Microsoft's Windows OS has yielded a reputation as being something of a magnet when it comes to malicious software and security threats in general, so the news that your login password could be pretty easy for an unscrupulous individual to find is, rather than being surprising, something of a disappointment.
IDC Research's Lewis Ward has, amid a fair bit of speculation regarding Xbox and Kinect, really thrown the cat amongst the pigeons with some pretty bold statements regarding Microsoft's next moves.
Microsoft's Kinect peripheral was the fastest-selling gadget of all time, and has propelled the Redmond company's Xbox 360 console to the summit of the console wars. Sony's PlayStation Move offers similar features, but simply hasn't managed to yield the popularity of Kinect, and for those of you who've yet to get involved in the interaction-fest, you can now grab your very own Kinect sensor for the reduced price of $109.99.
Now that we are nearly into the last quarter of the calendar year, it means that the holiday season is officially coming and we need to be thinking about getting into that gift purchasing overdrive mode that sees us spend our hard earned money on friends, family and loved ones. Alternatively, we could just see it as an excuse to go out and buy ourselves all the great things that we want and blame it on holiday madness. I know which one I'd prefer.
Microsoft today has started taking registrations for Windows 8 upgrade program for existing Windows 7 users. The program, which is available in 140 countries, lets you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for as low as $14.99, provided that you meet the required criteria for the upgrade.
We've had the talk about the reported miniature iPad, we seem to have gotten over the physical Apple television set rumors and we have had our fair share of the Apple versus Samsung discussions so with the company looking likely to announce the next-generation release of their popular smartphone, it must be time to turn focus back onto the iPhone. Thanks to unprecedented interest in the possible specifications of the release, the iPhone is very rarely out of the media, which is something that has obviously paid off for Apple when you consider the staggering statistic that we are about to talk about.
One of the driving forces behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console’s success was the introduction of the Xbox LIVE platform that allows gamers from all over the world to compete against each other from the comfort of their own homes. As you would expect, Microsoft offers a free of charge LIVE package, but serious gamers who want to get the most out of their connected video game world, the Gold subscription is usually the way to go.
Microsoft is now offering a 90-day trial of Windows 8 Enterprise edition for development and evaluation purposes. Earlier today, Microsoft released the final bits of Windows 8 RTM to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
Windows 8's October 26th release date has been confirmed, and in the meantime, Redmond-based Microsoft has been preparing all the associated bits and pieces usually associated with a major OS release, including Visual Studio 2012 and .NET Framework 4.5 which have both been released to MSDN and TechNet today.
The next moves of Microsoft and the Windows Phone 8 platform are extremely critical in mobile space. Currently dominated by iOS and Android, no other platform has the potential to compete with the two titans quite like Windows Phone 8, and although some details are still scarce, the evolved mobile ecosystem will cater to more powerful devices than ever before.
