Windows 10 to launch this summer in 190 countries

Windows 10 to launch this summer in 190 countries    

source : theverge

Microsoft is planning to release its Windows 10 operating system in the summer. While the software maker isn’t naming an exact date, Windows chief Terry Myerson is committing the company to a summertime launch today. "We continue to make great development progress and shared today that Windows 10 will be available this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages," says Myerson. Microsoft is making Windows 10 available as a free upgrade for existing Windows 7 and Windows 8 users for a year, and that offer will start this summer.

As part of Microsoft’s upgrade plans, the software maker is partnering with Lenovo and Tencent to offer Windows 10 in China. Lenovo will have Windows 10 upgrade services at 2,500 service centers and some retail stores in China. Tencent is also offering an upgrade pack with a variety of popular apps including QQ. Both partnerships are clear moves by Microsoft to make Windows available in China, and a way to combat issues of software piracy in the region. Microsoft is even offering its Windows 10 upgrade to customers who have non-genuine copies of Windows. That’s a big change to Microsoft’s previous attempts to tackle software piracy in China.

Google will fly a crazy, plane-like, 84-foot wind turbine next month

Google plans to fly an 84-foot wind turbine next month, according to Google X's Astro Teller, who spoke at SXSW today.

source : theverge

Google's wind turbines don't look like the ones you might see along the US coastline. They're more like "planes" equipped with eight propellers that are tethered to a docking station. 

When they're released, they get up to 450 meters in the air. At that altitude, the plane starts doing large circles in the sky, which turns the plane's propellers. The drag turns each of the eight propellers into individual turbines that send 600 kilowatts back down to Earth.

Google has been working on wind turbines for some time now, thanks in part to its purchase of the energy company Makani Power in 2013. But the turbines it has flown so far measured 28 feet in length. The one that Google plans to fly next month will measure 84 feet, Teller said, which means it might be equipped with additional propellers.

"if you're not breaking your experimental equipment... you could be learning faster."

Astro Teller told the crowd today that the company has flown the smaller versions in the harshest of wind environments.

 "Larry Page said to me, 'make sure you crash at least five of those test versions,'" Teller said. "What he meant was... if you're not breaking your experimental equipment, at least some of the time, you could be learning faster. And I know 

he's right."

To test the turbines, the team went to one of the windiest places in North American — Pigeon Point in Pescadero, California. The speed of the wind can change by 20 miles per hour in a second, and the direction of the wind can change by 90 degrees in a second, Teller said. But the turbines didn't crash. "We failed to fail. We didn't crash, not once."

Girls Do Science

source : youtube

7 out of 10 girls are interested in science. Only 2 out of 10 will pursue it as a career. Let’s change that. Through the voices of these girls, we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History month. We support the bright young women who participated in this project and all girls who share our belief in the empowering nature of science and technology.

Microsoft is committed to creating opportunities for all youth. DigiGirlz is a Microsoft YouthSpark program that gives girls the opportunity to learn about careers in tech. Learn more about it here: http://msft.it/digigirlz