With any new product comes a new advertising campaign, and the iPad Mini is no different. Apple wasted no time in getting the show on the road, with the launch of three ads featuring its new, smaller iPad.

Apple’s new iPad may be small but there’s nothing mini about its advertising campaign, with the tech company rolling out not one, not even two, but three ads featuring the new device.

The first is short and sweet, running for just 30 seconds. It starts out with someone playing the opening notes to Hoagy Carmichael’s Heart and Soul with two fingers using a piano app on a full-size iPad. The new Mini then slides into view with the same piano keyboard displayed on the screen, whereupon a duet commences, with the iPad Mini pianist using one finger to play along. And that’s it. The short skit gives consumers a clear idea of how much smaller the new iPad is, while planting the idea that anything you can do on the big one, you can also do on the small one.

The second ad also runs for about half a minute and focuses on the iPad Mini’s new Smart Cover, protecting the screen from damage while adding a splash of color to the device. Incidentally, this Smart Cover is without the aluminum hinge found on with the iPad’s Smart Cover. Again, the ad is simple and slick, with a piano-based soundtrack, lots of iPad Minis and Smart Covers, and no voiceover.

Finally, there’s the full-on, look-what-we-have-here, meat-and-bones ad, coming in at just under five minutes. It’s in Apple’s familiar style, you know the type – white, brightly lit sets, talking heads, and a number of inserts showing the new product in everyday use. Now Tim Cook and his team just have to wait and see if anyone buys it….

Continuing to be a prevalent problem in regards to online security, people still love to use "password" for their password.

Retaining the number one spot as the least secure password for yet another year, people that continue to use the phrase “password” as their personal password remain at the highest risk when it comes to hacking. Detailed in SplashData’s annual report, the three phrases ”password,” “123456,” and “12345678,” have continued to dominate the top three spots on the list. Rounding out the top ten worst passwords of 2012, phrases include “abc123,” “qwerty,” “monkey,” “letmein,” “dragon,” “111111,” and “baseball.” SplashData chooses the rankings of these common security phrases based off what hackers are posting to the Internet. For instance, nearly half a million usernames and passwords for Yahoo users were posted on the Internet during July 2012.

Regarding the lackadaisical online security utilized by many people around the world, SplashData CEO Morgan Slain stated “At this time of year, people enjoy focusing on scary costumes, movies and decorations, but those who have been through it can tell you how terrifying it is to have your identity stolen because of a hacked password.”

Slain continued “We’re hoping that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites.”

New entries to the 2012 list include “jesus,” “ninja,” and “password1.” Phrases that have fallen off the list from last year include “superman,” “passw0rd,” and “bailey.” The entire 2012 list of the 25 worst passwords looks like:

• password 
• 123456 
• 12345678 
• abc123
• qwerty
• monkey
• letmein
• dragon
• 111111
• baseball
• iloveyou
• trustno1
• 1234567
• sunshine
• master
• 123123 
• welcome 
• shadow 
• ashley 
• football 
• jesus 
• michael 
• ninja
• mustang 
• password1

If you are using any of these security phrases for an online account, it’s highly recommended that you switch to a more secure phrase. In order to create a safer password, SplashData suggests using security phrases with at least eight characters while utilizing a variety of characters within the phrase.

This could include using a common phrase that’s broken up by underscores between words or substituting symbols for letters within a word. For instance, the phrase “p@$$w0r6″ is more secure than typing out the word using all letters.

Splashdata also recommends using multiple passwords across different types of sites. For instance, using the same security phrase on a social network as you do when accessing your online banking could become problematic if the social network is hacked. If a user has difficulty remembering passwords across multiple sites, there is a variety of software that can manage security phrases and automatically fill in the password data when visiting a site. However, Web browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have offered this feature for quite a while.

In reference to security phrase creation, Slain said “Even though each year hacking tools get more sophisticated, thieves still tend to prefer easy targets. Just a little bit more effort in choosing better passwords will go a long way toward making you safer online. It just takes a few extra moments to make a password better. If you get started now and make it a resolution to keep it up, your life online will be safer and more secure in 2013.”

Making a far quieter entrance into the market than its Mini counterpart, the iPad 4 has arrived. It's the fourth refresh the iPad has had in two years. Check out its specs alongside its predecessor and see if the iPad 4 is worth it for you.

Every company with a tablet on the market wants its product to be the “iPad Killer.” Unfortunately for its competitors, Apple has a tendency of killing its own products and bringing them back to life with improvements that leapfrog the last benchmark. In its nearly regular refresh — the fourth in two years — to the iPad, Apple is making some small changes. Visually, nothing changes as the device holds steady at the same dimensions and identical Retina display that was introduced on the iPad 3. The processor got a slight boost to a 1.3GHz A6X dual-core and the front-facing camera gets clearer with a 1.3-megapixel lens. The charging port is also changed out for the new Lightning Connector. Take a look at the full side-by-side spec breakdown below.

It doesn’t seem like Apple will be chasing too many current iPad owners with the iPad 4. The upgrades are fairly minimal from what the 3rd generation offered and likely won’t convert iPad 3 owners. More than likely, the iPad 4′s market will be for folks that are still without a tablet in their possession or for people who passed on the last two refreshes and still own the original iPad or the iPad 2. Assuming the price for the iPad 3 drops similarly to how the iPad 2 did (currently $400 in the Apple Store), it may become an attractive entry level tablet for people that prefer the Apple brand. The iPad 4 feels like it got pushed out to market to make the Lightning connector the universal offering in Apple’s mobile line. It may still be an option for hold outs, but iPad 3 owners may be wise to skip this generation.

(*A quick note: We use the words iPad 3 and iPad 4 to mean 3rd generation and 4th generation iPad.)

Pay no attention to the pixels behind the curtain.

Despite the movie being more than seventy years old, The Wizard of Oz is about to become the latest motion picture to be turned into a social media video game. Warner Bros. has licensed the rights to the 1939 movie classic starring Judy Garland to an independent game studio in an attempt to create the next social gaming phenomenon. The result is something that’s taken two years, and almost $8,000,000, to develop.

