an existing library. Similar applications are also suggested within app pages, that has a general concentrate on app discoverability. The new Home windows Shop also works well in portrait mode, designed for upcoming 7- and 8-inch tablets. All the improvements will be made available in Windows eight.one, an update that Microsoft will release as a preview version on June 26th alongside its Build developer conference.

Forget Your Fitness Gadget, Whistle Wants to Track Man's Best Friends' Activity

Whistle is jumping into the smart dog collar market with a new device that tracks your dog's activity and rest patterns. The $99.95 device works a lot like the ones for humans -- a small wireless device with sensors clips to your dog's collar. It passively collects data about the pups' activity and rest throughout the day and then syncs wirelessly with a smartphone or web app.

The idea is to keep an eye on your dog when you aren't home, but not just for fun. The purpose, the creators say, is to help improve and monitor the health of your dog. The creators say they believe the technology can add years' to a dogs' lives.

"While you might be taking your dog for a walk, his ambient activity when you are away is decreasing. That slight decrease could indicate a health issue depending on the dog," Whistle CEO and co-founder Ben Jacobs told ABC News. Jacobs said that Whistle's secret sauce is in the science running in the background, which can analyze that canine activity.

　　"We can use Whistle to monitor the impact of a treatment, too. Say your dog has a front line tick, you can see if the dog is scratching less, you can see if the dog's rest is interrupted," Jacobs explained.
　　The company is working with vets and will provide a portal for vets to log in and see information about their patients.
　　But just as there are products competing to track your health and fitness, the dog tracker market is no different.
　　Last year Snaptracs, a subsidiary of Quallcomm, introduced the Tagg dog fitness and GPS tracker. Jacobs says the Whistle, however, is focused primarily on health and working with vets to build the database.
　　"Their core interest [Snaptracs] is the location feature and the carrier tracking so you don't lose your pet. They are providing an important utility, but the core differentiating factor for us is that science," Jacobs said. "The most important thing to do is provide a comparative database with veterinary backing -- that's what we bring to the table."
　　Snaptracs' Tagg also costs $99.95, but has a $7.95 monthly data service charge.
　　The Whistle collar will be available for pre-order today and will ship later this summer. The iPhone app will be available first, with an Android app coming soon after that.

Attraction keys suggest you can obtain to look

　　It has been in excess of a year due to the fact I first installed a establish of Home windows 8 over a take a look at device. Given that then, I've run it on the big selection of components, such as slate-format tablets, hybrid touch/pen/keyboard pill PCs, common laptops and multi-monitor desktop PCs ¨C hardware that mixes the old (with Vista and XP-era products) as well as new (a just lately upgraded Core i5 desktop program). It has been on Intel processors, on AMD, on physical, on virtual: on pretty a great deal just about every device I could obtain while in the business office.
　　Testing and benchmarking is all quite effectively, however, you only truly get to know an OS by dwelling with it, making use of it each and every day to complete daily duties on your own each day Pc. For me, which means the great old-fashioned desktop Pc.

