Apple may have commanded some attention earlier this week with its iPad press event, but this week was always going to be about Microsoft. After what's seem like an endless monsoon of rumor and speculation, Windows 8 has officially launched, and from 12:01am local time, consumers will be able to get their hands on the official version of the Metro-fied operating system.
The official launch of Windows 8 is here, and in order to ensure as many consumers adopt the new operating system as possible, Microsoft appears to be pulling out all of the stops. For a very limited time, those purchasing / upgrading to Windows 8 Pro can grab the Media Center Pack absolutely free, while the Pro version of Windows 8 itself can be had for just $69.99.
The next big event this week is coming our way courtesy of Microsoft, and it is being held in New York City tomorrow. Not wanting to be outdone and to make sure that they generate the maximum amount of interest possible, the Microsoft Newsroom has confirmed that the event will be streamed live to viewers around the world.
The very final iterations of Microsoft's Office 2013, along with the new Office server editions like SharePoint Server 2013, Exchange Server 2013, Lync Server 2013 are now available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers.
Microsoft caused quite a stir last year when it announced the purchase of Skype for an eye-watering sum total of $8.5 billion. Some touted the sale price as grossly overvaluing of the company - one owned by eBay of course - but when one considers AOL paid 800 million bucks for Bebo, anything looks like a steal in comparison.
The RT edition of the Microsoft Surface is, after a substantial wait, just about to release to market, but instead of marveling over the Redmond company's first entry into the lucrative field of the tablet, it's only right we begin focusing on what Microsoft is planning to treat us to in the near future.
In addition to kindly providing the vital bits of information about their self-branded tablet, Microsoft has also taken the opportunity to post a rather informative video to YouTube that gives a behind the scenes look at what is actually involved in developing and manufacturing the Surface. Check out the full video after the jump.
Microsoft's Surface is one of the most sought-after slates to be releasing this year, and as such, one would expect anybody lucky enough to have their hands on one already to be treating it with the utmost care; enjoying a device very few people have even seen in the flesh. Of course, such rules don't apply to Steve Sinofsky - the leader of the team which has created the Surface - and in a rather comical sketch, has demonstrated how the device also doubles up as a rather useful skateboard.
The Surface is undoubtedly going to be a very popular hardware creation for Microsoft, and even they themselves might be a little surprised at the early interest in the Windows 8 powered device. Those who are wanting to get their hands on a 32GB version of the tablet will be a little disappointed today as the online Microsoft Store is showing it as out of stock with expected delivery now being pushed back three weeks.
With the prices of the Microsoft Surface finally having leaked into the wild earlier, it seemed pretty inevitable pre-orders wouldn't be far behind, and that has wound up being the case today. If you've been saving your next tablet purchase until the grand launch of the software maker's tablet-plus-ultrabook, you'll be pleased to know that you can now pre-order your very own.
