Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium Edition hopes to be at your service.

 

      Microsoft releases Office 2013—the first full release of Microsoft's latest-generation productivity suite for consumers. Office 2013 has already made a partial debut on Microsoft's Windows RT tablets, though RT users will get a (slight) refresh with the full availability of the suite. The company gave consumers an open preview of Office last summer, which we reviewed in depth at the time of the suite's announcement.

     So there aren't any real surprises in the final versions of the applications being releasing today, at least as far as how they look and work. Today's release, however, marks the first general availability of Microsoft's new subscription model under the Office 365 brand the company has used for its hosted mail and collaboration services for businesses. While the applications in Office are being offered in a number of ways, Microsoft is trying hard to steer consumer customers to Office 365 Home Premium Edition, a service-based version of the suite that will sell for $100 a year.

    And just as Windows 8's app store started to fill up as the operating system approached release, the same is true of Office's own app store—an in-app accessible collection of Web-powered functionality add-ons for many of the core Office applications based on the same core technologies (JavaScript and HTML5) that power many of Windows 8's interface-formerly-known-as-Metro apps. Now, the trick is getting consumers to buy into the idea of Office as a subscription service and embracing Microsoft's Office "lifestyle," instead of something they buy once and hold onto until their computers end up in the e-waste pile.

 

The pompatus of Office

Microsoft has done a lot to sweeten the pot to attract consumers into the subscription model, enlisting nearly everything but the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. While the lowest-cost perpetual-license version of Office 2013—Office 2013 Home and Student—is priced at just under $140 and includes the four core applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote), Office 365 Home Premium Edition comes with all of those applications plus the Outlook mail and calendar client, Access database, and Publisher desktop publishing tool.
Home Premium also comes with licenses for five installs of the suite—including Office 2011 for Mac installs for those households with mixed operating system allegiances. Home and Student has been trimmed down to allowing just one installation per license. And as part of its subscription, customers will also get 60 minutes a month of Skype calls to phone numbers within the US (as Microsoft continues to position Skype as the consumer version of its Lync enterprise voice, video, and messaging service). And it comes with an additional 20 gigabytes of SkyDrive cloud storage.
We've reviewed most of these applications in depth, but it's worth reviewing the major changes to them one more time in case you missed Microsoft's Office 2013 marketing machine. The biggest change across the board is that the interfaces for all of the Office apps have been thematically updated in an attempt to make them less cluttered and more amenable to tablet users. There's also a new add-on "app" interface for Office that plugs into most (but not all) of the applications in Home Premium.
The most heavily updated of the applications in terms of functionality is Word 2013. Its collaboration capabilities have been updated. While Office 2010 provided some SkyDrive-based document sharing, Word 2013 adds a co-editing capability that allows multiple people to work on a SkyDrive (or SharePoint) shared doc. It's not Google Docs in terms of live joint editing, but it's a step forward. Another gift to collaborators is a new simplified markup process for tracking changes and comments that allow collaborators to leave threaded discussions on the content.

 

 

 

 

Top 10 Places You Don’t Want To Visit

 

 10

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Pacific Ocean

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N. Most current estimates state that it is larger than the U.S. state of Texas, with some estimates claiming that it is larger than the continental United States, however the exact size is not known for sure. The Patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. The patch is not easily visible because it consists of very small pieces, almost invisible to the naked eye, most of its contents are suspended beneath the surface of the ocean. This is not a place the average Joe would want to visit.

9

Izu Islands

Japan

The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honsh?, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu ?shima, usually called simply ?shima. Because of their volcanic nature, the islands are constantly filled with the stench of sulfur (extremely similar to the smell of thousands of farts). Residents were evacuated from the islands in 1953 and 2000 due to volcanic activity and dangerously high levels of gas. The people returned in 2005 but are now required to carry gas masks with them at all times in case gas levels rise unexpectedly.

