Zune Phone aka Microsoft Pink Coming At MWC
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS has already lost its market share due to Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iPhone OS. Now the company is trying to regain its market share by launching their own smartphones. The rumored Microsoft Pink aka Zune phone is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona next month or during CTIA event in March.
Zune Phone is rumored to come with Microsoft’s next-generation mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 7. Zune video store will be integrated in Windows Mobile 7. It will let the users to buy songs and music subscription with a single click. Zune phone may also provide easy access to social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gaming service.
It is also been said that Windows Mobile 7 will come in 2 different editions, i.e Business Edition (BE) and Media Edition (ME). The Windows 7 Business Edition will support cloud syncing with multiple devices and the Media Edition will come with features much similar Zune devices.
What do you think of Zune Phone? Will it regain its market share after launching this phone and its next-gen OS?. Please share your views regarding the Zune phone and Windows Mobile 7 in the comments.
Source:http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/microsoft-pink-zune-phone.html
Labels: Microsoft News, Microsoft Smartphones, Microsoft Zune Phone, Windows Mobile 7
What does Ribbon Hero say about Microsoft Office?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Microsoft has released a tutorial game called Ribbon Hero in its Office Labs. This installs an Office add-in for Word and Excel which watches you work. It has several features. When you perform an action such as Copy and Paste for the first time, it awards you points. You get further points by performing “challenges”, where Ribbon Hero generates a document and sets you a task, like removing duplicates from a table. Finally, you can upload your score to Facebook to share with friends.
Ribbon Hero is easily impressed, and on a quick look the tasks are mostly basic ones, though I guess they could be expanded if the idea proves popular.
Irritating and patronising, or a brilliant training tool? Well, learning by doing is a good principle so I don’t dismiss it, even if my own reaction is more the former one.
The interesting aspect is what the existence of this tool says about Office. Not everyone gets on with the Ribbon; some miss the old menus. Further, Office is so bloated feature-rich that knowing it in depth is a formidable task. I have often been told that the majority of wish-list requests are for features that already exist.
In consequence, a large part of the challenge for Microsoft’s Office team lies in enabling users to operate the product successfully. This is not a new problem; the notorious “it looks like you’re writing a letter” Office Assistant, or Clippy, was another attempt. The Ribbon itself was also meant to address it, though I am convinced that Microsoft also intended to differentiate itself from the competition and to devise a user interface it had some hope of protecting, if necessary, in the courts.
Source: http://www.itwriting.com/
Ribbon Hero is easily impressed, and on a quick look the tasks are mostly basic ones, though I guess they could be expanded if the idea proves popular.
Irritating and patronising, or a brilliant training tool? Well, learning by doing is a good principle so I don’t dismiss it, even if my own reaction is more the former one.
The interesting aspect is what the existence of this tool says about Office. Not everyone gets on with the Ribbon; some miss the old menus. Further, Office is so bloated feature-rich that knowing it in depth is a formidable task. I have often been told that the majority of wish-list requests are for features that already exist.
In consequence, a large part of the challenge for Microsoft’s Office team lies in enabling users to operate the product successfully. This is not a new problem; the notorious “it looks like you’re writing a letter” Office Assistant, or Clippy, was another attempt. The Ribbon itself was also meant to address it, though I am convinced that Microsoft also intended to differentiate itself from the competition and to devise a user interface it had some hope of protecting, if necessary, in the courts.
Source: http://www.itwriting.com/
Labels: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft News, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Labs
Google vs Microsoft on the browser, cloud, and mobile platforms
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Google is an amazing company, even more so from the inside. To the outside world Google is just search. But Google has made three big bets on the future of computing; Chrome (browser), Google Apps (cloud), and Android (mobile) that will change everything.
Vibe – Google is a high energy environment. Lots of smart people with big ideas. Everything is data driven. Decisions are made based on data that has been analyzed, and going forward everything is monitored and measured based on the data. Opinions and “gut feel” are considered too, but in the end, results are measured by data. Even things like travel expense caps for airfares and hotels are data driven. They keep track of every trip taken and the actual costs for airfares and hotels, then establish the caps based on the data.
The Google campus is beautiful, funky, and efficient. There are bicycles everywhere for people to use to get between buildings. In some ways it feels like a college campus, but the intensity level is much higher. Most people sit in open cubes with four or more people in a pod. Offices with doors typically have 2 or 3 people in them. People work in groups and there is a real sense of teamwork everywhere you look.
Perks – Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the gourmet cafes in each building. The food is awesome!! The 401K match is 50% of your contribution up to $8,250. Health plan is pretty good, but not as good as Microsoft’s plan. MSFT pays for everything, no co-pays, no deductibles. Google really caters to employees needs. Onsite dry cleaning service, car washes, Oil changes, ATM, Fitness Centers, Haircuts, Massage, and Concierge services.
Meetings - 30 minutes is the standard, start on time and end early if possible. Video Conferences are pretty standard since the company is geographically distributed. Nearly every conference room has video conference equipment. Everyone uses Google Docs to capture meeting notes, a true example of real time collaboration.
Gmail – The Gmail you all use as consumers is the same email all Google employees use internally. Threaded conversations are a HUGE time saver and help keep things organized. I didn’t really appreciate that feature until my departure from Microsoft when my email inbox was flooded with messages many with the same subject line.
