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Microsoft News: Windows and Beyond
News and reviews about Microsoft latest products and developments, including information about Windows, Office, Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7 and Windows Live online services.
Outlook.com suffers 16-hour outage due to overheating datacenter
- Microsoft suffered a massive server outage yesterday that left users of Outlook.com, Hotmail, Calendar and SkyDrive unable to access all or parts of those services for a 16-hour stretch. In a blog post explaining the situation, Microsoft's Arthur de Haan…
Critical Windows USB exploit allows flash drives to grant root access, patch issued
- Microsoft's Patch Tuesday yielded an interesting security fix for a glaring vulnerability in how the Windows kernel handles USB device enumeration. The critical vulnerability allowed potential hackers with physical access to a Windows PC to run arbitrary code with system…
Microsoft outlines key steps in creating Surface tablet
- As one could imagine, Microsoft faced a number of key challenges during the development of the Surface tablet. According to Surface team leader Panos Panay, Redmond set out with two distinct goals in mind: having the slate ready to ship…
Microsoft offers students up to six months of Office 365 for free
- Microsoft has launched a new promotional campaign to get students using its Office 365 University and SkyDrive products. Under the new offering announced today, students with a qualifying .edu e-mail address can register to access the productivity suite at no…
Microsoft to address four critical flaws on Patch Tuesday
- Patch Tuesday is once again upon us as Microsoft is preparing to push out a bundle of security fixes on March 12. The upcoming release will consist of seven fixes, four of which are deemed critical as they could allow…
Microsoft enables China to spy on Skype users via keyword triggers
- University of New Mexico student Jeffrey Knockel claims to have revealed an encrypted list of 1,100+ keywords within China's Skype client, TOM-Skype. This list, containing words like "BBC" and phrases like "Democratic Unionist Party", are suspected to be used for…
Microsoft fined €561m for not showing browser ballot on Win7 SP1
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The European Commission has fined Microsoft €561 ($730 million) for not complying with a three-year old agreement to give Windows users a selection of alternative browsers. In 2009, Microsoft faced an antitrust case with the EU that suggested the company abused its position...
Windows 8 / Office bundle costs OEMs $30 after Microsoft slashes prices
- Deep price cuts for Windows 8 are being given to Microsoft's OEM partners who manufacturer touchscreen-enabled computers and devices, or at least that is according to anonymous sources trusted by the Wall Street Journal. The report indicates that a $120…
Microsoft reverses one-PC Office 2013 licensing restriction
- Following a wave of criticism over the licensing terms for the retail version of Office 2013, which essentially tied your version of the software to a single computer for ever, Microsoft has amended the agreement with a transferability provision to…
Microsoft's plans for Kinect include future laptop, tablet integration
- Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie recently spoke at the company’s TechForum in Seattle, revealing where Redmond hopes to take Kinect in the coming months and years. The long-term goal is to make the device as cheap and…
Windows Phone 8 successor to arrive this holiday season
- The successor to Windows Phone 8 may reach consumers as soon as this holiday season, according to a recent Microsoft job posting. Until then, at least two much needed updates named "GDR2" and "GDR3" are expected to hit smartphones running…
Microsoft launches Xbox 360 250GB Spring Value Bundle for $299
- Microsoft isn’t letting the fact that next generation consoles are just around the corner as evident by a new Xbox 360 bundle. The Xbox 360 250GB Spring Value Bundle is now available in the US for a limited time while…
Microsoft says Windows Phone 8 will 'evolve' with coming updates
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If you've invested in a new Windows Phone 8 device and you're worried about being left high and dry when the next major operating system update arrives, Microsoft's Greg Sullivan says you can rest easy. Speaking to PCMag and others at Mobile World Congress, the senior marketing...
Windows Blue to feature IE11, Bing search, public summer preview
- Windows Blue, according to anonymous sources in touch with The Verge, is being targeted for an "aggressive" summer launch. The news outlet notes that Windows Blue just passed its "Milestone 1" build and says Win8China reported the first public preview…
Survey: Microsoft is now cooler than it was just a few years ago
- Microsoft’s efforts to revamp their image appear to be paying dividends. A recent poll from Reuters / Ipsos shows that nearly half of all participants think Redmond is cooler now that it was just a couple of years ago. In…
Steve Ballmer says Surface is a real business but won't dominate sales
- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently sat down with Technology Review to discuss the company’s tablet ambitions. What was once described as a design point to prime the pump with the goal of selling a few million units, Surface is now…
Microsoft says Office 2013 licensing is nothing new, but it's a price hike in disguise
- Last week a number of sites including TechSpot reported on an apparently new licensing restriction for the retail version of Office 2013 that essentially ties your version of the software to a single computer -- not one at a time,…
Outlook.com gains 60 million users in six months, exits preview
- Last July Microsoft released a preview of Outlook.com, the company’s new web-based e-mail service designed to compete directly with Gmail. In the six months that have followed, 60 million people have signed up for Outlook.com according to a new post…
Microsoft raises Mac Office prices, ends multi-license packs
- Purchasing a copy of Mac Office 2011 Home & Student (single license) will now set you back about $140, or about $20 more than last year's retail prices. It's well-known that some wines improve with age. Unlike a finely crafted…
Bill Gates discusses Steve Ballmer's leadership role, mobile mistake
- Bill Gates recently sat down for an interview with CBS’ Charlie Rose to discuss a number of topics ranging from his life after stepping down from his day-to-day activities at Microsoft almost five years ago to his work with the…
"Windows Blue" clues hidden in Microsoft job postings
- Not much is known about Microsoft's upcoming "Windows Blue", but if a couple of recent job postings are any indication, the secretive project will introduce user interface and experience "improvements", particularly in relation to the Windows Start Screen, windowing and…
Skype launches video messaging, transition from Messenger detailed
- Skype has begun rolling out a new beta feature on its iOS, Android, and Mac clients that allows users to send recorded video messages to others, regardless if they are online or not. Videos can be up to three minutes…
Xbox co-founder says the last five years have been painful to watch
- The man responsible for giving Microsoft’s original Xbox its name has penned a blog post outlining the poor job he says the company has done with the console over the past five years – and especially during the last 12…
Microsoft Surface Pro gets worst possible reparability rating from iFixit
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There are some compelling reasons to buy the Surface Pro, but reparability isn't one of them according to iFixit. As is customary, the site greeted Microsoft's new Windows 8 hybrid with a scalpel to provide users with a disassembly guide, but you'll have to navigate a disorienting...
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