Without a doubt the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) of today is very much a different firm than the Microsoft of 40, or even 20, years ago. While the company’s flagship Windows business is going nowhere fast, in the last decade new divisions within Microsoft have seen rapid growth as the demands of the market shift.

It wouldn’t be a huge stretch to imagine that the Microsoft in 40 years would be a very different company than the Microsoft of today. The way we interact with computers is changing; the HoloLens might be the new paradigm for the computing input of the future much like how the mouse and touchscreen were the disruptive forces of the past.

As Microsoft celebrated its 40th anniversary on Saturday, its founder, former CEO, and now technology adviser Bill Gates sent out a memo to the company’s 100,00 employees letting them know where the company is headed. Naturally the email got leaked, and it’s a worthwhile read. Check it out in its entirety below:

Tomorrow is a special day: Microsoft’s 40th anniversary.

Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution.

Today though, I am thinking much more about Microsoft’s future than its past. I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more.

Under Satya’s leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources and drive to solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens — and those are just a few of the many innovations that are on the way.

In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices.

We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come.

What the Microsoft — or even computing — of 40 years in the future looks like is anyone’s guess. But with Microsoft’s enormous R&D budgets and the exceptional innovation it has shown in the last few years, its future will no doubt be exciting.

The post Read Bill Gates’ Memo to Microsoft’s Employees On its 40th Anniversary appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced that it has halted production of the second-generation PC-compatible Kinect sensors, with the Xbox One variants taking their place.

In a recent post on the Kinect for Windows blog the Redmond-based tech giant has cited “unprecedented demand from the developer community for Kinect sensors” as the main reason for the decision.

The Kinect for Windows v2 model has essentially been folded into the existing Xbox One variant.

The cutoff doesn’t affect developers who already own Windows-compatible v2 Kinects. Microsoft has made it clear that “support for the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor [will] remain unchanged, and [owners] can continue to use their sensors.”

Since it was unable to meet soaring demand, Microsoft utilized a brilliant business tactic by simply nixing a product it couldn’t keep supplying and producing an adapter that effectively makes the Xbox One Kinect equal to the second-gen Kinect for Windows model.

The new adapter allows an Xbox One Kinect to be hooked up to any Windows 8.0 PC or tablet.

The Kinect for Windows adapter retails at $49.99 and allows any Xbox One Kinect to be hooked up to a PC or tablet running Windows 8.0 or 8.1. The USB 3.0 adapter basically acts as an intermediary that bridges the compatibility gap between the Xbox One sensor and PC’s.

Both Kinects are “functionally identical” so the Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0 development suite will be exactly the same.

All that’s really changed is that you now have to shell out an extra $49.99 for the adapter, plus $150 for the sensor itself.

This is a smart move considering Microsoft now has a way to move its stock of unsold Xbox One Kinects. Most gamers have been buying the $349 Kinect-less console option, leading to a surge in supply of the peripheral, and this way the company will be able to funnel that supply over to the demand for PC sensors.

In tandem with the Oculus Rift, NASA used the Kinect v2 to control a robot arm, which could revolutionize off-planet exploration.

Although the Kinect sensor is largely seen as a gimmick in the video games industry, the peripheral has been used by researchers to study asteroids and glaciers, collect forensic crime-scene data, and NASA has even used it to control robots with body movement.

The Kinect can also guide your exercise routine by tracking your heart rate, track your burned calories, and so much more. It can even bring physical therapy to patient’s homes and make PT more rewarding and entertaining.

Since the sensor has a huge potential of practical and theoretical uses, scientists and researchers across the globe are interested in trying it out for themselves.

The Kinect v2 for PC isn’t gone, it’s just been consolidated, and developers will still be able to push the boundaries even further with new techniques.

The post Microsoft Will Stop Producing Kinect For Windows appeared first on VR World.

The third generation of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Surface 3 tablet, unveiled today by the company, may be its best as the slate finally ships with a full version of Windows.

Instead of shipping with a Windows RT like its predecessors, the Surface 3 ships with Windows 8.1. The base model of the Surface 3 is powered by an Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Atom x7 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a front-facing 3.5-megapixel camera, a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera, and a micro USB charger. Microsoft says that the battery will last 10 hours under normal conditions.

“Surface 3 brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people, delivering the premium design and productivity of Surface in a more affordable device,” Panos Panay, corporate vice president of Microsoft Surface, said in a blog post. “We’ve taken everything we learned making Surface Pro 3 and poured that innovation into this newest Surface.

The Surface 3 will also have a free upgrade to Windows 10 when it becomes available.

Each Surface 3 will come with a one year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote as well as 1 TB of OneDrive storage.

The Surface 3 is available for pre-order today via the Microsoft store and select Microsoft retail outlets. The tablet will ship on May 7.

Pricing for the Surface 3 starts at $499 with the LTE version costing $100 more.

