Microsoft Surface Mini slated for May 20th release

The Microsoft Surface Mini is coming sooner rather than later. Microsoft's smallest Surface device is slated for a May 20 product launch with availability coming soon after. Expected to be an 8-inch tablet running Windows RT 8.1, the focus of this mini is notetaking and we can expect the same type of stylus integration as with the Surface Pro.

The 8-inch Windows tablet market has become an interesting area as a number of devices from Acer, Dell and Lenovo are bring the full Windows 8.1 experience to a smaller form factor and while some offer a stylus, the functionality is rather limited.

The Surface Mini has long been rumoured but was not included in the last Surface refresh that saw the launch of the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. Pricing, feature set and accessories are all expected to be revealed during the event which takes place in New York City on May 20th.

Source:WindowsITPro, Surface Mini render from Tecnopasion

Windows 8.1 update is rolling out now

While the demise of Windows XP may be sad news for some people, there's happy news coming out of Redmond today as the much awaited Windows 8.1 update is finally rolling out and available to current Windows 8.1 users for free. Coming in the Mother of All Patch Tuesdays, the new update offers refinements to the current Windows 8.1 experience highlighted here. While Microsoft says it will take a few weeks to reach all users, I just went into Windows Update on my Surface Pro and the update was available along with a half-dozen others. Grab a cold beverage, some popcorn and get with the latest version of Windows now.

Microsoft Surface RT to go on sale for $199 on Black Friday at Best Buy

$199 for a first generation Microsoft Surface tablet isn't a bad deal. Best Buy Canada's flyer for Black Friday features last year's click-happy tablet at $150 off the current selling price. The Surface RT is the 32GB version and it will have Windows RT installed but can be upgraded to Windows RT 8.1. Microsoft Office Home and Student (RT version) are also included. I remember when boxed versions of Office cost around $199.

Update on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 9:06PM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I actually bit the bullet and got one of these for myself. So far, it's been great. Ordered from Best Buy on Black Friday and was surprised to get my Surface delivered on Sunday! It took a few hours to update the OS and then install Windows 8.1 on ARM but since then it has been smooth sailing.

Delta will equip 11,000 pilots with Microsoft Surface 2 tablets

Delta Air Lines has announced that they will be equipping 11,000 pilots flying Boeing 757 and 767 fleets with Microsoft Surface 2 tablets. The Windows RT 8.1 tablets will serve as electronic flight bags containing the essential electronic documents, charts, and other reference materials needed by the aviators.

The partnership is expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions of their flights. With the use of the tablets, it will get rid of 7.5 million sheets of paper used annually and cut down emissions by 1.2 million fewer gallons of fuel. This arrives at the heels of a previous partnership between Delta and Nokia to supply their flight crew with Nokia Lumia 820 smartphones.