8

The Door to Hell

Turkmenistan

Address: Derweze, Turkmenistan
This has featured on listverse before, but it would be remiss of us to exclude it from this list. While drilling in Derweze in Turkmenistan in 1971, geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of about 50-100 meters. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, scientists decided to set fire to the hole. Geologists had hoped the fire would go out in a few days but it has been burning ever since. Locals have named the cavern The Door to Hell. As you can see from the picture above, it is one hell of an amazing place, but certainly one you wouldn’t want to visit.

7

Alnwick Poison Gardens

England

Address: Denwick Lane, Alnwick, NE66 1YU, England
Inspired by the Botanical Gardens in Padua, Italy (the first botanical garden which was created to grow medicinal and poisonous plants in the 1500s), the Alnwick Poison Garden is a garden devoted entirely to plants that can kill. It features many plants grown unwittingly in back gardens, and those that grow in the British countryside, as well as many more unusual varieties. Flame-shaped beds contain belladonna, tobacco and mandrake. The Alnwick Garden has a Home Office license to grow some very special plants; namely, cannabis and coca which are found behind bars in giant cages – for obvious reasons.

6

Asbestos Mine

Canada

Address: Thetford-Mines, Quebec, Canada
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals highly prized for their resistance to fire and sound absorption abilities. On the downside, exposure to this stuff causes cancer and a variety of other diseases. It is so dangerous that the European Union has banned all mining and use of asbestos in Europe. But, for those curious enough to want to get close to the stuff, all is not lost. In Canada at the Thetford Mines, you can visit an enormous open pit asbestos mine which is still fully operational. The workers in the mines aren’t required to wear any sort of respiratory protection, and in some sections of the nearby town, residential areas are butted right next up against piles of asbestos waste. The mine offers bus tours of the deadly environment during the summer months. Tickets are free (would you expect it to be any other way?). If you decide to visit, don’t forget your full body bio-hazard suit

 5

Ramree Island

Burma

Ramree Island in Burma is a huge swamp home to 1000s of salt water enormous salt water crocodiles, the deadliest in the world. It is also home to malaria carrying mosquitos, and venomous scorpions. During the Second World War, the island was the site of a six week battle in the Burma campaign. Here is a description of one of those horrifying nights: “That night [of the 19 February 1945] was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. [motor launch] crews ever experienced. The scattered rifle shots in the pitch black swamp punctured by the screams of wounded men crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the blurred worrying sound of spinning crocodiles made a cacophony of hell that has rarely been duplicated on earth. At dawn the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left…Of about 1,000 Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about 20 were found alive.”

4

Yungas Road

Bolivia

The North Yungas Road (Road of Death or Death Road) is a 61 kilometres (38 mi) or 69 kilometres (43 mi) road leading from La Paz to Coroico, 56 kilometres (35 mi) northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger with estimates stating that 200 to 300 travelers are killed yearly along it. The road includes crosses marking many of the spots where vehicles have fallen. The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. It is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rainforest region of northern Bolivia, or Yungas, to its capital city. Because of the extreme dropoffs of at least 600 metres (2,000 ft), single-lane width – most of the road no wider than 3.2 metres (10 ft) and lack of guard rails, the road is extremely dangerous. Further still, rain, fog and dust can make visibility precarious. In many places the road surface is muddy, and can loosen rocks from the road.

3

Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

In the Spring of 2001, volcanic activity under the Caspian Sea off the Azeri coast created a whole new island. In October 2001 there was an impressive volcanic eruption in Azerbaijan at Lokbatan, but there were no casualties or evacuation warnings. But Azerbaijan does not have a single active volcano, at least not in the usual sense of the word. What Azerbaijan does have is mud volcanoes – hundreds of them. Mud volcanoes are the little-known relatives of the more common magmatic variety. They do erupt occasionally with spectacular results, but are generally not considered to be dangerous – unless you happen to be there at the wrong time: every twenty years or so, a mud volcano explodes with great force, shooting flames hundreds of meters into the sky, and depositing tonnes of mud on the surrounding area. In one eruption, the flames could easily be seen from 15 kilometers away on the day of the explosion, and were still burning, although at a lower level, three days later.

