Mar 09

Microsoft France pegs Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update for second half of March

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, update, upgrade, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

We’d heard “early March” being thrown around for the so-called NoDo update to Windows Phone 7 that includes support for copy and paste (along with performance tweaks and a CDMA stack that’ll allow Sprint’s HTC Arrive to go about its business) back at MWC, but it looks like that may have slipped a tad: Microsoft France’s official PR blog is now trumpeting the second half of this month, which means you can probably stop checking your phone for updates every 15 minutes and regain some semblance of sanity and normalcy in your life for a few days. Legendary Microsoft insider Mary Jo Foley says her sources are telling her that the week of March 21st is looking likely — conveniently the week of CTIA and the Arrive’s launch — so that would make some sense.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Microsoft France pegs Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update for second half of March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceFrogz  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 09

Xbox 360 Kinect Tops 10 Million Units

Posted in: kinect, Microsoft, Today's Chili, video games, xbox 360

 

XboxKinect.jpgMicrosoft is making up serious ground in the console wars. This time it is the ever popular Kinect system that is for Xbox 360. Since the November 2010 release, the Kinect has sold over 10 million units.

According to Microsoft, six million of those units were sold in the first two months.It’s a new record, taking Apple down as the fastest selling electronic ever. The Kinect has found success in the Nintendo Wii ruled world we live in.

Microsoft has plans to grow the sales even more. Recently, the company announced that many hardcore games will be released for the Kinect in the coming months. The Kinect is also slated for a PC edition to be released this year.

Via Beta News

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Mar 09

ToneCheck’s revised email plug-in scans your messages for aggressive, brash overtones

Posted in: Email, Microsoft, Software, Today's Chili

Last year, Lymbix released this so-so software that checked over your typed email messages for signs of “unintended tone.” Scumbag. You know, short and explicit phrases that could easily tick somebody off. Jerk. Now, however, they’ve got a revised version that plays nice with Microsoft’s Outlook, and rather than flooding one’s screen with idiotic pop-ups that further enhance one’s anger, there’s a subtle bar that spans 1 to 5 in order to show a user just how hot and bothered the message that they’re about to send really is. Cheapskate. Speaking of, it’s actually a free download for now, so if you’ve been sending the wrong message time and time again, you might want to stop making a fool of yourself and hit the source link. Don’t even bother thanking us, punk. Ugh.

Continue reading ToneCheck’s revised email plug-in scans your messages for aggressive, brash overtones

ToneCheck’s revised email plug-in scans your messages for aggressive, brash overtones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technologizer, PC World  |  sourceToneCheck  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 09

Microsoft sells 10 million Kinects, 10 million Kinect games

Posted in: kinect, Microsoft, sales, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360
Microsoft sells 10 million Kinects, 10 million games too

First it was one, then two and a half, then eight, and now we’re into double digits. Microsoft has announced that the company has sold its 10 millionth Kinect, surprising us all by making it the world’s fastest selling consumer electronics device according to Guinness, finding buyers for somewhere north of 10 million games, too. Now, we know what you’re thinking Mr. Cynical: “Each Kinect comes with a game and so of course M$ has sold 10 million titles!” Swallow that smug grin, because that’s 10 million standalone games sold, and while a 1:1 tie ratio is hardly approaching PS2 territory it’s certainly better than many had expected — especially you, Mister C.

Continue reading Microsoft sells 10 million Kinects, 10 million Kinect games

Microsoft sells 10 million Kinects, 10 million Kinect games originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 09

Microsoft confirms Internet Explorer 9 will launch on March 14th

Posted in: Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Today's Chili, web browser, WebBrowser

We had a hint that Microsoft would be releasing the final version of Internet Explorer 9 on March 14th, and now the company has finally, officially confirmed it. That launch will coincide with a press event / party at SXSW, and downloads will be available starting at 9PM Pacific time (or midnight Eastern time). Wondering what’s in store? Then you can always check out our review of the beta version, or simply download it yourself, of course — suffice it to say, it’s no Internet Explorer 6.

Microsoft confirms Internet Explorer 9 will launch on March 14th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet, Download Squad  |  sourceThe Windows Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 09

Microsoft Prepping Xbox 720

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, video games, xbox 360

xbox-360.jpg

Is Microsoft readying its next generation console? Well, yes. Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be? The company’s plans have gotten a little more real, thanks to a series of LinkedIn job postings that went up this week. The software giant’s Interactive Entertainment Business is looking for a number of positions, including an Audio/Video Hardware Architect, Audio Architect, and a Graphics Architect.