The game is the creation of Chicago-based Spooky Labs, which has created what it’s describing as “the first branded online, interactive, multi-platform social game designed specifically for Facebook.” Mixing clips from the original movie with highly-rendered 3D graphics (No glasses required, according to Spooky Labs), the game aims to be the first in a new line of interactive experiences taking advantage of familiar movie brands for a potentially older demographic than tends to play social media games. Spooky CEO Joe Kaminkow told the Hollywood Reporter that ““I don’t think there’s ever been a high end product developed off of a big brand like this, ever, in this space. There have been things like a Game of Thrones and others, but something so nostalgic based, will have great appeal to our demographic which is decidedly females 35 plus, up to 55 years of age.”

Kaminkow is excited about the potential of using Wizard of Oz to expand the audience and scope of online social gaming. “We saw this amazing thing occurring on Facebook,” he explained. “As game designers we have never had an opportunity to make a game that would be enjoyed by millions of people, maybe hundreds of millions of people, simultaneously and in an interactive way with your friends. We looked at that space and said, ‘Oh my gosh, everything we’ve ever done in our entire career has led us to this moment.’” Not that the release of the game – currently in beta – will mean the end; according to Kaminkow, “the day we launch the game is not the day we end development; it’s the day we ramp up development because we know the consumer is going to be insatiable wanting more and more experiences in the game.”

Of course, to get to that point, players will have to sit through a 45 minute tutorial from Glenda the good witch on the rules and objectives of the game (The short version: The player has to negotiate the world of the movie and, like Dorothy, find the city of Oz in order to return to Kansas) before they’re unleashed on their own adventures full of wonderful things they do. Kaminkow is ready for the game to be a big hit – in beta testing, players have stayed in the game for up to eleven hours at a time, suggesting that it’s very addictive – and, when it hits, he says that Spooky is ready for the next big thing: “We have a whole slate of products coming,” he says, “but Wizard is really our tent pole.”

We compare the new 13-inch MacBook Pro to Sony's Vaio Z to see how it stacks up to one of its closest PC competitors, along with the old, non-Retina MacBook Pro thrown in for good measure.

You had to know it was coming. After extending its well-regarded Retina display technology from the iPhone to the iPad, then the 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple continued packing pixels on Tuesday by introducing the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina. Like its larger Pro predecessors, it also gets thinner and lighter this year, and like the MacBook Air, it sacrifices its optical drive in the process. Yet unlike that most waif of Apple notebooks, the Pro still uses a full-power CPU running at 2.5GHz —  not the clocked-down chips found in the MacBook Air and its Ultrabook competitors. Its high resolution, low weight and full-speed processor make the MacBook Pro difficult to find a close competitor to in the PC world, but we picked Sony’s Vaio Z for its similar no-compromises approach. Read on to see how they stacked up, along with the old 13-inch MacBook Pro thrown in for good measure.

The Borderlands franchise is headed to iOS with the mysterious, top-down action-RPG Borderlands Legends.

 Based on how well it sold, it seems pretty likely that a good number of you reading this are currently working your way through Borderlands 2. We don’t blame you either: The game is an addictive mix of open-world exploration, first-person shooter action and Diablo-esque item collection. We gave it a 9.5 in our recent review, and according to Metacritic the majority of gaming news outlets agree with our assessment.

However, if Borderlands 2 has one major flaw it’s that the game is almost totally stationary. Without some serious hacking and clever workarounds, if you want to play Borderlands 2 you’re either going to be sitting on your couch, staring at a TV, or chained to a PC. This makes it incredibly hard to line up headshots on psychos during your morning commute, but what if the franchise offered a truly mobile option that captured the same spirit and basic gameplay tropes of the two main entries in the Borderlands series while removing the need for players to remain sedentary?

That seems to be the question developer Gearbox Software posed to itself immediately before coming up with the plan for Borderlands Legends, an iOS Borderlands adventure scheduled to hit Apple devices on October 31. Legends, which drops players into the shoes of the original vault hunters seen in the first Borderlands, seemingly attempts to replicate the gameplay found in its console predecessors. “Like the original Borderlands and Borderlands 2, Borderlands Legends blends two popular genres, action RPG and strategy, to create addictive, isometric gameplay that lets players level up their characters while fending off relentless waves of Skags, Bandits and other baddies,” reads the official 2K Games blog entry on the title.

That aforementioned blog entry directs readers to an Entertainment Weekly article — apparently Entertainment Weekly gets exclusive gaming scoops now — which is excitedly described as “the world’s first look at the game.” It’s not a very informative read if you’ve already seen the 2k Games blog, but it does offer a handful of screenshots depicting the game in action. Here we see the biggest change from earlier Borderlands games: Legends is played from a top-down perspective and seems to focus more on strategy than its predecessors. It’s even got a cover system.

We won’t judge Legends before we’ve played it, but even if it as a total mess, at least it won’t cost you much to figure that out. According to 2K Games, Borderlands Legends will set iPhone users back $5 while iPad users will find a $7 price tag on their iteration of the game. Whether Gearbox continues its tradition of bolstering Borderlands titles with huge swaths of additional downloadable content with this iOS game remains to be seen, but if Legends is a success we doubt that Gearbox would leave the game alone. If nothing else, the studio has an extra five character classes introduced in Borderlands 2 that should fit alongside Mordecai, Roland, Brick and Lilith quite nicely.

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Amidst Apple iPad announcements, Asus took charge to unveil its own line of Windows 8 computers, featuring the dualscreen Taichi ultrabook. The 11 incher boasts screens on both the inside and outside of the cover, allowing you to use your laptop in a more social setting.

Asus founder Jonney Shih took to the stage this afternoon in New York City to unveil a slew of Windows 8 computers, including a dockable tablet (Asus Vivo Tab RT), a lightweight notebook (Asus VivoBook), and an all-in-one PC. But the star of the show was clear the Asus Taichi dualscreen convertible ultrabook/tablet that can display two screens simultaneously, making even the laptop a social gadget.

The 2.75-pound Asus Taichi features an 11.6-inch screen that’s equipped with Intel Core i5, 128GB of solid state drive, Intel graphics, 10-finger touch capacitive display, and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. It’s also got a 5-megapixel front-facing camera capable of capturing 1080p HD video while the inside cam records in 720p. Did we mention an integrated Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speaker? Battery life takes a backseat for powering two screens, however, coming in at just five hours per charge.

