Post Tagged with: "Microsoft"

Microsoft leading Apple and Google in TV race

According to a new report from Forrester Research, Microsoft is leading both Apple and Google in the TV and home entertainment sector, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. While Apple and Google may control mobile, Microsoft’s Xbox entertainment system tops both Apple TV and Google TV according to the report. With the Xbox, Forrester analyst James McQuivey believes Microsoft is the farthest along when it comes to delivering users content through their television sets. “Using those metrics, Microsoft is in the lead, offering everything that matters: a growing content library, a convenient engagement path for millions of existing Xbox 360 owners, and a growing ecosystem of partners and developers eager to exploit the platform for their own purposes,” McQuivey wrote in the report. Microsoft has continued to add more content apps — such as Comcast Xfinity, Verizon FiOS and HBO Go — to the Xbox, alongside thousands of games. The software giant has shipped more than 66 million Xboxes worldwide, and Forrester estimates that half of all Xboxes in the United States are connected to the Internet.

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May 17, 2012 0 comments Read More

Essential Windows Phone 7.5: Application Development with Silverlight (Microsoft .NET Development Series)

Essential Windows Phone 7.5 is the definitive guide to creating powerful, visually compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 platform. Nine-time Microsoft MVP Shawn Wildermuth draws on his extensive experience teaching Silverlight and Windows Phone development, helping you to get started fast and master techniques that lead to truly outstanding apps. After introducing the latest version of Windows Phone, Shawn Wildermuth dives directly i

List Price: $ 39.99 Price: $ 21.60

May 16, 2012 3 comments Read More

Microsoft Kin One Windows Phone

Verizon Microsoft Sharp Kin One Cell Phone with Sync Cable and USB Wall Adapter

Verizon Microsoft Sharp Kin One Cell Phone with Sync Cable and USB Wall Adapter

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May 15, 2012 3 comments Read More

Former Microsoft exec says Apple killed the Zune before it even launched

A former Microsoft executive in charge of the company’s Zune division has admitted its music players were a mistake, GeekWire reported. “The portable music market is gone and it was already leaving when we started,” Robbie Bach said at an entrepreneurs’ event in Seattle last week. “We just weren’t brave enough,” he said, admitting that Microsoft had been targeting Apple “and there wasn’t a reason for somebody to say, oh, I have to go out and get [Zune] that thing.” Bach regrets that he never pushed the company’s Zune software to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile team to “produce the coolest music service for your phones ever.” The former executive also blamed the Zune’s failure on a music industry that was “hooked” on Apple. “The music industry just didn’t get it,” he said, adding that Microsoft’s Zune marketing message was also very confusing. “I don’t think people walked away saying, this is what Zune is and this is why it’s different. This is why I have to have it. We did some really artsy ads that appealed to a very small segment of the music space, and we didn’t captivate the broad segment of music listeners,” Bach concluded.

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May 14, 2012 0 comments Read More

Zune hardware was a mistake, admits former Microsoft exec Robbie Bach

Zune 30

Microsoft’s first Zune hardware launched in late 2006, around five years after the initial Apple iPod hit the market and less than a year before the iPhone changed the smartphone industry. Former Microsoft executive Robbie Bach, in charge of Zune at the time, says he would skip portable media players if he could launch Zune again. “The portable music market is gone and it was already leaving when we started,” admitted Bach at an entrepreneurs’ event in Seattle last week. “We just weren’t brave enough,” he says, accepting that Microsoft ended up chasing Apple without a compelling reason for consumers to purchase Zune hardware.

The Verge – All Posts

May 14, 2012 0 comments Read More

Microsoft MirageTable uses Kinect to create interactive 3D workspaces

MirageTable

Researchers at Microsoft have combined a Kinect and a 3D projector to spice up videoconferencing with a bit of augmented reality. They’re calling their project the MirageTable: its aim is to improve collaboration by creating a shared, interactive workspace for workers who are communicating remotely.

