Microsoft launches Surface 3, tablet that can ‘replace laptop’

Microsoft on Tuesday launched Surface Pro 3 at an event in New York. The company said that the device, which succeeds Surface Pro 2, combines the best of a tablet and laptop in a single gadget.

"So many people carry both a laptop and a tablet but really want just one device that serves all purposes," said Panos Panay, corporate vice president, Microsoft Surface. "Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop — packing all the performance of a fully powered laptop into a thin, light and beautifully designed device."

Powered by an Intel Core i processor, Surface Pro 3 will be available in several configurations. The basic model, which has a Core i5 4300 processor running at 1.6GHz and 64GB internal storage, will cost $799. Despite packing in a Core i processor, the tablet runs cool. Microsoft claims it is the slimmest (9.1mm) device with a Core i processor. 

"The product we're announcing today has been three years in the making. To get this thin, light, and powerful was a huge challenge - partly because the powerful processors that power Surface Pro 3 need to be cooled... we invented a new fan technology that is 30% more efficient than previous solutions. The new, thinner fan cools a series of fins placed around it instead of forcing the exhaust air out through a channel. Not having to create space for this channel allows Surface Pro 3 to be thinner without sacrificing performance," said Panay. 

Surface Pro 3 will be available in the US and Canada from June 20. The availability will be extended to 26 additional countries by end of August but India is not one of them. 

Microsoft has not yet launched a Surface tablet in India. It is likely that Surface Pro 3 may not come to Indian market any time soon. Amrish Goyal, the head of Windows division at Microsoft India, had earlier told TOI that the company believed the Surface tablets were too expensive for Indian market. He revealed that instead of Surface tablets, in India Microsoft was focusing on less expensive tablets created by Microsoft's hardware partners like Lenovo and Dell. 

Surface Pro 3 has a 12-inch screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels. It features an adjustable kickstand, has a casing made of magnesium and weighs around 800 grams. It has two cameras - 5MP each - in the front and rear. The device uses Windows 8.1 Pro. 

The tablet will also be available with a Core i3 or a Core i7 processor. The device has 4GB RAM in standard configuration but consumers will have the option to go for 8GB RAM. Similarly, if consumers want, they would be able to opt for the model with 512GB internal storage. The fully upgraded model of Surface Pro 3 will cost around $1,949. 

Like earlier Surface tablets, the Surface Pro 3 will also be compatible with a few accessories. "New Surface accessories like the improved Surface Pro Type Cover will take Surface Pro 3 from tablet to laptop in a snap. The new premium Surface Pen with pressure sensitivity enables a more natural writing experience, while a full-size USB 3.0 port, microSD card reader and Mini DisplayPort allow for quick file transfers and easy connections to a range of peripherals," said Microsoft. The accessories will cost extra.

Google launches online education tool, Classroom

Google has added a new tool to its Apps for Education suite, called Classroom. This product will help "teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease," the company said in a blog post. 

Classroom will integrate apps like Docs, Drive and Gmail so that teachers are able to create and collect assignments paperlessly. It will also allow teachers to track which students have not completed their tasks and provide real-time feedback to them.

Google says that Classroom will be an ad-free product, just like other Apps for Education tools. 

Teachers interested in trying out this new product can request for an invite on the official Classroom website and depending on the number of requests it receives, Google will let a limited number of teachers try it out for a month. The wider rollout of this online solution will commence in September.

HP to invest over $1billion in open-source cloud computing

Hewlett-Packard Co plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next two years to develop and offer cloud-computing products and services. 

The company said it will make its OpenStack-based public cloud services available in 20 data centers over the next 18 months. 

OpenStack, a cloud computing project that HP co-founded, provides a free and open-source cloud computing platform for public and private cloud services. 

"Customer challenges today extend beyond cloud. They include how to manage, control and scale applications in a hybrid environment that spans multiple technology approaches," Martin Fink, executive vice president and chief technology officer, HP, said in a statement. 

HP last week inked a deal with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group to make servers aimed at companies that provide cloud computing services. 

Cloud services have become increasingly popular among both cash-strapped tech startups and larger companies, which rely on computers owned and operated by the likes of Amazon and Google, instead of buying the equipment themselves. 