While most Windows 8 laptops have a button on the keyboard that takes you to the Windows Metro UI, once you close the laptop, the outer screen will automatically switch on to whatever you were working on from the inside screen. You have the option of turning this off, of course, as well as the ability to lock auto-screen rotation. At the top corner of the display, you can also jump into the Asus’s own UI which will let you select screen sharing options. Here, you can choose Display Modes, such as turning on just the outer or inner screen, or a Mirror Mode that turns both screens on at the same time with the same content. The fourth option lets you display two different screens between the outer and inner screens, making it easy to share the laptop between two people or play games with one laptop.

It’s unlike many laptops we’ve seen, and certainly have its unique perks. Those who are afraid of getting scratches on their laptop might want to think twice about being extra cautious around using the Asus Taichi. The hybrid laptop slash tablet ships in November, and starts at $1,300 while the maxed out version with Intel Core i7, a stylus, and 256GB of SSD bumps up to $1,600.

Assuming you have a PlayStation Plus subscription (or are supremely lucky) you'll get your first opportunity to try out God Of War: Ascension's multiplayer combat later this year.

In an announcement made this morning Sony revealed that the multiplayer beta for the upcoming God Of War: Ascension “is coming to PlayStation Plus this winter.” That should be seen as good news, not only because it gives devout God Of War fans a chance to play the game early, but also because it indicates that the Ascension development team realizes that it has to get the game’s online multiplayer component just right. After all, this is the God Of War series, Sony’s flagship action franchise, and with Ascencion being the first God Of War title to feature online multiplayer action there’s a lot of pressure to make sure that it performs flawlessly.

Say you don’t happen to be subscribed to PlayStation Plus though. What then? Well, according to this PlayStation.blog post, the company is also making the beta available to those fans dedicated enough to slog through a web-based “quest” on the newly re-launched God Of War website. Dubbed “Rise Of The Warrior,” the “game” tells a tale set within the God Of War universe that is driven by choices players make on the website as a collective. If a player’s chosen army (you’re asked to align yourself with either Spartan or Trojan forces) wins its members could receive a week of early beta access and a month-long PlayStation Plus subscription. Other items on offer through Rise Of The Warrior include “early in-game unlocks for God of War: Ascension multiplayer” as well as exclusive armor and weaponry.

While this is a boon for God Of War fans (and the new Zeus-centric trailer found below is quite pretty), it does lack one crucial feature: Any solid word on when exactly we might see this beta test. Both the PlayStation.blog post and Sony’s PR blast simply state that the beta will open at some point this winter, but given that Ascension isn’t scheduled to hit store shelves until March 2013 we’re left with a huge window of time in which this beta could possibly go live. We’d hope that Sony would want to roll this thing out as soon as possible, if for no other reason than to give its developers ample time to react to bugs and glitches discovered in the beta, but for all we know this beta could be less of an attempt to test the game’s multiplayer functionality and more a simple marketing gimmick, designed to increase hype among prospective buyers months before its expected retail debut.

Regardless of when Sony decides to officially commence the demo, we expect to hear more on this story shortly. As updates roll in, we’ll keep you all informed, but if testing the multiplayer component of God Of War: Ascension sounds entertaining to you, this might be a good time to start exploring the new God Of War website. Even if you don’t get into the beta, you’ll still likely receive a solid primer on God Of War canon and we have to assume that there are at least a few of you who don’t play these games exclusively for the over-the-top brutality.

Microsoft completed its week long roll out of the new Xbox 360 dashboard on Tuesday, preparing its console business for the Friday release of Windows 8. Changes to the interface might not please users, though.

The Oct. 16 roll out of the new Xbox 360 dashboard was a little confusing for Microsoft’s customers. Some people were able to download the update immediately, while others were forced to wait. “To ensure a stable release, this will be a gradual deployment across subscribers and regions over the course of the next week,” said Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb. The wait’s over. Microsoft made Tuesday the final release roll out for the new Xbox 360 dashboard for all.

Just to recap what’s new in this package, there’s a new layout for the dashboard, which is now customizable thanks to “Pinning,” a tool for marking which apps you most want on the front page. Zune Video has also officially been changed to Xbox Video, and the Bing-fueled Xbox 360 version of Internet Explorer is in as well. All of these new features are really secondary to the real role of the new interface, which is creating greater parity between Microsoft’s home entertainment business and its PC business which is undergoing a major overhaul with the Friday release of Windows 8. Microsoft wants its products to be as broadly familiar, and idiosyncratic, as Apple’s mobile and PC products.

There’s a fly in the proverbial ointment, though. The update removes some features from the Xbox 360 that Microsoft was all too proud of just a few years ago, namely the Twitter and Facebook apps. A Microsoft rep told IGN last week that the company was “retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps” in order to “streamline” app functionality on Xbox 360.

On the one hand, those devoted apps aren’t wholly necessary anymore thanks to the introduction of the Xbox version of Internet Explorer. This is still a television-based living room device, though, and tailored apps are guaranteed to be more usable than the basic web pages, no matter how streamlined the new console web browser is. So why remove the apps?

To better prepare Xbox users for a console that uses Windows 8. The Xbox 720 is said to use the greatly changed Windows platform, and since that’s the case, Microsoft will naturally want Xbox users to leverage Windows 8’s patented “People” app for social networking rather than individually branded apps. That will presumably help strengthen the Windows ecosystem for users. Whether that will work depends entirely on how users cotton to Windows 8 on PCs first. If Microsoft’s new OS is met with the same sort of scorn as past refreshes like Windows Vista, it may have to reconsider these changes.

The iPad mini has been announced, but how does it stack up against its rivals? We compare it to the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 to find out which tablet might be the best bang for your buck.

It’s rare that Apple is late to the game. The 7-inch tablet market has been able to offer a smaller portable platform without having to take the direct comparisons to Apple’s offerings. That is no longer the case thanks to the announcement of the iPad Mini. Apple has done its best to make a big splash into the smaller size market to make up for lost ground. The Cupertino company has managed to get a bigger screen and lighter weight than its major competitors. Its storage starts at where most max out, and it features 4G LTE capabilities. Of course, all of those selling points come at a price. The iPad Mini starts at $330, easily making it the most costly option in the 7-inch market. Does its features justify its price tag? Take a look at the specs and draw your conclusions. 