We’ve seen quite a few Kinect and 3D projector mashups, but the MirageTable is a bit different than the augmented reality Sandbox we checked out just a few days ago. Hold an object in the Kinect’s field of view to scan it, and the projector will create a three dimensional doppelganger of the object on the MirageTable’s curved surface. The Kinect’s purpose is twofold, as it also tracks a users eye movements, to ensure that scanned objects…

The Verge – All Posts

May 11, 2012 0 comments Read More

Microsoft patents pressure-sensitive controller that identifies who’s holding it

Iris scans are old hat. The future of biometric identification is in registering and identifying a person’s unique hand pressure profile – at least, that’s what someone at Microsoft believes. The megalithic multimedia mogul has been granted a patent for “personalization using a hand-pressure signature,” specifically in conjunction with game console controllers.

A device outfitted with this technology would include internal memory and a processing unit. Once gripped by a user, the device would register the pressure exerted by the user’s mits and compare that to a stored database of recognized pressure profiles. Once a match is found, the device (in this case a 360) knows who is holding the controller and can then display ~~advertisements~~ information appropriately. Despite this patent being specific to controllers, we could see the usefulness of this technology in cell phones, tv remotes, or essentially any hand-held electronic device, should it ever come to fruition.

Joystiq Microsoft patents pressure-sensitive controller that identifies who’s holding it originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 May 2012 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 9, 2012 0 comments Read More

Microsoft addresses 23 flaws and additional Duqu attack vectors in May Patch Tuesday

wps_key

Microsoft originally addressed a vulnerability, that allowed the Duqu malware to operate, around five months ago, but the company says it has patched additional attack vectors during this month’s Patch Tuesday. There’s seven bulletins in total to address 23 flaws across a variety of Microsoft products, leading to a busy Windows Update cycle for consumers and IT departments alike.

Microsoft’s critical MS12-034 bulletin targets the vulnerable Duru-related code in particular, affecting all supported versions of Windows, Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010, alongside Silverlight 4 and 5. Microsoft .NET Framework 4 users will also be affected. The company says it’s addressing the flaws in related products after its research team developed a…

The Verge – All Posts

May 9, 2012 0 comments Read More

Microsoft may be forced to give Nokia a bail out

Microsoft may be forced to bail out Nokia

Nokia continues to struggle as the once dominant cell phone maker continues to lose share in both the smartphone and broader mobile market. The Finnish vendor’s Lumia handsets have yet to take off and Nokia’s stock has tumbled 90% over the past five years. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop may look toward his former employer, Microsoft, to step in and help the troubled handset maker, Reuters suggests. The company’s partnership with the software giant is seen as a last chance to turn its business around. Microsoft is already paying Nokia $ 1 billion a year to use the Windows Phone platform, and many analysts believe the company may be willing to help out further if Nokia’s problems were to intensify.

“If Nokia ends up in financial difficulties I believe the helping hand would be there,” said Sami Sarkamies, an analyst at Nordea. Another technology banker agreed, saying “I don’t see Microsoft owning Nokia, but it would definitely provide financing to the tune of a couple of billion dollars.”

If Microsoft were to support Nokia, it would most likely be in the form of an inter-company loan or an equity stake, rather than a full takeover, the report suggests. Despite having nearly $ 60 billion of cash, the the Redmond-based company has traditionally steered clear of the hardware business where mobile is concerned.

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May 7, 2012 0 comments Read More

Microsoft launches $99 Xbox 360 bundle

Microsoft officially offering Xbox 360 bundle for $ 99 and monthly subscription

As previously rumored, Microsoft is now offering a subsidized 4GB Xbox 360 gaming console and Kinect for $ 99 with a monthly subscription option. The bundle requires customers to sign up for a two-year subscription to Xbox Live Gold Membership for $ 14.99 per month. The subscription plan is similar to the model wireless carriers have been using for years. If a customer is to break off the agreement prior to end of the 24-month contract period, early termination fees will apply. The deal is only available at Microsoft Stores for the time being. A chart from Microsoft outlining applicable early termination fees follows below.

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Post Tagged with: "Microsoft"

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