　　The vast majority of my time is put in before a multi-monitor desktop device, accurately the configuration that a lot of folks have worried about in comments to varied Windows 8 posts. While desktop end users may well soon be within the minority, there are even now a good amount of us close to. I count on instruments like Business office and Adobe Lightroom they usually count over the desktop ¨C and that?ˉs unlikely to alter right until the equipment improve. So for my desktop Pc, there?ˉs little or no transform amongst seven and eight in the way I work.
　　Another thing I?ˉve noticed in the months considering the fact that Windows eight attained RTM, its evolution hasn?ˉt ended ¨C and it?ˉs nevertheless recuperating. After i upgraded my desktop from Windows seven to 8 just right after RTM it was to all extents and reasons only a somewhat speedier Home windows 7 machine which has a new UI. But together with the latest 160MB post-RTM update, and using the arrival of some new gadget drivers along with a few of latest pieces of components, it?ˉs becoming one thing alternatively distinctive.
　　The just one huge modify, not surprisingly, may be the Commence Monitor. As alterations go, it?ˉs an enormous 1, but it?ˉs not the showstopper that some have created it out to generally be. I?ˉve wound up treating it as being a entire display edition from the previous Start out menu, and use it in a great deal a similar way. Much like the start off menu, the beginning Display ends up packed with applications I?ˉve put in, and i sometimes tidy it up. There was a bit work in acquiring it how I preferred to start with, but all over again, starting which has a clean put in of Windows XP or 7 I?ˉd be undertaking substantially the exact same issue ¨C grouping purposes and eliminating references to capabilities or applications I don?ˉt plan to use.
　　Launching apps is not difficult sufficient. Faucet the Home windows important and begin typing, as soon as the phrase wheel filter reveals your application, just pick and click ¨C or strike return. You?ˉre immediately back on the desktop as well as in the applying you want to use. That?ˉs all there is certainly to it, and if you made use of Vista or 7?ˉs look for box as your primary system of navigation you?ˉll locate the Get started Monitor slightly additional productive as you don?ˉt ought to click on in the research box to begin locating applications or information.
　　The arrival of the new Microsoft Sculpt Comfort and ease keyboard designed some operations even easier. Whilst Windows 8?ˉs Charms are just a mouse gesture absent, getting them on the keyboard is way less complicated. 4 separate Attraction keys suggest you can obtain to look, Share, Gadgets and Options while not having to move your fingers absent from your keyboard. If you?ˉre employing a Home windows 8 Store-style application, the keyboard also includes four keys that replicate the primary Home windows eight touch gestures. 1 handles a still left swipe software swap, while another toggles the Snap watch for that jogging software. The opposite two start the start Monitor undertaking switcher and open up the app bar.

Google says 'no' to sexually explicit content on Glass

　　Google Glass can, in theory, be used for lots of things, but sexually explicit material is one area now off limits to developers.
　　“We don’t allow Glassware content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts or sexually explicit material,” according to Google’s Glass platform developer policies, which were updated Saturday to offer more information about what developers can and cannot do with the software they make for Glass, which Google refers to as “Glassware.”
　　Google’s clarified stance comes just as a Glass pornography app, called “Tits and Glass,” made by four developers at MiKandi, a mobile app store for adult content, launched Monday. Prior to Monday, Google’s glass developer policies did not specifically address sexual content.
　　The app, which purports to be the first adult software for Glass, lets users “share racy content from their devices directly to other Glass users and online” at the app website, its developers said. The software also comes preloaded with “premium adult photos,” with more adult content recorded using Google Glass on the way, Seattle-based MiKandi said in an announcement.
　　MiKandi only became aware of the new developer policies after its app was launched. As of press time, they had not been directly contacted by Google. As for whether the updated policies may change the company’s plans, “we’re discussing that right now,” said MiKandi co-founder and Glass porn developer Jesse Adams.
　　Google Glass is worn like regular glasses. The device, which currently is in the hands of several thousand people who paid $1500 to be among its first testers, includes a small, square display that hangs in front of the wearer’s right eye, next to a tiny camera.
　　The device has not been released to the general public, but critics have raised questions about privacy, such as the extent to which Glass is capable of gathering personal information about people nearby.
　　The company so far has largely stood back to let developers shape the direction of Glass applications. But some of the controversy surrounding Glass, including the recently updated developer policies, shows that, in some areas at least, Google will step in to draw more lines in the developer sandbox.
　　“Google must be afraid of how powerful their own Glasses are,” MiKandi’s Adams said.
　　Even without developers steering Glass into risque territory, the product is already feared by some as a tool for stalkers, perverts and pedophiles.
　　Several weeks ago, members of a U.S. congressional group on privacy wrote to Google CEO Larry Page requesting information about a host of issues, such as whether the company is considering revising its privacy policy to account for the sensory functions present in Glass.
　　In addition to sexually explicit material, Google also bans violence, bullying, hate speech, deceptive behavior, gambling and outright illegal activities, among other content types, on Glass.
　　Violations of its developer policies are violations of Glass’ API terms of service, Google says, “and can result in the disablement or removal of your application, being prohibited from providing future applications, or termination of your Google account.”
　　Still, MiKandi hopes to stay in the adult content space on Glass. “We’re not going to just stop,” Adams said. “We have to think about our next strategy.”

