Andromeda
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Leak offers a glimpse at Microsoft's canceled Andromeda OS for dual-screen devices
Until now, we’ve only seen glimpses of Andromeda in things like patent filing.
Microsoft is showing a dual-screen Surface device to employees
Rumors of Microsoft making a dual-screened Surface appear to be solidifying, although you may need to adjust your expectations. Sources for The Verge claim the company held an internal event where it offered a peek at future Surface device, including a prototype of dual-screen hardware (not pictured above -- that's Intel's). Staff reportedly got into "long lines" just to get a look, the insiders said. However, it's not believed to be the pocketable Andromeda device rumored in recent years.
What Microsoft might unveil at its Surface event (and what it should)
Microsoft's Surface lineup has gone from being a messy, nearly unusable experiment to some of the best PCs on the market. The Surface and Surface Pro helped popularize the idea of hybrid tablet PCs -- so much so that even Apple is trying to mimic it with the iPad Pro. The Surface Book proved a convertible workstation could take on the MacBook Pro. And the Surface Studio showed there's even room to innovate with an all-in-one machine. Even the Surface Laptop, the most traditional PC Microsoft has built, manages to stand out in the increasingly crowded ultraportable market. (There's also the upcoming Surface Hub 2, which looks like it could be a group-teleconferencing screen you'd actually want to use.)
Microsoft might still be working on a pocket-sized Surface
Microsoft has been evidently working on a foldable tablet, code-named Andromeda, for a while now. It's supposed to focus on pen input and was rumored to hit the market as early as this year. Now, according to a leaked Microsoft document acquired by The Verge, it will likely be a pocket Surface device.
Microsoft plans version of Windows 10 for devices with limited storage
A smaller, more pared down version of Windows 10 was spotted in the latest Redstone 5 preview build. Microsoft is calling it Windows 10 Lean and it's 2GB smaller in size than standard editions of Windows 10 once installed. Missing from this version are the Registry Editor, Internet Explorer, wallpaper, Microsoft Management Console and drivers for CD and DVD drives, and Windows Central notes that the lighter Windows 10 might be designed to ensure tablets and laptops with little internal storage can install Windows 10 feature updates.
Google might launch a reborn Chromebook Pixel and smaller Home
Do you still have a Chromebook Pixel-shaped hole in your heart months after Google pulled the plug? Good news -- Google might be bringing it back. A source speaking to Android Police claims that a "Pixel-branded Chromebook" will launch alongside the next Pixel phones at an event this fall. Details are scarce, including whether or not this is the fabled laptop that would run Andromeda, the long-rumored cross between Android and Chrome OS. That system was supposed to be a convertible PC with a tablet mode, a 12.3-inch display and an optional Wacom stylus, but there's no certainty that this design is the one that launches. We certainly wouldn't count on the originally planned $799 pricing.
How BioWare will fix 'Mass Effect: Andromeda'
The internet's reaction to Mass Effect: Andromeda has been overwhelmingly negative. Whether the game's pitiful user ratings on review sites are actually representative of what most players think is a question for another day, but it's fair to say that the game had more than a few technical issues at launch.
EA Access members get 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' five days early
If you're an EA Access subscriber you'll be able to play Mass Effect: Andromeda's first ten hours almost a week ahead of everyone else. Like Electronic Arts has done for games in the past, folks on Xbox One will be able to play the highly-anticipated sci-fi RPG five days before its retail release on March 21st. Sound familiar? That's because EA did the same thing for the most recent entry developer BioWare's other role-playing series, Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014. The news comes by way of a tweet from Xbox's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb. Xbox One is the only console where Access is available, but PC owners have the same deal with Origin Access according to Game Informer.
'Mass Effect: Andromeda' arrives March 21st
Electronic Arts and BioWare have finally ended months of itchiness by announcing the release date for Mass Effect: Andromeda. At CES this morning, the duo revealed that the title will arrive in the US on Tuesday, March 21st. Europeans will need to be a little more patient, unfortunately, since the game debuts on that side of the pond on the 23rd. The title will arrive on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows just four months after its original ship date of "Holiday 2016."
Google snaps up the creators of a game-focused Android emulator
You can already run Android apps on a Chromebook, but would you run games and other intensive mobile apps on it? Probably not. However, Google might be taking steps to make that practical. The creators of LeapDroid, an Android emulator that specializes in games, have revealed that they're joining Google just months after releasing it to the public. The team isn't discussing "specific plans," but they're halting both development and support for LeapDroid. You can continue running the latest version, but you won't get anything more than that.
We're live from the #MadeByGoogle launch event!
Not-so-cryptic teasers, seemingly ironclad leaks and a truly surprising advertising push have all led to this. Buckle up, folks: today might be a turning point for Google as an honest-to-goodness hardware company, and we're bringing you all the news live from the company launch event in San Francisco.
What to expect from Google's October 4th event
It's that time of the year when tech companies trot out their newest wares hoping to cash in on the holiday season buying spree and Google is no different. On October 4th the search giant is holding an event to show off, well something, but most likely some new phones. The company is mum on the details but of course that hasn't stopped the rumor and leak machines from spinning up and pumping out what we can expect from the Android maker's celebration of consumerism.
Google's Android/Chrome laptop may be a year away
We've long heard rumors that Google may be merging its Chrome and Android operating systems into a laptop platform, and we're now getting more substantive reports that point to a Q3 2017 time frame for the hybrid OS. According to Android Police's sources, the purported Andromeda software is set to debut on a notebook codenamed Bison that is more commonly expected to be called the Pixel 3.
'Mass Effect: Andromeda' coming holiday 2016
We've waited and waited for solid details on Mass Effect: Andromeda for what seems like an eternity and now we have a few more. The game launches next holiday season, to start. That's big enough on its own, but BioWare had even more to share from the stage of its press event here at E3 2015. Since it's using the Frostbite game engine pioneered by DICE, the game looks predictably gorgeous. It's in a new galaxy; the Mako is back; you're an N7 officer once again. You're playing as a human male or female, but not as the character seen in the trailer. BioWare says that Andromeda's "very much a new adventure" and that it takes place quite a bit after the events of Mass Effect 3.
The Big Picture: Andromeda galaxy panorama by Hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the sharpest picture of the Andromeda galaxy yet, and it's so large we've had to post the scaled-down version for you. This panorama was taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble as viewed in visible, near-ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. What you see is the galaxy's colors in visible light behind red and blue filters, encompassing 100 million stars across 40,000 light-years of space. Those millions of stars make up but a third of our neighboring galaxy, since the photo focuses on its densest part. Since the full image boasts 1.5 billion pixels and needs a whopping 600 HD TVs to display in full, we'll just link you to a page where you can zoom in and look at small parts of the picture in detail.
Hubble reveals unavoidable collision between our galaxy and Andromeda
The Hubble team over at NASA has confirmed what it's suspected for a while: that our galaxy is destined for a direct collision / love fest with Andromeda, culminating in the birth of "Milkomeda." But don't go lobbying Virgin Galactic for ring-side tickets just yet because the fireworks won't go off for another four billion years -- and last another two billion after that. Scientists also predict that the earth won't be threatened thanks to the sheer amount of empty space between stars, but we could lose the sun as its flung out to some other part of the new system. You hear that? We could lose the freakin' sun!!
