March 13th, 2009 by
After hearing of the thousands (hell, two thousands!) of bug fixes and enhancements that Windows 7 users will be seeing as they make the journey from Beta to Release Candidate, you’d have thought that we’d heard the last of all that for a bit. But not so! It seems that Microsoft’s own Engineering Windows 7 blog will be letting the improvements trickle out as they are addressed. So brace yourself for some exciting plot twists, such as improvements to the taskbar thumbnail overflow and various jump lists, the trimming of sound schemes to enhance system performance, and our personal favorite, the addition of multitouch zoom to Windows Explorer. How cool is that? But there’s plenty more to this saga — hit the read link for all the saucy deets.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Windows 7 bug fixes to include multitouch zoom for Explorer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, bug, beta, bugs, windows 7, Windows7, feedback, testers | No Comments »
March 12th, 2009 by
According to an interview in PC World, the OLPC crew are looking to adopt ARM processors for the next iteration of their feel good laptop. Its extremely low power draw and the system on chip possibilities make this move a no-brainer, until you consider the fact that plans for the XO-2 call for a dual-boot Linux / Windows machine — as of yet, Microsoft has declined to make a full-blown Windows OS for ARM. Then again, as Nicholas Negroponte states, the newest OLPC machine is still 18 months away, and “a lot can change with regard to Microsoft and ARM” in that time. We hope it does — we would hate to see the Third World’s computing needs left to those $10 laptop guys. You know what a disaster that turned out to be!
[Via OLPC News]
Filed under: Laptops
OLPC eyes ARM processors for the XO-2 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, ARM, olpc, one laptop per child, OneLaptopPerChild, nicholas negroponte, NicholasNegroponte, xo-2, olpc 2.0, Olpc2.0 | No Comments »
March 11th, 2009 by
Microsoft has begun laying out plans for its version of the App Store — dubbed the Windows Marketplace — with some familiar numbers, and a few unfamiliar tweaks. According to Ina Fried, the company will charge developers an annual fee of $99 to become part of the ecosystem, and an additional $99 for every app they submit (though throughout 2009, they’ll have a chance to submit five apps at no cost). A rep from the big M states that the fee is “an acceptable cost of doing business for [software developers] looking to get in front of millions of customers,” and justifies the charge on the grounds that Microsoft will “run a rigorous certification process to ensure that the end user’s experience is optimal, and that the device and network resources aren’t used in a malicious way.”
Additionally, the company maintains that the process will offer “complete transparency throughout the application submission process,” which indicates the folks in Redmond wouldn’t mind courting devs who’ve been burned by Apple’s opaque, confusing, and sometimes unfair system of approval. Besides the flat rates, Microsoft will take 30 percent of earnings from sales just as Apple and Google do — the lone standout being RIM, who’s generously offering 80 percent to devs (though hasn’t exactly been blowing doors off hinges with its movement on fostering development). Microsoft’s Marketplace will debut with the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 in Q4 2009, though developers can apparently register come Spring, and start submitting this Summer.
Filed under: Cellphones
Microsoft unveils Windows Marketplace fees, splits, hopes, and dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, applications, app store, AppStore, developers, application store, ApplicationStore, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile6.5, windows phone, WindowsPhone, devs, windows marketplace, WindowsMarketplace | No Comments »
March 10th, 2009 by
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and while we can’t say with any level of certainty that Microsoft Hardware engineers weren’t toiling away on this laptop cooling stand back in the heyday that was 2005, we highly doubt that’s the case. For whatever reason, Microsoft is boldly entering a new category of accessories with the introduction of the USB-powered Notebook Cooling Base, which sports a built-in fan and cooling channel to prevent overheating. The whole thing is just 1.16 inches thick, and there’s even a cable management clip if you find yourself in need. In somewhat related news, we’re also being greeted by a new Special Edition line of Arc Mouses (mice?), which arrive in frost white, eggplant purple, deep olive green and marine blue. As for pricing, you can expect the breezy pad to land this July for $29.95, while the critters are available later this month for $49.95 a pop.
Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals
Microsoft does the unthinkable, reveals own Notebook Cooling Base originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, color, colors, laptop cooling pad, LaptopCoolingPad, arc mouse, ArcMouse, microsoft hardware, MicrosoftHardware, Notebook Cooling Base, NotebookCoolingBase | No Comments »
March 6th, 2009 by
This one’s still a long ways from actually panning out, but Fudzilla is reporting that Microsoft could be about to phase out its standard Xbox 360 Elite console and instead fill out the top end of the scale with limited edition models like the recent Resident Evil 5 bundle. According to the site’s unnamed sources, Microsoft would get the transition started by simply letting inventory dry up beginning sometime in the second quarter of this year, during which time it would apparently limit sales of the console to North America and Europe. Then, once those have all been moved off the shelves, Microsoft would supposedly shift its attention to new, potentially even pricier, limited edition consoles, which themselves could well be limited to select retailers. In other Xbox 360 news, Fudzilla also says that Microsoft could soon be offering a new standalone hard drive that’s bigger than the 120GB drive now found in the Elite, although there’s no indication as to exactly how much bigger.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360 Elite being phased out in favor of limited edition models? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, xbox 360, Xbox360, xbox, xbox 360 elite, Xbox360Elite | No Comments »
March 1st, 2009 by
Is your Xbox 360 red in the face? No, not that kind of red, but facing that painstakingly loathsome red ring of death? Well, if group product manager Aaron Greenberg knows anything about the situation — and we’d imagine he does — then it looks like the guys at Microsoft have finally found a solution to many gamers’ worst nightmares. In an interview with Edge Online, Greenberg said that through repairs they’ve done as well as updated technology, the guys in Redmond are pretty confident that afflicted consoles should be nonexistent in the not so distant future and that they’ve “put the worst behind us on this.” So, breathe easy obsessive gamers, you needn’t worry about getting an infected console any more — we hope.
[Via Yahoo! Games]
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360 red ring of death problems (finally) solved? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, xbox 360, Xbox360, xbox, RED, issues, defective, red ring of death, RedRingOfDeath, rrod, microsoft xbox 360, MicrosoftXbox360, hardwareissues | No Comments »
February 26th, 2009 by
Sony announced a landmark this week for its PlayStation Network: 20 million users worldwide, as of February 20. According to the presser, that breaks down to 5 million in the first 14 months of service, 5 million more 8 months later, and an additional 10 million the 7 months after that. There’s quite a few caveats to consider here, as that includes PSP and PS3 users as well as anyone who wishes to use the official PS forums, whether or not they own one of the aforementioned consoles.
However, more interesting to us is a note about the service generating $180 million life to date in revenue. It’s a stark contrast to Xbox Live’s reported $1 billion revenue since its 2002 launch, as of E3 2009. Based on figures from leaked to Seattle P-I this week, which said XBL had 10 million subscribers worldwide and a 56 percent Gold subscriptions rate in February 2008, we can do some fuzzy math. Assuming those Gold members paid the $50 annual subscription — or $4.16 monthly, the cheapest per month option — that amounts to $23.3 million for the month, not accounting for discounts or free Gold trials. Presuming no subscription growth for sake of argument — we know it’s growing — that’s $280 million annually, well over PSN’s life to date revenues. Say what you will about mean ol’ Microsoft charging for online play, the numbers seem to go in its favor.
[Via Joystiq]
Read - Leaked XBL data
Read - Comparing XBL vs. PSN
Read - Sony press release
Filed under: Gaming
PlayStation Network snags 20M users, Xbox Live still way more profitable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, xbox 360, Xbox360, xbox, psp, playstation portable, PlaystationPortable, xbox live, XboxLive, playstation network, PlaystationNetwork, psn, xbl | No Comments »
February 26th, 2009 by
Microsoft has been a bit lax in communicating with beta testers of its Windows 7 operating system who have reported problems or bugs to the company — according to some of the testers, anyway. Well, apparently they’ve been really busy! Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group at Microsoft, has just directly addressed the issue of bugs in a blog post, noting some pretty astounding figures. First, he says that over 2,000 bugs will be fixed in the release version of Win 7 because of feedback from the over 10 million downloaders of the beta OS, which ended on February 10th. Sinofsky says that at peak times in January, Microsoft was receiving one feedback report every fifteen seconds for a week straight, and has, to date, gotten over 500,000 of them. He assures testers that the company reads and considers every email and comment received. Hit the read links to find his entire post, as well as an update detailing of some of the fixes that are on the way!
[Via Daily Tech]
Read - Some changes since beta for the RC
Read - Feedback and engineering Windows 7
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Windows 7 to get 2,000 bug fixes pointed out by testers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, bug, beta, bugs, windows 7, Windows7, feedback, steven sinofsky, StevenSinofsky, testers | No Comments »
February 25th, 2009 by
While Steve Ballmer himself declared that Windows Mobile 7 would be coming out next year, we’ve got a somewhat less reliable source suggesting that the desktop version of Win7 will be landing this fall. Ray Chen, president of Taipei-based Compal Electronics, was quoted as saying that “according to current planning,” Windows 7 should be on its machines by “late September or early October.” For those unaware, Compal is responsible for crafting HP and Acer laptops, and honestly, we’re not exactly sure how this bigwig secured these dates. Of course, it stands to reason that everyone else in the industry is either 1) clueless or 2) just better at keeping secrets. For what it’s worth, we’re taking this with a huge spoon of salt, and just between us, you should probably do the same.
