Microsoft

Symbian slowly ceases to be Nokia's pride and joy after the deal with Microsoft that will see Windows Phone become the primary operating platform, but the operating system is certainly not dead yet. Upcoming updates to Nokia's Symbian Belle operating system will include a number of free apps from Microsoft, while some of the programs will come as native for the first time outside the Windows platform. Read More

DIY gadgets' makers have a new solution for quick and easy building of custom devices in the form of the .NET Gadgeteer platform. Utilizing .NET Micro Framework and C# programming language, .NET Gadgeteer is an open-source toolkit combined of a basic ARM CPU-equipped mainboard and a choice of easily attachable modules, including displays, buttons, camera, Ethernet, USB ports, or WiFi. The idea resembles the Arduino platform or EZ-Builder kit for DIY robotics projects like DJ Sures' WALL-E. Read More

Utilizing Kinect's motion tracking and facial recognition, Avatar Kinect takes ordinary video calls into a fully virtual environment giving each user a facial expressions and gestures-reproducing avatar. First unveiled at CES 2011 in January, Avatar Kinect is now available free to try until September 8, while later it will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers only. Read More

The U.S. EPA estimated that servers and data centers were responsible for up to 1.5 percent of the total U.S. electricity consumption, or roughly 0.5 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, in 2007. With companies such as Apple and Google strongly pushing the move to cloud computing, that figure is likely to increase significantly in the coming decade. Since a lot of energy is consumed keeping the computer systems cool, colder climates are seen as more favorable sites for data centers. But a new paper from Microsoft Research proposes a different approach that would see servers, dubbed Data Furnaces, distributed to office buildings and homes where they would act as a primary heat source. Read More

Microsoft’s about-face in relation to the “modification of its products” – specifically its Kinect sensor – is complete with the company releasing the official Kinect for Windows SDK beta. When the motion controller was initially released and hackers set about creating open source drivers for the device, Microsoft responded saying it didn’t condone such actions. But it has since changed its tune, even going so far as to invite a group of developers to its Redmond campus for a live 24-hour coding marathon to build concept applications using the SDK. Read More

Perhaps Microsoft's employees responsible for product naming don't drive very often, given that they call this cordless gaming accessory a "wheel". For racing fans who own an Xbox 360, however, the arrival of the Wireless Speed Wheel is good news, as there aren't many driving controllers for the Microsoft console on the market. This one's price tag is pretty decent, too. Read More

Voice interface has been on the market for some time, but probably never on such a large scale as announced by Microsoft on Monday during its E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference in Los Angeles. Improvements soon to be brought to Xbox Live include much more live TV and full YouTube access, all easily voice searched via Kinect and the Bing search engine. There's also something for mixed martial arts fans. Read More

With Apple bringing a few user interface elements found in its iOS mobile operating system to its upcoming OS X Lion desktop operating system, Microsoft is taking a similar tack for its Windows 8 OS. Previewed last week at the D9 Conference, the next generation of the Windows operating system borrows heavily from Windows Phone 7 by replacing the traditional Windows Start menu with a tile-based Start screen that provides a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps on the system. Read More

Having undergone some physical therapy myself, I can confirm that even though keeping to a prescribed exercise and treatment regimen helps the injury heal faster, the daunting prospect of self-administered discomfort has led me to ignore the advice of my practitioner. A team at Microsoft's research wing has developed a working prototype of a system that may help to encourage physical injury sufferers to do their exercises by giving them a clearer understanding of what's going on. A therapist would use the device to project a series of graphics of underlying bone, muscle tissue, tendons or nerves directly onto the body of a patient to help explain the nature of the injury and prescribe effective treatment. The device can also take photos during a consultation, which can be subsequently reviewed or printed out as a memory aid for the patient. Read More