Another week is in the books. Whether you were hard at work, or busy finding YouTube videos to distract you ’til the weekend, the fine folks of the gizmo and gadget industry were hard at work making sure you’ve got lots of creative ways to blow all that money you earned. Here’s the best of what hit the markets this week.
Microsoft Surface 2 & Surface Pro 2: Amid all the iPad talk, Microsoft’s newly-updated Surfaces hit shelves this week. Better screens, faster processing, and more battery come inside the same satisfying shell, with base models starting at $450 for 32GB and Pro starting at $900 with 64GB. [Microsoft Store]
https://gizmodo.com/surface-2-review-one-step-forward-two-steps-behind-1448865506
Dropcam Pro: This home monitoring camera looks the same on the outside, but packs some serious improvements under the hood. A wide-angle lens and larger image sensor let you zoom and enhance footage (yep, just like the TV shows), and built in Bluetooth LE allows pairing with external sensors. Live video monitoring is free with the $200 purchase price, while cloud recording will set you back $10 a month for one week of continuous recording, or $30 to record the whole month. [Dropcam]
https://gizmodo.com/dropcam-pro-a-burlier-webcam-to-help-you-keep-watch-ov-1443386807
Anki DRIVE: Little iOS-controlled racers sound cool on their own, but Anki uses your touchscreen as more than a joystick replacement. Your iPhone, iPad or iPod becomes the brain of your artificial-intelligence competitor, a super-driver who always knows where you are — and is more than willing to take you out. [$200]
https://gizmodo.com/apples-favorite-new-startup-wants-to-be-the-pixar-of-ro-512688519
OS X Mavericks, iLife and iWork: Alongside the new iPads, Apple rolled out some significant software upgrades this week. Mavericks brings improved battery life for laptop users, smooth app integration, and faster running with compressed memory. iLife got new user interfaces and better iCloud integration, iWork got some productivity boosters, and Garage Band now has robo-drummers. Best news: all these upgrades are free!
https://gizmodo.com/os-x-mavericks-arrives-with-understated-elegance-plus-1449518276
