blue

More rumors about Microsoft's next Windows release, codenamed Blue, are trickling out from Win8China.com, a site known for leaking information about new Windows releases.

Though I cannot corroborate all Win8China's specifics, I'd say based on previous Windows Blue tidbits I've heard, the site's latest Blue information seems largely believable.

In August 2012, I blogged about Microsoft's Windows Blue work, noting that a summer 2013 debut was the internal Microsoft delivery target. Win8China claimed today that the release-to-manufacturing phase for Windows Blue is supposedly June 7, with retail availability planned for August 2013.

Looking … Read more

The Windows team at Microsoft just completed the first milestone build (M1) of Windows Blue, the first full-fledged update to Windows 8, according to a couple of sources of mine.

One of my contacts said that M1 marks the halfway point in the Windows Blue development schedule. The last and final milestone build of Windows Blue will be M2, said this contact, who requested anonymity.

It's hard to know what will come next, given Windows Blue is the first Windows release to be on an accelerated schedule. Will Microsoft deliver a developer preview of Blue? A consumer preview? Or … Read more

Hunting around the Windows store for your favorite apps can sometimes be a sad and demoralizing experience, particularly if you just dropped about a grand for that slick new Surface Pro from Microsoft.

Enter the startup BlueStacks on its multicolored digital steed prepared to liberate the Surface with its Android app player, shouting "Freedom!" at the top of its lungs a la Mel Gibson in "Braveheart."

Actually, you can just download a version of the BlueStacks App Player optimized for the Surface Pro that was just released today, but I do recommend at least donning a bit of blue war paint before clicking to make for a more memorable experience.… Read more

As we've known for a few months, the Windows client team at Microsoft is working on its first "feature pack" update for Windows 8, supposedly due this summer/fall, which is code-named Blue.

But it turns out Blue isn't a Windows thing only, according to one very accurate tipster of mine who doesn't want to be identified.

Blue also is the way Microsoft is referring to the next substantial platform update for Windows Phone, the Windows Services (like SkyDrive, Hotmail, etc.), and Windows Server, according to my source. In other words, Blue is a wave … Read more

Twitter has reportedly acquired BlueFin Labs, which generates social TV analytics, in a deal which is said to be the social-networking giant's biggest-ever.

According to Business Insider, Twitter has closed a deal to buy BlueFin, a company that specializes in helping media companies understand how people use social media in conjunction with their TV watching.

As Business Insider wrote, "Twitter's move into social TV makes a lot of sense. It hired a Head of TV last fall and there's a strong correlation between people watching shows and tweeting about them. Just look at last night's … Read more

The world isn't black and white anymore for the super slim PS3.

Sony's Japanese PlayStation division released information today about several new color options -- Azurite Blue and Garnet Red -- coming soon to the CECH-4000 series PlayStation 3. The reveal follows a German Amazon listing for the same variations that appeared last week.… Read more

The first American manned spacecraft to reach orbit in the wake of the shuttle's retirement will be crewed by company test pilots -- not NASA astronauts -- in part to give space agency managers better insight into flight readiness and safety, officials said Wednesday.

Assuming NASA gets the funding that managers say they need -- a big "if" in today's political environment -- Space Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, hopes to launch a manned version of its Dragon cargo ship in the mid 2015 time frame, followed by a crewed flight to the International Space Station later … Read more

Get this: Soon you'll be able to play all of your Android device's games on your PC or television using the phone as your controller.

The experience will be brought to you to by BlueStacks, makers of an Android app player for porting mobile apps to PCs. During a CES session on disruptive technologies impacting the future of games and videos, BlueStacks slightly lifted the veil on its living room-altering gaming technology.

With the pending product, demonstrated during the session, people will be able to pair an Android smartphone with a PC, Mac, or TV to play their … Read more

LAS VEGAS--PC and phone maker Lenovo announced a deal today with BlueStacks, the Android app player that lets Android apps run on Windows and Mac.

Lenovo joins a growing list of hardware manufacturers looking to the Silicon Valley startup to solve the problem of getting popular Android apps onto desktops and laptops. Although anybody can download BlueStacks, Lenovo will be shipping it on its consumer-focused Idea line starting in April.

BlueStacks' appeal may be partially one of perception, where mobile apps get a lot of consumer attention because of their connection to smartphone operating systems. But it's having a … Read more