Looking at the numbers, Apple doesn’t fare well here. It has half the RAM, less processing power, and a much higher price than the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD. The key to iPad’s value is its content. Neither Google nor Amazon can match the number of apps available on the iPad by a long shot. The new iPad also has a Lightning connector, a la the iPhone 5, which puts it on a somewhat level playing field with the Fire HD and Nexus 7 when it comes to accessories, though you can use any Micro USB charger on Nexus and Fire. Google is expected to announce a 4G version of the Nexus 7, but for now the iPad mini takes a lead in that category as well. Will people pay more for a less spec intensive piece of hardware? We’ll soon find out.

As Apple was unveiling its latest slate of gadgets this morning, casual gaming giant Zynga dumped over 100 employees. Suspicious timing? Maybe that's the point.

In case you weren’t aware, this morning Apple unveiled its latest devices, including a new 13-inch MacBook Pro and the iPad Mini. Given the site you’re currently reading it’s likely that you were following the event with rapt attention and already knew about all of this. However, obscured by this news is far less pleasant word that Zynga (the people behind Farmville and a number of other suspiciously derivative yet wildly successful casual games) has laid off a huge number of employees.

Before we get to the conspiracy theories or specific impact reports, you should have a look at the tweet that initially broke this news. Former Apple employee Justin Maxwell tweeted the following shortly before 11AM PST this morning:

Zynga just laid off 100+ employees (incl. my friends) in its Austin office during the Apple Event. Gave them 2 hours to vacate. RT please.

This rumor then sent gaming journalists scurrying for verification and while we’d like to say it was a hoax, the facts say otherwise. According to TechCrunch, Zynga’s Boston office has been completely shuttered, while “there are still about 1/3 of the workers still around the Austin office.” Hit hardest in Austin are the development teams working on The Ville (pictured above) and Zynga Bingo. According to The Verge, the extent of the layoffs is even worse than initially thought: “A second source has confirmed there were layoffs in Austin, Chicago, and Boston today,” The Verge claims. 

As one might expect, Zynga is being completely silent on the matter. We have attempted to contact the company’s representatives, but have yet to receive a response. Given that the company is no doubt being bombarded with the same questions over and over again by various journalists and has yet to say anything in its own defense, we honestly doubt we’re going to hear anything.

Obviously it’s always terrible news when people are laid off, but these particular mass firings weren’t at all unexpected. Zynga has been going through a rough time lately, both because The Ville has been hemorrhaging users like a hemophiliac bullfighter and because EA sued Zynga over the similarities between its SimCity Social and The Ville. Given Zynga’s history of stealing design concepts from popular games, then bullying their creators with legal threats, this is very, very bad news for the company. Most of the firms and people Zynga finds itself in court with don’t really have the finances to defend themselves against Zynga’s lawyers, but EA is one of the biggest gaming publishers in the world. It certainly has the cash and legal resources to combat Zynga and given how much revenue the SimCity franchise has brought in over the years, we doubt EA’s legal team has been instructed to show mercy or compassion.

Regardless of how inevitable these layoffs may have been, their timing comes as very suspicious to most observers. We don’t want to attempt to ascribe motivations to the company that haven’t been confirmed, but legions of Internet cynics believe that Zynga timed these layoffs to coincide with the Apple event specifically so that the tech and gaming industry would be focused on new tablets and ultra thin computers instead of the unceremonious fashion in which Zynga dropped a bunch of its employees. 

Believe that theory or not, it’s entirely up to you, but what is not debatable is that over 100 people now find themselves jobless. Here’s hoping everyone can find new employment quickly.

In the past, re-releasing a game as a digital download was simple since the original release was only available as an out of print disc or cartridge. Doom 3: BFG Edition demonstrates that the business is trickier when a game was released digitally first.

Doom 3: BFG Edition came out last week, and by all accounts, it’s quite good. id Software’s HD remastering of the decade-old PC game looks fine and includes one of the most-requested fixes for any of the company’s shooters, namely the inclusion of a flashlight that’s always on rather than inexplicably put in a space marine’s pocket when he needs a gun. With the full releases of Doom, Doom 2, and those games’ various expansions as well, this should be the definitive version of the game. “Definitive” isn’t a redeeming quality for collectors and completists though. BFG Edition won’t be enough for that obsessive Steam user that needs the authentic experience of everything. Tough luck for them, though: The original Doom 3 is now prohibitively expensive for them.

Eurogamer reported on Tuesday that anyone that wants the original Doom 3 experience on Steam will have to cough up £76, around $121, for the privilege. That’s because the game is only available now as part of the 24 game package called the Super id Software Pack.

Prior to BFG Edition’s release, this wasn’t the case. A number of options were out there, including a vanilla Steam download of the game for $20, as well as the Doom 3 Pack, which includes expansion Ressurection of Evil, for $25. There was also the BFG Edition-like Doom Pack Complete which had all the same goodies with the exception of an HD-ified Doom 3. All of those downloadable options have since been removed from the store.

Some Steam users are miffed about the change. The BFG Edition is more expensive than these other options at $30, but that’s not what’s rankled some Steam users. The problem is that the Steam version of BFG Edition doesn’t support the many, many mods made for the original version of the game over the past eight years.

id Software parent Bethesda didn’t comment on the issue, but it doesn’t really need to. It’s limiting the digital retail access to an aged product in order to better promote the new product. At the same time, the decision to halt sales of an old version of a game with a mod community, however small, surrounding it illuminates the ongoing problem of preserving video games. Digital re-releases of old games isn’t usually tricky when the originals aren’t commercially available any more, but we’re approaching a period when many re-releases will still be available as downloads. When that’s common, how will publishers adapt? Will they limit access like Bethesda or come up with new pricing models?

Flinders University has published findings that suggest playing video games before bed can cause significant sleep problems, but the study doesn't distinguish whether it's the games or the screen that's causing trouble.

For those Madden NFL and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 players sinking hours into their consoles this fall, the best time to play is in the evening. Whether it’s down time post school or at the end of the work day, it’s the scant hours before bed that are ideal for gaming with other people. Unfortunately, according to one medical study, that’s the absolute worst time for you to be playing video games.

A report at MedicalXpress (via MCV) detailed a study that found “prolonged video gaming immediately before bed caused significant sleep disruptions in a group of teenage boys, even when they fell asleep at their usual bedtime.”