Amazon.com and Google recently slashed prices of most of their cloud computing services as other companies join the fray. 

Cisco Systems laid out plans in March to offer cloud computing services, pledging to spend $1 billion over the next two years, while Microsoft said it will increase its cloud storage offering for business users 40-fold.

You can finally print Office documents from your iPad

     

     Microsoft’s Office suite has been a big hit on the iPad so far but it was also missing a crucial feature when it was first released last month: The ability to print out your documents from your tablet. Don’t fret, however, because Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it’s issuing its first update on Office for iPad that will enable printing onWord, Excel and PowerPoint. Other features included in the update are SmartGuides, a PowerPoint feature designed to “help you align pictures, shapes, and textboxes as you move them around on a slide,” and AutoFit, a new Excel feature that “lets you adjust the width of multiple rows or the height of multiple columns at the same time. With just a few taps, you’ll be sure that your spreadsheet looks better and that no content is hidden.”

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Mobile phones bringing ‘reading revolution’ in poor countries

A new report has revealed that the spread of mobile technologies that have made books more accessible than ever before and thus bringing a “reading revolution.”

According to UNESCO, 62 percent of those surveyed said they enjoy reading more after they started reading on mobile devices, and one-third said they use their phones to read to their children (an additional third said they would do so if more child-friendly books were available), the Verge reported. 

Lead author Mark West said that the study has found that mobile devices can help people develop, sustain and enhance their literacy skills, which is important because literacy opens the door to life-changing opportunities and benefits.

According to the study, 60 percent of respondents cited a desire for more diverse reading options as the primary hurdle to reading on mobile devices, while only 18 percent cited cost.

The UN estimates that around 6 billion people have access to mobile phones today and broadband mobile connections have seen tremendous growth in developing countries.

Wipro planning biggest restructuring exercise

Wipro is planning a wide-ranging restructuring to help employees shore up expertise in state-of-the art skills, a move that underscores the need to adapt to the fast-changing role of information technology in enterprises. The Bangalore-based company's head of human resources Saurabh Govil described the effort as the biggest restructuring exercise since Wipro ventured into the information technology business in 1981. "Very few companies would have tried anything of this size and scale in the past," said Saurabh Govil, a senior vice president.

Chief executive TK Kurien said that in 12-18 months, when the revamp is completed, the organisational will look more like an hourglass than a pyramid. "People who sit in between and do broking are going to be affected. They are slowly going to go away," he said, delivering a stark warning to those among the nearly 1.5 lakh employees who are seen as under-performers. The restructuring and training will involve enhancing or acquiring proficiency in emerging technology areas such as data analytics and cloud computing. Govil said that equally important will be what he called the "behaviourial aspects" of working in an industry where customers are increasingly demanding that technology should serve clearly-defined business goals.

Govil said restructuring is a critical part of the "New Wipro" and will help the company gear up for the next wave of IT services that includes greater focus on technology automation. "The reskilling exercise has the potential to take the capabilities of our employees to the next level, which in turn will translate into enhanced quality outcomes, better customer satisfaction and more revenues."

For several years, Wipro has been struggling to cross the 3% quarterly revenue growth mark. Kurien, who took over in February 2011, has said that he aspires to make India's third-largest software exporter a growth leader in the industry. While software industry grouping Nasscom has predicted that exports will grow by 13-15% in the year to March 2015, Wipro's revenue expansion is expected to be much slower.

"In future, everything will depend on how much value you add to the company, not how many years you have spent at the company," Kurien, 54, said. Govil was of the view that low-end work is increasingly automated and employees are increasingly expected to be connecting with customers, which is why "behavioral sensitisation" is such an important part of the restructuring. "Employees are no longer the back-end engineers delivering outsourced services remotely," he said.

Some experts, however, question if Wipro's latest attempt would help the Bangalore-based company gain a competitive edge. "As Indian IT services firms move up the value chain, they are trying to retrain their employees so that they have the domain knowledge of this digital transformation, including Smac (social, mobility, analytics, cloud)," said Samiron Ghoshal, the head of IT advisory at Ernst & Young.