Sep 28

Should Microsoft Just Create a Forum?

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on August 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

It looks as though Microsoft is dancing around the fact that they need a forum – a place where people can go to post their tips and questions for anything Microsoft related whether it be Windows or the Zune. They just relaunched Windowslive.com as a community site which we see as a step in the right direction, but they aren’t quite there yet. Speaking to Read Write Web, the Windows Live senior marketing manager Marty Collins explained that their goal behind the redesign was “to better explain to users how they can use these services together, as well as fostering an active user community.

Microsoft is also currently in the process of rolling out Windows Live Clubhouse. The clubhouse, currently available by invite only, is a forum of sorts for Windows Live users. When we first saw and read about it, it reminded us of a more abstract forum. People can post help and tips about Windows Live products, but it’s not quite as organized and open as it should be.

microsoft clubhouse.png

Here’s how the Clubhouse will work (from what we understand). Someone can post something “Live” related on their Live Spaces account and tag it with “Clubhouse” followed by the name of at least one Live application that they wrote about. Those posts will then appear for others to read and rate. The stories rated the highest whether it be a how-to tip or a story about using a Live product will then be featured on WindowsLive.com. Authors receive “club points” for contributing.

Now getting back to the idea of Microsoft introducing a forum, we think it would help them out tremendously. Like we said, the Clubhouse is a forum of sorts, but it doesn’t allow for open communication as much as a typical forum would. They’d certainly have to spend a good amount of time designing a forum, and then hire a team of people to moderate it, but think about all of the questions people have regarding Vista that could very simply be asked and answered in a Microsoft forum. They have so many different products and services, and each could have it’s own dedicated section.

Should Microsoft just create a forum?

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 28

Microsoft Ends a Mediocre 3rd Quarter

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on April 25, 2008 by CyberNet.

microsoft earnings.pngMicrosoft’s fiscal 3rd quarter has just come to an end and their earnings have been reported. Overall, they saw their net-income decrease by about 11%. Part of the drop is due to the money they had to charge, $1.42 billion, to cover that whole fiasco they got into with the European union and their antitrust investigation. The other part of that drop in revenue, as the Wall Street Journal explains, is because of a “revenue influx in the year-earlier period associated with sales of the Windows Vista operating system.” Last year at this time, Vista had just arrived on scene and people were buying new computers with Vista installed, left and right.

During the conference call report from Microsoft, they also brought up the bid that they have made for Yahoo. We’ve already known that they had no plans to increase their offer of $44.6 billion, but Microsoft reiterated this once again. Chris Liddell who is Microsoft’s chief financial officer, l said that Yahoo is expecting an unrealistic amount of money. He was quoted as saying, “Yahoo continues to have unrealistic expectations of value. I’ve yet to see any evidence that our bid undervalues them (Yahoo).” Then he went on to say, “The best argument that I’ve heard for raising our bid – that we can afford to – is not one that I favor.” Microsoft may just have to walk away from Yahoo empty-handed.

Other news coming from the conference call:

  • Vista Sales Update
  • Entertainment division update

Regarding the Vista sales update, the last time we heard any number was in January and at that point, 100 million copies had been sold. Now they’re saying that a total of 140 million licenses of Vista have been sold which tells us that between January and now, 40 million licenses were sold. That’s not a bad number at all, and it doesn’t include volume licenses sold to corporations, but it does include those who are taking advantage of the “downgrade” to XP service that we’ve previously mentioned.

A big winner this quarter, once again comes from their entertainment division. This particular division saw an overall growth of 68% which means they’ve got the sales of Xbox 360 consoles and games to thank. Despite the fact that Microsoft saw their net-income decrease by about 11%, they still rank #44 on Fortune 500′s annual ranking of America’s largest corporations based upon revenue and profits.

