Microsoft has announced that a Consumer Preview of its highly-anticipated Windows 8 operating system will be released to the public on this month's leap year day - February 29th.
Of all the productivity apps available for our smartphone and tablet devices, it's fair to say those of the note-taking variety aren't exactly in short supply.
Whilst iOS and Android dominate much of the mobile software headlines, Microsoft has been steadily building a stable legion of support from consumers and developers alike.
The last four of five weeks have brought about quite a bit of news and speculation surrounding Microsoft's Kinect motion detecting hardware. When Microsoft took to the stage during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month, they announced that the original Kinect hardware had amassed more than 18 million sales during its first year.
Those looking for a dose of Ice Cream Sandwich on their Nexus S 4G devices will be pleased to learn that an official ROM has leaked into the wild, with reports suggesting it's a final build and will begin rolling out over-the-air pretty soon.
Once upon a time it was all about Microsoft. When you thought about technology companies, mentioned enterprise software or even talked about an operating system, Microsoft was the name that was on the tip of everyone's tongue. With the recent rise from the ashes of Apple Inc., times have changed a little and suddenly the Redmond company don't have it all their own way. It is worth noting though, that the company is still producing quality software which mixes innovation with functionality and that doesn't look like it is about to change anytime soon with the latest announcement from the Office team.
We all use a variety of technology during our daily lives, and no more so than in the living room. If you look under your TV then you'll no doubt see plenty of set-top boxes, DVRs and games consoles along with various audio equipment and the like.
The success of the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor for the Xbox 360 has obviously set the minds of the men and women in Redmond wandering. The motion detecting sensor was launched for the Xbox 360 in November 2010 and has so far shifted approximately eighteen million units. The estimated sales total paint an impressive picture by themselves, but when you take into account the 360 console itself has shipped around the sixty six million units, the fact that for every 3.6 consoles sold a Kinect has also been sold is very impressive indeed.
Well, we all know it is only a matter of time until mobile operating systems take over the world which are used to power all of our gadgets and household appliances. The only question that remains to be answered is; which operating system will reign victorious amongst consumers in the ongoing battle of the OSes? The current heavy weight contenders have to be iOS, Android and Windows Phone, with Blackberry hanging on for dear life but looking set to fall by the wayside sooner rather than later.
With the Xbox 360 being initially unveiled to the world in 2005, the time is fast approaching for Microsoft to bring their next generation Xbox console to the market place. There can be no denying that consumers are more than ready for a new gaming console, but the prospect of a new gadget from Microsoft inevitably bring about a flurry of speculation surround the specifications.
