A Microsoft smartwatch could be here within weeks

Summary: Microsoft's smartwatch could be available before consumers can get their hands on Apple Watch

Microsoft's long-rumoured smartwatch could be announced within weeks, giving the company a device to square up to wearables from Apple and Google's Wear partners.

According to Forbes, Microsoft could launch the device within the next few weeks, with a focus on health. According to the report, the device will passively track its user's heart rate, and give the company a platform for building health and other apps on.

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Details of the device are scant but sources close to the project told the publication that it would have a two-day battery life. If true, the device's battery life will trump the one-day limit on the forthcoming Watch from Apple and wearable hardware Google’s Android Wear partners, including Motorola, LG and Samsung.

Rumours about a Microsoft watch have been floating around for the past year as interest mounted in Apple's own wearables push. A report in May said that Microsoft was planning to ensure its wearable device could sync with Windows Phone, Android and iOS — a move seen as fitting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's cross-platform strategy, which has recently seen the company extend support for Office to the iPad. 

Microsoft has apparently tapped both its Kinect and Internet of Things teams to develop the watch. The team behind Microsoft’s Surface tablet is also believed to have had a hand in the watch's development.

Microsoft was recently granted a patent in the US for a smartwatch equipped with an optical sensor, potentially to measure heart rate, as well as electrical and data connectors.

While interest in Microsoft's wearable has been muted compared with Apple's Watch, should Microsoft's device be available to purchase before Christmas, it will have beaten Apple to the checkout. The big question is whether Microsoft can create a consumer device that has more appeal than the current lineup of Wear devices, which haven't been a major hit for any OEMs.

Despite a lukewarm reception for smartwatches so far, the broader wearables category is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years. Just 2.7 milion wearables shipped in the first quarter of 2014, but according to analyst firm Canalys, shipments are expected to reach 43.2 million in 2015, of which 28 million will be smartwatches.

Rest in peace, Oscar de la Renta. One of fashion's greatest.

RIP Oscar de la Renta. So sad to learn of the fashion icon's passing: http://t.co/0lgllBLkw5 pic.twitter.com/gGOPsswms3
— E! Online (@eonline) October 21, 2014

LeoPestana | Photography | Madeira Island

LeoPestana | Photography | Madeira Island

Microsoft plays on iOS 8 issues by doubling free OneDrive space to 30GB

Apple released its iOS 8 update earlier this week, but a number of iPhone and iPad owners ran into problems with the amount of free storage required to install the latest operating system. Microsoft is taking advantage of these issues by doubling its free OneDrive storage to 30GB today. "We’ve been listening to the commentary about storage on the new iPhones released today and we wanted to get you more storage right away," explains OneDrive program manager Douglas Pearce. "We think you’ll appreciate having more free storage while setting up your iPhone 6 or upgrading to iOS 8."

DESIGNED FOR IPHONE USERS STRUGGLING TO UPGRADE TO IOS 8

The cheeky offer, available until the end of September, sees Microsoft raise its OneDrive camera roll bonus from 3GB to 15GB, providing you enable photo or video backup to OneDrive from the iOS app. "For those getting ready to install iOS8, this means you won’t have to delete a bunch of photos or apps to make room for the upgrade," notes Pearce. Some iOS 8 upgrades require as much as 7GB of free space, so iPhone and iPad users have had to delete apps and photos to make way for the update, or install it via iTunes to avoid the space problems. Microsoft also appears to be targeting iPhone 6 owners who opted for 16GB models.

If you’re not an iPhone or iPad user then Microsoft is still upgrading your OneDrive space. Android and Windows Phone users that have already enabled the camera roll backup functionality will be automatically upgraded to 15GB of OneDrive space. If you haven’t enabled the camera backup then you’ve got until the end of September to switch it on to receive 15GB of free OneDrive storage on iOS, Windows Phone, and Android.

How To Stop Snoring And Sleep Well Again (Scientifically Proven)

Most people don’t get enough sleep at night. For many people being sleep deprived means not functioning as well as they could be, but for millions of other people lack of sleep is a sign of a serious health condition.

People who are suffering from exhaustion, high blood pressure and inexplicable headaches are all showing symptoms of a sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Why don’t people with OSA get the sleep that they need every night? The answer may surprise you—it’s snoring!

Snoring causes a person to wake up throughout the night. For most, snoring is simply a case of having to move your body from a bad position into one that’s more comfortable to breathe in. But for the 18 million people in the United States suffering from OSA, snoring is their body’s cry for help. Throughout the night people with OSA literally stop breathing.  They stop breathing because the muscles in their mouth, jaw, and throat relax, blocking the free flow of air in the airway. These moments of suffocation can last for up to an entire minute. A person with OSA wakes up hundreds of times during a single night as their bodies try not to suffocate. Snoring is their body’s only way to get enough air to breathe.

The result is that when people with OSA get out of bed in the morning, they feel like they haven’t slept at all. And it’s true—they have not had a full sleep cycle. Not only are their bodies exhausted, they have opened up an entire range of new health problems that are associated with this extreme sleep loss, including heart attacks, depression, strokes, memory loss, acid reflux and diabetes.

In the past, there weren’t that many treatment options available for people with sleep apnea. They could go and get an expensive diagnosis, and then drop several thousand dollars visiting a sleep clinic that would require an annoying overnight visit. One of the possible outcomes for such patients would be having to strap themselves into a CPAP breathing device for the entire night—that’s one of those breathing masks attached to an explosive tank next to your bed. Or worse, they would have to undergo a painful and invasive surgery.

Luckily, all that has changed!

Now there is the chin strap by MySnoringSolution. It’s a comfortable and affordable treatment for OSA that keeps your breathing passages open while you wear it in bed. This treatment method has been found to be effective in a recent study at the Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine and it is clinically tested and doctor approved. It works by keeping the jaw and tongue from loosening up, thereby keeping the airway unobstructed. Made from lightweight materials with the sleeper’s maximum comfort in mind, the chin strap has helped thousands get the sleep that their bodies have always needed at night.

MySnoringSolution is so sure the chin strap will solve all of your sleep apnea troubles, no matter what your reason, you have 90 days to return your chin strap and get a full refund of your money (so you basically risk nothing by trying this out).

It’s not just about getting a full night’s sleep— it’s about getting to sleep in a way that is comfortable for you. Try MySnoringSolution now, get a good night’s sleep at last and end your snoring problems once and for all!

The iPhone 6 is looking very tempting for many Android users

By Brad Reed

Apple is very late to the party when it comes to releasing a phone with a display larger than 5 inches, but apparently not too late to generate interest among Android users. Trade-in website Gazelle tells us that “during the week that Apple announced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung trade-ins increased with the announcement of new iPhones, jumping more than 3X week-over-week.” What’s more the company found that “one in three Android users” who are trading in old devices “say they’re likely to upgrade to the iPhone 6.”

MORE ON SWITCHING FROM ANDROID: This is what it’s like to switch from the Galaxy Note 3 to the iPhone 6 Plus

What are the reasons the iPhone 6 is luring in Android fans? It’s mostly the reasons you’d expect, as Gazelle finds 39% of them are attracted to the larger displays while 40% say they’re impressed by the improved battery life. Add in features such as the ability to add in third-party keyboard apps for the first time and you’ve got a device that plays to a lot of top Android phones’ traditional strengths.

While this doesn’t mean Android is “doomed” or anything close to it — it’s by far the most used mobile platform in the world, after all — it does seem that Apple’s new iPhones look poised to take back some of the market share it’s lost to Google over the years.