Microsoft stacks up Surface vs. iPad with mixed results

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Let’s see, the Surface RT is slightly heavier than the iPad, the same thickness and gets two hours less battery life. Sign me up! OK, so Microsoft’s new iPad vs. Windows tablet comparison site is more nuanced than that, pointing out the areas where Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets shine — including multitasking, printing,… Read More…

Microsoft emerges as Waze investor, as Google and Facebook weigh $1B bids

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Bloomberg News says this morning that Google may try to acquire Waze, the traffic and mapping technology company that Facebook is reportedly also interested in buying, and plenty of M&A rumors have circulated around the company for months. The stakes are high, with a reported asking price of more than $1 billion. The piece also… Read More…

ITC sides with Microsoft, says Xbox 360 did not infringe on Motorola patents

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A major chapter in the Microsoft v. Motorola patent war finally came to a close Wednesday and it’s good news for the Redmond software giant. A U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled that Microsoft did not infringe upon any Google-owned Motorola Mobility patents with the Xbox 360. One month ago, a federal judge in Seattle sided with… Read More…

Next-gen Kinect coming to Windows in 2014

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Among the array of new features unveiled at Microsoft’s Xbox One revealing on Tuesday were the upgrades to the new Kinect sensor. Today Microsoft announced that same improvements to the motion-tracking system for Xbox will be coming to the next-generation Kinect for Windows and will arrive on shelves at some point next year. Microsoft wouldn’t disclose… Read More…

Microsoft uses Siri to ridicule iPad in latest commercial

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Microsoft is taking another swing at a competitor and this time it’s Apple’s iPad getting the backhand slap. In its latest Windows commercial titled “Less talking, more doing,” Microsoft uses Siri’s voice to show how Windows tablets can perform tasks that the iPad cannot, all at a cheaper price. Important to point out that the featured… Read More…

Xbox One: How Microsoft is trying to change the game

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It was great that Microsoft included several former Xbox bigwigs — Robbie Bach, J Allard, and Ed Fries — in the opening video montage at the Xbox One unveiling today. Seeing them was a reminder of just how much has changed since the game-centric early days of Microsoft’s console business. In fact, the Xbox is… Read More…

Xbox One: Watch the new Kinect detect a heart rate from across the room

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Microsoft has significantly upgraded the sensing capabilities of the second-generation Kinect sensor that will ship with the newly announced Xbox One game console. One example: The Kinect can detect a user’s heart rate optically. See the video above for a demonstration of the capability during a tour of the Microsoft Xbox campus today. The idea… Read More…

NFL commish says new multi-year partnership with Microsoft will ‘change the game of football’

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The nation’s most popular sport is about to get real geeky thanks in large part to technology from Microsoft. During today’s big Xbox One launch in Redmond, Microsoft announced a new multi-year partnership with the NFL that will, according to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, “change the game of football.” NFL.com is reporting that the deal is for five years and… Read More…

Official word: Xbox One requires Internet connection, but not ‘always on’

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Remember all that controversy over the reports of a required “always on” Internet connection in the new Xbox? First, reports surfaced that Microsoft would require a persistent Internet connection, then the word was that it wouldn’t. Here’s the official word from a newly published FAQ from Microsoft. Does Xbox One require an “always on” Internet… Read More…

Xbox One: Here is the official video from Microsoft

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Microsoft unveiled the new “Xbox One” console in Redmond today, with highlights including souped-up hardware, live TV integration, Skype functionality, an upgraded (and bundled) Kinect sensor, a “snap view” for multitasking, and an operating system that bridges the worlds of Xbox and Windows. The company also announced partnerships with the NFL and EA Sports, and… Read More…