Hasta La Gadget!

Windows 8 will be getting a completely-redesigned version of Internet Explorer when the new operating system releases on October 26, and Microsoft has mentioned in the past that it plans to bring the same version to Windows 7 at some point. The company announced today that Internet Explorer 10 will be hitting Windows 7 in mid-November.

While this may sound like good news for those that will be sticking with Windows 7 long after the launch of its successor, Microsoft is only releasing a preview version of the browser for Windows 7 for the time being. However, a final version will become available once Microsoft collects developer and customer feedback, but that timeline is yet to be determined.

Microsoft’s Rob Mauceri explains that “IE10 brings improved real-world site performance and additional standards support to Windows 7 that Web developers have been asking for.” Mauceri goes on by saying that “IE10 on Windows 7 has the same standards based platform for developers to target as IE10 on Windows 8.”

However, it seems that a lot of developers are not happy with the company, saying that they were expecting a final version to be released soon, not just a preview version. Many of the comments on the IE Blog post were negative, saying things like, “Why preview? We want to develop optimized sites now!”

Internet Explorer 10 coming to Windows 7 mid-November is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re not going to beat around the bush here: this is one of the most exciting contests we’ve hosted in a long, long time, and you’ll definitely want to enter. Our friends at Atari were kind enough to give us an extremely limited-edition (there are only two in existence) Atari 2600 gutted with modern PC components and signed by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell — and one lucky soul will be able to call this beauty their very own! The gaming company is doing this to promote the 35th anniversary of the 2600’s original release, as well as its latest creation, arcade.atari.com, which is an HTML5-driven, multitouch-supported hub that lets you play eight classic Atari games online (including Pong and Centipede). Not only that, the team — consisting of Atari and the Internet Explorer team — put together an SDK to help you build your own games on the classic platform. After you enter to win (all you have to do is leave a comment below), make sure you head over to the Arcade to spend countless more hours in the land of nostalgia.

Note: For bragging rights, feel free to post your high score as your comment entry.

Continue reading Engadget Giveaway: win an exclusive Atari 2600 with PC components!

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Microsoft

Engadget Giveaway: win an exclusive Atari 2600 with PC components! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is it Fall again already? Must be time for another Xbox 360 Dashboard update. Every year Microsoft Drops the console a little bit of code to match the descending leaves, delivering new features, interface tweaks and additional content to hide behind the Xbox Live Gold paywall. Redmond’s latest update isn’t quite the overhaul it gave the gaming rig last year, but minor changes can have big effects. Join us after the break to see the machine’s latest update, and what it means for you.

Continue reading Xbox 360 Dashboard update hands-on (fall 2012)

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Microsoft

Xbox 360 Dashboard update hands-on (fall 2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say it with us: Developers! Developers! Developers! That’s Steve Ballmer’s mantra and indeed, it says a lot about the way Microsoft has gone about promoting Internet Explorer. In addition to a series of prime-time ads (maybe you’ve seen ’em), the company has been using certain HTML 5 apps to show devs what they can do using IE 10’s deep multitouch support. Now the outfit’s back, this time with a game: Contre Jour is coming to the web, and while it runs in any modern browser, you’ll need IE 10 and a Windows 8 machine to play a third of the levels (it shouldn’t make a difference if you have a touchscreen or a multitouch trackpad). That’s because in some parts of the game, you’ll be required to use as many as three fingers at once to pull off certain maneuvers. In IE 10 you can do this, so you get access to all 30 levels; if you’re using a different browser that doesn’t support these gestures, the levels will remain locked. Hit up the source link to play the game for free, and if a game based on “The Little Prince” doesn’t do much for you, at least check out the Behind the Scenes section — coding geeks should appreciate the deeper explanation as to how the web app was built.

Continue reading ‘Contre Jour’ is now playable in the browser, one third of the levels require IE 10

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Microsoft

‘Contre Jour’ is now playable in the browser, one third of the levels require IE 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A US-based advertising lobbying group has sent out an open letter to Microsoft that criticizes the company’s decision to enable Do Not Track by default in its Internet Explorer 10 that comes bundled with Windows 8. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) called Microsoft’s decision “shocking.”

In the letter, the ANA mostly argued that “Microsoft’s announcement has been uniformly met with outrage, opposition, and declarations that Microsoft’s action is wrong.” Specifically, the ANA seems to be referring to representatives of various multinational corporations, such as General Motors, General Electric, IBM, and Coca-Cola that are outraged by IE 10′s Do Not Track setting.

The ANA seem to think that if Microsoft enables the Do Not Track feature by default in Internet Explorer 10, it will ultimately cause the advertising industry a lot of hurt, and will ruin competition and destroy innovation in the US, as well as possibly destroy the entire world if this kind of thing continues from the way they described things.

“We believe that if Microsoft moves forward with this default setting, it will undercut the effectiveness of our members’ advertising and, as a result, drastically damage the online experience by reducing the Internet content and offerings that such advertising supports. This result will harm consumers, hurt competition, and undermine American innovation and leadership in the Internet economy.”

Ultimately, the open letter is filled with industry jargon and sharp rhetoric, but it’s unsurprisingly low on actual data and is rife with inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and various fallacies. They mentioned that providing users with an opt-in option is unacceptable, and even goes as far as getting important names wrong when referring to people who supposedly support the ANA.

Obviously, the Do Not Track feature is going to upset advertisers at least a little bit, if not a lot. However, Microsoft (as well as other browser developers) are working hard to make its users happy, and adding the Do Not Track feature is just one big way that developers can get the positive support of users.

[via ZDNet]

Advertising lobbying group criticizes Microsoft for IE 10 Do Not Track feature is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.