Windows 8 January 2013?

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So called “trusted” Russian leaker, WZOR, has said that Microsoft has an internal document that Windows 8 is to be released January 7th, 2013 with betas released before then. I’d definitely take this with a grain of salt, as the “trusted” source has been wrong before.

    • Windows 7 and Server 2008 Service Pack 2 has been worked on since the fall of 2010, and is expected to touch down if all goes well sometime in mid-2012.
    • In March, Windows 8 M3 development will commence.
    • Following M3, work on the first Windows 8 beta will begin; according to WZOR, Microsoft will release two public beta milestone builds in Windows 8′s development.
    • After the second beta, the RC will be worked on then released.
    • Approximately three months after the RC, Windows 8 will reach RTM.
    • And of course, following RTM, it will hit the store shelves and reach the general availability (GA) phase of development, which WZOR states will happen on Monday, January 7th, 2013.

Gaming News

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After 14 years in development and pushbacks, Duke Nukem Forever has been promised to be released May 3rd of this year. Whether or not this is going to happen or not is still up in the air. With so many promises of being released and then nothing, I’m not getting my hopes up. I was excited a decade ago, not too sure about it anymore.

Bethesda has announced the new game engine for it’s upcoming Elder Scrolls V game, Skyrim. With beautiful screenshots, and usual amazing gameplay, I’m looking forward to this game. I can’t wait to see what else this game engine can pump out.

Microsoft Finds Culprit in WP7 Data Issue

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Microsoft has found the culprit in the Windows Phone 7 issue of the mysterious data transfer happening without the users knowledge. Turns out, it was a third party application doing all the transfer. Of course, all fingers were pointed at Microsoft for the fault of the problem.

We have determined that a third-party solution commonly accessed from Windows Phones is configured in a manner that potentially causes larger than expected data downloads. We are in contact with the third party to assist them in making the necessary fixes, and are also pursuing potential workarounds to address the configuration issue in case those are needed. At this point in our investigation, we believe this is responsible for most of the reported incidents.

Microsoft Executive Creates Cologne

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A Microsoft VP of Sales has decided to broaden his scope of sales. He has created a perfume and cologne that smells like money. While this may be cool to some people, I certainly wouldn’t want to attract the gold digger types out there. At least musicians can come out with something useful: liquor (Cabo Wabo, among many others).

Patrick McCarthy, a vice president of sales at Microsoft, took a break from his day job to create His Money Cologne and Her Money Eau de Parfum, a line of his-and-hers fragrances that are designed to make the wearer smell like a million bucks — or more, depending on how much you put on.

Xbox 360 Update Locks Out Pirates

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Microsoft quietly let out an update today to fix a problem that they created in a November update: the ability to Boot to disc. In the process, they also have disabled the ability to play pirated copies of some games. While I don’t approve of piracy, the ability to backup your bought software has always been an issue.

The update is mandatory and Xbox 360 owners will be prompted to update the next time they sign-in to Xbox LIVE. Microsoft has also blocked some popular flashed firmware disc drive modifications with the update. Pirates typically flash their DVD drives with modified firmware to bypass Microsoft’s game security checks.”Anti-piracy 2.5″ is the software giant’s latest attempt to thwart console pirates. According to nearly 200 posts on a popular Xbox 360 moding forum, pirates are having a number of issues loading games after the mandatory update.

Ballmer Says Xbox Isn’t A Gaming Machine

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Steve Ballmer says that the Xbox isn’t a gaming machine… Seriously? True, you can do so much with an Xbox: Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, chat and tons more. However, I look at it first and foremost a gaming machine. I really can’t imagine someone buying an Xbox 360 just for the media aspect. The PS3 used to be the best, lowest cost Blu-ray player out there, which made it something more and gave reason to buy it for something other than gaming, but not the Xbox. Sorry, Steve. It’s a gaming machine.

Q: You sold 8 million Kinects over the holidays, more than you expected. What differentiates it from other gaming consoles on the market?

A: Xbox isn’t a gaming console. Xbox is a family entertainment center. It’s a place to socialize. It’s a place to watch TV. We have Hulu coming. It’s the only system where you are the controller. Your voice, your gestures, your body.

Windows Phone 7 – Screencaps Not Important

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Microsoft has stated that taking screenshots are not important for the end-user. Yes, I understand that you can take screenshots through the emulator with the SDK, but there are many times that I take screenshots (when doing a review of software, etc.) while using the device. I’d like to see either Microsoft enable the functionality or a third party create something that will do it.

According to Woodman, it’s also not always the users who help Microsoft determine which features need to be fast-tracked. “We do a lot of things for reporters,” Woodman said. “I would argue things like the Mac connector software–the software that lets you take your Windows Phone and connect it to an Apple PC of some form, and basically pull over music from iTunes and photos and that kind of stuff–it wasn’t built because we thought there was a significant market opportunity for Mac loyalists out there who were dying to buy a Windows Phone. It was built because reporters would show up with Macs,” Woodman said.

The other half of the equation, Woodman explained, is that developers who wanted to take screenshots of their applications have had the means since the introduction of the Windows Phone 7 SDK. “There’s a ton of ways to do it in within the emulator, so application developers have no problem with that,” Woodman said.

Microsoft Reissues Outlook 2007 Update

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After a blunder in December over an update for Outlook 2007 which caused slow loading, connection issues and automatic archiving, Microsoft has re-released the update fixing the original issue without the major side effects. If you are using Office 2007 and Outlook 2007, be sure to grab this update.

Microsoft has pulled the plug on updates before. In April, it retracted a patch for Windows 2000 — which at the time was still supported — over what it called “quality issues.” And in early 2008, the company yanked an update designed to prep Windows Vista for Service Pack 1 (SP1) after users flooded support forums with tales of endless reboots.

Game Sales Down; XBox Sales Up

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While video game sales are generally down, the XBox 360 has been enjoying the extra sales. These are probably attributed to the Kinect system bringing in a lot of new customers. They sold so much in December that they ran out and had to eat into the production of January and February.

In order to make those numbers happen, Microsoft said it made available units from its January and February production runs. “Despite this, Microsoft still experienced out of supply situations in late December, and it expects supply constraint to continue in January and February as it works with retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments to replenish the channel,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, confirming news of the shortages from earlier in the day.