Metro
Latest
Microsoft Metro mouse leaks out, promises BlueTrack for $20
Not a ton of details here, but Russian website TheVista.ru has turned up some seemingly legit materials for a hereto unheard of Metro Mouse from Microsoft, which is apparently a new addition to the company's BlueTrack line -- and Microsoft's latest use for the "Metro" name. At just $20, it'd also be the cheapest in the line and, like some of the other models, it's designed to be used either left or right-handed. Assuming this leak actually pans out, you can look for this one to be available sometime in March. [Thanks, deeper2k]
Microsoft previews Windows Phone 7 app design process with a golfing scorekeeper (video)
You don't need us to tell you that apps have grown to become a core part of modern smartphone ecosystems. Android and iOS, the two major app-centric OS environments are growing in leaps and bounds, while a substantial part of Windows Phone 7's eventual success is expected to hinge on exactly how it matches (or betters) those guys on the app front. So, what better excuse than that to check out this concept golf scoring app from Redmond? Designed using Microsoft's favored Metro aesthetic, it really streamlines the user experience by employing "multiple touch targets [that] are spread out from one another" and distilling content down to large, easily readable data. We've got to say, it's hitting the right note with us, but do follow along after the break to learn about a few of the WP7 design quirks -- such as the drop-down system tray and the reason why rounded app icon corners are undesirable.
NYFI aims to implement free WiFi on Long Island Rail Road and Metro
Mmm... the smell of gratis wireless broadband in morning. Even Starbucks agrees, you just can't beat it. One smell we could stand to live without is the stench left on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro after a few too many party people hitch a ride following a long Sunday in the city pub, but having free access to the world wide web while riding will make the act of dealing a whole lot easier. All jesting aside, NYFI (described as a "well financed neutral host WiFi provider"), has recently submitted a proposal to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York (MTA) to "build and operate a new WiFi network on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains." Unlike similar ideas thrown around in the Big Apple, this setup won't require users to be subscribers of a cable service or any of the many religious cults going around these days. Head on past the break if you actually care to know how it'll be financed (hint: you don't), and be sure to push whoever you have to push to ensure this gets passed. Got it?
Internet Explorer 9 going all Metro, according to allegedly leaked screenshots? (update: nope)
Well goodness gracious, consider the books well and truly turned up. The above, purportedly bona fide, IE9 screenshot shows a bold and radical redesign of the browser everyone loves to hate. Borrowing liberally from the Metro UI design philosophy -- first espoused in the Zune HD and then paraded to great acclaim in the Windows Phone 7 OS -- this distinctly minimalist new look has us experiencing uncomfortable and unfamiliar emotions toward Microsoft's browser. We kinda, sorta wanna use it now. According to the rough translation, the bar up top alternates, depending on your use, between displaying the page title, status, address bar or search box, thereby trimming the aesthetic fat to the very limit. Slide past the break for another image, but remember: these could just as easily be mere mockups done by passionate Microsoft fans. In either case, we're pretty sure this is the direction this browser, and all others, need to be headed. [Thanks, Kiran] Update: And, as it turned out, the screenshots were indeed an exercise in some April-inspired tomfoolery by the guys over at LiveSino. We still think they're gorgeous, we'll just brush up on our Chinese for next time.
Omnimo: desktop Windows given fashion makeover with Phone 7 Series flair
Can't wait for Windows Phone 7 Series, but can't hack the emulator, either? Don't lose hope, Windows junkies -- you can still bring some semblance of WP7S order into your life with this Metro UI-inspired desktop HUD. Based on the open-source desktop customization platform Rainmeter, the "Omnimo UI" will overlay your desktop with a minimalist, tiled interface not unlike the one you've been drooling over for weeks, with live hooks into many useful services (including Gmail, iTunes, Steam, Twitter and SpeedFan) as well as the usual widgets and a host of program shortcuts. The best news of all? It's available now for all versions of Windows since XP, completely free of charge; simply follow the source links or flit over to Lifehacker, where good folks will teach you how it's done.
