xbox

Did Microsoft lose itself over the past decade? Its CEO obviously doesn't think so.

In a Forbes interview published yesterday, Steve Ballmer was asked about the recent Vanity Fair article that charged poor management and bureaucracy at Microsoft with hurting the company financially and technologically over the past ten years.

Ballmer's response?

"It's not been a lost decade for me! I mean, look, ultimately progress is measured sort of through the eyes of our users," he told Forbes. "More than our investors or our P&L [profit and loss] or anything else, it'… Read more

Google, Canadians and Nic Cage. Tuesday's top tech stories are nuthin' but trouble.

Google may pay a record $22.5 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle a charge over a privacy violation made public six months ago. Google is accused of exploiting a loophole around user privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser. And the Wall Street Journal says this would be the largest penalty a single company has been asked to pay to the FTC. The Journal first brought the issue to light and exposed how Google used a code to get around privacy controls. Ad … Read more

Xbox Kinect users can now see how many calories they're actually shedding as they jump, dance, and shake to their favorite games.

Available today as a free download for Xbox Live subscribers, Kinect PlayFit is a fitness dashboard that counts the calories you burn as you play certain Kinect games, including Dance Central 2, Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012, and even Kinect Star Wars.

You can also follow your calorie count over time to see how much you're losing as you do the Zumba or swing that lightsaber.

You can even get credit depending on how many calories … Read more

After being down this morning, Microsoft's Xbox Live is back online, according to Microsoft's support team and its status page.

"Xbox LIVE should be back up and running. Thank you for your patience. Game on!" a member of the Xbox Support crew tweeted at about 1:30 p.m. PT.

CNET employees who are subscribers have confirmed that have been able to log on to their account, meaning they can access at least part of the service.

The gaming service was experiencing "difficulties" this morning, with users taking to Twitter to complain around 8:… Read more

Xbox Live users are unable to access the online-gaming service, Microsoft has confirmed.

The software company has taken to both its Twitter account and its Service Status page to inform users that Xbox Live is experiencing "difficulties." The Xbox Live Status page specifically says that users are currently unable to sign in to Xbox Live from their Xbox 360 or via Xbox.com.

"We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue," Microsoft wrote on the Status page. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your … Read more

Forgive me if I'm absolutely sick and tired of military shooters. It seems that no matter what time of year, there's always a war game that's ready to thrust you into some third-world country and have you shoot a bunch of bad guys for 8 to 10 hours.

The format is severely outplayed, so it's no surprise that going into Spec Ops: The Line I was expecting more of the same. Thankfully, Spec Ops deviates away from conventional shooters to the point that it can be enjoyed independently, all while maintaining a very mature and gritty storyline. It's one of the first games to really vilify war, rather than reward it.… Read more

It looks like the Xbox won't be banned from the U.S. just yet.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is putting off a ruling on whether sales of the gaming console should be prohibited in the states owing to infringement of patents held by Google and its Motorola Mobility unit, Reuters reports.

In late May, an ITC judge recommended the ban, based on his ruling that the Xbox infringes patents regarding wireless Net connectivity, video compression, and other technologies. The ITC had been expected to release a decision on the proposed ban in August but has instead sent … Read more

An Xbox isn't just an Xbox. In other words, it's good for more than just playing games, though obviously it has considerable acumen in that department.

It also makes a great Windows Media Center extender, which is awesome if you've paired your PC with one of the CableCard tuners I've mentioned here in the past.

And don't forget streaming: the Xbox gets its Roku on by pulling down Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, and other popular services. (Alas, you need an Xbox Live Gold subscription, which annoys me to no end, but that also enables … Read more

Nintendo is one of the most iconic companies in gaming, but it faces the real possibility of oblivion if it doesn't find a way to turn its fortunes around.

In October 2007, less than a year after the release of its blockbuster Wii console, Nintendo was worth $78.50 per share. That equated to a market cap of $85 billion -- double the value of Sony at the time.

However, Nintendo's fortunes have only gone south since then. With Wii sales cooling and mobile apps the hot trend in gaming, Nintendo's stock collapsed this month to $14.… Read more