Microsoft finally gets it right

Microsoft’s first Surface tablet was an unmitigated disaster. Microsoft ended up taking a $900 million writedown on the first tablet, as it couldn’t convince consumers to purchase them. Consumers were skeptical of the device, as Windows RT wasn’t compatible with most regular Windows apps. In addition, Windows on tablets wasn’t just as competitive as Android and iOS. It lacked the intuitive interface both of the other platforms have.

Progressively the Surface tablets have been getting better. The Surface 2 righted many of the wrongs of the first Surface, and the third Surface looks as if it will continue this trend.

The post Microsoft’s Surface 3 is a $499 Laptop appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: Microsoft has released the second live-action advertisement through the eyes of the Master Chief.

“You’ve completed your mission, Agent Locke. Mine is just beginning.”

If things weren’t any more cryptic or mysterious, it looks like both of the trailers are an endgame scenario that might hint at alternate endings for Halo 5.

Original story is as follows.

In an advertisement during tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced the Halo 5 release date for October 27, 2015 exclusively for the Xbox One.

Microsoft will be publishing two different live action trailers, one in the perspective of Agent Locke, and the other through the eyes of Master Chief. The footage is part of Halo 5‘s #HuntTheTruth Twitter campaign and showcases plot points from the game’s storyline.

You have only seen 1 of 2 @Halo 5 ads tonight, stay tuned….

— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) March 30, 2015

The first trailer release was from the point of view of Agent Locke, the ONI Spartan operative charged with finding Master Chief. Spartan 117’s trailer will be released later tonight, and we’ll be sure to update the post when it goes live.

Locke’s ad is a rather tantalizing live-action trailer that features the ONI agent menacingly chiding a disheveled Master Chief, who sits broken among disastrous ruins. This isn’t a side of the Chief we’ve ever seen before, and it’s strange to see him sit and accept his fate like this.

Locke appears to be sentencing Spartan 117 as a traitor, repeatedly referring to him as a betrayer, revealing key tidbits about the plot to Halo 5: Guardians.

“All hail the conquering hero, the one who was supposed to save us all. But now I must save us, from you.”

The Halo 5 #HuntTheTruth ARG campaign has also received a new update, chronicling another chapter of UNSC war journalist Benjamin Giraud’s investigation into the truth behind the nebulous Master Chief.

It’ll be interesting to see what other details are unearthed in the ARG campaign, and what actually happened to Master Chief’s stalwart resolve.

On a more humorous note, industry veteran Wario64 noticed that 343i actually “revealed” Halo 5‘s launch date during the game’s beta test. The beta was 10.27GB, which matches up with newly revealed release date.

Halo 5 release date was revealed months ago in beta download size. pic.twitter.com/PfdSkpChF7

— Wario64 (@Wario64) March 30, 2015

Halo 5: Guardians is scheduled to release on October 27, 2015 exclusively for the Xbox One.

The post Halo 5 Release Date Is October 27, 2015 on Xbox One appeared first on VR World.

With the recent news of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Jaws of Hakkon DLC being timed exclusive for Xbox One and PC, gamers are once again at the mercy of the strategic business tactic.

And it’s seriously aggravating the community whose paid good money for their games only to be denied content because they don’t own the competitor’s console.

If you play Dragon Age: Inquisition on PS4, then you’ll have to wait an undetermined amount of time before you get the DLC. EA’s (NASDAQ: EA) signed agreement prevents them from even delivering a timeframe, showing just how far these exclusivity deals can go.

We can not discuss when Jaws of Hakkon will be coming on other platforms

— Mark Darrah (@BioMarkDarrah) March 23, 2015

Instead of creating their own exclusive games for their respective systems, gaming titans like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) have taken to a new game: buying out the rights to have multi-platform games and content come to their consoles first.

The unfortunate future of gaming

Timed exclusivity first manifested itself with Bungie’s huge multi-platform hit Destiny. Sony signed a major deal with Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) that ensured specific content would be exclusive to PlayStation platforms up until a certain timeframe, punishing Xbox gamers to no end.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a Xbox One timed exclusive, and no one’s sure when it’ll come to PS4.

Microsoft did the same thing with Rise of the Tomb Raider, snagging a deal with Square Enix (TYO: 9684) and Crystal Dynamics that ensured the game would release first on Xbox consoles. We still don’t know when Rise of the Tomb Raider will release on PlayStation 4.

Sony even went so far as to snag a timed-exclusivity deal over No Man’s Sky once it realized how popular the game is in the gaming community.

Then there’s Titanfall 2, which is coming to the PS4 now that Respawn Entertianment is free of the exclusivity deal it signed with Microsoft for the original Titanfall.

It’s a bad and confusing business tactic in terms of consumer relations, as timed exclusivity ultimately alienates your constituency while also building shaky brand loyalty.

So why do it at all?