2

The Zone of Alienation

Eastern Europe

The Zone of Alienation is the 30 km/19 mi exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster and is administrated by a special administration under the Ukrainian Ministry of Extraordinary Situations (Emergencies). Thousands of residents refused to be evacuated from the zone or illegally returned there later. Over the decades this primarily elderly population has dwindled, falling below 400 in 2009. Approximately half of these resettlers live in the town of Chernobyl; others are spread in villages across the zone. After recurrent attempts at expulsion, the authorities became reconciled to their presence and even allowed limited supporting services for them. Because of looting, there is a strong police presence – so be warned, if you visit, you may either be shot or get radiation poisoning – and we all know how awful that can be.

1

Ilha de Queimada Grande

Brazil

Off the shore of Brazil, almost due south of the heart of São Paulo, is a Ilha de Queimada Grande (Snake Island). The island is untouched by human developers, and for very good reason. Researchers estimate that on the island live between one and five snakes per square meter. That figure might not be so terrible if the snakes were, say, 2 inches long and nonvenomous. The snakes on Queimada Grande, however, are a unique species of pit viper, the golden lancehead. The lancehead genus of snakes is responsible for 90% of Brazilian snakebite-related fatalities. The golden lanceheads that occupy Snake Island grow to well over half a meter long, and they possess a powerful fast-acting poison that melts the flesh around their bites. This place is so dangerous that a permit is required to visit.

 Wifi Charger

 

Do you often stay out of power in the most compromised situations?
Tired of constantly be aware of the battery in your smartphone?
Forget all the problems of the battery, WIFI Charger™ has arrived.
Nowadays we are surrounded by WiFi networks.
WiFi networks operate by emitting electromagnetic waves.
Each WIFI access point can cover about 200 meters away.
To ensure network coverage WIFI access points emit more power than necessary. The most widespread WiFi networks (the 802.11 and its variants) emit in a range between -70 and -90 dBm with a power up to 10pW.
WIFI Charger™ uses the WIFI networks excess power and uses it to charge your smartphone.
WIFI Charger™ does not compromise the operation of WiFi networks at any time, only uses the spare power of the access points

With WIFI Charger you can replace your microwave for cooking, charge your electric car, charge your flux capacitor, time travel, win all poker games, jackpot and football and convert you in the most popular of YouTube.

Enjoy this Fake App and jokes to impress your friends ;-P

v1.2 New! Now if you connect the phone to the AC charger or with a cable to the computer,WIFI Charger™ multiplies the charging power increases much faster charging the phone faster!

v1.3 More improvements in the flux capacitor to charge your DeLorean DMC-12. With this version you can now replace the microwave to cook, travel back in time and you can even travel to Mars before NASA.

Next Version Of Windows To Be Called ‘Blue’ Instead Of Windows 9, Releasing Next Year?

After Windows 7 and Windows 8 would come, naturally, Windows 9, but Mary Jo Foley – renowned as a very well-connected individual, thinks there may be something else in the pipeline. Sure, we should gearing ourselves up to dive in head-first with Windows 8, but there’s nothing wrong with speculating on what’s coming next, now is there?

 Foley suspects the next edition to be operating under the codename Windows ‘Blue,’ and although she offers little in the form of genuine detail, there’s enough there to make note of. Citing "a couple of contacts," an update is said to be arriving next year, although it’s not yet known whether Windows Blue is a feature-rich release of just un update filled with the usual array of bug fixes and general performance enhancements.

Even if it is just a service pack, Foley reckons it’ll be out in a year’s time, and although we’re led to believe Windows 8 is the finished article, it might be that the software maker is just getting started, building the OS through the next few years.

Still, having used the Release Preview build of Windows 8, I have to say it works fairly smoothly, but it’s not without its shortcomings. Therefore, if Microsoft does decide to release a series of bug fixed next year with this Windows Blue, it’ll probably also add a couple of nice new features along with it, in order to keep the people happy.

A bit more info on Windows Blue?

 

Even though Windows 8 has only been on the market for a short time we already know Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of the OS. The project is codenamed “Windows Blue” and is expected to launch next summer bringing improvements and new features to Windows 8 as well as debuting a new yearly update cycle for Microsoft’s OS.

