Items tagged with Microsoft
Google is on the hot seat with the EU over alleged antitrust violations related to its Internet search practices on both the desktop and on mobile devices. After a two-year investigation that appears to find Google at fault, several of the complainants have voiced their displeasure at the pace of the European...
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Although some were expecting to see Microsoft debut a new Xbox system this month, it now appears that the company’s Xbox event will actually take place later. On “What the Tech”, Paul Thurrott said that the event scheduled for April 24th will actually occur on May 21st. (His Xbox musings begin around the 55-minute mark.)...
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Windows XP is a dead operating system (OS) walking. In exactly one year from today, Microsoft will cease supporting the legacy OS, which translates into no more security updates. Naturally the suits in Redmond would love it if every XP user -- legitimate or otherwise -- would make the switch to Windows 8, and if they...
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This coming Tuesday, April 9, is going to be a busy one for Microsoft’s update servers. In advance of what have become known as “Patch Tuesday”, Microsoft posted nine early security bulletins to notify users and system administrators of the slew of impending Windows updates. Two of the patches have...
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One of the reasons to considering upgrading to Windows 8 is the improved security Microsoft baked into its latest operating system. This is especially true if you pair the touch-friendly OS with an antivirus or Internet security suite program, a point that's underscored by the latest results published by AV-Test.org...
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Microsoft's annual BUILD conference is coming up soon, and while Windows Phone will no doubt have a role, desktop Windows users will surely want to pay attention as well. Windows 8 has been around the block at this point, with some aspects of it being quite pleasing and others leaving critics wanting. So, what's...
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Traditional phone companies are faced with the reality that it's cheaper to make calls over the Internet, and also relatively easy, even for novices. It shouldn't be all that shocking, then, to learn that Skype users are spending 2 billion collective minutes daily using Microsoft's VoIP software. To put that into perspective, 2 billion minutes...
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Don't look now, but in the near future, it's possible we'll see a smaller size Windows 8 tablet designed to compete with Apple's iPad mini and all those 7-inch slates, like the Nexus 7 (Google) and Kindle Fire HD (Amazon). Maybe Microsoft will take the reins and build a smaller Surface. As Kevin Garnett famously said...
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Sony shared more details on the PS4 today, including CPU specs, controller design decisions, and advanced information on the platform's API. We've known that the PS4 used an AMD Jaguar-derived core for months, but the new information today points to a standard implementation of AMD's reference design. The PS4 has two four-core Jaguar blocks....
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On the list of places to acquire a MAINGEAR gaming rig, here’s a notable addition: all of Microsoft’s retail stores nationwide. Microsoft now offers the MAINGEAR Potenza Super Stock small form factor gaming PC in both its brick-and-mortar locations and through its online store, which is a development...
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A couple of days ago we called Windows Blue the worst-kept secret in tech; Microsoft apparently understands that, as an executive’s blog post today revealed that Windows Blue is a Real Thing so casually and with so little context that he probably assumes everyone knows what he’s talking about. Lap dog- and wine-loving Microsoft...
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We know that Windows 8 is getting a facelift with Windows Blue sometime soon, but in the meantime, Microsoft is busily updating its apps with tweaks to make them work better and give users enhanced features. Starting today, you can download updates from the Windows Store for its Mail, Calendar, and People apps. The Mail app now lets you filter...
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As we covered just yesterday, a leaked build of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Blue (aka: Windows "8.1") is floating around the net "somewhere", and as it appears, there's quite a bit that has changed. No, we didn't get rid of the Start screen, but many further enhancements have been added, along with other niceties...
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More details have emerged surrounding Windows Blue, the worst-kept secret in tech. Windows9Beta leaked word of a Windows Blue build that was available “somewhere on the Internet”, and apparently at least one WinForum.eu forum user found it, installed it, and let loose a barrage of screenshots. Assuming this is all completely legitimate,...
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A software platform is only as good as its apps, and towards that end, Microsoft's Windows Store now boasts over 50,000 of them. There are 50,341 at the time of this writing, according to MetroStore Scanner, a site that makes Windows Store apps easily searchable from the Web. The number of apps is steadily rising, having more than doubled...
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By now it’s all but certain that Windows Blue is coming, and that it’s probably coming sometime this year. Blue is expected to be a Windows 8 “refresh”, as opposed to an entirely new OS (although work on Windows 9 is certainly underway), and more details continue to leak out about it. The latest is a video from Microsoft’s...
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Pandora is still a very popular streaming music radio service, but the company is dealing with a growing cadre of serious competitors; Windows Phone 8 has a similar problem in the mobile market with iOS and Android. Now, the two companies have partnered to offer Pandora ad-free on Windows Phone 8 at no cost, for the rest of 2013. The app itself...
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Here's something you don't hear about often: Microsoft is under investigation with regard to bribery. U.S. authorities are examining the company's potential involvement with "companies and individuals that allegedly paid bribes to overseas government officials in exchange for business." The United States Department of Justice and the Securities...
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The fate of Windows 8 is yet to be determined, but amid lagging PC sales and grumpy customers who just aren’t all that excited about Microsoft’s latest operating system, there’s a bit of a dark cloud over it. The cloud is even darker over tablets running Windows 8; for example, Microsoft's Surface...
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A wise person once said that all good things must eventually arrive at an end, and Microsoft has typically been fairly proactive about giving its user base a heads-up as to when support would end for its products. There's generally an amount of buzz surrounding the expiration of support on a Windows OS, but now that...
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Mailbox is a hot new iOS email client app. Dropbox is one of the most popular consumer cloud storage and sharing tools around. Now, the former is joining the latter, which could make for some interesting cross-pollination. What’s notable about this merging of minds is that Mailbox is a brand new baby app, having...
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When Microsoft decided to launch its own hardware with the Surface tablet, it was a big gamble, and many noted that even after its unbridled success in the operating system, software, and gaming hardware markets, the company may find the tablet hardware side of things to be tougher sledding. According to Bloomberg...
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