Microsoft takes a note from Palm in new Windows Phone 7 Series ad
We've held no punches in sharing our thoughts on Palm's recent ad campaigns, but the one spot that was actually not heinous has seemingly served as the basis for one of Microsoft's first-ever WP7S commercials. Debuting here at the tail-end of MIX, the ad spotlights Anna -- a fictitious gal we've certainly heard of before -- using her new smartphone to share photos with her dear lover Miles. It also features Luca, a kid with an undying love for playing Xbox LIVE titles, who seems to be caught somewhere in between the world of nature and nurture. At any rate, it's worth your while to give the new Microsoft commercial and the Palm ad which it has oh-so-much in common with right after the break. Oh, and Palm -- we guess "Windows Phone 7 Series was your idea," right? Update: Yes, that definitely looks like an HTC HD2 at the 0:43 mark, but you can rest assured WP7S won't ever come to that gem in native fashion. [Thanks, Sean]
Buffalo adds Ministation Metro to its external HDD lineup
The Ministation Metro, coming in a variety of tastefully named colors, such as Black Crystal, represents a continuation of Buffalo's recent efforts to beautify its portable hard drive offerings. The drive's design is highlighted by a handily integrated USB cable that sits flush with the Metro's externals when not in use. It's also noteworthy that this latest entry in Buffalo's Ministation series looks remarkably similar (i.e. identical) to the recently announced HD-PXU2 in Japan. We can only surmise that the company believes the term Metro carries more positive connotations with Western consumers than the otherwise catchy jumble of letters and digits. Capacity choices range all the way up to 500GB, and the new drives are expected to reach American and British shores in August, with a US price somewhere in the vicinity of $200 for the most capacious models.
Fallout 3 ads criticized by Washington D.C. Metro rider
In a recent letter to the editor published in the Washington Post, D.C. resident and frequent Metrorail rider Joseph Anzalone criticizes ads for Bethesda's upcoming post-apocalyptic blockbuster, Fallout 3, which are plastered all over the city's various forms of public transportation. The ads in question depict a number of Washington D.C.'s more recognizable landmarks, which look "ravaged, as if hit by missles." Anzalone suggests that such imagery only serves as "a daily reminder that Washington is a prime target for an attack."We certainly understand Anzalone's point, though we disagree with the justification behind his request to remove the ads -- he claims they aren't protected by the First Amendment as they "do not present a true viewpoint or political message." The commercial speech doctrine clearly states that advertisements which don't contain false or misleading messages are completely protected under the First Amendment. Legality aside -- what do you, dear readers, think about the situation? Are the ads insensitive? Should they be removed?[Via GamePolitics]
German "Future Store" lets you grocery shop with your cellphone
It's been a long, long time since we've heard from Germany's "Future Store" -- the ultra-futuristic German grocery store that might have sprung directly from the Sprawl trilogy -- but they've got a new feature we thought you might be interested in. Shoppers in the store can now use camera-equipped cellphones (i.e., cellphones) to snap pictures of item barcodes, and then download the information at the checkout when they're finished shopping. The system totals all of your purchases into one big, nasty barcode which you then scan and pony up cash (or cards, or fingerprints, or magical rainbow juice) for. It's unclear how to store handles shoppers who don't scan everything they've got in their cart, but if it's anything like our favorite books, it's not pretty.[Via PHONE Magazine]
Intel's Metro laptop concept in the real world
The marketing shots of Intel's 0.7-inch thin Metro laptop prototype caused quite a stir, so we'd imagine the real, physical, meatspace shots of an actual working prototype would be even more intriguing. AeroXperience got their hands on a prototype machine at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference recently, making sure to shoot the open laptop and e-ink display on the back with 1080p video. Unfortunately, the representative walking the reporter through the laptop confirms that this is purely a concept device, and is really only aimed at encouraging OEMs to develop similar models. We knew this already, but it sounds particularly harsh coming from the horse's mouth. Especially when we know that most new OEM laptop designs are few and far between, beyond the obvious clockwork-like updates when new CPUs hit the block. Surely if Intel and co. can do super thin, then so can everyone else.[Thanks, John]
Intel's Metro laptop prototype is "world's thinnest"
Watch out Sony, it looks like your Vaio X505's title for thinnest / lightest laptop ever is about to be challenged by some new Intel-sponsored Ziba designs intended to push the envelope of portability. The 0.7-inch thick 2.2-pound Metro features an external e-ink display, and might actually stand a chance at redefining slim computing -- if it's ever built, anyway. Enjoy the eye candy, it's going to be a while before you get any closer to a laptop of this caliber than some pictures on the internets.
The '08 Olympics coming to Shanghai in a BIG way
We're having a tough time visualizing this: a giant ball-shaped LCD screen. Whatever it ends up looking like - we're thinking like the hologram of the Death Star from A New Hope - it's going to broadcast the '08 Beijing Olympics on the Metro Tower in Shanghai. The LCD ball (or is it ball LCD - who knows) is going to be 3,000 square meters when it's completed. This monster screen is going to cost a monster amount of cash too - $23.3 million but we can't think of a better way to watch the Olympics. We can only hope that the image is in HD.
