The new 12-inch MacBook is still weeks away, but you can get the Force Touch trackpad right now in this updated 13-inch MacBook Pro.
One of the most talked-about new features in the upcoming 12-inch Apple MacBook is its new touchpad. Apple calls its versions trackpads, and this new type is the Force Touch trackpad, a new approach to the traditional hinged click-down design found on most laptops.
But you don't have to wait until April 10 to try it. The new trackpad has already made its way into one currently available MacBook, the just-updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, which also features a new fifth-generation Intel Core i-series processor and faster internal flash memory.
The moving trackpad on an older MacBook Pro.Sarah Tew/CNET
We've just received one of the new 13-inch Pro models, and have spent the morning playing with the Force Touch trackpad, test-driving it with several users of traditional Mac pads.
The Force Touch trackpad eliminates the top hinge that previously required you to physically depress the glass top of the pad, usually from somewhere on the lower half to register properly. Instead, the new pad places four sensors under the pad, one under each corner. This replaces a design some describe as a "diving board" with one that's a simple, flat surface.
The pad on the new MacBook doesn't click down.Sarah Tew/CNET
The four sensors allow you to click anywhere on the pad's surface with identical results, and the Force Click effect, which combines the sensors with haptic (or taptic) feedback, allow you to have two levels of perceived clicking within an app or task. That deep click feels to the finger and brain like the trackpad has a stepped physical mechanism, but in fact, the movement you feel is a small tactile haptic tap, which, even when fully explained, still feels like you're depressing the trackpad two levels.
Apple describes it like this: "With the Force Touch trackpad, force sensors detect your click anywhere on the surface and move the trackpad laterally toward you, although the feel is the same familiar downward motion you're accustomed to in a trackpad."
We've already gone over what the new trackpad can do, and most of the time, it'll be used to bring up context-sensitive content when you use the firmer, double-level click on files or individual words and terms. We gave the updated MacBook Pro to several people around the CNET offices, as seen in the accompanying video, and each professed to being fooled by the tactile illusion that they were clicking down on a physical touchpad.
Contextual information from a deep click.Sarah Tew/CNET
While the Force Touch trackpad doesn't click down, I did notice the glass bending a tiny bit under my fingers then pressing on it. iFixit has a detailed teardown that explains why this may be because of the thicker body in the MacBook Pro, and why the upcoming 12-inch MacBook may not have even this tiny level of give.
Microsoft's Cortana will find its way to iOS and Android, report says
The virtual personal assistant would be a standalone app, available in the Google Play marketplace and Apple App Store, and work just as it does on Windows Phone.
Microsoft's Cortana could be making her way to Android and iOS.James Martin/CNET
Apple personal virtual assistant, Siri, might soon be competing for your time with Cortana, its counterpart from Microsoft.
Cortana will be coming to iOS and Android at some point after Windows 10 rolls out with an updated version of Microsoft's virtual assistant software, Reuters reported Friday, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the software giant's plans. It would be a standalone app, available in the Google Play marketplace and Apple App Store, and work just as it already does on Windows Phone, according to the report.
Microsoft also is working toward a more advanced version of Cortana, drawing from a research project called Einstein. "This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next rollout of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame," Eric Horvitz, Microsoft Research managing director, told Reuters in an interview.
The company has already incorporated Cortana into its Windows 10 operating system, which will be coming to PCs in the latter part of this year.
The move to make Cortana a standalone app available to users of devices running Apple's iOS software and those running Google's Android would come sometime after that, Reuters said.
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.
Cortana is Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri, though it arguably takes the features one step further. While Siri is designed to answer queries, such as finding directions to a destination, or to handle tasks like setting up a reminder or calendar event, Cortana can do that plus provide notifications and updates where applicable. So in the event you have a flight on your calendar, Cortana will alert you when to leave for the airport.
The name Cortana comes from Microsoft-owned game franchise Halo. Cortana is the artificial intelligence presence in Halo that provides players with help and insight as they play through the shoot-em-up.
If Microsoft brings Cortana to other platforms, that would represent an important break in strategy for the current crop of voice-activated virtual assistants. Apple's Siri is exclusive to iOS, and given the company's penchant for controlling its own software, will likely never make its way to another platform. Google has its own personal assistant, Google Now, which is only available on Android.
Last year, when CEO Satya Nadella laid out his vision for Microsoft, he made clear that mobile would play a central role in his strategy. He also indicated that he would not be as beholden to his company's own platforms as Microsoft has been in the past, signaling that supporting other operating systems, like iOS and Android, would not only be possible, but necessary. Nadella's vision is to target and attract users wherever they are, and not necessarily force them to use his company's software on products it controls.
