The big topic of discussion last night was how Microsoft killed with the WIndows 10 briefing. In particular, the reveal of HoloLens and Windows Holographic was a big surprise. Plus, I explain to Drex the difference between Oculus and HoloLens. It’s all here.

This week, Microsoft makes a splash, science takes a beating, and rethinking your clever password.

Microsoft reveals Surface Hub, HoloLens devices at Windows 10 event

Microsoft made me sit up in my seat this morning. What I expected to be a fairly dry announcement of Windows 10 turned into something vastly more interesting when new devices were revealed in the Surface Hub, for businesses, and HoloLens, Microsoft’s answer to virtual reality headsets.

According to Microsoft’s Alex Kipman, the HoloLens is “the most advanced holographic computer the world has ever seen”. With a see-through lens, it appears to be more of an augmented reality device than a true hologram, but it has amazing potential.

The HoloLens has application in business and technology, entertainment, and even lifestyle. Using the HoloStudio app, people can create 3D objects which can then be printed using a 3D printer.

Windows Holographic is built into Windows 10, and Kipman said that HoloLens will be available “in the Windows 10 timeframe” which I took to mean during the life of the operating system, not at its launch.

The Surface Hub, meanwhile, is an 84-inch, 4K touchscreen display with all of the computing components built in, as well as integrated Kinect (for gestural control), microphone and speakers, and cameras. It’s designed for use in office environments, especially those in which meetings are being held regularly.

The whiteboard feature is enhanced by being able to mark up and make notes on the screen, which are automatically captured and synced to OneNote. And you can get content onto the screen from any device connected to the meeting. When meetings are over, all the content that was displayed is automatically shared to all the participants.

Windows 10 a free upgrade for a limited time

While a date for the final release of Windows 10 was not announced, it is planned for 2015. Terry Myerson, who heads up the operating systems team at Microsoft, said that for a year it would be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

The operating system is a big step, as it is the first time there will be one Windows for all Windows devices whether they are a computer, a phone, or a tablet, although there are two “tunings”: one for devices larger than eight inches, and another for devices less than that. This allows for greater cross-device integration.

Cortana, the “personal digital assistant” becomes central to the Windows 10 experience. “She” can be directed by voice command or keyboard, and provides integrated search functions across devices.

Windows 10 will also include an updated Web browser, currently code-named Project Spartan. The most interesting new feature is the ability to mark up a Web page on a touchscreen the way you’d write on a hard copy printout. Those notes can then be saved or shared with others.

Games are a big part of Windows 10

Phil Spencer is the head of the Xbox team at Microsoft, and revealed that Windows 10 includes Xbox App, which provides access to Xbox Live social functions across all Windows 10 devices, including voice and text chat across devices. There will also be a “game DVR” feature in the operating system that, similar to Xbox One, can capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay with the press of a button.

Windows 10 will also allow for cross-platform gaming with Xbox One, something Spencer demonstrated with the upcoming game, Fable Legends.

Easily the most exciting feature of Windows 10 for Spencer and the Xbox division, though, is that it will enable streaming of Xbox One games to any Windows 10 computer or tablet. On stage with a Surface tablet, Spencer played Forza Horizon 2 from the Xbox One in his living room.

Entertainment, games in particular, are very much a part of the future of Windows. “We’re not just viewers, we’re participants,” said Spencer. “Gaming is inherently personal; we are deeply invested in our worlds and our play.”

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight

People aren’t dumb … oh, wait, yes they are

The Washington Post reports that a survey conducted by Oklahoma State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics found that more than 80 percent of respondents support mandatory labels on foods containing DNA.

I’m giving the researchers the benefit of the doubt and assuming that they know that DNA is a part of every living thing, and asked the question to see how many respondents did too.

While we’re on the topic …

The annual “worst passwords” list from SplashData has been released.

For the second year in a row, “123456” and “password” were in the top two spots. Because nobody’s ever going to think you’re dumb enough to have your password be, “password,” right?

Wrong.

The best way to have strong passwords and remember them is to use a tool such as 1Password, which is developed in Canada by AgileBits. Or SplashID, which is developed by SplashData.

