Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro Is Way Too Expensive – Analyst

Microsoft is getting ready to debut the Surface with Windows 8 Pro, the second tablet of the Surface family that’s going to feature the full version of Windows 8 and support for desktop software.



While the device will be available in two different versions, with pricing to begin at $899 (€675), Rick Sherlund, a Nomura Equity Research analyst, says the Surface Pro is going to be too expensive for the end user.



The Surface Pro won’t be offered with a To... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Bogdan Popa) via Softpedia News - Global

Sprint Launching an HTC Windows Phone Device Soon

Sprint officially announced last week at CES 2013 that it has signed new partnerships with HTC and Samsung in order to bring customers Windows Phone devices.



True to its promise the carrier is about to launch its first Windows Phone handset and it looks like it will be from HTC.



The folks over at Engadget have just spotted at FCC (Federal Communications Commission) a Windows Phone handset codenamed HTC PL80110, which uses band 25 LTE.



This particular frequency ... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Cosmin Vasile) via Softpedia News - Global

12 Sundance 2013 Shorts Are Already on YouTube

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival is underway this weekend. Most people won't be there to watch all the movies, shorts and everything else, but you can get a piece of this year's edition on YouTube.



The Sundance Institute has set up The Screening Room, a YouTube channel with 12 short films also shown in the festival.



There will be 64 shorts shown at Sundance, out of 8,100 submissions, but only 12 of those are on YouTube. Still, it's better than nothing.



"Sundanc... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Lucian Parfeni) via Softpedia News - Global

Nokia Releases New Software Update for Asha 200 and Asha 201

On Friday, Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia announced the availability of a new software update for two of its Asha handsets, namely Asha 200 and Asha 201 (model numbers RM-761 and RM-799 / RM-800).



The company unveiled plans to make the new software release available for devices all around the world, though it noted that phones in China would be left out of it.



The new update should already appear as available for users in other countries around the world, through t... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) via Softpedia News - Global

Happy Internet Freedom Day, One Year After SOPA and PIPA

Today is the anniversary of the protests against SOPA and PIPA that, aside from keeping some ugly laws from being implemented in the US, also made it clear to everyone that the internet gives everyone a voice and that people can actually change things, for the better, if they try hard enough.



The protests against SOPA and PIPA... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Lucian Parfeni) via Softpedia News - Global

iPad Screen Production Almost Halted at Sharp Plant [Reuters]

Building on the hype of a Wall Street Journal report that opened Pandora’s box last week with claims of low demand for the iPhone 5, industry sources are now suggesting that the same thing is happening on the iPad front.



Reuters cites “industry sources” as saying that Apple partner Sharp Corp. has almost stopped producing 9.7-inch panels for the full-size iPad, “as demand shifts to its smaller iPad mini.”



The report specifically mentions Shar... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Filip Truta) via Softpedia News - Global

Nokia Lumia 620 Arrives in Russia, Priced at $395/€295

Initially launched in China less than two weeks ago, Nokia Lumia 620 recently made its debut in Thailand as well.



Today, the Finnish company decided it was time for its cheapest Windows Phone 8 to land in Europe. The folks over at Hi-Tech.Mail.ru report that the first European country to get the Lumia 620 is Russia.



The smartphone is now available for purchase via Nokia Store locations for 11,990 rubles outright, which is about $395 or €295. Check it out here.<... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Cosmin Vasile) via Softpedia News - Global

Security Explorations Identifies Two Vulnerabilities in Java 7 Update 11

Researchers from Security Explorations have identified a couple of vulnerabilities that affect the latest version of Java. The security holes can be exploited to achieve a complete sandbox bypass in Java 7 Update 11.



Experts say that they’ve been inspired by the vulnerability related to obtaining references to restricted classes – better known as the MBeanInstantiator bug – which still hasn’t been addressed by Oracle.



However, the latest secur... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) via Softpedia News - Global

Linux Kernel Vulnerability Closed in Ubuntu 12.10

A security vulnerability that was discovered in the Linux kernel affecting the Ubuntu 12.10 LTS (Quantal Quetzal) operating system, was announced by Canonical.



This is the kernel vulnerability found in the Linux kernel packages: CVE-2012-4461, CVE-2012-4530, and CVE-2012-5532. Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.



