Microsoft builds Google Chat into Outlook.com webmail in new bid for switchers

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Microsoft is integrating Google Chat into Outlook.com, attempting to eliminate one of the factors that prevents Gmail users from switching to Microsoft’s revamped webmail service. Outlook.com users who connect their Google accounts will be able to chat with Gmail users — or “friends stuck on Gmail,” as Microsoft cheekily puts it — from inside Microsoft’s online… Read More…

Scroogled: Microsoft attacks Google again, this time about Android privacy issues

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First it was Google Shopping, then Gmail, and now, Microsoft’s latest attack on Google comes in the form of Android privacy issues. As part of its “Scroogled,” campaign, Microsoft today launched a new barrage that accuses Google’s handling of user data when purchasing an app from the Google Play Store. In hopes of convincing users to… Read More…

Startup Weekend Seattle winner TLDR helps you write and read shorter emails

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Just days before his resignation and candid goodbye letter, former Groupon CEO Andrew Mason sent out a Tweet a few months ago asking if it was possible to write a Gmail script to auto-reply and bounce emails longer than 50 words. It certainly is, and one team at the Startup Weekend event in Seattle proved it well enough… Read More…

Microsoft ending anti-Google ‘Scroogled’ ad campaign

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It looks like Microsoft is done bashing Google — for now. Late last week, Microsoft’s Director of Search Stefan Weitz told California’s KQED that the company’s “Scroogled” campaign is “about finished.” Back in November, Microsoft attacked Google’s new shopping advertising model and they even created a new word and website to prove it. Then early… Read More…

Gmail dropping ActiveSync support for new devices — Microsoft ‘very surprised’

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The news over the weekend that Google’s Gmail service will be ending support for Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol is a blow to Microsoft’s Windows Phone. The Redmond company’s mobile platform doesn’t support the CalDAV and CardDAV protocols that Google will be rolling out as an alternative, which means that future Windows Phone buyers who use… Read More…

Farewell, Hotmail: Microsoft previews Outlook.com, ending longtime webmail brand

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First things first: Yes, you can keep your @hotmail email address, if you want. Microsoft, however, will be leaving the Hotmail brand behind. The company this morning is rolling out a new email service, called Outlook.com, that will replace Hotmail when it’s launched in finished form. The new Outlook.com has a cleaner, streamlined interface that… Read More…

Users report Gmail outage

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At about 11:25 a.m. Pacific time today, my connection to Gmail failed on both my PC and my Mac. And it doesn’t look like it is just me. After posting to Twitter, a number of Gmail users also reported problems. We are tracking the situation and we will update the post as we learn more…. Read More…

Microsoft takes ‘more pointed tone’ in comedic jabs at rivals

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Maybe Microsoft is secretly auditioning for a spot in the fall television sit-com lineup. Following up on its recent “Gmail Man” spoof, the company today rolled out a new online campaign featuring a new character, a behind-the-times salesman named Tad — depicting him as trying to foist outdated technology from VMware on unsuspecting business customers…. Read More…

Video: Microsoft’s ‘Gmail Man’ jabs at Google’s email ads

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Microsoft isn’t saying whether this video is really one of its productions, but like ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley (who originally got ahold of it), I think it is. It’s just cheesy enough, and the appearance of the fictional “Contoso” company is a dead giveaway. Reportedly shown last week at Microsoft’s global sales briefing, it’s part… Read More…