Microsoft

Through the peculiar dynamics of Web standard politics and the open-source programming cooperation, Microsoft is helping Google with support for a feature to let browsers flexibly handle input from touch screens, mice, and pens.

Monday, the Redmond-based company announced on the Blink mailing list that it's planning to write a version of its Pointer Events technology for Blink, the open-source browser engine project at the heart of Google's Chrome browser. The move came on the eve of Google I/O, the developer show where Chrome and Chrome OS share the developer spotlight with Android, Google+, Glass, and other … Read more

Xbox users may be able to use gift cards and credit cards, instead of points, to purchase games and other content.

"Sources familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans" told tech news site The Verge that Microsoft will replace its Xbox Points system with gift cards. The gift cards will let Xbox owners buy currency to purchase games and other content. Users also will be able to use credit and debit cards to buy Xbox items online.

The gift cards would work in the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store, The Verge added. Microsoft may announce the new … Read more

Those of you who failed to score a ticket for Microsoft's Build conference the first time will now get another chance.

A limited number of additional tickets to Build will go on sale starting Wednesday, May 15, at 9 a.m. PT. Scheduled to take place from June 26 to 28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the conference costs $2,095 for a full-price ticket. "Academic" tickets, which are still available in short supply, go for $995 a piece.

Tickets for the popular event initially went on sale on April 2 and apparently sold out … Read more

Windows RT tablets just hit a new low: $299.99.

That's what Dell is selling its XPS 10 RT tablet for online, reduced from $449.

The XPS 10 includes -- as CNET Deals points out -- Windows RT with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT; a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor; a 10.1-inch 1,366x768 display; a 28Wh battery rated at up to 10 hours; front and rear cameras; microSD slot; and 32GB of storage.

The discount may have something to do with Windows RT tablets not flying off the shelves -- and becoming as scarce … Read more

Microsoft is starting to open up a bit on what Windows Phone 8 users can expect with the next version of its Windows Phone 8 operating system, known as "GDR2."

On May 14, company officials shared a couple of the expected GDR (General Distribution Release) 2 features in a blog post that was primarily about the new Lumia 925 phone Nokia unveiled today. That phone, code-named Catwalk, is due out in June on Vodafone and some time after that on T-Mobile. It is Nokia's first lighter-weight, aluminum-body Lumia.

Microsoft's supposed plan, according to my tipsters, is … Read more

Microsoft Windows 8 has confused users and disappointed the PC industry. Windows Chief Marketing Officer Tami Reller all but admitted it last week. She also foreshadowed that help is on the way in Windows Blue. She confirmed that this Windows 8 update -- which will soon get a prosaic product name like "Windows 8.1" -- will be previewed for users this summer and will go live in the fall.

While it's rumored that the Blue update will reinstate the much-missed Start menu and allow users to boot into the Desktop mode, it's highly unlikely Microsoft … Read more

The update to the struggling Windows 8 operating system, known by the code name "Blue," will be called Windows 8.1, a naming convention that Microsoft has used for its software updates for years.

Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows division, disclosed the name during a speech at J.P. Morgan's Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Boston this morning.

The new software, which Microsoft also wrote about on its Windows blog, will be available for download for free for existing Windows 8 users later this year.

"… Read more

Microsoft's Skype unit made available for download on Monday Skype updates for Windows Phone 8 and Windows desktop.

Skype 2.6 for Windows Phone 8, which the team calls a "minor" update, is available for download from the Windows Phone Store. The 2.6 update includes improvements around the reliability of chat and call notifications, of calls to phone numbers, and resolution to "occasional missing message preview in the recent conversations list," according to the Skype site.

The Skype team also provided information about some upcoming fixes and updates for still-unresolved problems with Skype on Windows Phone 8. … Read more

There are a lot of businesses that pay for office suites, but two days before the Google I/O show, Microsoft spotlighted three that picked its Office 365 after trying Google Apps.

Google got a head start with Google Apps, the online service that includes Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. But Microsoft has a massive customer base using its old-school Office products who are natural candidates for moving to Microsoft's online suite.

Three customers -- Sensia Halsovard, Sepco III, and Arysta LifeScience -- all picked Office 365 "after having deployed or piloted Google Apps," Microsoft touted Monday. … Read more