Microsoft built Home windows 8 to make sure that it could electrical

　　While Web Apps refers to its month to month quantities as “market share studies,” they definitely characterize utilization share, which is not similar to industry share. Market share measures income and/or shipments in a provided period of time. It’s a snapshot on the getting decisions people make in aggressive marketplaces.
　　Utilization share actions the actions on the set up base. Inside the experienced Computer system market place, which consists of approximately 1.5 billion desktop and portable PCs, newcomers have an uphill fight to even get around the board. Measuring utilization share offers an oblique evaluate of sales, but it surely requires get the job done to tease out the bigger tendencies.
　　Home windows eight is slowly and gradually but steadily growing its share of utilization around the globe. In Could, based on the NetMarketShare stats, Windows eight usage amplified from three.eight p.c to 4.3 %. That rate has remained with regards to the same given that February, the 1st whole month after Microsoft’s discounted upgrade offer you finished. Since then, NetMarketShare suggests Home windows 8 use has improved by a mean of about 0.5 percent per 30 days.
　　Windows seven advancement stopped on the dime using the release of Windows 8. In Oct 2012, Windows 7 use was at 44.seven p.c. In Could, seven months afterwards, it is up an inconsequential quantity, to forty four.eight %. Before this yr I named Windows 7 the “Long-Term Guidance edition of Windows.” I forecast it will eventually stay well known, specifically in enterprises, for years to come back.
　　Home windows Vista and Home windows XP are declining little by little. Collectively, these two versions shared about 46.five percent on the worldwide use share in October of final yr, prior to Home windows eight released. 7 months later on, they stand for 42.two p.c. That provides nearly a 4.three % fall, which just comes about to match the share of Windows eight properly.
　　Home windows customers are not deserting the platform for OS X and Linux. Previous Oct, OS X and Linux utilization extra as many as eight.3 p.c. 7 months just after the start of Windows eight, the put together share hasn't budged and is also nevertheless at eight.3 percent.
　　Desktop browser utilization shares (which are not as closely tied to new Pc purchases) have also remained typically unchanged in new months. For May well, NetMarketShare reports that Net Explorer held a fifty six p.c share, in comparison to twenty.six % for Firefox and fifteen.seven percent for Chrome. In comparison to final October, that is a slight favourable shift for World-wide-web Explorer, which was at 54.one %, and for Firefox, which amplified from an excellent 20 per cent. NetMarketShare stories a visible fall in around the globe use for Chrome, which experienced been at 18.six per cent.
　　Are this month’s figures great news or terrible news for Microsoft? Neither, actually. The preliminary bump from early adopters and lovers occurred within the initially a few months following the start of Home windows eight, when Microsoft presented a significantly discounted enhance to Windows eight Pro.
　　Nearly all people who supposed to upgrade to Home windows 8 has previously done so. That leaves the substitute Personal computer market. Approximately 650 million people today who personal Home windows 7 PCs which are a few many years outdated or more recent have no designs to alter their components or software any time quickly. Those that are changing more mature PCs are, on the whole, shopping for new equipment with Windows eight preinstalled, whilst they’re grumbling a bit more than regular.
　　Heading ahead, the fate of Windows eight is tied to sales of new hardware, which includes each regular PCs and new mobile equipment like tablets, hybrids, and Ultrabooks.
　　The normal Laptop market is, to place it mildly, not executing nicely. During the very first quarter of this year, Pc gross sales dropped by fourteen % in contrast to your similar period past yr. Men and women remain buying PCs, but they’re keeping on to them extended and ever more selecting smartphones, tablets, along with other cellular units to take care of computing duties they made use of to complete using the Computer system.
　　Microsoft built Home windows 8 to make sure that it could electrical power all those nontraditional mobile devices, calculating that it could make up to the decrease in traditional Laptop profits with shipments of latest Home windows 8-powered products inside the pill class. But touch-enabled Windows laptops and tablets are just beginning to seem on the market, they usually even now make up much less than thirty p.c of Home windows PCs over the sector.
　　Everything could change later this yr. The following wave of Home windows 8 equipment will be manufactured up of smaller sized tablets much like the Acer Iconia W3-810, which sporting activities an 8.1-inch display screen. Home windows eight was built with 10-inch screens in your mind, using a sturdy bias in favor of landscape orientation. Windows 8.1 specially supports lower resolutions and choice element ratios. Furthermore, it will make other alterations into the habits of apps that should help it become a good range for anyone mini-tablets.
　　If all those devices are priced right, they could be considered a big achievements. Within the meantime, nothing is likely to alter upcoming thirty day period, or even the month immediately after that.

