Microsoft

Poll: Windows 8 or Windows RT device?

Windows 8 and Windows RT and the new touch-centric Metro interface will be upon us before you know it. So, which has the most promise?

Windows 8 on Intel: These tablets and convertibles will run the full-blown Windows 8 operating system. Tablets from device vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Acer will use Intel's upcoming "Clover Trail" Atom processor. Some convertibles will also tap higher-performance Ivy Bridge processors. And, of course, chips from Advanced Micro Devices.

Upside The biggest upside (barring unforeseen glitches) is the breadth of compatibility with existing Windows applications and the ability to use Metro mode more

Xbox 360 rules again in slumping video game market

The Xbox 360 scored its 16th month in a row as the best-selling console in the United States.

With a 47 percent share of all current console sales, Microsoft sold 236,000 gaming units last month, according to the latest stats from NPD Group.

Total consumer spending on the Xbox 360 (hardware, software, and accessories) hit $261 million, more than what was spent on Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 combined.

The Xbox also grabbed seven of the top 10 game titles in April. Kinect Star Wars took the No. 1 spot, with The Witcher Two: Assassin of more

Internet Explorer 9

With Internet Explorer 9, you can pin websites to your Windows 7 Taskbar so they are one-click away. Just drag the tab down to the taskbar to pin

Get to your favorite sites faster

Samsung launches the Omnia M Windows Phone in Europe

Samsung is launching the Omnia M, a new Windows Phone 7-based device, in Europe.

The Windows Phone 7.5-equipped handset ships with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display and 1GHz processor. The device features a minimalist design with rounded edges and a curved back. According to Samsung, the case was designed ergonomically so it "sits comfortably in your hand."

Microsoft gets reprieve in Motorola suit on Exchange ActiveSync

Score one for Microsoft.

Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany today ruled that a complaint Motorola has brought against Microsoft related to data-sync technology in Exchange ActiveSync will not be decided on anytime soon. According to Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, who was first to report on the news and has acknowledged being a paid consultant for Microsoft, the judge instead decided to reopen the case. The move could push back a final ruling several months, according to Mueller.

"We are pleased the Mannheim court is looking even more closely at this case and remain confident in more

Why Mozilla believes Firefox on Windows RT is a bust

Technically, Microsoft hasn't banned non-IE browsers in Windows RT, the forthcoming Windows 8 version for machines with ARM processors. But as Mozilla sees it, Microsoft may as well have.

Why? Because Microsoft permits only its own software to use a restricted set of Windows interfaces. This means Firefox and other browsers don't get access to the same application programming interfaces (APIs), which in turn means they don't get the same abilities and will effectively be crippled, said Mozilla spokesman and longtime participant Asa Dotzler.

"Without these APIs, it is not possible to build a modern Web browser," more

Internet Explorer 9

With Internet Explorer 9, you can pin websites to your Windows 7 Taskbar so they are one-click away. Just drag the tab down to the taskbar to pin

Get to your favorite sites faster

Xbox 360 Kinect said to add Internet Explorer browsing

Microsoft may be looking to integrate Internet Explorer 9 into Xbox 360 consoles sometime in the near future, according to The Verge. Redmond is also said to be testing the use of Kinect voice and motion control to help users browse the Web.

This move would bring Microsoft closer to integrating more of its products into the same ecosystem. Right now, Xbox 360 has Bing video search and Kinect voice recognition. Although some users are pleased about not having to type in TV show and movie names, the feature has gotten mixed reviews from consumers who say they have to speak loudly and use very specific commands.

Microsoft's Windows 8 upgrade offer: What's coming when

It's just about time for Microsoft to launch its expected Windows 8 upgrade program.

For the past several years, in order to keep PC sales from falling off a cliff in the months shortly before Microsoft and partners are poised to roll out new models running a new version of Windows, Microsoft has offered an upgrade program. Via these programs, customers who buy PCs running the current version of Windows (in this case, Windows 7) get "coupons" allowing them to get a free version of the next OS release (Windows 8) once it is generally available.

Here are some more

Intel CEO dings ARM's Windows 8 'legacy' vulnerability

Intel CEO Paul Otellini took aim at a vulnerability of the ARM chips running Windows 8 when he addressed investors today at a meeting at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.

"There's been a lot of debate that [Windows 8] is going to be a real entree for the ARM camp into Windows for the first time," he said. "While at face value, that's true...[but] I think they have a big uphill fight," he said.

Intel showed off an ultrabook with a touch screen running Windows 8, demonstrating how easy it is to switch between the touch-centric more

Bing deepens Facebook integration, connecting searchers with friends

Microsoft is making yet another attempt to deeply integrate Facebook into its Bing search experience as a way to gain some ground on archrival Google.

Today, the software giant introduced an update to Bing, adding a new column to search results that features Facebook friends who might have some insight into the query. The sidebar, set off from the white Bing page in gray, lists friends who, for example, might be able to help with a search about diving spots in Costa Rica because they shared photos from a trip to that country on Facebook.

"This notion of a query more

How Mark Zuckerberg inspired a more social Bing

Ten developers from Microsoft flew into San Francisco in late February last year to bang away on code with ten counterparts from Facebook.

This hackathon, something the two partners do with some regularity, had a special guest as the day wore on: Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. In one of the dozens of generic conference room that dot Microsoft's Mountain View campus, the crew spent hours swapping ideas and sharing code, coming up with new ways to integrate Facebook's social network into Bing's search technology. Near the end of the day, Zuckerberg talked to the more