Microsoft has lost a high-profile engineer involved in Bing maps, wearables research, and augmented reality, Blaise Agüera y Arcas, jumping ship to Google where he will reportedly work on machine learning. Having been named “Distinguished Engineer” at Microsoft in 2011, Agüera y Arcas joined the company in 2006 after his startup Seadragon Software was acquired; […]
Microsoft is yet to detail what the next major Windows Phone update is going to bring. Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows Phone Blue will come out next year and so far not much has been said about it. There have been a few rumors here and there, just recently we heard that it is possible for the coming update to do away with capacitive buttons and replace them with virtual ones. ”Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans” have told The Verge that Windows Phone 8.1 betas are currently being tested internally by the company and that this update is finally going to bring a notification center as well as a Siri-like virtual personal assistant.
This doesn’t come as a surprise though, as both possibilities have previously been rumored as well. Notification center is expected to be built into the next major Windows Phone update, whereas recently we heard that Microsoft’s “Cortana” personal digital assistant will also make its way over to WP devices. Apparently Cortana will replace Bing search and allow users to search using text input or voice. The assistant is said to support coversational interaction as well, just like Siri. Other features expected to be introduced with Windows Phone 8.1 include separate volume controls, through which users can control media and ringtone volume separately. VPN support for enterprise users and Smart Search results are expected to be included as well. Microsoft is expected to talk about Windows Phone 8.1 and its features in detail at the Build Developer Conference, which takes place in April next year.
Windows Phone 8.1 Notification Center And Virtual Assistant Rumored original content from Ubergizmo. 
     |
Windows Phone 8.1 will gain a Siri-style virtual personal assistant in an update expected in the first half of 2014, sources claim, with the new version also said to bring the much-anticipated notification center. Currently being internally tested though not expected to be publicly detailed until BUILD 2014 in April, The Verge reports, the update […]
Prior to the start of December, Microsoft announced it would be making two games in its catalog available for free through the company’s Games with Gold program for Xbox 360 owners who are also Xbox Live Gold members. The first half of the month would be dedicated to giving Xbox 360 players Gears of War, a third-person shooter that was released seven years ago which we’re sure you probably played some point in time if you own the console. The second half of the month would feature Ubisoft’s Shoot Many Robots, and as you can probably see from today’s date, the game will be free starting today up until the end of the year. (more…)
Shoot Many Robots Free On Xbox 360 Through Games With Gold original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Gold is so this season
| |
Battlefield 4, the pride of EA Games and DICE, has received a long-awaited patch for the Xbox One. The next-gen game has undergone a series of unfortunate events in the form of connectivity problems, server issues, and in-game bugs and glitches. The problems were so bad and so widespread that they dealt EA’s stock a […]
A well known figure of the TV industry, Nancy Tellem, who now heads the digital media business at Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox original programming is going to kick off early next year. The original shows are going to be available on Xbox One and the Xbox 360 through Xbox Video. Tellem says that the company hopes to “put something up” in the first quarter of 2014, “at minimum second quarter,” if things don’t pan out they way Microsoft wants. Tellem came over to Microsoft last year, producing original content for the company’s consoles comes under her domain.
While some might see Microsoft’s move into original programming as a response to similar ventures undertaken by the likes of Netflix and Amazon, Tellem says that the company isn’t like those two, she believes that “we’re a different animal.” Those waiting for the programs to launch will have a lot to look out for, Microsoft has already announced a live-action Halo series produced by Steven Spielberg, it also has comedy and sports related shows on the docket as well. When asked by Variety about the future of Microsoft under a new CEO, Tellem says that the TV model is going to hold true to whoever ends up running the company. She calls the content and what they’re building an important part of Microsoft’s future.
Xbox Original Programming To Kick Off In Early 2014 original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Microsoft Xbox Live subscribers could see original Xbox programming as early as the first quarter of 2014. The news came yesterday by way of a Variety Dealmakers Breakfast appearance by Microsoft’s president of entertainment and digital Nancy Tellem. She delivered a few details and a progress report for the company’s original programming initiative first announced […]
This article was written on July 02, 2008 by CyberNet.
A few months ago we were racking our brains trying to figure out what a reasonable price would be for a subscription-based version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007. In the end I estimated that Microsoft would charge at least $5 per month, but probably not more than $10 per month. The software suite itself retails for about $150, but with a little shopping around you can find it for about $110.
Good news. Today Microsoft announced that in the middle of July 2008 over 700 Circuit City stores around the United States will be selling their subscription-based product dubbed Microsoft Equipt. With it you get full access to Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 in addition to the Windows Live OneCare antivirus software. The price? It will be $69 per year, which works out to just $5.75 per month. Not too bad considering you’ll always get the latest version of Office and OneCare as part of the subscription.
Here are some screenshots of what the service will look like:
(Click to Enlarge)
Naturally I began crunching some numbers to see whether this was as good of a deal as you might think it is. As I mentioned earlier you can go buy Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 for $110, and OneCare is already a subscription based program that will cost about $30 per year (MSRP is $50 a year). So the real value depends on how long you’ll have Office 2007 for. Here’s a breakdown for you:
If you have Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 for [insert number of years] before upgrading it will cost…
What does this all mean? If Microsoft releases a new version of Office at least every three years (and you always upgrade right away) the subscription package is actually a reasonable deal.
Don’t forget the fact that both Office Home & Student and OneCare come with licenses that are good for up to three computers, and the same goes for your Microsoft Equipt subscription. If you have three computers that you would use the software the price-per-PC actually isn’t all that bad.
The interesting thing is that Microsoft hasn’t said anything about this being offered in other countries besides the United States, and for that matter it appears that only Circuit City will be selling it. I’m not quite sure why Microsoft wouldn’t offer something like this for download online?
Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com
Earlier this month, Microsoft‘s operating system lifecycle chart was given an update with little (read: no) fanfare. With the update came two dates, one showing the end of retail sales for Windows 7, and one showing the end of OEM sales for the same aged OS. The revelation sparked grumbles and whatnot, but as it […]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
