microsoft

It's been a year and a half now since the Nintendo Wii launched and the little white console that could is showing no signs it's about to slow down. Competitor Microsoft, makers of the considerably successful Xbox 360, have decided the best way to ... match Nintendo's prowess in the marketplace is to simply mirror their strategy: rope in the casual gamer. Nintendo's approach has been fairly simple: use easy-to-learn games, along with cutting-edge motion-sensitive technology, to convince people who wouldn't normally play video games that such activity can be accessible to the not-so-hardcore gamer ... (view more)

They're at it again. Earlier this week, Microsoft, Icahn and Yahoo! all released competing statements about recent talks between the three parties. Another endless discussion in an endless fight for corporate control wouldn't rate coverage at this ... point, but in this case it's interesting to note that Microsoft and Icahn felt they needed to 'set the record straight. ' Did Yahoo! lie or just misinterpret the most recent events? You be the judge. On July 14, Yahoo released a statement rejecting the most recent offer from Microsoft to obtain the search component of Yahoo's business. According to ... (view more)

Netflix and Microsoft have struck a deal to allow Xbox 360 owners to legally stream movies to their TV sets. The service, which launches this fall, will be free with any subscription to the Netflix rental-by-mail service. Although a couple of ... dedicated media streaming boxes already carry licensed Netflix content, this is the first time a games console has had the ability. Netflix already lets subscribers on all but its cheapest subscription package watch unlimited movies on-demand through their PC. However, copy protection means PC users can only stream movies to their television sets at a ... (view more)

Since retiring Windows XP on June 30 of this year, Microsoft has been making a push to repair the reputation of Windows Vista while attempting to gain more support from small businesses. Eighteen months after Vista shipped, Microsoft finally ... confessed to what everyone already knew: Vista has problems. More accurately, as noted by Information Week, Microsoft is admitting that Vista had problems shortly after its release, but claims they've been fixed, so it's safe to switch to Vista now. It's not quite that simple though. A couple days ago Microsoft announced the launch of the Windows Vista ... (view more)

Microsoft has officially confirmed its plan to offer the Office package to the public on a subscription basis. It follows the testing programme, codenamed Albany, which we reported in April . The scheme, renamed Microsoft Equipt, launches in the ... middle of July. Surprisingly, the deal will initially only be available at Circuit City stores. However, Microsoft says it's not an exclusive agreement and they may distribute it through other routes later on. (Source: betanews.com ) The package will cost $70 a year, which is about what analysts tagged as a fair price in comparison to the prices for ... (view more)

The Microsoft-Yahoo saga continues and some old players have returned to the table. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Microsoft held talks with both Time Warner Inc. and News Corp. about a possible alliance to pick apart Yahoo. Under ... the proposed deal, Microsoft would take over Yahoo's search business and the remainder of the company could be merged with other content companies such as AOL or MySpace. (Source: wsj.com ) When the news broke on July 2, Yahoo's shares climbed the highest they had in recent months, closing the afternoon at $20.88 after surging as high as $21.84 ... (view more)

Today's fresh software picks were provided courtesy of Bob Helmer at Shell Extension City. Please note that the below software descriptions are provided solely from the developer and are absent from any guarantee or warranty. You are encouraged to ... review the Shell Extension Software Policy for more details. Microsoft Location Finder Turn your laptop into a GPS-type device without having to purchase extra hardware. Microsoft Location Finder is a client-side application that turns a regular WiFi enabled laptop, Tablet, or PC into a location-determining device without the addition of any ... (view more)

Microsoft recently announced the release of a new update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 and 2008. The 12.1.1 update, the second for the application, promises to fix all those annoying little inconsistencies that occasionally pop up. (Source: ... arstechnica.com ) Most Mac users get their regular update fix straight from Apple's official site, but that doesn't cover programs manufactured by other companies. Those of us using the Microsoft Office application can breathe a sigh of relief that the program is getting an overhaul. The new update aims to increase the stability and overall performance ... (view more)

As Bill Gates officially leaves Microsoft to concentrate on his charity work, he's been giving a host of interviews featuring some intriguing stories from the big boss' perspective. Speaking to CNET, Gates revealed that Microsoft once had secret ... talks to discuss a merger with Lotus, a rival in the 1980s which developed both the 1-2-3 spreadsheet (one of the earliest successful PC applications aimed at a mass audience) and Lotus Notes (an email and messaging package designed for use in company networks). He also recalled that IBM actually withdrew an invitation for Microsoft staff to attend ... (view more)

June 30, 2008 is the day Microsoft is slated to discontinue Windows XP to make way for a new era in operating systems -- start bars will give way to wonky buttons and a refreshed design, stable operation will give way to frequent crashing, and XP ... will die at the hands of a misguided killer: Microsoft. (Source: itworld.com ) While Microsoft will have you believe Vista isn't so bad and it's the next successor to Windows XP, it's really not. Many feel that Vista is an over-bloated mess of code that features too many overzealous security prompts thanks to the 'security' feature known as User ... (view more)