Microsoft is making it ever easier for students across the world to sign up for a free version of Office to use for their ongoing studies.

The roll out, which was originally announced solely for students in the United States, means that millions of students can sign up to get Office 365 and install a free copy of Office just so long as they're eligible.

Students that want to find out whether they are able to gain access need to get a valid school email address and then visit office.com/getoffice365 before entering the address provided by the education institution. Teachers, meanwhile, are advised to visit office.com/teachers.

Microsoft is providing the benefit to institutions that buy Office for faculty and staff, and as part of the package students get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and Publisher on up to five PCs or Macs plus up to five mobile devices. In addition it includes 1TB of OneDrive storage and Office Online.

Microsoft vs Google

The decision comes after Google continued its aggressive push into the education sector through its Apps for Education that include a widespread productivity suite comparable to Office 365 and the increasing number of Chromebooks on the market geared towards schools.

Via: Microsoft

2015 is going to be a great year for sure, at least in the field of technology. Of course new technologies are invented every year, so why’s this year any different? Well, here are the top five reasons why. We are not including the regular update products like Samsung Galaxy s6 or new iPhone or say Apple Watch or something that happens every other month.

Windows 10 (Obviously)

Windows 10 hype is growing every day and nobody’s ever been that excited for an operating system from Microsoft. Windows 10 is promising to bring a whole lot of new features to make the consumers love windows. The new features include universal platform across all devices, windows continuum; auto switching between desktop mode and tablet mode, resizable apps, multiple desktop, Cortana, Xbox, DirectX 12 and what not. Let’s not forget project Spartan, the new browser on the market and a replacement for internet explorer. Windows 10 is a free update for 1 year for all windows 7 and windows 8.1 users. Long story short, windows 10 is going to be awesome.

Project Ara

 

Project Ara as you might have heard is google’s dream project to build a modular smartphone. The project started more than a year ago and it is in its spiral 2 phase (second phase, basically). If project Ara succeeds, it will revolutionize the idea of buying smartphones. You might never have to buy another smartphone after you buy a modular smartphone. For those who don’t know, a modular smartphone contains separate modules for RAM, camera, display, CPU, GPU, speakers, etc. which are inserted in a skeleton frame. And all together they act as a smartphone. So, if you want a phone with better camera, don’t buy a new phone, buy a new camera module and insert it in your phone. If you want better RAM, just buy a better RAM. The spiral 2 phase will be released in Puerto Rico.

Food Printer

If you can simply print food and eat it without any effort, you know you are in the future. At Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2015, XYZ printing introduced this awesome technology which allows you to print edible food just by uploading your design onto the printer. You can also download a design from the internetand print it. The ingredients should be supplied to it and that’s it, it does the rest. This printer was used to print pizza, cakes, candies, cookies, etc. during its demonstration at CES. This technology is going to arrive to public later this year, however the date and price is yet to be fixed.

3D printing pen

Announced at CES 2015, 3Doodler 2.0 is a pen that can be used to draw 3D shapes in air as easily as drawing on a piece of paper. This new updated version eradicates most of its previous flaws. This pen is roughly the size of a marker and weighs 50 grams. The way it works is by using molten plastic which solidifies in an instant after coming out of the tip of the pen. This technology is big news, especially for the people in the field of architecture and 3D designing as it takes a huge leap forward and revolutionizes classical sketching and blueprint designing. Also, the pen features large variety customization  and thus it can produce professional results while being easy and fun to use. This product is expected to arrive in early to mid 2015.

Microsoft Hololens

 This is personally my best on this list.

Hololens is an Augmented Reality (AR) gadget which is used to project holograms. This is different from Virtual Reality (Occulus Rift and project Morpheus) in a sense that Hololens doesn’t separate you from the real world; instead it combines reality and holograms. It is also called mixed reality. You definitely should watch its demo on YouTube (video embedded below).

This product is mind blowing and surpasses google glass in many ways. (FYI google glass project was a failure and was shut down). The things hololens can be used for are endless. So, far Microsoft’s best product, I’d say.

So what is your take on next sensational gadget of 2015? Share us your views.

Mozilla will automatically change the default search engine in Firefox from Google to Yahoo for most U.S. users when it updates the browser this month.


Firefox 34 is to launch later today or perhaps tomorrow, and may include the search engine switch.

All U.S. Firefox users who have previously left Google as the default search engine will see Yahoo as the new search engine, Mozilla said last week.

"[The] announcement regarding Yahoo only affects users of our en-US build who were using Firefox's pre-selected default search provider," said Chad Weiner, director of product management, in an email reply to questions. "Firefox users who have explicitly chosen a different search provider as their default will continue with that setting."

