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Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,
If you haven’t heard by now, Microsoft is going to be increasing the yearly cost of Xbox LIVE membership by $10 per year starting on November 1. This comes after 8 years of the service remaining at a steady $50 per year, and kills rumors that the service would actually go free sometime soon. On November 1, a year of Xbox LIVE Gold will cost you $59.99, one month will cost $9.99 (up from $7.99,) and the three-month subscriptions will go from $19.99 to $24.99. They say it’s to support new features like Kinect, ESPN, and Hulu Plus coming to Xbox LIVE (despite the fact that Hulu Plus costs $10 a month in the first place.)
The one silver lining here is that you can currently buy yourself a one-year Xbox LIVE subscription for just $39.99, locking in that $20 savings for a year. It will just get tacked on to your current subscription if you already have one. If you want multiple years of savings, you can always find Xbox LIVE discounts on Amazon.
Read More 
| Xbox LIVE Price Lock
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Bleeding Edge TV 361: Windows Phone 7 preview
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Microsoft, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,
Wanna get an in-depth preview of what Microsoft has in store for Windows Phone 7? In this episode, we chat with Brian Seitz of the Windows Phone team, and he gives us a tour through the entire Windows Phone 7 interface. We get a look at a bunch of features and hubs, including things like social networking integration, Microsoft Office, Xbox Live, photos, friends, Zune, Outlook, and much more. Seeing how Microsoft was able to tie a bunch of their different service offerings (Xbox, Office, Zune, Bing, Explorer, etc.) so tightly into one device is impressive, and definitely gives us hope as they gear up for the launch of Windows Phone 7 devices this fall.
Microsoft prepares ban hammer for Halo: Reach pirates
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Bungie, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Though the temptation may be great to jump online early, perpetrators of downloading early copies of Halo: Reach better think twice before firing up their illegally attained games online. Microsoft is no stranger to banning as many users as they see fit suspected of playing pirated copies of their games. A representative for Microsoft had this to say:
“We are aware that an unauthorized copy of “Halo: Reach” has leaked. We are aggressively investigating the matter. We have no further details to share at this time.”
Sounds like Microsoft is pretty pissed at the whole situation, and we all know what happens when Microsoft feels slighted. Last fall, gamers playing pirated copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 prompted Microsoft to ban up to a million players to get their message across. And that message is that pirating will not be tolerated.
“We are aggressively pursuing the violators. Microsoft’s commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the 25 million members of the Xbox LIVE community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and modifying their Xbox 360 console violates the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE.”
Read More | Kotaku
Windows Phone 7 gold dev tools coming in September
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Software,
Keeping true to their promise to have Windows Phone 7 devices out in time for the holiday season, Microsoft is getting ready to realase development tools to the public. The gold build will be released September 16th, and the Marketplace can start being bombarded with apps in the beginning of October. Apps are a key factor in solidifying Microsoft’s golden boy into the popular circle of smartphones.
With progress continuing to move forward on the Windows Phone 7 front, we can no longer doubt Microsoft’s ability to push a decent quality product out in time for the holiday season. Some other sources even speculate that devices carrying Windows Phone 7 OS may be out before Halloween, such as the Cetus pictured below.
Click to continue reading Windows Phone 7 gold dev tools coming in September
Read More | Windows Team Blog
Halo 2600 Takes Master Chief Back In Time
While the original Halo: Combat Evolved may look as ancient as they come to some of today’s gamers, the former VP of Microsoft’s game publishing division was curious to how Halo would fare in the retro days of Atari 2600. The result? Halo: 2600! Halo 2600 began as a way for Ed to get his hands dirty in some 2600 code work, but the resulting experience transformed into a complete retro classic showcased at the Classic Gaming Expo. To solidify the retro experience, Halo 2600 even sports a cartridge modeled in true 2600 fashion. Below, Ed discusses his experience making Halo 2600, and a bug that seems to fit into the Halo experience:
“It’s around this time that I discovered the existence of what I call “Magic Land”. I was working on a bug with the boss encounter and accidentally found myself completely outside the 64 room map. I was wandering through memory that was never intended to be interpreted as part of the map but the code was doing the best it could to interpret what was being thrown at it. Strange, misshapen monsters attacked me in even stranger ways as I wandered through this bizarre land that I had unintentionally created. I left a bug or two in the final game to allow others to find and explore this strange landscape as I did.”
While waiting for Halo: Reach to hit stores, get your Master Chief fix here.