More On:http://dondodge.typepad.com
Labels: Google Chrome Extensions, Google Cloud, Google News, Microsoft News
Yahoo And Microsoft Finalize Search Deal At Last
Sunday, December 06, 2009
The long awaited and much talked about search deal between two of the internet’s oldest entities, Microsoft and Yahoo! has finally been cemented and all set to go into effect. This all new search deal is aimed at providing a stark competition to the search behemoth, Google. The deal was announced in the month of July this year and after a few months of negotiations has finally been signed off by both the parties.
The Microsoft-Yahoo! deal will now face its biggest adversary, the federal regulators. If and when the deal’s terms are cleared by the federal agency, Microsoft will begin powering Yahoo’s search engine by the middle of the year 2010. The search was proposed after a long standing acquisition battle last year, when Microsoft tried to buy out Yahoo! For $47.5 billion.
However, both companies later resolved their differences to unite in their fight against Google’s ever increasing dominance over the internet. As of now, Yahoo’s search service rank second in the world, after Google’s, which is in the first place and Microsoft Bing has attained the third spot. Even, with this alliance between these two major players, many analysts still believe, that its going to take a lot of innovation and dedicated efforts for these firms to give a competition to Google, a name that has now become synonymous with virtually every aspect of the online world.
Source:http://trendsupdates.com/yahoo-and-microsoft-finalize-search-deal-at-last/
The Microsoft-Yahoo! deal will now face its biggest adversary, the federal regulators. If and when the deal’s terms are cleared by the federal agency, Microsoft will begin powering Yahoo’s search engine by the middle of the year 2010. The search was proposed after a long standing acquisition battle last year, when Microsoft tried to buy out Yahoo! For $47.5 billion.
However, both companies later resolved their differences to unite in their fight against Google’s ever increasing dominance over the internet. As of now, Yahoo’s search service rank second in the world, after Google’s, which is in the first place and Microsoft Bing has attained the third spot. Even, with this alliance between these two major players, many analysts still believe, that its going to take a lot of innovation and dedicated efforts for these firms to give a competition to Google, a name that has now become synonymous with virtually every aspect of the online world.
Source:http://trendsupdates.com/yahoo-and-microsoft-finalize-search-deal-at-last/
Labels: Microsoft News, Yahoo And Microsoft Deal, Yahoo news
Microsoft Gets Silverlight Video Streaming On iPhone With Apple's Blessing
Saturday, November 28, 2009
In an unlikely twist, Microsoft has successfully demonstrated streaming video powered by their Silverlight technology playing on an iPhone. The technology uses server-side transcoding and an HTML5 video tag, and displays Silverlight content in a native H.264/MPEG-2 v8 format recognized by the iPhone's built in Quicktime player. Most surprising was the response of Microsoft User Experience Platform Manager Brian Goldfarb when asked how they succeeded with Silverlight where Adobe had failed with Flash: "We worked with Apple."
Goldfarb explained that their users wanted their Silverlight content to play on the iPhone. YouTube served as effective inspiration on making the content device-independant.
"So we've worked with Apple to create a server-side based solution with IIS Media Services," Goldfarb continued, "and what we're doing is taking content that's encoded for smooth streaming and enabling the content owner to say, 'I want to enable the iPhone.' The server will dynamically make the content work -- same content, same point of origin -- on the iPhone. We do this with the HTML 5
Goldfarb explained that their users wanted their Silverlight content to play on the iPhone. YouTube served as effective inspiration on making the content device-independant.
"So we've worked with Apple to create a server-side based solution with IIS Media Services," Goldfarb continued, "and what we're doing is taking content that's encoded for smooth streaming and enabling the content owner to say, 'I want to enable the iPhone.' The server will dynamically make the content work -- same content, same point of origin -- on the iPhone. We do this with the HTML 5
Microsoft Announced Launch of Windows Azure Platform
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the Windows Azure platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC). In his opening keynote address, Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft, described Windows Azure and SQL Azure as core elements of the company’s cloud services strategy. The company also announced a set of new Windows Azure features, Windows Server capabilities, and marketplace offerings that will make it easier for developers to build profitable businesses from their Microsoft-based solutions.
“Customers want choice and flexibility in how they develop and deploy applications,” Ozzie said. “We’re moving into an era of solutions that are experienced by users across PCs, phones and the Web, and that are delivered from datacenters we refer to as private clouds and public clouds. Built specifically for this era of cloud computing, Windows Azure and SQL Azure will give developers what they need to build great applications and profitable businesses.”
In his keynote address, Ozzie described the company’s “three screens and a cloud” vision, where software experiences are seamlessly delivered across PCs, phones and TVs, all connected by cloud-based services. Underscoring the IT industry’s shift toward a hybrid approach of online services combined with on-premises software, Ozzie described the programming model for a powerful new generation of applications for both businesses and consumers, enabled by new Microsoft development tools and technologies. He also demonstrated customer and partner commitment to Microsoft’s development platform with Seesmic, WordPress and Cheezburger Network.
