Dell remains committed to Windows RT

Dell is developing a successor to its XPS 10 Windows RT tablet

Dell remains committed to Microsoft's Windows RT, despite the poor market reception to the OS and a decline in prices of related tablets.

The company has "future generations" of its XPS 10 tablet, which runs Windows RT, under development, said Neil Hand, vice president at Dell.

The upcoming tablets will be lighter and faster, though Hand did not provide any further details on release dates or specifications of the XPS 10 successor.

Microsoft shipped Windows RT for ARM-based devices and Windows 8 for Intel-based devices in October last year. The XPS 10 was released to positive reviews shortly after, with prices starting at US$499. The tablet now starts at $449, and Windows RT tablets are offered by Samsung, Asus and Microsoft, whose Surface RT starts at $499.

Google discloses tech specs and developer API for Glass

The API is, however, a limited developer preview, Google said

The Google Glass wearable computer will have a high-resolution display equivalent of a 25-inch high-definition screen from eight feet away, and will capture 5-megapixels images and video at a resolution of 720p, according to technical specs disclosed on Monday.

The device will also support Wi-Fi compliant with 802.11b/g standards and Bluetooth, and has 12GB of usable memory, synced with Google cloud storage. It has 16GB flash memory in total.

Google has notified some users selected under its Glass Explorer testers program that some of the US$1,500 glasses were being produced and shipped in phases, according to reports.

Gartner: Long hard climb to high level of cloud computing security

Cloud service providers need to be clearer about business continuity and disaster-recovery practices

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It's still a long, hard climb to get to a high level of security in cloud computing, according to Gartner research vice president Jay Heiser, who said business and government organisations with sensitive data appear likely to hold back from cloud-based services until things improve.
"Finance tends to be more conservative about cloud computing than small business," said Heiser in his online presentation to Gartner clientele yesterday.
In "Prepare for and Minimize the Security Risk of Cloud Computing," Heiser expressed the view that it's somewhat simpler to establish a security baseline when using infrastructure-as-service (IaaS) than it is for software-as-service (SaaS) if only because there's more flexibility and less dependence on the competence of the service provider.

But overall, cloud service providers aren't as clear as they should be concerning matters such as their business continuity and disaster-recovery practices, making it hard to win customer confidence.

Intel sets up joint lab with China's Baidu for mobile apps

The chip maker will supply local developers with Intel-powered products for software testing

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Intel is hoping to get more Chinese developers to back its products by forming a new joint innovation lab with the nation's largest search engine Baidu.
The lab is part of an agreement the two companies signed on Thursday that will focus on developing software for China's mobile Internet market. Developers in the country will have access to Intel-powered products, including PCs, tablets and mobile devices, to test and port software for Baidu and Intel platforms.
"If you are a developer, you will now have more choices of platform, and more opportunities in business," said Christos Georgiopoulos, Intel general manager for developer relations.

Microsoft skips 'too good' Windows 9, jumps to Windows 10

Deeming Windows 9 'too good to release,' Microsoft execs shelve follow-up to Windows 8 and proceed to Windows 10

If you've been looking forward to Windows 9, the OS that will fix what Windows 8 got wrong, you're in for a surprise: There will be no Windows 9. Instead, Microsoft announced it will proceed directly to Windows 10.
"The Windows 9 internal beta was a phenomenal success," said Microsoft PR rep Cheryl Tunt. "I mean, it blew Windows 8 out of the water, and as we all know, Windows 8 is nigh flawless. After discussion at the C level, Microsoft has decided it will not mess with success and will leave Windows 9 exactly as it is. As such, work is now getting under way on Windows 10, which should see a public release."