Google's new 3D Maps destroy Manhattan in the wake of Apple's Flyover

　　Introducing the new Google Maps with 3D
　　Unlike Apple's iOS 6 Maps, which target relatively low powered mobile devices, the new 3D features in Google Maps that were introduced last week require a modern PC running a web browser with a supported version of WebGL hardware accelerated rendering.
　　That limits Google Maps' photorealistic 3D features to users of Chrome or Firefox on a Mac or Windows PC. Mobile users will have to settle for grey 3D building models or use the increasingly outdated Google Earth, which unlike Apple Maps' Flyover feature, is not integrated with the search and directions of Google's mobile Maps apps.
　　This makes the new Google Maps more akin to Nokia's web-based Maps 3D. Nokia's product, which while leveraging the same technology Apple acquired to build iOS Maps' Flyover features, is also limited to the desktop web browser. A year after Apple launched iOS 6 with Flyover, neither Google nor Nokia have a similar, integrated 3D visualization feature for their own mobile platforms.
　　Were Google to launch a 3D Maps app for Android with similar specifications to its current desktop maps product, it would only work on about 29 percent of the platform's reported installed base of devices, just like the company's Google Now, which requires Jelly Bean 4.1.
　　Access to the new Google Maps also requires an invitation, which links your online session to your Google account, reinforcing the company's ad-centric business model. The company's introduction to the new generation of Google Maps first highlights search features, then notes how the new product focuses on promoting businesses, "like restaurants that are recommended by your Google+ friends," as shown in the graphic below.
　　The last feature Google highlights is "amazing imagery for exploring the world," of which the company observes, "of course, no map would be complete without amazing images for exploring the world." Oddly enough, Google is pointing out that its own latest mobile maps for Android and iOS are not as "complete" as Apple's own iOS 6 Maps.
　　"The new carousel gathers all Google Maps imagery in one spot enabling you to fly through cities," it notes, carefully avoiding the "Flyover" term Apple introduced a year ago. And again, only on the desktop, and currently only in an invite-only beta, can Google Maps users "find the Earth view which directly integrates the beautiful 3D experience from Google Earth into the new maps."
　　Despite its years of experience in 2D digital mapping, Google's year late, non-mobile 3D Maps product is riddled with the same kind of glitches that Apple scrambled to address after the release of its own new Maps was greeted with contempt and derision. And users don't have to scour the planet to find undulating roads and smeared buildings in remote areas.
　　AppleInsider reader Vesko Kateliev shared Google Map's above image of Midtown Manhattan (detailed at the native resolution, below), where roads turn into waterfalls and parked cars slide up the side of of a building as if trying to escape from a rolling wave of energy twisting buildings and bulging roads into the air.
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　　Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 06:05 pm
　　Google's new 3D Maps destroy Manhattan in the wake of Apple's Flyover
　　By Daniel Eran Dilger
　　Nearly a year after Apple introduced its own Maps service in iOS 6 with Flyover 3D satellite views, Google is expanding its own online Maps to support similar 3D satellite imagery, with the same sorts of buckled roads and visual distortions Apple was castigated for last summer.
　　
