Technical issue prevents Microsoft from paying Xbox Live Indie Games devs
The holiday season is probably the worst time to discover that due payments are going to be late, but that's exactly the position independent Xbox game developers find themselves in. Developers awaiting payments for Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360 (Xbox One is not affected) have been told that a problem with Microsoft's payment system has delayed payments to "select developers".
The apology was issued via the ID@Xbox Twitter account late last night, and there are already numerous replies from disgruntled developers. It's not clear exactly what the problem is or why only the Xbox 360 platform has been affected, but these details are of little concern to developers just looking to get paid.
Microsoft wants you to be heard -- delivers Bing Pulse 2.0 beta
With so many people in the world, it is easy to feel like you don't matter. In the USA in particular, the country is deeply divided, causing nearly half the country to feel misrepresented on the issues. Even worse, citizens may feel alone in their ideals and beliefs, as they don't necessarily know how others feel.
Today, Microsoft is not only aiming to help people be heard, but also offering transparency into the thoughts of others. Bing Pulse 2.0 is a new way for participants of live events, or TV-watchers at home, to vote in real-time on various topics. In other words, it is a great tool to engage an audience.
Google tries to poach Microsoft users with Office editing in Gmail
As much as Google would like everyone with word processing, presentation and spreadsheet needs to make exclusive use of Google Docs, the fact is that Office -- particularly the cloud-friendly Office 365 -- remains stubbornly popular. To try to win people over from the dark side, Google has added editing support for an extra 15 Office formats to Docs.
This is not the only change that has been made to try to encourage Office users towards Docs. Google is also making it possible to edit Office documents that arrive in your Gmail inbox as attachments -- no more downloading just to re-upload for editing!
Microsoft Research thinks Haven might be the answer to cloud storage security problems
Storing your data in the cloud requires you to place trust in a company and its service. Whether you're talking about Dropbox, Google Drive or an enterprise level solution, security is of paramount importance. There have been numerous high profile cases in recent months in which data breaches have occurred and private data has been accessed by unauthorized people -- including the NSA et al. It's little wonder that many people are wary of moving entirely to the cloud.
But Microsoft Research may have a solution. A small team of researchers came up with the idea of Haven, a cloud system that introduces the idea of shielded execution. This is a platform designed not just for storing data, but also to securely run cloud-based applications, including those based on legacy code.
Microsoft replaces Office clip art and image library with Bing Image Search
If you have ever created or sat through a PowerPoint presentation for work, or created a report for school lately, you've surely seen or used clip art. There is nothing inherently wrong with using images to enhance a presentation or document, but the clip art in Office has been downright terrible. The images are typically outdated and cliched examples of business life, drawn by artists who likely came straight from hell (I kid -- actually, I bet they are very nice people).
Today, we may have finally seen the last of these horrid Pablo Picasso-esque nightmares, as Microsoft kills the Office clip art and image library. This is surely a time for celebration, but you are probably wondering where you will get images for your next quarterly presentation. No worries, Microsoft will now be directing users of Office to Bing Image Search instead.
Microsoft acquires mobile email firm Acompli -- this time it's for real
As first revealed on BetaNews just before Thanksgiving, a rogue Microsoft blog post seemed to let slip that the company was on the verge of acquiring Acompli. Now it's official. Both Microsoft and Acompli have confirmed that the acquisition is going ahead and the "innovative mobile email apps for iOS and Android" are now in the hands of Microsoft. Seen by many as the mobile app that Outlook.com deserves, Acompli fits neatly into Microsoft's plan to expand further into mobile realms.
Corporate Vice President of Outlook and Office 365, Rajesh Jha says "it's essential to give people fantastic email experiences wherever they go". The existing Acompli app is destined to become integrated into the work already carried out by the Outlook team. While iOS and Android are both mentioned, no reference is made to Windows Phone.
Make It Happen! Microsoft wants to help you keep your New Year's resolutions
The countdown to the end of 2014 is now underway. With less than a month until the arrival of 2015, Microsoft -- specifically Microsoft Lumia -- wants to help anyone making a New Year's resolution to stick to their goals. The idea is simple. Research shows that people are more likely to hold their resolve if they make a public pledge of their intentions. With this in mind, the #MakeItHappen encourages anyone with a goal for 2015 to announce it.
But more than just giving you a public place to announce what you would like for the New Year, Microsoft is also selecting one person a day throughout December and will help them complete their unfulfilled resolutions from 2014.
Bing unveils top searches of 2014 -- but there are some curious omissions
As 2015 draws ever closer, we’ll begin seeing retrospectives highlighting the most memorable moments of the past year.
