PCWorld Nov-13

INTEL BUILT ITS three new Extreme Edition chips, including the six-core Core i7-4960X, for the “1 percent” of geeks who demand the best of the best for gaming and high-end computing. The new processors appear atop Intel’s price list; you can expect to pay up to $990 for the processor alone—not including a CPU cooler. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in pulling maximum frame rates and detail levels from top-tier titles like Metro 2033 or the Crysis series, you’ll want to consider Intel’s new chips. An oldie but a goodie Despite their 4000-series model numbers, the new Core i7 chips are based on Intel’s older Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, not on Haswell (the code name for the new Extreme Edition series is Ivy Bridge-E). That means it’s restricted to Socket 2011 motherboards running Intel’s X79…

THE SIRI EFFECT is spreading. Starting this fall, Nuance, a company that makes advanced speech recognition and transcription software, will bundle Dragon Assistant, its Siri-like voice-command app, with select Intel-powered Ultrabooks and all-in-one desktops. Dragon Assistant could change how people use speech recognition in everyday computing. Even if you’re a good typist, speech recognition can enhance your productivity by letting you handle everything from basic commands to emails without touching the keyboard. Though people worry about the training time—and there is some of that—it varies from product to product. These tips will help you get the most out of Nuance’s speech-recognition programs. Dealing with Dragon PC users have four Dragon products available (go.pcworld.com/dragon). Dragon Home ($75) is for basic users. The $150 Dragon Premium supports working in spreadsheets and presentations, while the $600 Dragon…

RETAIL COPIES OF the Windows 8.1 operating system are now available in stand-alone, full versions, not as upgrades from previous versions of Windows (go.pcworld.com/win81rev). Unfortunately, pricing for the new Windows 8.1 editions will match that of Windows 8: $120 for Windows 8.1 by itself, and $200 for the Pro edition. If you already have Windows 8 or 8.1 and wish to upgrade to the Pro version, you can still do so for $100. Pro users who want to add Media Center functionality can do that upgrade for $10. But with Windows 8.1, Microsoft will make two important changes. First, users have the option of buying either an upgrade code for digital download or a retail DVD. That allows traditionalists the option of a physical disc in case of a hard disk crash.…

DON’T COUNT WINDOWS RT OUT YET: Although Windows RT and the Windows RT-powered Surface have had their detractors—and fans—RT-powered tablets will apparently remain in the conversation for some time to come, as Microsoft executives said in September that customers should expect “many more Windows RT tablets” in the future. As part of a 2013 financial analyst meeting (go.pcworld.com/msanalysts), Microsoft assembled its key leaders to field questions. Terry Myerson, executive vice president in charge of all of Microsoft’s operating systems, said that his job was to exploit commonalities in design, silicon, and interfaces to enable consistent experiences across different platforms. Myerson said that he had three key beliefs: one silicon interface for all devices, one API for all devices, and the availability of all apps on all devices. Moreover, all devices should be cloud-powered,…

THE CONCEPT OF wearable computing is finally starting to make sense, as technology shrinks and we rely more and more on our devices to guide us through the physical world. But the technology requirements of an ideal smartwatch don’t line up with current realities—and until these devices grow some Google Now–like brains, smartwatches will continue to break our hearts (Google Now is Google’s personal assistant for mobile operating systems; see go.pcworld.com/now). Today’s smartwatches are basically just proxies for your phone’s existing notifications, along with a handful of watchfriendly apps. Such features are nice, but they’re not enough. To become more useful, smartwatches need to be, well, smarter. Imagine a watch that lights up when it’s time for you to leave for your next appointment. Or one that doubles as an electronic airline boarding…

THE CONSTITUTION PROTECTS your right to like whatever inane Facebook page you want to, a federal appeals court in Virginia decided in September (go.pcworld.com/facebookspeech). The decision was spurred by the sheriff of Hampton, Virginia, who fired his employees for liking his electoral challenger’s Facebook campaign page. U.S. Circuit Judge William Traxler wrote in the court’s decision that liking a political candidate’s Facebook page is “the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech.” Facebook, of course, is pleased with the decision. The social network’s representatives argued before the appeals court earlier this year that likes are an essential part of communicating on the platform and should be protected as free speech. It seems obvious: The freedom to express political opinions is a…