Australia’s Flinders University Sleep Lab used a test group of 17 people who played a “newly released, fast-paced, violent video game” for between 1 and 2.5 hours over two nights. Those that only played for 1 hour didn’t see their sleep disrupted significantly, but those that played for up to 2.5 hours lost about 27 minutes of sleep, and a 39 minute delay in actually falling asleep. The worst impact is the loss of quality REM sleep, though.

“While they went to bed at their regular bedtime, the adolescents’ still experienced significant sleep disruptions caused by frequent awakenings throughout the night,” said Sleep Lab’s Dr. Michael Gradisar, “Sleep is made up of many different stages and the REM sleep, also known as the dreaming sleep, was reduced by 12 minutes among the teens who played for over two hours. This may not seem like a significant reduction but REM plays an important part in helping us remember content we learnt that day so for adolescents in their final years of school who are revising for exams, winding down at night with a video game might not be the best idea.”

Any parents reading this shouldn’t rush off to tell their kids that Xbox rules are about to change, though. It’s difficult to say whether it’s the games or the actual screen technology that’s causing the problems reported in the Flinders study. A National Sleep Foundation survey conducted in 2011 found that there is a significant correlation between sleep disruption and using any electronic device with a backlit screen—including gaming machines, smartphones, televisions, and computers—before bed. Those findings weren’t new either. A study conducted at Osaka University in 2007 found that “media use before sleep can trigger (self-perceived) insufficient sleep.”

Maybe the solution is to take the classic old codger advice before bed: Read a book. A paper one.

In addition to a slew of other hardware announcements, including two new iPads, a new iMac, and a new MacBook Pro, Apple also threw in an update to its Mac mini lineup at today's keynote event.

As Phil Schiller joked during today’s Apple event, we knew the company would release something with “mini” in the title, and we certainly were right. In fact, Apple not only released the new 7.9-inch iPad mini, but also a new version of its Mac mini with an Ivy Bridge processor. Starting at just $600, the Mac mini is Apple’s smallest, most affordable Mac. Still the world’s most energy efficient desktop, according to Apple, the Mac mini now comes in two new styles. First, the $600 option will give you a 2.5GHz dual-core 15 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB HDD. You can also get a 1TB version for $800.  If you’re looking for something a little more powerful, there’s the $1,000 Mac Mini with OS X server option, which has a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM, and two 1TB hard drives. 

The updated Mac mini will feature a plethora of ports, including Thunderbolt, SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800. The third-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 and quad-core Intel Core 97 processor are up to twice as fast as the previous models. The device features Intel HD Graphics 4000, delivering up to 65 percent more pixels than the previous generations and a faster, smoother, more responsive gaming and movie-watching experience. 

The Mac mini was clearly not Apple’s star of the show. The company hasn’t even updated its press page with new photos and a press release, though they made sure to do so for the iPad mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and iMac. The Mac mini ships today, so let us know what you think if you get your hands on one of them.

In addition to launching the iPad Mini, Apple has also refreshed its full-size iPad range, bringing it in-line with the new tablet, the iPhone 5 and new iPods.

Apple has announced the fourth generation iPad. Introduced by Phil Schiller on stage at a special event in San Jose in California today, just prior to the new iPad Mini, the refreshed model falls in-line with the other new additions to Apple’s mobile range.

At first glance, the new iPad (should that be the new, new iPad?) looks identical to the iPad introduced earlier this year. Get a little closer and you’ll see that the 30-pin connector has been replaced by the new Lightning connector, just like the one featured on the iPhone 5, iPods and the new iPad Mini.

Externally, nothing else has changed, and the tablet still has the same 9.7-inch, 2048 x 1536 pixel ‘Retina’ display dominating the front panel. Inside though, there are a few more alterations.

The major change is with the processor, as the fourth-generation iPad uses the new A6X, which apparently doubles the graphics and CPU performance over the A5X. This should mean the tablet will be even faster, and Apple also promise improved gaming, quicker app launch times and sharper photos and videos.

Other new features include an updated FaceTime camera with 720p video, an improved 4G LTE radio, dual-band Wi-Fi and like the iPad Mini, even more 4G LTE network compatibility.

Apple has kept the pricing the same too, with the 16GB Wi-Fi model up for $500, or $630 if you want to add cellular connectivity. It’s not available through the Apple Store online yet, but should be up for pre-order on October 26, just like the iPad Mini.

After saving the world in The Avengers it seems that Iron Man has hit a rough patch. Being attacked by a new supervillain probably won't help much.

After months of waiting the first trailer for the upcoming Iron Man 3 has hit the ‘net. You can find the entire clip embedded below, but first a few thoughts on what we see here and what it may mean for the film as a whole.

It seems that Tony Stark has been having issues since we last saw him in The Avengers, saving the world from alien invasion. It appears that he’s haunted by the events of that film. This seems a clever move by the filmmakers as not only does it build upon earlier Marvel Studios films (thus expanding the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe), it also offers viewers a believable reason why this normally smug, infinitely capable superhero is overcome with feelings of self-doubt and vulnerability. Which, thanks to comic book logic, makes a supervillain attack inevitable.

Actually, that might be two supervillain attacks. Obviously Ben Kingsley’s depiction of classic Iron Man foe The Mandarin serves as one of the key antagonists, but we’re still wondering what purpose the Iron Patriot suit serves in Iron Man 3. We don’t ever see Iron Man battle his star-spangled doppelganger, just footage of it being unveiled to the public. If we’re sticking with comic book logic, the Iron Patriot (and whoever is wearing that suit) should attack Iron Man at some point — not just because Norman Osborn did it in the comics, but also because two characters this similar are rarely allowed to exist together for long. Iron Man is our hero, so by default Iron Patriot gets to be the “evil” Iron Man.

Unless, of course, the Iron Patriot armor isn’t that important, and is just a new paint scheme for one of Tony Stark’s new suits designed for public relations work at things like parades and park dedications. We have no evidence for this idea, but then again, we also don’t have any evidence against it.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’re going to be in the dark on this question for the immediate future. We expect more information on this movie’s plot to emerge as we inch toward the May 3, 2013 release date Disney has assigned Iron Man 3. In the meantime, leave your reaction to the trailer in the comments.

