Mighty morphin Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:25:04 Z

It curves, it flicks, it folds flat for maximum portability. Behold this very ‘handy’ new innovation from the boffins at Microsoft – designed to fit seductively into the hand, the Arc Touch Mouse perfectly suits the mobile lifestyle (at less that 15 millimetres thick) and with a natty capacitive sensing technique it brings a much-needed revamp to the aging mouse of old.

The Arc Touch utilizes something called Bluetrack Technology that enables the mouse to be used on virtually any surface. Very handy for when you’re on the go and don’t have the comfort of a desktop at your disposal. Battery life is also outstanding. Two AAA batteries give the Arc Touch Mouse more than six months of battery life.

I’ll have a hands-on with the Arc Touch soon and hopefully a chance to really put it through its paces.
Read more about the Arc Touch mouse

Microsoft on WP7 - "We are ready"

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:39:48 Z

It’s almost game time…

As of 1 September 2010 the work on Windows Phone 7 was completed and released to manufacturers (in the business this is commonly what is referred to as RTM).

Windows Phone 7 is expected to land in stores from October in Europe, while the US has to wait a month longer.

Over on the Windows Phone team blog Terry Myerson had this to say: "Windows Phone 7 is the most thoroughly tested mobile platform Microsoft has ever released," Microsoft wrote in a blog post. "We had nearly ten thousand devices running automated tests daily, over a half million hours of active self-hosting use, over three and a half million hours of stress test passes, and eight and a half million hours of fully automated test passes. We’ve had thousands of independent software vendors and early adopters testing our software and giving us great feedback. We are ready."

Also of note – it seems that a few more improvements have been made during this last bout of testing, namely:

It is now possible for people to filter their contacts so only the Facebook friends they really know will show up in their contact list.
Windows Phone has Incorporated the ability to “like” a Facebook post from the People Hub and delivered the ability to quickly post a message to someone's Facebook wall directly.

Roll on October

Technorati Tags: windows phone 7,windows phone,windows phone 7 rtm,windows phone rtm,wp7

Facebook Places uses Bing Maps

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:09:35 Z

This one caught me off-guard… I didn’t know Bing Maps formed part of Facebook Places.

If you haven’t heard the furore surrounding Facebook’s newest invention then count yourself lucky. It seems that everyone has their own opinion on the new app, with topics ranging from personal privacy to other hackeyed 1984 nonsense. Basically Facebook Places takes the lead from the popular Foursquare service and brings it to a whole new generation of Facebook-loving aficionados.

Broadcasting your location to the world is about as simple as updating your status and works (currently) with any web-enabled iPhone. Just select the Places button, find your current location and hit ‘check in’. In Facebook Places check-in is just a fancy way of saying “I’m here” so there’s no need to get confused by the terminology.

Users will have the opportunity to check-in to a specific place such as a restaurant, hotel or other place of interest. When you’ve checked-in a pin of your location (and any commentary you might have added) will appear alongside a Bing Map. You will also be able to see and track your friends movements on the map which makes it handy if you lose someone on a night out.

Try Facebook Places out today

Technorati Tags: bing,bing maps,bing facebook places,bing facebook,facebook,facebook places,foursquare

Bing gets Social

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:05:20 Z

Bing Social brings up-to-the minute updates on the most hotly commented/blogged/tweeted subjects on one succinct page of results.

Today for example is the first day proper of the Reading Festival 2010 – a quick search for ‘Reading 2010’ gleans the following results:
http://www.bing.com/social/search?q=reading+festival&form=DTPSOI&p1=%5BSocialTweetAnswer+src%3D%22tw%22%5D%5BSocialAnswer+src%3D%22tw%22%5D

All very nice and clever?

But handily the functionality doesn’t stop there. You can also choose to view ‘trending topics’ (how very Twitter-esque) or filter what you see by choosing ‘public updates’.

What with similar copycat services cropping up at the rate of knots it’ll be interesting to see how much of a splash Bing Social will make in the search world.
Try Bing Social out today and let us know what you think.

