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The Logitech MeetUp Live Demo & Hands-On Look

The Logitech MeetUp Live Demo

Unlike typical press conferences and tech briefings, Logitech conducted this live demo of Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) across four different countries to showcase its abilities. Note that they were not conducted in 4K resolution (more on this later), due to software and bandwidth limitations.

Here are the Logitech MeetUp’s key features :

Super-Wide 120° Field of View: MeetUp offers the widest field of view of any Logitech video conferencing solution, without any fisheye lens distortion. This allows everyone in the room to be seen on-screen, even those close to the camera or seated at the edges of the room.
3-Microphones and Custom-Tuned Speaker: Three broadside beamforming, omnidirectional microphones with noise and echo cancellation – plus a custom-tuned speaker – are specifically optimized for voice clarity in small conference rooms. The microphones are Microsoft Cortana-certified for voice command precision with any Windows 10 system. An optional expansion microphone increases conversational radius even further in larger rooms.[adrotate banner=”4″]
All-In-One Design: MeetUp’s compact, all-in-one form factor saves space and minimizes cable clutter.
Razor-Sharp Optics: Advanced Logitech lens technology delivers remarkable, distortion-free video quality with superb resolution, speed, fluidity, color balance, and detail.
Motorized Pan/Tilt with Optical Zoom: The motorized lens smoothly pans and tilts, expanding the total field of view to 170° by 105°, while a 5X optical zoom lets you focus on participants and whiteboards with razor-sharp clarity.
RF Remote Control: MeetUp’s paired remote control lets you adjust audio and camera settings from anywhere in the room, even without line-of-sight.
Ultra HD 4K Image Sensor: Supports multiple resolutions, including 4K (Ultra HD), 1080p (Full HD) and 720p (HD) to best support the quality offered by your application and monitor.

The Logitech MeetUp Hands-On Look

The Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) is a compact all-in-one video conferencing solution. It combines an ultra-wide camera with three beam-forming microphones and a voice-optimised speaker. In addition, the camera has motorised pan and tilt capabilities, and even 5X optical zoom.

The Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) is designed for huddle rooms. In larger conference rooms, you can attach an expansion microphone for greater reach. Its remote control uses radio-frequency, instead of infra-red, allowing you to control it even without line-of-sight.

There are some caveats we must point out though :

The Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) is a hardware solution, and does not come with any video conferencing software. You are free to use any video conferencing service like Skype or WebEx,
MeetUp requires additional hardware to operate, specifically a host PC. You can hook it up to a desktop, a laptop or even a NUC.
Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) has an Ultra HD 4K-capable camera for future-proofing. That capability requires a video conferencing service that is 4K capable, and a USB 3.0 cable. MeetUp currently ships only with a USB 2.0 cable, and is therefore not capable of supporting 4K video streaming.
The external microphone port is proprietary and can only be used with the official MeetUp external microphone.

Price & Availability

The Logitech MeetUp (Lowest Price) will be available for sale in late July 2017 at the following prices (for ASEAN countries) :

Singapore : SGD 1,529 for MeetUp, and SGD 375 for the optional external microphone
Thailand : THB 37,900 for MeetUp, and THB 9,199 for the optional external microphone
Malaysia : MYR 4,799 for MeetUp, and MYR 1,169 for the optional external microphone
Philippines : PHP 56,500 for MeetUp, and PHP 13,500 for the optional external microphone

You can also buy it from Amazon at US$ 899 for MeetUp, and US$ 1,079 for MeetUp with the optional external microphone.

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The Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update Revealed

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We first revealed a major new feature of the Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update in our article, Microsoft Windows Ink Revealed. Well, it is now here and available! But you might be wondering – what other improvements and new features will the Windows 10 Anniversary Update bring to the table? Let us show you!

Windows 10 Anniversary Update Revealed

We were recently invited by Microsoft Malaysia to an exclusive tech briefing on the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Andres Sirel, Windows & Devices Group Lead of Microsoft Malaysia, demonstrated new features like Windows Ink, as well as improvements in Windows Hello, Microsoft Edge, Windows Notes, etc. :

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Other New Features Or Improvements In The Windows 10 Anniversary Update

More security features for the most secure Windows: For all Windows 10 customers, the Anniversary Update brings new improvements to Windows Hello and Windows Defender.

