Hasta La Gadget!

I am not quite sure about you, but seriously, how many folks do you know still use Internet Explorer voluntarily as the browser of their choice? Well, Microsoft certainly wants to continue pushing the legacy of the once all conquering Internet Explorer browser by partnering with the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise in order to deliver a totally new experience for its fans as well as movie lovers.

In an effort to promote The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is due for a November 22 release, the Hunger Games Explorer will function as an go-to destination and hub online for fans who cannot get enough of anything and everything of The Hunger Games franchise, all set within an interactive and rich experience, of course.

Danielle De Palma, senior vice president digital marketing, Lionsgate, said, “We have the best fans in the world, and starting tonight they have a home on the web where they can be a part of The Hunger Games experience and contribute to the excitement for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The Hunger Games Explorer is not only a place for fans to spark the conversation around Catching Fire, it is also a destination for us to continue to provide fans with new content, experiences and unprecedented behind the scenes access.”

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Rolls Out Major Windows 8 Update To News, Maps, Travel and More, Anonymous Hacks Into North Korean Websites Again,

Tomorrow Microsoft will roll out an update to Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 and Windows RT that enables Flash content to run by default. Such a move will ensure websites “just work,” something Microsoft says it believes is a key part of improving the experience for customers. Some websites will still have Flash blocked by default, however, due to incompatibility.

According to Microsoft, it has been testing websites with Flash content for compatibility with touch-based use of Windows, as well as battery life and performance. This testing, which is said to have taken place over the last several months, has demonstrated to Microsoft that the majority of websites with Flash content are compatible with the Windows “experience.”

The update is being rolled out for both the desktop and immersive Internet Explorer varieties. For both Windows 8 and Windows RT, Flash content for immersive Internet Explorer will run by default unless it is on the Compatibility View list. Desktop Internet Explorer, however, will have Flash content enabled for all websites on Windows 8, but likewise enabled unless on the Compatibility View list in Windows RT.

With Windows 8, the included Flash is optimized for a host of criteria, including battery life, reliability, performance, security, and of course, touch. This was the result of “substantial changes” made by Adobe, and the use of Compatibility View allowed Microsoft to tailor its browser so that only compatible websites would run Flash content. As of now, according to the company, less than 4-percent of tested websites with Flash content are still incompatible.

[via MSDN]

Internet Explorer 10′s newest update will enable Flash content to run by default is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The European Union has decided to impose a 561 million euro (a little over $731 million) fine on Microsoft for violating one of its rulings. The announcement was made today by Joaquin Alumnia, the EU’s Competition Commissioner. The EU asked Microsoft back in 2009 to allow users to choose which web browsers they wanted to install on their machine. The choices would appear in a “Browser Choice Screen pop-up” when they first start up their PC.

The EU decided to impose regulations on Microsoft because the web browser company, Opera, voiced its concerns about Microsoft including only Internet Explorer with its operating system. Opera stated that the move was hurting competition from other web browsers. Microsoft had complied with the EU and beginning in March 2010, it instated the “Browser Choice Screen pop-up” in its PCs. Everything was going well until a technical error caused the pop-up to not appear on around 28 million machines. The issue was linked to the Windows 7 Service Pack 1 update released in February 2011.

Microsoft released a statement last year saying that they were taking the matter seriously and will work quickly to fix the issue. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has been fined by the EU. Microsoft is actually one of the companies that violates the EU’s rulings the most. Including the fine today, Microsoft will have paid a total of 2.2 billion euros in fines.

This Microsoft violation will set example for all of the other companies currently entangled with the EU, like Google. The EU isn’t scared to impose strict fines to make sure companies comply with them. However, the EU was a bit lenient this time around. It could have imposed a fine of up to 10% of Microsoft’s annual revenue, but instead it imposed a fine that equaled only 1% of Microsoft’s revenue.

[via BBC]

Microsoft fined $731m for EU violation is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that Microsoft is aiming to pull in the masses of 20 or 30-somethings that started their web experience with a 1990′s-themed advertisement for exactly the same browser the company wants them to now use again: Internet Explorer. This advertisement does, we must admit, strike more than one chord in the nostalgic banjoes in our heads, and like any good SuperBowl commercial, only gets to the product in the last few seconds of the video. That said, whether you’re all about IE or you hate its guts, you’re probably going to enjoy this advertisement thoroughly.

What you’re going to see is a hashtag “childofthe90s” sort of spot that Microsoft is hoping will draw you in like a Club Kid moth to the rave, if you know what I mean. More like a 90′s kid to a fishtank full of 25-cent milk caps. Or perhaps a young lover of basketball in the 90′s to a pair of Reebok Pumps. You’ll find yourself entranced if you’re anywhere near the age of your humble narrator, that’s for sure.

With the “new” Internet Explorer that this advertisement shows, you’ll be working largely in a Windows 8 universe. While you do not need Windows 8 to access the future of this browser, you’ll be drawn in with its ever-so-slight aesthetic tips toward that environment. If you are using Windows 8, you’ll find Internet Explorer to be a full-screen masterpiece (so to speak) ready for the touchy amongst you.

In the end it’s irrelevant what Internet Explorer looks like here in this advertisement because the aim is brand awareness. If we see a collection of video spots that make us enjoy ourselves and they just so happen to be supporting a product, we being consumers of this 2013 environment will inevitably feel drawn to that product. It just works – see if your impression of Internet Explorer improves by the time the commercial above is done.

Internet Explorer 90′s ad aims to reconnect with your youth is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The NYTimes’ spectacular multimedia feature “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek,” is incredible. The elegant design and tasteful extras only contribute to the gripping narrative. It’s everything we’ve been promised about the journalism of the future. But if you’re looking at it on Internet Explorer 8, you’re doing it wrong. More »