Marketplace and Information Services for Developers, Partners and Users
Ozzie also unveiled the next evolution of Microsoft Pinpoint, an online marketplace for Microsoft partners to market and sell their applications. The company introduced a new information service, Microsoft Codename “Dallas,” also available through Pinpoint and built completely on the Windows Azure platform, that enables developers and users to access premium commercial and reference datasets and content on any platform. Datasets currently available through “Dallas” include those from the Associated Press, Citysearch, DATA.gov, ESRI, First American Corp., infoUSA.com Inc., NASA, National Geographic TOPO!, NAVTEQ, RiskMetrics Group, the United Nations, WaveMarket Inc. and Weather Central Inc. Starting today, “Dallas” is available as a limited community technology preview (CTP)
Next-Generation Application Model
Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, detailed the company’s strategy and road map for extending the Windows developer platform to the cloud, which is the next-generation application model, according to Muglia.
“Microsoft is converging on a common developer platform for both servers and services,” Muglia said. “Through this convergence, Microsoft will enable developers to continue using familiar .NET Framework and Visual Studio tools and technologies, as well as third-party tools such as Eclipse, to create and monetize applications that run on the server and as services in the cloud.”
Full Story Here:http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/nov09/11-17PDC1PR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases
“Customers want choice and flexibility in how they develop and deploy applications,” Ozzie said. “We’re moving into an era of solutions that are experienced by users across PCs, phones and the Web, and that are delivered from datacenters we refer to as private clouds and public clouds. Built specifically for this era of cloud computing, Windows Azure and SQL Azure will give developers what they need to build great applications and profitable businesses.”
In his keynote address, Ozzie described the company’s “three screens and a cloud” vision, where software experiences are seamlessly delivered across PCs, phones and TVs, all connected by cloud-based services. Underscoring the IT industry’s shift toward a hybrid approach of online services combined with on-premises software, Ozzie described the programming model for a powerful new generation of applications for both businesses and consumers, enabled by new Microsoft development tools and technologies. He also demonstrated customer and partner commitment to Microsoft’s development platform with Seesmic, WordPress and Cheezburger Network.
Marketplace and Information Services for Developers, Partners and Users
Ozzie also unveiled the next evolution of Microsoft Pinpoint, an online marketplace for Microsoft partners to market and sell their applications. The company introduced a new information service, Microsoft Codename “Dallas,” also available through Pinpoint and built completely on the Windows Azure platform, that enables developers and users to access premium commercial and reference datasets and content on any platform. Datasets currently available through “Dallas” include those from the Associated Press, Citysearch, DATA.gov, ESRI, First American Corp., infoUSA.com Inc., NASA, National Geographic TOPO!, NAVTEQ, RiskMetrics Group, the United Nations, WaveMarket Inc. and Weather Central Inc. Starting today, “Dallas” is available as a limited community technology preview (CTP)
Next-Generation Application Model
Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, detailed the company’s strategy and road map for extending the Windows developer platform to the cloud, which is the next-generation application model, according to Muglia.
“Microsoft is converging on a common developer platform for both servers and services,” Muglia said. “Through this convergence, Microsoft will enable developers to continue using familiar .NET Framework and Visual Studio tools and technologies, as well as third-party tools such as Eclipse, to create and monetize applications that run on the server and as services in the cloud.”
Full Story Here:http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/nov09/11-17PDC1PR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases
Labels: Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft News, Microsoft-based solutions
Microsoft announces Exchange Server 2010 availability
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Today at the Microsoft Tech-Ed Europe 2009 conference in Germany, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop announced that Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 is now available worldwide.
During an opening Keynote, Elop also announced the release of Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server. Forefront provides better anti-spam and multi server management tools.
"Exchange Server 2010 customers are already reporting cost savings of up to 70 percent thanks to a simplified high-availability model and support for lower-cost storage. Customers are also seeing productivity gains of more than 20 percent with a universal inbox that delivers e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging and text messaging consistently across virtually any device," Elop said. "Together with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the combined cost savings and improved productivity helps customers generate long-term business success."
Elop said more than 45,000 partners are trained on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010, with several partners announcing new services and solutions today, including AMD, Avanade, Dell, EMC, Kaspersky Lab, Symantec and Unisys.
Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/09/microsoft-announces-exchange-server-2010-availability
During an opening Keynote, Elop also announced the release of Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server. Forefront provides better anti-spam and multi server management tools.
"Exchange Server 2010 customers are already reporting cost savings of up to 70 percent thanks to a simplified high-availability model and support for lower-cost storage. Customers are also seeing productivity gains of more than 20 percent with a universal inbox that delivers e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging and text messaging consistently across virtually any device," Elop said. "Together with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the combined cost savings and improved productivity helps customers generate long-term business success."
Elop said more than 45,000 partners are trained on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010, with several partners announcing new services and solutions today, including AMD, Avanade, Dell, EMC, Kaspersky Lab, Symantec and Unisys.
Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/09/microsoft-announces-exchange-server-2010-availability
Labels: Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft News, Microsoft Online Services
The New MSN Homepage Unveiled
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
See what MSN Corporate Vice President Erik Jorgensen has to say about it.
Today is an exciting day for our team at MSN because we unveiled the most significant redesign our MSN.com homepage has seen in over a decade. We spent thousands of hours talking with customers; testing hundreds of ideas; experimenting around the world and carefully evaluating what our users want, and don’t want - to deliver a homepage that is designed to be the best homepage on the Web. We hope you’ll agree.
In our conversations with customers, we consistently heard that you want less clutter, easier access to the information & services you care about, and powerful search integration to help you make decisions faster. So, we started from scratch to cut the clutter on our homepage and reduced the amount of links by 50%. There’s also a simplified navigation across news, entertainment, sports, money, and lifestyle that lets you drill into information topics that interest you, without being overwhelming.