Technorati Tags: bing,bing social,bing social updates,twitter,google,bing maps,reading festival

Rumour: Kinect on the PC

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:41:00 Z

If we believed everything we read in the papers/on the internet the world would consist of a population borne entirely of celebrity-worshipping hypochondriacs; Google wouldn’t be evil and the hole in the ozone layer is as gargantuan as the last recession. The latest rumour being Microsoft’s forthcoming motion-controller could potentially see a PC release…

Saying that the rumour couldn’t have come from a better source as one Kudo Tsunoda (General Manager of Microsoft Game Studies) was quoted as saying:

“Hypothetically, if I worked at a company that didn't only make games, but also did things with PCs and phones, I think there could probably be some possibility that the tech might get used in other places. But, at least for now, [Microsoft is] focused on Kinect for Xbox."

It’s an interesting angle. The scope for possible appliances (uses) for Kinect technology outside of commercial gaming is massive and just by going on how much has already been spent on developing Kinect, it would be a shame if it wasn’t put to future use. But this is all speculative thinking on my part and as they say, only time will tell.

Technorati Tags: kinect,xbox kinect,kinect on pc,kinect rumour

Games for Windows Phone 7 announced

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:13:36 Z

On 17 August at Gamescom 2010 (Cologne, Germany) the first wave of Xbox Live titles from award-winning publishers were announced for the launch of Windows Phone 7.

Ranging from triple AAA titles (“Halo Waypoint”, “Assassins Creed” and “Crackdown 2”) to popular indie favourites (“Bejeweled”, “Finger Physics” etc) there’s clearly something here for everyone.

The full range of games available at launch reads as follows:

· “3D Brick Breaker Revolution” (Digital Chocolate)

· “Age of Zombies” (Halfbrick)

· “Armor Valley” (Protégé Games)

· “Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)

· “Assassins Creed” (Gameloft)

· “Bejeweled™ LIVE” (PopCap)

· “Bloons TD” (Digital Goldfish)

· “Brain Challenge” (Gameloft)

· “Bubble Town 2” (i-Play)

· “Butterfly” (Press Start Studio)

· “CarneyVale Showtime” (MGS)

· “Castlevania” (Konami)

· “Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst” (MGS)

· “De Blob Revolution” (THQ)

· “Deal or No Deal 2010” (i-Play)

· “Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)

· “Fast & Furious 7” (i-Play)

· “Fight Game Rivals” (Rough Cookie)

· “Finger Physics” (Mobliss Inc.)

· “Flight Control” (Namco Bandai)

· “Flowerz” (Carbonated Games)

· “Frogger” (Konami)

· “Fruit Ninja” (Halfbrick)

· “Game Chest-Board” (MGS)

· “Game Chest-Card” (MGS)

· “Game Chest-Logic” (MGS)

· “Game Chest-Solitaire” (MGS)

· “GeoDefense” (Critical Thought)

· “Ghostscape” (Psionic)

· “Glow Artisan” (Powerhead Games)

· “Glyder 2” (Glu Mobile)

· “Guitar Hero 5” (Glu Mobile)

· “Halo Waypoint” (MGS)

· “Hexic Rush” (Carbonated Games)

· “I Dig It” (InMotion)

· “iBlast Moki” (Godzilab)

· “ilomilo” (MGS)

· “Implode XL” (IUGO)

· “Iquarium” (Infinite Dreams)

· “Jet Car Stunts” (True Axis)

· “Let’s Golf 2” (Gameloft)

· “Little Wheel” (One click dog)

· “Loondon” (Flip N Tale)

· “Max and the Magic Marker” (PressPlay)

· “Mini Squadron” (Supermono Limited)

· “More Brain Exercise” (Namco Bandai)

· “O.M.G.” (Arkedo)

· “Puzzle Quest 2” (Namco Bandai)

· “Real Soccer 2” (Gameloft)

· “The Revenants” (Chaotic Moon)

· “Rise of Glory” (Revo Solutions)

· “Rocket Riot” (Codeglue)

· “Splinter Cell Conviction” (Gameloft)

· “Star Wars: Battle for Hoth” (THQ)

· “Star Wars: Cantina” (THQ)

· “The Harvest” (MGS)