With a month of 2014 still to go, Bing has jumped in first with its look back at the people, moments and events that have shaped the year. There are some interesting highlights but some even more curious omissions.
Windows 8.x is no longer a huge embarrassment to Microsoft
Last month Windows 8.x's usage share did something very surprising -- it went up. Massively, according to figures from web analytics firm NetMarketShare. The tiled OS had been losing share for months, but in October it suddenly took off like a rocket, packing on 4.54 percentage points share in a single month, mostly at the expense of Windows XP.
It wouldn’t have been a total surprise to see Windows 8.x's growth stop, or go back into reverse gear in November, but actually, both Windows 8 and 8.1 showed positive gains once again.
Just in time for Christmas, Microsoft launches Digital Gift Cards for Windows Phone
It’s the time of year when attention turns to buying gifts. Black Friday is now out of the way, but there's still Cyber Monday for you to stock up on low-cost presents for yourself and others. There are plenty of electronic devices vying for attention as companies try to tempt you into parting with your cash, but if you're the indecisive type, there's always the trusty fall-back of the gift card.
Keen to give you as many ways as possible to throw your money in its direction, Microsoft has launched Digital Gift Cards for Windows Phone. This is an app that does very much what you would expect, making it possible to buy and share gift cards from the comfort of your Windows Phone. But Microsoft isn’t stupid. The gift cards themselves are not limited to Windows Phone purchases -- they can be used to buy apps, games, movies and music from Xbox and Windows stores.
Google can count many blessings this Thanksgiving
While I keep the list short this year, it wouldn't be U.S. Thanksgiving without my writing about gratitude, and why some tech company's executives, employees, and partners should prostrate and pray "Thanks".
Let's start off with Google, which continues a great run that started with Larry Page's return as CEO in April 2011. If he's not all smiles this Turkey Day, someone should slap that man aside the head. I could tick off a hundred things for which he should give thanks. For brevity's sake, so you can get back to the big game and bigger bird, I select some things that might not come to mind.
When iPads fall, Windows tablets rise
The tablet market could be slowing down after years of growth, according to industry estimates, with Apple's iPad set to be hardest hit.
Research firm IDC projects that total tablet shipments globally are set to increase by only 7.2 percent this year, compared with 52.5 percent growth in 2013.
Does a deleted Microsoft blog post show it's about to buy mobile email firm Acompli?
Web pages can be interesting, transient things; they can be there one minute and gone the next. But while a web page may vanish, that does not mean that all traces of it vanish from the internet. Earlier today an intriguing-looking article popped up in my news reader -- there are many benefits to sticking with RSS feeds: a post on the Microsoft blog with the title "blank post please delete".
Authored by Rajesh Jha, my RSS reader (InoReader) showed that the post's content was very similar to the title -- blank post, please delete. Just a comma added. Interest piqued, I clicked the link to see if there was any more to see. "We're sorry, but we can't find the page you're looking for" announced Chrome. But the URL is curious.
Need to clean your Surface Pro 3? Here's how Microsoft suggests you do it
Laptops and tablets can be quite the germ-factories. Not only do people touch the screens and keyboards with things like gross Cheez-Doodle-covered fingers, but many bring computers into the bathroom too, though most won't admit it. Germs are a real concern for me, and I like to be in a clean environment.
Unfortunately, it can be a mystery to know the best way to clean a tablet or laptop. Do you bring it in the shower with you? Spray it with Febreze? Put it on the hood of your car and drive through a car wash? Actually, those are all horrible ideas -- please don't do any of them! Today, Microsoft is enlightening Surface Pro 3 users with the best way to clean and sanitize the tablet/laptop hybrid for use in a hospital or clinical environment. Sure, it may be overkill for the average home user, but when it comes to germs, I would rather be safe than sorry.
Windows 10 Build 9879 hits Slow ring, ISO and BSOD fix also released
With Windows 10 technical Preview, Microsoft is delivering updates to Windows Insiders on two different schedules. People who have opted to join the Fast ring for preview updates already have Windows 10 Build 9879, but today the latest build starts rolling out to those who opted to stay in the Slow ring, or just didn’t know that the faster option was available.
After a couple of weeks' testing on Fast ring guinea pigs, Build 9879 is rolling out to the Slow ring. There have been no changes in the move from Fast to Slow ring, so we know what to expect but Microsoft has taken the opportunity to issue a separate update to fix an issue that caused a BSOD on some systems. But what will please anyone who has been waiting to perform a clean installation of this latest build -- the last public build we'll see until next year -- is the news that Build 9879 has also been made available as an ISO as the Windows Technical Preview November Update.
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