Google Maps 3D still a work in progress
　　Introducing the new Google Maps with 3D
　　Unlike Apple's iOS 6 Maps, which target relatively low powered mobile devices, the new 3D features in Google Maps that were introduced last week require a modern PC running a web browser with a supported version of WebGL hardware accelerated rendering.
　　That limits Google Maps' photorealistic 3D features to users of Chrome or Firefox on a Mac or Windows PC. Mobile users will have to settle for grey 3D building models or use the increasingly outdated Google Earth, which unlike Apple Maps' Flyover feature, is not integrated with the search and directions of Google's mobile Maps apps.
　　
This makes the new Google Maps more akin to Nokia's web-based Maps 3D. Nokia's product, which while leveraging the same technology Apple acquired to build iOS Maps' Flyover features, is also limited to the desktop web browser. A year after Apple launched iOS 6 with Flyover, neither Google nor Nokia have a similar, integrated 3D visualization feature for their own mobile platforms.
　　Were Google to launch a 3D Maps app for Android with similar specifications to its current desktop maps product, it would only work on about 29 percent of the platform's reported installed base of devices, just like the company's Google Now, which requires Jelly Bean 4.1.
　　Access to the new Google Maps also requires an invitation, which links your online session to your Google account, reinforcing the company's ad-centric business model. The company's introduction to the new generation of Google Maps first highlights search features, then notes how the new product focuses on promoting businesses, "like restaurants that are recommended by your Google+ friends," as shown in the graphic below.
　　
Source: Google
　　The last feature Google highlights is "amazing imagery for exploring the world," of which the company observes, "of course, no map would be complete without amazing images for exploring the world." Oddly enough, Google is pointing out that its own latest mobile maps for Android and iOS are not as "complete" as Apple's own iOS 6 Maps.
　　"The new carousel gathers all Google Maps imagery in one spot enabling you to fly through cities," it notes, carefully avoiding the "Flyover" term Apple introduced a year ago. And again, only on the desktop, and currently only in an invite-only beta, can Google Maps users "find the Earth view which directly integrates the beautiful 3D experience from Google Earth into the new maps."
　　
Source: Google
　　Google Maps 3D messes with Manhattan
　　Despite its years of experience in 2D digital mapping, Google's year late, non-mobile 3D Maps product is riddled with the same kind of glitches that Apple scrambled to address after the release of its own new Maps was greeted with contempt and derision. And users don't have to scour the planet to find undulating roads and smeared buildings in remote areas.
　　AppleInsider reader Vesko Kateliev shared Google Map's above image of Midtown Manhattan (detailed at the native resolution, below), where roads turn into waterfalls and parked cars slide up the side of of a building as if trying to escape from a rolling wave of energy twisting buildings and bulging roads into the air.
　　
Google Maps 3D still a work in progress
　　Apple's Flyover representation of the same area (below) is detailed enough to see that the building Google portrays as being smeared with taxis is actually a JC Penney, and you can even make out that the adjacent billboard is an iPad commercial. Apple even does a much better job at labels for points of interest and streets. Apple also labels 6th Avenue by its official name, "Avenue of the Americas," although a search of "6th Ave" also works.