That is evidenced by Microsoft Office applications, which are available on other mobile platforms, including on Apple's iOS. Now with Cortana possibly following that lead, Microsoft can make good on his promise again.
Still, Nadella's strategy to bring his company's applications to users is driven by a desire to get more people to use Microsoft's services. When you ask Cortana to search the Web, for example, it uses Microsoft's Bing search engine. It's unlikely that will change if Cortana comes to iOS and Android.
If Microsoft decides to deliver Cortana to other platforms, one might wonder whether it'll actually be allowed in Apple's App Store. Over the years, Apple has been loath to allow apps that have directly competed with bundled applications, and it took a significant amount of time to allow Google Maps into its App Store to compete with Apple Maps. Since Cortana is a direct competitor to Siri, it's possible Microsoft could run into the same issues. However, Apple has generally relented and has seemingly loosened some of its restrictions on direct competitors, so Cortana may not meet the same resistance as Google Maps.
Intel blames $1B revenue hit on Windows XP's stubborn grip
As small and midsize businesses especially cling to the 13-year-old software, Microsoft and PC makers could suffer as well.
Intel's PC business showed improvement in 2014, but is off to a bumpy start in 2015.James Martin/CNET
Intel has slashed its quarterly revenue outlook by nearly $1 billion, as business customers are proving reluctant to upgrade from Windows XP -- a popular but now 13-year-old operating system.
The company said Thursday it now expects to post $12.8 billion in first-quarter sales, down from its mid-January expectation of $13.7 billion, which was already slightly below Wall Street expectations.
"This happens occasionally and we're transparent about changes to our financial outlook," Intel spokeswoman Cara Walker said Thursday. "What hasn't changed is Intel's strategy and our focus on executing to it."
Intel's shares sank 4 percent to $31 following the outlook cut. Rival PC chipmaker AMD's shares also fell about 4 percent, while Microsoft's shares slipped 2 percent.
Intel, whose chips power most desktops and laptops worldwide, said lighter PC sales stemmed especially from weaker-than-expected demand to upgrade from Windows XP from small and medium-size businesses, as well as broader economic issues, such as a weaker euro. Microsoft last year ended technical support for Windows XP, which has helped push more businesses and consumers to upgrade to newer machines.
So far, ending support for XP has helped cut back interest in the operating system. Windows XP's global share of the desktop and tablet operating-system market fell to 11 percent last month, from 17 percent a year earlier, according to researcher StatCounter. Windows 7 remains the most popular operating system, grabbing nearly 50 percent of the market.
A lack of interest to move on from Windows XP could spell trouble not only for Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, but also Microsoft, as it promotes its newest operating system, Windows 10, which comes out later this year. PC makers, such as Lenovo, Acer and HP, would also suffer from slower refreshes from Windows XP.
For consumers and businesses alike, a lack of interest in leaving that operating system would open them to greater security risks and viruses, Microsoft claims.
On a positive note, Intel said its data center business, which has become a major profit engine, is meeting quarterly expectations. Several other estimates were withdrawn and will be updated with the company's quarterly earnings report on April 14.
Intel wrapped up 2014 on a strong note. Its data center group experiencing substantial growth, and itsPC business rose after previously struggling with consumers' migration to smartphones and tablets. The PC segment has benefited from the amount of upgrading from Windows XP that has been occurring, as well as more customers going back to buying new laptops and desktops after spending on tablet computers in prior years. However, some analysts expressed concerns that the PC market wasn't experiencing a long-term revival, and instead was simply enjoying a short-term bump.
The chipmaker itself doesn't expect 2015 to be as strong as 2014 in PCs. It's already said it expects PC revenue to be down slightly and shipments to be flat. Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer said Thursday in a note to clients that Intel's data center business is likely to remain unchallenged in 2015, but believes PC demand "underwhelms" expectations throughout 2015.
If Intel's PC segment, its biggest revenue driver, were to stutter, it could prove a big challenge for the company. Intel has been taking the profits from its PC and data center businesses to help fund its effort to grow in mobile devices, which so far has resulted in billions of dollars in losses.
Open up the Windows 10 Technical Preview (Build 9926), and you'll probably notice something aboutthe new hybrid Start menu/screen: under Places, there are three links: File Explorer, Documents, and Settings.
