Microsoft says you don't care about online safety, 'despite multiple risks'
Do you really care about security on the interwebs? According to the latest Microsoft Computing Safety Index (MCSI), most of us don't. Of the 10,000+ PC, smartphone and tablet users surveyed, 55 percent experienced multiple online risks, but only 16 percent took proactive safety measures.
The numbers keep piling up. When it comes to theft of account information or passwords, 47 percent of surveyed users said they find it a reason for concern. However, just 33 percent of respondents are actively fighting online theft by using secure websites, and only 28 percent of surveyed users steer clear of using open Wi-Fi hotspots on mobile devices.
Show your love for Bing by breaking up with Google
For Valentine's Day, Microsoft shoots Cupid's arrow elsewhere. Rather than promote the relationship you have, the company cajoles you to seek new love. The marketing campaign deliciously delights. C`mon, who promotes breakups for V Day?
"This year Bing is challenging people to reconsider their search habit and break up with Google", Microsoft suggests in a statement. "You wouldn’t keep dating someone who isn’t trustworthy, so why use a search engine known for serving its interests over your own? In fact, a whopping 85 percent of people report that trustworthiness is the most important trait in a mate, beating out good in bed, sense of humor and wealth".
Do you want Aero in Windows 8? Fight for it
Microsoft introduced its "Aero Glass" interface back with Windows Vista and continued the feature in Windows 7. However, after supporting the motif in early builds of the latest operating system, the company elected to pull the plug. Former Windows exectutive Steven Sinofsky explained the reasons behind the decision in an 11,000 word blog post back in May of 2012.
Sinofsky laid out a number of valid reasons for the decision, including battery life, speed and the new feature set included with Windows 8. However, those are not enough for some customers and that group has found a voice.
Enterprises embrace Apple like Microsoft
During the mainframe era, you could hear phrase: "No one is fired for buying IBM". In the 1990s and 2000s, the same could be said about Microsoft. As the so-called Post-PC era pushes forward, soon same can be said about Apple, if some IT organizations don't already. Gartner predicts that by 2014, enterprises will accept the fruit-logo as much as Windows, which is something scary for the company owning that market segment.
Consumerization of IT -- or bring your own device to work -- forced Apple on unwilling IT organizations. Now, after tasting the fruit, they like it. More of them than ever are willing to deploy Macs, which encroach on territory Microsoft seeks to claim for Windows 8.
Microsoft Research's Blink adds burst-shot mode to Windows Phone 8
In the camera department, Windows Phone 8 is an interesting piece of kit -- users have access to a high number of customizable options and there is even support for add-ons, or lenses, as Microsoft likes to call them. But one major feature is still missing to nail that perfect picture, namely burst-shot mode.
The software giant's research arm, Microsoft Research, has introduced a new app for Windows Phone 8 devices, dubbed Blink, that fills the gap in the otherwise competent camera bag. Blink works both as an individual app as well as a lens, and allows users to snap a significant number of shots, all in one go, and save the best one afterwards.
You can steal -- ah, still get -- Windows 8 Pro cheap
I owe a commenter an apology. Let me explain. Two months ago I wrote about a Microsoft error that allowed anyone the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $14.99, which is supposed to only be available to those who have purchased a Windows 7 PC after June 2, 2012. I took a lot of heat from our kind readers for pointing out the flaw. Microsoft also contacted me and assured me that the loophole would be fixed.
It is an easy fix, honestly. Require the user to enter a Windows 7 key and then check against the database to ensure that it was activated after the required date. It is really that simple. But, Microsoft didn't close the loophole.
HTC Windows Phone 8X -- Purple madness [Review]
The HTC Windows Phone 8X is a smartphone that you will either love or not want to touch even with a 10 foot pole. Part of the arguments for and against it stem from the operating system of choice, Microsoft's latest (and greatest) Windows Phone iteration. Sure, the device has good build quality and the software is fluid and responsive, but the app selection is currently lacking compared to rivals like Android and iOS. So where does one draw the line between success and failure?
I've been using the Windows Phone 8X for almost two weeks and the early impressions are still on the positive side. In my initial review I touched on a number of points that I found revealing for my brief time with it, but the real test is how the Windows Phone 8X fares over a longer period of time. My main and initial gripes concern the limited app selection and general usability issues of Windows Phone 8 when coming from the stock flavor of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The real question is this: Is it good enough?
Microsoft rolls out Bing apps for Office
There are already Bing-powered apps for Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Xbox, and now Microsoft’s search platform has made some free apps for the software giant’s new Office 365 Home Premium suite (what, you thought Office 2013 was going to get some Bing love?)
At the moment there are five apps on offer -- Bing News Search for Office, Bing Finance (Beta) for Office, Bing Dictionary (English) for Office, Bing Maps for Office, and Bing Image Search for Office.
