Microsoft Talk

"it looks like Microsoft's been working mighty hard to please those that just love using a pen and paper with Windows 8, offering a revamped metro-style handwriting interface in the consumer preview." - LANjackal

"The Daily had a chance to check out a pair of prototypes incorporating Kinect sensors over the last few days. The devices, which at first glance appear to be Asus netbooks running Windows 8, feature an array of small sensors stretching over the top of the screen where the webcam would normally be. At the bottom of the display is a set of what appear to be LEDs. A source at Microsoft has confirmed that the devices are indeed official prototypes of laptops featuring a Kinect sensor. In terms of functionality, there are hundreds of different ways that motion control could be leveraged in a portable. Gaming has the most obvious applications, but a Kinect-enabled laptop could also toggle between programs with the wave of a hand, or media controls could be tweaked with the wag of a finger. What’s more, motion-controlled portables could offer a new way for disabled individuals to interact with their devices." - LANjackal

"Windows 8 on ARM should go to developers in February, said one source, who had some hands-on time with a high-profile device from a major PC maker, adding that Windows 8 was impressive and stable." - LANjackal

"ntel CEO Paul Otellini hinted that Windows 8 tablet production may not be that far off" - LANjackal

"Despite testing on Apple-built hardware, OS X generally trailed Windows 7 browser performance, with a Mac browser beating all Windows 7 challengers only four times out of 35 eligible tests. As for the runners up, Chrome came in just behind Firefox on Windows, while Chrome and Firefox were nearly indistinguishable for second place on OS X." - LANjackal

"Microsoft actually has a hit, at least with the technorati. It’s cellphone software called Windows Phone — and they need it to be a blockbuster here at Microsoft Central." - LANjackal

Upgraded our phones a few months back. My wife went for an Android (Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray) from a non-Smartphone; I went for WP (Nokia Lumia 800) from Symbian. The Windows Phone OS is just fantastic and my missus has already hinted that when it's time to upgrade again she's already thinking about moving to it too; she's found Android to not really be that intuitive for a non-computer-oriented person whereas my phone just seems to work how she expects. - Mark H

"At a pre-CES developer conference, AT&T and Qualcomm execs are going to be talking up LTE-charged Windows 8 tablets." - LANjackal

"The fate of ultrabooks is intimately linked to Windows 8, as CEO Paul Otellini has made clear in recent talks--and as he is expected to reiterate at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week." - LANjackal

"PC makers are working on new tablets powered by Windows 8 and Intel’s upcoming “Clover Trail” chipsets." - LANjackal

"Microsoft's Windows XP shed a large amount of usage share again last month as users continued to desert the decade-old operating system for Windows 7." - LANjackal

Good. - Akiva

"Windows Phone 7 offers the best elements of both iOS and Android. The hub-based interface is clean, customizable, and completely original (I really love the notifications); you can choose from more than one handset design; updates arrive directly from Microsoft (though some also consider that a liability); there's real multitasking and great integration with apps (even if there aren't many of them), and I never had to hard reset a phone. In many ways, it's a great middle ground." - LANjackal

"Gadget Lab has seen a Windows 8 tablet in action, and the experience opened our eyes to just how useful — and, yes, even fun — a Windows 8 tablet might be. Sure, Microsoft was demoing a mere reference design, but what we saw was so intriguing, we’re legitimately excited to see final, shipping products." - LANjackal

like this gadget...........http://arrangeyourvacation.com/events... - Roshni Padole

"Six years after the original Xbox 360′s debut, Microsoft this week is overhauling its video-game console, again, with a big software update that attempts to cement the company’s place in the living room. It also continues the expansion of the console beyond the world of games." - LANjackal

LOL - AJ Batac

http://friendfeed.com/ajbatac... - AJ Batac

"Microsoft and TechStars are hoping to turn the creativity and momentum associated with the Kinect into some functioning startups." - LANjackal

"Three years ago, Microsoft kicked off the BizSpark program to support early-stage tech startups worldwide. Over the years, we have worked with amazing companies, incredible entrepreneurs and a global network of partners and advisors. Today, Microsoft provides valuable assistance to more than 45,000 startups worldwide." - LANjackal

