Return of the Start menu rumored for Windows
Will Microsoft make a Windows 8 wish come true?
I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET Update.
The Start Menu could be returning to Windows.
A report from Windows journalist, Paul Thurrott, suggests that Microsoft will bring back the Start Menu in the next update to Windows and it might also let Metro Tel apps run on the desktop version, which means Windows can go back to
being a little more Windowsy.
But if true, it will be several months before we see Windows 8.1 update.
Some reports say it may not happen 'til 2015.
Google doesn't need special street view camera cars to update its maps, it can use your photos.
Google is letting you upload your own street view panorama photos to create your own tour of an area.
To do so, you'll need to use an Android phone to make a photo sphere.
It's a 360-degree panorama photo
and from the photo gallery you can tap share to add it to maps and it will be geotagged.
This can also be done with photos taken with a digital SLR camera.
It will let Google expand street view to a hard to reach places like ancient castles or hiking trails.
Google's Chromecast has been updated to work with 10 new apps.
This $35 streaming media HDMI TV stick just became a little cooler.
It added a few more video apps like Vevo and Revision3.
It also works with a
free music app Songza, which I highly recommend if you haven't already tried it out.
You can also stream your personal video collection using the apps Plex and RealPlayer Cloud.
If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, Apple is giving you gifts the day after Christmas.
You see, there's a new app you have to download.
It's called 12 Days of Gifts and starts on December 26th.
Apple will use the app to give away one free download everyday.
It could be a game, a song, a movie, anything from iTunes or the app
store but it's just one free thing a day until January 6th.
The 12 Days of Gifts was offered before to Canada and Europe but this is the first year that U.S. customers are getting the freebies.
And if you can't wait that long for a holiday treat, check out an update to the popular game Temple Run 2. In it, you could play a Santa Claus.
The Christmas theme comes as an update for iOS and Android but you need to have earned 60 gems to unlock Saint Nick or if you rather not wait, you can just pay a few
dollars to unlock it right away.
That's your tech news update.
But you could find more details always at CNET.com/update and you can keep up with the latest stories by following me on Twitter.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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