No Man’s Sky has gained incredible momentum, and remains one of the most anticipated Sony timed exclusives.

Why embrace timed exclusivity?

Console game exclusives don’t have the big payoff they once did. Back in the days of the original Xbox and PlayStation 2, Microsoft and Sony were both able to fire off a ton of first-party exclusives that helped define their brands. And since the games couldn’t be played anywhere else, it worked.

But in today’s industry, multi-platform games reign supreme and exclusives have taken a backseat. The big AAA hits are more accessible than ever, and you often don’t have to have any one system to play them.

Now that multi-platform is a secure bet, publishers are less-inclined to take the risk of developing a game on a single platform, considering they’d be missing out on the revenue streams from sales across all systems.

Sony and Microsoft’s first-party publishers are reticent as well, as they recognize the dynamic shift for cross-platform consumption as a clear threat to their respective regimes.

Every new exclusive is a gamble, and sometimes they can be multi-million dollar bets that don’t pay off, leading to crumbling sales and over-extending projections.

The post Timed Exclusives Are The Future of Gaming appeared first on VR World.

2015 will mark the 30th anniversary of Windows, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) iconic operating system first launched in November 1985. 2015 will also mark the year that Windows 10 will be released, the follow-up to the critically panned Windows 8.

Over the last decade customer’s computing needs have shifted. The computing landscape is dramatically different in 2015 than in 2001, when Microsoft launched Windows XP its most popular operating system and considered to be the company’s best. People compute in different ways, and Microsoft now has to compete with new operating systems that have appeared in the last decade like Android in addition to longtime rival Mac OS from Apple (NASDAQ: APPL).

Microsoft now is at a critical juncture.The success or failure of Windows 10 will be turning point for Microsoft. The exact nature of Windows 11 will depend on whether the market embraces or rejects Windows 10. If the market embraces Windows 10, it’s very likely that the follow-up will be more of the same. A failure of Windows 10 — a repeat of Windows 8 — will force Microsoft back to the drawing board with the OS, re-imagining it from the ground up.

Back to the beginning: DOS

A history of Windows needs to begin with what preceded it: DOS. DOS, later known as MS-DOS, was Microsoft’s first operating system and until Windows ME the foundation of what Windows ran on.

The birth of MS-DOS began in 1981 when Microsoft met with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to discuss making an operating system for its upcoming personal computer.

Microsoft already had a relationship with IBM, as it was licensing the BASIC language to IBM. The scope and complexity of creating an entire operating system was beyond Microsoft’s resources available at the time, but that didn’t stop Bill Gates: he bought the full rights to DOS from a small firm based in Washington called Seattle Computer Products for $50,000.

The meeting that started this deal is dramatized in the film Pirates of the Silicon Valley:

Seattle Computer Products’ owner Rod Brock was unaware of the exact nature of the deal between Microsoft and IBM. However, when he discovered the profits Microsoft was making selling DOS to IBM he tried to sell the company and all of its intellectual property to one of IBM’s rivals. This led to a lawsuit between Brock and Microsoft and the two parties settled out of court for $925,000, and Microsoft confirmed its rights and license to DOS.

The first Windows

Microsoft announced Windows, first called Windows for DOS and known by its code name of, in 1983. It was finally released in 1985. However, it was not the first operating system with a graphical user interface. That honor goes to Apple’s Macintosh.

Windows shipped with several simple programs, such as MS‑DOS file management, Paint, Windows Writer, Notepad, Calculator, and a calendar, card file, and clock.

While Windows was praised for helping change the paradigm of how people interact with computers, this first version of the world’s most important operating system largely stood in the shadow of Macintosh. Apple, however felt threatened and sued Microsoft in 1988 for copyright infringement, claiming that Microsoft copied the “look and feel” of its operating system.

However Apple itself did not invent the GUI. That honor goes to Xerox, which effectively gave it away to Apple.

Support for Windows 1.0 ended in December 2001.

The post The History of Windows appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) latest plan to get Windows 10 for phones on more devices involves collaborating with Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi in offering a custom Android ROM that effectively allows devices like the Mi 4 to run Windows 10.

From what has been revealed thus far, the deal seems less like a partnership and more like Microsoft trying to gain feedback from Xiaomi’s community of fans, who are some of the most vocal when it comes to sharing their thoughts on new software updates.

As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience.

This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.

Since Xiaomi actively encourages users to install custom ROMs on its hardware, Microsoft’s Windows 10 is seen as just another alternative among the likes of CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android and AOSP builds.

An image of a Mi 4 — which comes with hardware that is better than anything currently available on Windows Phone — running Windows 10 was posted on the MIUI forum, with the statement that the ROM would be made available to the community shortly.

What Microsoft’s intentions at this stage in launching a ROM tailored to run Windows 10 is unclear, but with Windows Phone steadily coming to parity with Android at a hardware-level, it is possible that the software giant is looking to increase the number of devices that have Windows 10 installed without actually having to launch any.

