Articles about Microsoft

Earlier today Apple opened up pre-orders for one of its latest devices -- the iPhone 5c. Right on queue the attacks began, though several comedic videos beat the product even to this early stage. But, in honor of this day, rival Microsoft is chiming in with a series of videos of its own, taking time away from the usual modus operandi -- attacking Google.

The series of seven videos plays off of the old "fly on the wall" saying, though this fly is deep within the bowels of the fruit-logo company's Cupertino, Calif.-based headquarters.

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Forty-sixth in a series. The app growth this week fell under the 500 new apps mark when you look at the numbers. That is however only half of the story, as Microsoft seems to have removed quite a few applications from its store. The games category for instance lists 250 apps less than a week before.

The company must have removed more apps than this though, as new apps found their way into the games category this week as well.

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Earlier today Microsoft introduced IMAP support for its Outlook.com email service. The latest addition is designed to allow feature phone users and those who rely on a number of third-party email clients, such as the Mail app from OS X, to take advantage of email sync.

IMAP joins Exchange ActiveSync and POP as the supported Outlook.com protocols and falls between the two, in terms of functionality (EAS is more feature-rich compared to POP). "While we believe that EAS is the most robust protocol for connecting to your email, with syncing in near real time, and superior battery and network efficiency, there are still some devices and apps that haven't made the upgrade to EAS", says Outlook.com Protocols principal program manager lead Steve Kafka. "As an older protocol, IMAP is widely supported on feature phones and other email clients such as those on a Mac. We heard your feedback loud and clear that this was important".

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The launch of Windows 8.1 is right around the corner and, in fact, many of us are already using the next-generation operating system either in Preview or RTM form. Consumers, however, are not the only focus for Windows, and the software maker has taken steps in version 8.1 to ease the transition for business by bringing back the Start button (sort of) and adding a "boot to desktop" mode.

Now the company is adding a new site dedicated to this lofty task of selling to customers who are not only not on Windows 8, but have not even upgraded to Windows 7 from XP. Microsoft announces that "it's a very busy time of year for Microsoft OEM partners as they unveil some of the newest Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 devices".

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In August, Microsoft's search engine Bing launched a contest for all the photographers out there, calling for them to submit images for a chance to win a rather nice prize package. Professionals and amateurs alike were invited to send in images depicting hometown pride by grabbing a stunning shot of the local environment.

Today this contest reaches its most crucial juncture. Bing has narrowed the choices down to ten and now the decision moves to the people.

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Okay, it was an easy joke, I confess, but thanks to recent Surface sales, the concept is perhaps not too far from the truth. One division at Microsoft which delivers a large part of corporate revenue is Office. The latest version, Office 2013/365, blurs the lines between desktop and web app, and is powering an increasing number of large businesses and government offices.

Now, hot on the heels of caving to developers yesterday by releasing Windows 8.1 to TechNet and MSDN subscribers, the software giant announces yet another altruistic gesture, this time donating Office 365 to non-profit organizations. "Today we are donating to nonprofits and NGOs access to Microsoft’s best-in-class cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools, enabling them to spend fewer resources and time on IT and focus on their missions addressing global issues, such as disease eradication, education and literacy, and environmental sustainability,” says Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International.

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Just like Brian (despite his niggles), Android is my mobile operating system of choice. I was once a diehard iOS user -- my old iPhone 3GS is still one of my favorite phones of all time -- but I've also been known to experiment with other mobile platforms.

Back in the days before smartphones, I had handsets from Nokia, Sony, Samsung, LG and numerous others that have been lost in the mists of time. My first smartphone was a rebranded HTC handset going under the guise of an Orange SPV M3100. It ran Windows Mobile, had a slideout keyboard and was amazing.

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As soon as Microsoft announced it was making Windows 8.1 RTM available to IT professionals I logged into my MSDN account and started downloading the ISO for it. The size of the file varies depending on the edition you download -- approx. 3,537MB for the x64 version, and 2,643MB for the x86 release.

You can install Windows 8.1 from directly inside Windows 8/Windows 8.1 Preview. Just launch the setup.exe inside the ISO and windows will prepare the files and launch the installer. It’s all plain sailing at this point.

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Its no secret that a lot is changing in the 8.1 update of Microsoft's operating system, which suddenly rolled out today for those with a subscription to Technet or MSDN. Aside from a new, and less functional Start button, the software giant was said to be adding Skype integration as well.

Today the pre-release version of that communications service also has surfaced. "We’re thrilled to share this preview with you so you can experience for yourself the first-ever, fully integrated Skype on any Windows 8.1 device", says Skype's Ana Guzik.

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Two weeks ago I wrote a piece called Microsoft, if you want apps for Windows 8.1, don’t piss off developers in which I expressed disbelief that Microsoft wasn’t making the RTM build of Windows 8.1 available to app creators. Microsoft’s plan was to only release the RTM to hardware makers, which seemed a crazy decision.

Fortunately, Microsoft has once again listened to the complaints and performed one of its frequent U-turns, announcing that developers and IT professionals will now be able to get their hands on the Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro RTM builds early -- from today in fact.

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Nearly a year after it debuted Xbox Music, Microsoft has introduced iOS and Android apps for its impressive music service, and sent out a clear warning to the likes of Spotify with the introduction of free web streaming.

iOS and Android users with an Xbox Music Pass can now enjoy unlimited access to 30 million songs for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. When you add a song to your music library on Xbox, it will be instantly available on the mobile device.

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Microsoft is locked in a battle for your note-taking needs on mobile devices. Evernote is the perceived king of the field, but OneNote is certainly a strong competitor and today the software giant announces improvements to the iOS version of the Office app.

The latest update allows users to create notebooks on the iPad as well as create, delete and rename sections. Microsoft claims this was one of the most requested features from customers already using the previous version, but it is also not the only enhancement made to this build.

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Microsoft's partnership with the National Football League has entered the spotlight recently, thanks to the software giant releasing details explaining what the marriage of technology and gridiron means, as well as a confirmed release date for the Xbox One. Now with the season officially underway (apologies to Ravens fans) the software maker launches a commercial to promote both the console and the deal.

A new 30-second ad for Xbox One features the football experience of using the console -- no, not Madden 25, though you can get that, but the real games, as well as the fantasy ones.

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Today Microsoft refreshes the look of Bing News, giving the site a modern makeover that’s more in keeping with the look of Windows 8 and Windows Phone. But the redesign is about more than bringing products in line with each other, the new layout is "built for touch" recognizing the ever-increasing popularity of touchscreen devices -- not just phones and tablets, but also the likes of the Surface Pro and Yoga.

The new look not only embraces touch, but also takes into account the fact that many people use different devices to access the internet -- switching between a phone, tablet and computer is far from uncommon these days. With this in mind, the site now better adapts to different screen sizes.

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In its continuing effort to thwart the evil Google (except when partnered with it) Microsoft announces another improvement to its search engine alternative, this time in the form of video. Microsoft terms this update "completely reimagined", but users can be the judge of that.

"We know there is more than one great video service out there and that’s why we showcase the best the web has to offer. On Bing you can not only find great videos from YouTube, Hulu and Vimeo, but also content from Dailymotion, Vevo, MTV, CBS, MSN and more", says the Bing video search team.

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