今日科技：Windows 8明年面市

    * 本周一，在于日本举行的开发人员大会上，微软公司（Microsoft）首席执行官史蒂夫•鲍尔默宣布，运行于个人计算机和平板电脑上的操作系统Windows 8将于明年发售。他同时还提及，升级了的Windows Phone 7也将于今年晚些时候于日本率先面市。该操作系统将提供500多个新特性。（《洛极矶时报》）

    * 据报道，5月23日，Twitter以4,000万美元收购TweetDeck一案终成定局。

    * 杰克•多尔西创建的专注于移动支付业务的初创公司Square发布了几项声明。其中比较重要的内容包括：迄今已经发售了50万部Square读卡器；每天可处理300万美元的移动支付业务；更有趣的是，这款iPad应用程序取代了现金自动计数器，用户们通过它可以直接使用自己搭载Android系统或者iOS系统的设备，为购买的产品付款。（(TechCrunch和CNNMoney）

    * 索尼公司（Sony）首席执行官霍华德•斯金格发起的公司转型计划已经破产了吗？[《路透社》（Reuters）]

    * 维奥塔（Weotta）是个实时旅行路线构建程序，尤其适合那些希望夜晚外出，但又不想花费时间、精力去搜寻合适的酒吧、餐厅、或者活动的人。为达此目的，该服务提供3步流程：选择你希望的外出类型（比如：商务会晤、男女约会、家庭聚会、或者单独出行）、以及彼时的心境，然后点击“生成”按钮。维奥塔以以下可定制因素为基础：准备外出的时间、日期、偏好的地理范围、当前的活动、以及你在Facebook上标记为喜欢的内容、还有最重要的社交图。（维奥塔与TechCrunch）

    * At a developers' conference in Japan earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that Windows 8 for PCs and tablets will ship some time next year. He also referenced a Windows Phone 7 update, due out later this year in Japan that will introduce over 500 new features. (Los Angeles Times)

    * Twitter's $40 million-plus acquisition of TweetDeck was reportedly finalized yesterday. (CNNMoney)

    * Jack Dorsey's mobile payments startup Square made several announcements, chief among them: the shipment of 500,000 Square card readers and processing of $3 million in mobile payments a day, and more interestingly, an iPad app that replaces cash registers and lets user pay for products with their Android or iOS devices. (TechCrunch and CNNMoney)

    * Has Sony CEO Howard Stringer's company makeover failed? (Reuters)

    * Meet Weotta, a real-time itinerary builder for people who want a night out but don't want to go through the fuss of researching bars, restaurants, and events. To that end, the service offers a 3-step process: pick the type of outing you want (ie. Business, Dating, Family, Solo), the mood, and then hit "Generate." Weotta bases its on customizable factors like time, date, preferred geographic radius, current events, as well as Facebook Likes and your all-important social graph. Sign up for the beta here. (Weotta and TechCrunch)

    * 另一家初创公司Do@旨在改变智能手机用户的搜索方式。本周一，该公司在TechCrunch Disrupt大会上宣布成立，并且从投资机构德丰杰公司（Draper Fisher Jurvetson）融到了700万美元。该公司提供搜索问题和结果的方式，与谷歌（Google）和微软的必应（Bing）搜索平台有所不同。他们的做法是，按“@音乐”和“@名人”等分类提供问题建议，然后以幻灯的形式，列出从Netflix、LastFM、以及Quora等源网站中搜索到的结果。（GigaOm与TechCrunch Disrupt）

    * 为何网飞公司（Netflix）等流媒体服务预示着我们使用电视的方式将发生极大的改变。[《卫报》（The Guardian）]

    * 电音天后Lady Gaga的新专辑《生来如此》（Born This Way）昨天开始在亚马逊（Amazon）上销售，售价仅为0.99美元，比在苹果iTunes商店中的现价低了整整11美元。（现在，其在亚马逊上的售价已升为6.99美元。）（All Things D）

    * 瘾科技网站（Engadget）作者肖恩•霍利斯特对戴尔公司（Dell）最新出品的笔记本电脑XPS 15z进行了评测。“戴尔的这款产品虽然价格比相应的MacBook低了好几百美元，但它外观迷人，功能强大，绝对是款会受到用户欢迎的Windows个人电脑。戴尔会说，XPS 15z物超所值，事情并非完全如此。按其价格来说，该产品绝对是个不错的选择，但那仍然是笔不小的支出。”（瘾科技）

    译者:大海

    * Another startup Do@, which also launched yesterday at TechCrunch Disrupt and aims to change the way smartphone users make search queries, raised $7 million from Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The company presents search queries and results differently from say, Google or Bing, by offering up query suggestions broken up by categories like "@ music" and "@ celebs" and presenting results pulled from sources like Netflix, LastFM and Quora in a slideshow format. Check out the free iPhone app here. (GigaOm and TechCrunch Disrupt)

    * How streaming services like Netflix signal a broader shift in the way we consume TV. (The Guardian)

    * Amazon sold Lady Gaga's new album, Born This Way, for a mere $ .99 yesterday, $11 less than what it's currently going for at Apple's iTunes store. (Now it's going for $6.99.) (All Things D)

    * Engadget writer Sean Hollister reviewed Dell's latest laptop, the XPS 15z. "For hundreds upon hundreds of dollars less than the Mac competition, Dell's unleashed an attractive, powerful and definitely desirable Windows PC. ... When Dell tells you that the XPS 15z has no compromises, that's not quite the case -- it's a solid choice at this price point, but corners were cut to get here." (Engadget)