We got the chance to talk to the Executive Producers of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Lydia Antonini and Josh Feldman, about the fans' reception to the series, the challenges with the production of this high-budget web series, and the future of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

With three episodes of the widely anticipated Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn web series released and the fourth set to debut this Friday, Digital Trends got a chance to talk to the show’s executive producers, Lydia Antonini and Josh Feldman about the making of it, how fans have been responding so far, and where the future lies for the series. With the help of Machinima, 343 Industries, and others, the first episode has rocketed to over five million views since the October 5 premiere, and leads up to the launch of the Halo 4 game for Xbox on November 6.

Set during the first days of the Covenant’s attack on humanity, the series follows a group of UNSC cadets training at a base on a remote human colony, unaware that they will soon be at war. Principle among the cadets is Thomas Lasky (played by Australian actor Tom Green), who is destined to become a leader in the fight against the Covenant, as well as an important figure aboard the UNSC Infinity, a ship that will play a crucial role in Halo 4. When the Covenant strikes, Lasky, along with several others including cadet Chyler Silva (The Chronicle of Narnia series’ Anna Popplewell) and JJ Chen (Osric Chau), find inspiration in the Spartan, John-117, who will soon be known more famously as Master Chief (played by Twilight‘s Daniel Cudmore). 

What’s the setting for the series and will we recognize some of the multiplayer maps seen in the previous Halo games?

Josh: The timeframe of the series goes back to the introduction of the human-Covenant conflict; we’re talking about an insight into a timeframe that to date hasn’t been explored. So we’re introducing some areas. We’re not revisiting areas that multiplayer gamers have previously seen.

Lydia: If you watched episode one, there’s the opening sequence with Master Chief and Cortana on Forward Unto Dawn, and that is a sequence bridge between [Halo 3] and [Halo 4]. The opening sequence picks up where they are and moves us along to the beginning of [Halo 4], and helps bring together the most sophisticated story line that we’re weaving with Thomas Laskey toward [Halo 4]. Forward Unto Dawn is a ship that preexisted.

What were the production challenges?

Lydia: Forward Unto Dawn couldn’t feel like a separate interpretation of Halo. This needed to be a complete, and parcel with the mythology. This was a collaboration with 343 Industries in the truest sense. So the story was broken with us and our writers, and 343, and they were completely involved in every iteration of the script. The biggest challenge is that there hasn’t been this length of live action. Fans have high expectations when it comes to the visual quality of Halo so we knew we had to have a stellar visual effects team that had to work quickly in order to have this launch before the release of Halo 4. So that challenge was aided by the immense design work that had existed by the virtue of the Halo franchise being around for 10 years. Each of the kinds of challenges is important. We had to respond to them by making sure we hired the best people for the job.

Can you divulge Microsoft’s budget for the production of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn?

Lydia: We can’t say, but you can tell that Microsoft gave us the resources to make something very special. They were not cheap at all about making sure that we can do everything that the brand deserves. But with that said we took every dollar and still stretched it much further than anybody thought it could go. So for example the long-form of all of the episodes will be available on Xbox Live on November 6, and plays as a movie, but I think you’d be astounded with what we pulled off with the money.

Was there a difference in the way you approached the development of the series, compared to a full movie for example?

Lydia: Because Halo is such an important franchise to many people and it has such an active fan base, we had to be extremely NDA. We had to be very, very secretive. I’ve heard stories about when they’re shooting an Apple commercial; they’ll actually have two different commercials going on. I personally never had to be that secretive of anything in a long time until this.

Josh: Microsoft had ambitious distribution plans. The first being that it’s going to be distributed as five episodes, and then it’s going to be available as part of the limited edition of the game as a long form piece, where it plays essentially in a feature style. And it’s going to be on Blu-ray and DVD.

Does the storyline follow a younger group of characters with a new target demographic in mind?

Josh: Master Chief is definitely in Forward Unto Dawn and he’ll do all of the things that fans expect of Master Chief, and that was an area that we paid a lot of attention to in building the suit with legacy effects and having a great actor who’s also a really skilled stunt performer to be able to do all of the things Master Chief could.

In terms of the series focusing on younger cadets, I think it adds an element that’s very relatable. Yes, our main characters may be of a similar age group to some of the fans of Halo. I think it’s an opportunity to look at characters that are on the verge of adulthood, when their identity is being forced. And to have a character like Thomas Laskey appear in Halo 4, it’s an opportunity to see the seminal moments in his life that would make the audience and players of Halo 4 that much more interested because they know this back story. This just happens to be that time, and that age that the events take place.

How have fans received the series so far?

Lydia: Overwhelmingly positive. It’s exciting as producers to be able to put something out into the world directly to the consumers and to have them comment and write and view and talk back to you in real-time, which is what YouTube allows. I’ve been reading people’s comments and they’re so supportive. They’ve been picking up on the little details that you knit into a story and that make you ask, “Gosh will anyone notice those?” But they noticed them, they loved it, and they appreciated it. They expect the best, and they really pay attention.

Josh: We were hired by 343 and followed their marching orders, and we know where the buck stops, and that’s with the fans. That was constantly in the back of our minds.

After your experience with Forward Unto Dawn and based on your background in traditional film and TV, what’re your feelings on original programming and would you distribute future content as a TV show or as a web series?

Lydia: Personally I’d like to experiment with doing both simultaneously. I still watch television and I watch shows digitally. They’re both great viewing experiences and they both offer a different amount of interaction, so it would be really fun to play at the intersection of the two to give people a really full 360 degree experience of being able to watch and engaged with the show on their own terms with the environment they choose.

Do you think a web series at the caliber of Forward Unto Dawn can replace a consumer’s TV viewing habit?

Josh: I think in some way there are some people who are going to look at this and be motivated to become a cord cutter, or any of the terms used for people who like access content via digital means, but that’s not a bad thing. But I personally think it speaks more to giving consumers choices with how they access the shows that they love, and each of the different formats offer a different viewing experience. When you watch something digitally or something online, you’re immediately thrust into a forum to debate, talk, compare, argue, critique, and praise alongside fellow members of the community. When you watch something in other formats, you trade some of that interactivity for a greater emphasis on the presentation quality. At a point there’s a convergence to all those things. Until we hit that convergence each venue has attributes that make it appealing to different people.

343′s Kiki Wolfkill mentioned in an interview that Forward Unto Dawn is supposed to make Halo accessible to its users. Was he hinting at changes to Halo 4’s game play?