Local information from your neighborhood is important to you and so is high quality, in-line video – so we offer both, right on the homepage. And, you told us you want the latest information not only from your favorite sources, but also from your friends, and the breadth of the Web – so we now offer convenient access to Facebook, Twitter, & Windows Live services and the most powerful search experience on the Web from Bing, empowering you to make more informed, faster decisions. And this is just the beginning - keep visiting our blog for more MSN news in the coming weeks.
The simple, uncluttered environment of our new homepage also affords an advertising opportunity, unlike anything we’ve offered before. Advertisers can create a conversation with customers through engaging, high-performing, rich-media advertising campaigns and know their message will resonate. Advertisers who have seen early previews of the site love the new design and the new ad opportunities have been well received. You’ll see more on this in the coming months.
The new homepage will begin rolling out tomorrow and become widely available to over 100 million U.S. customers early next year. We didn't have a renowned director or cinematographer handy, but we did have a tripod, so U.S. Executive Producer Scott Moore and I did a video that will give you a little more information about the new MSN.
More: http://msnblog.msn.com
http://www.microsoft.com/
Labels: Microsoft Msn, Microsoft News, Microsoft Online Services
Windows 7 Launches – Mission Accomplished for Microsoft!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Microsoft today has released their most awaited flagship product – Windows 7, officially as of October 22nd 2009. Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer led the launch ceremony which was held at an event in New York City. He was joined in by high delegates from Microsoft & their partners including the CEOs from Dell, HP, Toshiba along with hundreds of beta testers and enthusiasts.
Windows 7 is Microsoft’s newest entry in the popular Windows family and is available as of today through all retail channels for consumers, businesses, developers and enterprises alike. The general impression of Windows 7 has been positive, unlike its predecessor Windows Vista which remained under spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Windows 7 Launch events are being held in almost all parts of the world to celebrate this big day in Microsoft’s history. We can rightly termed this day as Windows 7 Day!
The retail prices of Windows 7 are as follows:
Windows 7 Full Package Retail Price
* Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
* Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
* Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99
Windows 7 Upgrade Price
* Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
* Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
* Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99
Our heartiest congratulations to Microsoft and the whole team behind Windows 7 for delivering an outstanding product!
Source:http://www.redmondpie.com/windows-7-launches-mission-accomplished-for-microsoft-d389/
Labels: Microsoft News, Microsoft Online Services, Microsoft Windows 7
Patch Tuesday Will Be Biggest Ever with 13 Bulletins
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Microsoft will issue its biggest ever security update on 13 October.The update will include 13 bulletins that between them tackle 34 vulnerabilities.Microsoft said that eight of the bulletins were rated as critical - the most serious sort of vulnerability.
The security patches will close loopholes in many different programs including different editions of Windows, Internet Explorer and some elements of Office.
One update, rated as critical, tackles a loophole in Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7. The next version of Microsoft's operating system is due to be released on 22 October.
Most people will get the updates automatically but links to download them can also be found on Microsoft's security pages. Once applied to a PC, the machine will need to be re-started before the fixes take effect.
In a blog posting giving an outline of the updates, Jerry Bryant, a Microsoft security expert, said two of the fixes were for problems flagged up in earlier advisories.
One of those loopholes, for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) bundled in with Microsoft's Internet Information Server, is already being exploited by some hi-tech criminals.
Windows is by far the most popular target for cyber criminals and the vast majority of the millions of malicious programs, including worms and trojans, are aimed at the operating system.
Prior to the bumper October security update, Microsoft's biggest every update was released in June 2009. That package of 10 fixes tackled 31 vulnerabilities.
Source:http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=22954.0
The security patches will close loopholes in many different programs including different editions of Windows, Internet Explorer and some elements of Office.
One update, rated as critical, tackles a loophole in Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7. The next version of Microsoft's operating system is due to be released on 22 October.
Most people will get the updates automatically but links to download them can also be found on Microsoft's security pages. Once applied to a PC, the machine will need to be re-started before the fixes take effect.
In a blog posting giving an outline of the updates, Jerry Bryant, a Microsoft security expert, said two of the fixes were for problems flagged up in earlier advisories.
One of those loopholes, for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) bundled in with Microsoft's Internet Information Server, is already being exploited by some hi-tech criminals.
Windows is by far the most popular target for cyber criminals and the vast majority of the millions of malicious programs, including worms and trojans, are aimed at the operating system.
Prior to the bumper October security update, Microsoft's biggest every update was released in June 2009. That package of 10 fixes tackled 31 vulnerabilities.
Source:http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=22954.0
Labels: Microsoft, Microsoft News, Microsoft Online Services
Microsoft developing own brand smartphones?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Although Microsoft has repeatedly told the press that it would not be delevoping a Windows Phone of its own to go against the likes of HTC and other handset manufacturers, that hasn't stopped a new set of pictures leaking purporting to be just that.
Gizmodo, who seems to be on a Microsoft leaking role, are claiming that a pink handset manufactured by Sharp and sporting a qwerty keyboard will be released sometime in the not too distance future.
Aimed at the kids and leveraging Microsoft's Danger (the software company behind the sidekick) acquisition last year, the "Project Pink" phones are currently being referred to as Turtle and Pure and will have social media at its core and promise the usual array of communications skills.
