Microsoft's high-priced Surface Studio may be selling better than expected, if we can believe a recent report from Digitimes. The Taiwanese company - which publishes a Chinese daily newspaper on IT and high-tech supply chains - reports that "Microsoft has ordered 30,000 units to be shipped in the first quarter of 2017, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers."

Original estimates suggested that only 15,000 units would be shipped this quarter, because the Surface Studio costs so much more than alternative all-in-one PCs. The three models cost $2,999, $3,499 and $4,199.

Assuming the average buyer spends $3,400, the retail value of 30,000 Surface Studios would be $100 million. If Microsoft could sell 100,000 a year, sales would be worth $0.34 billion.

But this would still be a drop in the bucket. The news item says: "Apple ships about 3.5-4 million all-in-one PCs a year and is the second-largest all-in-one PC vendor worldwide behind Lenovo, according to Digitimes Research."

If so, Apple could be shipping around 40 iMacs for every Surface Studio.

We also don't know what sort of people are buying Surface Studios. If Microsoft is lucky, most of them will be the creative types at whom the product is aimed. But Microsoft has around 114,074 staff - that's the official number for June 30, 2016 - and a lot of them could be tempted. Some Surface Studios could even end up on their office desks, at Microsoft's expense.

But it doesn't really matter. The Surface Studio is obviously a high-end product, not one designed for the mass market. If Microsoft aimed for the mainstream, it would be competing with its own partners, and I don't expect the major ones - HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer etc - would like that.

The Surface Studio is doing other things, regardless of how many it sells.

First, it's competing directly against Apple in the image wars, rather than the sales wars. Microsoft never wants to hear anyone say that the best PC for running Windows is a Mac. I think it would enjoy hearing that the best PC for running Windows is a Microsoft Surface, whether or not people actually buy them.

You may remember that the Surface Studio has already scored a major victory in the image wars, because Microsoft's launch generated lots of praise on social media and in the press for its innovation and style. One day later, Apple was widely criticised for its lacklustre MacBook Pro launch, and for failing to even mention its moribund desktop products.

The idea that "Microsoft is the new Apple" is a potent one.

Second, Microsoft's research is feeding innovation into a PC industry that is struggling in a declining market. The Surface Pro range has already prompted several knock-offs, including Apple's iPad Pro. Even if nobody clones the Surface Studio directly, it will give other PC designers new things to think about.

Third, Microsoft's Surface range should help to improve Windows 10. Until recently, Windows software was developed without much first-hand experience of the hardware design problems, whereas Apple benefited from the close integration of hardware and software. We can but hope that the future development of Surface and Windows 10 will produce similar benefits.

Microsoft still makes most of its income by selling through partners, so competing with partners is a dangerous game. However, in this case, there are some benefits. And if the OEMs can see that Microsoft is targeting Apple rather than them, they'll probably live with that.

These guidelines cover the procurement, usage, and administration of IoT devices, whether provided by the company or employee owned.

From the policy:

Summary
The Internet of Things (or IoT) refers to network- or internet-connected devices, such as appliances, thermostats, monitors, sensors, and portable items that can measure, store, and transmit information.

IoT devices may be business oriented (e.g., RFID tags to track inventory) consumer based (such as Fitbits), or a hybrid of both (like the Raspberry Pi, which offers an array of uses across the two sectors). The devices may be company-provided or employee-owned, such as through a BYOD policy.

IoT devices continue making inroads in the business world, so organizations should have a defined IoT structure in place to ensure that data and operations are properly secured.

IoT device procurement
In general, IoT devices that are to be used for company operations should be purchased and installed by organizational personnel.

It is allowable for employee-owned IoT devices to be used for business purposes, but they must be used in accordance with the organization’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy.

The use of all IoT devices, whether company-provided or employee-owned, should be requested via the IoT Device Usage Request Form (see Appendix A), which must be submitted to the IT department for approval. Only manager-level employees and above may request the usage and/or procurement of IoT devices.

The IT department is responsible for identifying compatible platforms, purchasing equipment, and supporting organization-provided and authorized IoT devices. The IT department is not responsible for allocating funds to pay for the devices, accessories, and/or service fees (if applicable). Requesting managers must allocate funds from their department’s operating budget (where applicable) to cover costs arising from the device request.

Lenovo has jumped the gun on CES by releasing info on its latest ThinkPad updates a few days before the annual electronics trade show. While the PC manufacturer isn't adding anything as radical as the Yoga Book's Create Pad hybrid input device, its flagship laptops will receive some of the latest computing technology as well as some other improvements.

Select ThinkPads will be the first computers to include Intel's Optane storage technology, which is reportedly several times faster than current SSD tech. The bad news? These laptops will only have 16GB versions of the Optane drives, so they will be used in tandem with traditional hard drives. They will also appear later in 2017 than new non-Optane ThinkPads as the drives are finalized.

Lenovo is further leaning on Intel for its processors, shipping new ThinkPads with the latest Core processors. the seventh-generation "Kaby Lake" CPUs. It's also continuing the trend of PC makers jumping on the USB-C bandwagon as well as supporting Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. The brand-new ThinkPad T470 and T570 will be equipped with Windows Hello cameras that can perform facial recognition to supplement their fingerprint readers. (See a rundown of all the new models at our sister site CNET.)

The ThinkPad's touchpad gets an update via software thanks to new support for Microsoft's Precision TouchPad drivers, which should provide finer control over inputting touchpad gestures. Microsoft will also be supplying Windows 10 Signature Edition for 2017 ThinkPads; given Lenovo's recent woes with installing flawed bloatware on its systems, this "clean" version of Windows 10 should give potential buyers a little more peace of mind.

The most noticeable change to the new ThinkPads will appear on the surface. In addition to its iconic black chassis, select Lenovo business laptops will finally be available in a silver finish. A nod to younger buyers who might not like the staid black ThinkPads of yore (and their overworked parents)?

[Via AnandTech]

Since the '90s, Nintendo has dominated the handheld game console market, seeing other mobile consoles come and go. However, Sony learned many lessons from its mildly successful PlayStation Portable and offers a top handheld game console with the Vita PCH-2000, commonly called the Vita Slim.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 is a reliable video game console, offering consistently great gaming and multimedia experiences. Although the next generation of gaming systems is now available, the 360 still offers the most media apps as well as over a thousand high-quality video games. The Xbox 360 sets itself apart as a great entertainment hub through Xbox Live, the premium online service that allows its members access to online multiplayer and cross-game party chat.