Crenk » microsoft

Internet Search Expanded, Online Information Drilldown

Luis Sandoval — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:42:13 +0000

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 Project Natal (Controller Free for Xbox 360) Coming November 2010 and Cheap

Steven Finch — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:02:28 +0000

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.

Online Collaborative Workspaces with OfficeMedium

Luis Sandoval — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:36 +0000

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.

[Disclosure: OfficeMedium is a sponsor for Crenk]

Microsoft Soft Launch New MSN.com Home Page

Steven Finch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:49:54 +0000

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.

New Mac Ads That Hate on Windows 7

Steven Finch — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:49:00 +0000

Apple has released 3 new ads that take aim at Windows 7. What do you think of the ads?

Microsoft Start To Sell Computers and Third Party Software on Their Online Store

Steven Finch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:39:01 +0000

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.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Arriving October 6

Augusto Alvarez — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:23:53 +0000

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

We’ve also already mentioned about a Sony Ericcson phone that will include Windows Mobile 6.5: XPERIA X2.

Here’s a quick reference about the improvements in 6.5 version:

New engine for Internet Explorer. Including support for Adobe Flash Lite.
Microsoft My Phone. Application to synchronize data (photos, music, contacts, etc)
Office mobile new version.

Windows 7 Steve Ballmer’s Edition

Augusto Alvarez — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:44:37 +0000

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.

Original story in sutffiwrote

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 Free Antivirus Releasing Today

Augusto Alvarez — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:06:31 +0000

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.

Let people decide then.

Microsoft to Open Windows 7 Café

Dean Sherwin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:10:18 +0000

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.”

Courier: New Microsoft Tablet PC Which Looks Amazing!

Steven Finch — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:58:18 +0000

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.

To check out more information about the Courier and also to view the intro video click here.

Yahoo! Has Clause to Back Out From Microsoft Deal

Dean — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:26:51 +0000

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 5^th in the search results!”.

Microsoft’s Music Streaming – Where is it Bill?

Dean — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:09:01 +0000

Right next to downloading, music streaming is the next big thing in terms of entertainment on the net. It’s really starting to pick up with many people launching their own private radio stations. While the vast majority are in too small a niche to actually make money, the big companies will.

Spotify are the biggest at the moment. They are the ones to go to for video and music streaming. Recently however, Microsoft announced that it would launch its own music streaming service. This was originally intended for July but has become delayed.

Several other companies are now catching up quickly with streaming services already launched or in the works.

TechCrunch.com contacted Microsoft and this is what they had to say for themselves:

We don’t have much detail to disclose on this subject but what we can share is that, in the coming months, MSN is planning a new music service in Beta via its Music channel in the UK.

“At this stage we won’t be confirming the details behind this but more information will be available soon and will be communicated in due course.”

At any rate, Microsoft had better hop to it if they want to succeed in what it becoming a crowded market. If they let users get too comfortable with one source (as we have see happen in the past with iTunes) then they will not want to move onto any future service provided by Microsoft.

Yahoo and Microsoft Search – Possible Collaboration

Dean — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:13:41 +0000

A whopping 67% of us ‘Google’ things. If we want to know something we simply ’Google it’, as it has become known. Like any good online company, their name is also a verb. Just like Twitter with Tweet. They have a hug share of the market – undoubtedly. Now however, they may have their first real competitor in years.

Anyone remember last year when Microsoft was trying to buy Yahoo! for almost 50 Billion dollars? It went down in flames. But the inter-company relationship didn’t end. Now, they’re discussing a possible collaboration between the two search engines –Bing (Microsoft) and Yahoo!.

If this were to go ahead then it would offer a chunk of healthy competition to the dominant Google. The news storyalone would send thousands flocking, to give it a whirl – but Yahoo and Microsoft better be careful.

People like their search engine. For me, its been Yahoo! imply because I like a bit of news before I search and also because it was the first search engine I ever used so I just kind of stuck with it. People don’t like change – and when they do change they don’t want to be insulted by too many sponsored results like over at Ask.com or search results that make them want to ‘Google’ .

It’s impossible to tell what the end result would be from this mutation of search engines. Would it be Yahoo!, powered by Bing or the other way around? They do have a plan to split the revenue between them but what about the work load such as PR, development and staffing the site. Now might not be a good time to invest in any search engine as there’s going to be a war, with casualties. I’ll wait until the final few blows before I put my money on one of them.

Microsoft Opens Windows Marketplace for Mobile to Developers

Steven Finch — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:54:44 +0000

Today represents a significant milestone for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and more importantly, the first big opportunity for developers. Microsoft are now accepting application submissions from all 29 supported countries and have launched a Race to Market Challenge to kick things off. It’s time to show us what you’ve got!

