Microsoft

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

Microsoft to reveal Windows Blue pricing, availability soon

Up until now, Microsoft's official pronouncements about Windows Blue have been few and far between.

But the informational floodgates are going to open in the next couple of weeks or so, said Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows client division at Microsoft.

During my interview with her at the Microsoft New York City headquarters on Monday, Reller outlined Microsoft's disclosure plans for the next version of Windows, codenamed Blue. Here's what Reller would -- and wouldn't -- say about Blue:

Reller said the Windows team will share pricing, packaging, and go-to-market details about Blue … Read more

Microsoft sells more than 100M Windows 8 licenses in 6 months

Microsoft officials said Monday that Microsoft has surpassed the 100 million Windows 8 licenses sold milestone -- a number on par with the number of Windows 7 licenses the company sold in its first six months on the market.

(Windows 8 and Windows RT went on sale on October 26, 2012. So the exact six-month mark was April 26, which was 10 days ago.)

"If there had been more touch devices in the market, it would have been even more," said Tami Reller, the chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows client team. That said, "our sell-through … Read more

Next Xbox may not need constant Web connection

Plenty of video gamers had feared that the next Xbox console from Microsoft would require a constant Internet connection.

But a new internal e-mail to the Xbox team, reported on by Ars Technica, suggests that the console won't always need to be plugged into the Web.

"Durango (the code name for the next Xbox) is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today's Internet," the e-mail said, according to the Ars report. "There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and … Read more