Does the name Steven Gerrard mean anything to you? How about Zachary Quinto? Microsoft has employed both the England football captain and the Star Trek franchise’s “Spock” - among a slew of others - for its first Xbox One ad that sets the message right, in terms of establishing the new console as not just an entertainment device, but also a fully powered gaming console for serious gamers.
The Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 have seen the light of the day, and as any other company would do, the Redmond technology giant is all about marketing and promoting the new hardware, to make sure that they become a true success. We’ve seen a lot of marketing ploys in the past as well - and not just from Microsoft, either - including Google’s Android statues and Apple’s TV ads. However, never once have we seen anything like what Microsoft has done in London’s Trafalgar Square, where the company has placed a 27 feet wide and 17 feet tall mockup of the newly-released Surface 2, all in the name of good marketing.
Last week, Windows 8.1 made its debut right on cue, but for those in ownership of the Surface RT - admittedly few, judging by Microsoft's own official numbers - as well as other Win RT-based devices, updating the latest version was a bit of a struggle. There was a workaround available for those who didn't want to wait for an official fix that we covered here at Redmond Pie, but now, Microsoft has begun distributing a recovery image for Windows 8.1 RT.
Microsoft owns the Xbox console lineup, right? And the company also owns the most widely-used desktop computing platform, Windows, as well. It would naturally make sense for the Redmond giant to have a dedicated app for promoting its Xbox console by simple math. Hence, the company has done just that, by releasing a news and countdown app for Xbox One for Windows 8.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has, for a very long time, dominated the console market sales charts, and although Nintendo's 3DS may have piped it to top spot in recent times, it has still continued to enjoy one-upmanship over the PlayStation 3 in the home entertainment system bracket; that is, until now. Thanks to the record-breaking success of GTA 5, which, it would seem, nearly every gamer went out to purchase, the PlayStation 3 has leapfrogged its close rival to outsell it for the month of September in the United States.
The very final versions of Visual Studio 2013, .NET 4.5.1, and Team Foundation Server 2013 are now available to download for those tethered to Microsoft's MSDN dev network. With Windows 8.1 now making its grand entrance, the Redmond company is currently working to ensure the majority of its product line is brought up to speed, and if you are an MSDN Subscriber, you can now grab these new releases from the MSDN Subscriber Downloads page.
Back last week, Microsoft announced that a Remote Desktop app for iOS and Android would be forthcoming, and staying true to that promise, and in line with today’s Windows 8.1 release, the said app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android has just arrived.
Windows 8 users have been waiting patiently for the arrival of the official Facebook app for quite some time. Back in June of this year, Microsoft did their best to raise excitement levels by pre-announcing that the world's largest social network would be releasing a native app for the platform along with other respected offerings like Flipboard. The privately held session during the company's BUILD event even went as far as showing off the wondrous new apps on a touchscreen tablet device. The teasing and waiting is eventually over for Windows users as Facebook has released their official app just in time for the launch of Windows 8.1.
Everybody loves to get something for free, especially if it's one of the most iconic video games the Xbox world has ever seen. The 2007 released Halo 3 is now being offered as a free-of-charge download for those Xbox users with a valid LIVE Gold membership package. With a standard sale price of $15 it represents a fairly impressive saving for those Gold subscribers who want to get their hands on their very own digital copy of Bungie's popular first-person shooter.
With Apple having recently dropped its big software update for iOS, it's now Microsoft's turn to come through with some big announcements for those on its own smartphone platform, and today, the software maker has unveiled the details of Update 3 for Windows Phone 8. Included will be support for 1080p displays and quad-core processors, two features that have become the de facto standard for high-end handsets, and with a new Driving Mode also thrown into the mix, the future does look somewhat brighter for the struggling ecosystem.
