The latest battle between Microsoft and Google could be more than the usual patent punch-up: it might set a precedent on the key issue of “reasonable” licensing terms. As we’ve previously covered, one of the main points of contention in the world of tech patents is “Rand” or “Frand” terms. That’s the widely agreed concept [...]
This happened a little while ago, but it’s still awesome. Microsoft created a rather elaborate prank in order to promote the “live tile” feature, which has been a part of Windows phone systems for a while but only recently came to desktops with Windows 8. The idea is that a music “tile” was installed in [...]
Yet more technology (like these real tractor beams) that seems inspired by the wonderful Star Trek Universe. It seems Microsoft have started developing a Universal Translator-esque system that outputs translated text in real time…in the voice of the speaker. Obviously, speech-to-text recognition software isn’t exactly brand new – Siri has become quite an established example [...]
Notorious gadget-fiddlers iFixit say you’ll have to be pretty determined if you want to repair or upgrade the Microsoft Surface tablet yourself. But the limitations are as much about it being a tablet as the way Microsoft has put it together. The Surface is already in weird territory as most early reviews conclude that the [...]
Steve Ballmer has indicated that Microsoft will be putting much more emphasis on hardware in the future. He’s also given some clue about the pricing for the Surface tablet and it appears you can forget any thoughts of $199. Speaking to the Seattle Times, Ballmer rather dramatically called 2012 “the most epic year in Microsoft [...]
Notice the similarity between the Windows 1.0 and Windows 8 logos. Getting back to basics, Microsoft? [Via]
Ohhhhh… Now I see what you did Microsoft Surface! [Via]
Microsoft has stepped into the bloodsport Kumite known as the tablet market and has announced more details for The Surface. With Apple dominating this corner of the world, other manufacturers were quick to develop their own hardware to varying reception. The ever popular Blackberry introduced their Playbook hoping to trump the other projects, but sadly [...]
Microsoft has announced it will allow advertisers to offer interactive commercials for Kinect users. But a patent filing suggests viewers may be more closely involved in the advertising process than they realize. The commercials, dubbed NUads, look to be a combination of a gimmick to get viewers to pay closer attention and a way to [...]
For today’s edition of Deal of the Day, Amazon has Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 (2PC/1User) for just $164.99. That’s 40% off the suite’s usual retail price of $279.99. Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 brings together the roles of managing a business, running a household and helping with homework. Get the benefits of [...]
Microsoft is reportedly planning to offer the Xbox on the same financial model as smartphones: a heavily reduced up-front price in return for a commitment to a monthly service charge. The plan, reported by The Verge, would be to sell a 4GB Xbox with the Kinect kit for $99. That’s a $200 reduction, much the [...]
With Windows 8, Microsoft is already trying to blur the lines between operating systems on pocket, portable, and desktop devices. Now it is working on an operating system for your entire home. The company has published a research document (PDF) on an ongoing project to make a system named HomeOS. There’s no sign of a [...]