Google has declined to assist Home windows

　　This month, Windows Cellphone consumers lastly received Microsoft’s YouTube customer for their handset. Designed by Redmond, after Google declined to support their cellular system, the shopper has already sparked a war of words (and legal letters) in between the 2 tech corporations. The saga in the WP YouTube consumer is much from about, nevertheless it highlights two important areas - Microsoft usually means organization with Windows Cellphone, and YouTube is now as pervasive as a utility company.
　　Current within the first week of May possibly, Microsoft’s YouTube client ceased staying an icon that opened up a cell website and have become a full application on any Windows Telephone handset, including support for Kid’s Corner by limiting entry to age limited video clips; pinning channels, playlists and video clips; and downloading movies for offline viewing.
　　By such as an option to down load films to your handset, rather than exhibiting any in-app advertising, Microsoft was provoking response from Google (each of the time while using the remedy of ‘we’d like to incorporate these, but we really do not have the API’). That reaction duly arrived, an enormous, juicy stop and desist letter (along with the request to utilize the trapdoor within the Home windows Phone Store to remotely delete all copies on the application).
　　And similar to that, after a metaphorical spherical of corporate ‘who’s is bigger’, the 2 firms are sitting down round the table, and it appears like Home windows Cellphone consumers could have a good and official YouTube customer immediately after all.
　　It when experienced an excellent third-party version known as Metrotube, but any person supporting that application will realise that it absolutely was constantly attempting to find solutions into the lack of APIs from Google, and at a person point withdrew alone from your Windows Cell phone Retailer mainly because it absolutely was just too really hard to keep up along with the modifications. It’s back again now, and customers keep on to like the application. But there was generally demand from customers for something additional official.
　　The posturing from both of those Microsoft and Google illustrates just how important on the internet video clip is always to a cellular system, along with the de facto leader with this area is plainly YouTube. By delivering shoppers for just a range of cellular platforms in their option, but only an HTML5 mobile version with the web site for Windows Cellular phone people, Google needs to be wary of the anti-trust action offered the dominance YouTube has from the market place.
　　Google has declined to assist Home windows Cellphone with programs, pointing for the lessen marketplace share on the system, as well as their HTML5 offerings that suggest the info might be partly accessed throughout the cell net browser. So Microsoft has created this consumer using their assets, but without having authorization to access the indigenous APIs, they’re needing to power the issue which is able to reward the buyers, nevertheless it also bolsters the Home windows Cell phone platform and provides it parity with all the handsets subsequent to it on the Superior Avenue.
　　There is continue to heading to be loads of give and choose amongst the companies (the down load alternative has currently been eliminated), and many of that may be played out in general public, even so the phase is about. Microsoft goes intense with Home windows Cellular phone; and Google needs to handle the YouTube as being a utility that ought to be available to all people on the web, not as their particular walled yard in which they will ascertain accessibility rights over a platform by system foundation.

