Microsoft

The tablet wars have begun. Though the iPad remains in the driver's seat, the last year has shown strong competition from several other companies. Two tablets that will be duking it out for your dollars this holiday season are the Microsoft Surface RT and Google/Asus Nexus 7. Let's see how these two (radically different) tablets compare.  Read More

As big companies like Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft each compete to gain supremacy in the “Post-PC” era, a killer ecosystem is thought key to keeping users locked in to one particular platform. While we can grant Microsoft’s gaming and business pedigree, its music services have been lacking thus far, and to address this, the Redmond company is launching a new music streaming service dubbed “Xbox Music,” which will be available from Tuesday October 16 on Xbox 360, with further platforms gaining support soon.  Read More

As evidenced by the Kinect system, Microsoft has a serious dedication to making user interfaces that track the movement of its users. The company has shown a new technology, which it is calling Digits, that tracks hand movements through a device worn on a user's wrist. This means there are no gloves needed.  Read More

With the Windows 8 launch just around the corner, let's take a look at four upcoming premium devices running Redmond’s new OS. All of the tablets detailed here run the full version of Windows 8 and offer laptop-like functionality through the use of various peripherals. However, from internal configuration to design, there’s a lot of different options available and we’re here to help decide which devices are most worthy of your hard-earned cash.  Read More

In April, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble announced a partnership. B&N was spinning off its Nook division into NOOK Media LLC, and Microsoft was to have a hand in it. The move raised a few eyebrows as analysts and pundits speculated what the move was about. Today Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have completed the partnership. Though we still don't know much about what the two companies are up to, we do know that this is a serious investment from Microsoft: to the tune of $300 million for a 17.6 percent stake (Barnes & Noble retains the remaining shares).  Read More

The mobile computing market is at a critical juncture. Though Apple's iOS and Google's Android have established themselves as the leading platforms (by a long shot), there's still a window of opportunity for Microsoft. The king of desktop PCs fell behind early, but the smartphone and tablet markets may still be young enough to give Redmond a shot.  Read More

Microsoft is beginning to emerge from what some have called "the missing decade" as a company eager to innovate and forge the future rather than be dragged along into it by its competitors. The Xbox brand is very much part of popular culture, and the Xbox 360 is expected to be superseded by a successor in 2013. But Microsoft is looking even further forward than that, with a recently revealed patent application suggesting the company wants to turn living rooms into something akin to the holodecks featured in Star Trek.  Read More

Nokia has added two new cellphones to its Lumia range: the budget-friendly Lumia 820 and flagship Lumia 920 – the latter handset boasting enough new features that, on paper at least, looks like it could be one of the most exciting Windows phones to be unveiled thus far.  Read More

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Atari releasing its first arcade game. The name of that game was Pong, and although the gameplay consisted of nothing more than two paddles moved up and down to deflect a ball to the other side of the screen, it heralded the beginnings of a huge mainstream industry. What better way to celebrate that anniversary and the birth of the modern video game industry than by playing some Pong - and Missile Command, Centipede, and others - directly in your web browser thanks to Atari. With a little help from Microsoft.  Read More