Articles about Microsoft

There are only three weeks to go until the release of Windows 8.1 and Microsoft is laying the groundwork by highlighting some of the new features and apps that are to be found in the update. The latest app to be picked out is Reading List -- Microsoft's answer to the list of Pocket and ReadItLater. The app has been designed to make it easier to save online articles to read at a later time without the need to bookmark it.

Reading List differs from RSS readers such as Feedly in that articles are stored on an individual basis. And while it is well suited to "bookmarking" articles you find on websites that you would like to return to, it can also be used to bookmark content from other apps. Just like other "read it later" tools, the real advantage comes from the fact that content is synchronized between devices.

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Versoworks has released Speckie 6.0, a major new version of its real-time spellchecking tool for Internet Explorer. The software, available free for personal use as well as in commercial form with additional features, adds support for the forthcoming Internet Explorer 11 with this new release.

Version 6.0 also comes with the promise of improved support for Rich Editors, and has updated the Settings user interface to be more amenable to touch-screen interfaces, despite the fact it doesn’t yet support 64-bit versions of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1.

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The countdown to the Xbox One release is on, and we are receiving regular updates regarding what to expect, from game releases to entertainment options. Now Microsoft is adding another dimension to the platform, this time aiming to boost your physical fitness level.

Today, the console maker announces the latest device will come with Xbox Fitness -- providing you obtain an Xbox Live Gold membership, of course.

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Microsoft is going on the offensive trying to demonstrate that Office 365 is better than Google Apps. A series of tweets sent out via the Why Microsoft Twitter account link to articles on the Why Microsoft website in which Office is compared to Google's offering in various scenarios. This latest campaign appears to be not just an exercise in advertising Office 365, but in actively putting down Google Apps.

A series of infographics draw comparisons between using the two tools in different professions. Things kicked off with a look at the life of a sales rep but there are other scenarios including the daily activities of a teacher and Microsoft is also keen to point out how different a company it is to IBM.

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What, you were expecting dancers and clicking covers? No, it turns out having tried and failed to sell the original Surface in that way, Microsoft has decided to take a different tack for the follow ups, with an advert that actually highlights -- at speed -- some of the reasons why you might want to consider buying the updated tablet.

The 30-second spot, titled "Surface 2: Thinner. Lighter. Faster" focuses on (can you guess?) the tablet’s dimensions, weight and speed, but also very briefly shows the revised kickstand’s two angles and Surface’s choice of clickable covers, including a backlit one.

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If we are to believe all the comments posted on the Interwebs by Microsoft fanboys, then the Surface lineup should have delivered two of the most popular tablets on the market and Apple and Android OEMs should have gone out of business by now. But, once reality sets in and we overlook the silly one-sided comments, people just don't care enough about Microsoft's slates -- the 4.5 percent Windows market share, from IDC's Q2 2013 report, coupled with the $0.9 billion write-off speak for themselves.

Now there's a second-generation Surface lineup which was unveiled yesterday, comprised of Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, that quietly wants to change people's perception about Windows-based slates and their preference towards Android tablets and iPads. On paper, the new Surfaces look great. Microsoft appears to have gotten the hint -- more power, more battery life, more versatile kickstand, more accessories. The new Surface lineup is simply "more" than its predecessor. Yet I don't think many people will notice that and rush to pre-order now or buy on sales day.

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11 months ago my colleague Joe Wilcox asked BetaNews readers if they intended to buy Surface RT. Then a month later he posed the same question for Surface Pro. Out of the 2,753 responses to the first question, a sizable 61.75 percent said they would buy the tablet at some point. Which, judging from the poor sales Surface RT experienced, may have been over optimistic. Unless a large portion of the RT tablets Microsoft sold were snapped up by BetaNews readers…

The positive response was echoed in the Surface Pro poll, with a whopping 73.4 percent of 2,165 responders saying they would buy the flagship tablet, and just 16 percent giving a definite no (10.67 percent were uncertain). Clearly this shows people like the idea of Surface, and are enthusiastic about it, but just not enthusiastic enough to get their wallets out.

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Today Microsoft opens the pre-order books for its second-generation Surface lineup. The two slates, Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, come with major under-the-hood and external changes, including beefed-up processors that are faster and help deliver better battery life and revisions to the built-in kickstand, as well as a slew of new accessories.