With Windows Hello, customers can sign in with enterprise-grade security, password-free, to apps, and access supporting websites with biometric authentication using Microsoft Edge, the first and only browser to natively support biometrics.
Windows Defender anti-malware improves with the option to automatically schedule periodic quick scans of your PC; and provide notifications and summaries when scans are complete and if scans find any threats.

Building on the existing security features in Windows 10, two new security benefits for enterprise customers include:

Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, designed to detect, investigate and respond to malicious attacks and informed by the world’s largest array of sensors and expert advanced threat protection, including a team of expert security researchers at Microsoft.
Windows Information Protection, formerly referred to as enterprise data protection, helps protect businesses from accidental data leaks by separating personal and organizational data where ever it goes.

Improvements to Cortana: the world’s most productive personal digital assistant gets even better with access above the lock screen, more ways to remember with the ability for Cortana to save and recall information, and synchronization across devices.

Increased power efficiency, extensions and accessibility with Microsoft Edge: The Anniversary Update includes even more power-saving improvements in Microsoft Edge, using fewer CPU cycles, consuming less memory, and minimizing the impact of background activity and peripheral content like Flash advertisements. Microsoft Edge Extensions, such as Pinterest’s “Pin it Button” and Amazon Assistant, will also be available in the Windows Store. The new accessibility architecture for Microsoft Edge also now supports modern web standards, including HTML, CSS, and ARIA. With this update, page structure and content are exposed more clearly with assistive technology. Visual presentation of web pages in high contrast mode provides additional visual context, while preserving text contrast. Also, form entry when using keyboard navigation and screen readers improve the browsing experience for people of all abilities.

An even better gaming experience: With Xbox Play Anywhere, gamers can buy a game once and play on a Windows 10 PC or Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and share achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store on both Windows 10 and Xbox One. Cortana is also now available on Xbox One to help gamers find great new games, see what friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks, and turn on Xbox One by saying “Hey Cortana, Xbox On”.

Top fan-requested features including Language Region Independence so gamers can choose any supported language on Xbox One, regardless of their location; and support for background music, will come with the Anniversary Update. As well, the new Xbox One S, available this summer starting at $299, will include the Anniversary Update. With a limited 2TB Xbox One S launch edition available in August for $399 USD, it’s the only console with support for HDR gaming and 4K Ultra HD video and Blu-ray.

Innovations for the modern classroom join great devices starting at $179: An all new “Set up School PCs” app will enable teachers to set up devices in 3 easy steps with a ‘Shared Cart of Devices.’ For schools with dedicated IT support, the updated Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer tool enables the setup of shared devices, in bulk, in a matter of minutes. For high-stakes tests that should not have copy-and-paste privileges, access to files or other distractions, the Take a Test app creates a browser-based, locked-down environment for more secure online assessments.

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Find Out What’s New At Microsoft Build 2016

What’s New At Microsoft Build 2016

Nadella showcased improvements to Cortana and announced previews of new cloud services and toolkits designed to understand the world around us and create intelligent bots. Myerson announced the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which will deliver significant new innovations for consumers and developers for the Universal Windows Platform.

“As an industry, we are on the cusp of a new frontier that pairs the power of natural human language with advanced machine intelligence,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “At Microsoft, we call this Conversations as a Platform, and it builds on and extends the power of the Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere.”

“With Windows 10 now running on over 270 million active devices, we’re celebrating with our fans by delivering the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. This significant update will help you interact with your Windows 10 devices as naturally as you interact with the world around you — using your pen, presence and voice,” Myerson said. “We are dedicated to making Windows the most productive development environment for all developers, with all-new capabilities for the Universal Windows Platform and all-new tools for bringing apps to Windows 10 from any platform.”

Introducing cloud services that understand, interactive bots and the Cortana Intelligence Suite

The Cortana Intelligence Suite, formerly known as the Cortana Analytics Suite, is powered by cutting-edge research into big data, machine learning, perception, analytics and intelligent bots. Built on Microsoft Azure, these capabilities can be used by developers and businesses to create intelligent end-to-end solutions, including new apps that learn about our world and bots and agents that interact with people in personalized, intelligent ways.

Wednesday, Microsoft announced new additions to the Cortana Intelligence Suite, both in preview. The first, Microsoft Cognitive Services, is a collection of intelligence APIs that allows systems to see, hear, speak, understand and interpret our needs using natural methods of communication. The second, the Microsoft Bot Framework, can be used by developers — programming in any language — to build intelligent bots that enable customers to chat using natural language on a wide variety of platforms including text/SMS, Office 365, Skype, Slack, the Web and more.