"The hardware design has a definite younger feeling: Turtle looks like a chunky child's version of a Palm Pre, while Pure seems like a standard slider, and both are clearly plastic, with an overall sense of roundedness, thanks to lots of soft angles and circular keys," Gizmodo is reporting.
According to the story, the phones will also sport a Zune music store.
However as tech writer Richard Lai points out, the Turtle has a key marked with a ;) symbol suggesting this could just be a prank to entice and destroy Gizmodo's reputation.
Source:http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/27412/microsoft-developing-own-brand-phones
Gizmodo, who seems to be on a Microsoft leaking role, are claiming that a pink handset manufactured by Sharp and sporting a qwerty keyboard will be released sometime in the not too distance future.
Aimed at the kids and leveraging Microsoft's Danger (the software company behind the sidekick) acquisition last year, the "Project Pink" phones are currently being referred to as Turtle and Pure and will have social media at its core and promise the usual array of communications skills.
"The hardware design has a definite younger feeling: Turtle looks like a chunky child's version of a Palm Pre, while Pure seems like a standard slider, and both are clearly plastic, with an overall sense of roundedness, thanks to lots of soft angles and circular keys," Gizmodo is reporting.
According to the story, the phones will also sport a Zune music store.
However as tech writer Richard Lai points out, the Turtle has a key marked with a ;) symbol suggesting this could just be a prank to entice and destroy Gizmodo's reputation.
Source:http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/27412/microsoft-developing-own-brand-phones
Labels: Microsoft, Microsoft News, Microsoft Smartphones
Office Web Apps Live Now! – Invitation-only participants
Monday, September 21, 2009
Microsoft rolls out the Microsoft Office Web Apps Technical Preview program for a limited number of invitation-only participants, who’ll receive access to Word Web App, Excel Web App and PowerPoint Web App through Windows Live SkyDrive.
The OneNote Web App and additional Office Web App features, including further integration with Microsoft Office 2010, will be available at a later date. In Technical Preview, people’ll have the online ability to view, edit and create Excel spreadsheets, view and edit PowerPoint presentations, and view and share Word documents with others. For the record, the official name of the programs will indeed be Office Web Apps, Schultz confirmed.
A survey conducted by Microsoft previously had hinted at the possibility of more fanciful names, such as Ensemble, Optro or ArcLight. When they're released in final form, Office Web Apps’ll be available to consumers through Windows Live at no cost, supported by ads. In addition, Microsoft still plans to offer Office Web Apps to businesses as pure "cloud" services, from its own data centers, through its subscription-based Microsoft Online services. Alternatively, companies’ll have the option of running the apps from their own servers.
Source:http://www.ditii.com
The OneNote Web App and additional Office Web App features, including further integration with Microsoft Office 2010, will be available at a later date. In Technical Preview, people’ll have the online ability to view, edit and create Excel spreadsheets, view and edit PowerPoint presentations, and view and share Word documents with others. For the record, the official name of the programs will indeed be Office Web Apps, Schultz confirmed.
A survey conducted by Microsoft previously had hinted at the possibility of more fanciful names, such as Ensemble, Optro or ArcLight. When they're released in final form, Office Web Apps’ll be available to consumers through Windows Live at no cost, supported by ads. In addition, Microsoft still plans to offer Office Web Apps to businesses as pure "cloud" services, from its own data centers, through its subscription-based Microsoft Online services. Alternatively, companies’ll have the option of running the apps from their own servers.
Source:http://www.ditii.com
Labels: Microsoft News, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office Web Apps
Bing 2.0 Is Coming
Monday, September 14, 2009
Bing 2.0 is coming! – The 2nd version of Bing search engine is most probably coming out on test as from next week. As you probably already know, Microsoft’s Bing has been launched some months ago and from we can see there are some really welcoming reviews about it.
However even with the high advertising and marketing of Bing, Google is still the best and most used search engine right now. In fact Google still rules a giant part of the Search Engine territory.
Microsoft however recently announced the arrival of a new updated version of Bing modified with some new and cool functionality for soon. A demo of the new Bing search engine is expected by the end of next week while the full release is expected in some weeks.
Microsoft has not given more details about this event.
Source:http://www.islandcrisis.net/2009/09/bing-2-0/
However even with the high advertising and marketing of Bing, Google is still the best and most used search engine right now. In fact Google still rules a giant part of the Search Engine territory.
Microsoft however recently announced the arrival of a new updated version of Bing modified with some new and cool functionality for soon. A demo of the new Bing search engine is expected by the end of next week while the full release is expected in some weeks.
Microsoft has not given more details about this event.
Source:http://www.islandcrisis.net/2009/09/bing-2-0/
Labels: m, Microsoft, Microsoft Bing, Microsoft News, Microsoft Technology
Hired gun for Microsoft, in dogged pursuit of Google
Monday, August 31, 2009
REDMOND, Wash.--Qi Lu knows as well as anyone just how difficult it is to take on Google.
For nearly a decade, Lu played a leading role in building Yahoo's Internet search and advertising technologies. The effort was so important that Yahoo backed it with billions of dollars to acquire companies, hire armies of engineers and develop and run its own systems. Yet Yahoo fell further and further behind and many analysts said the company was simply outgunned by Google.
Lu, who is 47, left Yahoo 14 months ago but now finds himself once again leading the charge against Google. This time, he is backed by a patron that vows to spend even more than Yahoo did on the mission: Microsoft.