Fresh questions for Amazon over pittance it pays in tax

　　MPs are ready to haul Amazon back to parliament to answer new questions about its tax status in Britain after a Guardian investigation's findings suggest the online retailer is pushing the tax rulebook to its limits to minimise its tax bill.
　　Company filings showed Amazon's main UK company paid just £3.2m in corporation tax on sales of £320m last year. However, the Seattle-based group has told investors its 2012 UK sales were £4.2bn.
　　The Guardian investigation has found Amazon pushing definitions close to breaking point; and tax authorities unable, or unwilling, to prevent the imposition of aggressive tax avoidance structures.
　　Information collected by the Guardian details extensive UK activities that suggest HM Revenue and Customs could take a much tougher line on taxing Amazon's multibillion-pound British operations.
　　Among the key indicators of whether a business is taxable in the UK is the location of those negotiating deals. A UK publishing executive confirmed that his contract was negotiated on behalf of Amazon EU Sarl, the Luxembourg company, by staff from the British head office in Slough.
　　"The contract may be with Luxembourg but it is the people from Slough who thrash out the crucial details of the contract such as the discount we agree to give them. There are also people in Slough who are charged with overseeing that the contract is properly executed," the executive said.
　　Meanwhile, job adverts posted this month on the careers page of Amazon.co.uk invite application for scores of roles in the UK. Among them is a vacancy for a senior financial analyst. "Based at our UK Head Office in Slough, Amazon seeks a Senior Financial Analyst to support Amazon UK's Merchant Services business," the advert said.
　　"This Senior Financial Analyst will help establish revenue targets, lead pricing analysis and recommendations, generate competitive analysis and support key operations metrics and goals."
　　The Slough office is also this month looking for applicants to its MBA leadership development programme in the UK. "From day one, you will be given ownership of large, complex problems in various areas of our business," the advert states.
　　Despite booking a tax charge of just £3.2m in its UK accounts for 2012, Amazon received £2.5m in government grants as well as significant tax breaks for building new warehouses. It opened a new site at Hemel Hempstead in September.
　　The company would pay much more tax if its sales were booked through a UK business but they are all routed through Luxembourg. Altogether it has taken £12bn from online shoppers in the UK in the last four years.
　　Amazon avoids paying many tens of millions of pounds in tax because it tells the taxman its main UK-focused business, which collects revenue from British shoppers but is incorporated in Luxembourg, cannot be classed as a "permanent establishment" in Britain.
　　Amazon has a permanent establishment in the UK that operates the warehouses and provides "corporate support services" to the wider group. Despite employing 4,191 staff – and an additional 10,000 temporary workers to cope with the Christmas rush – it had a tax bill for 2012 of just £3.2m because British shoppers are invoiced from Luxembourg.
　　Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, said: "My committee has real concerns about the extent to which companies like Amazon are stretching the rules in order to avoid paying their fair share in tax.
　　"By any measure of common sense Amazon appears to have a proper established presence in the UK, and that there is a discrepancy between some of the evidence in this report about its activities in the UK and what the committee was told by Amazon when they appeared before us last year. We will now consider whether we need to recall them to explain that discrepancy."
　　Six months ago Amazon told Hodge's committee: "All the strategic functions for our business in Europe [including the UK] are based in Luxembourg. That could be our retail business, our third-party business, our transportation teams, our customer service, HR, finance."
　　UK staff, he added, were only offered "support" to these activities.
　　Hodge has recalled the UK boss of Google and the head of tax at Ernst & Young, the accountancy firm which advises Google and Amazon, to answer new questions raised about the search firm's low tax bill. The recall was prompted by a Reuters investigation which focused on Google's claim its UK-revenues were not part of a taxable British business.
　　The Reuters investigation highlighted the extent of Google's business activities in the UK in the same way as the Guardian focus on Amazon.
　　David Cameron has promised to address many tax issues raised by multinational groups, in particular digital businesses at the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland next month. This week at a joint news conference with President Obama, Cameron pledged to "tackle the scourge of tax evasion" by multinational companies in his role as president of the G8. International advisers are drawing up new rules to crack down on digital businesses finding legal ways around "permanent establishment" definitions.
　　The Guardian's investigation into the rules on permanent establishment involved looking at HMRC manuals, international double taxation treaties dating back to the 1960s, and guidelines for tax treatments of multinational businesses set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
　　Hodge said: "Part of the problem is that this is a ridiculously complex issue. HMRC has got to get much tougher in policing the system, but we also need to simplify our tax system so that companies cannot keep exploiting these grey areas."
　　Ernst & Young have already acknowledged that these rules are broken. Many of these rules were drawn up before the internet revolutionised the way people shop, and did not foresee a new generation of tax structure engineering made possible.
　　Asked by MPs on this point, Dixon of E&Y said: "This gets to the OECD [the international body which sets tax guidelines] difficulty that we are in at the moment. The situation is that a warehouse of itself is not a permanent establishment. An internet-based business, where essentially the website and servers are based outside the UK, is also not a UK permanent establishment. The OECD needs to look carefully at whether these rules need to change."
　　The exclusion for warehouses, such as Amazon's eight distribution centres, is contained in the double taxation treaty the UK negotiated with Luxembourg in 1966. Amazon.co.uk is registered to a Luxembourg company, Amazon Europe Holding Technologies SCS, and the site runs off the group's servers in Ireland.
　　Tax officials refused to comment directly on Amazon, but told the Guardian: "HMRC ensures that multinationals pay the tax due in accordance with UK tax law and in doing so we apply the permanent establishment rules correctly and consistently to all businesses"
　　An Amazon spokesman said: "Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within. Amazon EU serves tens of millions of customers and sellers throughout Europe from multiple consumer websites in a number of languages dispatching products to all 27 countries in the EU. We have a single European headquarters in Luxembourg with hundreds of employees to manage this complex operation."