Microsoft

Microsoft tells more about 'Gemini' Office Web apps

Like the rest of the Microsoft Office unit, the Office Web Apps team seems to be on a path to deliver more new updates more frequently.

This week, the Web Apps team (which also internally goes by WAC, or Web Applications Companion) blogged about some of the new features coming to Office Web Apps "over the next year and beyond." These include official support for Chrome on Android tablets and real-time co-authoring (instead of "same time" authoring), starting with PowerPoint Web App.

Microsoft executives also previously have said that Yammer integration will be coming to Office Web Apps, … Read more

Toshiba: Microsoft confused tablet buyers with Windows 8

Microsoft's strategy to push both Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets has confused the market, according to a Toshiba executive.

In a Toshiba product launch on Wednesday in Sydney, Australia, Mark Whittard, managing director of Toshiba Australia, criticized Microsoft's dual operating system approach. Marketing two types of tablets -- one line with Windows 8, the other with Windows RT -- confused consumers, Whittard said, according to The Australian.

"I think one of the challenges is, there was a lot of confusion with Windows 8, my personal view is that they (Microsoft) confused the market with a couple … Read more

Microsoft revamps YouTube app for Windows Phone 8

The appearance of a new app suggest that Microsoft and Google have made progress in resolving their feud over YouTube.

Microsoft announced Tuesday the release of an overhauled YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 to make the most of the mobile operating system's features. While the previous iteration of the app was rather bland -- a situation Microsoft blamed on Google compatibility issues -- the new app is "completely redesigned" to take advantage of the platform's live tiles presentation.

Microsoft claimed that Google, which bought YouTube in 2006, had been blocking Windows Phone 8 access to … Read more

Unlike Adobe, Microsoft won't abandon packaged software

A day after Adobe Systems killed its Creative Suite software, moving instead to a Web-based subscription service, Microsoft said it would not follow suit with its Office suite of productivity applications--at least not yet.

In a blog post Tuesday, Office spokesman Clint Patterson said that Microsoft, like Adobe, believes in the future of software-as-a-service, in part because the applications can be always up-to-date, and because subscribers can use the applications across a range of devices.

"However, unlike Adobe, we think people's shift from packaged software to subscription services will take time," Patterson wrote.

How much time? Patterson … Read more

Windows Blue preview to hit in late June, Microsoft exec says

NEW YORK--Users will get a preview of Windows Blue in late June, a Microsoft executive said Tuesday.

Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows, said a public preview of the update to the Windows 8 operating system will be available in time for Microsoft's developers' conference next month.

She declined to provide many details about Windows Blue, the codename for the update, but she said it will enable device makers to create products with smaller screen sizes. She added that despite some reports, Windows Blue won't have any major changes from Windows 8.

"We're … Read more

Microsoft extends revenue guarantee with Yahoo

Microsoft is going to continue to pay Yahoo a guarantee for the revenue-per-search (RPS) shortfall that is continuing to persist.

Reuters noted that Yahoo disclosed the latest year-long extension of the guarantee, which had expired on March 31, on May 7. The guarantee took effect on April 1, according to Yahoo's latest 10-Q filing.

Search Engine Land recapped RPS this way:

"(W)hen Yahoo & Microsoft signed a search deal in 2009, Microsoft promised that Yahoo would earn a set amount of money for each search that happens, a 'revenue per search' or RPS. If this didn't … Read more

Windows Start button could make a comeback, Microsoft exec says

NEW YORK--The Windows Start button could make a comeback in future versions of the software, Microsoft's head of Windows confirmed Tuesday.

Julie Larson-Green, corporate vice president of Windows at Microsoft, said the company is having "meaningful discussions" about bringing certain older features of the Microsoft's operating system to Windows 8. That could include a Start button that remains on the screen.

However, she said Microsoft believes "fully in the start screen and model of having live tiles and access to everything you want in a glance."

"The Start menu was never built for … Read more

What's new about Windows Blue (FAQ)

Microsoft may be the only company on the face of the planet where the sale of 100 million licenses is seen by some as a disappointment.

Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, noted Monday that Microsoft has sold more than 100 million licenses of Windows 8 since its October debut. But slowing PC sales have sparked some hand-wringing, leading to speculation about the coming update for Windows 8, codenamed Blue. The significant changes in Windows haven't been universally embraced, Reller acknowledged to The New York Times.

"The learning curve is … Read more

Nokia Lumia 928 outed in Vanity Fair ad

The long-rumored Nokia Lumia 928 Windows Phone-based handset is real, and it's heading to Verizon.

Engadget on Tuesday posted an image of an ad for the Lumia 928 in the latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The ad shows a device being held in a person's hand as he or she captures a photo or video of a family at the beach. Verizon's logo, along with the Nokia logo, sit just above the screen.

The ad copy isn't completely legible in the Engadget photo, but clearly is promoting Nokia's PureView camera technology, the camera's … Read more