Love it or hate it, but Windows 8 will soon arrive on computers around you. While virtually all of your old programs will likely run without a hitch in desktop mode, it's the Windows 8 Metro interface (or whatever Microsoft now wants to call it), that brings the biggest changes to the OS for users and developers alike. What Microsoft really needs right now more than anything else, though, is applications that can showcase the power of the new Windows 8 user interface. The current crop of apps in the Windows Store is a hodgepodge of games, travel and productivity apps that, for the most part, look fine but aren't very interesting (and that includes Microsoft's own default apps for Windows 8 Metro). What's still missing is a few killer apps for Windows 8 Metro that will get consumers interested in the platform. read more..
Monday, 3 September 2012
Productivity Apps-The Killer Apps-Windows 8-Microsoft
Friday, 31 August 2012
Aalto University In Finland-Windows Phone-Microsoft-Incubator-Nokia
Next week Nokia and Microsoft are expected to unveil the first handset(s) running on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform, and today comes news about the apps they hope will lure in more users to buy them. AppCampus, an $23 million (€18 million) JV between Microsoft, Nokia and Aalto University in Finland, first announced in May, to foster more app development on the platform, said it has doled out the first $1 million-plus of their budget on 36 developers out of a total of 900 submissions, an average of $30,000 per app, although individual investments over the course of the JV will be between $25,000 and $88,000.Pekka Sivonen, Head of AppCampus, tells me the apps are expected to be coming out starting in October, and will run exclusively on Windows Phone and "other Nokia platforms" for their first six months -- potentially touching some 500 million devices out in the market today. read more..
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Ios Versions-Pulse News
There have been many times when I have wishes that my favorite news aggregators like Pulse news and Zite for iOS were available on my desktop or Mac laptop. Pulse News has answered my requests with a web version of the app that runs in any browser. You can log into your Pulse News account and get all the sites and feeds you normally graze in the iOS app displayed right in Safari, Firefox, or Chrome. The Pulse developers also had some help and probably a wee bit of cash from Microsoft to make the app work nicely with Windows 8 touch capabilities. There's a nice Windows Explorer logo in the upper right part of your browser, no matter which browser you are running. Anyway, Pulse News works just fine with Safari, and unlike the iOS versions you get some choice in layouts, mainly adjustments to the size of the tiles. If you change the shape of your browser window, Pulse news obliges and re-arranges itself. All in all, it's a nice experience. I saw a few rendering issues where words would get cut off and there was occasionally some odd image cropping, but basically it's working pretty well. Single-click on a tile, and you get a clean render of the story, with the familiar controls to read it directly at the source or email it to someone else. This is a nice evolutionary step for Pulse News, and I'll use it often. You can take a look at it by going to the Pulse website and logging in if you have a free account, or you can create a new account and start publishing your own personal news source.Pulse News comes to your favorite web browser originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Monday, 30 July 2012
Flagship Office Productivity Suite-Mountain Lion-Microsoft
Microsoft today confirmed that the two most recent versions of its flagship Office productivity suite for Mac are fully compatible with OS X Mountain Lion. Office users are advised to ensure that Microsoft AutoUpdate is enabled so that their installations can be updated as needed to take full advantage of the new operating system.- Make sure you have Office for Mac’s AutoUpdate enabled – some updates will be needed to make the most of the upgrade to Mountain Lion. Initiate AutoUpdate in any Office for Mac application by going to your toolbar, then selecting “Help” and then “Check for Updates.”
- Mountain Lion ships with a new feature called Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper helps protect users by allowing you to choose to only download and install software from known developers, like Microsoft. Please note that due to the Gatekeeper architecture, updates will not run when you download and initiate them on your desktop; instead please use Microsoft AutoUpdate to keep your copies of Office for Mac current. read more..
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Azure Accelerator-Microsoft
As you may recall, Microsoft recently got into the startup accelerator game, launching its first self-directed and self-run accelerator in Israel. The program is different from Microsoft's Kinect Accelerator, for example, because Microsoft is the owner and operator of these new programs, which are now rolling out elsewhere in the world, including India and China. Unlike your typical YC clone, Microsoft is not snagging an equity stake nor providing funding for the startups it hosts. But it also doesn't plan to run out of cash for its programs, either. (See Mike's deep dive into the Israel-based incubator here).This Friday, the Chinese accelerator will announce its inaugural class of startups, a unique group because of Microsoft's focus on cloud computing businesses which already have products and end users. read more..
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Windows Phone-Microsoft
The past few years haven't been kind to Microsoft. (There's no need to walk down memory lane. We all know what's happened.) But somehow that's all changed in the past few days. Surface and Windows Phone 8, along with Windows 8 and Xbox prove there's still some fight left in the old dog. It's a bit premature to say that the company is back and that the decades long string of mediocrity coming out of Redmond is over but the company is clearly focused and we haven't seen that Microsoft in a long, long time. read more..
