Microsoft's Live Messenger chat platform had been embraced by millions of users around the globe, and over time, it benefitted from a number of design and function iterations, but the Redmond based company has now officially announced that the service will be eventually laid to rest on March 15th of this year. Messenger has been handling online conversations for the last 13 years, but it seems Microsoft is finally ready to retire the veteran platform in favor of migrating its users across to the recently updated Skype service.
Microsoft confirmed today at the 11th annual J.P Morgan Tech Forum at CES that the company had sold 60 million copies of Windows 8 so far, including both OEM sales and upgrades on existing machines, putting it on a similar trajectory as Windows 7 three years ago. Undoubtedly, after all of the criticism, the new operating system is off to a good start since its launch this past October.
One of the most influential designers in the team behind creating the look of Windows 8, has showcased several early concepts which advanced into the look we see today. Marius Bauer's area of expertise was in the Start and lock screens, and notes of how designing wallpapers for Windows 8 was something of a "dream project" to him, and as you'll see below, the designs themselves paint pictures of somewhat dreamy, entrancing atmospheres.
Microsoft's Surface RT tablet may have been out for a couple of months now, but those with a keen eye for higher-end technology would doubtlessly have put their purchase on hold for the Pro version. It has long since been common knowledge that the Intel-powered device would be arriving at some point in January, and whilst a release date has still not been revealed, it will be hitting the retail market later, rather than sooner in the month.
Some of our readers may just be waking up to welcome in 2013, but Microsoft is as keen as ever to carry on the promotional campaign of Windows 8 and have used the first day of the new year to publish a number of commercials to their YouTube account which show some of the more powerful aspects of the new Windows 8 operating system. It's no secret that January is one of the busiest shopping times of the year, with consumers wanting to snap up the latest and great technology at bargain prices, so it makes perfect sense for the Redmond company to strike while the iron is hot and get people talking about Windows 8 again.
If big stories in tech are your forté, 2012 will have been a real treat. This year has had it all - buyouts, lawsuits, great releases, and of course, great fails. Here, we round up these past twelve months with a quick look back at the revelations that had us all fixated.
Windows has evolved into a pretty stable operating system with time, especially when Windows 7 had entered the arena. Then, even with Windows 8, although I did run into a lot of issues with the release and consumer previews, I haven’t regretted making the switch once I installed the retail version. It was pretty necessary, too, that Microsoft made Windows stable the way it has become now, considering that the operating system is the most used in the world for desktop computers and notebook PCs.
Windows Media Center has been one of the best media management suites available for Microsoft Windows since the days of Windows XP, although the program got mass attention with Windows Vista. Despite the fact that the operating system in question was a big failure in itself, no one ever complained that Media Center lacked in what it had to offer, and hence, it made sense that the media suite would continue to remain bundled with Windows operating system in Windows 7. With the latest Windows 8, however, the Redmond company seems to have taken a rather surprising decision, in that Media Center is no longer a part of the OS – even the Pro version – and instead, available as a separate download for Windows 8 Pro users only.
All of the recent Nokia and Windows Phone discussions may be centered around the Finnish company's launch of the fantastic new Lumia range of devices powered by Windows Phone 8 but if you happened to have gotten in on the Lumia action during the first wave of releases last year then there could be a nice software related surprise waiting for your Lumia 800 device when it connects to the Zune software. Those who still make daily use of their Lumia 800 have obviously made the conscious decision that the upgrade to a newer Lumia device isn't on the cards just yet but that shouldn't stop 800 owners from updating the device to Windows Phone 7.8 as it becomes available through Zune.
For those of you that like to be frugal and shop only when the deals are rolling in, the holiday season is as good a time as any to take advantage of the many price drops and savings available on the market. While many of you will undoubtedly be meeting up with friends and relatives during the course of the coming weeks, time, financial and practical constraints mean it is not always possible to arrange face-to-face meetings, but in these instances, we've long since leaned on Skype for a helping hand. Microsoft acquired the telecommunications company some time ago, and in an effort to turn occasional or would-be users into regular, paying customers, the Redmond company is running a great promotional deal.
