Search has become a hot topic for the past year. Bing, Google, Yahoo, and others have fought for dominance and in this battle, users have been introduced to a bevy of innovations in their searches. The concept of search is nice, type in a few words, or phrases and find content directly related to your query. Some searches are more successful than others all the while introducing users to content across hundreds of thousands of pages. Still, most users will not go past the first two or three pages at most.
SurfCanyon strives to change the user’s search experience and focus not just on getting content, but becoming a tool for discovery. Much like a tool we spoke about some time ago, Worio, SurfCanyon attaches itself to your browser of choice and adds a target tab that allows for further discover of related content right from your normal search. The reason behind such an app is the fact that sometimes your content is not where you expect it. I with users not typically going past page 3, SurfCanyon will pull related content together for you and place it right under all the links you see on the first page.
You don’t just get deeper results, but as seen below you can dig even deeper into your results. This provides a real drill down experience for search discovery. This immersive search experience might be something you’ve been longing for. There’s lots of results to search through and the concept is to provide you answers for even the most complicated of queries.
Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal add-on for the Xbox 360 is one of the most exciting and interesting new gaming peripherals to be announced in some time. Now it has been reported over at Wireninja that the new Project Natal will be coming in November 2010 and will ship 5 million units in its initial batch, which includes 14 games and a super-low price of £50.
One publishing source says Microsoft is “trying to get as close as possible to ‘impulse buy’”. Another even says the camera could even retail for just £30.
Activision, Bethesda, Capcom, Disney, EA, Konami, MTV, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ and Ubisoft all committed to make games for the device in an announcement made at last month’s Tokyo Game Show.
I’m not quite sure when things in the office changed, and why all of a sudden there’s been such a rush to do online collaborative tools for offices. While for some it screams efficiency, for others it screams TRAINING!!! Sadly no matter how much you “train” people to learn the new ways, someone always fumbles and things fall apart.
Nevertheless, this drive for online tools has driven companies like Google, Zoho, Microsoft, and many others to create online office tools that go where you go, and are accessible from anywhere in the world…provided you have an internet connection. So heavily used are these tools that even while on the go, your mobile devices are capable of accessing these tools which allows you to never miss a step.
While the above mentioned are great, and provide a level of collaboration that standard desktop office software does not, there is one that offers an all inclusive internet office for online work, OfficeMedium.
Nope, I’m not talking the crazy office worker who claims to see dead people, not that type of medium. I’m talking about the actual suite of online collaborative office tools that give you more than the standard faire. Aside from the typical presentation, word, and spreadsheet portions, you’re also given access to content management tools, events/tasks/calendar tools, social networking tools for your intranet, file sharing and storage, along with enhanced security to keep what’s happening within the company private.
This online web application is not free, there are minimal costs attached, and from I see, the cost is extremely affordable. But it still begs the question, what companies truly need this type of depth? I think it will come down to the size of your company and the needs it needs to serve. Google and Zoho seem appropriate for what I do, but perhaps a more enterprise level company would turn to OfficeMedium to help keep communication a little tighter within a company.
It has been reported that MSN.com is rolling uot a new version over time. You can preview the new version at http://preview.msn.com.
I never knew that more than 1/3 of all Internet users worldwide visit MSN every month. 400 million people per month. Thats nearly as good as Yahoo’s 600 million and killing AOL’s 80 million. But still, it’s the most popular Internet portal that no one actually ever goes to.
In the new version everything is a lot cleaner and easier to read. They have integrated Facebook and Twitter nicely and more videos. Additionally, you will notice the simplicity of the Bing search bar which provide no clutter.
Microsoft have also reported that more than half of their monthly visitors use Facebook on a monthly basis, as well as 15% using Twitter. These are the key reasons why these services are added but not much else.
In a very surprising move, Microsoft has started selling computers and even third-party software via its online store.
This is a small part of a much broader push for Microsoft as they think that stores like Apple’s might bring in much higher margins for them and their products. Microsoft had said it would sell PCs at its brick-and-mortar stores, but it plans to open just two of those this year, including a Scottsdale, Ariz., location that opens later Thursday.
Early on Thursday, though, Microsoft revamped its online store, which had been an outlet only for Microsoft products. The remake of the online store comes just as Microsoft is launching Windows 7.
Clicking on laptops brings up a list of 10 models, organized by price, including two models below $750. The site also offers three Netbooks and a single desktop model, Lenovo’s $999 A600 all-in-one.
On the software front, Microsoft is selling Norton 360 and Adobe Photoshop, along with Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products. Accessories include a lot of Microsoft keyboards, mice, and Webcams, along with flash drives and blank DVDs from other companies.
Microsoft announced recently the arrival of the first wave of Windows Mobile 6.5 cell phones, which will hit the stores tomorrow: October 6.
But here’s an interesting note, AT&T released yesterday (October 4) a new model “AT&T Pure”; which includes Windows Mobile 6.5! Yeap, they’ve released a phone with an operating system that hasn’t been officially released just yet. Here’s some user evidence.
