Microsoft has announced the immediate departure of Windows executive Steven Sinofsky. Julie Larson-Green, who has worked at Redmond-based company since 1993, will now take control of Windows software and hardware engineering, while CFO Tami Reller will be in charge of Windows business. Microsoft did not give a reason for Sinosfky’s sudden and surprising departure, which comes less than...
NTT DoCoMo on Thursday announced a new agreement with Microsoft in which it will provide Windows 8 tablets that run on its 4G LTE network, dubbed Xi, in Japan. The agreement is targeted at corporate users, the wireless carrier said, and the two will work on marketing and sales together. "Aiming to offer business-ecosystem tablets that meet the diverse needs of corporate users, the...
Unlike most products we’ve seen this year, Microsoft’s Surface announcement was a bonafide surprise. In a market where tablets were merely playing catch up to Apple’s iPad, the Redmond company deviated from the norm while promising a Brave New World. Several months later and the future is finally here. The Surface with Windows RT is Microsoft’s shift in focus as it pledges to Windows 8...
I had to stop from my regular news reporting this morning to get this out there. Windows 8 is fine. The water is warm and you should feel free to dive right in. I've been running the consumer preview for several months and I haven't had any major issues that are bothersome. Here's why I needed to write this. There were several reports this morning suggesting that Skype for Windows 8...
In just over three weeks from now, Windows 8 will launch to the public, and thus will begin the court of public opinion. Until then, there are plenty of reviews to digest (including our very own), and one of the newest is from Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft who, like Bill Gates, is no longer directly involved with the Redmond company. Still, it’s interesting to read what he has to...
Only time and sales figures will ultimately determine if Windows 8 is a success or not, and in the meantime, all we can do on the consumer side is speculate. Microsoft, however, is in a position to do more. The Redmond software giant could, for example, come up with a Plan B in case Windows 8 and its radically redesigned interface doesn’t catch on with consumers. Interestingly, it doesn...
This editorial wasn't my idea. I was speaking with our mobile editor Brandon Russell this morning and he mentioned how exciting this fall and winter will be for technology. The summer was slow: we had a few exciting announcements, such as the Nexus 7, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Google now (all of which rock, by the way), but now we're just beginning to hit the cusp of an entire shift in...
ASUS on Wednesday announced a pair of tablets designed to combine its renowned hardware with Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 experience. If ASUS can manage to replicate the beautiful slates it put out running Android, I’d be comfortable in saying these will be ones to watch out for in the coming months. Surface should be shaking in its boots. First up is the ASUS Vivo Tab, a...
Microsoft wants to make a big splash with its Windows 8 and Windows RT surface tablets; it has to in order to show its partners that the devices are capable of competing against the big boys in the tablet market. Research from IDC suggests that Microsoft is building 3 million tablets for launch this year. In an interview with CNET, IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell explained his thoughts on how...
A week after spilling its guts in a series of leaked slides, Lenovo has officially unveiled its Windows 8-running ThinkPad Tablet 2. The device has quietly been roaming around gadget conferences and far-off Internet channels for a while, but Lenovo is finally ready to unleash the tab in October, when it’ll go head-to-head against Microsoft’s Surface. That’s some tough competition. The...