New Multitouch Mouse From Microsoft

By DustinPosted on

I’m sure a mouse like this would take some getting used to, but in the long run it would be a very useful mouse. I’m going to check it out when they are released. I’m sure you’ll be able to utilize different profiles (for gaming or different applications) that make the experience a lot better.

For me, the most common gestures I use with the Touch Mouse are scrolling with 1 finger or minimizing or maximizing application windows with 2 fingers. But during writing this blog post, I also discovered how easy it was to use 2 fingers to slide left, then slide right on any open window to take advantage of Aero Snap. I am also enjoying moving my thumb horizontal to the left to go back in IE9 or to the right to go forward.

Microsoft Ships 8 Million Kinects

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft’s popular Kinect has sold more than 8 million units, which is amazing. That is almost 20% of the XBox 360 users (50 Million users).

Microsoft Corp. has shipped more than 8 million Kinect sensors for its Xbox device, topping the company’s forecasts, and now has 30 million users for the related Xbox Live online service.

The company also plans to add the Hulu Plus online- television service to Xbox Live and Kinect in the U.S. this spring. Windows Phone 7 software, meanwhile, will be available for Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. in the first half, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Surface 2.0 Announced

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft and Samsung have unveiled the new Surface 2.0 platform. While it is still aimed at businesses and kiosk use, it still is a great way to showcase new technology. Of course, it lost some of its luster with the release of the Kinect.

“Microsoft continues to innovate in vision-based interaction and software designed for touch. With the introduction of the next generation of Surface, using PixelSense technology, we’ll bring more tables and walls to life with amazing natural experiences for people to enjoy together,” said Panos Panay, general manager, Microsoft Surface. “We partnered with Samsung because of its strengths in LCD technology, hardware design and manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of large-format displays. The companies have built an incredibly successful collaboration that moved from invention to development to manufacturing and sales of a high-quality, industrialized commercial product.”

Upcoming Patch Tuesday

By DustinPosted on

Patch Tuesday is coming up, so make sure your PC is patched up and secure. This week is going to be a small one, with only 2 updates and only 1 of them is a critical update.

Of the patches to be issued on Tuesday, only one is rated critical — the highest threat level on Microsoft’s scale. However, the vulnerability affects all supported versions of Windows — from Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) through Windows 7. The same bug also affects Windows Server releases but is only rated important, Microsoft’s second-highest threat level.

11 Resolutions Microsoft Should Make

By DustinPosted on

Betanews has a list of 11 new year resolutions Microsoft should make this year. I have to say I agree with all of them. I’ve been saying the same things for years. Microsoft needs to get back out there and be a company that people are excited about again. Remember Windows 95 and the lines of people just to be the first to buy it? They need that excitement again. Even the suggestion of bringing Bill Gates back in as a marketing tool would be great. Come on, Microsoft, you need to bring back the gold that you once had!

Unlike past years’ advice — eh, resolutions — this list is more thematic. Microsoft has a huge perception problem, and as I’ve so many times asserted: In business perception is everything. The people with the loudest voices, such as analysts, bloggers, journalists, marketers and software developers are pining for companies like Apple or Google. This translates directly to Microsoft’s share price, which is moribund and undervalued. In November I asked: “Why won’t Wall Street give Microsoft a break?” Perception is a major part of the answer.

NES Emulator Not Allowed On WP7

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft has denied a developer’s NES emulator application for the Windows Phone 7 Market. While Neowin’s users actually understand why this isn’t allowed, as many others do, the developer thinks that it is an abomination! What is your take on emulators and ROM’s? Should you be able to legally download the emulator but the ROM’s be pirated (which they all are, unless you rip them yourself)?

For its part, Microsoft gives a strong indication as to its stance on game emulation on Windows Phone devices. In a post on the official App Hub forums (also quoted on Mr Bettcher’s YouTube page), it is stated that:

”Microsoft takes intellectual property rights very seriously.  If you post a game/image/source that uses unauthorized intellectual property, we will delete it immediately.  This includes technologies that are clearly intended to enable unauthorized use of intellectual property, such as game console emulators.”

