Articles about Microsoft

The "browser you loved to hate" continues to try and find ways to push itself into prominence against the likes of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Now, on World Environment Day, Microsoft comes up with yet another reason why you should choose Internet Explorer over its closest rivals. And this is one of the most imaginative ones yet -- energy efficiency!

Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Marketing, tells us that, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy Systems at Fraunhofer USA, "When compared to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer uses up to 18 percent less energy". He also adds in some fancy numbers, to boost this claim. Unsurprisingly, the report was commissioned by Microsoft.

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On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed that Outlook 2013 finally arrives on Windows RT later this year, alongside the free Windows 8.1 upgrade. The application, known for offering advanced contacts, calendar and email functionality, joins Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, part of Office Home and Student 2013, on the tablet operating system.

"Windows on ARM is a core part of our strategy today and moving forward, and the addition of Outlook further enriches this world of new on-the-go opportunities for partners and customers", says Microsoft's Tami Reller. According to the software giant, Outlook is one of the most sought-after applications on Windows RT, being a "popular request from consumers and businesses alike".

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We've written a lot about Windows 8.1 lately. We covered what to expect, and reported on the return of the Start button, the official Windows 8.1 announcement from Microsoft, and most recently the changes the software giant has made to woo the enterprise. But unless you downloaded and played around with one of the early leaked builds, you won’t yet have seen the Windows 8 refresh in action.

Well, Microsoft has just released a "First look at Windows 8.1" video which provides a preview showing just some of the highlights to look forward to (or to absolutely despise, depending on your perspective).

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Halo, the popular gaming series released back in 2001 by Bungie, is a big success for Microsoft. So much so that the company wishes to expand on the platform and port it over to other devices, both mobile and PC-based. The franchise has become a mainstay of Xbox, but the new version promises a refresh.

Halo: Spartan Assualt comes with new gameplay spanning 25 missions, an original story set between the events of "Halo 3" and "Halo 4", touch controls (in addition to keyboard and mouse), new achievements, integration with Halo 4 and more.

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The first version of Windows I ever installed was Windows 3.1, and the most recent was a leaked build of Windows 8.1. In between those two points I’ve installed every new version of Windows Microsoft has produced, most more times than I care to recall.

The installation process has definitely improved over the years, but I shudder to think how much of my life has been spent waiting for each install and reinstall to complete.

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Microsoft is really pushing Windows 8.1 to businesses. As my colleague Ian Barker reported yesterday, the OS upgrade will offer a raft of new features targeted at the "world of cloud computing and connected devices, with enhancements for bring your own device (BYOD) connectivity, enhanced mobility features and security enhancements".

If the global Windows 8 enterprise adoption data released by SysAid Technologies earlier today is to be believed, the software giant is really going to have its work cut out convincing firms to switch to the divisive OS.

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There is a lot of hype about Windows 8.1, but we haven’t heard all that much about Windows RT as of late. The operating system is derived from Windows 8 and designed for mobile devices that utilize the ARM architecture.

Today at Computex 2013, Qualcomm announces that its high end processor, the Snapdragon 800, will power at least some of the next generation of Windows RT 8.1 devices.

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Windows Azure undergoes constant improvements as Microsoft continues to beef up the cloud platform with new features and enhancements. The software giant has released SDK 2.0 for .NET (Software Development Kit), introduced Hadoop, Dropbox and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) support, new VM (Virtual Machine) configurations and adopted a new pricing strategy, all within the past couple of months.

And, late-yesterday, Microsoft revealed a new update for Windows Azure, designed to enhance its development and testing credentials. There are two noteworthy changes aimed at minimizing cost: users are now billed by the minute when using the cloud platform's resources (instead of by the hour, prior to the update) and they are no longer charged for stopped VMs (the deployment state and configuration are both preserved).

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I use Adobe Reader sparingly on any platform. Alternatives abound and mostly those are faster and more secure. Still, the company persists and owns market share for PDF, among other things. That is why, today, when Adobe announces a Reader app for Windows Phone, customers take notice.

"Adobe Systems, which invented the PDF, this morning published its official PDF document reader for Windows Phone 8", says Microsoft's Michael Stroh.

