Top picks: The best Windows 8 tablet laptops, convertibles, and Ultrabooks

	Is Microsoft starting from scratch with Windows Phone 9? | Electronics that will be "Born to Die"
	Network World Cool Tools				Forward this to a Friend >>>
	Top picks: The best Windows 8 tablet laptops, convertibles, and Ultrabooks HP and Dell lead Samsung, Lenovo, and Acer in InfoWorld's reviews of both classic clamshell notebooks and innovative touch-driven hybrids Read More WHITE PAPER: Condusiv Technologies Guide to 50% Faster VMs - No Hardware Required For administrators seeking to increase performance in their virtual environment without investing in more hardware, this white paper outlines how I/O optimization technologies deliver performance at a fraction of the cost of hardware for applications with the heaviest workloads. Read more. Read Now! In this Issue Is Microsoft starting from scratch with Windows Phone 9? Electronics that will be "Born to Die" Firefox OS for phones is shipping, and it is impressive Windows 8 Update: Microsoft Surface RT price slashed $150 HP Envy X2: A Windows 8 tablet to covet Faster Wi-Fi deployed with launch of iPad program at prep school WHITE PAPER: Netscout Systems Inc. Holistic Service Management is Critical to the Growth of IT This paper looks at new approaches to service delivery management to allow IT organizations to deliver better service quality, performance and user experience, and to be more predictive with application performance management and network performance management. Learn More. Is Microsoft starting from scratch with Windows Phone 9? Windows Phone 8 is what can best be described as a slow-moving success. Each quarter, it gains just a little more ground, and now sits at about 5% of the smartphone market. Considering that it has essentially one OEM, that's not too shabby, but it does pale in comparison to Samsung and Apple. Microsoft moved rather quickly with Windows Phone 8 and 8.5, bringing the same kernel and vital code from the... Read More Electronics that will be "Born to Die" The idea behind "Born to Die" electronics is that mist gadgets now have pitifully short lives. Tech products such as cell phones and pads now have useful lives measured in months and the result is landfills and recycling facilities overwhelmed with electronic gadgets that need to be broken down and safely disposed of. Read More WHITE PAPER: IBM Introducing Social Business for the Mid-Market This report provides directional guidance for mid-market companies to appropriately use Social Business to achieve their goals. Learn More. Firefox OS for phones is shipping, and it is impressive There are a few Linux-based Phone operating systems out there working hard toward an eventual release – and, hopefully, some actual phone hardware that they'll ship with. Sailfish, Tizen, Ubuntu Touch...they're all looking to snag a piece of the smartphone pie. But Firefox OS...that little beauty is actually shipping. Like right now. From actual phone carriers. Really-real (technical term) carriers.... Read More Windows 8 Update: Microsoft Surface RT price slashed $150 Microsoft is authorizing a $150 discount off its Surface RT tablet for a week, which represents a 30% discount off the list price of $499, according to an ad on the upcoming-sales page of Staples Web site. This is the least attractive of the Surface tablets because, among other things, it runs only Windows 8 applications – not traditional Windows applications - and has only 15GB of the 32GB disk available to the user. It does come with an abbreviated version of Office. Read More WHITE PAPER: Tripwire SANS Secure Configuration Management Demystified Security experts and analysts agree that a systematic, enterprise-wide program of secure configuration management is one of the most beneficial security solutions you can implement. It provides an objective, concise measure of your overall security posture. Learn More HP Envy X2: A Windows 8 tablet to covet Smart in design and stingy on power, HP's Envy convertible works well as a laptop or a tablet Read More Faster Wi-Fi deployed with launch of iPad program at prep school The emergence of faster Wi-Fi on the 802.11ac standard has been a big hit with schools and universities that have struggled with slower networks because of the enormous influx of data-sucking smartphones, tablets and laptops used by students. Read More
	SLIDESHOWS Can your IP address give away your identity? Can hackers, stalkers, criminals, and other Internet users track you down by your Internet Protocol (IP) address? JOIN THE NETWORK WORLD COMMUNITIES As network pros you understand that the value of connections increase as the number of connections increase, the so called network effect, and no where is this more evident than in professional relationships. Join Network World's LinkedIn and Facebook communities to share ideas, post questions, see what your peers are working on and scout out job applicants (or maybe find your next opportunity). Network World on Facebook Network World on LinkedIn MOST-READ STORIES 1. Cisco building an Internet of Everything router: Chambers 2. Small, electric-powered nano-lasers may help keep Moore's Law valid 3. How Google and Blue Box sparked an important open source discussion 4. Hijacking Office 365 and other major services via cookie re-use flaw 5. New digitally signed Mac malware confuses users with right-to-left file name tricks 6. Can your IP address give away your identity? 7. Petition calls for an end to passwords 8. What IT recruiters know about you -- whether you're looking or not 9. Death of India's telegram system 10. Bill Gates vows the return of Microsoft Bob
	Do You Tweet? Follow everything from NetworkWorld.com on Twitter @NetworkWorld. You are currently subscribed to networkworld_cool_tools_alert as networking.world@gmail.com. Unsubscribe from this newsletter | Manage your subscriptions | Subscribe | Privacy Policy If you are interested in advertising in this newsletter, please contact: bglynn@cxo.com To contact Network World, please send an e-mail to customer_service@nww.com. Copyright (C) 2013 Network World, 492 Old Connecticut Path, Framingham MA 01701 ** Please do not reply to this message. If you want to contact someone directly, send an e-mail to customer_service@nww.com. **