Bill Gates discusses Microsoft and their mobile sector

In an interview with CBS, Bill Gates talks to Charlie Rose about his life, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and more interestingly Microsoft. He says that the way that Microsoft went about the mobile industry didn’t allow them to get the leadership they needed. He says that they should have entered the market earlier in order to get the lead on cell phones and that “it’s clearly a mistake”.

Bill Gates discusses Microsoft and its mobile devices

Bill Gates says he and CEO Steve Ballmer are “2 of the most self-critical people”. He says that “There were a lot of amazing things that Steve’s leadership got done with the company in the last year. Windows 8 is a key to the future, the Surface computer, Bing – people are seeing as a better search product, Xbox“. Gates says that due to the self-critical nature of both him and Ballmer, they feel like they could better.

Bill Gates also discusses sleep and that he needs at least 7 hours of sleep, or else his “IQ begins to drop”. He wishes that he could be like other people who can thrive off only 4 hours of sleep. He is a night person and he “gets very excited about something that’s going wrong or right”. He would sometimes stay up until 2:00 A.M., which would prove to be difficult if he had an appointment early in the morning.

Alongside the talks of Microsoft, Bill Gates says that he wants to introduce a new high school course that brings together Science and History. He is also working on innovations in cheap and clean energy. While they weren’t able to get the lead on the mobile market, it seems that Microsoft is doing well in catching-up in the industry. Their Windows 8 mobile devices are starting to get traction in the industry, and hopefully with the release of Windows Blue, they’ll be seen as a major competitor.

[via CBS]


Bill Gates discusses Microsoft and their mobile sector is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft Job Postings Confirm "Windows Blue" and Yearly Updates From Here on Out

Windows 8 was a big step for Microsoft, and rumors have been swirling that its arrival is heralding more than just live-tile interfaces. A report from November indicated that Windows would move to a cheap, annual upgrade cycle called “Blue,” not unlike OS X. Now, job postings seem to confirm that yes, Blue exists, and under that name. More »

Microsoft job postings confirm more Windows Blue details

A couple of job listings posted February 15th on Microsoft’s site confirm that there will be a Windows Blue upgrade heading for both PCs and Windows Phone devices. There are jobs posted for both a Software Development Engineer in Test, as well as a Senior Development Lead. Both of the jobs offered hints at some things we can expect from the Windows Blue upgrade.

Microsoft job postings hint at Windows Blue upgrade

The job posting for the Software Development Engineer in Test stated that, “The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide”. It looks like someone jumped the gun when they posted the job listing because the 3rd sentence has recently been rewritten to only say ‘Windows’ instead of ‘Windows Blue’.

The posting for the Senior Development Lead has a segment that says, “As a development lead you will hire and manage a team of top-notch developers, be personally involved in designing and coding features, and work closely with PM and Test counterparts across multiple orgs to help realize the vision of building high quality excel app for Windows Phone Blue.”, hinting at an upcoming Windows Phone Blue update for Windows Phone devices, as well as a revamped Excel app.

Windows Blue will be a refresh for Windows 8, improving upon aesthetics and user experience. It is going to start off a new campaign of affordable, yearly updates for Windows services. The rumored launch date for Windows Blue is sometime in late Q3. It will be available for Windows 8 PCs, Windows Phone 8, Windows Server 2012, as well as a few Windows services such as Hotmail and SkyDrive.

[via ZDNet]


Microsoft job postings confirm more Windows Blue details is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft CFO Hints At Smaller Tablet design

Microsoft CFO Hints At Smaller Tablet design

Microsoft CFO Peter Klein, while addressing a Q&A session today, informed attendees that Microsoft is ready to handle tablets of various sizes. “We’ve done a lot of the hard work in the developer platform,” Klein said. “We are well set up to respond to demand as we see it. I think we’re really set up to deliver the most versatile set of experiences across form factors, whether that’s 4-inch, 5-inch, 7-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch. And along with our partners in the ecosystem, we’ll work through that based on underlying demand.” (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New Zealand Frontline Police To Receive iPhones And iPads, Hulu Kids Lock Arrives On iOS,

