Posts Tagged Microsoft
TED: Bing Maps Augments the Hell Out of Your Reality
Posted by Raiven in Nerd Stuff, Web Browsers on February 16, 2010
I’ll be honest, when Microsoft revealed Bing I was glad to see something that might finally give Google a little competition to keep things interesting but I really didn’t expect too much. I use Bing now but of course I still use Google as well, moreso in fact, and iGoogle is still my homepage. When Bing Maps unveiled some cool new tech a while back using Photosynth for a Streetview like display I took some more interest but it still wasn’t quite a “game changer” or anything to steal the thunder from the Googs.
Well with yet another TED conference to unleash the cool involved with Silverlight, Dragon and Photosynth here, Bing Maps has just really blown my mind. Augmented Reality photos from Flickr, live video that is photo-stitched into the streetview image and the full night’s sky viewable from wherever you are in the street level view courtesy of WorldWide Telescope. Watch the presentation video after the break, you shan’t be disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft: Lucky Number Seven
For anyone who somewhat actively follows the mobile phone world (especially of the smart phone variety) it should come as no surprise that Microsoft has finally officially announced and revealed it’s new smart phone OS, Windows Phone 7 Series, at the MWC (Mobile World Conference) in Barcelona today. There are hundreds, if not thousands of different portals on the interwebs where you can read the details of what 7 Series has to offer, read the liveblog of Microsoft’s announcement at MWC or check out a 22 minute long demonstration of the new OS, so I’m just going to summarize here and give you what you really want, my take.
The Quick (Details and such)
So what’s new, short and sweet? I know it sounds trite but seriously, what isn’t new? Hell even the OS’s name has changed from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone 7 Series (not exactly roll-off-the-tongue good but, hey). Now if you take a quick look you’ll see that it looks nothing like WinMo 6.5.3 or any other previous MS Mobile OS, however, you will think right away (if you’re me or an equally techie webnerd) that it does look strikingly similar to the Zune HD. Coincidence? Not even remotely. The interface theme is called Metro and it actually started with the refresh to Windows Media Player a while back, moved on to the Zune and has now found a new home in the 7 Series. Large, bold text and lacking the ‘chrome’ or flashy graphics from other systems. Simple, clean, wholly un-MS like from the start … except now it’s part of one of their main OSes, which is some sort of paradox I don’t want to think about right now. If you stop to think about it (and you are actually interested in that sort of thing), it’s pretty impressive that MS, as big and unwieldy as it seems, was able to shed the WinMo skin so completely, though of course they desperately needed to. Read the rest of this entry »
The Vent: Pirate Surprised by Xbox Ban, Not by Own Stupidity
So I’m reading a BBC News article and firstly, there’s no author that I can see so the part of my rage the would be directed at said author goes unfulfilled, crafty British. Anywho, the article is about “Raz”, a “massive Xbox gamer” who uses his console every day after work and all day on the weekends. You know, a socialite. Well it appears that after “acquiring” the latest record setting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, he was “gutted” to learn that Microsoft has banned him from playing games online.
Why, you might ask? Well he’s a theif, plain and simple. Raz has a modded Xbox and pirates his games. Now no one get all uppity about pirating software one way or the other, I don’t care how you feel about it if you don’t realize that a company or person will be disinclined to let you use a product they’re trying to sell for free, you’re a friggen idiot. Anyway I would ordinarily think nothing of this article, that kind of thing happens fairly frequently, people steal games and sometimes they get caught, boo-hoo, he’s not getting some sort of ridiculous RIAA fine or jail time, just no more online gaming because you’re a criminal, whaaan.
What sets me off on this is that this guy is literally flabbergasted by this fact. He’s astounded to learn that his openly admitted, publicly communicated theft of £600 worth of games (just under $1,000 to us Yanks) has earned him a ban. Furthermore he states that, while he won’t mod another console, he’s unsure if he will buy another Xbox or get a PS3 now instead.
Let me get this straight, you essentially stole one large worth of games, got a slap on the hand and now you’re so mad at Microsoft you’re going to get a PS3 instead? Wow, guess what chief, I don’t think they’re going to miss you. Maybe Sony can use this for some creative marketing, “Xbox Live won’t let you play because you’re a dirty criminal, welcome PSHome!” Somehow I don’t think Sony will exactly be thrilled with that sort of support either.
Some good quotes from the article after the break:
Zune HD: Now With Games
Got that spiffy new Zune HD but feel like your squandering your Tegra powered goodness? Well fret no more as the latest firmware update 4.3 (released last Friday) opened up the world of 3D gaming to Microsoft’s plucky little PMP.
Along with fixing that odd little playcount issue, the 4.3 player update added support for upcoming 3D games and apps which have now arrived on the Marketplace. Though the list is still rather small the good part is that all the games are (as promised) free!
On a personal note I seriously hope this means that support for full-on community development, and a paid marketplace to encourage said community, is on the way. The day of Xbox Live Arcade merging with the Zune Marketplace is coming, I can feel it.
Here’s the game list:
- PGR: ferrari edition, a 3d racegame
- Lucky lane bowling, a 3d bowling game
- Vans Sk8: Pool service, a 3d Skate game
- Piano, a simple piano where you can play your own tunes on
- Audio Surf: Tilt, ride your music – you choose a song that the game will turn into a roller coaster track for you to ride
- Checkers, I don’t think you’ll need a description for this one
Update: Engadget fired up PGR on their Zune HD, uploaded a video and had this to say about it.
That Tegra chip is no joke — the graphics in PGR: Ferrari Edition are easily on par with the PSP and quite possibly better, with intricate textures, high-quality reflections, and smooth framerates. The other games aren’t nearly as intense, but they’re just as smooth.
Zune HD Apps, More On The Way?
Image courtesy of Engadget
As everyone should know by now, the Zune HD is out and it’s a thing of beauty but a lot of reviewers aren’t quite sold on it. Why you ask? Lack of apps. For me, it’s a PMP and a damned good one so I’m not really bothered by the limited amount of apps available on the Zune marketplace, however, inevitable lines are drawn to the iPod Touch with any new PMP and since the Zune HD actually has app capability, the lack thereof is going to be noted.
Fear not though, fans of the Zune, for while all apps for the Zune HD in the near future will be created by MS only (and free I might add) XNA has received an upgrade to version 3.1 and included libraries for things like the HD’s multi-touch screen and accelerometer.
So what the hell does that mean? Well from the site XNA is “composed of industry-leading software, services, resources, and communities focused on enabling game developers to be successful on Microsoft gaming platforms.”
Broken down XNA is the platform used to develop Xbox Live Arcade games and with access to Zune HD tech in version 3.1, any developer who belongs to the XNA club can develop games and apps for said device. Good eh?
So when will they be available? No word on that yet but you can bet MS is working hard on figuring out all of the logistics. For now we can just enjoy the “etch-a-sketch” work in the photo above. Multi-touch draw, erase with a shake? I’ll take it. It’s simple but hey, not bad for a day’s work.
Netflix an Xbox 360 Exclusive
While it’s not terribly surprising to hear, the recent update to the Xbox 360 dashboard (released today) contains a little blurb about how Netflix has an “exclusive” partnership with Microsoft, sorry PS3 and Wii fans.
Netflix Partnership
This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers**, at no additional cost.
Of course the time was right for Microsoft to seal this deal now before things developed too far with other console manufacturers otherwise things would have been a lot more expensive I’m sure. As long as it stayed on the Xbox it was fine with me, additional consoles streaming directly might have encouraged Netflix to press for some more direct download content but hey, what can you do.
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