Microsoft has unveiled a revamped music service, called Xbox Music, as it looks to better compete against the likes of Apple's iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify. The company unveiled the service as part of its press conference at the E3 gaming event. Microsoft said the service will include 30 million tracks available on the Xbox, as well as Windows 8 devices such as PCs and tablets.
The software giant announced last month that it would hold a Windows Phone developer summit on June 20-21, but now it appears we will be getting a taste of its next-generation mobile operating system. Microsoft sent out invitations to the press for a June 22 event in San Francisco that promises a sneak peek of the future of Windows Phone.
Microsoft said on Thursday that it would kick off a Windows 8 upgrade program on Saturday, June 2, giving buyers of new Windows 7 PCs the chance to grab a copy of the not-yet-released operating system for $15. The upgrade program will run from June 2, 2012, to Jan. 31, 2013. People who buy a new computer with any version of Windows 7 installed during that period will be able to purchase Windows 8 Pro, the higher-priced of the two global retail editions, for $14.99. The upgrade to Pro will be fulfilled after the official launch of Windows 8.
Thanks to an accidental blog post, Microsoft officials may have tipped their hand that the Windows 8 Release Preview - the final public test build of Windows 8 - may hit a bit earlier than many expected. Microsoft officials have been promising for weeks that Windows 8 Release Preview would be available for download during the first week of June. But a post today - now pulled - on a new Windows Hardware and Driver Developer blog - outlined plans for availability for the Release Preview with a "download here" link that slated to go live on tomorrow.
Touchscreen laptops and tablets with the upcoming Windows 8 OS will be priced higher than their non-touchscreen counterparts. Dell will offer a full complement of Windows 8 products when Microsoft launches its new OS, CEO Michael Dell said during the company's quarterly earnings call. The touchscreen Windows 8 products will occupy higher price bands, which could mean higher profit margins for Dell.
In the shadow of a week filled with Facebook-related news, Microsoft has quietly launched its own social network that has been in development for almost a year. This social network, called So.cl, is said to help students connect with one another – a concept that early adopters of Facebook know well. However, it’s clear So.cl is not designed to compete with Facebook. Microsoft says So.cl “is an experimental research project, developed by Microsoft’s FUSE Labs, focused on exploring the possibilities of social search for the purpose of learning."
Microsoft has revealed that it has made some big changes to its desktop UI for Windows 8, which includes moving away from Aero Glass — the UI first introduced with Vista. According to the company, this means visual changes that include "flattening surfaces, removing reflections, and scaling back distracting gradients."
For around two and a half years, Microsoft has been offering what it calls Signature editions of certain PCs. According to Microsoft, these PCs give you faster and easier access to “the applications you want right away without getting sidetracked talking to trialware or other sample software”. In other words, when you boot up your new PC, instead of having to deal with a blizzard of pop-ups and dialog boxes related to trialware and demo software — collectively known as crapware — the system boots to a clean Windows desktop.
Those who shell go out for a Windows 7 PC in the coming months will receive a discounted upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $14.99, according to sources speaking to Paul Thurrott. The deal could start as early as the first week in June at around the same time as the company gears up for its final preview of the next version of Windows. The paid upgrade will apply to any new PC buyer with Windows 7 Home Basic or higher installed.
It's just about time for Microsoft to launch its expected Windows 8 upgrade program. For the past several years, in order to keep PC sales from falling off a cliff in the months shortly before Microsoft and partners are poised to roll out new models running a new version of Windows, Microsoft has offered an upgrade program.