They tried to keep it on the down-low but, did you hear that Microsoft released Windows 10 this past Wednesday? Maybe you heard a little something about it in passing? 🙂 OK, OK, I’m sick of hearing about it too.. It seems the whole week has been about Windows 10.
In any case, besides the Windows 10 release, there were a few newsworthy stories for Surface owners and enthusiasts, most of them even had nothing to do with Windows 10….
In this post:
- Microsoft Releases New Firmware/Deployment Packs for Surface Tablets
- Beware of Bogus Windows 10 Upgrade E-mails
- Surface Market Share Grows
- New Surface Mounting Options
Weekly Surface News Roundup: New Firmware For Surface
If your company uses Surface Pro 3 devices and you want to upgrade them to Windows 10, I have some good news. Microsoft has the provisioning tools and Windows 10 specific drivers for you to get started.
In a Surface Pro 3 and Windows 10 firmware and driver packs for Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3.
If you’re supporting older Surface Pro models, don’t worry. They said they’ll release provisioning tools for them as well in the near future.
Weekly Surface News Roundup: Bogus Windows 10 Upgrade Emails
Security researchers from Cisco Systems are warning about bogus spam emails with malicious attachments, designed to look like an official upgrade notice from Microsoft Corp. These emails announce a program to kick off the Windows 10 upgrade. However, they are full of misspellings and weird characters, so they are easy to spot.
Beware, though, the attachments contain a “ransomware” program that, when opened, locks all the data on a computer and demands payment to release them.
Microsoft says its update mechanism provides computer owners with a notice on their screens – not via email – when a direct Internet download is available. So, if you get one of these mails, DO NOT OPEN IT. Delete it right away.
Related: Caribbean Business News
Weekly Surface News Roundup: Surface Market Share Grows
Microsoft is cutting into Apple’s portion of the tablet market. According to this report from Strategy Analytics, Microsoft currently holds 9% of the tablet market which is up from 5% this time last year. Android is still the king of tablets, holding flat at 70% of the market but Apple lost 4% and falls to 21% of the market.
Since Microsoft gained 4% and Apple lost 4%, one could only assume that the Surface is luring people away from the iPad. It’s going to be a while before Microsoft will seriously cut into Androids share but, on the bright side, Surface is showing growth while Android is flat. Most businesses would still consider that a win.
Related: Channel Partners Online
Weekly Surface News Roundup: New Surface Mounting Options
Mobile accessory distributor ProClip USA has announced new tablet mounting solutions for the Microsoft Surface 3.
ProClip worked together with Microsoft to design and manufacture these new holders under the Designed for Microsoft Surface program. This program allowed ProClip early access to the tablets for their product development.
According to their website, the ProClip Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet Holders are custom fitted to the exact dimensions of the Surface 3 and can be mounted to any wall, desk, flat surface or mounting bracket, such as a vehicle dashboard mount or pedestal mount. Their holders are available with or without charging cables. Charging is offered as either USB cigarette plug adapter or hard wired charging for fixed installations.
In addition, locking holders are also available with spring lock for quick release and key lock for added security.
So, if you’re looking for a mounting option for a Surface 3 (maybe for a kiosk?) take a look at what they have to offer on their website:
Related: ProClip
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week with more Surface-related news stories for Surface owners and enthusiasts.
Tim
