Windows 8 Store now has over 35,000 apps in its catalog

We already saw how the Windows Phone 8 Store is doing, time to have a look at the Windows 8 store. According to MetroStore Scanner, the store for Microsoft’s new computer OS has over 35,000 apps, over 22,000 of which are available in the UK.

That’s not bad, considering that the Store had only 10,000 apps at the end of October. The growth is accelerating too – in early November the Windows 8 Store on average saw 362 new apps added to its virtual shelves each day. That number is now 415.
So, even if the number of new apps per day were to stop growing, the Store will have some 50,000 apps by February of next year. Again, this is for the Windows 8 OS and not the mobile Windows Phone 8 OS.
Unfortunately, MetroStore Scanner doesn’t offer a breakdown of x86 vs. ARM apps, but as far as web traffic goes, the Windows 8 RT platform isn’t doing too hot.
Source | Via

PlayStation 2 shipments stopped in Japan after almost 13 years

After selling over 150 million units world wide since it went on sale almost 13 years ago, the old warhorse PlayStation 2, it seems, is now finally making an exit. According to Famitsu, Sony has stopped shipping the console to retailers in Japan.

The PlayStation 2 went on sale in Japan back on March 4, 2000, and was a tremendous success for the company. The popularity of this console ended up killing Sega’s Dreamcast console and even Microsoft’s original Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube didn’t stand much chance against Sony’s juggernaut. Easily the most popular game console in the world, the PS2 also has one of the biggest library of games for any platform out there.
Even after the launch of the PlayStation 3 back in 2006, Sony continued to sell the PS2 worldwide. For the past few years, the PS2 has been serving as a great entry-level console for casual gamers or for kids whose parents don’t want to spend a lot. The massive library means you never really run out of games to play, either.
But it seems the dream run is coming to an end. Although there is no word on whether the stopping of shipments will occur in other markets as well, I wouldn’t really be surprised if it did.
So long, old friend. It was nice knowing you.
Source

Google Glass – The Complete Guide

By Muhammad Ashhar
Project Glass by Google is wearable computing glasses that work just like hands-free computers. Project glass has a camera, display screen and a battery hidden inside the frame. It looks that Project Glass will see a public release in 2014 at the earliest.
Latest news is that developers will be able to get hold of ‘explorer edition’ units at some point in 2013 with a “broad consumer offering” arriving a year later.

Working of Project Glass:

Project Glass is based on cloud computing. It has transmitters to transfer data to cloud using WIFI internet.
Project Glass will probably use a transparent AMOLED display to put information in front of your eyeballs. It is location-aware thanks to a camera and GPS, and you can scroll and click on information by tilting your head, something that is apparently quite easy to master. Project glass will also use voice input and output.

Features:

Communicates directly with the cloud via IP.
Project glass has transmitters which can transmit information (Data) directly to cloud by using internet through WiFi .
You can store any data to cloud, get the stored data any time through cloud. This data can be videos, images, text or anything for that matter.
Web searches:
We can use web searches by using voice as input information and using internet through WiFi. We can see search websites on display screen in front of our eye.
Appointment alerts and creation:
If you save any appointment in it then project glass will remind you by displaying it on screen.
Camera functions:
By using camera we can take photos by just saying “Take a photo of this”.
AMOLED display:
In project glass, active matrix (AM) OLED displays stack cathode, organic, and anode layers on top of another layer – or substrate – that contains circuitry is used.
The pixels are defined by the deposition of the organic material in a continuous, discrete “dot” pattern.
Video chatting:
We can do video chatting through project glass using VoIP, or “Voice over Internet Protocol.” The method transmits voice via electronic networks. Camera and internet is used for video chatting.
Intelligent real-time weather information:
Project glasses will show you weather information on screen by only watching the sky. This function also works using camera and internet technology.
Navigation:
We can find maps and get direction on project glass by using Camera and GPS, Navigation is enabled by tilting the head to scroll. All the directions are displayed on screen in front of eye.
If subway service is suspended, then Google Glass will show a message on screen advising to use any other way.
This function works using GPS and internet technology.
Voice input and output:
This is main feature of project glass. We do not need to type any message. Instead of this we use our voice as an input and to send message.
Android Operating System
Project glass will use Android as an operating system. Android is a primarily a smartphone operating system designed for touch screen mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. It is currently developed by Google in conjunction with the Open Handset Alliance.
WiFi and Bluetooth:
Project glass has WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 technology. Through WIFI we can use internet and through Bluetooth we can connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices.

Advantages:

• A spectacle based computer to reside directly on your eyes rather than in your pouch or pocket.
• A useful technology for all kinds of handicapped/disabled people.
• You don’t need to type to write your message. Your voice is the main input.
• Fast access of maps, documents, videos, chats and much more.

Disadvantages:

• Can be easily broken or damaged. Though Google want this glass to be as modest as achievable, they seem to be extremely breakable. Users will have a tough time taking care of it.
• This glass show the retrieved data in front of users eyes so it will be a tough experience for them since they will focus on that data and will eventually miss the surroundings that may lead to accidents while driving.
• Users already wearing glasses won’t be able to wear this.
• Privacy of people may breach with new glass.
• It requires an internet wifi connection. If you don’t have a wifi you can’t use it

Applications:

• Limitless
• Google Glass will replace mobile phones in coming time. There will be no need to use mobiles to call or SMS.
• Google glass will revolutionize social networking usage. You will be able to share your data with others while doing so many other tasks, on the go.