NVIDIA year-end earnings break company record

This week the folks at NVIDIA have revealed their financial results for both the end of the year (2012) and their fourth quarter fiscal 2013, coming in at 7.1% greater revenue this fiscal year than the last. According the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, “this year we did the best work in our company’s history” – all $4.28 billion of it (in GAAP annual revenue, that is). And with announcements of such innovations for the company as 4G LTE in their Tegra 4 processors coming up and out this year on products such as Project SHIELD, a hand-held Android/streaming gaming monster, the company has nowhere to go but up.

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NVIDIA announced today that they repurchased a monstrous $100 million in stock while they paid a dividend of $0.075 per share back to investors, that equalling out to be a lovely $46.9 million in the end. GAAP earnings per share this reported year were $0.90 per diluted share, one of only a few down-turns compared to last year. Another was Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share being reduced from $1.19 in fiscal 2012 to $1.17 in fiscal 2013.

One of the highest points in the report was NVIDIA’s reported $4.28 billion in revenue for fiscal 2013, that being a record for the company. Outlook for the future is being shown to be quite positive as well, with revenue for the first quarter of NVIDIA’s fiscal 2014 set to be a fabulous $940 million – plus or minus 2 percent. NVIDIA also notes that they plan on paying another quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share on March 21st, 2013 – this will go to all stackholders on record as of February 28th, 2013.

Operating expenses for this upcoming quarter are expected to be “approximately” $430 million – that’s up for $402 million this past quarter. Over the entirety of fiscal 2013, NVIDIA reported $1,578.1 in operating expenses, while fiscal 2012 came in at $1,408.2 – and all of these numbers are GAAP, mind you, with non-GAAP numbers available to you in the full NVIDIA report.

An expanded growth over the next 12 months has been projected by NVIDIA and lots of exciting things are in store without a doubt. Stay tuned to SlashGear for more information on NVIDIA’s future through our Tegra hub as well as the NVIDIA tag portal for more!


NVIDIA year-end earnings break company record is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BlueStacks launches Android player for Windows 8, brings apps to your PC

Back in December, we reported that BlueStacks had launched for Mac OS X, bringing with it almost a million Android apps for Mac users to enjoy on their laptops. Now the company has officially rolled out its App Player for Windows 8, bringing those same Android apps to devices running Microsoft’s operating system.

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BlueStacks had originally said it would be launching a Windows 8 version of its App Player over a year ago. Users can grab the App Player download from BlueStack’s website, then install it and begin downloading their favorite Android apps. This provide thousands of app options to certain Windows 8 devices, such as the Surface Pro, with the number of native app offerings for the devices being exceptionally low.

BlueStacks’ CEO Rosen Sharma had this to say: “We’ve had our users asking for a Win8 version for a long time. Now that it’s finally available on our website we’re looking forward to getting feedback and building on the experience. The number of mobile apps being written overall is expanding exponentially and Microsoft has not added apps to the handful it has. Our goal is to get people more value out of their Surface Pro and Win8 devices.”

BlueStacks has penned deals with multiple OEM partners thus far, which have added an unspecified number of downloads on top of the over 5 million App Player downloads the company has already experienced. If you want to get your favorite Android apps on your PC, head over to GetYourAppsBack.com and download the App Player.

[via BGR]


BlueStacks launches Android player for Windows 8, brings apps to your PC is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft delivers patches for Windows 8 and Windows RT

Microsoft delivers patches for Windows 8 and Windows RT

Microsoft has released fixes and patches for a total of 57 known issues today. The updates will fix critical security holes and fix more than 12 vulnerabilities. The major fix is for Windows RT and Surface RT users who are experiencing issues with the App Store Downloading functionality. Automatic updates would start downloading updates and put the system in “Connected Standby” . Users were unable to get Windows Store applications.