By offering a ROM, Microsoft is allowing users to try and test out the features on offer from Windows Phone, which ultimately leads to an increased interest in the platform. Android’s customizability continues to be one of its strong points, and if Microsoft can cater to that segment of power users, it stands to gain valuable feedback as well as a new outlet through which to increase the number of customers using its services.

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In a landmark move to combat piracy in China and other emerging markets, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced that it will make Windows 10 freely available to all current users, even those who are running pirated versions of the operating system.

The move is designed to curtail piracy, which is rampant in China. A study found that over 67% of all PCs in China run a non-genuine version of Windows, and after trying and failing to prevent piracy, Microsoft is now looking to put an end to illegal downloads by giving the next version of Windows away for free. By allowing users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, Microsoft will be able to “re-engage” with hundreds of millions of customers in these countries, according to Terry Myerson.

Microsoft is heavily reorganizing its business model  with Windows 10, which will be the first Windows to offer a consistent user experience across devices and form factors, such as smartphones, tablets, PCs and even the Xbox One. Windows 10 will be offered as a service, and while the first year of usage will be available for free to all users, there will be some pricing structure rolled out after that. Along with changing how Windows 10 is delivered, Microsoft is also fundamentally altering the way the operating system is built by giving millions of customers access to early builds to solicit feedback.

It is possible we’ll see an Office 365-style pricing tiers for Windows. Microsoft has not detailed as to how it will charge for Windows 10, but more details will likely emerge at its BUILD conference, which is being held next month.

The post Users Pirating Windows Will Also Be Able To Upgrade To Windows 10 For Free appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has launched a new build of the Windows 10 technical preview with build number 10041. The build comes with new features and has a more polished user interface, giving users a taste of what’s to come in the final version of Windows 10, set to launch this summer.

The new build highlights the visual overhaul of Windows Explorer, with icons looking more flatter and colorful. The settings section has also been retooled, and now features toggles that are similar to what will be seen on Windows 10 for phones.

One of the major highlights of build 10041 is the inclusion of Cortana in more territories, with users in China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK now able to access the personal assistant. The Virtual Desktops feature, which is essentially the able to run multi-window setups, is also getting new functionality, with users now having the ability to moving a specific window to its own Virtual Desktop in a single step.

The taskbar is also being tweaked, with network settings getting its own dedicated fly-out section for easy access. The Photos app, which has Live Tile functionality, will be able to pull images from OneDrive in preview mode, and has also gained the ability to handle images in the RAW file format. The feedback hub has also been tweaked and will now let users share feedback on feature requests as well as suggestions more easily.

While not ready yet, Microsoft has announced that Project Spartan will be launching in the next update. The browser will be the default way to surf the web on Windows 10 as Microsoft finally called the curtains on Internet Explorer. Project Spartan will come with a new rendering engine, come with support for extensions and  a brand new user interface with a reading mode.

Head of the Windows Insider program Gabriel Aul has mentioned that new builds will be available to customers once every month leading up to the launch of Windows 10, with Fast ring members having the ability to get updates even faster.

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At the WinHEC event in Shenzhen, China, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) head of operating systems Terry Myerson announced that Windows 10 will be launching this summer in 190 countries. Several new features were demoed as well, along with the announcement that a country-specific version of Cortana would be available in Mandarin.

Microsoft also revealed that it is partnering with several Chinese tech companies to increase its presence in the country. Lenovo (HKG:0992), the world’s largest PC maker, has announced that it will make Windows 10 upgrade services available at more than 2,500 locations in China. Lenovo also said that it would be launching its first Windows Phone mid-2015. Specific details about the hardware were not revealed, but considering that the device will be sold through China Mobile, it is likely Lenovo will target the masses with an entry-level or mid-tier offering.

Chinese internet portal Tencent (HKG:0700) is also collaborating with Microsoft in making Windows 10 available to as many of its customers as soon as possible. The vendor stated that it would be launching the highly popular League of Legends on the Windows 10 store, and that it would make several of its apps universal for Windows 10.

In terms of features, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would get a new biometric authentication system dubbed Windows Hello. Through the feature, you can use your face, iris or fingerprint to unlock your Windows 10 computer. As is the case when implementing biometric authentication, the feature will require specialised hardware, with Microsoft stating that it is working with OEMs to include Intel’s RealSense F200 sensor in their Windows 10-based hardware.

Windows 10 for IoT devices was also highlighted, with Microsoft stating that it will give away the upcoming version of the operating system for free to the maker community. There will be specialised versions of Windows 10 based on the hardware use-case, with products tailored for powerful devices like ATMs and ultrasound machines, to low-energy consuming machines like gateways. Microsoft is also collaborating with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Raspberry to launch tools and developer kits for the IoT platform. Qualcomm’s DragonBoard 410C was selected as the first dev board for Windows 10 in this segment, with the kit offering integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, single-channel LPDDR2/3 memory and a Snapdragon 410 SoC.

