A trio of new Office 365 plans are announced for small businesses.

New Office 365 Plans Coming For Small Businesses

OneDrive announces a new free tier of 15GB, reduces prices for storage purchase and increases storage included with Office 365 to 1TB.

OneDrive Increases Free Storage and Office 365 Gets 1TB Free

The Surface Pro 3 is a great laptop replacement. What does the Surface Family of devices say about Microsoft’s plans?

The Surface Family Evolves: Where Does It Go from Here?

We have an upcoming 10-day vacation to places we have never visited before and I have made the decision to not carry any cameras or computers. While this may be ok for some of you out there it is a big deal for us.

Of course, I mean “camera” and “computer” in their traditional sense of the words as in a point-and-shoot or DSLR camera or a laptop (Windows or Mac). I am going to use my Lumia 920 (and iPhone 5s to a certain extent) as my camera, and am planning to carry my iPad 2 and Dell Venue 8 Pro as my computer.

We are going with another family and they are planning to bring their DSLR, so we will see how many pictures end up having a huge difference in quality.

The surprising aspect of this is that I didn’t even think twice before making the decision about the camera. I am not 100% convinced of the PC, but I do believe it makes sense to leave it behind.

Wish me luck!

SkyDrive app on iOS is finally updated, paving the way for Office on iPad maybe?

Skydrive App Update on iOS Finally Live

Reviewers say Surface Pro is neither a great tablet nor a great laptop. Many enterprise workers (and CIOs) will welcome a great combo device.

Who is the Target Customer for Surface Windows 8 Pro?

I finally got to use a Surface with Windows RT. I love it.

Surface with Windows RT: Likes

Microsoft is shifting from being a software company to a devices and services company. Welcome to the Modern Microsoft.

Devices, Services and the Modern Microsoft

As you may or may not know, we just relocated from the US to Bangalore. While we wait for our stuff to come (shipped by sea), we are living a somewhat nomadic life. The latest temporary residence happens to be a decent hotel, but before that we spent a few days in a guest house and before that, with my uncle and aunt.

For the past week or so, for one reason or the other, both our iPads have not come out of the suitcase. The kids have started going to school so they don’t need entertainment during the day, there was no wifi at the guest house earlier, and there is good wifi here in the hotel but we have a PC that we use a lot and for quick email triage and Facebook/Twitter/ADN, I end up using my phone more than anything else.

As a result, not only have the iPad not been used, more importantly, they have not been missed. We have not once felt like we would rather use the iPad. The kids used to play random games (dress up Barbie or restaurant manager are current favorites) but they have the TV to entertain them after the come from school. For the past several months I have noticed that my use of the iPad has strictly been Twitter, Facebook and the browser. Between the phone and the laptop, I haven’t needed to get the iPad for any of those uses.

This could very well be because we are not settled into “our house” yet. In other words, if the iPad were there on the coffee table, we would of course pick it up than open the laptop. However, I am seriously thinking, if instead of a laptop, I had a Windows RT “device”, I would be absolutely ok and in fact would prefer it. That would take care of the thin-and-light thing that is lying around on the coffee table, and also fits well as a “better computer” than the iPad when hooked to the dock at the desk. So that casual Excel or Word files that I may need to edit on-the-go, can actually be done without fumbling with pinching and zooming to no end.

The kids have enough “entertainment” options outside of the iPad, and even today, there are plenty of games and game-like apps in the Windows Store to keep them busy (and educated at the same time) so they won’t miss the iPad.

There you have it. I am ready to get a Surface RT to replace my iPad 2. At least one of the two that I own.

What are the implications of Microsoft’s second reset with mobile in two years? Is Microsoft doomed, or is it ready for its next chapter?

Windows Phone 8: Second Reset in Two Years

Google is rumored to be launching a direct-to-consumer store for "Nexus" tablets. Is it doomed, given how Nexus phone experiment failed? Not so much.

Nexus Tablet: Why It is Different from a Nexus Phone

Microsoft has built the environment and the OS. Will OEMs and developers complete their bit and make Windows 8 tablets succeed?

Windows 8 Tablet Success: It’s the Ecosystem, Stupid!

The iPad has been the king of tablets. Windows 8 and Amazon tablets, rather than Android, RIM Playbook and HP TouchPad tablets are viable competitors

Who can compete with the iPad?

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