Microsoft demonstrated how developers can use services, like those found in the Cortana Intelligence Suite, to transform not only businesses but people’s lives. Seeing AI, a research project under development, shows how these new capabilities can help people who are visually impaired or blind better understand who and what is around them.

Wednesday, Microsoft also released the Skype Bot Platform, which includes the SDK, API and Workflows all in the new Skype Bot Portal. With this platform, developers can build bots that leverage Skype’s multiple forms of communication, including text, voice, video and 3-D interactive characters. Customers can get started with Skype Bots by downloading the latest Skype apps for Windows, Android and iOS. Developers can start building Skype Bots today using the Skype Bot Platform and reach hundreds of millions of Skype users.

Those interested can learn more about Cortana Intelligence Suite and the new previews here, sign up to learn more about Seeing AI here, download the new Skype client here and sign up for the Skype Bot Platform.

New Windows 10 innovations deliver more personal computing and opportunities for developers

Windows 10 was designed to deliver more personal computing, with experiences that are more natural, more trusted and extend across devices. With features such as Cortana and Windows Hello, Windows 10 began to deliver on this vision.

Today, Windows 10 is off to the fastest start in Windows history with over 270 million active devices, outpacing Windows 7 by 145 percent. And, customers have spent more time in Windows 10 than ever before — over 75 billion hours since its launch.

As a result of this rapidly growing base, Microsoft is seeing new universal apps from Twitter, Uber, King, Disney, Wargaming, Square Enix, Yahoo and WWE; with new apps on the way from Bank of America, Starbucks, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram. The Windows Store has seen over 5 billion visits as Windows fans are discovering apps for Windows 10, including nearly 1,000 Cortana apps.

At Build on Wednesday, Microsoft shared the next chapter in its more personal computing vision — with an all-new Windows 10 Anniversary Update featuring innovations for Windows Ink, Cortana, Windows Hello and gaming. Windows Ink is a new experience, putting the power of Windows in the tip of your pen.

With Windows Ink, you can write on your device as you do on paper, create sticky notes, draw on a whiteboard and easily share your analog thoughts in the digital world. New Cortana features enable you to receive proactive guidance from Cortana throughout the day and speak with Cortana, even while your device is locked1, without logging in.

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New Windows Hello features extend the security of Windows 10 to multiple devices and to Microsoft Edge, so you can log into your devices and websites with enterprise-grade security. These are just a few of the many features that will become available this summer when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update becomes broadly available.

Microsoft also shipped Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition for the first time, extending the Windows experience to holograms and allowing developers to begin helping build the future of holographic computing. Microsoft highlighted commercial customers in several industries that are using HoloLens today, including Case Western Reserve University and NASA. Developers can use the Universal Windows Platform to create new mixed reality with holograms.

For over 30 years, Windows has been an open ecosystem, welcoming the contributions of hardware and software partners and developers around the world. The Universal Windows Platform extends this commitment, combining the openness of the history of Windows with the best of today’s modern application platform.

On Wednesday, Microsoft shared all-new capabilities for the Universal Windows Platform. They include full access to Cortana’s proactive intelligence and the Windows 10 Anniversary SDK, which offers all-new APIs and tools to integrate the latest Windows 10 innovations into apps, including Windows Ink and Windows Hello. And with the Xbox Dev Mode, any Xbox One can be a developer kit, enabling anyone to develop for the living room.

Microsoft also shared all-new tools for bringing apps to Windows 10 from any platform.

Web developers, including American Express, BBC Sport, Yahoo Mail, zulily and more, have seen great success with Windows 10 Hosted Web Apps. And now, Windows 10 has support for native Bash with access to the Windows file system and the universe of open source command line tools.
Microsoft shared its new desktop app converter for Project Centennial, which will enable Win32 and .NET developers to easily bring more than 16 million apps to the Universal Windows Platform. Developers can extend their applications with Universal Windows Platform capabilities and distribute their apps in the Windows Store.
Xamarin will help make it possible for .NET developers to more easily share common app code across Windows, iOS and Android apps while still delivering fully native experiences for each platform.

Those who want to try the new innovations coming in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update can join the Windows Insider program and install the latest build. Starting today, developers in the Windows Insider Program can access the Windows Anniversary SDK Preview to explore the new features.

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