Lydia: A lot of that detail is really under wraps, but one of the goals that we agreed upon when it was just Josh and I working on the project with 343 is that we wanted a show that could excite the core fan base that plays the games and gets excited that could also evolve and be relevant to the casual Halo player, who doesn’t maybe know all the granular details. There’s a third audience of people, those who don’t know Halo at all but who should enjoy the story for what it is.

And is that why you took the character development approach to the series?

Josh: Absolutely. [We had the] opportunity to convey more of the life-changing events of a character, and the people who see this and never played Halo before will have a really cool perspective. We’ve checked out the game and the people at 343 have outdone themselves, and so it’s a real thrill to be a part of something that adds a little insight into one of the characters that’s going to be featured in Halo 4.

How about the Covenant’s appearance? We see a glimpse of them in episode three, but what will they actually look like?

Josh: Whatever you see, we knew the onus was on us to have them exist in the real world and be completely believable.

Is there any validity to the Halo film rumors, and what’s next for the Halo franchise as a web series?

Lydia: We certainly can’t speak for what their plans may be. They haven’t yet indicated to us if we’ll move forward, but my personal feeling is that the fans have been so excited and interested in this particular project… I’d be surprised if there weren’t more things happening in the near future with Halo live action.

Josh: If there’s one thing that history has shown is that 343 is not going to stop innovating and stop finding ways to build out the Halo franchise. So if Lydia and I – we are fans – just get to experience new avenues that Halo goes down as fans that would be great. If we’re lucky enough to be a part of them, we’d be thrilled. This was an amazing year to be very temporary custodians of live action Halo, and there’s just so much there that they’d be crazy enough not to explore.

Are there any games you’d like to translate into a Web series?

Lydia: Red Dead Redemption and Diablo.

Josh: Halo 5.

Lydia: That goes without saying, we’d love to continue working on Halo.

The episodes will be released in full on Xbox Live November 6 as a long-form 90 minute film, and sold on Blu-ray on December 5. Halo 4 will be released as an Xbox 360 exclusive on November 6. You can check out the first episode of the series below:

A year and a half after hackers breached Sony security gaining access to user information for 69 million PlayStation Network users, a class action lawsuit against the company has been dismissed by a California judge.

It was only 18 months ago that Sony’s PlayStation Network was hacked, forcing the company to take down its online gaming network and digital retail services for a significant chunk of the spring in 2011. 69 million PSN users’ account information, including credit card numbers, was stolen in the hack. Sony first admitted to the intrusion on Apr. 20, 2011. On Apr. 27, the first federal class action lawsuit was filed against the company. While Sony has apologized repeatedly for the hack, offering users identity theft protection to affected users as well as free downloadable games as compensation, its been up in the air whether the company would have to offer monetary compensation. According to US District Judge Anthony Battaglia, Sony is in the clear.

The class action lawsuit claimed that Sony of negligence, not equipping the PlayStation network with the appropriate security to prevent the hack that brought the network down for so long. It also claimed that Sony violated a number of California consumer protections, the state where the lawsuit was filed.

Judge Battaglia dismissed the lawsuit on Friday after Sony moved to have it thrown out. Battaglia said that Sony didn’t violate any consumer protections because “none of the named plaintiffs subscribed to premium PSN services, and thus received the PSN services free of cost.” Had any PlayStation Plus subscribers joined the suit, maybe Battaglia wouldn’t have acquiesced to Sony’s demands. Than again, he also found that the Sony Privacy Policy signed by all PSN users included at the time “clear admonitory language that Sony’s security was not ‘perfect’” and as a result “no reasonable consumer could have been deceived.”

Sony’s not wholly in the clear just yet, though, since the class does have the option to amend its claims, specifically in regards to Sony violating consumer protection laws.

Back when the lawsuit was originally filed, Rothken Law Firm co-counsel J.R. Parker wrote, “Sony’s breach of its customers’ trust is staggering. Sony promised its customers that their information would be kept private. One would think that a large multinational corporation like Sony has strong protective measures in place to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information, including credit card information. Apparently Sony doesn’t.”

Sony did pay in spades for the hack. Estimates at the time predicted that the hack would cost Sony $171 million in lost revenue, a significant blow following losses from the March 2011 tsunami in Japan as well as declining television sales. That figure no doubt grew as Sony began spending heavily on marketing to rehabilitate its image with consumers.

Apple has announced a new version of the iMac with a completely revamped design that ditches the optical drive, but has an edge that's only 5mm thick.

Apple has announced a new stunningly, slim iMac in two sizes – one with a 27-inch display and one with a 21.5-inch display.

The new iMac is 80 percent thinner than the last model with a 5mm edge. Apparently this incredibly trim form factor is thanks to something called “friction stir welding.” The display comes in two sizes: The 27-inch model has a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, and the 21.5-inch model has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.  There’s a 178-degree viewing angle and over 300 nits of brightness (that’s really bright). It’s also fully laminated so it’s less reflective. It’s not a Retina display, but it looks good.

This svelte all-in-one is sporting a built-in FaceTime HD camera (720p), dual microphones, and left and right speakers. The specs make it a tempting proposition. The 21.5-inch model comes with a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i5 with 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 640M, and a 1TB HDD for $1,300. The 27-inch model has a 2.9GHz quad-core Core i5 with 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 660M, and a 1TB HDD for $1,800.

There’s a 128GB of flash storage and 1TB or 3TB of HDD storage in the form of an Apple Fusion Drive. You get the speed benefits of SSD and bags of space for file storage in this hybrid drive. Core apps and the OS remain on the SSD for fast launching and documents and files will go on the HDD. It can even switch your most used apps on to the SSD to maximize speed and performance.

There are also 4 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone port, SD card slot, Gigabit Ethernet port, and two Thunderbolt ports. Naturally, it comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. It is also energy efficient and Apple claims it uses 50 percent less power than its predecessor when idling.

It’s been a while since Apple updated the iMac line. The iMac is the best-selling desktop model in the US, according to Apple. There have now been seven generations of iMac. The last one came out in May 2011 so this new version will be a welcome release for many.

The smaller iMac ships in November, the larger model will start shipping in December.