"It's an unfinished mission that I would like to work on," he said.
The challenge for Lu and his team remains enormous, and success appears improbable. But since Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, tapped him to become president of the company's online services division in December, Lu, a self-effacing engineer who is one of the most private and atypical executives in the upper ranks of the Internet industry, has earned the confidence of Microsoft's troops and helped to bring a dose of optimism to a beaten-down team.
Possessing unusual stamina and a maniacal work ethic, he has pushed his team hard to give Microsoft an important victory. In nightly 9:30 meetings over several weeks, he leaned on his managers to find creative ways to structure a sweeping and complex partnership with Yahoo. The deal, signed in July, will give Microsoft something it has coveted for years: a vastly larger audience that will make Bing, its search engine, the runner-up to Google.
By Miguel Helft [VIA:The New York Times ]
Also Read On :http://news.cnet.com/
For nearly a decade, Lu played a leading role in building Yahoo's Internet search and advertising technologies. The effort was so important that Yahoo backed it with billions of dollars to acquire companies, hire armies of engineers and develop and run its own systems. Yet Yahoo fell further and further behind and many analysts said the company was simply outgunned by Google.
Lu, who is 47, left Yahoo 14 months ago but now finds himself once again leading the charge against Google. This time, he is backed by a patron that vows to spend even more than Yahoo did on the mission: Microsoft.
"It's an unfinished mission that I would like to work on," he said.
The challenge for Lu and his team remains enormous, and success appears improbable. But since Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, tapped him to become president of the company's online services division in December, Lu, a self-effacing engineer who is one of the most private and atypical executives in the upper ranks of the Internet industry, has earned the confidence of Microsoft's troops and helped to bring a dose of optimism to a beaten-down team.
Possessing unusual stamina and a maniacal work ethic, he has pushed his team hard to give Microsoft an important victory. In nightly 9:30 meetings over several weeks, he leaned on his managers to find creative ways to structure a sweeping and complex partnership with Yahoo. The deal, signed in July, will give Microsoft something it has coveted for years: a vastly larger audience that will make Bing, its search engine, the runner-up to Google.
By Miguel Helft [VIA:The New York Times ]
Also Read On :http://news.cnet.com/
Labels: Google, Google Search, Microsoft, Microsoft News, Yahoo Search
Microsoft OneApp for feature phones
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Microsoft OneApp brings some of the most popular applications all together in one place: Windows Live Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, and many more. Designed for feature phones, OneApp puts a great new mobile experience easily within the reach of hundreds of millions of new users.
A great mobile application experience
OneApp appears on a phone as a single application that allows users to easily access all of their mobile apps. It dynamically launches just the parts of an app that a person wants to use, eliminating additional installation time and the need to store all of their mobile apps on their phone. OneApp enables users to easily customize their mobile experience.
The most popular apps—and more coming all the time
OneApp removes the need for people to visit several sites searching for the apps they want and hoping they work on their phone. With OneApp it’s all right there, and apps are automatically updated with no extra effort by the user.
Designed for feature phones
OneApp was designed from the ground up to make it easy for people to access mobile apps on feature phones with limited memory and processing capability. Its lightweight on-phone footprint of just 150 KB makes the installation easy and fast. OneApp also includes cloud services that help offload processing and storage from the phone to the Internet, improving overall performance. OneApp runs on a wide range of phones with more being tested all the time.
[Via:http://www.microsoft.com/]
A great mobile application experience
OneApp appears on a phone as a single application that allows users to easily access all of their mobile apps. It dynamically launches just the parts of an app that a person wants to use, eliminating additional installation time and the need to store all of their mobile apps on their phone. OneApp enables users to easily customize their mobile experience.
The most popular apps—and more coming all the time
OneApp removes the need for people to visit several sites searching for the apps they want and hoping they work on their phone. With OneApp it’s all right there, and apps are automatically updated with no extra effort by the user.
Designed for feature phones
OneApp was designed from the ground up to make it easy for people to access mobile apps on feature phones with limited memory and processing capability. Its lightweight on-phone footprint of just 150 KB makes the installation easy and fast. OneApp also includes cloud services that help offload processing and storage from the phone to the Internet, improving overall performance. OneApp runs on a wide range of phones with more being tested all the time.
[Via:http://www.microsoft.com/]
Labels: Microsoft, Microsoft News, Microsoft OneApp, Smartphones
Microsoft releasing Outlook for Mac goodbye to Entourage
Friday, August 14, 2009
With the Microsoft's announcement of releasing Outlook for Mac, Mac users will get to enjoy a version of Outlook finally. Microsoft will replace Entourage available in Office 2008 to Outlook for Mac in 2010.
The interim version of Entourage will be included in the newly announced Business Edition of Office 08, which will be available for pre-order starting August 18th and will launch on September 15th. Pricing will run $399.95 for a new copy of Business Edition, $239.95 for a Business Edition upgrade. Few of the features included in the new Outlook includes ;
i) Cocoa: Built from the ground up using Cocoa providing users with improved integration with the Mac OS.
ii) New database: A high-speed file-based database with support for backing up files with Time Machine and Spotlight searching.
iii) Information Rights Management: Helps prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have permission to access the content.
The release comes as part of a new business edition of Mac Office designed to provide Mac users with better connection to Microsoft Exchange Server and improved compatibility across platforms. Microsoft’s Mac unit is also building the Outlook software from the ground up to ensure compatibility with Mac’s backup and hard-drive search features.
