The battle between Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One is already heating up nicely and we don't even have proper release dates for either of them yet! One area that it appeared that Sony's new machine may have the edge was support for the next standard in HD – Ultra HD. With Sony confirming that the PS4 will indeed support 4K Ultra HD for video only (no gaming!), all eyes were on Microsoft during its big Xbox One reveal, only for 4K to be conspicuous by its absence.
We're now about 24 hours on from Xbox One reveal, and whilst the dust is finally beginning to settle, there are still plenty of unanswered questions doing the rounds. Most, it would seem revolve around Microsoft's stance on used games, and the lending of games between friends.
Everything you need to know about Xbox One games, like Forza Motorsport 5, Call of Duty Ghosts, FIFA 14, Assassin's Creed 4, Watch Dogs, and more, that Microsoft announced today at 'Xbox Reveal' event.
Whew, time for us to catch our breath a little! Microsoft has finally dished out the details of its upcoming console, which is to be called the Xbox One, and if you want to know the what, where, when, and perhaps most importantly, how much, we've got all of the details coming up right after the break!
Earlier this year, we caught a glimpse of the technologies of Leap Motion, one of a number of companies looking to take the world of gesture-based research by storm. One of the more intriguing insights we've had into how this kind of tech could significantly broaden the horizons in the gesture-filled landscape, Leap Motion offered a very enticing introductory video back in February illustrating how its peripheral could turn almost any computing setup into an effortless, three-dimensional realm of pinching and swiping elegance, enhancing the general user experience on all kinds of different levels. To whet the appetites further, Leap has come through with yet another video clip, and if you were somewhat unmoved by the initial demonstration clip, prepare to be wowed!
Electronic Arts has been there at the launch of countless game consoles throughout its prolific years, and it is going to be no different even this time around.
It has only been a couple of weeks since Microsoft brought Skype integration to the Outlook.com inbox and already, the Redmond company is back to bring Google's Talk instant messaging service to its webmail service. It's certainly an eyebrow raiser, no less since it looks as though the Big G looks all set to integrate GTalk and Hangouts into one unified - and rumored - "Babel" service, and it does also perhaps show a side to Microsoft we simply do not see often enough.
Via the official Windows blog, Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 8.1 (formerly known as Windows Blue) will be a free update for those running the current Windows 8 operating system. Many had suspected that the Redmond company might try its hand at Apple's system of meager updates for a minimal fee, but, as per the blog post, the update will in fact be called Windows 8.1, and will be offered as "a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store."
Windows 8 is far from long in the tooth, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from getting the ball rolling on the next release of its ever popular operating system. Windows 8.1, codenamed Windows Blue, is penciled in for a release later this year, with testing still ongoing inside Microsoft.
Although not everybody has been keen on the tiled interface, Windows 8 continues to sell in vast numbers, and having released late last year, recently passed the 100 million mark in terms of licenses sold, compared to 60 million licences this January alone. It's a significant milestone, and despite the rather mixed reception, Windows 8 appears to be selling at the same rate as its predecessor, Windows 7, which also took around six months to reach 100 million.
