Sony Xperia Z4 frame leak gets compared to Xperia Z3

So far when it comes to leaked pics of purported Sony Xperia Z4 components, we’ve seen a lot of display panels. There was that early set back in November, as well a few new pics surfacing about a month ago. While those were quite interesting, they left us without a comprehensive view of this upcoming hardware. Now a fresh series of images has arrived to offer new insight to Sony’s desing changes, comparing the Z4’s frame to that of the Z3.

First up, this supposed Z4 looks like it’s dropping its microSD and SIM slots – or at least, they’re not where they used to be. Clearly the phone needs at least a SIM, so it must be living somewhere, but the big protective flap that gave access to these ports on the Z3 is now absent. The phone’s USB port sees a change as well, no longer flap-covered on the Z4. The source behind these pics speculates that means that the Z4 could drop its waterproofing, but we’d guess it’s far more likely that Sony intends to use an open-port waterproof design like on the new M4 Aqua.

We also hear that this Z4 frame measures about 1mm slimmer than the Z3’s, though its footprint is nearly the same size. There are signs of other little changes here, too, though nothing major: a repositioned microphone hole, for instance. It also looks like Sony could be ditching the magnetic dock connectors on the phone’s side.

Office 2016 for Mac finally catches up to its Windows equivalent

It’s slowly approaching five years since Microsoft first released Office for Mac 2011 in October 2010. While a final version of Office 2016 for Mac isn’t ready just yet, Microsoft is announcing a preview program today for Mac users to get an early look at the company’s work. Microsoft has been doing some great work with Office, bringing it to the iPad, extending it to Dropbox, and even acquiring impressive apps like Acompli to power Office on iOS and Android. Office 2016 for Mac is the latest result of Microsoft’s focus on cross-platform apps, and it finally matches its Windows equivalent.

The first thing I noticed about using Office 2016 for Mac is the user interface. While the existing 2011 version looks old in comparison, Microsoft hasn’t ditched parts of the aging UI entirely. It looks and feels like a mix of the fresh Windows design and Office for Mac 2011. "We think we’ve done a good job of striking a balance that customers expect," explains Eric Wilfred, the head of Microsoft’s Office for Mac apps, in an interview with The Verge. "Our internal tagline, and we’re actually corny enough to say this in the hallways, is 'Unmistakably Office and optimized for the Mac.'" The result is the familiar Ribbon user interface that fits in with the OS X theme and features like sandboxed apps, fullscreen view, and Retina screen optimization.

ONEDRIVE CLOUD STORAGE IS BUILT STRAIGHT IN

Like Office 2013 for Windows, Microsoft is integrating its cloud storage services directly into Office 2016 for Mac. That means Office 365, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and Sharepoint are all integrated. If you use OneDrive to store and edit Office documents with an iPad or a Windows laptop, then you can quickly access them from the recent documents location in Office 2016 for Mac. Microsoft’s cross-platform app strategy, powered by the cloud, is a reality, and this is the latest piece of the puzzle.

Word 2016 for Mac looks a lot like the iOS and Windows equivalents, and Microsoft is supporting co-authoring to allow several people to simultaneously edit a document. Alongside co-authoring, there’s also new threaded comments to track comments more easily next to the relevant text. Microsoft is also adding a new navigation pane to quickly flick between pages in Word documents, better dictionary support, and a style pane to apply styles to an entire document. The vast majority of Word features are what you’d expect from the existing Office for Mac, but everything feels a little more polished thanks to the new look and feel.

EXCEL NOW HAS THE SAME WINDOWS KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Excel has some more significant changes. If you’re a Windows user that switches between Mac and PC, then you’ll be pleased to learn that the Excel keyboard shortcuts are now consistent between Mac and PC versions of Office. That means you can use ctrl + shift shortcuts instead of cmd + shift. As someone who regularly switches between a Mac and Windows PCs, I’m very thankful for this change. Of course, you can still use the cmd shortcuts if you’re used to them. Microsoft is also adding slicers to re-pivot data, printing to PDF, a full formula builder, and autocomplete improvements.

