Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking during a meeting with analysts at Nvidia's conference for developers, noted that devices using the software -- such as Microsoft's Surface RT and Asus Vivo Tab RT -- aren't selling very well.
"Windows RT is disappointing to us because we expected to have sold more than we did," Huang said. "Everybody expected to have sold more than we did."
He said the next question is: How important is Windows … Read more
Up until last year, it seemed to be an unwritten (or maybe written) policy that the Windows client team wouldn't pay developers to write apps for Windows 8.
But that edict seems to have been rescinded. Microsoft is now offering developers $100 for each Windows 8 and/or Windows Phone 8 app they write, up to a total of 10 apps per Store. This limited-time promotion -- which started March 8 and runs until June 30, 2013 -- is known as the "Keep the Cash" offer. (Participants must live within the 50 United States and be at … Read more
Federal regulators are looking into an alleged bribery scheme involving Microsoft and its partners in China, Italy, and Romania, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
According to the report, lawyers at the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are focused on allegations of kickbacks in China, as well as the company's relationship with resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy.
While Microsoft did not directly acknowledge the investigation, it said in a statement provided to CNET that it takes such allegations "seriously" and cooperates with government inquiries "fully."
"Like other large … Read more
"Am I making myself clear?" takes on a whole new meaning now that Windows Phone 8 users can chat with their Skype contacts in high-definition video.
Out today, version 2.4 of Skype for Windows Phone 8 taps into the hardware acceleration in Microsoft's mobile OS to enable high-quality video calls.
Lower-end phones will deliver VGA video. But higher-end devices, such as the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC Windows Phone 8X, and Samsung Ativ S, can amp that up to 720P HD video, Skype said today in a blog about the new version.
The app automatically sets the … Read more
As Microsoft marches toward its early April 2013 end-of-free-support deadline for Windows 7, the company is planning to update automatically some of those who still have yet to install the first (and seemingly only) Service Pack for the operating system.
As announced yesterday on the Microsoft "Blogging Windows" blog, Microsoft plans to begin rolling out Windows 7 SP1 automatically, via Windows Update to Windows 7 users who still are running the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) version without SP1 installed. This process will begin on March 19.
From the blog post:
Starting tomorrow, the installation will be fully automatic with … Read more
Microsoft has put an end date on its support for Windows Phone 7.8 and Windows Phone 8.
The company's support page lists both operating systems, and says that Windows Phone 7.8 will be supported through September 9, 2014, while Windows Phone 8 will receive support through July 8, 2014.
The difference is based on Microsoft's life cycle start date and its decision to support platforms for 18 months. Microsoft pegs the Windows Phone 8 start date at December 14 and Windows Phone 7.8 at February 9.
Windows Phone 8 is the latest and most featured-packed … Read more
Microsoft's first PC, the Surface Pro, has survived Round One.
A report this week said 400,000 Surface Pros were sold in about a month since its release. That's a decent start (contrary to the media's take).
Remember, this is an $899-$999 tablet (though I prefer to describe it as a full-blown Windows PC compacted and stuffed into a tablet's chassis), not a $199 Nexus 7 or $329 iPad Mini.
Also remember this is just the start. The Pro should evolve to the point where you can have a 1.5 or 2 pound tablet … Read more
Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin offered some less-than-stellar observations about Microsoft in an interview published last night.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Shin said his company sees "lackluster demand for Windows-based products in Europe." And elsewhere around the world, he said, Microsoft's software efforts in smartphones and tablets are not going so well either.
"Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft's Windows operating system aren't selling very well," Shin told the Journal, ostensibly referring to both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. "There is a preference in the market … Read more
Microsoft has sold 400,000 Surface Pros since launch, according to a Bloomberg report.
That's not a bad start for a very pricey tablet -- starting at $899 -- considering that the Windows 8-based Pro launched only about a month ago.
"That's a respectable number and it leads me to believe that Surface Pro will end up outselling Surface RT," Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC, said in a phone interview.
O'Donnell is referring to the RT version of Surface, which is less expensive, starting at $499, but it is not compatible with older … Read more
A new survey, paid for by Microsoft Advertising, found that 68 percent of computer users in five countries multitask on multiple devices at the same time.
The survey, conducted in Chicago, London, Toronto, Sydney, and Sao Paulo, looked at the different ways folks use multiple devices at the same time. The most common use of multiple devices is something researchers Microsoft dubbed "content grazing." Those folks, the 68 percent of computer users, will check email on their smartphone while watching television, for example.
The survey, conducted by research firms Flamingo Research and Ipsos OTX, found that 57 percent … Read more
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