Microsoft attempts to woo developers with modern.ie
Microsoft has started paying much closer attention to Internet Explorer recently. The company pushed out both IE9 and IE10 in fast succession and has been trying to entice back past users with its retro ad and The Browser You Loved To Hate campaign.
Now it wants to try and lure developers to the platform and has rolled out modern.ie, a new service to help make sure websites display as they should. The .ie extension, in case you are wondering, is Ireland's top-level domain.
Google extends Exchange ActiveSync support for Windows Phone
In mid-December, as part of the "Winter cleaning" operation, Google announced plans to drop support for Exchange ActiveSync effective January 31. Microsoft condemned the decision, and quite vigorously.
Matters are changed. Windows Phone users will get a six-month reprieve, until July 31, to give Microsoft time to adapt. "The Windows Phone team is building support into our software for the new sync protocols Google is using for calendar and contacts -- CalDAV and CardDAV", Microsoft's Michael Stroh says. The company also will use IMAP for push support in order to fully replace EAS' functionality.
Windows Phone 7.8 arrives, check your device NOW!
If you're one of the many jilted Windows Phone 7.5 users, your day has come. Version 7.8 is rolling out to Nokia phones as I write. "Notifications will begin to appear for Nokia Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800 and 900 owners with an unlocked phone or operator approved software during February", company spokesperson Boc Ly says. "Simply connect your phone to your computer via Zune for PC, or the Windows Phone app for Mac, and follow the onscreen instructions".
The update is long overdue, and in many ways unsatisfactory. For example, Nokia Lumia 900 debuted on U.S. carriers in March 2011. Three months later, Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 with a bombshell: None of the current devices would support the OS. None. Those phones would get Windows 7.8, which lacks many of the features that make 8 great, by comparison. In the annals of dumb product development moves, I have to rank this one highly. Loyal customers rush to a new platform only to be dissed for it -- and people wonder about Windows Phone's slow start?
Microsoft Surface Pro has a BIG storage problem
Microsoft is no stranger to controversy, even attracting negative attention when it comes to the advertised storage of its own Surface tablet lineup. The interwebs buzzed after the company admitted the shortcomings of Surface RT, which only comes with 16GB of user-accessible storage in 32GB trim, and now the same issue is raising its head all over again with Surface Pro, just days before the big launch.
As most knowledgeable Windows users will concede, Microsoft's latest consumer operating system does take up quite a bit of storage space due to its fully-fledged nature. For example, on my personal computer running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, the "Windows" folder by itself uses just over 16GB. So it's not overly difficult to imagine Windows 8 Pro will take up a lot of Surface Pro's free space. Of course this is something that educated pundits surely know (or at least they should).
The new Office has launched -- let the advertising blitz begin
We spent a lot of time dissecting Microsoft's Office launch yesterday and one thing was clear. The software giant wants you to move away from the desktop and into the cloud with Office 365 Home Premium. Something which I for one do not think is a bad idea. To prove where its priorities lie, Microsoft has unveiled its very first video ad for the new suites and predictably it's all about Office 365.
The 30-second length of the clip indicates that it is likely headed for TV, although I personally have not seen it there yet. It does nothing to show customers the actual apps like Word, Excel, and the rest. Instead it focuses on more of the Metro Modern UI aspects, and the suite's ability to be available for users at all times, wherever they are.
Microsoft and I agree -- Office 365 is the future
This doesn't happen every day. Microsoft, which serves as both my daily computing platform and bane of my existence, does something I completely agree with. It is not the first time -- I am an unashamed Windows 8 lover. I also love Office, and the product has steadily improved and become easier to use with each iteration. But desktop software is quickly becoming old-school. I find myself using more and more web apps and storing more data in the cloud.
Today, Microsoft officially launched Office 2013...sort of. Yes, the software suite is out there, available to everyone, as we knew it would be. What we didn't realize was that the actual software suite would be downplayed. A lot.
Microsoft really doesn't want you to buy Office 2013
They're here! Today Microsoft released new versions of the flagship productivity suite alongside cloud companions. But if you look closely, all the chatter is about Office 365. The software giant wants your head in the cloud, and tidy, easy-to-account subscription revenue with it. CEO Steve Ballmer and team endlessly blather about "reimagining" Windows, but Office gets the bigger makeover -- not just how people work, but how they pay to do it.
Subscription revenue is Microsoft's Holy Grail, and one sought since the mid 1990s, because it smooths out revenue and locks in customers. New Office releases come about once every three years. Office 2007 launched six years ago tomorrow and its successor in May 2010. The company can't depend on consistent sales, which tend to spike around new releases. Subscription -- how Microsoft sells Office 365 -- is smoother.
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