A leaked image seems to have confirmed that the long-awaited return of the Start Menu feature will happen with the next update of Windows 8.1, rather than the launch of Windows 9 next summer.

It’s looking like reports of a return for the beloved Start Menu with Windows 9 might have been fabricated after all. Not that it’s in any way bad news, as the latest leaks seem to suggest the next Windows 8.1 update will in fact herald the feature’s long begged-for return.

The last we heard from Microsoft was the promise back in April that the public’s cries had indeed been acknowledged. However, they didn’t give any kind of indication as to when the Start Menu would come back and nor have they said a word on the matter since…at least not in any official capacity.

This is far from the first leaked image we’ve seen depicting the new Start Menu, but what makes it a standout example is the general consensus from critics that it’s legit. It’s certainly similar enough to the sneak-peek Redmond gave the world a few months back, so assuming no big changes have been mad along the way it could indeed be an accurate picture of what’s to come.

A fair few insist it’s a simple Photoshop effort, but you’re never going to convince everyone at the same time with anything.

The leak follows additional reports which suggest that the controversial Live Tiles slapped on all versions of Windows 8 will take something of a back-seat next year when Windows 9 hits the mix. A variety of sources have stated that while Microsoft’s long-disputed Metro interface will remain pretty similar for touchscreen devices, it will to a large extent be phased out for desktop and laptop computers.

Windows 9 is likely to launch toward the summer of next year, perhaps preceded by the final update to Windows 8.1 in early Q1.

The outing of LG’s new ultra-bendable screen panels has prompted all manner of questions, though the most pressing of all is that of general appeal and benefit. What do the experts think?

So chances are over the course of the weekend you’ll have seen LG showcasing its new rollable screens. And we’re not talking just a bit bendy here either, but rather a 1,200 by 810 screen that can be fully rolled into a tube with a diameter of no more than 3cm.

LG has achieved what once seemed impossible by use of what it calls “high molecular substance-based polyimide film” which is basically a form of new-generation plastic. It’s a huge step forward from the debuted at CES earlier this year and they’ve now promised that a rollable TV with a 60-inch screen will be on the market by 2017.

Cool enough and guaranteed to rope in the world’s biggest tech-heads, but there is of course one glaring question that needs to be answered in the meantime; why?

It all well and good to go flexing your innovative muscles to show what you can do, but what’s the real appeal of a super-bendy TV?

Well, ask Stuff.tv deputy editor Stephen Graves and he’ll tell you it comes down to both durability and portability.

“Flexible screens are an exciting prospect,” he wrote.

“First off, they’re far more durable than conventional screens, meaning that we can expect to see bigger, better screens in, for example, airplanes,”

“They also create the potential for some completely new gadget designs,”

“Imagine a 10in (25cm) iPad that you can fold out into a 16in (40cm) screen – effectively doubling up as a small desktop computer or TV monitor.”

Over at Wired magazine, product editor Jeremy White spoke of the panels’ potential for marketing purposes.

“Being able to curve screens around complex retail display units or using the transparency to have the screen envelop the product itself on a stand would certainly be eye-catching,” he said.

“And of course this is all leading to flexible tablets as well, which will possibly be the most useful application of flexible screens to the average consumer.”

Of course to an extent it’s all by the by as even if LG does get rollable TVs on the market by 2017, you can bet it’ll be at least 2022 by the time most of us can afford to buy one.

Just in time for the Qatar World Cup, then!

The launch of the Apple iWatch or the Moto 360 could bring big changes to the Smartwatch market segment, but in the meantime there’s no escaping the ongoing appeal of the Pebble.

We’re still waiting for a Smartwatch to appear and really take the market by storm, but in the meantime there’s little denying that one of the first to make any appearance at all remains in many ways superior. While Sony, Samsung and all manner of others might have thrown their everything into the mix, it’s still the humble Pebble that’s holding its own and winning over the public.

How can a rudimentary Smartwatch possibly be on-par with its ultra-high-tech rivals?

In quite a few ways, truth be told.

Simplicity

For example, the fact that the Pebble is indeed rudimentary in many ways represents much of its core appeal. It’s easy as pie to use, it doesn’t try to do more than it needs to and it functions just as competently as a watch as it does a gadget.

Compatibility

Until Microsoft’s Smartwatch comes along…assuming it exists…the Pebble will remain the only mainstream device of its kind that supports both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile operating systems, rather than sticking to just one.

Durability

Sure it’s not going to survive a sledgehammer to the dial, but at the same time neither is it going to fall apart if you so much as look at it funny. The Pebble is durable, hard-wearing and genuinely water-proof to 5ATM.

Power Frugal

There is no way in the lifetime or the next that anyone’s going to fall for a Smartwatch that has to be charged every single day – it ain’t going to happen. With the Pebble though, the makers of the device promise around a week from a single charge and that’s exactly what it delivers.

Design

Looks might not be the be all and end all, but line up three wrists donning the Pebble, Samsung Galaxy Gear and Sony SmartWatch and try saying there isn’t a clear winner in style stakes.

Price

And finally, with a price of $149 – often closer to $100 if you find one on offer – the Pebble hits that sweet-spot where buyers can take one home without having to panic about the costs, though will still take the thing seriously.

It took nothing more than a two-decade old picture of a fake dinosaur to prove just how many social media users lash out at what they see before actually interpreting what they’re looking at.

People’s tendency to react on impulse before even thinking about what they’re presented with has been illustrated quite beautifully by one witty Facebook user.

Jay Branscom decided to carry out an experiment/play a prank just for the hell of it, which involved posting a picture of Steven Spielberg crouching in front of a triceratops he apparently just killed for sheer giggles. Anyone with brain larger than a grape would of course immediately see the whole thing as nothing more than a re-post of an image from 1990’s Jurassic Park, but for the more cerebrally challenged Facebook crowd, is was the thing of pure outrage.

“Steven Spielberg, I’m disappointed in you. I’m not watching any of your movies again ANIMAL KILLER,” wrote PenelopeRayzor Bachand for example.

“I don’t care who he is, he should not have shot that animal,” added Vincent Smith.

The post has now been shared in excess of 30,000 times and the number of individuals outing their own Grade-A gullibility is skyrocketing.

Unsurprisingly, Jay Branscom is having the laugh of a lifetime and has never seen his name pop up in so many worldwide media publications.

Nice work, sir.

The barebones Raspberry Pi has been propelled forward once again with the addition of four USB ports which are capable of running peripherals without dedicated power sources.

There’s a sweet n’ tangy new version of the barebones Raspberry Pi computer up for grabs, which this time supports more peripheral than ever before without calling for dedicated power sources.

Going by the name of the B+, the tiny system is the lowest power-consuming Raspberry Pi to date and will sell for no more than $35.

Built around the usual Broadcom chip and 512MB RAM as its predecessors, the biggest change to the new Pi comes by way of connectivity. Advanced to its power system enable the B+ to run four USB devices without the need for additional power sources, a micro-SD card slot has replaced the standard SD port and a four-pole connector takes the place of the analogue and composite video connector.

Unsurprisingly, even the folks behind the Pi seem duly impressed with how far things have come.

“We’ve been blown away by the projects that have been made possible through the original B boards,” wrote Eben Upton, co-creator of the Raspberry Pi.

“With its new features, the B+ has massive potential to push the boundaries and drive further innovation.”

Competition however continues to heat up in the ultra-minicomputer segment, in which the Pi B+ will now have to fend off the likes of the Matrix TBS2910, theAndroid MK802 mini PC and the Hummingboard among others.

With the Galaxy Note 4 scheduled for a September launch and the Galaxy S6 tipped for an early Q1 debut, is there really any room left at Samsung’s table for the Galaxy F?

Whether expectations were impossibly high or things were rushed forward far too quickly doesn’t matter – for one reason or another the Samsung Galaxy S5 fell short of the mark. Execs with the South Korean company insisted that the core focus of the S5 was to deliver the most important features and functionalities needed by Smartphone users, but in the end the device just didn’t live up to expectations.

Since the S5’s downfall began, rumors have been doing the rounds that a successor could be on the cards in the form of the Samsung Galaxy F. With a QHD touchscreen, Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon CPU and (finally!) an all-metallic casing, it looked like a device that could deliver everything we’d once expected from the S5 itself.

However, conflicting reports have now begun circulating which suggest that the Galaxy F…assuming it ever existed in the first place…may never see the light of day after all. The reason being that all efforts are supposedly being diverted to the Galaxy Note 4 for the time being, after which the first major Smartphone to launch will be the Galaxy S6.

It sounds somewhat far-fetched and far-flung on the surface, but in reality is neither. Should Samsung have gone ahead with the rollout of the Galaxy F in August as reported, it’s inevitable that it would to some extent affect the initial success of the fourth-generation Note, which is scheduled to launch in the first days of September. The vast majority of reports to date outline a pair of devices that are nigh-on identical apart from the Note 4 having a slightly larger screen, meaning that should millions of Galaxy F units ship in May, the knock-on effect on Note sales the next month could be severe.

And should Samsung wait until after the launch of the new Note to introduce the F, the same effect would be triggered in reverse. Coupled with the continued tip-off of a Q1 debut for the Galaxy S6, it’s entirely plausible that the Galaxy F cooked up by the rumor mill will in fact remain nothing more than another fable to add to the pile.

In the run up to the launch of the new Xperia Z3 flagship, Sony has confirmed the release of the mid-range Xperia T3 – a device it refers to as the thinnest 5.3-inch Smartphone on Earth.

So it’s been announced that the first market in the world to get its hands on the Sony Xperia T3 will be that of Hong Kong – its release date having been confirmed as July 17. No word yet as to when or if the device will ever see the light of day in the US, but assuming we’re all in-line for a serving of the T3, what’s all the fuss about?

Well, it’s worth remembering that what’s considered mid-range right now would have been pure witchcraft just a couple of years ago – mid-end no longer means dead-end hardware. In the case of the Sony Xperia T3, your HK$2,998 – i.e. about $380 – will net you a 720p display of 5.3-inches, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU, 8GB of internal closet space, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 4G LTE connectivity and a pretty massive 2,500mAh battery.

And what’s more, all of the above is wrapped in what Sony is calling the world’s slimmest 5.3-inch Smartphone – the T3 is just 7mm from top to bottom.

On the downside of things, it hasn’t been lavished with the same dust and water-proofing as its higher-end Xperia siblings, which is a bit of a bummer.

Still, that $385 price tag would/will undoubtedly be trimmed  a little if and when it lands in the US market, so we’ll have to wait and see if Sony hits the sweet-spot with folks this side of the water.

 

Microwaves are not traditionally associated with healthy meals and snacks, but at least one company believes that future devices should be able to tell diners exactly how much energy is in the food they nuke.

If you were offered a microwave that could tell you just how much garbage you were about to consume each time the ‘ping’ went off, would you really like to know? After all, it’s not as if nuking food is synonymous with healthy eating.

Clearly aimed at an unusual group of fitness fanatics that also have a penchant for microwave cooking, a firm has come up with an oven that’s able to detect and notify the user of just how much energy the food they’ll be eating contains.

“We are developing advanced sensor technology to make estimation of dietary calories in food as simple as the touch of a button,” said GE Global Research representative Matt Webster.

“We are hopeful that further development of this technology will result in a push-button device that will provide calorie content of your meal in an instant.”

 

By combining a number of devices and stuffing all manner of sensors into the thing, the team has created a microwave that can accurately read the fat, calorie and water content of the food it’s tasked to heat up. GE Global Research hasn’t yet given any indication as to when and where the oven will launch or how much it would cost, though critics insist that for the right price, it could prove to be a pretty enormous hit.

While there are those that believe Apple’s iPad Air 2 will break all manner of molds and conventions, it’s actually much more likely we’ll be looking at a simple and in some cases undetectable incremental upgrade.

There are two schools of thought on Apple’s upcoming iPad Air 2. While some are expecting to see a game-changing tablet PC of epic proportions that’s guaranteed to make mincemeat of its rivals, others are not quite so enthused. Not that it won’t be a stellar enough device in any guise, but a growing number of analysts expects the second-generation Air to be more of a modest evolution than a revolution.

The reason of course being that the first-generation iPad Air was in itself the biggest overall concept change brought to the iPad to date. What’s more, it’s been on the market for close to a year now and yet still remains the world’s number-one in terms of sales, consumer response and general critical acclaim. And has Apple has proven year after year, it often takes little more than a touch of seasoning to take an existing recipe to the next level…or at least carry it over for another year or so.

As such, the most likely changes to the iPad Air we’ll see this year are the kinds we’ll hardly see at all. It’s a foregone conclusion that Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner will be ported over, the new A8 CPU will feature under the hood and iOS 8 will work its magic right out of the box. There may also be a modest improvement to its front and rear cameras, but on the whole it’ll be tricky to tell the two apart at first glance alone.

They’ll look the same, feel the same in most respects perform the same – there’s little chance of Apple making any changes at all to the existing Retina panel.

All of which might sound a little disappointing, but realistically there’s not a great deal more that could be done with the iPad Air to make it better. It could be made faster, but is it really necessary? It’s already light enough, boasts brilliant battery life, takes amazing photos and so on and so forth.

Seriously – what more could you ask for?

In what’s undoubtedly the best Smartphone deal of the week by far, Motorola has slashed the price of the contract-free Moto X to $299 when choosing Net 10 as a carrier.

Let’s be honest – most of us wouldn’t bother with a two-year contract if high-end Smartphones weren’t so damn expensive. The idea of being free of contractual obligations and knowing the phone is fully paid and yours from day-one is pretty sweet…if unrealistic for most, at least as far as flagships go.

Which is why the deal of the day so far has to be the $100 price cut slapped on the Moto X by Net 10, bringing the price of the superb device down to just $299. That’s less than $300 to take home a Smartphone that was near-universally swooned-over at its debut and continues to rake in the acclaim even in the summer of 2014.

Surprisingly there doesn’t seem to be a catch to the deal either – you get to play with all the same Moto Make customization tools, choose the color you want it in and even get the thing shipped for free. And just to remind you again, that’s all for just $299 when going with Net 10. Just to sweeten the deal even further, Motorola is also offering 50% off all cases bought before the deal expires.

Speaking of which, it might be a good idea to get a wiggle on if interested as the $100 offer cuts out on July 16, which is just a few days away.

Check out the full details at the official Moto X store here.