Microsoft has released a new update to its City Art Search app, making it an even more comprehensive directory of the world’s greatest works of art. It now covers a total of 8,614 different artworks, situated in major metropolitan areas all over the world.
The idea behind the City Art Search app is to give users a way to seek out fine art in a number of different ways. It’s possible to search by artist, by the century the piece was produced in, or even by artistic movement.
The app’s main focus is directing users toward the galleries and museums where they can see particular pieces of art in person. You can specify a city or even a particular gallery, and find out which well known works are situated in that area, making it a great tool for people who want to take in some culture while they’re travelling.
Of course, it’s impossible for the app to document every single piece of art in every single gallery worldwide, so Microsoft started out documenting many of the big hitters of the art world. Girl with a Pearl Earring, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and The Great Wave off Kanagawa are just a few of the instantly recognizable paintings that were added early on.
With the app’s database now fleshed out, it’s becoming an increasingly powerful tool whether you’re touring the galleries of Europe or enjoy some art closer to home in North America. It seems that Microsoft will continue to add more entries with each new version. This update also contributes some minor improvements to the user interface, bug fixes, and some data cleansing.
The City Art Search app also offers art lovers a neat way to beautify their Windows devices. Outside of its search capabilities, there’s the option to set the Lock Screen to display a different work from its collection every hour, according to a report from MS Power User.
Microsoft’s City Art Search app is available now for free via the Windows Store, for devices running Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 8.1, and Windows 8.1 Mobile.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.