"Android now has 52.5% of the global smartphone market. No matter how you want to slice it, that's amazing. It's stealing share from every other smartphone operating system other than iOS, which is basically flat." - LANjackal

"Yesterday, the organization responsible for the Free Software-licensed system of file and print services called Samba - the group that had helped keep Microsoft in court for over six years - acknowledged that a distribution that showed up in Samba's respositories on October 11 contained interoperability code for Windows from Microsoft itself." - LANjackal

"Microsoft has rolled out Beta 2 of its Kinect for Windows development kit and has added support for Windows 8 with the refresh." - LANjackal

"Acer Chairman JT Wang sees a resurgence of Microsoft software in the coming years, enabling Windows to more effectively take on Apple, according to a report." - LANjackal

"Windows 8, the next version of Microsoft's venerable OS franchise will likely not be available until sometime in 2012, but business IT organizations are already beginning to develop plans for deployment. That's one of the findings from a survey of 973 tech professionals conducted in October by InformationWeek." - LANjackal

"For Microsoft Windows, the markers are unmistakable: Windows XP continues its steady decline. Windows 7 continues its steady advance. Windows Vista is fading rapidly into a historical footnote." - LANjackal

"While you have a few choices of BitTorrent client on Windows, uTorrent is hands down the best we've ever used: it's feature-filled, very lightweight, and completely free." - LANjackal

"The ability to quickly build and track a 3D model of the environment (as we and Bill Gates both found amazing) is combined with the ability to display synthetic information onto the real environment. The result? The digital simulation of the world is overlaid on the world, in real time, and it’s utterly insane." - LANjackal

"Facebook is dead serious about building common standards for efficient hardware in the data center. On Thursday, the social networking giant launched the Open Compute Foundation, an industry association that aims to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the computers that run great swaths of the Internet. The foundation formalizes an effort the social media giant began in April, when it started the Open Compute Project (OCP)." - LANjackal

"55 percent of Android devices by worldwide revenue are subject to patent license agreements between Microsoft and original design manufacturers, such as Compal. Moreover, 53 percent of Android smartphones by unit share in the United States are subject to patent license agreements between Microsoft and original equipment manufacturers, such as Samsung and HTC." - LANjackal

"Google Chief Executive Officer Larry Page told analysts today he's seen "no signs" that rivals' tactics challenging Android over patent infringement have been effective." - LANjackal

"Windows 7 has overtaken Windows XP to become most used OS in this world. Windows XP which was launched by Microsoft almost a decade ago went on to become the most used OS in the history. When Windows 7 was launched in 2009, Windows XP had over 70% of the OS market share, but after that Windows 7 steadily increased its presence and replaced it to achieve this remarkable feat." - LANjackal

That's was me. I just swapped a system from XP to Win 7. :) - CAJ was here

"Our goal with Windows 8 from the beginning was to ship with the same system requirements as Windows 7. We know if we do even better that there are more resources for apps, even if we keep the published requirements the same. It is fun to think about what the "low end" hardware looked like in 2009 and how you can't even find things like 256MB memory modules anymore. We wanted to ensure that people running on Windows 7-era hardware would have the option to easily upgrade their existing machines to Windows 8 and take advantage of the functionality it has to offer. We also expect that many machines that predate the Windows 7 release will run Windows 8 based on the experiences we’ve had with older machines we intentionally keep in our performance test infrastructure." - LANjackal

"An analysis suggests that patents it recently bought from IBM won't help much against competitors such as Apple and Microsoft." - LANjackal

"Windows 8 Metro-style apps and Desktop apps are going to offer two different experiences. But both kinds of apps are going to be available on both x86/x64 and ARM PCs and tablets." - LANjackal

"The data in your beautiful spreadsheet doesn't necessarily start out that way, especially if you've copied or imported it in from some other place. By using some Excel functions and formatting techniques, you can make your names, dates and numbers look just the way you want." - LANjackal