Articles about Microsoft

Looking at the the biggest stories on BetaNews from August, 11 - 17, 2013. This week there has been a lot of Microsoft related news setting tongues wagging -- and it's been something of a rollercoaster. Early on in the week we got a sneak peak at what to expect in the upcoming Windows 8.1 update after a new build leaked online. Build 9471 includes a number of changes from the official Preview, including new tutorials, extra personalization options, changes to a few of the built-in apps and integrated Skype.

Not long after the leak version was discovered, Microsoft went on to talk about creating a unified experience across different Microsoft and Windows devices and services. And for anyone who is sick of the Windows 8.1 hype there was some good news -- the official release date is only a couple of months away, after which things should start to quieten down.

Continue reading →

Microsoft may be continuing to celebrate with a "we're number three" chant, but the company also isn't resting on this minor victory over Blackberry. Instead it wishes to spread further and wider, and create its own apps when others fail to come through -- especially Google, which has been a major thorn in the side.

Fresh Paint, an art app that was only released last month, has a new update that is designed to support even more devices -- "Fresh Paint, Microsoft’s popular free art app first released on the phone last month, has just been updated to support Windows Phone 8 models with 512MB of RAM", says the company's Michael Stroh.

Continue reading →

It's a big day in anyone's life -- turning 18. The strike of the clock at midnight opens up a world of opportunity that simply did not exist before. Things may not be quite so dramatic in the life of a web browser (they can't vote, for starters), but today is a big day for Internet Explorer nonetheless; today marks the 18th anniversary of the release of Microsoft's much loved and hated browser. There's something of a nostalgia-fest underway at IE's Facebook page!

Whichever side of the fence you fall on, there's no denying that Internet Explorer has been, and continues to be, an incredibly important tool in opening up the Internet to a wider audience. Usage figures may not be quite as high as they were back in the heady days at the turn of the century when there was slightly less competition in the market, but IE continues to do well -- amazingly well considering the criticism and ridicule often levelled at it.

Continue reading →

I remember the UK launch of Windows XP very well. It took place in London a few weeks after the attacks of September 11 and security around the event was tight. Steve Ballmer was there to discuss the new OS in his own inimitable style, and afterwards we were given a copy of XP to try out for ourselves. That was 12 years ago, and obviously a lot has changed in the tech world since then, yet plenty of businesses are still running XP -- a major source of frustration to Microsoft.

In a blog post yesterday, Tim Rains, Director of Product Management in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, discussed the risks of running Windows XP after support ends in April 2014. In a second post elsewhere Chris Hallum, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, talked about how the evolution of security threats impacts businesses.

Continue reading →

Google forced a Microsoft fumble yesterday by blocking the new YouTube app for Windows Phone 8. While this was a major blow to users of Microsoft's mobile operating system, they may have scored a touchdown with the new and improved NFL Mobile app.

For readers living outside of the USA, NFL stands for "National Football League". This is American Football not the football as it is known around the rest of the world. In other words, helmets, tights and an oval ball; not short-shorts, high-socks and a round ball!

Continue reading →

The slow but steady plod towards Windows 8.1 continues. What began with leaks later became a full-blown Preview edition and has now made it back into leak status again with another build that hit the web unexpectedly. Couple that with a solid release date and you have almost everything you need to know.

While much was unveiled in the latest build, today Microsoft makes this official, announcing what it terms "one experience". This is an attempt to give users the same thing across devices, be it a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Continue reading →

When I first got my Nokia Lumia 928, the YouTube app was already unavailable at the request of Google, so I never got a chance to try it. However, the Windows Phone community was quick to tell me how great it was. Sadly, it was replaced with a different "app" that only served as a shortcut to the mobile YouTube site.

Yesterday, the full version of the app returned to the Windows Phone Store so I excitedly downloaded it. However, the app never worked for me. Coincidentally, this was during the Outlook.com outage so I assumed it might be related. Today, I learn that they were not related -- Google has actually disabled the video sharing app!

Continue reading →

There are many things that make an email provider good -- features, spam blocking and of course, reliability. The latter is currently an issue, as the Outlook.com service is down.

