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No new game consoles from Microsoft or Sony until 2014
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Rumors, Video Games,
Get comfortable playing your 6-year-old Xbox 360 or 5-year-old PlayStation 3, gamers, because it doesn't like like Sony or Microsoft plan on releasing new consoles for another three years since the current consoles still have strong sales figures.
"Both MS and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they're delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better," said an anonymous source, who Kotaku described as an "insider who has worked with the first-party companies like Sony and Microsoft."
Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in 2005, while Sony unveiled the PS3 in 2006. So based on the traditional five-year lifecycle of gaming consoles, a refresh is due this year.
Click to continue reading No new game consoles from Microsoft or Sony until 2014
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Deal of the Day: Zune HD selling at clearance prices
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video,
We've said plenty of times that the Zune HD was an absolutely fantastic music device, but we know that there are a bunch of people who never gave it a chance. Well, one of our readers pointed out the fact that you can get a brand new Zune HD at clearance prices from a few retailers, and we thought we'd pass that info on to you:
$349 Zune HD 64 GB: $269 on eBay - $269 at Buy.com - $277 on Amazon
$269 Zune HD 32 GB: $189 on eBay - $189 on Buy.com - $231 on Amazon
$199 Zune HD 16 GB: $159 on Buy.com - $159 on eBay
Those are awesome prices, and the eBay links also have auctions that are even cheaper, of course. Be sure to keep an eye on our Deal of the Day posts for more awesome stuff, and also check out our Newegg Promo Code thread for even more hotness.
Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Perhaps taking a page from Google and Mozilla, Microsoft surprised attendees at the Mix 11 conference Tuesday with the introduction of Internet Explorer 10 platform preview.
The release comes just four weeks after Microsoft unveiled IE9. Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch (left) said during a keynote at Mix 11 that IE10 builds on the performance breakthroughs and native HTML5 support developed for IE9, which will lead to the adoption of HTML5 with a long-term commitment to the standards process.
IE10 Platform Preview 1 is available for download now on Microsoft's Web site.
"We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows," Hachamovitch, corporate vice president for IE, wrote in a blog post. "IE10 continues on IE9's path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience."
Click to continue reading Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview now available
Bing launches magazine-like iPad app
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Reference, iPad Apps, New Apps, Free Apps,
Microsoft knows the importance of the mobile audience, even when it means taking advantage of a competitor's mobile platform—in this case, Apple's. Since late 2009, iPhone users have been able to download a Bing app that offers voice search, local shopping, scrolling image search, maps and directions. Now iPad owners get a Bing app that adds a new trends feature, which lets them explore the trending search topics of the week.
The new app, which is available in the iTunes App Store starting today, sports a homepage featuring the trademark (and often stunning) Bing photo of the day, along with tiles showing local weather, news, maps, movies, and trends. The interface makes a lot of use of the swipe touch gesture, especially in image search. A dropdown menu offers all these choices plus Images, Videos, Shopping and History—that is, your search history, not the school topic.
Trends shows tiled images for the week's major current events. It can almost be thought of as a lightweight replacement for an app like The Daily or Flipboard. Touching one of its images opens a search page showing news and images about the topic, like MLB Opening Day. Some topics get a slicker treatment rather than just a Bing search results page: touching through an entry about "30 Rock's" Tina Fey labled "Ms. Bossypants" displayed a grid of stories that somewhat resembled the New York Times' Web site layout. After reading a result page, you can swipe left-to-right to get back to the trends page.
Click to continue reading Bing launches magazine-like iPad app
Microsoft bringing the ribbon to Windows 8 Explorer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Rumors, Software,
Perhaps people are overloaded on Apple rumors because the rumor mill has shifted to Microsoft and its next operating system, now referred to in the blogosphere as Windows 8.
The latest rumor is that Windows 8 will incorporate the "ribbon" interface with Windows Explorer. The feature - which put more functionality front-and-center rather than hidden behind drop-down menus - was first incorporated into Office 2007. With the release of Windows 7, it was also added to Paint and WordPad. A version of the "ribbon" interface is also included in Microsoft Office for Mac 2011.
According to Within Windows, Microsoft is thinking about adding the ribbon to Windows Explorer in the next iteration of the OS, but nothing is set in stone.
"In early builds of Windows 8, this Ribbon UI is only half-finished and, frankly, of dubious value," the blog wrote. "In fact, based on the divergent ways in which various related UI elements are repeated around the window frame, we get the idea that the use of the Ribbon in Explorer is, in fact, quite controversial inside the halls of Microsoft's Redmond campus."
