Hasta La Gadget!

It looks like Microsoft may have revealed something big at its annual MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) event, namely… new logos for its main brands and a fresh brand motto. “Be What’s Next” touts a teaser which has been posted on YouTube, along with a fast moving sequence of morphing logos, shuffling from Windows, to Windows Phone, Xbox, Bing, and finally the familiar Office logo that’s been kicking around for a little longer. It’s unclear if these are just treatments used for a promo at the event, or if this is a signal that Redmond is dumping its familiar (and frankly dated) iconography for something a little looser, leaner, and hipper, but we can’t say it would be a bad thing. It would certainly make sense against a backdrop of potential comeback in the mobile space, gains in search, and the seemingly successful (or at least satisfying) Windows 7 launch. One thing is for sure, MGX is a corporate, non-public opportunity for the Microsoft faithful to cheer the brand (Ballmer received a 30 year commemoration at MGX 2010), so this would definitely be the place to unfurl some new branding. Check the video after the break to see the new style, and hit the gallery below for a bigger look.

Update: So… the YouTube video has been pulled. Fear not, we’ve got our own copy!

Update 2: We’ve just been contacted by Microsoft and told that these are not new logos which will be used on products, rather a standalone treatment to show the flexibility of joined brands. However, the “Be What’s Next” tagline is real, and will be showing up here and there.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, tagline is a go)

New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, tagline is a go) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were quite surprised (to say the least!) to see the original Windows 7 HP Slate 500 appear yesterday on the company’s site, and HP officially confirmed this morning that the product is still very much in the works. The outfit’s not sharing much, but a spokesperson from its Personal Systems group did tell us that they’re “in customer evaluations now and will make a determination soon on the next steps.” It all seems very vague and mysterious at this point, but the evidence is surely mounting that we’ll be seeing HP join Microsoft’s “hardcore” tablet push.

HP confirms that Slate is still kicking, ‘next steps’ being determined originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That’s not your grandpappy’s touchscreen panel, nor his standard Windows 7 input method of choice, oh no — unless our eyes deceive us, we’re looking at a 3M M2256PW ten-finger multitouch display, and on it, a genuine Swype keyboard. Though we’ve heard nothing about a partnership between Microsoft and Swype and we see nary a mention on the internet at large, there’s no denying the idea — spotted during last week’s Internet Explorer demo at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference — is an attractive one. The question is when and how Redmond might deliver such functionality to the existing OS… and if we might possibly see the same on the company’s upcoming phones as well. See it in action at the source link, and fast forward to 2:58:30 for the goods. Trust us and skip ahead — we’ve got a feeling you won’t want to hear Microsoft kick this party off.

[Thanks, Abed R.]

Swype spotted swiftly slinging fingers across Windows 7 screens? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it’s no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld‘s now reporting Microsoft will extend XP’s lifespan through 2020 as a result. “Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7,” an official Windows blog post reads. We’ve heard the reluctance to upgrade is due to a reliance on older software and the cost of additional IT, but it probably doesn’t hurt that Microsoft doggedly keeps distributing the OS despite the other choices on offer. Perhaps the futuristic Windows 8 will finally win the workplace over, but it seems Redmond’s hedging its bets on this one. Look on the bright side: this way, when intelligent robots battle for control of the moon, at least the wrathful victors will still be vulnerable to the blue screen of doom.

Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft’s PR team. We’re presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don’t worry about the robots — we’ve got top men working on Plan B.

Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoa, Nelly! Is that a Firefox 4 download button we’re looking at? Why yes… yes it is! We can’t think of a much better way to wrap up one’s workday than by finding out that Mozilla’s own Firefox browser has finally made the official leap to 4.0, with Beta 1 going live for the adoring public today. It’s ready to be sucked down and installed for those with Windows, Linux and OS X-based machines, and the changelog itself is far too lengthy for this space (though it’s linked below for your perusal). You’ll obviously notice an overhauled look hitting you front and center, with a new add-on manager, support for the new WebM format, improved privacy settings and crash protection headlining the “big chart o’ features.” Give ‘er a download and toss your thoughts on the new build down in comments below, cool?

P.S. – Be warned that this may very well not work with your stable of add-ons right away, so we’d keep that stable 3.x.x build installed as a backup!

Firefox 4 Beta 1 now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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