As of 12:50pm EST, the web-based email service displays the following message: "We're having a problem accessing email. You might not be able to see all your email messages". It further states that, "We're working on the problem and will provide an update by August 14 2:00 PM. Thank you for your patience". This seems to be very widespread based on chatter around the Internet.

Continue reading →

Microsoft may generally be thought of, and referred to, as a software maker, but the company continues to produce hardware -- keyboards and mice have been a staple of the line for nearly two decades, and were followed by the Xbox and tablets. Hardware has become a growing market for the company.

Now Microsoft unveils the latest in its line of desktop peripherals -- "The Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop is the latest evolution of Microsoft’s Natural line of ergonomic products which was first launched nearly 20 years ago in 1994", says Brandon Leblanc.

Continue reading →

A couple of days ago my colleague Wayne Williams looked at the new features in the latest leaked build of Windows 8.1 and now, hot on the heels of that, comes the announcement of the official release date for the OS refresh.

Set your alarm for 4am Pacific Time October 17 as this is when the much-anticipated update to Windows 8 will be unleashed on an eager public.

Continue reading →

The PC as we know it is dying, and tablets are unquestionably where the sales are right now. As a result, vendors and retailers are clamoring to pull in the consumers by ramping up their advertising spend and exposure.

In Q2 2013, according to data gathered by analyst firm gap intelligence, vendors and retailers placed a total of 771 tablet ads in print media in the US, up 266 from the same quarter last year, and while 83 percent of the adverts were for Android tablets, Windows devices made a big splash, accounting for 12 percent of all ads. When new products launch, or sales aren't great -- both true in this case -- it's quite typical to see an increase in ad spending in order to reach as many consumers as possible.

Continue reading →

Shortly after Microsoft released its native YouTube Windows Phone 8 app in early-May, Google sent the software giant a cease and desist letter, demanding the app's removal from Store. The reasons, according to the document, centered on three main features that Microsoft baked-in, namely content download, an ad-free user experience and forgoing playback restrictions. The app was pulled from Windows Phone Store in late-May, and replaced with the older iteration.

Good news! Late-yesterday, following a collaboration with Google, Microsoft quietly launched a compliant YouTube Windows Phone 8 app. "We've released an updated YouTube app for Windows Phone that provides the great experience our consumers expect while addressing the concerns Google expressed in May, including the addition of ads", says Microsoft in a statement issued to me. "We appreciate Google's support in ensuring that Windows Phones customers have a quality YouTube experience and look forward to continuing the collaboration".

Continue reading →

Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, according to Gartner, notching up a moderate 3.6 percent increase over the 420 million units sold in the same period last year.

The big news however, is smartphone sales finally exceeded those of feature phones, with the former selling 225 million units, up 46.5 percent from the 153 million sold in the second quarter of 2012, and the latter managing just 210 million units for a 21 percent drop year-over-year.

Continue reading →

I'm a proud New Yorker -- I love my state. However, it has been a bit embarrassing lately with the scandalous Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer dominating the local and national news. Today, Governor Cuomo and Microsoft announce some much needed positive news -- New York State has selected Office 365 for its 120,000 employees. This is good news, as it will reportedly save New Yorkers $3 million per year!

"Our agreement with Microsoft [...] will make collaboration among state agencies easier and increase productivity, in addition to saving approximately $3 million annually for taxpayers. This agreement shows the progress we are making in our efforts to make state government more resourceful while delivering results for New Yorkers", says Governor Cuomo.

Continue reading →

Despite a pocket of stubborn deniers, the environment has a problem, and many of today's devices do not help this issue. No I am not going to preach Al Gore to you, but its a real-world issue that needs solving and Microsoft, a company built on modern technology is at least looking at ways of helping.

The company announces a new initiative designed at helping the cause. "Today Microsoft officially launched a new challenge and website that helps customers – companies and consumers alike – make environmentally conscious decisions when purchasing a new PC. The website features a short challenge and a five-minute video that helps people better understand the environmental impacts associated with buying, using and disposing of a PC", the software maker stated in an email today. The new site is designed to help with buying, using and disposing of technology, and full details were announced on Microsoft's Green Blog by Josh Henretig.

Continue reading →