What a wild, wall-to-wall week of Windows 10 coverage we had. The tech world's attention was squarely focused on the release of Windows 10 this past week, and for as simple and straightforward as Microsoft seemed to want the launch to be (free upgrade from your existing Windows OS, y'all) it was anything but.
Microsoft ended up staggering the rollout of Windows 10 both in terms of the versions for various platforms (e.g., Windows 10 Mobile isn't coming until later this year), but also who could get the desktop version of the new OS and when. For example, Insiders were to get it first, but after that -- well, it got really confusing after that. So much so that we pinned some key Microsoft personnel down, peppered them with questions, and wrote up an explainer on Windows 10 availability.
What we didn't catch until a bit later is that there was a publicly available software download for the final version of the OS, so all the talk about Insiders going first and using the Get Windows 10 app -- all moot. (We suspect, but can't confirm, that Microsoft just flubbed a little in making the download page public. Once users discovered it, the company just rolled with it.)
Late in the week, we spotted something else: If you upgrade to Windows 10, you only have a month to decide if you want to dial back to your previous OS, and there are other potential rollback issues there, as well.
Also, in case you missed it, both AMD and Nvidia pushed out drivers to support Windows 10.
Buckets Of New "Flagship Killers"
For as big as the Windows 10 launch was, the mobile world was abuzz with a slew of new handsets, most of which take aim at pricey flagships.
The OnePlus 2 made its debut with killer specs and a surprisingly low price, and frankly, an exhaustive amount of hype. And instead of just announcing the new phone from a stage somewhere, as so many companies do, OnePlus set up a unique VR launch experience. Kevin Carbotte whipped up a recap of the VR event and had some thoughts on the subject.
Motorola also announced some new handsets, including new Moto X phones (with somewhat confusing nomenclature) and a new Moto G. Alex Davies was at the event live and in person, and he produced a hands on writeup (with video) of a Moto X Style.
But wait, there's more: A couple of new contenders emerged this week in the North American market, as Ubik introduced its Uno, and Nuu Mobile announced a new dual-SIM LTE handset. The North American mobile market seems to be as saturated as can be, but more competition, particularly in that well-priced mid-range, should be good for consumers.
Components? We Got Components
This was a good week for new components, and rather than recap them all, we'll just dump links in here for you so you can peruse at your leisure:
- Gigabyte Reveals GeForce GTX 970 Twin Turbo 4 GB
- Thermaltake Makes Super-Green Core V51 Chassis With Riing Fans
- Asus Introduces X99-M WS Motherboard With Dual USB 3.1 Type-A
- EVGA's X99 Micro2 Comes With USB Type-C, USB 3.1
- G.Skill Outs Trident Z, Ripjaws V DDR4 Memory Kits For Next-Gen Intel Hardware
- Mushkin Rolls Out Budget-Friendly M.2 Atlas Vital SSD
The 3D Xpoint Revolution
This week, we got a firsthand look at Intel and Micron's 3D Xpoint memory technology, and not to put too fine a point on it, but it's downright revolutionary. As a teaser, we'll leave you with this quote from Paul Alcorn's excellent writeup:
3D XPoint addresses all of the key requirements to address the gap between CPU speed and memory with 1000x faster performance and 1000x more endurance than NAND, and 10x the density of DRAM, and the icing on the cake is that this new technology is non-volatile.
Have a dandy weekend, dear readers.
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