Wait a minute -- Settings? Click on Settings, and the new Windows 10 Settings menu pops up. It's clean, with big, touch-friendly icons and simple descriptions, and it looks similar to the PC settings menu in Windows 8. But the PC settings menu in Windows 8 was hidden in the Charms bar (Charms > Settings > Change PC settings), and this new Settings menu is right there on the Start screen.
The new Settings menu looks like a mash-up of Windows 8's PC settings menu (most of the actual PC settings can be found under the System tab) and the more old-school Control Panel. So, it appears that Microsoft is trying to make a user-friendly menu that can help people find and change settings without having to dive into the Control Panel.
But it also appears that perhaps Microsoft is trying to get rid of the Control Panel altogether: While many of the settings in the new Settings menu can also be changed in the Control Panel (if you know where to look), not all of them can. For example, Windows Update is completely gone from the Control Panel -- it now exists only in the Update & recovery section of the new Settings menu. And several of the privacy settings (such as app permissions for webcams and microphones) never existed in the Control Panel to begin with.
Here's a deeper look at each of the sections in the new Settings menu:
As you can see, the new Settings menu is still a work in progress, and the Control Panel is still a major feature in Windows 10. But that may not be the case when the final version of the new operating system drops. Keep checking back -- we'll be updating each of these pieces as Microsoft releases new preview builds.
Everything you need to know about picking up Apple's first smartwatch.
James Martin/CNET
The Apple Watch is now official. Apple CEO Tim Cook filled in the missing details on the company's first smartwatch at press event in San Francisco. So when can you pick one up? Here's everything you need to know about getting your hands on an Apple Watch.
When
The Apple Watch will be available for pre-order beginning on April 10. A few weeks later on April 24 it will be available online and in-store for purchase. The watch will be offered in three models. Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. Each model can be had in two different sizes: a smaller version (38mm) and a larger one (42mm).
Price
The Apple Watch Sport will be available in silver or space gray at $349 for the 38mm size and $399 for the 42mm model. The Apple Watch with a steel case starts at $549 for the 38mm and goes up to $1,049, depending on the band. The 42mm model is available for $50 more at $599. The Apple Watch Edition, which features an 18-karat gold case, starts at $10,000.
In the UK, the Apple Watch Sport will cost £299 for the 38mm size and £339 for 42mm. The Apple Watch will be available starting at £479 (38mm) and £519 (42mm), the Apple Watch Edition starts at £8,000 (38mm) and £12,000 (42mm).
In Australia, prices for the Sport come in at AU$499 (38mm), Watch starts at AU$799 (38mm), and Edition at AU$14,000 (38mm).
Where
The Apple Watch can be preordered from Apple's online store on April 10. It wasn't announced if we will be seeing the watch hit retailers like Best Buy. The Apple Watch will initially be available available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and France.
Wikipedia parent sues to stop NSA's massive surveillance effort
The Wikimedia Foundation argues that the NSA's full-scale seizure of Internet communications is a violation of its First and Fourth Amendment rights.
The NSA is in hot water yet again.Declan McCullagh/CNET
The Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that operates the wildly popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia, says user privacy has been violated and that it's going to court to try to fix it.
Wikimedia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Maryland against the National Security Agency and the US Department of Justice for allegedly violating its constitutional rights on Wikipedia. The organization argues that an NSA program collecting information wholesale across the Internet, known as upstream surveillance, is a violation of its First Amendment right of free speech and a violation of the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable search and seizure.
Wikimedia said it is joined by eight other organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and represented by The American Civil Liberties Union. Wikimedia has been working on the lawsuit for "approximately one year," said its general counsel, Geoff Brigham.
"Privacy is the bedrock of individual freedom. It is a universal right that sustains the freedoms of expression and association," Wikimedia wrote Tuesday on its blog. "These principles enable inquiry, dialogue, and creation and are central to Wikimedia's vision of empowering everyone to share in the sum of all human knowledge. ... If people look over their shoulders before searching, pause before contributing to controversial articles, or refrain from sharing verifiable but unpopular information, Wikimedia and the world are poorer for it."
Wikipedia is the world's most comprehensive online encyclopedia. The service comprises editable wikis that allow users to correct misinformation and add details on individuals, events, organizations and ideas. More than 500 million people worldwide visit Wikipedia each month, and at least 75,000 people around the globe add or edit the content.
In 2013, one-time NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked information revealing Wikipedia was a target of government surveillance. According to Snowden, the US government taps the Internet's "backbone" (the core data routes between large, interconnected network centers) to capture communication with "non-U.S. persons." Part of that surveillance is authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that Congress amended in 2008, which supports US spy agencies to collect Internet information at will. (A large component in the NSA's mission stems from a 1981 executive order that legalized surveillance of foreigners living outside the US.)