Here are the companies that will include devices with this new operating system:
North America
Mobile operators: AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS, and Verizon Wireless
Phone manufacturers: HP, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Toshiba
Europe
Mobile operators: Orange, T-Mobile, and Vodafone
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba
Latin America
Mobile operators: Telecom Italia Mobile Brazil
Phone manufacturers: HTC, LG Electronics, and Samsung
Asia Pacific
Mobile operators: NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank Mobile, SK Telecom, Telstra, and WILLCOM
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba
Marketing in Microsoft has always been a strong area (I think it is the main reason that Microsoft is Microsoft today) and they do not hesitate to go a little further every time. This time: Presenting Windows 7 Steve Ballmer’s Edition.
Well it is not exactly what you may think; it does not have special “Ballmer features”, or using only desktop backgrounds with Microsoft’s CEO. But what it does have is a special box edition with Ballmer’s signature.
The lucky ones that will receive this package are those that are throwing a Windows 7 party (we’ve discussed this earlier). But here’s an interesting story published by ArsTechnica: A very enthusiast Windows user sent an e-mail to Microsoft complaining that even though he completed the registration to Windows 7 party, no Caribbean countries were eligible to use it. So the company in response, sent the Windows 7 with Ballmer’s signature and the Windows 7 Party Kit.
I’m pretty sure that once this story hit public, a million complains were received from Microsoft. But still, sounds good to me that the company is trying to reward those enthusiast that are trying to help Windows 7 marketing, even though they participate in a contest or not.
Microsoft has been working for a long time now in giving a good and reliable antivirus platform for all users. And when I say “for all users” I mean a free one. Seems that the dream is about to become true today: Microsoft Security Essentials will be release to the public as the free antivirus solution from Microsoft.
Microsoft Security Essentials will be replacing Windows Live OneCare as the security suite for viruses and malware. The suite can be installed in Windows XP, Vista and 7; and seems that already has a good review about the protection you can achieve, by giving you a shield for 97,8% of the existing malware in the web.
On the other side, some of the other reviews this antivirus platform has received so far say that the engine inside it is a little bit slow and intrusive with other applications.
And of course, leaders from other security solutions already are trying to tear this solution down, like McAfee: “will compete against other free solutions by offering limited security functionality”; or Symantec saying it is a “thin defense” and not giving you any type of antispam or identity safeguards.
I have just discovered via a tweet of someone I’m following the Microsoft will open a café in Paris to celebrate the launch of Windows 7 in Europe which is due in just a few short weeks. The café will remain open for a few weeks after launch and customers will be able to play around with tonnes of Microsoft goodies such as XBOXs, Mobile Devices, Zunes and PCs.
However, they won’t be able to buy any of them as the café will serve only snacks and drinks.
Cheekily, the poster on the window to the café which is currently undergoing construction says (and I finally use that ‘D’ in French after all!) “The Windows Cafe will open its doors on October 22. Don’t hesitate to browse the web on the sidewalk in the meantime.”
Gizmodo had an exclusive regarding the new Tablet PC from Microsoft. The tablet will be call the Courier and man does it look good.
The Courier is currently in “late prototype” stage of development and not exactly a tablet, its more of a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.
The Courier user experience presented here is almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be, a kung fu eagle claw to Apple’s tiger style.
It’s complex: Two screens, a mashup of a pen-dominated interface with several types of multitouch finger gestures, and multiple graphically complex themes, modes and applications.
Last week, here at Crenk we reported that Microsoft and Yahoo! are entering into a deal to combine search technology and the revenue from their engines in a bid to strike Google who has a share of around 65% of the global market. Yahoo! and Microsoft barely have 28% – combined.
It has emerged that the companies’ lack of market holding has led to Yahoo! putting a clause in the agreement which states that Yahoo! can back out of the deal at any time before the scheduled five year renewal if their revenue share falls too low.
Yahoo! and Microsoft failed to specify what exactly the number was that would entitle Yahoo! to pull out should revenue fall below it however it is expected that the danger zone will be in the first eighteen months.
This is because any new service, whether continuing on from an old one or starting from scratch will experience growing pains. A few other details have emerged since the deal was officially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
For example, Microsoft must hire 400 Yahoo! engineers and pay them “market-competitive” wages. Furthermore, a full deal must be struck by October 27th otherwise the debates will be brought to a arbitration panel. Time is money.
I guess now we all have to play the waiting game. I wonder in two years time will be caught saying “I Binged myself and I’m 5th in the search results!”.
I’m not quite sure when things in the office changed, and why all of a sudden there’s been such a rush to do online collaborative tools for offices. While for some it screams efficiency, for others it screams TRAINING!!! Sadly no matter how much you “train” people to learn the new ways, someone always fumbles and things fall apart.
I have just discovered via a tweet of someone I’m following the Microsoft will open a café in Paris to celebrate the launch of Windows 7 in Europe which is due in just a few short weeks. The café will remain open for a few weeks after launch and customers will be able to play around with tonnes of Microsoft goodies such as XBOXs, Mobile Devices, Zunes and PCs.
Last week, here at Crenk we reported that
