James Farrell

James Farrell is the former editor-in-chief of Chiang Mai CityNews, where he wrote and managed daily news, features, op-eds and blogs on a diverse range of topics. Prior to this, in the same city of Northern Thailand where he lives, he was the longstanding deputy editor of the monthly magazine Citylife. He has written on culture, politics, travel, tech, business, human rights, for local, national, and international news services and magazines. He has a keen interest in the role technology is playing in the transformation of society, culture and politics, especially in developing nations. This is reflected in his not-so-successful first novel.

Latest from James Farrell

A familiar experience: Microsoft releases preview of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Android phones

In line with Microsoft’s quest to put Office everywhere, Microsoft has rolled-out preview versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Android phones. This follows last January’s official release of Office for Android tablets, and prior to that Office apps for iPhone, which have proved to be a hit with consumers. By joining the Microsoft Office ...

Microsoft pits its own staff against the rest of the world’s public in global Solitaire tournament

On June 5th Microsoft will pit its best Solitaire players (staff players) against the rest of the world to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Windows game, and anyone can join the tournament. Before challenging public aficionados of the game Microsoft will first hold an internal competition to find the company’s top solitaire whizzes (already in ...

Microsoft’s winning hybrid, the Surface 3: Can it really replace the laptop?

We’ve talked about the popularity of Microsoft’s new laptop/tablet hybrid, the Surface 3, which has pretty much garnered positive reviews across the entire stratum of the tech media. The device, powerful enough to take care of all your non-pro requirements, and cheap enough (starting at $499) to please most thrifty consumers, has already become another ...

Beware of bad grammar! New anti-hacking technology needed as Microsoft fights back at sophisticated ‘hide in plain sight’ Chinese cyber thugs

FireEye Threat Intelligence and Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center have reported how a Chinese hacking group, APT (advanced persistent threat) 17, used Microsoft’s IT support TechNet blog for its Command-and-Control (CnC) operation. The hacking group has already accrued some degree of infamy after reportedly hacking Asian companies and governments for a number of years, as well ...

Windows 10 editions revealed to the public

While we’re still waiting for the official release date of Windows 10 Microsoft has made public the full list of editions, which should become available this summer in 190 countries across the world. The editions are: Home, Pro, Mobile Pro, Enterprise, Education, Mobile Enterprise, and IoT Core. Home is, unsurprisingly, the consumer desktop version that ...

8 extraordinary things you probably didn’t know about Microsoft’s HoloLens

Arguably Microsoft’s most exciting product in a long time is the company’s augmented reality headset, HoloLens. While we’ve featured some of its many wonders, i.e., making your living room come alive with holographic 3D images, and virtually seeing inside the human body as a means to study anatomy, we’ve haven’t yet really got down to ...

Microsoft to spend big on undersea cables to connect data centers and speed-up connections in Europe and Asia-Pacific

In an effort to improve global data delivery, Microsoft has invested in fiber optic subsea cables that will stretch from North America to the UK and Ireland, a deal made with two fiber companies, Hibernia and Aqua Comms. The Hibernia Express Cable, as it’s called, will be the first of its kind to be built ...

Microsoft marching on with its Surface tablets: but what about the Pro Surface 4?

With Microsoft’s Surface 3 tablet collecting some very positive reviews, from us, and over much of the tech media – one writer going as far as to call it “the ultimate”, “superb” tablet – the company’s very affordable ($499 basic, without stylus) hybrid looks set to do very well. As Microsoft’s VP Panos Panay put ...

Microsoft repeats that Windows 10 will be the final version of Windows

There will be no Windows 11, or any other number for that matter, according to Microsoft. While no one can predict the future of technology, as much as no one back in ’78 could have imagined, entirely, the mobile revolution, Microsoft can’t predict the future of its operating systems. Still, the company is resolute that ...

A smart move: TV recording features reportedly coming to Xbox One

We’ve just heard about the death of Microsoft’s Windows Media Center, but one of its features, TV recording, will apparently live on taking form in the Xbox One. Gabriel Aul, engineering general manager for the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, stated in a Tweet this week, “We can confirm that due to decreased usage, Windows ...