According to the website SemiAccurate, the new Xbox processors are going through the fab process. They are pushing enough for development kits for the Xbox Next/Xbox 720. Whether or not this is true is still up in the air. SemiAccurate has been accurate in the past when it comes to these reports, though.

Now for the new stuff. The XBox Next/720 Oban chip is in initial production. Sources at a foundry with a blue logo, confirm that Oban wafers started running in the final days of 2011. Sources on the other side of the continent in Redmond when questioned, said, “Who the f*&$ told you that? I am going to f#*&ing rip someone’s head off”. We at SemiAccurate take this as confirmation that the initial sources were in the right ballpark.

I can’t say I disagree with this guy. Since the introduction of Windows activation, it has been a pain in the butt. I’ve voiced my opinion many, MANY times that the activation scheme in Windows and Office is flawed. I have suffered times when a legitimate key would not work and have to call the automated line and still have it not work, then explain to the Microsoft employee why I’m not a pirate and am installing a single legitimate copy of Windows on a single machine. God help me if I get a bad hard drive and have to reinstall within a few months…

Yes, there are times when it is much easier to pirate the operating system than it is to actually buy and install it. Most of the time, it doesn’t happen like that. But, it has happened often enough to a lot of people to despise the activation system. If your customer experience is messed up, then their whole experience with your product is negative, even if no other issues arise. If they do, I’m sure that they would seriously consider an alternative (Mac OSX).

I’ve had games that I’ve been so disappointed in their anti-piracy schemes that I’ve skipped over a new great game because of the bad experience. I’ve used no-CD cracks in the past because I don’t want to find a CD in a rack (or misplaced) and not be able to play the game due to the missing CD. I don’t like buying and legally owning my software yet have to be treated like a criminal. I don’t appreciate it at Wal-Mart, and I don’t appreciate it from any software developers. Pirates WILL copy your software regardless of the anti-piracy scheme you use, and they WILL have a much better experience with the software than a legitimate user will have. Guaranteed. Why keep alienating your users and treat them like criminals. We’re not.

Bluewater Productions is set to release a new Bill Gates comic book in March. I’ve seen other comics from the company and thought they were decent. But, as an old comic book collector and a Microsoft fan, I’ll be sure to pick this up. In fact, I already pre-ordered it from Amazon!

[Image removed due to DCMA request from original picture that drawing resembled.]

PCWorld has read between the lines from some comments said at this years CES and says that Windows 8 should be released this October. We all know that release dates can be pushed back (and should be to enable a stable and finished release), so take this as just an approximate date. It still looks like it is on schedule for a consumer preview (beta) sometime in late February.

Microsoft has been reluctant to say exactly when it will release Windows 8, but Poole seemed ready to offer a strong hint. "We haven’t talked about the release date and we generally don’t. We are talking milestone to milestone, so for us right now we’re talking about the next milestone being the consumer preview happening in late February," she says.

It saddens me to say that the worlds youngest MCP has passed away at the age of 16. She was an amazing and smart young girl.

In what could simply be described as an enormous loss for Pakistan, Arfa Karim, the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Saturday night, lost the battle of life after remaining admitted here at Combined Military Hospital for 26 days, Geo News reported.
Arfa Karim was only sixteen years old.
Her funeral prayers will be offered on Sunday at 10 AM in Cantt area.

After reading this article from BusinessWeek, I have more respect for Steve Ballmer. As CEO of Microsoft, he seems like he understands his failings and is changing his style to reflect those problems. He really seems like a normal person, a guy that you could have a good conversation with – even not when discussing Microsoft. I know my perspective has changed on this guy, what about yours? I wouldn’t mind meeting the guy now. Perhaps sometime in the future.

“Four years ago, you know, I can remember statistically when we would have looked far more like the overdog in everything,” he says. “Now we’ve got battles where we’re big and strong and powerful, and we’ve got battles where other guys are moving, and it’s fun to work both from the front of the pack and from the back of the pack sometimes. They’re different kinds of competition, but they both drive you, push you.”

With over 78% of software in China being pirated, Microsoft is finally going after some of those responsible. A retailer in China, Shanghai Gome and Buynow, is being sued by Microsoft for selling computers with pirated copies of Windows and Office. Will this solve anything over there? I doubt it, with Chinas lax anti-piracy laws. But, it’s a start.

Microsoft is boosting efforts to counter unauthorized use of its software in China, which surpassed the U.S. last year as the world’s biggest market for personal computers. About 78 percent of software in China was pirated in 2010, according to estimates by the Business Software Alliance.

ARM support in Windows 8 has been announced for quite a while, yet there really hasn’t been much in the way of demonstrations. Qualcomm has shown a demo at CES, running on it’s Snapdragon S4 processor. As an alternative to Intel’s x86 offerings, ARM is a great architecture to use for tablets due to it’s long battery life and low heat output. x86 compatibility in Windows 8 is supposed to be working, as well. I can’t wait to see a good hands on demonstration soon.

"Windows 8 is a great match for Snapdragon because we build our processors from the ground up," Jacobs told attendees. "Windows 8 ARM support is a game changer."

Tom Warren (of WinRumors fame – now on The Verge) has posted some new screenshots and a nice video of the newest build of the beta for Windows 8. Color chooser for the new Metro start screen, translucent Charms Bar, and much more. It looks excellent, and getting very polished compared to the early developer preview. I can’t wait to try out the beta come February.

Microsoft also confirmed some recently leaked images that demonstrated a color picker for the Start Screen, and a translucent Charms Bar. Windows 8 build 8175 includes the ability to switch the Start Screen colors, and you’ll see from our hands-on pictures that there’s a high level of customization available. The software giant has previously promised that a Windows 8 beta will be made available in late February, alongside the new Windows Store, and we’d expect to see these improvements alongside even more changes.

CES is in full swing, and the unlikely contender is getting much deserved attention. Windows Phone 7 is everywhere at CES, and not only at the booths. The attendees are talking about it. The Windows Phone 7 team is even out betting $100 that their phone can beat yours in a head to head test. This is great news for the Windows Phone platform, and it’s been all good attention, too!

But with its Windows Phone devices, Nokia has picked up not one, but two U.S. carriers for its Lumia handsets: T-Mobile for the 710 (a great little $49 phone I’ve used for the past week) and now AT&T for the 900. And now you can’t talk about Nokia without also discussing Microsoft or Windows Phone. From a buzz perspective, it’s a win for both companies, even though pricing and availability details are lacking on the AT&T handsets.