· “The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)

· “Tower Bloxx NY” (Digital Chocolate)

· “Twin Blades” (Press Start Studio)

· “UNO” (Gameloft)

· “Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet” (i-Play)

· “Zombie Attack!” (IUGO)

· “Zombies!!!!” (Babaroga)

Technorati Tags: Windows phone 7,windows phone,wp7,wm7,microsoft windows phone 7,windows mobile,xbox live,xbox live windows phone,xbox live windows phone 7,windows phone xbox live,halo waypoint,crackdown 2,assassins creed

It’s PC vs Mac

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:09:30 Z

Seconds out, round two. FIGHT.

The battle for tabletop dominance rages on. After being seemingly put-upon for what seems like forever and a day – Microsoft have come out fighting and laid into the Apple Mac in a new promotional offensive.

Recent visitors to the Windows 7 website may have noticed a new addition in the form of the PC versus Mac section. For those new to events, you could do worse than check out this series of fairly-amusing PC-baiting ads (yes, that is comedy duo Mitchell and Webb).

The Windows 7 website states six reasons as to why the PC is mightier than the lesser-spotted Mac: Having Fun (Macs might spoil your fun), Simplicity (Macs can take time to learn), Working Hard (Macs don't work as well at work or at school), Sharing (Macs don't like to share), Compatibility (Macs might not like your PC stuff), and Choice (Macs don't let you choose).

Let the battle of the fanboys rage!

Decide for yourself by visiting the website.

Technorati Tags: mac,pc,windows 7,mac vs pc,mac versus pc,i'm a pc,windows xp,microsoft

Xbox 360 Slim best-selling console in July

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:10:03 Z

And the latest numbers are (from the US no-less) and the Xbox saw some humble gains thanks to the release of the Xbox’s fresh-faced and suitably slimmed-down younger brother.

The Xbox beat off its nearest rival the Nintendo DS: 443,500 vs 398,400 respectively. Sales for Xbox’s other main rivals the Wii and Playstation 3 limped in at 253,900 and 214,500.

The Xbox will hope to capitalize on this success in the coming months as the holiday season approaches and as the unveiling of its motion-sensing device (Kinect) looms ever closer. I expect things to really start hotting-up in this hotly contested console arena very soon…

Buy the Xbox Slim console at the Microsoft Store
In pictures the new Xbox Slim
Screenshots: Kinect launch games

Technorati Tags: xbox,xbox 360 kinect,xbox slim console,xbox slim,xbox kinect,kinect

Internet Explorer 8 on the rise (again)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:41:18 Z

Mmm, nice pie.

Internet Explorer has experienced gains in market share (number of people using it) for the second month in a row. A far-cry from the slippery slope of decline that we saw throughout early 2010. It certainly looks like the table has finally turned what with figures for Firefox and Chrome also taking a nosedrive.

One interesting statistic to be gleaned from these new figures is the pop-trivia fact 6 out of 10 people choose Internet Explorer (in one form or another) as their browser default. Internet Explorer 8’s growth comes off the back of a particularly widespread promotional campaign that re-emphasised the strength of IE’s security in the face of online criminals and phishing attacks.

Can this rise increase (and more importantly) continue at steady speed? Only time will tell. Plus, we mustn’t forget the small issue of Microsoft unleashing the Internet Explorer 9 beta towards the end of the year…

Download Internet Explorer 8 from MSN UK

Pie-chart courtesy of Net Applications.

Technorati Tags: internet explorer,internet explorer 8,ie8,browser share,browser,internet explorer 6,firefox,chrome

Windows 7 surpasses Vista

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:56:38 Z

It was only a matter of time (10 months in fact) but Microsoft’s latest operating system Windows 7 has surpassed Vista’s usage figures.

Usage has been creeping up steadily since the launch last autumn, with the defining blow being dealt in July 2010 when Netmarketshare reported Windows 7 grew 0.76% taking 14.46% of the market. Like-for-like Vista saw its numbers fall by 0.34% leaving it with 14.34% of the market share overall. This drop-off is expected to continue for the forseeable future with more and more people migrating to the shinier, new Windows 7 operating system.

