Business

After months of hype, Microsoft has finally released a subscription edition of Office 365. The new package represents a huge change from the past, when consumers simply bought a physical copy of the Office software and installed it on their machine ... using a disc. Instead, buying Office 365 means signing up to pay an annual subscription fee. Currently, it costs $99 for the Office 365 Home Premium edition. Subscribers will automatically receive any software updates released during this time (and this could include significant new features in addition to bug and security fixes). Access Your ... (view more)

Google's YouTube video website is reportedly preparing to unveil a subscription-based service that will offer subscribers special access to some of its content. According to reports, the cost of such subscriptions will range from $1 to $5 per month. ... What will users get for those subscriptions? Reuters indicates that YouTube will offer paying subscribers access to special channels. The site is reportedly in talks with several video producers to provide content for these new channels. (Source: reuters.com ) Is YouTube the Next Netflix? This is all part of an ongoing campaign by Google to ... (view more)

According to a new report, Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet, which costs almost $900 and is due for release on February 9, 2013, suffers from some serious disk space problems. Specifically, the software that ships with the device leaves precious ... little room for a user's own software. In a new report, CNET says that, out of the box, the $899 64GB edition of the Surface Pro provides users with only 23GB of available storage space. CNET says it learned that information from Microsoft itself. Microsoft also admits that the $999 128GB version of the Surface Pro suffers from this issue. When first ... (view more)

Google has, for the first time ever, detailed exactly what it does when a government agency or court demands to see a user's personal data. That data includes the terms someone has used for an online search and the content of Gmail messages. Google ... says that it's reporting on this issue in an attempt to show that it aims to protect privacy wherever possible. The search giant has for several years produced statistics about how many requests for personal data it gets in each country and what percentage of those requests it complies with. This publication is an attempt to draw attention to the ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed it plans to expand its range of Surface tablet computers. The Redmond, Washington-based firm says that building multiple Surface devices will increase the number of consumers who can afford to purchase the product. The ... revelations came during an investors conference call to discuss Microsoft's latest financial figures. The company's chief financial officer, Peter Klein, said the Surface range of tablet PCs had been one of the three main reasons -- alongside Windows upgrades and licensing to businesses -- that Microsoft's revenue has increased. According to Klein, when ... (view more)

Lenovo, the world's second-largest PC manufacturer, is reportedly considering the acquisition of troubled smartphone company Research in Motion (RIM). Reports suggest that the PC maker could use RIM, which produces the popular BlackBerry device, to ... expand its burgeoning smartphone business. Bloomberg notes that Lenovo is currently "assessing potential acquisition targets" and that those targets may include Waterloo, Canada-based RIM. The latter has been in financial trouble for some time, though its stock has rebounded in recent weeks as the firm prepares to launch its highly-anticipated ... (view more)

Several prominent privacy groups say they're now concerned about the amount of user information that Skype, purchased by Microsoft in October 2011 for $8.5 billion, is collecting and sharing with other parties. In a recent open letter to Microsoft ... officials, a large number of privacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Reporters Without Borders, and GreatFire.org, have pressed Microsoft to publicly discuss exactly how much Skype user information it currently shares with third parties. The letter makes clear that those third parties to which Microsoft is handing private ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced its Surface Pro tablet computer will be available for purchase in the United States and Canada starting Saturday, February 9, 2013. The Surface Pro is an enhanced version of the standard Surface tablet PC that Microsoft ... released late in 2012. The original Surface, called the Surface RT , runs Windows RT, a trimmed-down version of Windows 8. Priced at $499 (and up), the Surface RT's hardware specifications include 16GB or 32GB of main storage, 2GB of RAM, and an ARM-architecture processor. Surface Pro: Core i5 CPU, Windows 8 Pro The Surface Pro, by contrast, includes ... (view more)

If you have trouble devising and then remembering complex, secure passwords for your many online and offline accounts and services, Google may soon provide you with an attractive solution. The search giant is reportedly investigating physical ... password devices, including objects like USB cards and smartphones. In a recent research paper submitted to the IEEE Security ... (view more)

Upgrading from an older Microsoft operating system (OS), like Windows 7, to Windows 8 is about to get a whole lot more expensive. The changes are set to take effect on February 1, 2013. Right now, it costs just $39.99 to upgrade from Windows 7, ... Windows Vista, or Windows XP to Microsoft's newest OS, Windows 8. People who tried beta versions of Windows 8 can also upgrade from that test edition to the commercial release of the new OS for the same price. This promotional price was first announced last July, several months prior to Windows 8's October 2013 launch. (Source: zdnet.com ) Upgrading ... (view more)