Since Snowden's leaks began, the US government has shied away from claims that it may be intercepting communications and information from Americans. FISA does not authorize spying on US citizens. The ACLU and Wikimedia believe surveillance agencies are violating that regulation.
"In the course of its surveillance, the NSA copies and combs through vast amounts of Internet traffic, which it intercepts inside the United States with the help of major telecommunications companies," the ACLU said in a statement on Tuesday. "It searches that traffic for keywords called 'selectors' that are associated with its targets. The surveillance involves the NSA's warrantless review of the emails and Internet activities of millions of ordinary Americans."
Jimmy Wales is taking aim at the NSA and DOJ.Jimmy Wales / The People's Operator
In an editorial in The New York Times on Tuesday, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales argued that the US government's sweeping collection of information across the Web has put Wikipedia in its crosshairs and has discouraged the service's users, many of whom seek to operate anonymously.
"On our servers, run by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, those volunteers discuss their work on everything from Tiananmen Square to gay rights in Uganda," Wales wrote. "Many of them prefer to work anonymously, especially those who work on controversial issues or who live in countries with repressive governments."
FISA-related data collection has long been a murky business. When technology companies provide their transparency reports on requests for user information, they can often reveal the exact number of warrants or law enforcement demands they've received, but only provide a broad range of FISA requests. Google, for example, revealed last year that it received between zero and 999 FISA requests in the six months that ended December 2013.
In response to those ranges, Twitter last year sued the US government to lift a gag order about NSA spying. The move came after Google requested the same of the US Justice Department.
"It's our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users' concerns and to the statements of US government officials by providing information about the scope of US government surveillance -- including what types of legal process have not been received," Twitter legal counsel Ben Lee said last year. "We should be free to do this in a meaningful way, rather than in broad, inexact ranges."
Now Wikimedia and Wales have taken their argument a bit further. Wikimedia says that the wholesale collection of information under the FISAAmendments Act of 2008 is based in shaky justification, at best, and often entangles innocent individuals.
"The statute only requires 'reasonable belief' that a non-US person is located outside the United States," Wikimedia wrote in its blog Tuesday. "There is no need to show that target is a foreign agent, much less a terrorist. The purpose of the statute is to acquire 'foreign intelligence information'-- a very general concept. We believe the broad interpretation of this statute that allows for upstream surveillance is unconstitutional."
Ultimately, Wikimedia wants the US government to stop its upstream surveillance and has asked the court to rule that it is unconstitutional. "Surveillance might be used to reveal sensitive information, create a chilling effect to deter participation or, in extreme instances, identify individual users," Wikimedia's Brigham said.
With Apple Watch, wearable tech may start living up to the hype
Few smartwatches have so far resonated with consumers. Apple is trying to drag the entire category into the mainstream with what it calls "the most advanced timepiece ever created."
The weight of Apple's future -- and perhaps that of the smartwatch business as well -- rests on the shoulders of Apple CEO Tim Cook.Stephen Lam/Getty Images
The consumer technology industry has spent the last 18 months hailing wearable devices as the next big thing. But who will want a smartwatch? And, more important, why do you need one?
Apple on Monday set out to answer those questions with the Apple Watch, its entry into the burgeoning area of wearable technology. Though the watch made its debut in September 2014, customers had few details about the gadget until today. Prices for the smartwatch, which works only with the iPhone 5 and new models of Apple's smartphone, start at $349 (£299) for the smaller version of the aluminum "Sport" model. A slightly larger Apple Watch Sport is $399. The mid-tier watch, called Apple Watch, will sell from $549 to $1,049, and the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000. All three models will be available in nine countries, including the US and the UK, on April 24.
Customers in those nine countries can start going to Apple's retail stores, the exclusive source for the Apple Watch (at least for now), beginning April 10 to try them on and determine the right size.
"Apple Watch brings a whole new personal dimension to timekeeping that's never been done before," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at an event in San Francisco on Monday. Apple Watch is also "the most personal device we have ever created. It's not just with you. It's on you."
The Apple Watch represents a milestone for the Cupertino, Calif., company, a dominant player in smartphones and PCs. With the watch, Apple ventures into its first wholly new product category since 2010's iPad tablet, and it comes as iPad sales are declining and Apple relies more on its iPhone for sales (the iPhone accounts for 70 percent of Apple's revenue).
It's also a milestone for Cook, who took over as CEO in 2011 and has been dealing with the persistent question of whether the company can move past the legacy of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and innovate with the same panache that made Apple a consumer electronics juggernaut.
