Microsoft is preparing to launch an own-brand Windows 8 tablet by the end of 2012, helped by component suppliers Texas Instruments and a number of Taiwan based vendors, sources tell Digitimes .
Microsoft, which has trypically partnered with smartphone and electronic companies to push its Windows products on mobile and PC devices, could change the way it operates in the tablet market in an attempt to compete with Apple’s iOS platform and dominant App Store marketplace.
To do this, Microsoft is thought to be copying its branding strategy from product lines including its Xbox 360 and Zune products, helping draw more consumer attention in a growing tablet market. Given that the Xbox 360 has been hugely successful but the Zune already failing to make any inroads into to Apple’s iPod dominance, the decision to brand tablets is a risky one.
A move into launching its own products could potentially upset vendors working with Microsoft to push products powered by Microsoft software, although Digitimes reports that sources have said a launch would be unlikely to impact the software giant in the short term.
Microsoft has not commented on rumours.
Hacking the Epicurean Adventure: How to build the ultimate Geek Kitchen
Where others see the chore of cooking up a meal, I see an adventure. Where others avoid using pans for fear of washing up, I see a laboratory waiting for my experiments. I’m a geek and I love cooking.
Cooking to me is not just a way to get food on your plate and cover your calorific needs. The kitchen is my playground, where I get to experiment with physics and chemistry. I can take a few egg whites and create my favourite dessert . I can tweak every recipe to make it mine and not only keep me healthy but also satisfy my tastebuds’ craving for salt.
I’ll start however with a rant.
With my rant out of the way let’s look at a few things that I’ve found incredibly smart and geeky.
First off is the appropriately titled Cooking for Geeks . This book is essential in the cooking arsenal of a Geek Chef. What I’ve found, and this book covers, is that cooking is not about recipes. It’s about understanding how cooking works so you can hack it. Then the fun begins. You can make your own recipes, find the perfect temperature for your meats and tweak other dishes to suit your pallet.
The epitome of geekiness comes under the title of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking (before visiting the link I need to warn you, be sure you remain seated as the price of it might give you a small black-out). This is not just a cook book, the writers are huge science geeks and take you on a journey of learning exactly what happens in the kitchen.
I like my meat extremely well done, with a crisp outer layer. I know this kills most flavours and people that know meat will start swearing at me, but that’s the way I like it. Even though I like my meat burnt, when I first learned about Sous-Vide , I fell in love. The term sous vide (pronounced soo–veed) is a French term, meaning under vacuum. It’s a culinary technique made for geeks in which vacuum-sealed food is immersed in water and cooked at a precise, consistent temperature. The temperature control takes all the guessing out of cooking your meat and thankfully it’s now affordable. The one offer I’ve seen in shops is SousVide Supreme and looks like a good setup.
Apps follow us everywhere and of course in the kitchen. These are the geekiest I’ve found:
About’s recipe analyser is amazing. I’m always interested in making my recipes healthy so this is essential. Now I know exactly what fibre and protein my muffin will give me :)
Ratio makes your life easier. It takes some basic recipes and helps you calculate what you need for the batch that you’re making.
Cooking thermometers are essential. Going all the way to your BBQ or oven to check it is lame. Thankfully there is an app for that. iGrill together with its Bluetooth meat thermometer does cool things like support multiple probes, tell you how much time is left and even give you recipe ideas.
Molecular gastronomy is where things start getting really geeky and serious. It’s basically advanced chemistry in cooking. Made popular by chefs like Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal, this is where you can really experiment and get very creative. It used to be that only chefs had the luxury to do these experiments but new kits like Cuisine R-Evolution have made it possible to experiment with foams and other stuff in your kitchen.
I discovered Cooking for Engineers a few years ago and it made me happy to see that there are also others that take the same analytical approach to cooking as I do, and measure everything (the fact that the recipes include every measurement in imperial and metric is awesome). If you want recipes that are not your usual vague, cup measured challenges (again, who measures butter in cups?), then check Michael’s work.
At least once in your life you’ve seen a tasty treat in the video game that you’re playing and want to have a taste (I always wanted to slurp down a Diablo potion). Gourmet gaming ‘s mission is to bring you recipes from the games you are playing!
If you are starting out and haven’t equipped your kitchen yet, or just want to start cooking like a geek, here’s what’s essential. – A digital scale. Not only can you measure the ingredients to the gram, it makes it easy to tweak, translate and update your recipes. – A meat and oven thermometre. Need I say more? – Measuring cups, spoons, etc. The more you can get the better. This allows you to translate cups or other terms to grams or mls and then tweak to find exactly how much you need.
Cooking is an art and geeks are culinary artists in their own experimental, scientific, epicurean way. As with everything else it’s all about learning, experimenting and hacking things better.
So, what are your favourite geeky tools and recipes?
Grove Made’s Bamboo Case for iPad 2 is Delicious
I’m a huge fan of Grove Made’s cases for iPhone. They’re hand crafted out of bamboo and feel great in the hand and in day-to-day use. In addition, they’re simply delicious looking. It’s new iPad 2 case is no exception.
In addition to the beautifully finished bamboo shell, the new iPad 2 case is equipped with a segmented leather cover that emulates the form and function of the Apple Smart Cover. It even has embedded magnets that duplicate the auto power-on function of Apple’s cover.
Grove iPad 2 Case from Joe Mansfield on Vimeo .
It actually one-ups the Apple case by folding back leather-out to protect the ultrasuede inside when it acts as a stand. This is something that I wish that Apple had thought of as I’m constantly worried about how dirty the cloth interior of my Smart Cover is getting.
I’ve actually seen some iPads start to show wear where the Smart Cover’s hinge makes contact with the body, which is why it’s nice to see that the attachment point of the Grove cover is soft and not metal-on-metal.
Grove also offers custom engraving on the leather covers and all of it’s products are custom made in Portland Oregon. You can order one now on Grove’s site with a plain cover for $99, a custom engraved cover for $139 or one of their designs for $129.