Posts Tagged ‘microsoft’
Review: Nokia Lumia 800
I’ve been an iPhone user since the 3G and when my iPhone 4 was broken I had a good look at the market to see what was available and a bit different to the rest of the competition. In this search I came across the NOKIA LUMIA 800, which although ran Windows Phone 7, brought me back to the early 2000′s and my appreciation of great build and design in a phone. So from a Twitter request a week later I had one in my hands for a couple of weeks, here are my thoughts.
Read on to find out more.
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 ToHave A Monthly Subscription Fee?
This rumor has been spreading like wild fire and it sounds like it is going to be true. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will feature a new service called Call Of Duty Elite. Elite will allow customers to gain access too extra stat-tracking and downloadable map packs. The features of Elite are being described as just like the stock market. You can track players, individual performances in matches and specific weapon types being used.
Map packs will come at no extra charge for those using the Elite service but for those who are not you will most likely pay the typical $10.00 for a new map pack. With that being said it is unknown how competitive the pricing of Call Of Duty Elite will be. Activision has not announced any prices yet regarding this new service.
I don’t think I’m the only person wondering how the customers are going to react to this extra charge. It would be really hard to start charging all the customers a new fee on top of there xbox live subscription fee. However Activision has said that the typical basic service will stay free. So for the users bothered by this whole idea you will still be able to get the typical features at no extra cost for now.
When I read about this it did not surprise me as Halo has offered a service just like this for a long time. I think it is an advancement to the Call Of Duty industry. I am not saying I am a fan of paying extra but I believe that get what you pay for and as long as something is free it can’t get any better because there is no funding. People are always saying they wish they would add new guns or more maps but people don’t realize that the $60 we pay for the game doesn’t go as far as they think. They have to pay the people who helped make the game possible and then on top of that they have to pay to maintain a network and servers. It isn’t cheap and it isn’t free so a monthly subscription fee will help add capital to Activision’s funds and this will allow them to add on more exciting content to our games.
I believe the pricing of this new service will be reasonable and not excessive as Activision has never done this and they really are testing out the waters with this subscription service. We will keep you updated as news comes in about pricing and features of Call Of Duty Elite.
Source: WSJ
Microsoft Compares MacBook Air to… A Bunch of NetBooks???
In Microsoft’s latest attempt to win over Mac users the company has launched a new campaign called “Do the Math” where they compare Macs to similarly equipped PC computers. That’s all fine until you get to the part about the MacBook Air, where they’ve put it up against netbook computers from Toshiba and HP. The problem is that the MacBook Air in fact isn’t a netbook, it’s an ultra-portable laptop, which is a completely different category all together. Not only that but they also raised the price of the Air up to $1,049 from $999. Simply put, this is pathetic. The real PC competitor for the MacBook Air is the Samsung Series 9, which comes in at $1,649, or in other terms, $649 more than the Air. So Microsoft, next time you try and make a comparison, at least get the products right.
Via TUAW
Microsoft Fanboys – Circle March 15 on Your Calendars
Microsoft’s public relations firm has alerted the members of the press to block off 9am – 10:30am on March 15th for a “major” announcement from Microsoft. Speculation is running rampant throughout the interwebs, ranging from the launch of Internet Explorer 9 or a glimpse of Windows 8 to a revamped Xbox 360 or something else entirely.
Stay tuned to Run Around Tech for more details as they unfold next Tuesday…
Don’t Expect Windows for Tablets Until 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that Microsoft will not be releasing a tablet-centric version of Windows until 2012, most likely in time for the back-to-school shopping season. In the meantime, Microsoft is also working to add functionality to Windows 7 specific to tablets, such as touch-screen capabilities and better battery life management. If these timelines hold true, a tablet-focused version of Windows will be arriving years later than offerings from competitors Apple and Google.
Check out the full article on Bloomberg Businessweek.
There weren’t many fans of Internet Explorer 6. It was clunky, crashed a lot and looked absolutely horrid, and Microsoft is taking steps to eradicate the out-of-date browser and replace it with their newer iterations of Internet Explorer, IE8 & IE9. According to Microsoft’s sources, 12% of internet users around the world still use Internet Explorer 6, with China being the biggest user at 5.9%.
Sites around the world are starting to use a simple bit of code that, when IE6 is detected, will display a banner saying that you’re using the old browser and encourages you to switch to a new one. Personally I ditched IE6 ages ago when I moved to the now discontinued Netscape Browser, then when I moved to Firefox I never looked back, even after my switch to Mac.
For more information on this countdown, and how to get involved in the campaign to eradicate IE6, check out the source.
Google Officially Launches Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office
Since November of last year, Google has been beta-testing their Cloud Connect service for Microsoft Office. Now, Google has moved the service out of beta and has deemed it ready for primetime. To take advantage of the free service, users download a plug-in for Microsoft Office that installs a new toolbar. After authenticating with their Google account, the plug-in saves a copy of the document (Word, PowerPoint and Excel are supported) to the cloud. Any changes made to the document are then synced to its online counterpart. Users can also choose to share the document via email. The recipient receives an email with a link which launches the document in Google Docs. Again, any edits made are all synced to create a pretty nifty collaboration tool. Sorry, Mac users – for now, the tool is Windows-only.
More details and a video overview of the service can be found on Google’s blog post.
Microsoft Releases Windows 7 Service Pack 1
It’s Tuesday, so it must be time to open up that Windows Update and see what Redmond has dished out. Today, Microsoft released Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. According to the official Microsoft Download Center article, the update will:
- Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
- Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
- Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
- Meet your users’ demands for greater business mobility
- Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
- Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency
If you’re just updating your home computer, they suggest running Windows Update to grab the new release. If you really know what you’re doing and have a bunch of machines to update, the Download Center provides other options.
Oh, and in the unlikely (*cough*) event that you run into trouble, you may want to have access to the “Troubleshoot problems installing… ” page found here.
In a blog post yesterday, Microsoft reported at a recent gathering of “a handful of Microsoft thinkers and select media”, Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, and Don Mattrick, president, Interactive Entertainment Business, revealed a non-commercial Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit will be released this spring.
It seems that every couple of days, people are releasing videos demoing various new uses for the device beyond just interacting with the Xbox 360. From academic research and medical explorations to robotics and entertainment, the possibilities seem limited only by community creativity.
For more details, check out the full post on Microsoft’s Official Blog.
Is Ford’s SYNC Losing its Edge?
Microsoft introduced their SYNC Technology into Ford’s lineup of vehicles four years ago. SYNC created an easy voice-activated method for drivers to interact with their media devices and cell phones. Another key aspect is that if you have an older car with sync, you can always get the software updated to get all the new features that they add later on.
The problem SYNC is facing now is that the competition has started to catch up and some of the newer technologies are becoming more robust, combining both the the entertainment and services (like OnStar) into one cohesive package. So can Ford’s flagship infotainment system hold strong, or will new competition make it outdated?
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