Microsoft is looking for folks who will be “responsible for defining and delivering next generation console architectures from conception through implementation,” according to the postings.

Another recent listing for a Wireless DC Engineer called for someone who would play “a key role in the development and verification of the Xbox and future platforms.” So go ahead, apply. Just remember who tipped you off to the gig, when you’re making video games and sipping on that delicious Seattle coffee. 

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Mar 08

Microsoft’s Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune

Posted in: Microsoft, Music, Today's Chili, video, zune

Zune hasn’t gotten much love from Microsoft as of late, but that might change over time — ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley noticed that the company is staffing up for a cloud-based multimedia project (by a group known as “Ventura Media Services”) directed at PCs, TVs and mobile devices. “The team is a tight group of music and video lovers that create services and experiences revolving around music/video discovery and consumption,” read a series of job postings that date back at least as far as July of 2010, calling for software developers in Beijing and Redmond who are familiar with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. (Two of them have “Zune” in the job title.) While it’s hard to say if this project is a major focus for Microsoft no matter how often the job posting says “large scale” (we count four times) it’d definitely be nice to have some competition for Google and Apple when they start drawing the multimedia-streaming battle lines.

[Thanks, zblack]

Microsoft’s Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceMicrosoft Careers  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 08

Microsoft Works SE 9.0 Shipping on Some New PC’s

Posted in: Microsoft, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on April 21, 2008 by CyberNet.

microsoft works 9
Microsoft Works 9 without ads

Many of us look down at Microsoft Works, and for good reason. It’s a stripped down office suite that doesn’t hold a candle to Microsoft Office or any of the open source/freeware alternatives. It costs PC manufacturers next to nothing to bundle Microsoft Works with new computers, and that’s often why it is included.

Unfortunately I don’t think it is going away anytime soon. As expected Microsoft has begun offering an ad-supported version called Works SE 9.0, where SE stands for Sponsored Edition. They believe that they can make more money by providing an ad-supported version than they currently receive directly from the manufacturers, and the manufacturers are therefore not charged a dime for distributing it.

Microsoft is currently running this program in five countries: The United States, France, Canada, Poland, and the United Kingdom. You can’t download Works SE 9.0 as a standalone program, but if you look close enough you might start to see which manufacturers have jumped on board. Even Sony’s $3,200 Laptop includes the ad-sponsored version:

Microsoft Works SE 9.0 w/ 60-Day Trial Version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

It will be interesting to see how this pans out for Microsoft. If they make enough money from it then we might see more of their products following a similar route in the future.

[via CNet]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Mar 08

Plugable DC-125 dock turns your solitary PC into a multiple workstation powerhouse (video)

Posted in: Linux, Microsoft, Today's Chili, usb, video, Windows
We’ve seen a few docking stations ’round these parts that use the venerable DisplayLink technology to great effect, but nothing quite like this before. Plugable’s DC-125 USB 2.0 Docking Client connects to your PC allows you to connect your display, speakers, keyboard, and mouse via one USB port — small potatoes, right? Well, if said PC has a compatible multi-user OS (such as Windows Multipoint Server or Userful Multiseat Linux) you can daisy chain docks to add several terminals to the setup. Terminals! Now you can relive the dark, backwards days when you had to go to the college computer lab to get any work done — in the comfort of your own home. Available now for $65 a pop. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Plugable DC-125 dock turns your solitary PC into a multiple workstation powerhouse (video)

Plugable DC-125 dock turns your solitary PC into a multiple workstation powerhouse (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePlugable  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 08

Microsoft Will Release Hardcore Games For Kinect

Posted in: kinect, Microsoft, Today's Chili, video games

 

Xbox-Kinect.jpgThe Kinect for Xbox 360 has turned into a rather lucrative property for Microsoft. Naturally, the company is pushing to have more games developed for the peripheral. .

A handful of Kinect games for hardcore gamers will be released this year. Senior producer of Microsoft’s gaming department, Kevin Unangst, stated that this is just the “scratching the surface” for hardcore gamers. Ubabgst added that, unlike the Wii, however, Microsoft isn’t targeting all of its games for the Kinect.

Nintendo abandoned the hardcore gamers with the Wii. That was fine for families, children, and older players, but ignored those games who made Nintendo what it was. Microsoft appears to be trying to avoid that mistake.

Via X Bit Labs

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