[Via Electronista]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Windows 7 shipping this Fall… according to Compal, anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, shipping, os, compal, operating system, OperatingSystem, windows 7, Windows7, win7 | No Comments »
February 25th, 2009 by
Curious what’s in that hot new red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition box? Well, Major Nelson’s got you covered — he just posted up this quick video going over the contents. You’re getting the red 360 with 120GB drive, a red controller, black headset, HDMI, component, and Ethernet cables, a download code for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, RE 5, and… the standard Xbox power supply. Yeah! We’ll hit you with a real unboxing when it all goes on sale — which just happens to be Friday the 13th, our favorite day in March.
Filed under: Gaming
Red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition “unboxed” by Major Nelson originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, xbox 360, Xbox360, xbox, resident evil 5, ResidentEvil5, microsoft xbox 360, MicrosoftXbox360, red xbox 360, RedXbox360, major nelson, MajorNelson | No Comments »
February 25th, 2009 by
Microsoft has long maintained that Linux infringes at least 235 of its patents, and it looks like it’s reaching deep into the bin for some extra ammo in a new case filed against TomTom over nav systems — of the eight alleged patent infringements in the complaint, five are specifically about portable navigation devices , while the remaining three cover what look to be filesystem-management techniques inherent to the Linux kernel itself. It seems like the Linux issue is less important to Redmond than the GPS patents — deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez says there aren’t any broader plans to go after Linux vendors and that it “respects and appreciates” open source — but if Microsoft scores a victory here, it’ll have an incredible advantage should it decide to take on any other Linux-based products. We’ll be following this one very closely, we’ll let you know.
[Via Business Insider]
Read - Techflash
Read - Microsoft complaint [PDF]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Microsoft files patent lawsuit against TomTom over Linux-based GPS systems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, patent, lawsuit, legal, tomtom, linux | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by
Sure, we’re still anticipating — but not necessarily merrily — the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, but for those who wish to look even farther into the future, Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer said in a conference call this week that WinMo 7 will be out sometime next year. That jibes pretty well with what we’ve heard from Motorola and ZDNet before, although there’s probably a dozen or so known unknowns that could push it well into 2011 or beyond. For now, however, we’re willing to take Steve at his word. Hey, at least they’re not gearing up for a Windows Mobile 6.75 in the interim… right?
Filed under: Cellphones
Steve Ballmer pounds chest, decrees Windows Mobile 7 coming next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, Steve Ballmer, SteveBallmer, ballmer, Mobile, cellphones, 2010, windows mobile 7, WindowsMobile7, winmo 7, Winmo7, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile6.5, windows mobile 65, WindowsMobile65, cell phones, windmo 6.5, windmo 65, Windmo6.5, Windmo65 | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by
The benefits of BlueTrack over optical or laser mousing technology in gaming situations will probably be debated amongst our children’s children, but if you’ve decided that Microsoft’s latest and greatest is the one for you, the SideWinder X8 gaming mouse hits stores this week. Besides that 13,000fps image processing of BlueTrack and a user-configurable 250 to 4,000 dpi, the mouse is a 2.4GHz wireless number with “virtually no latency” and it includes a play-and-charge cable for upping the juice without dropping the action. It even has a decent hands-on under its belt, so if you’ve been holding out for this one there’s nothing really stopping your unemployed self from heading down to a local big box and plopping down $99 for the privilege.
Filed under: Peripherals
Microsoft’s SideWinder X8 BlueTrack mouse is sidewinding its way to retail this week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, mouse, sidewinder, shipping, gaming mouse, GamingMouse, BlueTrack, sidewinder x8, SidewinderX8, x8 | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by
Just in case Microsoft hadn’t locked down enough support for Windows Mobile at MWC last week, the company also managed to shake hands with a slew of PC makers in order to extend support for Mobile Broadband enhancements within Windows 7. It’s still quite unclear what all this means, but we’re guessing that the likes of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Fujitsu will happily support WWAN modules from Huawei, Option, Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless and ZTE. The writeup also gives us reason to believe that WWAN connections will be more tightly integrated than before, possibly even showing up alongside potential WiFi hotspots when looking for a wireless connection. At any rate, we’re all about getting a signal regardless of location, so we’ll take this as a definite positive despite the glaring dearth of details.