Surface 2 comes with the most noteworthy improvements of the two new slates. It now sports an Nvidia Tegra 4 processor which Microsoft says is up to four times faster than the Tegra 3 chip from the old generation, offers 25 percent more battery life, comes with a two-angle kickstand and features a full HD -- 1920 by 1080 resolution -- display which, again, is better than before (Surface RT's panel has a lower resolution of 1366 by 768). Pricing starts at $449 for the base 32 GB model. The 64 GB model costs $549.

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Microsoft has taken over the tech news today with its Surface 2 launch, but the company doesn't stop there, keeping the ball rolling with a bit more news, this time from the cloud. SkyDrive has become tightly integrated with today's marquee products, Windows and Office, as well as being a competitor to rival services from Google and Amazon. Now the company announces a new storage tier.

"Today, we are happy to introduce a new storage option to add 200 GB of additional storage to your SkyDrive for $100 per year", says Omar Shahine, Group Program Manager for SkyDrive. For perspective, Microsoft describes this as enough space to store one photo per hour from birth through college graduation -- this obviously depends on average image size, which continues to grow.

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At an event in New York, Microsoft reveals the successor to the Surface RT and Surface Pro -- the predictably named Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 (interesting to note that the "RT" is gone from the former's name) -- and Brian Fagioli was live-blogging from the event. So what do we have to look forward to from the product refresh?

The first generation Surface tablets suffered poor sales and came in for criticism from many quarters, so there is certainly room for improvement.

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Microsoft chose not to live stream its Surface 2 reveal earlier today, but fortunately our own Brian Fagioli was in New York to cover the unfolding events in an excellent live blog. Now that the event is over Microsoft has made the full on-demand video of the proceedings available for anyone to watch.

During the one hour (and a bit) event Microsoft unveiled the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets as well as a whole load of accessories, including "Blades", a new type of touch cover which can be customized for different uses. Brian described it as a "potential game-changer" and hasn’t stopped raving about it ever since.

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On an unassuming street, next to a strip-club, a small line forms in front of a building. It is comprised of tech-writers carrying backpacks. The smell of bleach is in the air as a maintenance worker frantically scrubs the sidewalk to clean what appears to be vomit. Yes, this is New York City and I am attending the Surface event.

Today, Microsoft is expected to announce updates to its Surface line of tablets (two models -- RT and Pro -- are likely to be unveiled). If Steve Ballmer is here, it may be his final product event before he heads off into the sunset (the man will retire within a year).

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It's September 23rd and Microsoft is holding court in New York City. The subject du jour is the brand new Surface 2, the follow up to a tablet PC much maligned for its poor sales and pricing. But today the tech giant has the opportunity to right these perceived wrongs with a fresh start.

There have been numerous rumors swirling around this "reimaging" of the flagship Windows 8 (8.1 likely) tablet, and uncertainty even about the name, at least for the lower end model -- will Microsoft keep the confusing RT moniker or go for something entirely different? -- we really don't know at this point. However, my colleague Brian Fagioli and I are currently on converging train rides headed for Penn Station and will be bringing you all of the details as the event unfolds.

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Apple stole the limelight from just about everyone else this week. The big news was, of course, the release of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. Just about as soon as online orders opened up, delays in shipping started to lengthen; Joe was somewhat skeptical about the limited supplies.

Before the new hardware hit the stores, iOS 7 was released to mixed reviews -- I hated it, Wayne loved it. A couple of security holes were found in the operating system including one that allowed for Siri to be used to post messages and access phone details even on locked handsets. There was also a new iOS 7 inspired look for iCloud and the addition of a bookmark syncing option.

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Two days ago Apple rolled out its latest mobile operating system offering, iOS 7. To compliment this new release, Microsoft is making sure to keep up with the latest version of the OS, by pushing out a brand new version of the Bing app. The company is hitting Apple hard with integration right into the heart of the platform.

"With the release of iOS 7 this week, you can now experience Bing search results in Siri", the software giant announces. The Bing search within Siri aims to deliver various types of results, keeping you from going to the web browser to view the same list of results. Microsoft explains, "for example, when you ask Siri a question, you will either see a specific answer or search results from Bing, including web links, related searches, images and video".

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