The interim version of Entourage will be included in the newly announced Business Edition of Office 08, which will be available for pre-order starting August 18th and will launch on September 15th. Pricing will run $399.95 for a new copy of Business Edition, $239.95 for a Business Edition upgrade. Few of the features included in the new Outlook includes ;
i) Cocoa: Built from the ground up using Cocoa providing users with improved integration with the Mac OS.
ii) New database: A high-speed file-based database with support for backing up files with Time Machine and Spotlight searching.
iii) Information Rights Management: Helps prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have permission to access the content.
The release comes as part of a new business edition of Mac Office designed to provide Mac users with better connection to Microsoft Exchange Server and improved compatibility across platforms. Microsoft’s Mac unit is also building the Outlook software from the ground up to ensure compatibility with Mac’s backup and hard-drive search features.
Labels: Microsoft News, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Technology
Microsoft alliance Nokia to bring Microsoft Office On Phones
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Microsoft and Nokia are forming an alliance to bring Microsoft Office and other productivity software to a Nokia smart phones.They both plans to make Office widely accessible via Nokia mobile phones.
The agreement marks “the first time Microsoft will make Office for non windows mobile phones,” says Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop.
There are 200 million Nokia smart phones out there, and Microsoft wants its software on all of them eventually.Available for the company's Nokia Eseries to begin with starting from 2010, Microsoft expects the software to roll out to other handsets in due time.
The deal will expand the reach of Office Mobile beyond Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile platform.With this users will be able to use the new software to view, edit, create and share Office documents via Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft applications.
"This is much more than putting Microsoft products on Nokia smartphones,".It is way beyond just email, way beyond just Office. It is really reshaping the industry, really creating future solutions, said Kai Oistamo, executive vice president for Nokia's devices unit.
The move is a smart one,and it will give competition to the major,mobile office arena by Android,Google,RIM and iphoneApps.
Nokia is also working on improved Exchange ActiveSync support, and expects to roll out support for other features including mobile accessto intranet portals build on Microsoft SharePoint Server.
The agreement marks “the first time Microsoft will make Office for non windows mobile phones,” says Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop.
There are 200 million Nokia smart phones out there, and Microsoft wants its software on all of them eventually.Available for the company's Nokia Eseries to begin with starting from 2010, Microsoft expects the software to roll out to other handsets in due time.
The deal will expand the reach of Office Mobile beyond Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile platform.With this users will be able to use the new software to view, edit, create and share Office documents via Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft applications.
"This is much more than putting Microsoft products on Nokia smartphones,".It is way beyond just email, way beyond just Office. It is really reshaping the industry, really creating future solutions, said Kai Oistamo, executive vice president for Nokia's devices unit.
The move is a smart one,and it will give competition to the major,mobile office arena by Android,Google,RIM and iphoneApps.
Nokia is also working on improved Exchange ActiveSync support, and expects to roll out support for other features including mobile accessto intranet portals build on Microsoft SharePoint Server.
Labels: Microsoft News, Microsoft Office, Nokia App, Nokia News
Bing : The New Face for Yahoo Search
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A more formidable rival is on the way for Google. Yahoo is close to making Microsoft’s Bing its search provider. The deal, which would make Yahoo a more credible competitor to Google, is likely to be announced this week, and seems likely to be based on a revenue sharing rather than big guaranteed revenues and upfront cash. 
AdAge has reported that consolidation of both search engines would give Microsoft roughly 30 percent share of the online search market. The major expectation from such deal was to get huge payment obligations from Microsoft which in a bid to surpass Google’s online supremacy would pay any price.
The deal would be good for users as more furious competition in search space will see more ground breaking technology innovation in future as Yahoo alone was unable to bring any such innovation on the ground. The deal would also provide relief to Microsoft which is certainly leaving no stone unturned to Stop Google’s growing dominance and now assault on its dominant businesses.
According to the company's report: “Yahoo would be allowed to sell search ads on Bing.com as well as its own site, giving it more search inventory to sell and making it a bigger player in the search sales front. It would also immediately be able to save millions by not having to maintain its own search infrastructure. The latest terms of the deal underscore Microsoft’s devotion to developing and owning technology vs. selling media.”
Earlier, Microsoft had an 8.4 percent share of the U.S. search market in June, with Yahoo grabbing 19.6 percent. Based on those numbers, a combined Bing/Yahoo engine would claim 28 percent of the market, which means MS 28 percent vs. Google’s 65 percent — making the consolidated search platform a legitimate competitor.
AdAge has reported that consolidation of both search engines would give Microsoft roughly 30 percent share of the online search market. The major expectation from such deal was to get huge payment obligations from Microsoft which in a bid to surpass Google’s online supremacy would pay any price.
The deal would be good for users as more furious competition in search space will see more ground breaking technology innovation in future as Yahoo alone was unable to bring any such innovation on the ground. The deal would also provide relief to Microsoft which is certainly leaving no stone unturned to Stop Google’s growing dominance and now assault on its dominant businesses.
According to the company's report: “Yahoo would be allowed to sell search ads on Bing.com as well as its own site, giving it more search inventory to sell and making it a bigger player in the search sales front. It would also immediately be able to save millions by not having to maintain its own search infrastructure. The latest terms of the deal underscore Microsoft’s devotion to developing and owning technology vs. selling media.”
