Happy Windows 8 Day! What's that, you didn't know it was Windows 8 Day? That seems hard to believe considering Microsoft has practically held a media event every day for the last few months to chat about it and Windows Phone 8, which officially launches on Monday. Those lucky (?) Surface RT owners should get a taste of what it feels like for Apple gadget buyers to receive their launch day products at home today, so enjoy it, folks!
Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere, you've probably heard that today is Windows 8 day -- as in, the date when Microsoft finally start shipping the desktop and tablet version of their next-generation, touch-friendly operating system. From today through January 31, 2013, Windows 8 Pro can be downloaded directly from Microsoft's website for a mere $39.99; if you're the type who still needs a shiny optical disc edition, that can be had for $69.99 from the same place. And if you need Windows RT, well… better buy a Surface tablet, because that's the only place to get it right now.
Patently Apple reported on Thursday that Apple Inc. is now the proud owners of The Beatles' iconic Apple Corps logo -- you know, the green apple that appeared in the center of most of the band's vinyl LPs back when that sort of thing was popular. The trademark registration is part of a settlement between the two Apples dating back to 2007, giving Apple Inc. all trademarks related to "Apple," while licensing them back to Apple Corps, who is free to continue using it. That deal cost the Cupertino Apple $500 million, and on Wednesday the registered trademark popped up in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office -- so expect some attorneys in Cupertino to come calling should you try to use it from now.
There's an endless supply of translation apps on the App Store, but all of them require an internet connection to make the magic happen. That is, all but one: On Thursday, Sonico released Languages, a 99-cent iPhone app that promises "lightning-fast translation that works without an internet connection." The app includes 12 complete language dictionaries for the price of admission while noting that competing apps charge $5 or more for the same. The 43.4MB Languages app is available now from the App Store, so be sure to grab your copy before you travel overseas.
Third-placed U.S. carrier Sprint is taking its sweet old time flipping the switch on its 4G LTE network, but the carrier wants you to know that its new data plans for tablets -- which require no contract -- offer customers up to 20 percent more data than either Verizon or AT&T for the same dough. The plans won't kick in until Sunday, November 11 and start at $14.99 per month for 300MB of data and top out at $79.99 for 12GB. Say, that sure is conveniently timed with the arrival of the iPad mini next month… now if we could only find a Sprint 4G LTE connection to tap into...
It may be Windows 8's turn in the spotlight today, but if you're using the new operating system with Parallels Desktop for Mac, you might want to be aware of a few things before installing. On Thursday, Parallels issued a "Critical and Urgent Windows 8 Service Advisory," which is a lot scarier than it sounds like. Long story short: Parallels hasn't finished testing the upgrade, so users are advised to avoid installing Windows 8 over any existing builds of Windows 7 or earlier. That said, if you plan to do a fresh installation of Windows 8 into a new virtual machine, you should have no problems in doing so. Just to be safe, be sure to open Parallels Desktop and update to the latest version, should one be available.
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