Another fix is for the Wi-Fi connectivity and reliability of Surface. Language packs have been added to the updates as well. A few more updates include driver updates for windows volume up and down buttons. Small updates include a fix for the audio playback quality of Bluetooth devices and streaming videos to Xbox through the Windows Media Center. Internet Explorer (IE) also has been patched, with two fixes specially designed for all versions of Internet Explorer. IE should provide a safe(r) environment once the patches have been installed. Or if new vulnerabilities are found, then new fixes will be released.

The patches are available on Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services and Microsoft Update. Complete information regarding the patches is available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894199

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: CM Storm RX Gaming Surfaces Hopes To Give You An Edge, Raspberry Pi Aluminum Case, By Barch Designs,

Android Emulator BlueStacks Delivers 750,000 Android Apps To Windows

Android Emulator BlueStacks Delivers 750,000 Android Apps To Windows

Android Fruit-Ninja running on Windows 8

Those who have looked at Windows 8 in general and at the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet in particular may find that there are not as many apps built for the tablet format as one may desire. Since the Windows SDK is rather very good, we think that this is only a matter of time before the number of quality apps is high enough, but in the meantime, what about running Android apps? That’s exactly what BlueStacks aims to do with a “Windows 8 optimized” software platform that can run Android apps – think of it as an Android emulator if you want. Note that I use the term “emulator” in a liberal way, since BlueStacks is not designed to run the Android OS, but only its apps. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Raspberry Pi Aluminum Case, By Barch Designs, NVIDIA Highlights Project SHIELD’s Non-Steam PC Game Experience,

This Film Can Turn Your Window Into a Mirror and Back Again

Windows that can automatically adjust from transparent to opaque to keep out the sun can already be found in use all over, including Boeing’s new 787. But while they provide shade, the glass still absorbs and transmits heat to a room. So researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have developed an easy-to-apply transparent film that can turn into a mirror to blocks and reflect light away. More »

Where are all the Surface Pro tablets?

Microsoft’s Surface Pro is apparently in short-supply, though whether that means the Windows 8 tablet is in hot demand or merely hardly seeded is already prompting controversy. The stylus-enabled slate – which we reviewed last week – went on sale over the weekend, only to be swiftly followed by claims that the larger, 128GB version had already sold out at multiple retailers.

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Microsoft’s own webstore also shows the 128GB version of the tablet as out of stock, with no indication as to when it might return to availability. The 64GB model – particularly criticized for the relatively small amount of storage space left over, once the OS, preloaded apps, and default recovery partition have their way – is still listed as in stock.

That could indicate a surprising degree of demand for Microsoft’s own-brand tablet; however, as Business Insider flags, there are also counter suggestions that Microsoft merely failed to anticipate interest in the slate, and didn’t provide enough to retailers. Comments at Microsoft’s own Surface blog and at Reddit complained of minimal stock, with some Staples and Best Buy stores supposedly claiming to have only been provided with two units each, none of which were the 128GB variant.

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If that’s true, it’s unclear whether Microsoft faced production delays or simply didn’t make enough to cater to demand. The Surface Pro – like its RT sibling, released last year – uses a precisely machined “VaporMg” case material, which could be causing the company problems in manufacturing. Meanwhile, initial reception to the $899+ price of the full-Windows tablet had been lukewarm, and it’s possible that Microsoft had been hedging its bets in case of minimal demand.

Meanwhile, pre-launch reviews also proved mixed. While we were impressed by the usability of the stylus and the flexibility of the Surface Pro’s battery life, others were less convinced.

Shortages do make for good headlines, but they don’t help contribute to Microsoft’s market share, and when the company is trying to compete with the best-selling iPad and iPad mini – both for end-users and for developer consideration – that’s not good news. Microsoft is unlikely to comment specifically on its supply chain, but whether the lack of devices is down to production mishaps, poor planning, or even artificial limits, the company is probably kicking itself now over the loss of goodwill incurred.

Did you buy a Microsoft Surface Pro at the weekend? If so, did you get a 64GB or a 128GB? Let us know in the comments!


Where are all the Surface Pro tablets? is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.