SplashData, and many security experts, suggest that passwords should mix up letters, numbers, and symbols, but Randall Munroe, better known to the world as XKCD, showed that the best password is actually a series of random words.

Just see how easy it can be to get people to reveal their passwords to everyone watching Jimmy Kimmel.

Last Wednesday evening, Drex told me that he’d returned to the Apple iPhone fold after being an Android user for a few years. Just in time for Apple to announce that the company is increasing the minimum cost of iOS apps.

We also talked about the new app, Wakie, that let’s you replace your alarm clock with a phone call from a stranger, why it might be time to upgrade your Wi-fi at home, and what trees sound like.

You can listen here.

This week: Apple raises prices, a new way to wake in the morning, upgrading your Wi-fi, and listening to the life of trees.

Your apps are going to cost more

The minimum price of software in Apple’s App Store has been raised twenty cents, from $.99 to $1.19. The company says the change was made “to account for adjustments in value-added tax (VAT) rates and foreign exchange rates.”

So you can blame falling oil prices for the fact that Desert Golfing is going to cost you more to purchase.

Prices also went up in the European Union and Norway. They went down in Iceland.

Ever wanted to wake a stranger?

Wakie is an app, for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, that lets you replace your alarm with a personal phone call from a stranger. The company’s CEO says that their research indicates that, unlike hitting the “snooze” button on an alarm clock, people can’t go back to sleep after they have a one-minute conversation with a person.

Members of the community volunteer to wake up others, who can be anywhere in the world. Calls are anonymous and are automatically cut off after 60 seconds. It’s all free, too.

And it all sounds very proper. But when I read that a “premium” version of the app was in development, which would extend the call time up to five minutes and would permit the viewing of profiles, the concept suddenly became a bit sketchy. Just what we need, another worldwide pickup joint.

When was the last time you upgraded your home Wi-fi?

Many of you got a new smartphone or tablet during the holiday. And many households have multiple smartphones and tablets all connecting to Wi-Fi. But when was the last time you upgraded how you get a wireless signal when you’re at home?

On the phone from Toronto, Mathieu Whelan said that most modern devices are designed to take advantage of upgraded Wi-Fi technology. Adoption of the 802.11ac specification is “very high and growing”, said the regional product manager for Linksys/Belkin. Despite that, he added, few consumers have thought about getting a new router that can deliver faster wireless, or can accommodate multiple devices that are drawing on the router’s bandwidth. Unless you get a new router, as you have more smartphones and tablets connecting to your Wi-Fi, the download speed to each of them decreases.

The next generation of AC technology is referred to as “MU-MIMO”, which stands for multiple user, multiple input, multiple output. Asus and Netgear have MU-MIMO routers in the market, and in 2015 Belkin will be issuing a range of new Linksys routers that adopt the standard. The EA 8500 AC 2600 Dual Band 4×4 router, for example, can serve up to four wireless devices at a time, and can deliver the maximum bandwidth possible to each of those devices before there is any decrease.

Whelan said that iteration on the 802.11ac spec is still happening, and that it is technically possible for MU-MIMO to support more than just four devices simultaneously.

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight

The life of a tree becomes piano music

Bartholomäus Traubeck developed a special turntable player that plays slices of wood. The Years installation was part of the Schmiede Hallein media and art festival in Vienna in 2012.

The turntable “reads” the rings of trees – which provide information about the tree’s life, including age and the environmental conditions during it’s growth – and generates corresponding piano notes.

Each tree “plays” a different song, and the album, Years, includes tracks from seven Austrian trees: spruce, ash, oak, maple, alder, walnut, and beech. It’s available digitally or on, of course, vinyl.

In Las Vegas, International CES is just wrapping up for another year. In Vancouver, Drex and I spoke about some of the things that have been shown off at the tech trade show, including the new clothes washer models from LG and Samsung, autonomous driving vehicles and how Nvidia hopes to help make them a reality, and how TunesGo can make iTunes better.

Also: how Apple won Christmas, ringtones for your phone, and Drex’s secret life in laundry.

Listen here.