Mihăiță Bamburic

In an effort to beef up the security of its cloud platform, late-yesterday, Microsoft introduced two-step authentication for Windows Azure. The new feature is available through a service called Active Authentication and, according to the software giant, is mostly aimed at enterprises.

"Companies can enable multi-factor authentication for Windows Azure Active Directory identities to help secure access to Office 365, Windows Azure, Windows Intune, Dynamics CRM Online and many other apps that are integrated with Windows Azure AD", says Windows Azure director Sarah Fender. "Developers can also use the Active Authentication SDK to build multi-factor authentication into their custom applications and directories".

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Migrating data between two Google accounts is not the easiest of tasks -- there's no simple switch that one can flip. Folks have to use various tools provided by the search giant to move a Google+ profile with circles, backup important emails and Drive content or transfer the Voice number and data. Based on my experience, it takes quite a bit of time too.

This makes it especially problematic for business users who wish to seamlessly migrate data from a standard Google account to Google Apps. Backupify wants to address this issue with the latest update for its Migrator tool, released today, which now introduces support for Google to Google Apps (and vice-versa) migrations.

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Following the smartphone's German launch on Monday, the Lumia 925 arrived in the UK today courtesy of local mobile operator Vodafone. The carrier offers the handset in an exclusive 32 GB storage trim with no upfront cost alongside two-year agreements starting at £34 per month.

In order to get the Lumia 925 for free local Vodafone subscribers have to go with either a Red L or Red XL plan. Both contracts offer unlimited minutes and texts. The former goes for £34 per month and also includes 2 GB of mobile data while the latter runs for £39 per month and adds 4 GB of cellular traffic.

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If you thought the Galaxy S4 lineup could not grow any bigger you would be wrong. South Korean manufacturer Samsung announced, on Wednesday, the fourth member in its upscale smartphone family -- the Galaxy S4 zoom. The handset differentiates itself from the pack by offering a whopping 16 MP back-facing camera with 10x optical zoom. Yes, it's rather large and heavy because of it.

"As communication continues to become increasingly visual in nature, people wish to capture and share their moments in the highest quality possible, but often do not have the space or inclination to carry a dedicated camera for this purpose", says Samsung CEO JK Shin. "The Galaxy S4 zoom changes this forever, combining the industry leading functionality and connectivity of the Galaxy S4 with the high quality photographic experience you’d expect from a compact camera. The result is truly the best of both worlds, without compromise". Surely, the "without compromise" part sounds too good to be true.

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Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry just rolled out a new version of its Facebook BB 10 app, bringing the latest iteration one step closer to its Android and iOS counterparts. This is the second major update in the past couple of months.

The new Facebook app for BlackBerry 10, now at version 10.2.0, focuses on design and functionality improvements. In the former department, the app sports a new "refined" look for the newsfeed, adding a couple visual tweaks. The most noteworthy enhancements, however, are related to photo management and tagging.

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On Tuesday, Dell subsidiary Alienware announced three new gaming laptops featuring 14-inch, 17-inch and 18-inch displays, boldly touted by the US company as "the most powerful [...] in the universe". Each device offers upgraded quad-core Intel "Haswell" Core processors, new video cards and a different design theme compared to its predecessor.

The Alienware 14 is the smallest and the most portable of the three. The laptop packs a 14-inch screen and is offered with fourth-generation Intel Core i7 processors, Nvidia GeForce 700 series video cards, DDR3L RAM memory and up to three storage drives. The most interesting feature, however, is the optional 14-inch matte IPS display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080, which should translate into great viewing angles and comfortable outdoor use.

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Following Splashtop 2, a new remote control app is now available on Windows Phone 8. The popular TeamViewer just launched, allowing users of the tiled mobile operating system to access Linux, Mac and Windows computers while on the go.

TeamViewer is pretty easy to use, only requiring folks to type in a "partner ID" and passcode in order to remotely control a PC. The app offers essential functionality -- remote typing using a virtual keyboard, direct access to the CTRL + ALT + Del menu and the ability to move the cursor -- and keeps things secure by implementing 256-bit AES encoding and 1024-bit RSA key exchange.

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On Monday, during WWDC, Apple introduced a new MacBook Air lineup which now features Intel "Haswell" Core processors. The latest fruit-branded ultrabook generation comes with beefier specs, more internal storage in the 11-inch models and, bar the entry-level version, steeper or lower price-tags.

