Tag Archives: microsoft

Mario Kart Live Home Circuit hands

I hate cleaning. But I’ve done a lot of moving things around and tidying up, just to get things just right for kart racing. Cones under tables, gates behind chairs. I’ve blocked off my dining room. We’re almost ready. And suddenly, we have a racing circuit. I’m looking at my Nintendo Switch screen as I …

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You have another chance at PS5 or Xbox Series X/S preorders today

Update, Nov. 6: Read our reviews of the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PS5. If you were bitterly disappointed by the near-instantaneous sellout of all the next-gen consoles last month, you’re not alone. Sony took a lot of flak for a botched rollout of the PS5, and though Microsoft had a few extra days to avoid making the same mistakes, the Xbox Series …

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iPhone 12 launch day: Apple’s big event was quite a whirlwind

Apple set Oct. 13 as the date for its latest iPhone’s debut, and the day finally arrived. Here’s everything Apple announced on Tuesday, including four versions of the iPhone 12 and the $99 HomePod Mini. And here’s how to preorder the entire iPhone 12 lineup. Like Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and the Apple Watch and iPad launch event earlier this year, the iPhone event took …

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Surface Laptop Go review: The best

When Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Go, a cheaper, smaller version of its excellent Surface Laptop, I wondered how the company would pull it off. After all, I’ve said that a truly great budget laptop is something of a PC holy grail — very valuable but also about as hard to find. Laptops around the $500 mark have to make …

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Microsoft reportedly planning app for Xbox Game Pass to get around Apple rules

Microsoft is developing an iOS app to bring Game Pass to the iPad and iPhone, circumventing Apple App Store rules, Business Insider reported Thursday. “We absolutely will end up on iOS,” Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer told employees at an all-hands meeting Wednesday, according to Business Insider. Microsoft announced in August that its Project xCloud video game service would be …

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Microsoft takes jab at Apple, Google with new app store principles

Microsoft announced 10 new app store principles in a blog post Thursday, needling Apple‘s and Google‘s policies in the process. The new guidelines from Microsoft are intended to promote choice, fairness and innovation for software developers on Windows 10. “Developers will have the freedom to choose whether to distribute their apps for Windows through our app store. We will not block competing …

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xCloud, now Xbox cloud gaming: Games, pricing and more you need to know

Microsoft has been testing its xCloud cloud-gaming platform, the technology that lets you play Xbox games on your phone, streamed from remote servers, for more than a year. Now we’ve come to the part where the free ride for testers ends and it’s time to pony up for the privilege via a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. And as frequently …

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Requiem for a Daydream: RIP, phone VR

In late 2014, I pulled CNET TV editor David Katzmaier into a conference room to show him a black plastic pair of goggles fitted over a Samsung phone. I seated him in a comfy swivel chair. I wanted to see what he thought of what I was about to show him, from a display perspective. A few 3D 360-degree videos …

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Google rebrands its G Suite productivity apps to Google Workspace

Google on Tuesday said it’s giving a new name to G Suite, its line of productivity apps aimed at business customers. The set of services will now be called Google Workspace. The rebranding comes as Google makes a bigger effort to court companies for its cloud services, pushing enterprise versions of apps including Docs, Sheets and Drive. The company has been …

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Surface Laptop Go is a cheaper, smaller Microsoft laptop with a premium style

A truly great budget laptop is a PC holy grail, but also about as hard to find. Laptops around the $500 mark tend to compromise on design, materials, performance or features, doing well in one area, but poorly in others. In 2020, it’s been even more difficult, as remote workers and students quickly snatch up any half-decent budget laptops, leaving …

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