Read More | Halo 2600
Bing Maps Presents The Taxi Fare Calculator
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Tired of hailing down cab drivers who pretend to take you the fastest route, only to bog down your travelling with weird routes that add to the total fare? Bing is, as they’ve now added the ‘Taxi Fare Calculator’. This enables you to keep track of the best routes your taxi driver should be going, as well as an estimate on the total fare. Bing Map’s Taxi Fare Calculator was developed during the ‘King of Bing Maps’ competition, and is being tweaked to include more cities. As of now only a few dozen cities around the world are included. However, when more routes are mapped out and a dedicated mobile version is available, you can expect everyone in the know to use the Taxi Fare Calculator to avoid getting the run around from cabbies in unfamiliar cities. Check out the calculator here
Read More | Bing Community
Ballmer unhappy with iPad sales figures, says Windows slates are job one
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds, Microsoft,
Microsoft is frustrated by the success of Apple’s iPad. Well, who wouldn’t be if you were once the greatest thing to ever happen to computer technology? Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer let the world know that he is quite jealous of the iPad’s success in the market, quoted as saying that the iPad sold “certainly more [units] than I’d like them to have sold.”
This open admission of envy doesn’t come without a back up plan however, as Ballmer unseals his lips just enough to mention a future Microsoft tablet in the works. The only other tidbit of info he let slip was that “the operating system is called Windows.” That’s a no brainer.
Whether or not Microsoft’s Windows 7 tablet will be able to capitalize on the iPad’s success and beat it at it’s own game is unclear at this point, but Ballmer has high hopes. “It is job one urgency. No one is sleeping at the switch,” states Ballmer in reference to the Microsoft tablet. Expect this Windows 7 based tablet to hit the market in time for the holiday sales rush.
Read More | Cnet via The Next Web
E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Editorial, Features, Music, Simulation, Xbox 360,
If you didn’t go to E3 this year, well, you didn’t miss much. I mean, well, you missed dancing. And space marines. And Skittles.
You missed Skittles the Dancing Space Marine, the unofficial mascot of E3 2010.
Microsoft hatef*cked their audience with scripted hilarity and dated motion control games. Sony pimped a new 3D TV technology that costs thousands and can only be watched by a few people at a time. Nintendo was the show’s net positive with a bunch of new, awesome games and the 3DS’s grand appearance.
Some commentators looked at this year’s presentation and predicted the fall of the game industry. Others sighed and walked away. Some of us were unable to post because we were caught somewhere inbetween the NBA Finals riots and my third vodka and red bull, which was weak, and I took notice of that.
I’m here to tell you that things aren’t quite as grim as some would have you believe. This time around, I want to talk about Kinect. Hit the jump for some ill-informed musings.
Click to continue reading E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Windows Phone 7 Preview
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Handhelds, Microsoft,
With iOS, Android, WebOS, and BlackBerry dominating the smartphone scene, Microsoft has been noticeably absent from the game. Now they are aiming to change that with Windows Phone 7. Whether Microsoft will be able to pull a rabbit out of its hat and become relevant in the hearts and pockets of users is completely up to what Windows Phone 7 can do. The OS was recently previewed and it is promising to say the least, but is still flawed in some key areas.
The Good
- While in lock mode you will have an at-a-glance look at time and date, incoming emails, calender appointments and texts. A simple upwards slide of the screen reveals the elegant dashboard, which uses a “tile” interface that is very well done. Your tiles are completely customizable, allowing you to “pin” your favorite and most used tiles to your home interface, such as playlists, people, webpages, and apps.
- What you will notice right off the bat is that the touch screen response is incredibly fast. In fact, the smoothness of touch is right up there with iOS 4 as the most responsive UI on a smartphone ever.
- The keyboard is one of the more important aspects of a smart phone (who talks anymore?), as users will definitely need a cooperative keypad when sending texts and emails. Windows Phone 7 manages to pull it off exceptionally well. The virtual keyboard works in both vertical and horizontal modes, and as expected, is better suited for horizontal use. Though, the feel of the keyboard shouldn’t be taken too seriously just yet, as we will have to wait to get our hands on a finished piece of retail hardware to gauge its comfort in use.
Click to continue reading Windows Phone 7 Preview
Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
Even with companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all listing Kinect at $150, Microsoft decided they’d wait it out on naming the price officially, for whatever reason. Today, however, they’ve announced that Kinect for Xbox 360 will launch on November 4th at $149.99, and it’ll come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Adventures is gonna be like their Wii Sports, a collection of minigames that are fun and highlight what Kinect can do.
For buyers who want to get Kinect with an Xbox 360 console, there will be a $300 bundle that will include one of the new Xbox 360 consoles (with 4GB built-in storage,) the Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures.
Aside from Kinect hardware pricing, Microsoft has also said that Kinect games will sell for $50 each, which is $10 less than the normal $60 price. However, Microsoft sold all their first-party Xbox 360 titles for $50 before, and quickly stopped that practice. Also, it’s a shame to see that Joy Ride will now sell for $50, when originally it was supposed to be free.
You can pre-order Kinect on Amazon.
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