The post Windows 10 Launching This Summer, Microsoft Details Chinese Partnerships appeared first on VR World.

With Windows 10, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be introducing a brand new browser codenamed Project Spartan, with Internet Explorer finally set to become obsolete. The browser will continue on as an alternative, mainly for enterprise customers, but for other users Project Spartan will be the go-to browser.

Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela announced during the Microsoft Convergence event yesterday that the manufacturer was working on a new name and brand for the Porject Spartan browser. Some of the new features that are set to be ushered in with Project Spartan include a new Edge rendering engine that can parse HTML markup directly, with the ability to also load legacy IE11 websites.

The browser will be delivered as a universal app, which means that for the first time, the same version of the browser will be available on Windows 10 as well as Windows 10 for phones. Considering Microsoft’s One Windows vision, it is possible a slimmed-down variant of the browser will be available for Xbox One as well. Ability to update directly from the store means that Microsoft can introduce new features without having to roll out an OS update. Also available in Spartan is extension support, and Cortana is also highlighted as an integral feature in the browser.

One of the main reasons in ditching the Internet Explorer brand is the negative connotation it carriers in the tech world. Microsoft tried to shake off the negative image of the browser by rolling out commercials, but ultimately failed to challenge the growing dominance of Chrome and Firefox. With Windows 10 heralding a new direction for Microsoft as a whole, Redmond is now looking to start afresh in the browser segment as well.

Microsoft is yet to figure out a name for Project Spartan, although it is likely given market research trends that it will feature Microsoft’s brand name in front of it. Microsoft Spartan, anyone?

The post Microsoft To Ditch Internet Explorer Brand In Favor Of Project Spartan For Windows 10 appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) opened a press conference Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress with the announcement of its new Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL smartphones. These two new phones are targeted towards a bigger tech market with its lowered price point, making it available to more consumers.

The Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL are both technically the successor to the Lumia 630 and Lumia 1320 respectively. Featuring the Clear Black Display, the Lumia 640 sports a 5-inch, 1280×720 screen, while the Lumia 640 XL ups the size a bit to 5.7-inch. Spec-wise both are almost the same, 1.2 Ghz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. The Lumia 640 gets an 8-megapixel front camera while the Lumia 640 XL gets its 13-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics camera.

The Lumia 640

Lumia 640 XL

Perhaps the most notable feature of both phones is its one-year free subscription to Office 365 Personal, which saves its users at least $70 worth for the new units. Coupled with its relatively low-cost, Microsoft aims to widen the base for Windows Phone users, which would in turn help the development of more apps for its mobile OS.

Information for the announcement of the two new Windows Phone models was actually already leaked at least a day prior to the press conference at the Mobile World Congress. The leak was through an empty link header, which clearly detailed the announcement in the title.

Both the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL will be installed with Windows Phone 8.1. However, the two phones are also designed to be upgradeable to Windows 10 later on after it becomes officially released. It will be commercially available sometime around this month, at an equivalent price of about $156 (3G) and $178 (LTE) for the Lumia 640, and about $212 (3G) and $245 (LTE) for the Lumia 640 XL. It will also be available in matte and glossy versions, as well as in cyan, orange and black colors.

The post Microsoft Reveals the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL at MWC 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Since it has been confirmed that the Windows Holographic platform will come baked into every copy of the Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft obviously anticipates the possibility of a future filled with “holographic” computing devices.

So is Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) correct to expect this trend, and – more importantly – should we be happy if it is?

HoloLens joins the recent crew of wearable interfaces, which includes Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Glass and Sony’s not-so-smart-glasses. Some people want to include Oculus Rift in this list, but the Rift is neither augmented reality, nor a computer interface – it is a glamorous virtual reality gaming console, that also happens to be really cool, but doesn’t attempt to function as an interface for everyday computing.

A step forward

Augmented reality devices represent the logical step in a trend that began with the unveiling of the original iPhone in 2007.  Much has been made of the way Apple’s iPhone – and later the iPad – influenced the computing world by creating a vast market for portable smart devices. But equally relevant is an extraordinary paradigm shift caused by these devices with the perfection of one simple element: the touch screen.

Since Douglas Engelbart’s “mother of all demos” in 1968, computer interfaces have been dominated by the ingenious mouse-keyboard combo. For a generation of people who lived before computers, the mouse and keyboard represented the perfect interface: a simple and intuitive way to input commands to a computer using direct mechanical motion and tactile feedback. Typing at a computer wasn’t much different from using a typewriter, and using a mouse must have felt a lot like pulling a lever or turning a steering-wheel to get where one wanted to go.