Fox example, a flaw in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based virtual machine) subsystem's handling of the XSAVE CPU feature. On hosts without the... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Silviu Stahie) via Softpedia News - Global

Chelsea Handler Warned by NBC Bosses to Lay Off Matt Lauer

Chelsea Handler has become a collateral victim, if the term “victim” could ever apply to her, in the Matt Lauer – Ann Curry spat, if one could call it that. NBC bosses have warned her to lay off dissing The Today Show host from now on.



PageSix reports that Handler managed to incur the wrath of Comcast bos... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) via Softpedia News - Global

Sleepy Bulldog Puppy Photo Goes Viral on Reddit

A photo of sleepy bulldog puppy made its appearance on Reddit rather inconspicuously, but ended up creating quite a buzz.



The pic was uploaded by youarenowpromoted under the appropriate, yet not exactly revealing, thread name “Aaaaaaand Relax.”



With more than 12,000 upvotes in a day, it seems to be able to capture Redditors' hearts and perhaps even relieve some of that end-of-the-week stress.



This pup is napping in an adorable position, promp... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Raluca Anghel) via Softpedia News - Global

PlayStation 4's Controller Might Feature Biometric Sensors and LCD Touchscreen

A brand new report has surfaced on the web about Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 (codenamed Orbis) console, as a website claims that the company is dumping the traditional DualShock design for a new device that has biometric sensors and an LCD Touchscreen.



The PlayStation 4, Sony's replacement for the aging PS3, might be revealed in the near future and, as such, plenty of rumors have begun to fly around the web.



This time, CVG has posted a report citing two inside sourc... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) via Softpedia News - Global

GNOME Shell 3.7.4.1 Gets "Open Clocks" Features

GNOME Shell, a user interface that provides functions for the GNOME 3 desktop environment, has just received a new update and it's now at version 3.7.4.1.



GNOME Shell 3.7.4.1 has been released just a couple of days after the previous version, in the branch that will eventually become GNOME Shell 3.8 and it does pack quite a lot of new features.



Highlights of GNOME Shell 3.7.4.1:



• The application now uses show-full-name-in-top-bar setting;

&bul... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Silviu Stahie) via Softpedia News - Global

Logitech Intros Enterprise Keyboard with Integrated Phone/Video Call Controls

There are a lot of instant messaging programs, but few are actually used very widely other than Yahoo Messenger and Skype.



Cisco's Jabber is one of them, being very useful for inter-worker communication inside office buildings and the like.



Knowing this, Logitech has launched a keyboard specifically designed with the software in mind.



Called UC Solution for Cisco 725-C, it has dedicated keys for phone and video calls, and it is actually part of a product ... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Sebastian Pop) via Softpedia News - Global

Kathryn Bigelow on “Zero Dark Thirty” Torture Scenes: Depiction Is Not Endorsement

Since “Zero Dark Thirty,” the most recent film from Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow, came out in limited release, there’s been a lot of talk about “enhanced interrogation” methods and whether Bigelow’s portraying them in the film is actually a silent but not so subtle endorsement.



In other words, by including scenes of torture in a film about how Osama bin Laden was captured, Bigelow might have been saying that this was the way to do cou... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) via Softpedia News - Global

Microsoft Creates Real Hummer-Based Warthog

Hummer no longer exists and many people believe that it’s better to see the iconic brand dead than to allow Chinese manufacturers to build its models.



And even if Hummers are no longer mass-produced, don’t be too surprised if you get to see a Hummer-based Warthog driven around the Redmond campus.



If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Microsoft has used such a vehicle in its popular Halo 4 game, so creating a full-scale replica was basically a pr... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Bogdan Popa) via Softpedia News - Global

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Gets Release Date, New Trailer

Capcom has just confirmed the release date for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, revealing that the game will hit the Wii U on March 19, in North America, and March 22, in Europe.



Monster Hunter games have gained a cult-like following all over the world, particularly in Capcom's native Japan, so Nintendo is quite thrilled that the latest installment – Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – will be released exclusively for the Wii U.



Now, Capcom has just revealed a brand new... (read more)

by Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) via Softpedia News - Global