Registered developers and ISVs can now upload their application, game or widget to the Windows Marketplace platform and we’ll begin certifying those apps according to the process, policies and guidelines we’ve published. Microsoft will certify apps on a First In, First Out (FIFO) basis. Certification should normally take about 10 business days initially and you can always check on your application during the process through our Developer Dashboard. To better market your app, you can provide us with all the product information and promotional materials you’d like us to use to describe and showcase your application for the more than 30 million Windows Mobile devices out there.

Microsoft are aiming to create a global marketplace for Windows Phones where developers and users meet to sell and buy high quality and high value applications, so in other words an iTunes app store competitor

But it all starts today with the applications, and as I mentioned earlier we’re kicking this process off with a little contest we’re calling the Race to Market Challenge.

The Race to Market Challenge is just another reason for developers to get in on the ground floor of the new Windows Marketplace. While we do sincerely believe that everyone who submits an app will benefit from being among the first available when Windows Marketplace opens for business, we’re offering a few other prizes as well.

Yahoo Search Ad Deal With Microsoft Imminent

Steven Finch — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:18:54 +0000

It has been reported that sources at a major client of investment house ThinkEquity say that the firm considers a Microsoft (MSFT) link-up with Yahoo! (YHOO) in the search business to be “imminent”. The comments were made by analyst William Morrison. ThinkEquity did not have an immediate comment.

Sources beyond ThinkEquity speculate that under the terms of the arrangement, Yahoo! will be paid $3 billion upfront and will get 11o% of the revenue that its searches provide after traffic acquisition costs in each of the first two years. In the third year, that figure would go to 90%.

Microsoft will then have control of 30% of the US search market if they can close the deal with Yahoo. Given that Microsoft’s own Bing is on the rise also, it will then only be about taking share away from Google. However, I can see how this deal with allow Microsoft to take marketshare from Google, Google has much better technology and a huge amount of brand loyalty. comScore put Google’s US June search share flat at 65%, Yahoo! at 19.5%, down .5%, and Microsoft at 8.4%, up .4%.

For Yahoo!, the transaction would give it the opportunity to lock in a substantial revenue stream from search and potentially save several hundred million dollars over the next three years by cutting development personnel and costs. If the transaction materializes, Yahoo!’s share could jump $4 or $5.

Internet Explorer Under Critisism…Again

Dean — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:11:14 +0000

Have you ever downloaded a less than scrupulous piece of software only to discover the next day that you default browser has been changed and your homepage is some rubbish search engine based in North Korea? I have. So have thousands of others who were attracted by freeware never stopping to think of the scheming companies that lurked behind them. Such as Microsoft.

At the present, when users download IE8, the newest edition of Internet Explorer they will quite obviously have to install it. Now when you’re installing any piece of software you’re given a choice.

a) Quick Install

b) Custom install

In most cases the ‘Quick Install’ is already selected for you and most of us will go right on ahead and press ’Next’. Microsoft copped onto that so that when you install IE by choosing the quick install method your default browser and homepage are changed to please Bill Gates.

Microsoft recently came under fire about these practices you would expect from a smaller more desperate company. They responded by saying on their blog that they were making an update and that by August IE8 will ask your permission to become the default browser first.

“IE will never install, or become the default browser without your explicit consent. However, we heard a lot of feedback from a lot of different people and groups and decided to make the user choice of the default browser even more explicit,” Microsoft said.

IE8 has already been in the spotlight when they released the OMGIGP advertisement which Crenk covered here.

Zune HD will Include Nvidia Tegra

Augusto Alvarez — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:39:30 +0000

As we’ve announced a while ago, Microsoft and Zune are getting ready to take an important step: the release of Zune HD. Now, there are some more news about it, this Zune HD will include Nvidia Integra system-on-chip.

This chip was build, of course, specially for smartphones, PDAs and MIDs. There are several type of processors within this chip: Tegra APX series (2500 and 2600) specially designed for smartphones; Tegra 600 and 650 designed for smartbook and MIDs.

Naming some of the features that the new Zune will include:

Will use flash memory instead of an internal hard drive. Remember that flash memory it’s quite faster than normal hard drives.
OLED multi-touch screen.
Wi-Fi enabled. No confirmation yet about if will include a support on 802.11n.
HD radio. High quality sound available.
Output available 1280×720 (720p). Will not support 1080p.
Internet browser optimized for multi-touch functionality.

We are still waiting on official release date and pricing.

Microsofts ‘OMGIGP’ Advertisement

Dean — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Advertising for the big companies look Google, Sony and Dell never stray far from the ‘Hello. We love you. Buy our stuff’ protocol that we all have come to recognize. However, old Billy Gates had another trick up his sleeve when it came to Internet Explorer 8.