There now seems to be a bit more info on the next version of Windows due to someone that posted on a Taiwanese forum. Members of that forum have identified the user as a Microsoft official so there might be some truth to what he’s saying but of course you should take this with a grain of salt.

He is supposedly running an alpha version of the next Windows with the version number 9622. Surprisingly he calls this Windows 9 though judging from that version number ( currently Windows 8 is at 9200 ) we think he’s actually talking about Windows Blue, which is supposed to retain the Windows 8 branding once it hits markets.

According to him this next version of Windows will keep the Metro visuals and Start Screen, so no surprises there. However, we are expecting some changes, with users being able to customize their Start Screen more easily with more resizable tiles a la Windows Phone 8.

Another tidbit of info on the UI front is that the Desktop will still be present but it will undergo even more flattening, so perhaps the taskbar will finally stop being translucent and the whole thing will be a bit more cohesive.

Lastly he mentions there will be an update to the kernel which will reach version 6.3. Windows Blue is supposed to bring a few deep changes to the OS and upgrading the kernel does indeed fit the bill.

As we mentioned before we can’t be sure of the accuracy of this info though it is certainly plausible. If we are right though, then this means we only have about 6 months to wait until launch so there are bound to be many leaks, and a lot more info by then.

Windows Blue: A boon or bane for developers?

 Since Microsoft maintains tight control over its core ecosystem, moving to more frequent OS updates shouldn't cause the same fragmentation woes that plague the overall Android experience. In fact, reports (however murky) say that Windows Blue will introduce an SDK that either merges or standardizes software development for Windows desktop and Windows Phone 8. All current-gen Windows devices already share a common kernel core to streamline cross-platform development. Theoretically, the Windows Blue SDK will bind Windows Phones, tablet and PCs even more tightly together, and the rumors say modern-style Windows 8 apps will continue to work just fine on Windows Blue.

"I think it is crucially important that Microsoft aligns the SDKs and platforms for Windows Phone and Windows," Miller says. "I think the dissonance between the Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, and Windows RT platforms aren’t helping developers to make great apps. Unification, or at least closer alignment, could really help build a stronger application story and make it easier for developers." Enderle echoes the sentiment. 

 In theory, introducing a standardized SDK should make it easier to create a Modern-style app that translates easily across the various hardware form factors Windows supports. That could potentially be a major boon for Microsoft, which has had trouble swaying developers to the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store. Both app marketplaces offer far, far, far fewer apps than iOS or Android. 

 "I don’t think developers are ever fans of big shifts in their platform—but so much of it depends on how much the APIs underneath forcibly change, and how much the tools help them navigate or migrate through those changes," Miller continues.

 "If Microsoft keeps the SDK stocked with similar languages, it shouldn't cause too much ire," Moorhead says. However, he cautions that the possible specter of yet another new SDK looming so shortly after the release of the Windows 8 SDK could convince hesitant developers to sit on the sidelines until more details emerge—especially since Microsoft will allegedly stop accepting apps programmed for Windows 8 alone when it releases Windows Blue's SDK. 

 

 Sacre blue!

  Windows Blue may or may not be real, but the ideas behind the alleged upgrade hold some real potential for Microsoft's future—if the company plays its cards right. The folks in Redmond need to prove they have the institutional flexibility to implement worthwhile yearly changes, and more importantly, Microsoft absolutely, positively, utterly, indubitably must implement any new SDK changes in such a way that doesn't alienate developers.
If Microsoft can manage that, and if the Windows Blue rumors prove true, a ubiquitous cross-platform SDK combined with yearly OS releases could just be the shot in the arm Microsoft needs to finally gain a foothold in the vaunted mobile market.
If the rumors are true, however, it's also another sign that Microsoft won't be turning away from the divisive modern UI, no matter how much desktop enthusiasts bemoan the finger-focused interface. Deepened ties between Windows 8 and Windows Phone no doubt rely on Live Tiles being universal.