Most importantly, this interface maintained a clear distinction between the user and the machine: there could not be a less ambiguous boundary than the four corners of a computer monitor, and the pronounced grid of a 1980s keyboard. This distinction was a comfortable one for those accustomed to reading text from the pages of a book, or the folds of a newspaper.

But it also turned out to be an unnecessary one, because computers are not books. The touchscreen was not merely a cool gimmick, but a fundamental change in the way people interacted with their devices. Gone was the distance, or the need for mechanical proxies. Users could now directly manipulate the digital environment by touching it, and interacting with it in a way so intimate that it could arguably be called “magical”.

Since a capacitive touchscreen was included in Apple’s original iPhone, touchscreens have appeared everywhere: tablets, laptops, desktop monitors, televisions, cars, and even refrigerators. It’s a well established fact that a small niche for touchscreens existed before 2007, as exemplified by Microsoft’s Palm PC. But besides being inaccurate and cumbersome, these screens focused on the use of a stylus, and so continued to emphasize the mechanical boundary between machine and user.

Changing paradigms

Google went a step beyond the touchscreen with Glass, by changing the very screen from a physical one to one existing virtually in a user’s line of sight. But this was more of a gimmick than anything significant. Glass still functioned almost exactly like a mobile device. The glass interface was just a screen – a screen constantly floating in front of one’s face, but a screen nevertheless.

HoloLens represents an even more dramatic reduction in the distance between user and interface. By virtually transforming the physical world into a tangible representation of programs and controls, HoloLens is more invasive than glass, which at least preserves the distinction between what is virtual and what is real.

The effect – theoretically, at least – is awesome. What could be cooler than literally stepping into a Martian biome, or the bounds of a video game environment, or to pick up a virtual model and turn it around, all within one’s office?

The question of whether these theoretical features will actually function as intended can be ignored in lieu of the more dramatic question, which is: should this distance be breached in the first place? Digital environments are not realer than the ones in books or other fantasies, which we comfortably consign to the boundaries of our imagination, or pages, or stage, or screen – the boundaries of something.

But should we willingly lie to our senses until they are confused what is actual, and what is virtual? HoloLens is the first time this has actually been attempted, so there are no past failures to learn from, or debates to draw on. This is a question that must be worked out by the consumer, whose answer will ultimately determine the fate of augmented reality, and Microsoft’s HoloLens.

The post Is Microsoft HoloLens the Future of Computing? appeared first on VR World.

Starting today the Xbox One Upload Studio video editing suite is getting a substantial update that adds in a swath of new features.

Xbox’s own spokesperson Larry Hyrb revealed that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will be giving users a number of new tools that allow for extensive content creation.

Chief among the new features is the increase of a clip’s max runtime to 30 minutes, with up to 15 separate segments strung together in the same clip.

Other additions include transitions, title cards, intros, effects, splash screens, templates and pretty much everything you need to make your own unique video clips. The new improved Upload Studio also affords voice overlays that are perfect for those walkthrough videos, Let’s Plays, or even mini-reviews.

As a games reviewer I find this new update to be incredibly advantageous. The prospect of being able to create my own clips and share them is quite alluring.

But screenshots are still missing in action. Phil Spencer recently showed off a brief working screenshot demo, but they’re still in the pipeline for now.

The PlayStation 4’s Share Factory has led the charge thus far as the Xbox One hasn’t really had a dynamic video editor, but now Microsoft has evened the score.

The enhanced Upload Studio represents another promise fulfilled and proves that the Redmond-based console-maker is indeed keen on community-driven feedback.

It’ll be interesting to see what new creations Xbox One owner’s will churn out in the coming weeks, especially with the new options that let everyday gamers leave their customized digital footprint over captured video.

The post Xbox One Upload Studio Gets Major Content Update appeared first on VR World.

Back when Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was first introducing Windows 8 to the world, it also announced that it would be bringing the Windows platform to the ARM ecosystem with Windows RT. Unfortunately for Microsoft, this plan was an abject failure and with the end of production of the Lumia 2520 the platform is all but dead.

But why exactly did Windows RT fail? After all, porting what is arguably the world’s best known operating system to the growing ARM ecosystem only seemed logical. The x86 platform would always be the primary home to Windows, but Windows itself needed a proper presence in the tablet and smartphone space.

Microsoft’s problem with Windows RT was two-fold: first the platform lacked a proper selection of apps, and the Metro UI interface was not well received by customers.

While Windows RT looked just like its desktop companion, there was one critical difference: as it was running on ARM silicon the existing library of software for Windows simply would not work on it. Aside from pre-installed versions of Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, there simply was not the software ecosystem to support the platform. As software vendors didn’t know the platform’s potential for success, they didn’t bother producing ARM-compatible ports meaning that users weren’t able to do much with their Windows RT devices.

