In today’s Bulldog Update of technology news: Microsoft unveils new smartphones; Global Knowledge named Red Hat premier trading partner; Adobe adopts its tools; Charlotte startup brings beer tech to Raleigh & Durham.

Microsoft shows flagship smartphones

Microsoft unveiled its Lumia 950 and 950XL smartphones today, the first release of flagship phones since 2014.

“We want to put Windows in your pocket,” Panos Panay, who leads the development of all of Windows premium devices, said Tuesday at a press event in New York. “These phones really do start to act like a PC,’ c/net reports.

The 950 has a 5.2 inch display and a hexa-core Qualcomm processor. The 5.7 inch 950 XL has an octa-core Qualcomm process. Both have 20-megapixel cameras the company says performs “unbelievably in low light,” a problem for many smartphone cams.

Price tag? The 950 goes for $549 and the XL for $649 and will be available in November.

We actually own and use an older Nokia Windows Phone that we originally reviewed for another site. It works fine, the voice to text feature is excellent and lets you send texts and email via voice. It cost a whopping $40. Some apps available on iPhones and Android devices are not available, but everything you really need is and at a price far below what other phones generally cost.

For the full c/net story see: http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-reveals-the-lumia-950-and-950-xl/

Global Knowledge gets Red Hat nod

Global Knowledge, the Cary-based learning services and professional development provider, has been named Red Hat’s Premier Trading Partner of the year for 2015.

For more than 11 years, Global Knowledge has helped companies train individuals, teams and departments on the latest Red Hat technologies to solve challenges such as data storage, global information sharing, and saving money on IT infrastructure. The combination of customizable training options and expert instruction has earned Global Knowledge the Red Hat Premier Training Partner award for six of the past eight years.

Red Hat-certified instructors actively engage students in task-focused activities, lab-based knowledge checks and facilitative discussions on a full catalog of Red Hat technologies such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform, for certification and organizational success.

Global Knowledge also offers the Red Hat Learning Subscription, a self-paced training option which provides students with access to up to 400 hours of hands-on lab time and more than 300 recorded instructor videos on Red Hat operating systems, middleware, cloud, and virtualization.

Charlotte’s BrewPublik comes to Raleigh & Durham

BrewPublik is bringing its service, which uses software to match people with beers likely to be to their taste, is now available in Raleigh and Durham, the Triangle Business Journal reports.

The seven-person company partners with breweries and is leasing a distribution center in Raleigh.

CEO Charlie Mulligan told the TBJ he likes to compare the service to Netflix, which suggests movies to people based on their profile. For the full story at Triangle Business Journals see: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2015/10/brewpublik-charlotte-nc-beer-expand-raleigh-durham.html

Adobe Project Comet meets the smartphone era

Adobe says its Project Comet software, due in early 2016, will let designers drag and drop elements to create a mobile app quickly for smartphones and tablets.

Comet is Adobe’s attempt to retool itself in an era where the smartphone, tablets and other portable devices and not the PC is dominant.