Like the idea of Project Glass but prefer a little more Redmond in your toys? If a patent filing is to be believed, you may well be in luck. Google's Project Glass is undoubtedly a typically Google affair. Proposing to turn our glasses into full on video recorders and heads-up displays, Project Glass is the brainchild of a company that prides itself in thinking not just outside the box, but also outside the box that houses that, err, box.
It's that time of year again, and I presume many of you are already preparing yourselves for the annual consumer frenzy that is Black Friday. Companies in most product fields will be lowering their prices this weekend, but it's the tech we're most interested in, and Microsoft has today joined Apple and others in revealing some of the deals it'll be offering as of tomorrow.
As any software developer specializing in UI elements will vouch, the journey from early concept stage to final design can be as time-consuming as it is frustrating. As with any creation, the initial idea sees many changes as caveats and design constraints mean an idea or concept doesn't work, doesn't look write, or isn't workable. In getting to the final Metro design of Windows 8, Microsoft - the world's foremost software outfit - had to go through this stage of trial, error and deliberation to get to the final look, and Jensen Harris, a member of the Windows design team, has given a glimpse of some of the company's earlier Windows 8 concepts in a presentation for UX Week.
A games console resembles different things to different individuals, and while some prefer to chow down on some serious tactical battles on Call of Duty, others prefer - often to the disdain of neighbors and housemates - to test their vocal ranges on the various singing / karaoke games available. With Sony having already adopted a freemium model to its SingStar karaoke range, Xbox 360 maker Microsoft plans to deploy a similar tactic with its own upcoming app, which is quite aptly named Karaoke.
With Windows 8 having just been released to the public, Microsoft now has the test of selling not only to consumers, but to businesses worldwide. Emirates, a renowned high-end airline, has already adopted the platform as a means to improve the inflight experience to its customers, and while staff are better able to communicate thanks to "knowledge-driven" inflight service app by the name of KIS, but those flying with Emirates are also enjoying a slicker experience.
According to a report over at WMPowerUser, the long-awaited release of Windows Phone 7.8 is almost upon us, so those rocking one of the older WP7.X devices will be able to get something of a taster of Windows Phone 8.
Although preceded by Windows Phone 7.x, the perception is that Windows Phone 8 is Microsoft's first real stab at today's mobile market. The experimental phase has now passed, and the Redmond company is all set to launch its assault on Android and iOS with its new improved ecosystem and to begin with, the Surface. Naturally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stepped out and criticized his two main rivals, and while he calls the Android ecosystem "wild" and "uncontrolled," he also states Apple's iOS is is as highly-priced as it is controlled.
Everybody likes free stuff, and if that particular item of "stuff" happens to relate to something you've been enjoying for a decade, well, even better. To commemorate ten years of Xbox LIVE, Microsoft has been really generous to some ardent users of its online gaming service, and has, it would appear, begun sending off free, limited edition versions of the Xbox 360 console to some of those who've been playing all along.
Although, Apple essentially created the tablet market as we know it today with the release of the original iPad, they won't be sitting as easy as they have been in previous years as they watch other companies like Microsoft and Samsung release highly capable tablet devices that could potentially compete with the iPad for the first time since launch. Any tablet owner will be concerned with the display quality of the product that they have purchased, and for the first time, the Surface has been scientifically scrutinized alongside the other leading tablets on the market.
Wow. That was unexpected. In an interesting development today, Microsoft today announced that President of Windows and Windows Live division Steven Sinofsky is leaving the company with immediate effect. Julie Larson-Green is said to be taking over his place at Microsoft.