In other words, users who had previously switched from the prior default of Google to say, Bing, will not be affected by the change to Yahoo. But anyone who left the Goggle default untouched will find Yahoo has replaced it.

Typically, most users do not change the default settings of their software.

Weiner declined to directly answer other questions, including whether the change would be done without user notification or approval. Instead, he said that Mozilla was still figuring out the process.


"We're experimenting with different ways to communicate the benefits of these changes and onboarding users to our new search experience," Weiner said, using the term "onboarding" to describe how a company convinces customers to adopt a new product or service, or one that has been significantly updated. "Different users may see slightly different landing pages when they upgrade. As we learn more about how to better explain the changes and make sure our users are set up for success, we'll focus on the most effective approaches," Weiner added.

Weiner did seem to guarantee that Firefox users would at least be notified that the browser is switching from Google to Yahoo, although he didn't go so far as to imply that their approval would be solicited. "We always operate under a principle of 'no surprises' for significant changes like this, so we will guide users through the benefits of our new search experience when they update to the latest Firefox," he said.

But no matter what "onboarding" process Mozilla adopts, Firefox users will be able to restore Google as the default search engine after the update. That default can be set through the browser's Preferences, specifically via the Search tab. Clicking the magnifying glass icon in the Firefox search bar will call up the Preferences/Search display.

Last month, Mozilla announced it had abandoned Google as Firefox's global default search engine and would instead strike deals market by market. In the U.S., Yahoo would be the default, while in Russia it would be Yandex.

Some analysts said the change to Yahoo was entirely driven by money -- the bulk of Mozilla's revenue comes from the search deals it negotiates -- while others said that ideology also played a part. Although Mozilla has taken hundreds of millions from Google in the last three years, $275 million in 2013 alone, it has roundly criticized both Google and Apple for controlling users' access to content and how they are allowed to manage their personal data. "This direction for the Internet sucks," said Mozilla Foundation chairwoman Mitchell Baker in a Nov. 10 blog.


Depending on how Mozilla handles the change from Google to Yahoo, it may face opposition: A relatively small number of very vocal users can easily drum up a loud campaign that damages a company's brand or customer relations. In March, for example, Mozilla was denounced for choosing Brendan Eich as its CEO after reports said he had donated to a California anti-gay marriage ballot proposition in 2008. Within days, Eich resigned.

Mozilla can ill afford to lose large numbers of Firefox users over the search changes, or any other issue for that matter: In the last 12 months, Firefox has lost 26% of its user share as tracked by Net Applications.

Although the beta of Firefox 34 included new search tools, among them on-the-fly search engine switching, the preview has not implemented the Yahoo default in the U.S. On Sunday, for instance, Computerworld installed the beta of Firefox 34 over an existing copy of Firefox 33, and Google remained as the default engine for the former.

Technology giant Apple is learning how to make a self-driving electric car and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, an automotive source familiar with the talks said on Saturday.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components, the source said.

"They don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers," the source, who declined to be named, said.

Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, the source said, adding that Apple appeared not to be interested in combustion engine technology or conventional manufacturing methods.

An Apple spokesman in London on Saturday declined to comment on "rumours or speculation".

Rival software maker Google has developed a prototype self-driving vehicle, while startup rival Tesla Motors has produced a successful electric sports car.

In addition to building a car, there is money to be made from the software operating system for a self-driving vehicle, as well as the services associated with autonomous driving, such as high-definition mapping, car-sharing and electric car recharging services, the auto industry source said.

"It's a software game. It's all about autonomous driving," the source said.

Apple may be pursing mainly expertise rather than full-scale partnerships, a pattern that has a long history.

In 2005, two years before it released the iPhone, Apple worked with Motorola, then the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, to develop the Rokr, a phone with integrated iTunes music and media-playing features. Capable of only holding 100 songs, the phone flopped, and briefly called into question Apple's ability to break into new product categories.

More recently, in developing the soon-to-be-launched Apple Watch, the company held limited talks with Swiss watchmakers, but no broad-based alliance emerged from the discussions.

Instead of partnerships, Apple pursued a go-it-alone strategy and turned to poaching talent from top watchmaking brands.

Among the high-profile hirings Apple has made from the auto industry was Johann Jungwirth, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America. Jungwirth could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman for Daimler on Saturday said that the team of engineers which developed the Mercedes-Benz autonomous car remains intact and that Jungwirth was mainly specialized in integrating smartphone functionality and developing advanced user experiences.

According to Jungwirth's Linkedin profile he joined Apple in September. At Daimler his responsibilities from March 2009 to September 2014 included overseeing Connected Car & UI Telematics, Autonomous Driving, Advanced User Experience Design, Powertrain & eDrive, Advanced Exterior Design and Mercedes Benz style, group research and regulatory affairs, the profile said.