Buy Windows 7 for PC

Technorati Tags: windows,windows 7,windows xp,windows vista

Kinect price revealed for UK

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:54:54 Z

The pricing for Xbox’s long-awaited new gadget ‘Kinect’ has just been announced.

Read the full story on MSN UK Tech & Gadgets

The Kinect will sell at £129.99 (standalone) and will come bundled with Kinect Adventures – a collection of 20 minigames that will take advantage of the Kinect’s natty motion-sensing capabilities.

Alternatively a rumoured 4GB Arcade Xbox 360 will also be in shops in time for the Kinect’s release, that price is said to be £249.99.
These details are of course subject to change.

There will also be a number of games available for launch, including Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride, and these are expected to retail for £39.99 each.

In pictures: New Xbox 360 Slim console
Get the latest Xbox news here

Technorati Tags: xbox,xbox 360,kinect,xbox kinect,xbox 360 kinect,microsoft kinect,natal,project natal,kinect natal,kinect sports,kinect joy ride,kinectimals,xbox slim,xbox slim console,kinect price,kinect pricing,kinect price announced

Windows Live Movie Maker is Editors Choice

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:09:01 Z

Windows Live Movie Maker has just been awarded the “Editors Choice” accolade by tech supersite PCMAG.com.

Here’s what they say:

“With Microsoft Movie Maker Wave 4 Beta, the Windows Live team has done the seemingly impossible—they've made video editing simple, yet powerful enough to create fresh productions. From import to edit to output, the program is a snap, including one-step uploading to online video hosting services like YouTube.”

Great stuff.

Technorati Tags: windows live,windows live essentials,windows live movie maker,windows movie maker,movie maker,xp movie maker,movie maker wins award,editors choice pcmag,editors choice movie maker

Microsoft to launch ‘iPad killers’

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:58:24 Z

Microsoft CEO – Steve Ballmer hinted that we were ‘months’ from seeing new Windows tablet devices during his keynote speech at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

The big man said: “Over the course of the next several months, you will see a range of Windows 7-based slates that I think you'll find quite impressive”.
A whole heap of partners are already said to be lined up to support the device with Dell, Samsung, and Toshiba making up the numbers.

Ballmer continued: “They'll come with keyboards, they'll come without keyboards, they'll be dockable, there'll be many form factors, many price points, many sizes. But they will all run Windows 7. They will run Windows 7 applications. They will run Office."

If Microsoft pull this off could we really be looking at the new pretender to the iPad’s crown? We’ll have to wait and see.

Technorati Tags: iPad killer,iPad,windows tablet,tablet,tablet pc,tablet windows 7,steve ballmer,ballmer keynote speech,microsft tablets,windows iPad

Lots of people used Bing in June

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:44:35 Z

It seems lots of people used Bing in June (lots and lots of people). According to ComScore figures the number of US searches was up by a small amount in June 2010. The numbers show that Bing and Yahoo! were both winners – Microsoft sites domestic core search market share increased to 12.7% in June, from 12.1% in May.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/june-comscore-search-numbers-out-google-share-down-bing-and-yahoo-up-2010-7#ixzz0teG0eYuI

Technorati Tags: bing,bing search,bing microsoft,bing vs google,google,yahoo,bing yahoo

IE market share up to 60%

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:50:26 Z

When we talk about market share we are oft quoting figures that indicate the % of computers running a certain browser. In these situations the higher the % the better. The browser market is a busy place right now with hot products from Microsoft, Mozilla and Google all clamouring for dominance. July 2010 has rolled round and the latest figures are in…

And in an astonishing (but pleasing turn) the Internet Explorer numbers are up! We’ve clawed back some share after a disappointing past few months. In fact between May and June, Internet Explorer gained 0.57 percentage points (from 59.75 percent to 60.32 percent).

Another story worthy of note is the ever-quickening rate of Internet Explorer 8 adoption. This currently stands at 1 in 4 people using the newest of Microsoft’s browsers – but edging ever nearer to 1 in 3.

