When I adopted the internet as a part of my life back in the early years of this millennium, one of the biggest things in town used to be chatting – instant message based conversations that were the new “in”. In fact, if I recall even further back, chat rooms were even a bigger hit, making it possible to meet new people and make new friends using the power of the internet in a very public environment. While that edge may have rubbed off in the last few years, even today, IRC rooms remain popular amongst certain specific communities. The advantage that IM clients held over these chat rooms, however, were the privacy, and the fact that you could control who can contact you etc. There was more customization in how your messages appeared, too, and quite a few other distinctive features.
Since the release of Windows 8 last year, Microsoft has not stopped the development of Windows for a second. More evidence of an upcoming version of Windows, code named “Blue”, have emerged as a new build has leaked onto the Web. While the release looks overall similar to Windows 8, there have been quite a few changes that are worthy of note.
Back in early February, it was speculated that Microsoft's next-gen console, dubbed the "Xbox 720," would incorporate a system preventing the use of second-hand games. It's no secret that game developers see the practice of trading used titles as detrimental to revenue, and it has long since been presumed that measures would be in place to combat this. Further to that earlier report, yet another leak has surfaced in the form of screenshots of the XDK via VGLeaks, which only but corroborate the claims of an anti-used title infrastructure.
The behind-the-scenes decision making within Twitter has come in for quite a bit of criticism over the last few months. The decision to go in a different direction with third-party apps and developers has angered more than a few people in the development community, but they have now at least appeased Windows 8 users with the release of the official Twitter app on the Windows 8 Store.
The words of analysts are, more often than not, to be taken with a pinch of salt; especially in a technology industry where most supposition is based on little more than educated guesswork. Gamers will be hoping Michael Pachter has gotten his numbers muddled up somewhere, after the game financial analyst, of Wedbush Securities, suggested that games for the PlayStation 4 and unannounced next-gen Xbox console could tip the scales at a hefty $70. Speaking to a panel in Austin, Texas, he also foresees Microsoft coming out on top in the battle of the next-gen consoles, as it has done with the Xbox 360.
Microsoft’s Kinect was introduced as a powerful gaming accessory, opening the door for a new generation of motion-controlled Xbox games. The applications escalated quite quickly however, with tech enthusiasts finding many other uses for the motion sensing accessory. This newest one simulates an actual x-ray machine, making it (almost) possible to see inside your skull.
Jonathan Blow is something of a hot property in gaming circles these days. The man behind the wildly popular and critically acclaimed Braid is also one of the more outspoken developers in the industry, and in a recent interview with gaming publication EDGE, the man that thought up one of Xbox Arcade's sleeper hits was typically frank.
The console vendors may note be accommodating when it comes to backwards-compatibility of those oldie-but-goodies, however that has not stopped various classic titles from being re-released on numerous other platforms. Whether it's a port to a modern device or an HD makeover, those old favorites we know and love are still played constantly by those who revere them. If you're a nostalgic gamer, particularly one with an interest in RTS titles, you'll be pleased to learn that Microsoft has found the time in its busy 2013 schedule to bring Age of Empires II back from relative obscurity by affording it an HD re-release.
When the Kinect SDK first launched, researchers began looking into ways to make the technology more accurate, allowing it to do much more than tracking bodily movements. Although such advancements have yet to manifest in the popular peripheral, Microsoft has today showcased a feature allowing for the fine-tuning of gesture control, allowing the Redmond company's Research team to simulate multitouch gestures on a PC, but over the air.
Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 has only been around for six months, but a job posting over at the Redmond company's listings page suggests its successor will be hitting devices later this year. With most competitive operating systems churning out annual revisions, it was always presumed Microsoft would indeed offer a significant update to its smartphone firmware, but now, the job posting all-but confirms those suspicions.
