GeekWire Radio: Getting to know Microsoft’s Xbox One

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This week on the GeekWire radio show, we dive into the details of Microsoft’s newly unveiled Xbox One console — including the redesigned controller, the upgraded Kinect sensor, the lack of backward compatibility with the Xbox 360, and the company’s attempt to make this an all-in-one entertainment console. That discussion begins at 8:00 in the… Read More…

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…

High school hackathon: 500 budding teen geeks learn how to code

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It’s no secret that Washington is falling behind when it comes to educating our future geeks. While the state ranks fourth in the nation for tech-related companies, Washington comes in a disappointing 46th for participation in science and engineering graduate programs. Which makes what happened on Thursday inside the gymnasium of Rainier Beach High School all the more… 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…

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen collaborates with Heart, Joe Walsh and other rock stars on new album

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Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder, Jimi Hendrix aficionado and avid guitar player, is coming out with a new album in August — and he has some pretty impressive collaborators helping him out. Chrissie Hynde, Joe Walsh, and Anne and Nancy Wilson of Heart are among the big names who perform with Allen and latest his band,… Read More…

Chart: The top 10 biggest private tech buyouts (and where Tumblr ranks)

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In the wake of Yahoo’s blockbuster $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr, Bloomberg News has produced a pretty nifty chart of the top 50 acquisitions of private technology companies. Skype leads the pack, but not Microsoft’s $8.5 billion buy in 2011 since at the time the Internet communications giant was owned by publicly-traded eBay. In fact, eBay’s… 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…