Earlier, Microsoft had an 8.4 percent share of the U.S. search market in June, with Yahoo grabbing 19.6 percent. Based on those numbers, a combined Bing/Yahoo engine would claim 28 percent of the market, which means MS 28 percent vs. Google’s 65 percent — making the consolidated search platform a legitimate competitor.
Labels: Microsoft Bing, Microsoft News, Yahoo
Microsoft to Open Retail Stores This Fall
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Well, this is going to be fun! Microsoft, after dominating the operating system market, office software, is all set to rule the retail store front now. Microsoft, who hired former Wal-Mart exec David Porter to be its corporate vice president of retail stores back in February, has just confirmed that stores are, indeed, on the way -- and soon. COO Kevin Turner, confirmed the plans at the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans yesterday, saying they're due to open this fall - just in time for the Windows 7 October 22 launch time frame.
Many of the Microsoft stores will open up right near Apple stores to compete with the popular Apple retail chains. Microsoft is slow to get into the market of having its own retail chain, which will sell all of their own products, much like Sony and Apple currently do.
Microsoft will soon set its foothold in the retail industry by opening up stores to sell their wide range of products, including both software and hardware, games and more. You can expect the entire range of Microsoft products from Windows OS, Office products to games, game consoles, computer devices, music devices and more in store. They have been manufacturing all kind of products, so it makes more sense for them to have their own retail units. This makes sense since they could achieve their ultimate objective of garnering more sales and profits in their own stores, than they would in a third party store, who have their own margins, thus making the final profits a bit lower.
The retail chains will be able to directly assist customers with their Microsoft purchases, rather than having large retail chains like Bestbuy sell Microsoft products.
Many of the Microsoft stores will open up right near Apple stores to compete with the popular Apple retail chains. Microsoft is slow to get into the market of having its own retail chain, which will sell all of their own products, much like Sony and Apple currently do.
Microsoft will soon set its foothold in the retail industry by opening up stores to sell their wide range of products, including both software and hardware, games and more. You can expect the entire range of Microsoft products from Windows OS, Office products to games, game consoles, computer devices, music devices and more in store. They have been manufacturing all kind of products, so it makes more sense for them to have their own retail units. This makes sense since they could achieve their ultimate objective of garnering more sales and profits in their own stores, than they would in a third party store, who have their own margins, thus making the final profits a bit lower.
The retail chains will be able to directly assist customers with their Microsoft purchases, rather than having large retail chains like Bestbuy sell Microsoft products.
Labels: Microsoft, Microsoft News, Microsoft Technology
Microsoft 'Morro' Nears Beta With New Name
Friday, June 19, 2009
Microsoft's new effort at delivering a free anti-malware service now has an official name -- and the software giant has set a date for public beta testing of the software to begin.
The free service, codenamed "Morro," is currently in internal testing within Microsoft and will begin public beta testing in Brazil, Israel and the U.S. by June 23, a company spokesperson said in a e-mail .
And the new name -- drum roll please: Microsoft Security Essentials.
"Microsoft Security Essentials has been designed as a no-cost anti-malware solution that provides consumers with quality protection from threats including viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans," the spokesperson said.
Just over a week ago, Microsoft announced it was readying Morro for its beta debut.
At the same time, it also announced it would halt sales of its Live OneCare PC health service as of the end of June. During its three-year existence, Live OneCare had struggled to attract large numbers of subscribers.
Now, Microsoft Security Essentials will replace some of the functions of Live OneCare -- the ones related to end-user security. Live OneCare offers maintenance, backup and performance tuning in addition to security functions like antivirus and malware detection and removal.
Meanwhile, Microsoft officials have said that the goal of the new service is to make sure that most users have some kind of anti-malware protection even if they don't subscribe to one of the pay products from security firms.
The service will be hosted directly by Microsoft when it reaches general availability later this year.
Microsoft has put up a site where the beta test will be available. However, the site will not be live until about 9 a.m. Pacific time on June 23, the spokesperson said.
For More on Morro log on to: http://www.internetnews.com/security
The free service, codenamed "Morro," is currently in internal testing within Microsoft and will begin public beta testing in Brazil, Israel and the U.S. by June 23, a company spokesperson said in a e-mail .
And the new name -- drum roll please: Microsoft Security Essentials.
"Microsoft Security Essentials has been designed as a no-cost anti-malware solution that provides consumers with quality protection from threats including viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans," the spokesperson said.
Just over a week ago, Microsoft announced it was readying Morro for its beta debut.
At the same time, it also announced it would halt sales of its Live OneCare PC health service as of the end of June. During its three-year existence, Live OneCare had struggled to attract large numbers of subscribers.
Now, Microsoft Security Essentials will replace some of the functions of Live OneCare -- the ones related to end-user security. Live OneCare offers maintenance, backup and performance tuning in addition to security functions like antivirus and malware detection and removal.
Meanwhile, Microsoft officials have said that the goal of the new service is to make sure that most users have some kind of anti-malware protection even if they don't subscribe to one of the pay products from security firms.
The service will be hosted directly by Microsoft when it reaches general availability later this year.
Microsoft has put up a site where the beta test will be available. However, the site will not be live until about 9 a.m. Pacific time on June 23, the spokesperson said.
For More on Morro log on to: http://www.internetnews.com/security
Labels: Microsoft Antivirus, Microsoft News