Windows Phone 7 Passes 5000 Apps

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft’s Application market for the Windows Phone 7 has surpassed the 5,000 mark and is still growing fast. While it still pales in comparison to the Android Market or Apple App Store, it is still a major achievement. I plan on making a few WP7 applications as soon as Verizon releases a WP7 on their network. I have the emulator and Visual Studio 2010 ready, just need an actual phone to test things on. Hurry up, Verizon! Your customers are waiting! I’m ready to ditch Android. I don’t care if you ever offer an iPhone, I want the Windows Phone 7!

The store size is still well behind those of Apple (300,000) and Google (100,000) but, in roughly two months, has closed in on virtually all small-scale mobile app portals. It has already caught up to Palm’s 1.5 year old webOS store and now has a third of the 15,000 apps of BlackBerry App World despite RIM’s store being older than Palm’s.

Bing Offers A Free Song

By DustinPosted on

Bing is saying Thank You by giving you a free song. All you need to do is go here and put in your email address. Bing will send you a code for a single song of your choosing. Note: by putting in your email address, you are also subscribed to the Bing newsletter.

To get your free song:

  1. Enter your email address in the box below.
  2. We’ll send you an email with your personal song code and instructions for how to redeem it.
  3. Follow the instructions to choose and download your song.

By providing your email address you agree to receive future communications about Bing, including the Bing newsletter. The newsletter gives you tips & tricks plus news about all the great features and programs Bing has to offer. You can unsubscribe at any time. Get started now.

Microsoft #1 Innovative Company In 2010

By DustinPosted on

The Street, an investing and trading website, has named Microsoft number one in innovative companies of 2010. I believe that Microsoft has earned this, even though some of their products have been moved to the back burner lately. The revolutionary Kinect has opened a lot of doors for game developers as well as hardware hackers. There is a lot of potential for the add-on, and it has sold an amazing amount of units since it’s release. There are some things I’d like to see Microsoft move forward a bit faster, namely the Zune HD. The Windows Phone 7 is a great device, but sales have been less than stellar. Once Verizon gets some vendors on deck to offer WP7 under their network, I’m sure sales will increase quite a bit. I know I am going to be jumping on this. Congratulations to Microsoft for keeping up with innovation and keep moving forward!

First off, after slimming its Xbox 360 hardware and just about eliminating the “red circle of death” failures that cost gamers hundreds of dollars in console investment, Microsoft snagged the console sales lead from Nintendo’s Wii and has held it for months. Also, after years of taking a back seat to the Wii’s fun little motion controllers and Miis and getting beaten to market by Sony’s(SNE) PlayStation Move motion device, Microsoft sold 1 million versions of its $150 controller-free Kinect motion-capture device within 10 days of its Nov. 4 release and 2.5 million before the end of November. By all accounts, that should have been a tough sell, considering the console itself goes for as little as $199, but a good concept and great third-party partner products such as Viacom’s(VIA) infectious Dance Central remind us what Microsoft is capable of when its back is to the wall.

Windows 7 Pirating: How Hard Is It?

By DustinPosted on

Ed Bott of ZDNet has traveled to the dark side and has pirated Windows 7. For educational purposes, of course. I’ve always gotten a good deal on my software, and if I couldn’t afford it, I didn’t upgrade. My OS was usually the first purchase I made, and other software was either a generation behind or open source and free. I haven’t attempted to pirate a Microsoft OS in ages (XP, I think I did for fun – I had a legit license for XP Pro), but it looks like it is more difficult than ever, and a lot more risky. The malware and rootkit risk alone is enough to make me not want to attempt it. I always chalk the OS cost as part of a PC build along with the hardware, so it’s not too big of a deal. Others that are thinking of attempting to pirate their way into a copy of Windows 7 may want to read this article before you take the plunge. I don’t condone piracy, but I can’t stop anyone. I can only warn them of the dangers lurking out there!

If you do intend to try this stuff out for yourself, I recommend extreme caution. My hunt for utilities that bypass Windows 7 activation technologies led me to some very seedy corners of the Internet. First, I did what any red-blooded wannabe pirate would do and tried some Google searches. Of the first 10 hits, six were inactive or had been taken down. After downloading files from the remaining four sites, I submitted them to Virustotal.com, where three of the four samples came back positive for nasty, difficult-to-remove Windows 7 rootkits.