In discussing the expansion of the Xbox brand, Microsoft explains that future consoles like the oft-rumored Xbox 720 will be sold at a low price alongside subscription contracts just like the average smartphone.

A new Xbox won’t be the only key to reigniting Microsoft’s stagnating game console business. According to the Windows 8 company, the mobile market will also redefine its living room entertainment business. How? Pricing.

The video game business is changing at speed. Video game retail sales have plummeted year-on-year over the course of 2012. The decline in disc-based game sales is reflective of an increasingly digital market; people are still spending on video games, they’re just downloading them in greater numbers and publishers typically don’t share digital sales data. The decline in devoted gaming machines is the real concern hidden in those poor retail numbers. Microsoft in particular is feeling the heat, with Xbox 360 sales in the last quarter falling 29 percent year-on-year. A brand new console might not reignite Microsoft’s game console business though. All devoted gaming machines are feeling squeezed: The Nintendo 3DS portable’s sales fell 18 percent in September. How do you fix this business?

By subsidizing sales with subscriptions, just like smartphones. Rather than charge $400 or $500 for a new game console upfront, Microsoft plans to sell the Xbox 720 at a low price with an accompanying subscription.

In a discussion with the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft interactive general manager for marketing Matt Barlow said that subscription programs will be the core of future Xbox releases. “This type of program is pivotal to our business,” said Barlow.

Microsoft began testing the subscription market back in May when it released a $99 Xbox 360 that through its chain of Microsoft Stores. The console is cheap, but it comes with a mandatory two-year contract requiring monthly payments of $14.99. That includes Xbox Live Gold, but at $180 per year, the device and service end up costing significantly more than if they were purchased individually at flat rates. Following that test, Microsoft began offering the same package at Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us, and GameStop.

Since Microsoft only sold 1.7 million Xbox 360s over the period when the program first went into effect, it clearly didn’t help the aging console. It didn’t need to though. All it needed to prove was that the model was viable for Xbox going forward into the next generation.

The question now: Who will be controlling and collecting that subscription fee? Will it be Microsoft or cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast as a number of industry analysts like Morgan Pachter suspect?

On Thursday, Oct. 26, Microsoft is releasing its Windows 8 RT Surface tablet, but what's the difference between Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 Pro, and what do you need to know before buying a Windows 8 tablet?

Microsoft Surface RT tablets are set to hit shelves this week. The tablet is beautifully designed and competitively priced to go head-to-head with the iPad, Kindle Fire HD, and the legions of Android tablets currently on the market. But buyer beware: Microsoft and other Windows partners also plan to release Windows 8 Pro tablets that run the full version of Windows 8. To the untrained eye of a consumer looking to buy a new tablet, the differences between the two types of devices may be a bit confusing. We break down the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro tablets to help you avoid buyer’s remorse. Let’s take a deeper look at the two tablets to help you choose the right one for your needs.

Processor

When Windows RT was announced, it was originally called “Windows on ARM,” denoting the type of processor it uses. In short, the ARM processor enables RT tablets to be cheaper and use less power when running — which means a longer battery life for your tablet. Microsoft touts 8 to 13 hours of battery life for its Surface RT tablet. The Windows 8 Pro tablets will have Intel or AMD processors that are more powerful and can run more applications, but will be more expensive than an RT tablet with just an ARM processor. The battery life of Pro devices also won’t be as good as RT devices, with an estimate of 6 to 8 hours of battery life.

Software and apps

Microsoft claims that both RT and Pro devices are extensions of the PC, but to make things less muddy, RT is the “tablet OS” that only runs touch-friendly mobile apps available through the new Windows Store. This means that an RT tablet will only be able to use apps downloaded from the Windows Store, in which there are currently about 5,000 apps (90 percent of which are compatible with RT). RT users won’t be able to download any third-party apps from the Web, which currently includes popular apps such as Facebook and Spotify. There will be developers that only create apps for RT, and there will be some developers that will also make an RT version of their desktop applications so people with RT devices can use a streamlined mobile app version instead of the full-blown software application.

Microsoft will offer a mobile version of its popular Microsoft Office suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for its RT tablets, which will give those who choose an RT tablet the ability to do many (but not all) of the operations they’ve come accustomed to on their desktop or laptop running the full software. 

Pro tablets will run the full desktop version of Windows 8 (32 and 64 bit), so consumers can use all of the RT apps, plus any of the software they currently have on previous versions of Windows all the way back to XP. Windows 8 Pro will allow users to download any third-party app, as well as anything from the Windows Store. 

Price

If you’re looking for a price-point comparable to that of the third-generation iPad, Microsoft Surface RT will be $499 with 32GB of storage without a Touch Cover or Type Cover. No word on how Microsoft will price the Surface Pro when it arrives in approximately three months, but Windows partners who have thumbed their noses at Microsoft and will compete with Win 8 Pro tablets of their own (in all sorts of shapes, fashions, and forms) are starting around $800, which puts Pro tablets directly in competition with traditional laptops. Is this the real start of the post-PC era?

Windows RT or Windows 8 Pro?

Since Apple redefined the tablet category three years ago, people have primarily used tablets as media consumption devices — with a smidge of productivity thrown in. Tablet screens are larger than smartphones (with the exception of some Samsung mobile devices), so doing things like Internet browsing, shopping, reading, and viewing videos and movies is ideal on a tablet. There are some pretty powerful apps out there that will help you get some work done and even create content, but a tablet hasn’t come along that has made us rethink the idea of a tablet being more than a consumption device… yet. So for those people who use tablets just as a means to break away from the daily grind, a less-expensive Windows RT tablet with strong mobile roots will be the best bet for their needs.

With all the power that current mobile devices are packing, there appears to be an evolution on the horizon, where a desktop or laptop may not be the only way to get real work done. Consumers want speed and power, but in a lightweight and compact form factor. A tablet with all the capabilities of a laptop may just be what people are referring to when they mention the post-PC era. For those who are looking forward to that do-it-all, all-in-one device that’s a workhorse at the office — but still has the convenience of consumption device — a Windows 8 Pro tablet capable of handling all of what Windows 8 has to offer is the obvious choice.

Whichever side you’re on, it looks like Microsoft and its device partners have you covered. Remember, you do have a choice if you decide to purchase a tablet powered by Windows, and you may just have to calmly convince the retail associate, who is determined to sell you an extended warranty plan, of that choice.