Software Leader-Microsoft-Tablet
The software leader has produced its own hardware before, but never competing with the platforms that run Windows. It's time for that to change, says PCWorld's Melissa Perenson. read more..
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Microsoft Surface-Mobile Computing-Tablet
Microsoft just took the wraps off the all new Microsoft Surface. Even though the name is familiar this is an entirely new product. Simply put, the Surface is a Windows 8 tablet. But it seems so much more. In fact, perhaps I'm still a little drunk on Microsoft Kool-Aid, but the Surface seems like the next generation of mobile computing. While Surface might not kill the iPad, it might revive Microsoft.To be clear, the Surface is Microsoft's hardware. This is a not a Dell or HP tablet running Microsoft's software. Microsoft clearly designed this tablet to best showcase Windows 8. The tablet itself seems fantastic. Compared to the iPad, it's a bit utilitarian with hard lines, full size I/O ports, and heat vents. But it also seems like a serious tablet rather than a plaything. read more..
Friday, 11 May 2012
Security Concerns-Email Clients-Html Email-Microsoft-Google
Email is typically static. Because of security concerns, virtually none of the standard web-based and desktop email clients let you run JavaScript code in an HTML email, for example. Microsoft's Hotmail made a small push in this direction in 2010, when it started whitelisting emails from a few trusted third-parties, including Orbitz, Netflix and LinkedIn. Now, it looks like Google is also moving in this directions - at least for emails from its own products. Starting today, Google+ notifications in Gmail will become a bit more interactive. read more..
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Department Of The Interior-Collaboration System-Government Contract-Microsoft-Google
Google and its partner Onix Networking just won a $35 million contract to run the U.S. Department of the Interior's new cloud-based email and collaboration system. This wasn't always a sure bet for Google. In 2010, the Department of the Interior awarded Microsoft a $59.3 million contract to run its email and collaboration system. Google and its Ohio-based partner Onix Networking quickly filed a suit to block this contract. In Google's view, the Interior Department's procurement process unfairly favored Microsoft and never gave it a fair chance. Google finally withdrew its lawsuit last September after the Department scrapped its plans to use Microsoft's solution because its original decision was "now stale in light of new developments in technology and entrants into the market." read more..
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Samsung Galaxy S Iii-Quarterly Revenue-Patent Agreement-Innovator-Microsoft
Hot topics in the tech blogs for the week ending April 20 include Microsoft’s record-breaking quarterly revenue of $17.41 billion, Twitter’s Innovator’s Patent Agreement draft, Microsoft’s Windows 8 editions, free web-based storage coming on Google Drive, and Samsung’s Galaxy S III launch details. read more..
Facebook EnemyGraph App Might Do a Lot of Good
COMMENTARY | Just what the world needs right now, a little more hatred, right? One of the newest apps to be introduced on Facebook is explained on their own website enemygraph.com. While at first thought, the idea seems like just another potential tool for bullies and abusers, this could turn out to be a good thing in the long run. read more..
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Microsoft Support-Microsoft Office-Service Pack 2
If you are using Office for Mac 2011 listen up, because Microsoft has an update for you, taking the suite of tools to version 14.2. Microsoft says the update provides the "latest fixes to Office for Mac 2011. Additionally, this update contains stability and reliability improvements." More specifically, the update improves connectivity for SkyDrive, provides upload functionality improvements for SharePoint, and has some language fixes in German and Italian. There are also fixes for Exchange, printing fixes for Word and Powerpoint gets full screen views. The fixes require that you be running OS X 10.5.8 or later. Office should alert you to the update when you run any software that is part of the suite, if not there is a link on the Microsoft support page, as well as more details on what is fixed.Microsoft Office for Mac Service Pack 2 now live originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Microsoft Spokesperson-Apple Products-Company Funds-Employees
Quite a few Apple sites were running a story this morning noting that Microsoft's Sales, Marketing and Services Group (AKA SMSG) had allegedly sent out a memo forbidding employees from spending company funds to purchase iPads and Macs. The memo, supposedly from SMSG CFO Alain Crozier, was sent to 46,000 SMSG employees worldwide and was quoted at length in a ZDNet post. Here's a sample of the content: Within SMSG we are putting in place a new policy that says that Apple products (Mac & iPad) should not be purchased with company funds. In the US we will be turning off the Apple products from the Zones Catalog next week, which is the standard purchasing mechanism for these products. Outside of the US - we will work with your finance and procurement teams to send the right message and put the right processes in place. "Sending the right message" appears to be a euphemism for "telling you not to buy Apple products." TUAW reached out to Microsoft for confirmation or denial of the Apple ban, and after several hours we received a terse "No comment" from a Microsoft spokesperson. The ban makes sense -- Microsoft is traditionally an "eat our own dog food" firm, asking employees to use equipment and software that is produced by the company. But then again, Microsofties could learn something about UI and hardware design by using products created by a competitor that is now trashing them in terms of sales in the mobile devices space.Microsoft on iPad and Mac ban: No comment originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Monday, 12 March 2012