In a nutshell, here’s what we can gather from their earnings report:

  • Sales of Windows weren’t as strong as expected
  • Sales of Office and other business apps were slightly down
  • Sever and tools sales were up quite a bit
  • Revenue from entertainment division was way up
  • Outlook for their 4th quarter 2008 and fiscal year 2009 is optimistic

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 27

Microsoft Research celebrates 20 years of crazy innovation

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, Microsoft, research, Today's Chili

Microsoft Research was founded way back in 1991 as a way of turning cutting edge concepts into products. Over the years, the division has been behind some of the most exciting ideas that have come out of Redmond, from fluffy mice to HIV / AIDS research. The department is celebrating its 20th anniversary by highlighting some of its favorite projects over the next four weeks, so we’re beating it to the punch with some of picks. Check out our list below.

Continue reading Microsoft Research celebrates 20 years of crazy innovation

Microsoft Research celebrates 20 years of crazy innovation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 27

HTC Radar 4G headed to T-Mobile in time for the holidays, chock-full of Mango

Posted in: 4G, HTC, mango, Microsoft, mobilepostcross, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Windows, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7

Looks like the HTC Radar 4G is the real deal, after all. T-Mobile outed the Windows Phone Mango-sporting handset today, talking up the device’s 3.8-inch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, five-megapixel camera (with a devoted camera button) and, of course, the titular 4G speed. No precise date on the thing yet, but the magenta carrier says it should be out in the States before the holidays.

Continue reading HTC Radar 4G headed to T-Mobile in time for the holidays, chock-full of Mango

HTC Radar 4G headed to T-Mobile in time for the holidays, chock-full of Mango originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 27

Microsoft Launches Windows Phone Marketplace Web Store

Posted in: apps, mango, Microsoft, Software and Operating Systems, Today's Chili, update, Windows, windows phone

Finally, the Windows Phone 7 operating system is starting to catch up.

Microsoft’s web-based Windows Phone Marketplace goes live today, years after competitors Apple and Google launched their own. The app store launch is in conjunction with the rollout of Microsoft’s latest iteration of the Windows Phone 7 operating system (Mango).

The version 7.5 update will roll out to existing Windows Phone owners slowly to ensure there are no issues for users, according to the company. Mango adds over 500 tweaks and features to the Windows Phone 7 platform.

The Windows Phone Marketplace web portal launches with over 30,000 apps in tow, an admirable enough number (though still far behind its competitors). Apps are organized into one of 16 categories, and on the main page you can also browse by featured, free, top or new. Games are a separate tab from apps, and they’re organized into one of 14 different categories. On an app or game page, you’ve got what you’ve come to expect from a web-based app market: the app icon, price, a rating, description, screenshots and reviews. After purchasing an app from the web store, the app can be automatically downloaded over-the-air, without an SMS or e-mail link, to your Windows Phone 7.5 device1.

The update to Mango is free and completely optional, but we got a chance to check it out ahead of time and honestly, there’s little reason not to upgrade. In particular, the OS adds some seriously cool social media integration to your contacts list, which is referred to as the People Hub. It also adds Wi-Fi sharing abilities and a Yelp-like built-in app called Local Scout to the homescreen.

If you’re a Samsung Focus, Dell Venue Pro or other Windows Phone 7 owner, you’ll receive an alert delivered OTA to your device when the update is prepped and ready to download. To check the status of your potential update, you can visit the “Where’s My Update” site, which is available starting today. You do, however, need PC or Mac connector software to install the update, but they’re available for free online (details are available on the Windows Phone Blog).

A number of Windows Phone Mango-specific devices will also be released later this fall.

Note 1. The original version of this story incorrectly stated that apps purchased from the Marketplace could be downloaded through e-mail or text message.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com


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Sep 27

Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ update begins rolling out today

Posted in: breaking news, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, hotspot, mango, Microsoft, mobile hotspot, MobileHotspot, mobilepostcross, refresh, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, update, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

It’s raining Mango, Hallelujah! Windows Phone 7.5 is now officially ready to get pushed to existing devices, and in a big way. Taking lessons Microsoft learned from the update debacle that was NoDo, the company’s eager to do a much more efficient (and quick) job of rolling out its latest revamp. While Redmond didn’t offer any exact details on which phones would be the lucky recipients right away, it’ll be keeping the masses posted through its “where’s my phone update” page. If your handset is listed, hook it up to your computer, load the Zune client and there should be a lovely message waiting for you. As always, don’t feel too discouraged if your device isn’t available right away, since these rollouts have a habit of taking a bit of time to get to everyone.

