Alan Buckingham

Microsoft's business communications app Lync, formerly known by the catchy name of Microsoft Office Communicator, has become a go-to instant messaging service for a number of businesses. It works with contacts from Outlook and uses Microsoft Exchange Server, to help bring people together, regardless of where they are.

Now a new update to the Lync app is being pushed out, and this one is exclusively for Windows 8.1. "Based on your feedback, we made a number of improvements in this update that we think you’ll like", the Lync team announces.

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It's fairly safe to assume that there are few people left who don't have a high-definition TV, and those who do not are the ones who aren't interested in modern set-top boxes like Google TV and Roku. Unlike the early days of Plasma and LCD, now the content is there to support the TV and prices have dropped to reasonable levels.

Now PlayOn, and its PlayLater DVR service, are joining the HD revolution. "PlayOn users can now stream up to 720p HD resolution content from many of PlayOn’s 60-plus channels, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO and ABC, to their TVs with only a broadband-enabled PC, PlayOn software and a DLNA-compatible device. Also, PlayLater users can record movies and shows in HD and watch them on mobile devices, whenever and wherever, with no Internet connection needed", the company announces.

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NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, has once again joined forces with Microsoft to power its popular Santa tracker this holiday season. The organization made a switch in 2012 from its previous partner, Google, to Microsoft and this time the two have big plans for improved features.

Microsoft claims this is the most immersive site yet. That's likely correct, given all of the 2013 additions. Visitors can take a virtual tour of Santa's North Pole village that comes with a 3D Claymation-style look that Microsoft says was "inspired by NORAD Tracks Santa’s long history and the Claymation style classic holiday movies".

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The official holiday shopping season kicked off last week and reached full speed today with Cyber Monday. Like every year, Microsoft hopes to see a Windows product on everyone's wish list. This year the company is even planning to throw in a little something extra to sweeten the deal.

The software and services company is announcing that starting now, and running through December 28th, anyone who purchases a new touch PC or tablet is eligible for a shiny new gift card to go along with it. The card can be used to purchase any app or game in the Windows Store.

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Microsoft has been busy this year, working towards landing its Office 365 in the enterprise, government offices and educational institutions. The company announced its latest ploy back on October 15, aiming at any school that licenses Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for its employees.

Today the program officially goes live, bringing Office 365 Student Advantage to thousands of educational institutions. Eligible locations will be able to begin offering Office 365 ProPlus to all students.

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Apple can take comfort in  the fact that its iPad Air is considered good enough competition to warrant the concern of other manufacturers, but that likely doesn't make the latest TV ads any more palatable to the company. Just recently Microsoft fired a shot with its Surface 2 comparison ads, and now Amazon is getting into the game with its tablet.

A new 30-second clip features a back and forth between the two devices, comparing screen resolution, weight and price. You likely don't need a spoiler alert to figure out which tablet comes out on top.

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Yesterday marked a rather unique holiday. No, not simply that it was both Thanksgiving and also the first day of Hanukkah, but it was also the first time that these two occasions have shared a day since way back in 1888. Given that, it probably shouldn't come as a major surprise that this would lead to extra traffic on social media websites.

That was exactly the case for photo-sharing service Instagram, which announced record traffic for the second straight Thanksgiving. This time the Facebook subsidiary failed to reveal actual numbers, as it did last year, when it announced more than 10 million photos shared and a staggering 200 images per second.

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Several of the folks here at BetaNews have recently been enjoying the latest version of the Android mobile operating system, known as 4.4 KitKat, through both Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices. The new version brings a number of noticeable changes to the Google platform, the biggest of which is the new Google Experience Launcher.

However, there is another notable difference, as the search company has brought along Moto X-like capability in the form of "OK Google". It's not quite up to what Motorola does, as you do have to turn the phone on first, but once you do that then it is essentially the same.

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We are currently in the midst of Black Friday, the traditional kickoff for the holiday shopping season. Despite the fury unleashed on retail locations on this day, Cyber Monday, which is a more recent creation, is still ahead and aims to bring that same excitement to web-based merchants.

While Amazon is currently running numerous deals today, the retailer is already looking ahead to December 2nd. Today the merchant provides a sneak peek at some of the deals it has planned for that day.

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It's Thanksgiving day here in the states and, with the turkey not yet in the oven and football having not kicked off, I thought it appropriate to take a moment to give thanks. No, not for my family or for the chance to live my life the way I do, though all of those are on my list, but for tech products -- this is a technology news site, after all.

I've given careful consideration to this and looked at what I used most over the past year -- the products that got the most hands-on, that provided the best experience. I've whittled that list down to just five, and now its time to share, to give each a hearty thank-you. I'd offer them a bit of pumpkin pie if I could.

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When companies announce their intention to shutter services, fans suddenly appear from nowhere, begging for a change of heart. Some months ago there was a petition asking Google to grant Reader a stay of execution. It's not the first and it won't be the last petition Google has ignored -- there's currently one begging for Android 4.4 KitKat to be made available on the Galaxy Nexus, and of course another one asking for the old YouTube comments system to be restored.

Last week AOL, once the darling of the internet back when it was all shiny and new, announced it will be killing off Winamp, the popular media player released back in 1997, and purchased by America Online in 1999 for $80 million.

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While the staff here at BetaNews is a fairly close knit bunch, that doesn't always mean we agree on everything. In fact, debate is a part of daily life. To that end, earlier today my colleague Brian Fagioli took it upon himself to call the latest Scroogled ad, this one against the Chromebook, the "best Scroogled ad yet".

He seems to think all of this behavior is acceptable, even amusing and honest. I suppose if you are a fan of the show Pawn Stars, then you may find it of mild interest. However, what it also turns out to be is utterly untrue.

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Despite summer being viewed as 'vacation season', the holidays are a popular travel time, with families reuniting from far-flung locations. Travel, especially at the holidays, can be tricky, with added crowds and delays. In fact, this year it could be complicated on the US east coast, thanks to inclimate weather expected over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Google Street View, which seems fearless in its roamings, is looking to help out the wayward traveler. The search giant unveils new travel maps that encompass various depots, such as airports and train stations.

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Despite the small number of problems reported by customers of the new Xbox One, Microsoft is still heavily pushing the new generation of its gaming console. The latest version comes with a learning curve, though not a steep one. Still, for the average user, it will take some getting used to.

Now, Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, wants to help out new users in finding their way around. To do so, the Xbox Live chief has released a cheatsheet to teach everyone a bit about controlling the Kinect with voice and gesture commands. "I tweeted images of a Kinect voice and gesture 'cheat sheet' earlier today, but I was able to get my hands on the high resolution PDF of them both as one file that will print out at a much higher quality", Hryb states.

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It just wouldn't be a major launch event without reports of problems. Last week, Sony dealt with panic over customers receiving PS4 consoles that amounted to paperweights, displaying only a "blue light of death". This week Microsoft deals with similar issues, with news of troubled disc drives and scratched consoles.

The problem does not seem to be widespread, but any disgruntled customer can be a loud one, meaning that the few lead the news cycle, and also generate poor publicity. While the old saying may go "there's no such thing as bad publicity", Microsoft really doesn't want potential buyers worrying that they've paid $500 for damaged goods.

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