Microsoft

Up until last year, it seemed to be an unwritten (or maybe written) policy that the Windows client team wouldn’t pay developers to write apps for Windows 8. But that edict seems to have been rescinded. Microsoft is now offering developers $100 for each Windows 8 and/or Windows Phone 8 app they write, up to Continue Reading →

Federal regulators are investigating Microsoft for allegedly bribing foreign governments for favor in software contracts. “Lawyers from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining kickback allegations made by a former Microsoft representative in China, as well as the company’s relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy,” sources familiar Continue Reading →

There was a spate of Windows Phone scaremongering over the weekend, after speculation that the platform would be discontinued in mid-2014. This came about after it was noticed that Microsoft had published Windows Phone’s support lifecycle, just as the company does with almost all its other software. Per Microsoft: Windows Phone 7.8 is supported until Continue Reading →

As you’re well aware, St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend and millions of people will celebrate the Irish with parades, green cheer and perhaps a pint of their favorite beer. Bing has pulled some of the top searches before St. Patrick’s Day showing the most searched beers and the top cities to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It Continue Reading →

Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service suffered a massive 16-hour outage Wednesday, which saw users unable to access parts of SkyDrive, Hotmail, and Outlook, too. Microsoft has revealed that it was a result of a mischievous firmware upgrade—which caused “a rapid and substantial temperature spike in the datacenter”. It’s quite an unusual situation for a large-volume, high-profile Continue Reading →

Microsoft is the only major vendor that hasn’t yet announced any details surrounding its new console, but some industry watchers are already convinced that the new Xbox will dominate the next generation of video game consoles. Among them is Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who believes Microsoft is set to win the next console generation Continue Reading →

Microsoft is dangling a new offer to get students to try its Office 365 University software. As of Monday, students with a qualifying .edu e-mail address can register to receive three months free of Office 365 University and an extra 20GB of space for their SkyDrive online storage. Share the offer on Facebook and you’ll Continue Reading →

It’s safe to say that Jun Dong-soo, the head of Samsung’s memory chip business, won’t be getting a Christmas card from Steve Ballmer this year. The Korea Times reports that Jun told reporters on Friday that Windows 8 has failed to boost demand for personal computers and even compared Microsoft’s newest operating system to the Continue Reading →

A German trial, which is seeing Google and Motorola battle Microsoft, appears to be going badly for the search giant. So badly, in fact, that a German judge has stated that he’s “inclined” to ban Google Maps in the country. The judge believes that he ought hold Google responsible for the infringement of a European Continue Reading →

The signs of doom are all aligned for Windows RT, which looks like it could soon inhibit the same plane of oblivion currently occupied by Microsoft Bob. Ars Technica’s Peter Bright has written a thorough pre-obituary for the current incarnation of Microsoft’s first attempt at creating a tablet-centric operating system, which he calls “a lemon” Continue Reading →