Items tagged with Microsoft
Microsoft is gearing up for a historic Xbox One console launch in China a little bit later this year. In partnership with BesTV New Media Co., a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, Microsoft will release its popular game system to an eager gaming audience that sits at over half a billion large in China this September...
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There was a moment when Microsoft and Nokia were married; it was that time period starting when then-Nokia chief Stephen Elop went all-in with Microsoft’s new Windows Phone platform at the expense of Nokia’s homegrown options and ending when Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile business. As the dust...
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Now that Microsoft has finished acquiring what it wants of Nokia, the company is readying new smartphones for release. The first one slated for release may be a handset nicknamed “Superman” that will rock a 5MP front camera. According to The Verge’s sources “familiar with Microsoft’s...
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After completing its acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services business (mobile unit, basically) on Friday, Microsoft wasted no time in putting its stamp on the company brand by releasing an advertisement today that focuses on color. Color, you say? That's right -- though it's not as simple as that. It's a bit of an artsy ad that highlights...
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Microsoft is scrambling to fix a security flaw in its Internet Explorer (IE) browser that could allow a hacker to remotely execute malicious code if users visit an infected website. Unfortunately, the security bug is present on just about every version of IE, and if you're a Windows XP user, be advised that no...
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For years, many thought that pay-TV companies could continue to do as they pleased, knowing full well that if they never offered their programming online, people would have no choice but to continue to pay ruthless prices for content. Now, we're starting to see exactly how the disruption is going to happen. With...
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You know how Microsoft has gradually started pre-loading Windows 8 with a glut of apps? Sure, it’s kind of convenient--emphasis on the “kind of”--and having certain apps such as Skype ready to roll as soon as you install the OS is indeed rather handy, but a lot of it just feels like bloatware...
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Back in 1983, Atari had a flop on their hands with “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial”. Officially, no one knew what happened to the scads of unsold cartridges, but the legend was that Atari secretly just dumped them all into a New Mexico landfill and covered them up with concrete. (Um, yeah, it was a different time.) After more than...
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The process that began back in September is now complete: Microsoft has finished subsuming Nokia’s Devices & Services business. Nokia said in a statement that the final transaction price will be slightly higher than the originally-announced 5.44 billion euros. Among the adjustments to the final details, Microsoft is not getting Nokia’s...
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Psst, hey you -- can you keep a secret? If so, you're ahead of tablet accessory makers and Amazon, both of which may have just confirmed the existence (and impending release) of Microsoft's rumored Surface Mini device. There's a listing on Amazon with an ultra-thin Smart Cover Case for the Microsoft Surface Mini...
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Microsoft has done a good job of embracing the cloud as it pertains to its lucrative consumer products--look no further than Office 365 and the free online Office suite at Office.com as proof--but the Redmond company may be taking things even further by rolling out a cloud-based operating system, too. The information...
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The next-generation of PowerPoint presentations is almost here, and to help get the ball moving on getting some projects created, Microsoft has just opened up what it's calling the "Office Mix Preview". At the moment, anyone with an access code can get in; otherwise, you'll need to fill out a survey and hope to gain...
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West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer has a plan for his city, and it involves attracting major technology companies to Central Iowa. So far so good: Microsoft is going to spend $1.13 billion on building a data center in West Des Moines to support its online services. Dubbed “Project Alluvion”, the data center...
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Comparatively, the numbers don’t look great for Microsoft: The company has sold 5 million Xbox One consoles so far--which by itself seems a fine number--but competitor Sony has sold 7 million PS4s. That’s quite a margin of difference, although there’s are some nuances to consider, too. According to...
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Microsoft has a new wireless All-In-One Media Keyboard that offers solid functionality for not a lot of cash, and it looks like an ideal accessory for anyone with a multimedia setup in a rec room or simply anyone who wants a smoother way to control a smart TV. In addition to a full-size set of typical keys, the device...
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With Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft’s Siri-like personal digital assistant Cortana becomes a crucial part of the user experience. She’s powered by Bing, and between the two, the system is designed to learn about you in order to anticipate your needs and deliver pertinent information to you while filtering...
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Since its release back in 2009, Microsoft Security Essentials has become a respected anti-virus / anti-malware solution. Even I, someone who never went out of their way to run such a solution, used it from the get-go due to its solid design and effective scanning. The fact that it was a cost-free solution sure didn't...
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Last spring, we talked about "Beacon Mountain", Intel's pre-packaged Android development environment that caters to developing around both Intel and ARM architectures. We haven't heard too much about Beacon Mountain since, but as we can now see, Intel had even greater plans for it; it's been swallowed-up into Intel's...
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In a continued effort to make its Office productivity suite more easily accessible to a wider audience, Microsoft has made the web versions of its Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote apps available to download through Google's Chrome Web Store. This boils down to an added convenience for Chrome users. As Microsoft points out in a blog post...
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There was a moment there when new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had to decide if the company would push its Office 365 product out to as many platforms as possible, thus ensuring maximum adoption for its software, or withhold one of its most valuable assets and leverage that to boost its hardware sales. Nadella chose...
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Riddle us this - what do Windows XP and Windows 8.1 have in common? They're both in Microsoft's rear view mirror, and come May 13, 2014, the latter will also no longer receive security updates. Scratching your head? Here's the thing -- Microsoft isn't abandoning its newest operating system, but it is forcing users to...
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Microsoft is planning to follow the money trail into mobile, albeit through a licensing play. KLab, a maker of smartphone games based in Japan, is building a free-to-play version of Age of Empires for Windows Phone, Android, and iOS devices. It's called Age of Empires: World Domination and it will feature "simple and...
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