Windows 8 Vs. Windows 7 – Performance Comparison

By Muhammad Ahmed Javed (Riphah International University)
Microsoft released its latest Windows operating system, Windows 8 on 26th Oct, 2012. With amazing sale price of Rs. 1,310 for the upgrades, Windows 8 soon became immensely popular in every global market.
Today we will do a comparison of windows 8 with previous version, i.e. windows 7.
For that purpose we have done different tests like boot up and shutdown times, file copying, browsing, gaming and some synthetic benchmarks on two identical machines to measure the performance of both the operating systems. We made sure that both windows were configured identically.
Startup Speed
Windows 8 Starts Up faster than Windows 7.
Windows 8 took 18 seconds while windows 7 took 27 seconds. Calculated difference is 8 seconds.
Shutdown Time
A similar improvement is seen when measuring shutdown time. Windows 8 took 8 seconds versus the 12 seconds in windows 7 while shutting down a system.
Calculated difference is 4 seconds.
It merits mentioning here that Hibernate feature is preferred by massed over shut-down, which is extremely fast as compared to shutting down a system. Moreover, with Hibernate – you get this facility of retaining all the work even while switching off your device/laptop.
Wake-up From Sleep
Windows 8 shows a marked improvement here as well, however we believe that 10 seconds were too long for a system to get back to life from sleep.
We then tested Windows 8 using our SSD and the exact same 10 second window was repeated.
Windows 7 took 13 seconds to wake up from sleep.
3D Graphics Performance
3Dmark 11 is used primarily to measure 3D graphics performance, meaning graphics card drivers play a vital role here.
Still the performance was very similar on both operating systems, though the more mature Windows 7 was slightly faster.
You can see the difference in figure.
Multimedia Performance
Multimedia performance is said to be another of the strengths of Windows 8, and as you can see when testing with PCmark 7, it was 9% faster than its predecessor.
Microsoft Excel
Comparing Windows 8 armed with the new Office 2013 suite we found that it was 10% faster when running our Excel test against Windows 7 using Office 2010.
Even when comparing apples to apples, with both operating systems running Excel 2010, Windows 8 is more efficient using the CPU cycles to its benefit on simulation.
Transferring Multiple Large Files Together

Windows 8 features a new Explorer interface for transferring files, which provides more accurate data on transfer speeds and estimated time of the completion.
It also stacks multiple transfer windows together. The UI is awesome, but on the performance side of things there is little difference when transferring multiple large files together or individually.
Windows 8 and Windows 7 deliver similar performance in both situations.
Transferring Multiple Smaller Files Together

When transferring thousands of smaller files we also found that Windows 7 and Windows 8 offer the same performance.
Different Browsers with Windows 7 and Windows 8
As you can see the desktop version of the IE10 browsers on Windows 8 delivered virtually the same performance as IE9 on Windows 7.
Chrome works better in windows 8 as compared with Firefox running on identical windows 8 computer. Also both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome performs faster in windows 8 then windows 7. Internet explorer works very slow in all version of windows.
Gaming Performance
By testing several games on both systems we concluded that both operating systems provide similar performance with a very slight edge to Windows 7′s advantage.
Comparison is given below of two different games.
Just Cause 2
Just Cause 2 runs just a bit faster on windows 7 than Windows 8 for both resolutions 1680×1050 and 1920×1200. The difference isn’t significant, though. Similar to the previous 3DMark test, this relies on graphics drivers more than anything else.
Battlefield 3
Look at gaming performance at Battlefield 3. As you can see both operating systems provide similar performance with a very slight edge to Windows 7′s advantage.
Conclusion
Microsoft seemed to hit full stride with Windows 7, developing a fast and efficient operating system. Thankfully it seems Windows 8 continues to build on that pattern as we found it to be on par with and occasionally faster than 7.
The improvements that have been made to startup and shutdown times are self-evident, and no doubt a major focus on the new OS’ development as this will particularly benefit laptop and tablet users.
At the end we concluded that Windows 8 is faster than windows 7 in some aspects such as startup time, shut down time, wake up from sleep, multimedia performance, web browsers performance, transferring large file and Microsoft excel performance but it is slower in 3D graphic performance and high resolution gaming performance.
Battery life improves enough to be noticeable. Moreover Windows 8 is significantly more secure than windows 7 and it is basically designed to take advantage of touch screens while the windows 7 is only for the desktops.
If we’re running windows 7 on our current PC, then there’s no urgency to upgrade the hardware just to run Windows 8.
A more comprehensive review of this comparison was first published at TechSpot

Specs of two 7″ Jelly Bean tablets by Asus leak, announcement might come at CES

Asus seems to have two low-cost Android tablets in the works, carrying the model codes ME371MG and ME172V. Their specs were dug up by an Italian website and promise two 7″ tablets with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at a low price. The duo should make an appearance at CES.

The lower-end tablet, the Asus ME172V, will have a 7″ screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, built with TN tech rather than IPS (so viewing angles probably won’t be great).
The tablet will reportedly be powered by a VIA WM8950 chipset, which packs a single Cortex-A9 core and Mali-400 GPU plus a gig of RAM. The storage is rumored to be 16GB and there will be a 1.3MP camera.

The Asus ME172V will be available in black and white and it will supposedly be priced around €129-149 in Europe, meaning it will be $129-149 in the US (it’s how electronics’ prices usually work).
The second tablet, the ME371MG, packs a better screen – 7″ IPS LCD of 1280 x 800-pixel resolution (the same screen as the Nexus 7) – and an Intel Atom CPU. The chipset in question is the Z2420 with a single processor core (Saltwell architecture) clocked at 1.2 GHz and 1GB of RAM.
The tablet will also have 16GB of storage. On the connectivity side there’s 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The ME371MG should have a 3MP camera judging by the photo that leaked on Picasa.

The Asus ME371MG should have a price in the €199-250 range (so $199-250 in the US).
Source 1 • Source 2 (in Italian) | Via