Apple's smartwatch could also legitimize the entire wearables category, similar to the impact it had on digital music players with its iPod, smartphones with the iPhone and tablets with the iPad. Samsung's family of Gear watches, Motorola's Moto 360 and a dozens of similar smartwatches have largely remained niche products in search of a wide audience.
"Enthusiasm for smartwatches has been relatively low, suggesting the wearable tech sector needs a 'magic' product to spark adoption," Cathy Boyle, a senior mobile analyst at eMarketer, said in a statement before today's event. "Apple needs to create a compelling use case for the device, a feature set that offers far more than simply saving consumers the few seconds it takes to pull a smartphone out of a pocket or purse."
Apple could ship 15.4 million Apple Watch units this year, accounting for 54.8 percent of the total market for smartwatches, according to Strategy Analytics. Forrester Research notes that 20 million people alone in the US are inclined to buy something new from Apple.
"The Apple Watch will dominate market share, but it'll also increase awareness and demand for smartwatches in general," said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Jackdaw Research.
Making the case for a watch
Other smartwatches have struggled with market acceptance because there hasn't been a clear-cut reason to buy one. "It's kind of funny, people often ask me if I'm wearing the Apple Watch," said Motorola President Rick Osterloh when they see his stainless steel Moto 360. He believes Apple will raise the profile for all wearables.
"In addition to being a beautiful object, the Apple Watch is the most advanced timepiece ever created," Cook said in a 90-minute presentation before an audience of press, employees, Apple executives such as design chief Jony Ive, celebrities including Christy Turlington Burns and Apple board members, including Al Gore.
Apple finally dished up the details on the Apple Watch during Monday's big reveal. The watch goes on sale April 24, with the high-end Apple Watch Edition starting at $10,000.Tim Stevens/CNET
Apple spent the latter half of the event taking users through the different features of the smartwatch. You can push the "digital crown" -- a crown is the part of a traditional watch used to set the date, time and wind it -- to activate Apple's Siri voice assistant, or just say "Hey, Siri" to ask questions. "Glances" let you quickly see text message notifications, phone calls, emails, sports scores or calendar entries. Other capabilities include the ability to "Shazam" a song through the watch and get hotel check-in information.
The Apple Watch also has a near-field communication, or NFC, chip, allowing you to pay for goods with the Apple Pay mobile payments system it announced last year (Cook said today that 700,000 locations accept Apple Pay).
Friends with an Apple Watch can share sketches or heartbeat information using what Apple calls "digital touch." It's also accurate to within 50 milliseconds of the Universal Time Standard, Cook boasted. "It's a whole new way to communicate."
Apple Watch will take on fitness band rivals like FitBit and Jawbone with its own fitness-tracking capabilities. The Watch collects data and offers suggestions for new exercise sessions based on past workouts. "It's like having a coach on your wrist," Cook said.
As for battery life, Cook said the Apple Watch battery lasts "all day," providing 18 hours on typical usage.
Apple also unveiled iOS 8.2 on Monday, a new version of its mobile operating system software that includes an app store dedicated to the Apple Watch. Beyond apps, customers can view how-to videos to learn about the gadget, get help with the set-up and determine the notifications.
An already crowded room
The Mobile World Congress trade show, held in Barcelona last week, illustrated just how crowded thesmartwatch arena has become. The increasingly competitive market includes the LG Watch Urbane LTE, a round, stainless steel smartwatch with its own cellular connection that enables it to work without a smartphone. Huawei also unveiled a round, stainless steel smartwatch featuring a sapphire display -- the same material used in high-end timepieces.
While startup Pebble is widely acknowledged to have kicked off the smartwatch trend with its first product in July 2013, Samsung brought some heft with its first Gear smartwatch. Google attempted to bring consistency to the experience with Android Wear, a version of its mobile operating system tweaked to work on smartwatches.
Yet none of the devices have really broken out. Six products running Android Wear accounted for 720,000 units, or just 15.6 percent of a total 4.6 million wearable products shipped last year, according to research firm Canalys.
As Apple makes the case for its own wearable, the excitement over the category could carry over to its competitors. "It'll raise all boats, and other manufacturers, especially those that target Android phones, will benefit from Apple's entry," Dawson said.
Even so, Apple investors seemed indifferent to the smartwatch news, even as Cook introduced a new MacBook notebook model, cut the price of its Apple TV streaming media box to $69 from $99 and introduced a new software platform called ResearchKit. Apple's shares rose 54 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $127.14 in regular trading on the Nasdaq today.
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