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Continue reading Microsoft turns to crowdsourcing service to swat away patent trolls

Microsoft turns to crowdsourcing service to swat away patent trolls originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about the future of Windows at CES 2010. Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer got ahead of himself on Monday when he publicly blurted out a general roadmap for the next version of Windows.

Ballmer told an audience at a developer forum in Tokyo that Microsoft will have news to share about Windows 8 on tablets, slates and PCs over the next year.

“As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming,” Ballmer was quoted in a transcript provided by Microsoft. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

However, later Monday afternoon a Microsoft spokesperson retracted Ballmer’s statement.

“It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement the company issued. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”

Besides Ballmer’s hiccup, little is known about Microsoft’s next operating system. In June 2010, an Italian Windows blog published what it purported to be slides showing Microsoft’s plans for Windows 8. The slides hinted that Microsoft hopes to replicate Apple’s App Store model and instant-on capability for devices in order for Windows 8 to succeed.  Microsoft did not confirm the authenticity of the slides, though observers agreed that they look credible.

A looming question about Microsoft as a whole is just what it plans to do in the tablet market in the wake of the iPad. Apple, Google, and dozens of other small companies have produced tablet products, but Microsoft has not yet announced a credible tablet strategy. Microsoft’s retraction of Ballmer’s statement about Windows 8 on tablets suggests that the company isn’t quite firm about its plans.

See Also:

• 7 Reasons You Won’t Want a Windows 7 Slate
• Microsoft to Announce iPad-Challenging Slate Next Month
• Official: HP Slate Will Run WebOS
• Microsoft Cancels Courier Tablet

Microsoft has some Mango-flavored updates in store for its Windows Phone operating system, and we’re going to be there live to see whether they’re really ripe. Really juicy. Steve Ballmer has promised over 500 new features in this next major release of the OS and we can’t wait to hear him list them all out. One by one. In excruciating detail. Bookmark this page right here and come on back tomorrow at the times below to join in the fun.

04:00 – Hawaii
07:00 – Pacific
08:00 – Mountain
09:00 – Central
10:00 – Eastern
15:00 – London
16:00 – Paris
18:00 – Moscow
22:00 – Perth
22:00 – Shenzhen
23:00 – Tokyo
00:00 – Sydney (May 25th)

Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP preview happens tomorrow, liveblog happens here! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just how big of an upgrade will the Mango release of Windows Phone be? Try “500 new features” big. Steve Ballmer revealed that seductively round number in a speech over in Japan today, where he also said that additional information about “who’s going to be building Windows Phones” will be forthcoming at tomorrow’s preview event as well. Combine that with an otherwise unsubstantiated rumor (more coverage link below) about Microsoft showing nine new Windows Phone handsets tomorrow, and it does seem like there’ll be fresh hardware to go with the ripening software. Neither the Mango release nor any devices on show will be coming to market any time soon, mind you, but it’s nice to think we’ll get to see what the future of Windows Phone will look like in physical as well as digital form.

Update: We have confirmation from a reliable source that tomorrow’s event will be entirely focused on the software, not the hardware. So, anybody looking for a flotilla of new handsets to be deployed had best get their favorite crying pillow handy.

Continue reading Steve Ballmer promises ‘over 500’ new features in Mango, teases new WP handsets (updated)

Steve Ballmer promises ‘over 500’ new features in Mango, teases new WP handsets (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about the future of Windows at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Microsoft has announced a partnership with Research In Motion. No, it’s not the end of the world — yet.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage at RIM’s BlackBerry World on Tuesday to deliver the news: Microsoft’s Bing will be the new default tool for web search and map navigation on future BlackBerry devices.

“We’re going to invest uniquely into the BlackBerry platform,” Ballmer said at the conference. “I’ve never been more excited about where our future is going.”

Clearly, with the new search agreement, the two tech giants have their targets locked on Google.

The BlackBerry-Bing partnership marks the second major alliance that Microsoft has formed this year to strengthen its position in the mobile game. Previously, Microsoft and Nokia in February announced a partnership in which they agreed to ship future Nokia smartphones with Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system. The alliance symbolizes a radical break from the past, with Nokia laying to rest the Symbian operating system that it’s shipped on smartphones for several years.

Microsoft, Nokia and RIM each face shriveling market share in the mobile game. And perhaps to these companies, teaming up is the only way to prevent Apple and Google from completely gobbling up the mobile industry with their iOS and Android platforms, respectively.

Still, RIM’s partnership with Microsoft is bizarre. RIM has steadfastly shipped smartphones with its own proprietary operating system, without much meddling from third parties.

“Steve Ballmer at BlackBerry World?” said Michael Gartenberg, a Gartner analyst attending the BlackBerry conference. “It’s like being transported to an alternate universe.”

“It shows when it comes to mobile search, the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Gartenberg added.

Though a search engine is just one component of a mobile experience, the BlackBerry-Bing alliance is a sign that Microsoft and RIM are aiming to pare down some of Google’s dominance, particularly in the search game.

Bing already has seen substantial growth in recent months. Microsoft in April surpassed a milestone with Bing powering 30 percent of all U.S. searches, according to research firm Hitwise. Incidentally, Google in March lost 3 percent of its search share, with 64 percent of U.S. searches.

See Also:

• Nokia Kills Symbian, Teams Up With Microsoft For Windows Phone 7 …
• Why Windows Phone 7 Will Make Android Look Chaotic
• 6 Survival Tips for Nokia and Microsoft