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.
Microsoft likes to hold an event or two, and some of those events are held behind closed doors, with its own staff the lucky recipients of a look through the keyhole into what the Redmond outfit has up its sleeve. A few weeks ago, one such private event took place, and a handful of new technologies were shown off. Details after the jump.
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.
Redmond-based Microsoft may only recently have pushed out Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 to the end user, but it has long since been the public knowledge that the company is looking at moving towards more regular release cycles. The days of completely revamped offerings arriving every five years or so will soon be a thing of the past, and incremental, annual improvements will then ensue. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, then, that the software maker should be working on Windows 9 and Windows Phone 9, and as a recent job posting infers, the company is on the hunt for a few more specialist engineers to add to its team.
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.
With Sony recently announcing the highly anticipated fourth generation PlayStation, and Microsoft heavily rumored to be working on its own next generation Xbox, all the talk if the town right now is very much centered on what the new game consoles will be able to offer to not just games, but also game developers.
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.
The common stereotype - that men tend not to listen to their female counterparts quite as much as they should - is age-old, and resident Web comedian Dartanion London has posted an humor-inducing video highlighting the ways in which blokes may utilize Google Glass to allow themselves to be largely absent from a conversation. The clip is all in good humor, of course, and sees a man, using the wearable tech to (try and) impress, take snaps, and watch a football game during a conversation with a girl. Little does he know, that she's using some tech of her own in order to suss him out.
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.
Microsoft's Kinect peripheral has only been on the market a couple of years, but its phenomenal sales in that short space of time is testament to how much we love that kind of interaction with our consoles. Wouldn't it be wonderful, though, if that same ethos was applied to PC or Mac? The Myo, a peripheral created by Thalmic Labs, makes this a reality by allowing simple gestures to be used in controlling a computer or notebook.
