Swimming in a sea of low-end Lumias—witness the just-announced 540 DS as the latest in a long string of me-too handsets—it’s easy to forget that there are other Windows Phone device makers out there. And one in particular, BLU, is forging ahead with new handsets that are visually distinct and, better still, offer more compelling…

Just a few years ago, there was a sharp divide between fans of Microsoft and fans of the iPhone. But in this “mobile first, cloud first” world, it’s now possible to combine Apple’s iPhone hardware with Microsoft’s best-in-breed productivity apps and not feel terrible about yourself. Things really have changed, and for the better. And…

While the ability to run Windows desktop applications is a huge win for Surface 3, it doesn’t help at all with the mobile app gap. But what if you could run Android apps on Surface 3? That might put Surface 3 over the top. As you may know, there are various options for running Android…

A recent report says that Microsoft’s Xbox One is an energy pig, drawing more than twice the power of the PlayStation 4 while in standby mode. But Microsoft says that it will continue to improve Xbox One power consumption. And it already offers an option that will partially address this concern, though enabling it will…

It’s not news that Surface 3 can run desktop applications, unlike its Windows RT-based predecessors. But the tablet’s Atom processor raises some obvious and understandable questions. Sure, Surface 3 will run desktop applications. But how well will it run desktop applications? While it’s hard to point to one thing that puts Surface 3 over the…

With the move to an Intel-based architecture, Surface 3 is a far more versatile device than its ARM-based predecessors, a change that comes with no sacrifice to battery life or mobility. And among the many improvements we see in this release is the ability to transform Surface 3 into a full-featured desktop PC using Microsoft’s…

While I use and recommend Office 365 and the full desktop versions of Office it provides, these powerful paid solutions aren’t for everyone. So this month, I’ve been looking anew at the free alternatives to Office 365 and Office. As many of you know, there are a lot of options. And they just keep getting better.…

There are Ultrabooks … and then there are Ultrabooks. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon lands in a hallowed category within which there are few other entries. It is astonishingly light and durable, with a stunning 14-inch screen, and, in the variant I am reviewing, it features a new PCIe-based SSD that should speed performance even higher.…

If you can’t make it to Build 2015 in San Francisco at the end of the month, no worries: Microsoft is taking the show on the road. You can now sign up for the free Build Tour, which will visit locations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Africa throughout 2015. Microsoft’s developer-focused…

Since I literally just ripped my collection of Star Wars Blu-Ray discs to 1080p video files—you’re welcome, world—Disney has finally announced a long-overdue milestone: All six Star Wars movies are heading to digital video stores on Friday, backed by tons of bonus content. And yes, that includes Xbox Video. (Music and video releases used to…

Apple lets you remotely control Keynote presentations using the Keynote mobile app. Will Microsoft offer a similar solution for PowerPoint in Windows 10 Mobile, or on iOS (iPhone/iPad)? Doug B. asks Both PowerPoint and Keynote have their strengths. However, the ability to natively remotely control Keynote with iPad and iPhone in the Keynote app is…

Thanks to a recent software update, Amazon’s inexpensive Fire TV Stick—an HDMI dongle that works as a sort of mini digital media set-top box—has improved its support for Miracast wireless display. This means that in addition to its normal functionality, you should be able to use Fire TV Stick to mirror the display on your…

In the latest episode of What the Tech, Andrew Zarian and I discuss Microsoft's new Surface 3 tablet and what the Surface team might be plotting for Windows 10.

I’m no fan of April Fools, but this one is pretty good: Microsoft today released MS-DOS Mobile, a new Windows Phone app “built from the ground up” to bring back the C:\ prompt. Sadly, my DOS skills long ago atrophied, but this app actually includes a fully-working copy of Microsoft’s pre-Windows OS. “The MS-DOS Mobile…

The big news—actually, the only real news—in Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 build 10049 is the long-awaited inclusion of “Project Spartan,” Microsoft’s new web browser. Having finally installed the new build in a marathon session that involved both physical and virtual machines, I spent part of last night tooling around in Spartan to see what…

Today, Microsoft is announcing Surface 3, the successor to its Windows RT-based Surface 2. Yes, Surface 3 fills a gap in its hardware lineup, but it’s not quite the device you’ve been led to expect. Forget the rumors, folks: Surface 3 is nothing less than a lower-cost Surface Pro 3. And that’s a good thing,…