PCWorld December 2016

MICROSOFT’S BIG EVENT in New York featured plenty of new Surface hardware, but nevertheless, it’s easy to see why the company called this a Windows event rather than a Surface shindig. Windows and devices chief Terry Myerson kicked things off with a tantalizing glimpse of the features that will debut with the new Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled for release in the spring. The rest of the event was dedicated to new Surface gear designed specifically to marry powerful, thoughtful hardware with the best of those new software features. But don’t take my word for it! Here’s everything Microsoft announced at its October 26 Windows event. Windows 10 Creators Update As I said, the freshly revealed Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled to arrive in early 2017, kicked off the show. The update is…

MICROSOFT SEES THE HoloLens and what Microsoft calls “mixed reality” as a big part of the company’s future. We’ll get our first major taste of that vision this spring when the next major update to Windows 10, dubbed the Creators Update, rolls out. The new update appears targeted especially at Windows users between the ages of 12 and 24—who, Microsoft says, value creativity more highly than previous generations. That said, everyone else can come along for the ride, too, with new 3D creation tools for smartphones, PCs, the HoloLens, and virtual reality headsets. Gaming also gets a big nod in the Creators Update, with a built-in game broadcasting feature, custom gaming tournaments, and Dolby Atmos support for the Xbox One S. Here’s a breakdown of what’s coming. Windows Capture 3D A new feature headed…

MICROSOFT’S SURFACE STUDIO charges aggressively into territory once held by Apple, combining an elegant design; a massive, lovely display; and an eye-popping price tag. We had a chance to try the company’s first-ever desktop after it was announced (go.pcworld.com/surfacestudio) the morning of October 26. Here’s what stood out during the demo. Although the specs fall slightly short (go.pcworld.com/surfacestudiospecs) of state-of-the-art, everything felt extremely fast and responsive. The base $2,999 offering includes a 6th-generation (Skylake) Core i5, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GPU, a 1TB hybrid drive, and 8GB of memory. At the highest end, the $4,199 model includes a 6th-gen Core i7, 32GB of memory, and a GTX980M GPU, along with 2TB of storage. What I like most about the Surface Studio is how it pivots, literally, from a single-purpose workstation…

FLOATING SOMEWHERE ON the Internet is a PCWorld burrito truck, thanks to the power of Microsoft’s Paint 3D Preview. One version even has wings. Virtually everyone who’s used Windows is familiar with Paint, the default drawing program that’s shipped with generations of Windows. Microsoft needed a bridge between Paint and a new generation of users that Microsoft wants to get hooked on the HoloLens and 3D printing, so it created the 3D Builder app in Windows 10. That app got no traction, so for its next attempt, Microsoft folded the features into the familiar Paint name, retooling the app for 3D—which Insiders can now download from the Windows 10 Store. Sure, you can use Paint for some 2D functions. But this is really about 3D content creation. How to get started Paint 3D…

DELL’S GETTING READY to take on Microsoft’s Surface Studio (go.pcworld.com/surfacestudio) in 2017. During a promotional video (youtu.be/Y5E_dGW2DFY) at Adobe Max, Dell revealed a Surface Studio–like PC aimed at creative professionals—but don’t call it a copycat device. HP introduced the first creative-oriented PC (go.pcworld.com/hpsprouthandson), the Sprout, two years ago, and Dell says it’s been working on (go.pcworld.com/smartdeskproto) what it calls the Dell Smart Desk (working title) (go.pcworld.com/dellsmartdesk) for about three years. Shortly after Adobe Max, the company took to Twitter (twitter.com/Dell/status/ 793898480582422528) to say the Smart Desk will be formally announced during the Consumer Electronics Show (pcworld.com/category/ces) in January. The Smart Desk actually appears a bit more complicated than the Surface Studio. Microsoft’s new enterprise product is essentially a massive tablet that can sit at a comfortable angle for touch interaction for long…

MehBook “Pro” The immediate reaction to Apple’s long-overdue MacBook Pro overhaul (go.pcworld.com/mcbkprotouchhandson) seems mixed, to say the least. For every excited reaction to the laptop’s adaptive Touch Bar keys, we see people lamenting the lack of ports (go.pcworld.com/7techkilledinmcbk 2016) that professional users actually need, the lack of a 32GB memory option, the lack of an SD card slot, and the lack of, well, pretty much any “pro” features in the entry-level MacBook Pro model (which still costs $1,500 and up). Fear not: If “Pro” is more than a mere buzzword to you, there’s a veritable cornucopia of attractive, yet powerful, PC laptops just waiting to scratch your itch. And Windows itself is bending over backward to cater to professionals, recently adding in tons of power tools—even Linux’s beloved Bash (go.pcworld.com/bashhowto)!—with a new…