We all remember when Microsoft held a rather mysterious event that brought us the initial announcement and showcasing of the gorgeous looking Surface tablet. Microsoft managed to create something that we couldn't wait to get our hands on and try out, but unfortunately, the lines of communication seemed to stop with more information only recently starting to surface thanks to the looming launch date of the hardware. As part of the run-up to the official release on October 26th, the first Microsoft Surface TV advertisement has landed on the web, and to accompany the rather awesome looking ad; Microsoft (by accident we’re assuming) has slipped out the official pricing points of the Surface RT tablet.
The next couple of weeks will undoubtedly be all about the future of Windows with the launch of Windows 8 and Microsoft's Surface tablet coming on October 26th, but this rather informative infographic gives us a chance of taking a walk down memory lane and seeing the evolution of the company's much-loved software.
Microsoft seems to be getting pretty good at producing video commercials that make their products stand out from the rest. I'm pretty sure we have all seem the wonderful TV commercial for Internet Explorer that makes us actually want to give IE a second chance. Apart from that, we also recently saw the first Windows 8 ad going live that introduces us to the OS.
With less than two weeks to go until Windows 8 is officially available to consumers; Microsoft has kicked off the countdown by lifting the lid on the first video in what is sure to be a very high profile and expensive advertisement campaign. We've had wind of some speculation in the last few days regarding a potential Microsoft advertising campaign, as well as a leaked set of videos that were said to be official Microsoft creations, but to top that off; the first ad has officially landed today that gives an indication of what is to come.
When it comes to mobile apps, we are used to large companies being way behind the game and playing by their own rules in terms of releasing updates and software to support new firmware, platforms and device specifications. You can forgive the lax attitude from indie developers who may not have as many resources to throw into development as large organizations have, but you would kind of expect the bigger companies to update their apps ahead of time. We definitely can't put Netflix in that bracket as they have already launched their Windows 8 compatible app ahead of time.
The Windows steam train is definitely in full flight and with Microsoft looking forward to the October 26th launch date of Windows 8 and their new Surface tablets, the time has officially come when consumers can start pre-ordering upgrade copies of Windows 8 Pro from a variety of selected retail outlets for $69.99.
You are all familiar with Microsoft's Zune Music Pass, right? No? Well actually, you aren't the only one who may not be that au fait with the Redmond offering, but that shouldn't really cause you much concern as the subscription service that allows unlimited music streaming/downloading is being cast into the wilderness - at least in some regions. The time of Zune has been and gone and with the Xbox Music service on the horizon, it seems a little strange that the Zune Music Pass is arriving in some new territories as we speak.
There has been a lot of talk about how Microsoft and retailers would actually deliver the final Windows 8 product to the users, and just to our liking; Amazon has shed a little light on the subject and revealed the official Windows 8 packaging in the process.
The Windows 8 advertising campaign is like London buses at the minute; you wait patiently to see what Microsoft will launch to promote their new software only to find that four different video-based adverts have leaked at the same time. Only a couple of weeks are left until Windows 8 officially drops for the masses, and while the technology elite know a lot about the gorgeous new OS thanks to pre-release versions and keeping on top of the news, the general public may be non-the-wiser about what Microsoft is bringing with this latest offering.
Fresh reports from this morning are suggesting that consumers in the United States may not need to wait that long to get their hands on a fabulous new Windows Phone 8 powered smartphone, with pre-orders for the first wave of handsets looking likely to begin in the next couple of weeks starting on October 21st.