Side By Side Comparison-Mobile World Congress-Desktop Machines-Microsoft-Ipad
Yesterday, Microsoft held a press event at Mobile World Congress which showcased Windows 8. It's Microsoft's next generation operating system that'll run on both desktop machines and tablets. If you want to see what Microsoft is using to compete with OS X and the iPad, then you should check out this new video from The Verge which pits the iPad against a Windows 8 tablet.Windows 8 tablet versus the iPad, side by side comparison originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Apple Stores And Microsoft-Microsoft Store
TUAW readers know from a series of posts we've run over the years that Microsoft has been opening self-branded stores throughout the U.S., usually just a stone's throw away from well-trafficked Apple Stores. Fortune's JP Mangalindan took a metaphorical bullet for the sake of a story and visited both the Microsoft Store and Apple Store in Santa Clara, California. What the reporter found was that while Microsoft is doing its best to emulate the look, feel and success of the Apple retail outlet, there are differences in the way that things are done. Mangalindan obviously had fun with his visits, listing the number of customers (14 at the Microsoft Store, 40 at the Apple Store), the number of employees on the floor (11 for Microsoft, 35 for Apple), and such questions as "Employees who said I wouldn't like the laptop I was looking at" (1 at the Microsoft Store, 0 at the Apple Store). My favorite part of the article was the response Mangalindan received from employees at each store when he told them that he was also looking at Macs -- "We're priced more competitively. What about this Ultrabook from ASUS? It's slim, light, and sexy" -- or at the Apple Store, also looking at PCs -- "Bro, they may be cheaper, but Apple's all about quality. Our customer service can't be beat. [fist bump]" While we've seen no definitive word on exactly how successful Microsoft's retail strategy is, we know that Microsoft is being almost fanatical about moving into the retail arena. TUAW has heard multiple accounts from Apple Store employees who have been approached by Microsoft to switch teams and go to work at Microsoft Stores; in some cases, the Microsoft offers have reflected dramatic bumps in salary over the comparable positions at the Apple stores. Have you had a good, bad or indifferent experience at either an Apple or Microsoft Store? Let your fellow readers know about it in the comments below.Apple Stores and Microsoft Stores by the numbers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
S Mobile Safari Browser-Internet Video Service-Internet Explorer-Privacy Settings
After it was discovered that Google's bypassing privacy settings in Apple's mobile Safari browser, the Internet Explorer team decided to check if the search engine giant is engaging in any similar behavior with Microsoft's browser as well. read more..
As Comcast challenges, Netflix adds new studio
Netflix's Internet video service is adding more marquee attractions as it braces for a new competitive threat from cable-TV provider Comcast Corp. read more..
Monday, 20 February 2012
Desktop Operating Systems-Mountain Lion-Microsoft-Mobile Os-Android
With Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion, Microsoft and Apple will see to it that their respective mobile and desktop operating systems are intertwined more elaborately than ever. But what will happen to Google's Android in the meantime? read more..
Friday, 20 January 2012
Computer Sales-Microsoft
Microsoft Corp's fiscal second-quarter profit fell very slightly as lagging computer sales to cash-strapped consumers in the United States and Europe hurt its core Windows business. read more..
Indonesian atheist faces jail after Facebook post
An Indonesian civil servant who declared himself an atheist on Facebook was arrested and is now facing jail for blasphemy after being attacked by an angry mob, police said Friday. read more..
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Consumer Electronics Show Keynote Address-Young Daughter-Microsoft-Xbox 360-Facebook
By Todd BishopGeekwire Microsoft delivered its final Consumer Electronics Show keynote address on Monday with some modest bits of news about the Xbox 360, and a surprise twist. read more..
Father arrested in Facebook post case indicted
A Chicago man accused of posting a photo on Facebook of his young daughter bound to a chair with tape over her mouth has been indicted on several felony charges, a prosecutor's office official said Monday. read more..
Friday, 16 December 2011
Microsoft's Social Network Is and Isn't Like Facebook
After teasing the project formerly named Tulalip over the summer and then giving tech blog The Verge a sneak peak, Microsoft has launched their Social Network, So.cl. At first, some suspected that Microsoft, like Google, might get into the social network game. The tech veteran insists it's not trying to compete with the Facebooks out there, explains the project on its FAQ page. "We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing Social Networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools," they write. ...read more..