microsoft

Well over a year since the HD-DVD format bit the dust , Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has hinted that a Blu-ray drive could be on its way to the Xbox 360 console. Like its nigh-forgotten HD-DVD add-on, a future Blu-ray player would be an accessory ... device, and not built-in as with Sony's PlayStation 3. Microsoft's HD-DVD player, which attached to the Xbox 360 via USB cable, launched about three years ago. Back then, the Toshiba-fostered format was an equal challenger with Sony's Blu-ray; although the latter offered greater disc storage capabilities, HD-DVD players were much cheaper and the ... (view more)

Microsoft is running a series of special promotions in the hopes of kick-starting sales of Windows 7. The company will offer a new deal each day in the first week of the system's release. The most high-profile promotion starting today takes place at ... Best Buy. The store is offering a package, subsidized by Microsoft, which gives users three HP computers -- a desktop, a laptop and a netbook -- plus an LCD monitor, an Internet router and free set-up advice for a total of $1,199. Three PCs for the Price of a Mac Even taking into account that the desktop being offered is a relatively low-spec ... (view more)

With Microsoft's highly-anticipated Windows 7 set for release, the Redmond-based company has finally provided a Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, a tool designed to examine a user's PC in order to determine if it's ready for the new operating system (OS). ... Microsoft's operating system launches on October 22nd, after at least a year of hype and speculation. Microsoft believes the new OS will bring back the "cool" to PCs running Windows, but early reviews remain skeptical -- some critics, including PC World blogger Jeff Bertolucci, just don't think the upgrade is worth $120 . (Source: pcworld.com ) New ... (view more)

Microsoft Photo Story Create slideshows using digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with ... titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile-based portable device. http://www.microsoft.com ShellRunas The command-line Runas utility is handy for launching programs under different accounts, but is not convenient for heavy Explorer users. ... (view more)

Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie believes the company's upcoming operating system (OS) Windows 7 can and will make PCs just as slick and cool as their counterparts at Apple. Unfortunately, some early reviews of the OS suggest it might ... not be 'cool' enough to justify a $120 upgrade. In an interview with the New York Times late last week, Ozzie bristled at the idea that Windows 7 might change the way people think about PCs and using Microsoft operating systems -- something that in recent years, thanks to an effective Apple campaign making PC users out to be bumbling fools, has ... (view more)

An add-on Microsoft slipped into Mozilla Firefox last February now leaves the browser subject to an attack. The threat is being categorized as a " browse-and-get-owned " situation in which hackers lure users to a compromised website. While Microsoft ... and Mozilla have been browser rivals for years now, their respective agendas have never been to cause any direct harm to one another. The two companies have an unspoken understanding that marketing campaigns and external advertisements used to lure potential users is the most ethical way to win the battle. Now, Microsoft is being made to look ... (view more)

T-Mobile is taking a huge financial hit in the fallout over the Sidekick data loss . But Microsoft, which bears at least part of the responsibility for the mistake, is paying the price with its reputation. As reported earlier this week, the phone ... network had to admit that some users' data had been permanently lost due to a problem with a server run by Microsoft-owned company, Danger. The handset works by storing data such as contacts and appointments on a remote computer rather than on the phone itself. Microsoft Recovers Lost Data BBC news reports today that Microsoft has in fact recovered ... (view more)

Apparently, throwing a Windows 7 party in honor of the new Microsoft operating system is not enough. The Fox network has recently announced an exclusive one-night partnership with Microsoft featuring the ever-controversial grown-up cartoon, "Family ... Guy". The idea for the partnership was instigated by Microsoft in the hopes of generating more interest in Windows 7. Special to Air in November The partnership will not be evident during the 9 p.m. Family Guy timeslot, however. Rather, a special half-hour television special, with the working title "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's ... (view more)

Users of the Sidekick range of smartphones have been warned that technical problems may mean some of the data they stored on the device has been permanently lost. The story follows a period of around a week during which no users of the device were ... able to access any data services. The phones are carried by the T-Mobile network in the US, and are produced by Danger, now a subsidiary of Microsoft. One of the key aspects of the devices are that they work on cloud computing , meaning most data is stored remotely at a Microsoft owned server rather than on the device. In theory this make for a ... (view more)

The next wave of Patch Tuesday remedies will see a total of thirteen bug patches shipped out for immediate repairs. Among the thirteen, Microsoft ranked eight of the patches marked "critical." (Source: theregister.co.uk ) The purpose of the patches ... is to reduce the number of flaws in the coming weeks. However, the latest offering is set to mend 34 vulnerabilities, making this the largest number of security holes ever recorded by Microsoft, edging out the previous Patch Tuesday record of 31 fixes this past June. Microsoft Makes Public Aware The exact details for the planned fix have ... (view more)