Microsoft forays into tablet market, unveils Surface to take on Apple's iPad

June 19, 2012
tablet_surface

New Delhi, June 19: Two years after Apple unveiled iPad and Steve Jobs declared the beginning of post-PC era, Microsoft formally entered the tablet market on June 19. At an event in Los Angeles, the company announced 10.6-inch tablet called Surface.

Microsoft, however, did not announce any prices. The company said that prices will be competitive with other tablets running on ARM processors.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that the company had made some good hardware in the past and the time was ripe for it to enter the tablet market. "Much like Windows 1 needed the mouse, we wanted to give Windows 8 its own hardware," he said.

There will be two models of Surface. One will run ARM processor that will support Windows RT, a version of Windows 8 on which only the Metro apps will work. The ARM version is 9.3mm thick and weighs 676 gram. Microsoft said that Surface with ARM processor will also run MS Office 15, aiming to woo the professional users who have stayed away from iPad because it lacks a full productivity suite. The tablet also supports USB 2.

The Surface with Intel processor will support all apps, including the legacy apps that people use on full computers. This version of Surface will also have a higher resolution screen, bigger battery, USB 3 ports instead of USB 2 and will run Windows 8 Professional. However, all the extra features and hardware come at the cost of design. The Surface with Intel processor will be 13.5 mm thick and will weigh 903 gram.

Both tablets are built using a magnesium case. Microsoft is calling it VaporMg Case. Both also have inbuilt kickstand that will allow users to put down the tablets vertically on a table, making video playback a more enjoyable experience.

Apart from relying on Windows 8, which is likely to be more flexible and powerful operating software compared to iOS that powers iPad, Microsoft is hoping to take on Apple's tablet with help of a special cover. The company said it has designed two special covers for its tablets. While one of these covers offers a touch keyboard that can be attached to the tablet, the other cover has a 5mm physical keyboard.

Apple's iPad has proved incredibly successful. The tablet is so popular that now it has started to hit the laptop market, impacting Microsoft's business. Also, with computers giving way to devices that are sleek and support always-on connectivity, Apple, Google and Microsoft are embroiled in a fight for the future of computers. Microsoft's announcement comes several days ahead of Google IO where the Android maker is likely to announce its own tablet to take on iPad.

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News Network
April 29,2020

New Delhi, Apr 29: India's tally of COVID-19 cases has reached 31,332, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday. With 73 more deaths reported, the number of deaths due to coronavirus in the country breached the 1,000 mark and stood at 1,007.

The tally is inclusive of 22,629 active coronavirus cases, 7,695 patients who have been cured/discharged and one patient migrated.

According to the Ministry, Maharashtra has the most number of COVID-19 cases with 9,318 cases of which, 1,388 patients have been cured/discharged while 400 patients have succumbed to the virus.

Gujarat has the second-highest number of positive cases in the country with 3744 cases including 434 patients cured/discharged and 181 deaths.

Delhi's tally stands at 3314 cases of which, 1078 patients have recovered while 54 patients have succumbed to the virus.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 2387 positive cases including 377 patients recovered/discharged and 120 fatalities.

Meanwhile, Goa (seven cases; all seven recovered), Arunachal Pradesh (one case; now recovered), Manipur (two cases; both recovered), Tripura (two cases; both recovered) have reported no new cases of COVID-19.

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News Network
May 30,2020

May 30: A Delhi court on Saturday granted interim bail for 10 days to former municipal councillor from the Congress Ishrat Jahan, who has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to get married.

She has been booked under the anti-terror law in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana granted the interim relief from June 10 to June 19 to Jahan on furnishing two sureties of Rs 1 lakh.

The court directed her not to tamper with any evidence or influence the witnesses in the case.

According to the interim bail plea, filed through advocates S K Sharma and Lalit Valeecha, Jahan's marriage was fixed in 2018 for June 12, 2020.

The plea further said that Jahan would not tamper with any evidence or influence the witnesses if granted bail.

The petition, also filed through advocates Tushar Anand and Manu Prabhakar, claimed that Jahan has been falsely implicated in the case.

It alleged that upon bare perusal of the contents of the FIR, no incident of violence can be attributed to her and the wild and baseless allegations made against her were not only irresponsible and false, but also caused serious harm to her reputation.

Jahan, who is also an advocate, was only a supporter of ongoing peaceful protests and it was one of the fundamental rights of the citizens to protest and register their dissent against any unreasonable measure of the government, the plea said.

Besides Jahan, Jamia Millia Islamia University students Asif Iqbal Tanha, Gulfisha Khatoon, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, president of Jamia Alumni Association Shifa-Ur-Rehman, suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, activist Khalid Safi, JNU student Natasha Narwal and former student leader Umar Khalid have also been booked under the anti-terror law in the case.

The police had claimed in the FIR that Khalid and his associates had instigated people to start riots in the area and it was a "premeditated conspiracy".

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

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News Network
June 4,2020

New Delhi, Jun 4: India on Thursday witnessed a record single-day spike of 9,304 coronavirus cases taking the country's tally to 2,16,919, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The ministry informed that 260 more deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2,16,919 including 1,06,737 active cases, 1,04,107 cured/discharged/migrated and 6,075 deaths.

Maharashtra has so far reported 74,860 cases, more than any other state in the country.

In Tamil Nadu, 25,872 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 23,645 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,39,485 samples were tested in the last 24 hours whereas 42,42,718 samples have been tested till date.

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