Hasta La Gadget!

We hope there weren’t too many PC gamers clinging to Windows 7 for dear life, because Microsoft isn’t about to rescue them with a near-term DirectX update. The company’s Daniel Moth (and supporting documentation) states that DirectX 11.1 is exclusive “for all practical purposes” to Windows 8-based platforms, including Windows RT and Windows Server 2012 — you can’t leap forward in media support without a full-on OS switch. None of the changes are large enough to trigger any immediate envy outside of the occasional fan of 3D glasses, but they could pose problems for conservative gamers in the long run if games and other visually intensive titles start demanding 11.1 as a baseline. There’s no known plans to port the code back or release a harmonizing version, either. We can at least take comfort in knowing that Windows 8 upgrades are cheap enough to be low-hanging fruit for all but the most Metrophobic.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Microsoft

Microsoft warns gamers DirectX 11.1 is Windows 8-only originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European regulators have charged Microsoft for not giving Windows 7 users a choice of internet browsers when they install the OS. Although this is only an initial step towards a fine for the software maker, Microsoft agreed with the European Commission to offer browser choices to its Windows users over three years ago, avoiding a heavy antitrust penalty. Unfortunately, while Microsoft acknowledged the “technical error”, this wasn’t before the European Commission picked up the issue — the EU’s antitrust watchdog said in July that Microsoft had not complied with the order from February 2011. According to a Reuters report earlier this year, and echoed in the EU’s statement below, the fine could amount to as much as 10 percent of the Redmond company’s global turnover.

Update: Microsoft has issued a statement on the EU charge, received by The Verge.

“We take this matter very seriously and moved quickly to address this problem as soon as we became aware of it. Although this was the result of a technical error, we take responsibility for what happened, and we are strengthening our internal procedures to help ensure something like this cannot happen again. We sincerely apologize for this mistake and will continue to cooperate fully with the Commission.”

Continue reading EU antitrust commission charges Microsoft over browser selection ‘breach’

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Internet, Software, Microsoft

EU antitrust commission charges Microsoft over browser selection ‘breach’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s over, folks. Or at least nearly over. Write it down — time of death: 12:01AM ET, October 16. That’s when the Zune brand is officially no more, and “Xbox Music/Video” and its store replace the Zune Marketplace; the final, quiet end of a brand that’s been waning for years. “Yes, the Zune brand is gone, and the Zune products are gone,” Xbox Music GM Jerry Johnson told us in a meeting last week. While Zune devices will still work with Windows 7, and the Zune Pass simply becomes the Xbox Music Pass, the brand is effectively no more, joining the Kin and Microsoft Bob in the annals of MS history.

Bizarrely, the branding will continue on for Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7 users, with the Zune Marketplace mirroring Xbox Music’s content. That’s likely due to Xbox Music being exclusive to Windows 8 devices (which includes the Xbox 360, despite its age, and Windows Phone 8) — Microsoft promises a continued focus on Xbox Music going forward, while Zune support drops out. In the end, though Zune was a failure for Microsoft, Johnson said it was a worthwhile learning experience for the company. “The Zune brand got associated with a device, and what we did with Xbox Music is actually turn around and say, ‘Let’s build something from the ground up, leveraging what we’ve learned from a lot of these different things.’ But it’s not gonna be device-centric, it’s gonna be service-centric,” he explained.

In Johnson’s eyes, the failure of Zune as a brand is directly tied to the failure of Zune as a device — and having the highly successful Xbox brand tied to its media offerings, he’s hoping to skirt previous negative perceptions and relaunch Microsoft’s place in media delivery. Whether that’ll happen remains to be seen, but either way, this is the final nail in the Zune’s coffin — not just as a device, but as a thing in the world.

Update: Looks like Microsoft hasn’t forgotten the loyalty of the diehards who stayed with Zune until the end, as Zune Music Pass users are getting 1,000 Microsoft Points for free along with the switch to Xbox Music.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Gaming, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

With the launch of Xbox Music, Zune is truly no more (update: Zune Pass users get 1,000 Microsoft point parting gift) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In another face of the ever turning world of patent battles, Reuters reports Microsoft has snagged a victory over Motorola as the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor today. Motorola had obtained an injunction in Germany against Microsoft products — including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 — based on its h.264 patents back in May, but today the court upheld a previous decision putting enforcement on hold because of Microsoft’s existing lawsuit against Moto for breach of contract. Microsoft’s push to leverage its patents into licensing payouts from manufacturers of Android devices have seen the two at each other’s throats since at least 2010, when the folks from Redmond lodged an ITC complaint over nine patents and followed up with another suit accusing Motorola of charging unfair license fees for its patents. Motorola fired back with its own pair of lawsuits — all of this a year before we heard it would be acquired by Google — and the battle was on. Whether or not this moves us any closer to any resolution remains to be seen, but at least Bavarian gaming consoles are safe, for now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Google

US Appeals court rules Motorola can’t enforce injunction against Microsoft in Germany… again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As promised, Microsoft is issuing a security patch for a Flash vulnerability on Windows 8 in Internet Explorer 10. Though the operating system has yet to see its official public release, researchers testing the RTM version found a bug that could cause Flash to crash and allow for attackers to take control of a user’s machine. Additionally, the company is rolling out an update to address a security hole in Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8 on Windows XP — and IE 9 on Windows 7 and Windows Vista — which left the door open for hackers to spread malware via a specially designed Flash animation. Both security patches are available via Microsoft’s Windows Update service.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Microsoft issues security patches for Flash vulnerabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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