Microsoft

Microsoft could already be testing its own brand of smartwatch.

In development for the past year, the device is in the prototype stage, "a reliable source familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans" revealed to The Verge. The watch reportedly comes with removable bands that attach to its 1.5-inch touch display.

One of the prototypes borrows the magnetic power connector used by Microsoft's Surface tablets. The five-pin connector can send both power and data to the watch. However, The Verge's sources say the final design of the smartphone may jettison such a connector.… Read more

Windows 8.1 could be more user-friendly than its predecessor, at least based on the features revealed in the latest build.

Popping up on file-sharing sites this week, Windows 8.1 Build 9369 includes a new Files app branded with the SkyDrive logo, according to The Verge. The app itself lets you navigate both your local files and those stored on SkyDrive.

Multi-tasking has also been enhanced. When opening a Windows 8 app, users can decide whether to open it full-screen or alongside an existing app.

The addition of an apps button lets users more easily access the apps screen. … Read more

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has spent plenty of time in the last few months telling the world that Microsoft was morphing from a software company to one that focuses on devices and services.

Turns out, there's one device that Microsoft has no plans to make anytime soon: a smartphone.

At the Dive into Mobile conference yesterday, Terry Myerson, the vice president in charge of Windows Phone, Microsoft's also-ran of a mobile phone operating system, said that Microsoft would only jump into the business of making a smartphone if its partners, such as Nokia, weren't offering compelling devices.… Read more

In what might be considered a parting critique of Windows 8, Intel's outgoing CEO admitted that Windows 8 takes getting used to.

"I've recently converted personally to Windows 8 with touch. It is a better Windows than Windows 7 in the desktop mode when you implement touch," Paul Otellini said during the company's first-quarter earnings conference call today.

But it can be a challenge, he added.

"There is an adoption curve. And once you get over that adoption curve I don't think you go back. We didn't quite have that same kind … Read more

Microsoft has struck a patent-licensing agreement with Hon Hai, parent company of Foxconn, that protects the company from being sued by the software giant over devices it makes that run Google's Android and Chrome operating systems.

Hon Hai will pay Microsoft unspecified royalties in exchange for "broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio," the companies announced this evening.

Microsoft has long argued that Chrome and Android infringe on its patented technology in areas ranging from the user interface to the underlying operating system. However, rather than going after Google for patent violations, Microsoft has targeted device makers, … Read more

The battle for the future of television is just beginning, but it looks to be a long one. One of the key players is Microsoft, which has spent the past several years morphing its Xbox 360 from a straight-up gaming console into one of the best video-streaming boxes you can buy.

Of course, the current Xbox 360 is getting long in the tooth, and the next-generation model is expected to be announced soon, and to be available as early as the end of 2013. And TV services look to be just as central to the core of that device as … Read more

Microsoft wants the world to know it is ready to go head-to-head with Amazon Web Services on both features and price.

As expected, Microsoft today announced that its Linux and Windows Server virtual machines (VMs) on Windows Azure are now generally available and ready for deployment. These are the persistent VMs that Microsoft publicly unveiled last June, and which provide users with a way to run existing Linux and Windows Server apps in the Azure cloud without having to completely rewrite them.

Microsoft announced last year that these persistent VMs will allow users to run Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows … Read more

What if Microsoft relented and granted users who are lukewarm about Windows 8 two of their biggest requests: Allow those who want to boot straight to the desktop, and bring back the Start button with Windows Blue, a.k.a. Windows 8.1?

Though supposedly not part of the original plan for Blue, these two UI options are looking more likely.

Reports from a couple of different forums from this past weekend raised the possibility that Microsoft might be moving toward allowing users to skip booting into the Metro-Style Start menu and instead start their PCs in desktop mode. (Winbeta.org noted the thread about this … Read more

Microsoft has updated its various Bing apps for Windows 8 in a move designed to make them quicker to use and easier to customize.

The News app now lets you manage the different news categories that appear in the app. You can add or remove categories for world news, technology, politics, business, and entertainment, and sort the order in which they appear. You can also add a particular news source or RSS feed to your featured sources and to the Windows Start screen so that you can more quickly access their stories.

The News app's app bar has also … Read more