Let's kick off with the 11-inch MacBook Airs. The base model is available for the same $999 as before but now packs a larger SSD -- 128 GB instead of 64 GB as offered by its predecessor. The high-end version is $100 more expensive at $1,199 (previously ran for $1,099), however, also features an SSD with twice the storage capacity -- 256 GB in the latest model compared to 128 GB in the previous one.

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Today, cross-promotion network AdDuplex sent me its latest Windows Phone report for June 2013 which, once again, places the Nokia Lumia 920 as the most popular device running Microsoft's tiled mobile operating system. The handset accounts for 12 percent of all Windows Phones, followed by the Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800 with 11.6 percent and 10.6 percent share, respectively.

According to the report, the Finnish maker is behind nine of the 10 most popular Windows Phones. The only non-Lumia entry in the top is HTC's Windows Phone 8X which takes the ninth place. The most noteworthy changes in the rankings comes from the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 620, which have managed to surpass older Nokia-branded Windows Phone to take the fourth and the fifth place, respectively.

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I can't remember the last time I printed a photo. Can you? The versatility of cloud services and the increasingly accommodating on-device storage changed the way folks enjoy and look at pictures, turning printing from a once-popular activity into a dying art. Today, more than ever, digital replaces physical.

But prints are not dead (yet), as cloud services like Kicksend look to modernize the way people get their memories onto paper. Kicksend, available first on iOS, Android and the web, just turned its eyes towards Windows 8 and Windows RT, also allowing users of the tiled operating system to share photos and order prints straight from its app.

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Finnish maker Nokia announced, on Monday, that its Lumia 925 Windows Phone 8 flagship is now officially available in Germany. The smartphone can be purchased from local mobile operators and retailers like Vodafone and Amazon, respectively, alongside carrier agreements or off-contract for EUR599.

Nokia revealed that the Lumia 925 will be its first Windows Phone 8 device to receive Glance Screen. The app, initially available in beta trim, allows users to double tap on the screen in order to unlock the handset and can show the ringer mode, battery status and time on the display, when the smartphone is on standby.

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Ever since Windows 8 arrived I have struggled to fully embrace the Modern UI. The new user interface offers a polarizing experience -- it impresses me on a touchscreen but fails to get my attention on a run-of-the-mill display like my laptop features. For this reason, my forays into the new realm are mostly limited to reading and replying to emails, chatting with friends on Facebook and using Twitter. The Desktop continues to be my safe heaven, relying on it to carry out my daily routine.

Don't get me wrong, the Modern UI is not bad but it feels much more natural to use on a tablet -- touching tiles gives way to an intimate and enjoyable experience. But buying a new device which offers a touchscreen is not a particularly sound method of kindling a long-lasting relationship with the Modern UI. With the decline of the PC market, Microsoft is aware of this as it looks to revamp the new user interface in Windows 8.1 with new features aimed at "stealing" users away from the Desktop.

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Undoubtedly, Twitter deems Windows Phone 8 as a second-class citizen. The popular social network introduced filters for its Android and iOS apps nearly six months ago but only late-yesterday did the feature finally arrive on the tiled mobile operating system.

Similar to its Android and iOS counterparts, Twitter for Windows Phone 8 introduces eight filters -- Vignette, Warm, Cool, 1963, 1972, Golden Hour, Antique and Black & White -- which can be applied to new pictures or already existing ones from the Photos gallery. Adding filters is straightforward -- select the picture and either scroll to the right or hit the "filters" button to choose the desired effect.

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It's not often that I wish to find out what "Qorwagh" or "ghaH*" mean, but when curiosity strikes I can always power up Bing Translator on my Windows Phone. Sadly, Microsoft does not provide a similar app on Windows 8, leaving folks to look up the meaning of those Klingon words using a web browser. Until today, that is.

On Thursday, the software giant released its excellent Bing Translator on Windows 8 and, yes, I can assure you that Klingon is among the supported languages. The app is similar to its Windows Phone 8 counterpart in terms of functionality and includes options like camera translation and more mundane ones like text-to-speech.

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On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed that Outlook 2013 finally arrives on Windows RT later this year, alongside the free Windows 8.1 upgrade. The application, known for offering advanced contacts, calendar and email functionality, joins Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, part of Office Home and Student 2013, on the tablet operating system.

"Windows on ARM is a core part of our strategy today and moving forward, and the addition of Outlook further enriches this world of new on-the-go opportunities for partners and customers", says Microsoft's Tami Reller. According to the software giant, Outlook is one of the most sought-after applications on Windows RT, being a "popular request from consumers and businesses alike".

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