Electronics

Get fit playing “Star Wars?” That’s the dream, isn’t it? Microsoft is looking to make that dream a reality with its Kinect PlayFit, a new fitness dashboard for the Xbox Live that helps users track burned calories across Kinect titles like “Dance Central 2,” “Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012” and, yes, “Kinect Star Wars.” The Continue Reading →

Microsoft announced on Monday during its annual Worldwide Partner Conference that its next-generation Windows 8 operating system will launch this October. The company confirmed that the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of its operating system is on track to be released to partners in August, and the final consumer version will be released in late Continue Reading →

Samsung’s early involvement with Windows 8 tablets suggests that the South Korea-based consumer electronics giant intends to play a big role in the launch of the new OS — early Windows 8 tablet prototypes supplied by Microsoft to the press for review were built by Samsung — so it should come as no surprise that Continue Reading →

According to a report from the Win8China publication, in the latest of internal Windows 8 builds, desktop widgets have been given the axe. If you have forgotten just what a desktop widget is, I present the following image of Windows 7. Yeah, those things. Here’s the rub: they are completely unnecessary in Windows 8. Why? Continue Reading →

Fresh out of a report on Fusible, the news is that Microsoft has picked up several Xbox8.XX domain names. Cue the hype wagons. Before we get away from ourselves, let’s go over what we know about the coming Xbox console: Not very much; It’s coming out in 2013. Moving into the realm of conjecture, it’s Continue Reading →

Microsoft may be going it alone in making its first tablet but company chairman and founder Bill Gates says that Windows PC original equipment manufacturers shouldn’t feel spurned. As Julie Bort of Business Insider notes, Gates was interviewed by PBS’s Charlie Rose on Monday night and was asked about the advantages of a software company Continue Reading →

Microsoft Corp admitted its largest acquisition in the Internet sector was effectively worthless and wiped out any profit for the last quarter, as it announced a $6.2 billion charge to write down the value of an online advertising agency it bought five years ago. The announcement came as a surprise, but did not shock investors, Continue Reading →

Microsoft is reportedly working on a new streaming music service that will tie in to its Xbox suite of gaming and entertainment services. Bloomberg on Thursday cited multiple anonymous sources in stating that Microsoft is in talks with major music labels in order to secure licensing for a new streaming music service that will compete Continue Reading →

With last week’s reveal of Surface, Microsoft’s bid for relevance in the mobile computing future, has thrown a rare spotlight on Microsoft’s R&D. Turns out, there are a few recent patents with MS’s name on them that suggest bold plans for mobile devices. One criticism of the iPad, iPhone and indeed Android devices is that Continue Reading →

Microsoft’s Windows RT Surface tablet is expected to have a price tag of at least $600, according to a report from DigiTimes. Citing unnamed sources, DigiTimes also reported that the Windows 8 Pro Surface would be priced at $800 or more, making it significantly more expensive than any other big-name tablet currently on the market. Continue Reading →