It’s a husbands/boyfriends worst night mare. Your significant other borrows your laptop for a few ticks only to discover Internet history that you’re not exactly too proud off. The word embarrassment comes to mind. Internet Explorer 8 now offers a feature called Private Browsing which stops your internet history being recorded for all to see.

Microsoft is the first company to really give this a go and especially to market it as one of the main features. Perhaps desperate times call for desperate measures when Joe soap with a computer seems to be rolling out new browsers every day.

It’s the way Microsoft are selling this feature that’s the real charm. They couldn’t exactly just throw it out there without the entire world raising an eyebrow. So they’ve gone and raised our eyebrows for use with this memorable ye informative video. It’s intended for online use only and as such won’t make it onto out TVs. However, just a few hours ago the video was removed from the official website. This points to second thoughts by Microsoft. Check it out below.

Bing Still Cant Index Our Site Correctly!

Steven Finch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:17:38 +0000

For Crenk Bing is now the third most popular search engine in terms of traffic. However, about a month or so ago I actually submitted our site to be added to the Bing search engine. Since this time we have seen a slight increase in traffic and our site has been indexed properly, but we still aren’t even appearing for the results we should appear for.

For example our own site name Crenk, you would think we would appear as the first result obviously. However, we still dont even appear in the results at all, even after being properly indexed by Bing.

Microsoft Looking for Testers for Office 2010

Steven Finch — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:13:17 +0000

Microsoft Office 2010 is the next release of Microsoft’s popular Office suite. Microsoft is looking for participants for the Microsoft’s Office 2010 Real Life Stories program.

Eligible are families, students and small businesses that own 5 PCs or less from the United States. Each selected participant will receive a preview copy of Microsoft Office 2010, access to web versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint plus dedicated support by a program manager and various other sources.

Participants specifically get:

Microsoft Office 2010 pre-installed on a “loaner” laptop PC – before it ships!
24-hour unlimited e-mail support Monday – Friday, with phone support for escalations
Monthly webcast training and Q&A sessions
Community site access, so you can connect with other participants and easily use resources like feature videos and announcements
FREE copy of Microsoft Office 2010 (when available)

The Microsoft Office 2010 Real Life Stories program is available to US citizens only at this point in time. They can submit an application at the official website until June 30.

Windows 7 Official Box Packaging

Steven Finch — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:00:33 +0000

It was leaked a few days back and I think intentionally. Windows 7 box packaging is here and here is a quick look at what it is going to look like. Now the official Windows Team Blog has confirmed that this is the official box packaging for Windows 7. Windows Team blog says that the packages are made simple clean design, easy to open, and reduces waste. The Windows 7 logo is made more bolder and easy to read and each edition has a different box color to easily distinguish itself.

Docx File Converter: 3 Ways to Convert and View Docx files

Steven Finch — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:53:28 +0000

Docx is the new file format of Word 2007 and this is the default format of Word 2007. This format cannot be opened in previous versions of Word unless you have the office compatibility pack installed. Incase you do not wish to install the compatibility pack, there are online converters to do the job of converting to .doc format. Here are the top 3 online converters.

Docx Converter: This is again a good service to Docx file and the output file is in html format so that it can be read in all systems. There is also a desktop widget for converting.

Docx2Doc: As the name indicated, this service converts docx formats into doc files so that it can be viewed in Word 2003 or lower. The major disadvantage with this service its that there is a one hour delay in downloading the converted files to reduce website bandwidth.

Zamzar: Zamzar can convert variety of file formats and Docx is one of them. Select the file and format to be converted and enter your email id, the file will be converted and a link will be sent to your email ID for download.

The History of Microsoft

Augusto Alvarez — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:25:20 +0000

Channel 9 published a few days ago a very cool set of videos with a great summary of the history of Microsoft. Most of them are videos shorter than 10 minutes with a quick look to all the main events that built that company.

It is amazing to see how two teenagers with small idea, a program called BASIC and big ambitions made the most powerful company in the world.

I know, there are different versions about the actual ownership of the original program and the idea, some say that Bill Gates stoled the idea to other students, some says that they bought the program… still, you need more than an idea or a incredible program to build an empire.

Here’s their story:

How To Add Your Site to Bing Search Engine

Steven Finch — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:28:57 +0000

How to Add Website/ blog to Bing:

1. Navigate to this URL if you want to submit your website to Bing. You will need to sign in with your Windows Live ID to access the webmaster center.

2. Enter the website URL and also sitemap URL (sitemap is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended to add one).

3. Next step is to verify your website and this can be done either with XML verification or HTML meta tag verification. You can get more details from the help center.

4. Once your website or blog is validated, you can see the complete details of the website submitted like number of URLs indexed, any issues with the crawling etc.