| Skype CEO Tony Bates confirms 250m monthly users, talks Microsoft partnership and future plans May 31st 2012, 18:36  Skype CEO Tony Bates just took the stage here on the final day of D10, and he got right into the news delivery mindset: as of now, there are 250 million monthly connected users. Said Bates, "When we closed [the Microsoft deal], we had 170 million monthly users, so haven't skipped a beat in terms of momentum." Continuing on when asked from Kara Swisher about integration with Microsoft, Bates said: "I'm not going to talk about future products, but I'll steal a line from Tim Cook. We're going to double-down on integration with Windows 8, and we're doing to double-down on secrecy." Specifically, he mentioned that there'd be some "great integration points" with Windows 8, noting that Skype is viewed as an "experience, with most folks viewing it as a Swiss army knife, regardless of where and how it's used." Kara followed up with a question on Kinect, and Bates did his best to dodge the question by re-referencing intent on Windows 8 and Windows Phone -- there wasn't a peep mentioned in either direction on if it'd end up there. Kara asked what his most important smartphone platform was, and Bates said: "I wouldn't classify it as one most important. As far as download numbers, it's absolutely iPhone, but Android is gaining momentum. Our top priority is mobile; we made two acquisitions in that space. The Android marketplace -- as many know -- is quite fragmented, and this was a big challenge for us from an engineering standpoint. This team in the Qik acquisition really helped us there. I'm very hopeful -- Windows Phone is very exciting for me because of that people-centric nature." Kara pushed to see if Windows Phone would get a "special" version of Skype, and Bates simply said that he "hopes they can add value." Given that both Windows Phone and Skype now live under the same roof, though, we're guessing that he's underselling things in the effort of "doubling-down on secrecy." Continue reading Skype CEO Tony Bates confirms 250m monthly users, talks Microsoft partnership and future plans Skype CEO Tony Bates confirms 250m monthly users, talks Microsoft partnership and future plans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 14:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | How-to: Build a multi-talented HTPC for (roughly) $1,000 May 31st 2012, 18:00  This is an auspicious year for building an HTPC or indeed any type of sub-$1,000 rig. Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors are about to exert a nice downward pressure on last year's finest, despite the fact that Sandy Bridge still holds up well for many people's needs -- and much the same can be said of AMD's Llano APUs following the arrival of Trinity. In fact, thanks to the market's regular churn, the HTPC parts we look at after the break could easily fall below their $1,019 total bill before you even pick up your screwdriver. (Okay, so we went slightly over $1,000. It's a free country.) On the other hand, you'd have to be mildly loopy to drop serious cash on a PC that's solely for media consumption. Times have changed since our last build in 2009, and they're unrecognizable compared to the time before that. These days, even ARM-powered smartphones can handle 1080p in and out, nettops with Blu-ray drives can be had for $500 and even totally silent fanless HTPCs are available for around $1,000 (albeit with very modest specs). From that perspective, this might actually be a terrible time to persuade people that spending a grand on a plain old home-built HTPC makes sense -- and that's why, after the break, we're not even going to try. Continue reading How-to: Build a multi-talented HTPC for (roughly) $1,000 How-to: Build a multi-talented HTPC for (roughly) $1,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | iFixit reveals Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight's magic -- with lasers May 31st 2012, 17:44  Turns out the secret to the new Nook's patent pending magic glow isn't so magic after all. Nope, it utilizes the wonder of diffraction. Yep, the driving force behind this marriage-saving device is science! Says iFixit in its latest teardown, The display assembly contains the front glass, digitizer, and array of GlowLight LEDs, all fused together into one component. The glass over the E-ink screen takes the light from the eight LEDs and evenly distributes it across the screen. How did the site discover the pending patentness after peeling back the e-reader's layers? Why, lasers, of course, beaming one through the aforementioned glass, which diffracted the green light before it hit a wall, proving once and for all that science can be fun. And ripping gadgets apart, naturally. iFixit reveals Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight's magic -- with lasers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  iFixit | Email this | Comments | | AT&T cuts prices on international data roaming, goes easier on overages May 31st 2012, 17:01  Could it be? Is AT&T addressing bill shock by simply trying to make international data roaming costs reasonable? From the looks of its new Data Global Add-On deals, that might be the case. The baseline price is up from last year at $30 per month, but you'll get 120MB of data for your trouble -- an amount that used to cost $50. The next step up not only costs less than before, at $60 versus the old $100, but ups the data ever so gently to 300MB in the process. AT&T's maximum allotment is still a relatively modest 800MB, but at $120 a month, it's a lot easier to swallow for a European vacation than the earlier $200 for the same data cap. The real advantage for all three may be the overage rate: rather than bill by the byte, AT&T is now charging $30 for every 120MB over your limit, so you won't have to fork over the equivalent of a car payment just because you couldn't resist posting to Instagram from the Alps. We still think dedicated international services like Xcom Global (or an unlocked phone and a prepaid SIM) are the most efficient ways to go, but the carrier-bound among us will catch a big break when the new international plans take effect June 1st. Continue reading AT&T cuts prices on international data roaming, goes easier on overages AT&T cuts prices on international data roaming, goes easier on overages originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. 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