Click to continue reading Microsoft bringing the ribbon to Windows 8 Explorer
Paul Allen portrays Bill Gates as a brilliant backstabber
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft,
In an excerpt from an upcoming book released Wednesday, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen paints co-founder Bill Gates as a technical genius, but as a ruthless executive who tried to dilute Allen's financial stake in the early days of Microsoft.
In the excerpt from Idea Man, Allen's upcoming book, Gates is characterized as an intensely focused mathematical genius, with a penchant for social quirks. Allen describes himself as the glue that held Microsoft together.
Idea Man is scheduled to be published this month by Portfolio, a member of the Penguin Group. The excerpt was published by Vanity Fair.
The crux of the story seems to lie in the last anecdote Allen relates: a scene in which Gates and Steve Ballmer, brought in to run the company, apparently scheme to dilute Allen's stake in the company. Allen describes Ballmer as looking like "an operative for the N.K.V.D." Allen, then suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma, recounts the scene:
Click to continue reading Paul Allen portrays Bill Gates as a brilliant backstabber
Microsoft looking for testers for next Xbox 360 system update
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Microsoft is looking for "multiple thousands" of Xbox Live members to test a new Xbox 360 disc format; in exchange, Microsoft will send you a free copy of the best-selling Halo: Reach and other branded freebies.
"We are conducting an open call for US based participants for a public preview to help us prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format," Major Nelson, the gamertag for Microsoft Xbox Live's programming director Larry Hryb, announced on his blog.
"We're looking for multiple thousands of participants, so your chances of making it in are good," he wrote.
Click to continue reading Microsoft looking for testers for next Xbox 360 system update
Zune Death: Why no word from Microsoft?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video,
Dear Microsoft: Manage your message or someone will do it for you. Case in point: the recent, none-too-surprising news that the lovely Zune HD will meet a timely death. Within minutes of the news breaking, stories and tweets flooded the Internet declaring, "The Zune is Dead." This was followed by people asking if everything "Zune" was gone or just the hardware. I assured people that the obvious answer was the hardware only, but is it that obvious? And why wasn't Microsoft out in front of this information?
Yes, the fact that Microsoft is giving up on music player hardware is bad news for Microsoft and good news for Apple, but it's up to Microsoft to stand up and explain its decision and strategy. In the absence of clear information from Microsoft, everyone else can and will shape the message. So now, even though most within the industry are quite sure that the Zune software and service, which lives on in phones and PCs, is in no danger, average consumers are no longer certain. They could at this very minute be making plans to switch to Apple, iPods and iTunes.
If I were Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, I would have stepped forward and explained the shift away from music-only hardware (leaving aside the fact that most music players do a whole lot more). Then, while wiping away one single tear, I would have quickly shifted gears to a clear strategy, which isn't even new: "For mobile devices, we're focusing our attention on Windows Phone, which already has Zune and Xbox Live functionality." Then I'd add, "This, friends, is not a loss. Lessons we learned from Zune hardware's five-year life have given us invaluable insight and made it possible for use to deliver the Windows Phone platform and some truly stellar partner-driven hardware to wrap around it."
Click to continue reading Zune Death: Why no word from Microsoft?
Next Windows Phone 7 update delayed to March
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Software,
Given the problems with its first Windows Phone 7 update, Microsoft said Thursday that it will delay the next upgrade, which will bring cut and paste functionality, until late March.
"I believe it's important that we learn all we can from the February update. So I've decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners," Eric Hautala, Microsoft's general manager of customer experience engineering, wrote in a blog post. "As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March."
Microsoft started rolling out its first, minor update for the Windows Phone 7 platform in late February, but a glitch prompted the company to temporarily halt updates for Samsung phones.
Click to continue reading Next Windows Phone 7 update delayed to March
T-Mobile Sidekick service gets killed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Microsoft,
RIP, Sidekick. T-Mobile's once-beloved e-mail phone will finally die on May 31, when T-Mobile and Microsoft pull the plug on the specialized data service that delivers Web pages, e-mails, and apps to the Sidekick line.
"It was a joint decision reached by Microsoft and T-Mobile," T-Mobile spokesman Tom Harlin said. "We think it's a natural order for products to be replaced by newer technology, and we've announced there will be a 4G-enabled, Android-powered Sidekick."
But here's the catch: Harlin refused to commit to releasing the new Sidekick before May 31, saying only that "in terms of the next Sidekick, we'll have more information in the coming weeks."
Originally known as the Danger Hiptop, the T-Mobile Sidekick was a huge breakthrough for affordable, easy-to-use messaging phones when it first came out in 2002. Seven more models came out through 2009, and the Sidekick built a reputation as a popular messaging solution for young people with prepaid accounts. T-Mobile stopped selling the Sidekick last July.
Click to continue reading T-Mobile Sidekick service gets killed
