Thurrott Daily: November 20

Thurrott Daily: November 20
Manchester, England.

Here’s what else is happening today.

11/20/2015 10:05:04 AM

Good morning. We’re still in Manchester as I write this, but we’re heading to London on the train soon.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Microsoft: Lumia 950/950 XL for the fans, will not drive growth

Nothing new here per se, though I still see plenty of people wrongheadedly holding out hope that Microsoft could do anything to reverse its smart phone market share dive. Folks, again, that’s not what the Lumia 950/950 XL, Windows 10 Mobile, and Continuum are all about. I’ve written about that a lot. But sometimes it helps to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. So here’s what Redmond Mag reports about Microsoft CFO Amy Hood’s comments on this topic yesterday during an appearance at the UBS Global Technology Broker Conference on Tuesday

“We launched a [Lumia] 950 and a 950 XL,” Hood said, referring to Microsoft’s new Windows 10 Mobile flagships that cost $550 and $650, respectively. “They’re premium products, at the premium end of the market, made for Windows fans. And we’ll have a business phone, as well. It’s a focused approach. I think we’re not focused on what that growth will look like and should look like. We’re focused on doing it in a smart way. And we’re focused on the people who love our products and our experience.”

So let’s appreciate all this stuff for what it is. Ultimately, the 950/950 XL in particular are a gift, for us, the fans. And instead of hand-wringing, let’s just be grateful for that, accept the reality of the situation, and move on.

Many Windows 10 games are just 10 cents today

Courtesy of Cheap Ass Gamer:

There is currently a huge sale on Windows 10 games with $0.10 games on the Windows Store.

The New York Times confirms what I’ve been saying about HoloLens since April

For reasons I’ll never fully understand, I’ve received a lot of criticism for my honest portrayal of Microsoft’s hype-tastic HoloLens after my second hands-on demon in April. But I experienced what I experienced, and it’s been gratifying to see others finally own up to what’s really going on here. And in the latest example, The New York Times reports exactly what I wrote about over six months ago:

The demonstration suggested that augmented reality has a way to go before it’s ready for the masses.

HoloLens has a narrow field of view: the portion of one’s vision on which it can project digital images. Imagine a small rectangle suspended several feet in front of your eyes, a shape that travels wherever you turn your head. That is the HoloLens’s canvas. HoloLens doesn’t project anything into a subject’s peripheral vision or above or below that rectangle.

This article also touches on my wider criticism that Microsoft’s public demonstrations of HoloLens willfully misrepresent how this product works.

Many journalists have been disappointed by the limits of the HoloLens field of view, as the company has demonstrated the technology to an increasing number of people.

The disappointment stems in part from Microsoft’s use, in demonstrating HoloLens to large audiences, of camera technology that shows digital imagery that seems to surround the person wearing the headset. Many have criticized the demonstrations, which were projected on conventional screens, as misleading.

Here’s what disappoints journalists: Lying. And the HoloLens demos are a lie. Don’t get me wrong, the technology is still amazing. It’s just not accurately portrayed to the public.

Skype 6.11 for Android

Microsoft has announced Skype 6.11 for Android, which adds conversation management, video message saves, enhanced search, and more ways to share.

Share photos from your photo gallery directly to a Skype group conversation. Additionally, in group chats, you can tap on images and files to forward them to another contact or group.

PlayStation 2 emulation comes to PlayStation 4

Sony has confirmed that PlayStation 2 game compatibility has arrived for PS4, and from a curious place:

“We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation,” a Sony representative told WIRED via email. “We have nothing further to comment at this point in time.”

It seems as if the first PS2 games using this emulation software to run on PS4 are already out: a bundle available now at retail that includes a PS4 console and the Star Wars: Battlefront game also includes a selection of bonus classic games: Super Star Wars, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.

 

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation

There are no conversations

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC