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Microsoft looks to 3D, desktop for revival
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MICROSOFT Corp has unveiled its first desktop computer and a free update to its Windows operating system that allows edits using 3D simulations, in hopes of reinvigorating its computing business.
The Windows 10 Creators Update, coming in early 2017, lets mobile devices scan an object on all sides so it can rotate a 360-degree photograph. It also allows for three-dimensional graphics in Microsoft’s popular PowerPoint presentation software, and a new “Paint 3D” application allows edits in 3D simulations.
Sales for Microsoft’s computing business have declined since 2015. With the new features, Microsoft is hoping to stand out from the pack and win over creative types who have long preferred products from rival Apple Inc.
“Microsoft has its work cut out in trying to convince potential customers that its products are more than just the workhorses they’ve always been for many,” analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said. “That won’t change overnight. At US$2,999 and up, the Surface Studio will be “out of reach for the vast majority of consumers.”
The technology company’s desktop computer, the Surface Studio, has a touch-screen monitor that can lie flat and be drawn on with a stylus. Microsoft also said it would introduce a new Surface Book laptop whose battery life is 30 percent longer at 16 hours.
The upgrade, for Windows 10 only, has limits as well. While more than 400 million devices run on Windows 10, far more computers still have Windows 7 installed, according to data from NetMarketShare. That means the majority of users will not see any changes.
Nonetheless, analysts said the upgrade puts Microsoft at the forefront of mass-market 3D technology.
“Microsoft is getting ahead of the curve,” Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth said. “Their marketing efforts to illustrate the 3D ability seems to be ahead of Apple’s.”
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