Windows RT’s Metro UI didn’t help much either. The UI has been long criticized for simply not being as good as the competing UIs of iOS and the many incarnations of Android. In comparison, it’s simply uninspired and bland. In addition in desktop mode it’s nearly unusable with the touch screen input of the Surface. It all felt a generation behind what the competition had available.

The price Microsoft paid

In 2013 Microsoft disclosed that it had taken a $900 million charge for “inventory adjustments” because of Surface and Windows RT. Quite simply: Microsoft expected to sell a lot more than it actually did, which left it sitting with mountains of unsold inventory.

During an earnings call in November 2013, Julie Larson-Green, EVP of Devices for Microsoft, admitted Microsoft’s failings and hinted at the path the company would be taking.

“I think we didn’t explain that super-well. I think we didn’t differentiate the devices well enough. They looked similar. Using them is similar. It just didn’t do everything that you expected Windows to do,” she said.

The post Rest in Peace Windows RT appeared first on VR World.

Browser wars are back, and they’re back in full strength: who is going to win? Mozilla Firefox leads the market share of alternative browsers and in some countries, such as Germany – enjoys leading market share. Google’s Chrome came out of beta, and then returned to beta status within the same year (1.0 beta becomes 1.0 – and 2.0 beta arrived this week) , while Apple made great progress forward with more stable and mature Safari. Version 4 is currently the leading browser in recently released Peacemaker, browser benchmark from “The Flying Finns” (Futremark).

So, what is Microsoft doing? Releasing its last internet browser based on current Internet Explorer technology. IE8 is the default web browser for Windows 7, but it is removable due to the completely new browser engine coming in late 2010.

IE8 was released some hours ago, and this version of “Exploder” will have to hold the fort for Microsoft until the next-gen technology debuts. If you want to try IE8, head over to official Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 download page or go to alternative sites such as TechPowerUp! or Softpedia.

The post Microsoft releases IE8: Last gasp or a fresh start? appeared first on VR World.

If we look at a chart above, we see that in December ’08, TSMC dipped as low as negative 31.5% compared to October, while second-tier foundry VIS crashed down to negative 42.1%. Looking at the stats right now, VIS is showing 16% growth compared to October 2008, UMC is showing negative 0.3% and TSMC is down 7.5%, but announcing a slew of rushed orders for March and April.

It will take couple of weeks to couple of months for these orders to become chips, but if contractors such as AMD, Intel, Microsoft, Sony, Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Philips, Qualcomm and numerous other players are now ordering chips, one cannot think about anything else but a recovery.

Some analysts estimate that semiconductor industry won’t recover until 2012, but more optimistic projections pitch 2009 and semiconductor industry as the first to return to black. According to DigiTimes story, this is slowly, but certainly happening. Will recession end during 2009? We certainly hope so.

The post Recession is over? TSMC, UMC, VIS show large growth in orders appeared first on VR World.

• W7 Starter Edition – 199.95 vs. 99.95
• W7 Home Premium – 259.95 vs. 159.95
• W7 Professional – 299.95 vs. 299.95 (Vista Business)
• W7 Ultimate – 319.95 vs. 399.95

If we compare the launch prices for two operating systems, we can see that Microsoft jacked up Starter Edition by $100 when compared to Vista Starter Edition, Home Premium is jacked up by the same amount. Professional (Business) Edition remained the same, while Ultimate got cheaper by 80 bucks. The differences become even more interesting if we take a look at current situation – roughly a year ago, Microsoft cut the Vista prices by as much as 20%.

Following is a comparison between actual prices:

• W7 Starter Edition – 199.95 vs. 52.99
• W7 Home Premium – 259.95 vs. 129.95
• W7 Professional – 299.95 vs. 299.95 (Vista Business)
• W7 Ultimate – 319.95 vs. 319.95

Now, the differences are even greater. You will pay almost $150 more for W7 Starter Edition, exactly twice the much for Home Premium (single W7 Home Premium box equals two Vista Home Premium boxes), while Professional (Business) and Ultimate remain the same.

Judging by what we are seeing now, the wave of positive PR should yield in additional hundreds of millions dollars, since Starter and Home Premium are most sold versions with netbooks and notebooks. This will put additional pressure on notebook manufacturers and you can expect that those manufacturers will be forced to offer cheaper components inside their computers in order to meet up for these jacked up prices. OEM pricing will differ, but don’t expect wonders.

The value of good PR for Windows 7? One Benjamin Franklin.

If you ever wanted to know what is the value of positive reviews from journalists around the world – the answer is somewhere between $80-150 per retail box. Looking it from othe other side, this can also be interpreted into the cost of negative reviews.

UPDATE: February 9, 2009, 15:02 CET – ArsTechnica posted a retraction of this rumor. As usuall, I will state that this story was a rumor to begin with, and we won’t know the truth until Microsoft officialy release the prices. You can expect MSFT to disclose pricing when W7 enters RC-1 stage.

