The Xbox One entertainment system only arrived back in November, but with the dust having settled and the early adopters busily getting to grips with the new interface, Microsoft has officially announced that the first system update is headed next week. The Redmond company, which only yesterday unveiled Satya Nadella as its new CEO, has a lot going on at the moment with the Windows 8.1 Update 1 also in development, but as per Xbox LIVE's very own Major Nelson, the forthcoming update will include quite a few noteworthy enhancements.
It's no secret that Microsoft is rather struggling in the mobile industry, with the uptake and general market share of Windows Phone devices having not improved a great deal since its inception as Windows Phone 7. But Microsoft is trying its utmost to get folks on board, and right now, is offering a free Nokia Lumia 520 as leverage to anybody willing to purchase an Xbox Music pass. Although the device is mid-range in every sense of the phrase, it's still a free handset, and since it nicely ties in with the Xbox / Windows family, surely any prospective Xbox Music subscriber would find some use for it.
In what will likely be toasted in tech circles a victory for users, it looks like a forthcoming Windows 8.1 update could boot to the traditional desktop by default, skipping (although not removing) the tiled interface that many have begrudgingly become accustomed to. According to The Verge, which cites sources familiar with Microsoft's OS plans moving forward, the "Metro" (or Modern) landing screen will not greet users upon booting, but can be reinstated within the settings for those who require it.
To win any war, sometimes you have to fight dirty, and while this might be a bit of a loaded term to describe Microsoft's latest marketing ploy, it's fair to say that the proverbial gloves are well and truly off. The Redmond company is trying hard to sell you its new and improved Xbox One, and if you happen to be in ownership of the PlayStation 3, then it is especially interested in your custom. So much so, in fact, that those trading in their PlayStation 3 at any US-based Microsoft Retail Store can save $100 off the purchase of the One, which arrives with the second-gen Kinect as standard.
As of today, Microsoft's cloud service SkyDrive will be known as 'OneDrive,' a move that no doubt strengthens connections with the all-new Xbox One console. The decision is not entirely voluntary, with the name change very much the result of a trademark case involving the Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), but it does, in a sense, afford Redmond company's product range an improved degree of uniformity.
Microsoft's Xbox One console is going head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation 4 and while in excess of a million more PS4s were sold in 2013 than Xbox Ones, market research firm NPD is reporting that it's Microsoft's offering that had the upper hand during December.
Facebook now has almost 1.2 billion users according to Wikipedia, and we all know that Wikipedia is right about everything. With so many users it’s likely that we've all added people over the years that we probably don't know anymore, or have likely fallen out with for some crazy reason that we probably can't even remember. Regardless, just because someone's our friend on Facebook today, it doesn't mean they will be tomorrow.
2013 saw many great announcements and releases in the tech world, yet not even the latest Apple smartphone could upstage the inevitability of the next-gen console wars. Both Sony and Microsoft came through with their respective PlayStation 4 and Xbox One machines after months of teasers and revelations, and although it's too early to determine which of these two titans will reign supreme, both have enjoyed impressive starts in the video game market. Yusuf Mehdi, VP of Marketing, Strategy and Business for the Xbox, has written a reflective piece on the early progress of the latest and greatest, revealing that over three million units have been sold across 13 different countries already.
Microsoft is seeking to spread a little pre-Christmas cheer by offering users of its SkyDrive online storage service something extra this holiday season. If users stake their claim before the end of January, they will be treated to a whole 20GB of extra cloud storage, free of charge.
The official Xbox Video app for Windows Phone has finally been released by Microsoft. Users can now readily download and rent their favorite movies and TV shows right from their smartphones, and with an ever-increasing array of content, it's a must-download for all video lovers. You can find the full app info and download details after the fold.
