Zoom became a household name shortly after the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, as folks flocked to the easy-to-use software for hosting group video calls. The company’s freemium model doesn’t hurt: calls up to 40 minutes are free, while you have to pay for a subscription for longer group video calls. Up until this […]
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3 Comments on Microsoft is spending $19.7 billion to acquire Nuance, an AI & speech recognition company
Microsoft is spending $19.7 billion to acquire Nuance, an AI & speech recognition company
3 Comments on Microsoft is spending $19.7 billion to acquire Nuance, an AI & speech recognition companyNuance, the company that makes the speech recognition software that powers Apple’s Siri voice assistant and the Dragon line of text-to-speech tools, is about to become a Microsoft subsidiary. Microsoft has agreed to pay $19.7 billion to acquire Nuance in a deal expected to be finalized later in 2021. Does this mean Microsoft is investing […]
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Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser coming Jan 15th (release candidate available now)
13 Comments on Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser coming Jan 15th (release candidate available now)Microsoft has announced that the new version of its Edge web browser will be available on or around January 15th. But folks who want to try it out a little early can download the latest beta… which is also a release candidate. The key difference between the new Edge browser and the version that’s been included […]
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Microsoft introduces Surface Go Kids Bundles for $441 and up
Microsoft’s Surface Go is a 10 inch Windows tablet with a starting price of $399. It’s not as powerful as other tablets in the Surface lineup, but the low price makes it a more palatable device to use as a PC companion (rather than as your primary computer). It could also be a good option […]
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Microsoft and Intel’s Project Evo brings Amazon Echo-like features, mixed reality, and more to Windows
Comments Off on Microsoft and Intel’s Project Evo brings Amazon Echo-like features, mixed reality, and more to WindowsMicrosoft’s answer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home may not be a standalone device. Instead, the company is bringing Echo-like voice recognition features to PCs through a partnership with Intel called Project Evo. That seems to confirm a recent report that Microsoft was working on Windows 10 software called Home Hub which would let […]
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Got a Skype phone number? You rates might be going up (updated)
Skype offers customers an optional Skype Number which links your account to a phone number. When people call that number, your Skype app will ring. And there’s an optional feature that allows your Skype number to show in caller ID when you’re calling a phone number from Skype. Now it looks like a price hike […]
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Lilbits 305: Boxee is dead(er)
Boxee used to make software that let you use your PC as a media center. Then the company started making its own TV box and stopped developing PC software. Eventually Boxee was acquired by Samsung, and pretty much never heard from again… until now. Sort of. It turns out the former Boxee team had been working on […]
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Lilbits 298: When hard drives go bad
Hard drives fail from time to time… and while it’s sometimes possible to recover some or all of your data, there are times when everything effectively disappears. That’s why it’s a good idea to back up all of your data on a regular basis. You can do that with a spare hard drive connected to […]
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Report: Windows 8.1 with Bing could be a free or cheap upgrade for Windows 7
Microsoft is reportedly looking at a new way to get people to upgrade to its latest operating system: offer it for free or close to free. According to The Verge, Microsoft is toying with the idea of releasing “Windows 8.1 with Bing,” a version of the company’s flagship operating system that’s tightly bundled with Bing […]
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Lilbits (12-11-2013): Setting Windows Phone, RT free (for device makers)
It’s hard to compete with free. Google currently dominates the smartphone space by giving away its Android operating system for free to anyone that wants to install it. If Google makes money from Android, it’s largely due to revenue from apps sold in the Play Store and the increased use of Google services by Android […]