The post UPDATE – RUMOR: Microsoft jacks up Windows 7 prices appeared first on VR World.

When Intel announced project Moblin in 2007, Microsoft frowned upon Intel, given the effort the company put in gearing its next gen OS “Vienna” (aka Windows 7) towards netbooks and MIDs. The love-hate relationship begun with Intel frowning on Microsoft in the case of Xbox 360 and AMD’s 64-bit instruction set “x86-64″ (AMD64). But with the Moblin V2 Core OS coming to life, Intel is threatening Microsoft for the very first time on Microsoft’s home turf – software.

Our sources claim that upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 is just a preparation for Windows Mobile 7, OS that will cover smartphones, GPS devices and MIDs from the lower end segment, topped with Windows 7 Embedded Edition for the higher end spectrum of GPS/MID/Netbook market. The company that gave Microsoft a helping hand is no other than Nvidia. Bear in mind that it was ATI Technologies that worked hand-in-hand with Microsoft on Windows Mobile 6, 6.5 and 7, but AMD’s leadership (should we write, lack of?) sold that part for small change to Freescale and Qualcomm. This is for the second time in two years that AMD walked away from the market it helped create (OLPC and netbooks were the first), and Jen-Hsun is probably the luckiest guy in the world. All he needs to do is watch what markets AMD is investing in right now, and then walk right in as soon as AMD starts to walk out. Personally, I just don’t understand AMD – the company spends millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours developing projects that the company will walk out from, loose brilliant people in the process, and then nobody will point a finger when a company melts down with more than $3B losses in 2008 alone.

Getting back on the story, I was surprised to hear that Nvidia works hand-in-hand with Microsoft on that level. Previously, my MSFT sources always mentioned Intel and ATI/AMD, but now, the company that is most spoken of is Graphzilla from Satan Clara. Oddly how world turns. That also answered my question why Nvidia shunned Nokia’s offer and sold hundreds of millions of Tegra chips to this Finnish giant. Jen-Hsun thinks Windows Mobile is safer bet than Symbian OS. Looking from this perspective, he might even be right.

Even in prototype form, this nPhone dev platform showed great promise. Time for limelight is approaching...

Even though the 1st gen Tegra (APX2500) or 2nd gen Tegra (600/650) didn’t exactly showed up in smartphones when we expected them, it turned out that first and second generation were nothing but Trojan horses for Nvidia in the handheld market. Tegra 600/650 is based on GeForce 6 chip, while Tegra 700(?) is looking up for a debut this year with CUDA-capable and OpenCL-capable GeForce 9 core. 3rd generation Tegra is the SoC that will have Microsoft backing, so nPhone isn’t a concept, but a reality. Windows Mobile 7 + Tegra 700 should be the winning combination for Microsoft in the mobile space, as a payback to Intel.

In fact, don’t be surprised if Microsoft decides to give Nvidia’s Ion a helping hand by offering Windows 7 and Windows XP deals on MIDs and netbooks on Intel Atom+GeForce 9400, and shunning Intel’s integrated graphics parts. When this scenario comes to life, don’t be surprised if you read “Wintel is dead” comments from bloggers and editors on their respective networks.

Just remember where you read it first

The post The End of Wintel saga…beginning of Microvidia and nPhone? appeared first on VR World.

Steam Hardware Survey, December 2008

Following our article with November 2008 details, here are the changes:

• AMD lost 1.04% of CPU share in December alone – Intel gained that share
• Nvidia lost 0.47% of its GPU share, while AMD/ATI gained 0.45%
• Out of those 0.47%, 0.25% bought a graphics card with 1GB of video memory
• Quad-Core processors are now used by 10.76%, up 0.64% from Nov ’08
• 50.81% of all users have at least 2 cores to play with
• DirectX 10 API is now used by 22.88% of all users, up 1.45% from Nov ’08
• 41.5% users use widescreen resolution, gained 1.47% from Nov’08
• Multi-GPU configurations are still used by less than 2% of all users, with 1.84% (+0.06%). This means that just 300.000 Steam gamers have more than one GPU in their computer.
• Revenue-wise, these 300.000 gamers spent 200+ million USD on their GPU hardware alone, or equal revenue to 1.2 million mainstream users (if they spent $199 on a card)

We can conclude that roughly 1% of all users (150.000) bought new systems, mostly equipped with quad-core processors and ATI Radeon graphics cards. Given the fact that cut-off for SHS is 10th in the month, only Steam Hardware Survey for January 2009 will show all the Christmas sales results. Then, we can see what happened with the base of Steam users.

This does not include the whole world, so there is a lot of room for free interpretation, but bear in mind that this number includes more than 15.5 million users worldwide. And Steam itself is gaining users, so it will be interesting to see how it will all equal out.

The post STEAM: Intel, ATI gain users, AMD+Nvidia continue the negative trend appeared first on VR World.