Now that the PlayStation 4 has been released, all eyes are on the Xbox One as it’ll be released to the masses on November 22. With every day that passes, we’re learning more and more about Microsoft’s next-generation video game console, and a set of new images has just given us a glimpse into the Xbox One’s new achievement interface. (more…)
Xbox One Achievements Interface Images Surface Online original content from Ubergizmo. 
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The Microsoft Xbox One will be seeing a launch in a few days’ time, and while the console was designed for gaming in mind, the console does support Blu-ray and other entertainment features, which is a way for gamers to take a break from gaming and catch up on some shows and movies. In a way buying the PS4 or Xbox One would be like getting a gaming console and a home entertainment unit at the same time. However it seems that according to Paul Thurrott who has a pretty good reputation when it comes to insider information regarding Microsoft, he claims that Microsoft could be getting ready for launch an entertainment-only Xbox One console.
Apparently such a device was already in the works, but it seems that fear that the device might actually outsell the Xbox One forced Microsoft to put a temporary halt on the device. The device is back on track for a release at a yet-to-be-known date. However unlike the Xbox One which is priced at $499, this entertainment-only unit will be much cheaper, so for those looking for a home entertainment system and don’t necessarily need to game, perhaps this alleged entertainment Xbox One might be the device for you. Take it with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more info.
Cheaper Entertainment-only Xbox One Rumored To Be On Its Way original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Rumor has it that Apple is deep into talks to buy PrimeSense, which produces—and licenses—the gesture-based technology behind Microsoft’s Kinect. Which could prove… interesting.
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Following no small amount of pressure from the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron
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We have seen an earlier patent application by Microsoft that had something to do with a skin sensing bezel on a potential tablet down the road, and here we are with yet another patent application by the software giant, where it could be used to help prevent a teenager’s phone from being able to make an outgoing phone call while one is driving, or to prevent audio from emanating from a phone’s speakers while one is within a movie theater. The whole idea of this patent does sound as though it would come in handy not only for teenagers, but for adults as well. After all, how many times have you seen and heard an adult’s phone ringing while one is at the movies? This patent is called “Quiet Time” for obvious reasons.
The patent application does come with its fair share of diagrams that does a bit of explaining. For instance, a block could be placed on a phone depending on the time period, and Quiet Time could also come in handy at places of worship, at the library , or at venues of business that would need its fair amount of peace and quiet. What do you say to Quiet Time, parents ? Yay or nay?
Microsoft Files For Quiet Time Patent Application original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Eric Schmidt himself took to the British press to announce that Google has made a big step in ridding its search results of links to underage sexual abuse — with some image detection assistance from Microsoft. The Google chairman said he hired a 200-strong team to work out a solution over the last three months and that their work has already fixed up to 100,000 potential queries. The UK Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed the news as “significant progress.” He’s also praised Google’s previous set of measures, which displayed a warning to people attempting to search for illegal material and caused a 20 percent drop in illicit activity. For now, Google’s newest improvements are limited to English-speaking countries, including the UK and US, although the search company says it’ll roll out its adjusted search globally over the next six months, covering 158 more languages.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft, Google
Via: AllThingsD
Source: Daily Mail
Could the tablet and Ultrabook scene change in a few short years’ time? Perhaps, assuming this particular new patent that was filed by Microsoft becomes a standard issue feature in upcoming devices of the two niches mentioned earlier on. Apparently, this patent from Microsoft enables a device to be able to “understand” just which part on the bezel are your hands located, before it augments the display based on such information. For instance, in the image above, a tablet that sports skin sensors which have been integrated within the bezel itself, would be able to then “know” just where your hands happen to be, before the processor within gets to work to show off a touch based keyboard or other elements as and when necessary.
It is a no-brainer to figure out just how Microsoft might see the potential of such technology, especially with their existing range of Surface tablets. I guess this means using your mobile computing devices would be a more intuitive experience now, as the device itself can more or less figure out just where your hands are located before serving up the relevant user interface option at that point in time. Will it take too much battery life to make it worthwhile? Only time will tell, but it is an interesting idea still.
Microsoft Patent Shows Off Skin Sensing Bezel original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Microsoft this week announced a contest whereby you can submit a Gamerpic design to be featured in the Xbox One Gamerpic Gallery. If your design is selected, it will appear for all Xbox One gamers to use as their Gamerpic. Plus, you’ll get a free Xbox One controller “to commemorate the win,” Microsoft wrote on […]
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
If one takes a narrow view of the tablet market, the largest PC makers have fared especially poorly as a group. At the launch of the iPad, HP, Dell, Acer and Lenovo had little experience with the Android ecosystem, which itself was not optimized for tablets. And Windows, their go-to operating system, was still not available in a version that would show off bold, finger-friendly tiles and yield long battery life in a slim form factor. Even now as these companies have experimented with all kinds of hinges and accessories on Windows, their Android efforts can be hard to differentiate as with HP’s Slate 7 and Dell’s recent 7- and 8-inch slates.
Into this spiritless landscape, Lenovo has dropped the Yoga Tablet, available in 8- and 10-inch sizes. Unlike its namesake Windows laptop, which reveals no obvious signs of its differentiation at first glance, the Yoga Tablet has a silver, cylindrical side that is reminiscent of extended laptop batteries. Indeed, it contains the battery here as well as making for a grip that is at first unfamiliar, but which allows the rest of the tablet to be very thin.
Microsoft this weekend rolled out a few descriptions of how the voice and gesture controls will work in Internet Explorer for Xbox One. In a post on Exploring IE, the company explained that you will be able to say “Xbox, select” to bring up a voice command menu when the Kinect is on, followed by […]
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