[Thanks, Jacob]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Microsoft gets big support for Mobile Broadband enhancements in Windows 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, broadband, internet, wwan, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, mobile internet, MobileInternet, windows 7, Windows7, mwc, mwc 2009, mwc2009, mwc 09, Mwc09, win7, windows 7 mobile, Windows7Mobile | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by
var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/xbox/Red_Xbox_360_Resident_Evil_5_Edition’; Looks like that red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle wasn’t just some tripped out figment of your imagination. Just moments ago, the package popped up for Xbox Live subscribers, detailing a handsome red Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive, Resident Evil 5, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and a few other odds and ends (like a handful of cables). There’s an indication that you can pre-order the kit, but at this point, we’re not aware of any place to follow through. We’ll keep our eyes peeled, of course.
Update: According to the German press release we just received, the limited edition bundle will hit Europe on March 13th for €299 — likely $399 Stateside. Gallery updated with official press pictures.
Continue reading Red ‘Resident Evil 5′ Xbox 360 unveiled! (updated)
Filed under: Gaming
Red ‘Resident Evil 5′ Xbox 360 unveiled! (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, xbox 360, Xbox360, breaking news, BreakingNews, limited edition, LimitedEdition, xbox, resident evil 5, ResidentEvil5, red xbox 360, RedXbox360, red xbox, RedXbox | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by
If these screenshots are to be believed, then an ironic hacker has successfully installed Windows 3.1 onto a Nokia N95 handset. Marchin-PRV used DOSBox to emulate the x86-class processor on the Symbian handset in order to install Microsoft’s 1992 OS. Totally useless, yes… and totally badazz.
[Via OSnews]
Filed under: Cellphones
Windows 3.1 running on Nokia N95 is both awesome and depressing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, hack, n95, s60, symbian, windows 3.1, Windows3.1 | No Comments »
February 23rd, 2009 by
Looks like that red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle wasn’t just some tripped out figment of your imagination. Just moments ago, the package popped up for Xbox Live subscribers, detailing a handsome red Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive, Resident Evil 5, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and a few other odds and ends (like a handful of cables). There’s an indication that you can pre-order the kit, but at this point, we’re not aware of any place to follow through. We’ll keep our eyes peeled, of course.
Filed under: Gaming
Red ‘Resident Evil 5′ Xbox 360 unveiled! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, xbox 360, Xbox360, breaking news, BreakingNews, limited edition, LimitedEdition, xbox, resident evil 5, ResidentEvil5, red xbox 360, RedXbox360, red xbox, RedXbox | No Comments »
February 21st, 2009 by
Ars Technica is reporting that several sources are now pointing to a likely Release Candidate build of Windows 7 being made publicly available on April 10th. While we can’t attest to the probability of this occurence… occuring on that date, they’re also reporting that the development team’s progress is confirmed as being on track for that date, so we’ll just have to wait with breath baited to see if the unicorn (our term for the OS) appears then or not.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Rumor mill says public Windows 7 Release Candidate coming on April 10th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, windows, rumor, windows 7, Windows7 | No Comments »
February 21st, 2009 by
No big surprises here — HP’s announced for Windows Mobile 6.5 for its future devices, confirming what we already knew: HP is awesome. The company cites WinMo 6.5’s “key enhancements to business productivity, personal messaging and mobile Internet capabilities” plus its “new visual appeal” as some of the reasons for its continued love of the OS. We don’t have any specific information about upcoming Windows-boasting devices, but we’ll let you know as soon as we catch sight of one or more — because we’re here for you. Full press release after the break.
[Via Pocketnow]
Continue reading HP confirms support for Windows Mobile 6.5
Filed under: Cellphones
HP confirms support for Windows Mobile 6.5 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, hp, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile6.5 | No Comments »
February 19th, 2009 by
It looks like the long-awaited Release Candidate build of Vista SP2 is hitting the streets today, alongside its counterpart for Server 2008. According to Ars Technica, these guys will soon be available for testers via Windows Update, as a standalone installer, or as a slipstreamed version for select languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, and Japanese. Rumor has it that Microsoft is gearing up for a final release date sometime in April.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Vista, Server 2008 SP2 starts making the rounds as a Release Candidate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in Microsoft, vista, windows, os, windows vista, WindowsVista, operating system, OperatingSystem, sp2, vista sp2, VistaSp2 | No Comments »
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