PowerPoint picks up an improved presenter view, new slide transitions, and an overview of all animations in a slide deck. The new presenter view allows you to see notes alongside slides, and the additional slide transitions give you more ways to keep your audience awake with crazy animations. There’s not a huge amount of change to PowerPoint, but like the rest, it more closely matches the Windows version.

Office 2016 for Mac will also include Outlook and OneNote, both of which have been available on Mac for some months now. While Outlook for iOS is amazing, the Mac equivalent falls short for several reasons. There’s no account picker, which results in a confusing and frustrating way to add your account at first, and it’s surprising that Microsoft hasn’t even optimized the app for its own Outlook.com service. Otherwise, it’s a good combination of email, calendars, and contact management for those who are familiar with Outlook and rely on Exchange day to day.

Overall, during my testing I noticed that Office 2016 for Mac doesn’t seem that much faster than Office for Mac 2011. I’ve grown tired of using Office for Mac 2011 as it’s simply not fast enough and reliable enough for my needs, and I’m disappointed there haven’t been many performance improvements nearly five years later. I was hoping for a lightweight version of Office for Mac, but there’s hope yet. "We have focused a lot on performance in the run up to getting preview out, and we believe we’ve got it to the point where it’s worth getting feedback," explains Wilfred. "We know that we’re not done, we have more performance work to do before general availability."

FINAL VERSION AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER

Speaking of availability, Microsoft is aiming to have this ready in time for summer, with a release focused on Office 365 customers once the bits are ready. Microsoft is also planning to sell the suite of apps standalone, but the company is not yet announcing pricing or exact availability dates. If you’re interested in testing out Office 2016 for Mac then you can download a copy over at Microsoft’s Office site.

Apple Watch release date & UK price

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Read the letter Bill Gates sent to Microsoft employees for the company's 40th anniversary

BILL GATES

On April 4th, 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen started a little company named Microsoft. You probably know the story from there: Gates went on to become the wealthiest man in the world, and then gradually pulled back from his company to focus on broad philanthropic efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


But Gates is far from finished at Microsoft; last year after Satya Nadella took over as CEO, Gates said he would be taking a bigger role at the company — using up to a third of his time to advise Microsoft employees on new products.

Gates sent the following letter to Microsoft employees today to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary. The letter was posted on Twitter

Tomorrow is a special day: Microsoft's 40th anniversary.

Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution.

Today though, I am thinking much more about Microsoft's future than its past. I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more.

Under Satya's leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens -- and those are just a few of the many innovations that are on the way.

In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices.

We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come.

Jony Ive has an interesting theory on why your iPhone doesn’t have better battery life

HTC just launched its One M9 with a 2840mAh battery. Samsung gave the Galaxy S6 a 2550mAh battery. And yet the iPhone 6 only has one that comes in at 1810mAh. Now sure, it’s a smaller phone, and there’s always the 6 Plus with its larger battery, but that doesn’t change the iPhone 6’s reputation as a phone where its battery life is often considered just “OK;” it’ll usually get you through most of the day, though heavy usage will take its toll. In a recent interview, Apple design guru Jony Ive touches on the issue of the iPhone’s battery life, and he paints the picture of bit of a catch-22 situation.

The way Ive sees it, iPhone battery life can be low because of just how much we use the phone – like it’s almost too compelling for its own good. And we use it so much, he argues, because it’s such a thin, light, convenient-to-hold phone – all direct consequences of it having a smaller battery to begin with. In a sense, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The flip side to that – that a phone with a more generous battery would automatically be larger, heavier, and less desirable than the iPhone – can be a difficult pill to swallow. Ive seems to imply that at the end of the day, a successful device will be an attractive one rather than a functional one – though that’s hardly a surprising position to take considering his background.