Business

Microsoft is making big tweaks to its long-running Flight Simulator game, including the elimination of all charges for playing it. The game is also renamed without the word 'Simulator.' It's now referred to as "Microsoft Flight" and is rumored to be ... released in the Spring of 2012. Microsoft's Flight Simulator titles have been among the most popular PC games since the first of the series was released back in 1982. (Source: simflight.com ) Since then, the games have always placed major emphasis on simulating real-world flight, a capability that separated Flight Simulator from most ... (view more)

Microsoft has now revealed the minimum hardware requirements for tablet computers to run Windows 8, another sign the company wants to extend its operating system (OS) to a wider range of devices. Windows 8 is the first Windows operating system ... designed to work on everything from desktop PCs to tablets. Aside from the classic desktop design, it boasts a user interface called 'Metro' that's intended for small touch-screens. Some critics fear Windows 8 might be so focused on tablet compatibility that it offers very little improvement to users of notebook and desktop PCs. Windows 8 Tablet: ... (view more)

Microsoft has just revealed that Windows was not its leading money-maker during the last three months of 2011. While this is shocking news to many, it may be only a short-term quirk, and, generally speaking, Microsoft continues to rake in the cash. ... For the three months ending December 31, the company took in a total of $20.89 billion, up five per cent over the same period in 2010. Once costs were deducted, Microsoft was left with just under $8 billion in profit for the quarter, down about two per cent, year-over-year. Both figures were very close to the consensus of predictions by stock ... (view more)

Google has unveiled a major overhaul of its online user tracking system, claiming to make its services more useful. However, critics fear the changes, set for March 1, 2012, will allow for more effective snooping of user data and online activities. ... The changes center around the way the company keeps track of activity data, and the way it's then used. Google Pools Online Tracking to 'Improve' Advertising, Search Under the old system, someone who receives a lot of emails about football will see advertisements for football. Someone who watches a lot of comedy clips on YouTube will see lots of ... (view more)

New reports suggest that the next generation of the popular iPad tablet computer, the iPad 3, is already being manufactured. The release date is rumored to be only 2-3 months away. While it might seem like a short turn-around since the iPad 2's ... unveiling , a March 2012 release for the iPad 3 makes sense. The first iPad was released in April 2010, while its successor, the iPad 2, was released last March. A third spring release would lead many to believe that a new Apple tablet is almost an annual guarantee. iPad 3 Production Underway in China Industry analysts at Bloomberg say they believe a ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed it will release a PC version of its Kinect hands-free motion control system on February 1, 2012. The new hardware offering will be expensive. Kinect was first offered for the Xbox 360 video game console in late 2010. It was ... Microsoft's effort to counter the Nintendo Wii system, which allows players to control on-screen action by moving a handheld device rather than a traditional controller. Microsoft One-Ups Wii Controllers with Kinect The motion-oriented controls of the Wii made games more accessible to casual players, while adding more realism to the game. Players ... (view more)

Google says it was "mortified" at word that its staff have been using misrepresentation to win business in Africa. Employees of the US search firm have been accused of using a Kenyan company's business listings to contact customers and pitch a ... competing service. The victimized firm is known as "Mocality," a company that tries to help businesses of all size benefit from the Internet. Mocality is paid to index details of Kenyan companies, creating an online directory of more than 170,000 firms. Last year, the company began receiving phone calls from companies asking about ... (view more)

Days after a police raid in Ghana seized dozens of counterfeit versions of their software, Microsoft has once again set their sights on another international software retailer. This time they're pursuing legal action against popular UK electronics ... company Comet, after uncovering the sale of over 94,000 sets of counterfeit Windows CDs. According to Microsoft, Comet produced counterfeit recovery CDs for Windows Vista and Windows XP before shipping them off to be sold in their stores across the UK. David Finn, associate general counsel of worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting at ... (view more)

The number of computers sent to stores at the end of 2011 appears to have taken a surprising dip, leaving the industry anxious about the expected release of Windows 8 later in 2012 . Manufacturers' US shipments dropped 6.71 per cent during the last ... quarter of 2011, while the global figure fell just a little: about 1,600 fewer computers in a sea of more than 90 million units. At this stage, it appears the total shipments for the year will rise, compared with 2010, but by the smallest margin since 2001. (Source: betanews.com ) Big Sales Increases Year-to-Year the Norm It's worth noting that a ... (view more)

Microsoft has finally declared Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) dead. Internet Explorer 6 is considered to be one of the most dangerous web browsers to use online because it is easily exploitable and can become easily infected with malware (with can lead ... to identify theft, or worse). Internet Explorer 6 first debuted way back in 2001, the same year Microsoft released its Windows XP operating system (OS). The five years that followed were IE's heyday, with Microsoft's hold on the browser market its strongest ever. Today, statistics reveal that fewer than 1 per cent of American Internet users are ... (view more)