Data source: Net Applications

Download Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 from MSN
Articles: Find out more about Internet Explorer 8

Technorati Tags: Internet Explorer 8,IE8,download IE8,download internet explorer 8,ie8 market share,internet explorer market share,ie8 stats,microsoft internet explorer 8,windows internet explorer

Tour de France 2010: Bing Maps app

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:09:28 Z

The 2010 Tour de France began on 3 July in Rotterdam and followers of the sport might appreciate this clever little Bing Maps app that plots the entire race.

The Tour de France spans 23 riding days and culminates in the cyclists finishing in Paris on 25 July 2010. Use the Bing Maps app to view each riders’ progress, check weather conditions and see who won each stage.

Local weather forecast is provided for each stage and updated as the race progresses.

Try the Tour de France 2010 Bing Maps app.

This app is designed to help you visualize the overall race, the stages (stages tab + numbers) and how variables such as weather & elevation (elevation profiles) will impact each stage. Results will be updated along the way in the 'Results' tab.

App was created by the folks at Podiumcafe. Visit them at http://www.podiumcafe.com/

Technorati Tags: bing,bing maps,tour de france,tour de france 2010

Download free Windows wallpapers

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:23:47 Z

Bored of staring blankly at your tired-looking desktop wallpaper? Head along to Microsoft’s Windows 7 site and download some of these stunning theme packs for free. Download Windows 7 wallpapers.

One of the newest additions is the third in the “Best of Bing” series. This showcases a number of images used on the Bing (UK and US) homepages.

So go treat your desktop to a new (FREE) coat of paint and give your eyes something to feast on.

Download the “Best of Bing” pack

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Download Windows Live Essentials 2011

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:40:41 Z

Do you like the sound of getting your mitts on the new version of Messenger, Photo Gallery, maybe take the new desktop Sync tool for a spin?
Download Windows Live Essentials here.

The Windows Live Essentials 2011 public beta is now available for you to download. This will hopefully keep you occupied until the final download hits servers later in the year.

What’s included in Essentials 2011?

All-new versions of your favourite products:
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Mail (desktop client)
Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Movie Maker
Windows Live Writer
Windows Live Sync
Family Safety
Bing Bar

Read more about the products in our comprehensive guide on the Tech & Gadgets channel on MSN.
Discover more about Essentials here.

Let us know your thoughts on the new release in comments below.

Technorati Tags: windows live essentials,windows live essentials 2011,windows live download,download windows live essentials,download messenger,download msn messenger,msn messenger,windows live essentials public beta,free windows live essentials

Video preview: Windows Live 2010

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:29:49 Z

Watch the official launch video for the new Windows Live Essentials services – coming June 2010 to a PC near you.

Thoughts? Like what you see? Comment below.

Technorati Tags: windows live wave 4,windows live essentials,windows live,msn windows live,hotmail,messenger,msn messenger,windows live messenger wave 4,windows live photo gallery,windows live movie maker,windows live sync

BBC iPlayer and MSN Messenger

Fri, 28 May 2010 16:22:07 Z

The BBC have just unveiled a killer new feature coming to the next version of their iPlayer software.

There’s nothing better than settling down (preferably on a comfy sofa) to watch your favourite show with a couple of friends (beers optional). The guys at BBC similarly had the same idea and to this end the next version of the new iPlayer will include Windows Live Messenger integration. This means you will be able to chat to your friends whilst watching the same show at the same time.

Need to pop out of the room to make a cuppa? You can even see how far into the programme they are. You can then sync your iPlayer with theirs and chat with them in real time, all within the iPlayer site.

The iPlayer has also incorporated a nifty ‘shout’ feature that gives you the ability to send a message to all of your friends that are currently signed-into the iPlayer. So if you’re a pre-pubescent boy and you can’t control your feelings for the Doctor’s sexy new sidekick, why not let your loins do the talking?

There’s a beta version available for testing at: http://beta.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Technorati Tags: iPlayer,bbc iPlayer,bbc,messenger,msn messenger,iPlayer messenger integration,iPlayer messenger,iPlayer msn messenger,iPlayer Windows Live Messenger,windows live messenger wave 4,Windows Live Messenger,watch iPlayer

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