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The war for the hearts and minds of potential cloud email users at organizations worldwide is far from over. Both Microsoft and Google are winning small field skirmishes for their respective corners over the past few years. Most recently, Microsoft won huge contracts with the State of Texas and the City of Chicago moving to Office 365's vision for the cloud. Conversely, Google Apps chalked up big converts in the form of CBC Radio Canada and the US National Archives.

UK business technology website Computing.co.uk has published the results of a survey it ran across 160 IT decision makers from organizations of all shapes and sizes. While the survey sheds light on numerous opinions surrounding the major cloud email platforms, its most shocking finding is that a whopping 37 percent of organizations moving to the cloud for email are opting for Office 365 over all the major players. Other cloud vendors included in the survey results were Google Apps, Apple iWork, and QuickOffice.

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Today, over at all AllThingsD, Kara Swisher reports that a major Microsoft makeover is imminent. Reorganization is bloody well overdue, and timing makes sense. The company's fiscal year closes June 30, and the final quarter is when employees, product groups and future plans are evaluated and rewarded and when internal changes occur.

I strongly expect the new structure to mesh with CEO Steve Ballmer's mandate Microsoft is now a "devices and services" company. His larger challenge is surmountable: Enabling a stronger siloed Microsoft that disables a power structure that resembles "A Game of Thrones" -- too many fiefdoms fighting cross-purposes to the kingdom Bill Gates created. Under the current structure, Ballmer deals with only five kingdoms, rather than book and HBO series' seven.

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Looking not unlike a prop taken from the set of Star Trek, the VivoMouse from Asus takes the humble mouse in something of a new direction. Bringing together the traditional wireless mouse and the trackpad more usually found nestling at the front of a laptop, the peripheral harnesses the best of both worlds and delivers them in a single, sexy-looking device.

The VivoMouse -- which Asus claims to be a "world first" -- can be used in exactly the same way as a regular mouse, but the integrated trackpad means that there is support for Windows 8's full range of multi-touch gestures. This is something that is sure to prove popular with users who have battled with Windows 8's interface; while touchscreen displays are increasing in popularity, they are still far from the norm.

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Is the open source dream over? In 2004, Ubuntu Founder Mark Shuttleworth filed the first Ubuntu bug which was titled "Microsoft has a majority market share". It was a symbolic bug -- not a real one. It symbolized Ubuntu’s purpose -- to defeat Microsoft and aid the push of Open Source. This was an unattainable goal as Ubuntu never had a chance to defeat Microsoft. However, such goals are often good motivators for companies. It gives both the employees and users something to rally around.

While Ubuntu has fought the good fight, it has recently admitted defeat. On May 30, 2013, Mr. Shuttleworth marked this bug as "Fixed". Make no mistake, no bug has been fixed -- the 9 year old symbolic rallying point just became ridiculous and sad. It was time to close this embarrassing “bug” before a decade passed.

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Following a rebrading, late-yesterday, third-party Instagram client Itsdagram shed its name and looks and surfaced as the new Instance on Windows Phone Store. The app, which boasts the same essential functionality as before, now sports a redesigned interface and introduces a couple of new features and enhancements.

According to the developer, Daniel Gary, the app's rebranding follows Microsoft's request to better differentiate Itsdagram from Instagram. The software giant appears to pursue the path of least resistance in order to beef up the Windows Phone ecosystem and keep third-party apps in the running. Gary says that no legal action nor "threats" influenced his decision to comply with the request. Now let's go through the changes introduced by Instance.

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Microsoft's marketing lacks consistency. The software giant goes on from releasing some of the most memorable smartphone commercials to ridiculing itself through pathetic ads. In a new low, Microsoft's Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph decides that "How much tech gear can you get for the price of a Galaxy S4?" is a (fair) question which should be answered with: a Nokia Lumia 521 and a bunch of other things.

The first problem is that this question is not addressed to a broad range of potential Galaxy S4 buyers, but rather US residents looking to purchase Samsung's Android flagship. I'm going to call it for what it is -- deceptive. Ben Rudolph kicks off with the local price of the device at BestBuy, where the retailer asks $749.99, even though it can be had for roughly $100 less through Amazon, where it's listed at about $650.

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