In addition to the rollout, the Web Marketplace will also make its debut, giving Windows Phone users the opportunity to do what Android users already enjoy — the ability to surf for apps online and have them downloaded directly on the phone with no sideloading required. There’s one bit of sad news to relay to anyone that already has a Windows Phone, however: Microsoft confirmed to us that Internet Sharing — the long-awaited mobile hotspot functionality — will not be available for existing devices. There’s no word on if this will be offered through a future update or if it’s a permanent deal, but at least it’s only a single thorn in an entire rose garden of good news.

Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ update begins rolling out today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 27

Windows Phone 7.5 Review: Second Best Isn’t Half Bad

Posted in: cellphones, mango, Microsoft, Smartphones, Today's Chili, top, windows phone

“Windows Phone Seven Point Five.” It’s somehow mind numbing and yet not totally unexpected that chunky string of syllables is how you say the name of the new Windows Phone. Mind numbing, because it’s the antithesis of what Microsoft has ultimately built, and not totally unexpected, because we’re still talking about Microsoft, and it’s not a reinvention of what they’ve done with Windows Phone. More »

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Sep 27

Early Mango users can upgrade directly to RTM build, won’t have to roll back to NoDo

Posted in: developer, mango, Microsoft, mobilepostmini, Software, Today's Chili, update, upgrade, Wp7
Over the weekend, the folks over at Windows Phone New Zealand discovered the “Mango Friends and Family Bundle: Pre-Cleanup” — the first in a series of two refreshes that promise to clear away any beta updates ahead of Mango‘s long-awaited rollout. At the time, it seemed like this tool would allow developers to upgrade to the RTM build of the OS, without rolling back to NoDo and losing all of their text messages or app data. Now, Redmond’s own Brandon Watson has confirmed via Twitter that this is indeed the case, adding that the update (available in Zune) only offers support to devs who used the Windows Phone beta program. Still, that’s pretty reassuring news for all those who jumped on the Mango train a little bit early.

Early Mango users can upgrade directly to RTM build, won’t have to roll back to NoDo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 26

Start your engines, open your wallets: Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSRs available for pre-ordering

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili
The green flag just waved on pre-orders for Fanatec’s line of Forza Motorsport accessories, including the CSR Wheel ($250), CSR Elite Pedal Set ($150) and CSR Shifter Set ($60). To refresh your memory: all feature metal construction that, as we noted, gives them a solid, rugged feel. The wheel’s force feedback is powered by a Mabuchi RS550 motor, with two additional actuators simulating motor and ABS vibration. The pedals are fully adjustable; a pressure-sensitive brake pedal can be tuned to mimic any car. Finally, the shifter set features a six-speed H-pattern design and can be mounted on either side of the steering wheel. There’s no word on when these will actually ship, and sadly for you big spenders, the CSR Wheel Elite isn’t yet available. But don’t let that keep you from getting revved up over the PR below.

Continue reading Start your engines, open your wallets: Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSRs available for pre-ordering

Start your engines, open your wallets: Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSRs available for pre-ordering originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 26

ZTE Tania joins Windows Phone Mango brigade, says Ni Hao to Chinese market

Posted in: mango, Microsoft, mobilepostcross, Today's Chili, windows phone, WindowsPhone

With Mango finally on its very official way — that’d be one day away for certain AT&T owners — it’s hardly surprising to see OEMs jumping on Redmond’s mobile bandwagon. ZTE’s joined the allied Windows Phone 7.5 ranks, outing its Tania phone at the China International Postal and Telecommunications Exhibition 2011. The modestly specced 4.3-inch device runs Microsoft’s latest OS atop a single-core 1GHz processor, with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 5 megapixel rear camera on-board. It’s certainly no HTC Titan, but then again, not every smartphone needs to be a roided-up beast. Let’s just hope MS gets those regional marketplace availability issues squared away before this handset’s Chinese launch. After all, what fun is a live-tiled phone without the apps?

ZTE Tania joins Windows Phone Mango brigade, says Ni Hao to Chinese market originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PocketNow  |  sourceXDA.cn (Translated), Engadget Chinese  | Email this | Comments

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