Hasta La Gadget!

Q1 of 2012 (don’t ask…) was good to Microsoft. Very good in fact. The company posted a record first quarter revenue of $17.37 billion, a 7-percent increase over the same period last year and slightly higher than the $17.26 billion that was expected. The big hero was Office which accounted for $5.62 billion of that income, though sales of Windows stayed flat and fell somewhat short of expectations. The company’s $5.74 billion in net income was also a significant jump of 6-percent over the same time last year. For a few more of the financial particulars check out the earnings report after the break and the spartan spreadsheets at the source link.

Update: Wondering what Microsoft plans to do with the newly acquired Skype? Well, details are thin, but during today’s earnings call the company revealed it did plan to integrate the VoIP service and its technologies into Lync, Live Messenger and Xbox Live. Soon you may not only have to listen to your friend gloat after every kill in Call of Duty, you might have to watch him do a celebratory dance in his Lazy Boy too.

Continue reading Microsoft has record Q1, rakes in $17.37 billion in revenue (updated: Skype plans revealed)

Microsoft has record Q1, rakes in $17.37 billion in revenue (updated: Skype plans revealed) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video)

Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on February 10, 2007 by CyberNet.

Has the Zune Phone really been confirmed? Well, as the title of this article says, not yet. But there are major hints that Microsoft has something up its sleeve.  Whether it’s a Zune Phone or something completely different, that’s yet to be determined. Here’s what we know:

On Monday, Microsoft submitted a filing with the FCC which has lead to rumors, and more rumors about what Microsoft has brewing in Redmond. Ever since the iPhone was unveiled, there have been countless jokes that Microsoft would turn their Zune into a phone “copying” off of Apple.

In January not long after CES where the iPhone was unveiled, we asked the question, How will Microsoft Compete with the iPhone? Our question just might be answered, well, maybe.

According to Market Watch, the filing describes “a wireless device that utilizes OFDM, a technology that can be used to route digital TV and voice calls among devices.” Microsoft says the intended use of the device is “Consumer Broadband Access and Networking. A VOIP enabled Zune would be much, much different than the iPhone, steering clear of cellular providers.

Crunch Gear expanded on what Market Watch had to say, saying:

If this all fits together, it looks like MS is working on a mobile WiMax-enabled Zune Phone, which would have download speeds of up to 2Mbps, fast enough for the Xbox-to-Zune streaming we’ve heard about, and fast enough for just about anything else the Zune Phone might be used for.

Hmm… fast enough for Xbox-to-Zune streaming. Interesting…

They continue saying that they have an “inside” source that says an iPhone competitor isn’t anything new. It’s been in the works for a while, and that  “the idea of branding it as part of the Zune ecosystem, from the brown color through the interface, came as a recent decision as a response to Apple’s iPhone. ”

So while all of this was settling with me, I came across this article which says that the filing doesn’t mention the Zune, and that a Microsoft rep says that the recent filing which everyone is buzzing about is not Zune-related at all. Instead, they point to a prototype that Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Philips are in cahoots with that would “provide consumer broadband access and networking.” The actual letter to the FCC was submitted on behalf of each of the listed companies above.

As Todd Bishop of Seattle PI says, this wireless technology could potentially be used in the Zune, or another type of “Phone” device sometime down the road, but the recent filing that led CrunchGear to expand in leaps and bounds how this filing points to a Zune Phone really had nothing to do with that.

This prototype that Microsoft, Google, and the rest are involved in has left more unanswered questions. This my friends, is where patience comes in.

Sources: Market Watch, Crunch Gear, Seattle PI

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Skype‘s latest app upgrade brings a few substantial features, some good, one not so. Alongside a new anti-shake video call function (limited to the iPhone’s back-facing camera), you can now pair Bluetooth headsets with the VoIP calling service, something apparently “long requested” from Skype fans. However, users have to fork out for credit to avoid seeing advertising that’s also baked into the new version. The update’s now up for grabs on both the iPhone and iPad, though there are reports of a few teething troubles, including missing credit and account details. We’ve also been experiencing issues, with the app unwilling to play nice with our Bluetooth headsets, though oddly, we can still hear the Skype call ring through. Hopefully we’ll see another update that sorts this out soon — till then, tap the link below for more details, or ogle a bit of smoothed out anti-shake action after the break.

Continue reading Skype update for iOS adds anti-shake, Bluetooth connectivity and ads for freeloaders

Skype update for iOS adds anti-shake, Bluetooth connectivity and ads for freeloaders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype brought deeper Facebook integration to its Windows application with version 5.5 this summer, and it’s now seen fit to bring the same functionality to Mac users with the beta version of Skype 5.4. As with Skype for Windows, that will let you do things like chat with your Facebook friends, read and update your news feed, and even “Like” posts — all from right in Skype. What it doesn’t bring, however, are any significant changes to the still-controversial UI, which we’re guessing will be enough to keep some folks on version 2.8.

Skype 5.4 beta hits Mac with added Facebook integration originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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