The Tech News Blog
Microsoft Goes After ‘xboxone’ Domain Names
If you haven't thought of it already, now might be a great time to go out and snag the domain name xboxtwo.com. Or, perhaps, it's not that good of an idea – Microsoft is currently disputing the ownership of the domain name related to the name of its recently announced, next-generation gaming console, the Xbox One.
Well, two domain names, actually – both xboxone.com andxboxone.net are registered to the same "Krasimir Ivanov" in London, and both registrations were created in late December of 2011. Which is to say, the alleged cyber-squatter (both sites point to parked domain messages at the time of this article's writing) was able to pull the name of Microsoft's newest console out of a hat years prior to its official announcement.
To Microsoft's credit, Fusible reports that the company purposely avoided buying up a number of Xbox One-themed domain names prior to the console's announcement for the express purpose of not tipping off the name (or potential names) of the console to antsy domain-watchers.
Microsoft filed the complaint to the National Arbitration Forum this past Thursday, all of two days after the public debut of the Xbox One. The case (#1501205) is noted as "pending" within the NAF's database, and it's unclear at this point just how long Microsoft might have to wait before it gets the domains transferred over to it – assuming it's able to prove that the domain names in question are "identical" or "confusingly similar" to a trademark that Microsoft owns (easy), that the owner of said domain names doesn't have a right to the trademark (easy again), and that the domain names were themselves registered in "bad faith."
Microsoft’s Next-Gen Kinect for Windows Sensor Launching Next Year
Microsoft has already revealed the always-on Kinect for its new Xbox One console, but Redmond is adding another sensor to its lineup—the next-generation Kinect for Windows.
The tech giant announced on Thursday that its new Windows-based sensor, expected to launch next year, was built with much of the same technology as the new Xbox One Kinect, meaning it will include voice and gesture commands.
"Just as the new Kinect sensor will bring opportunities for revolutionizing gaming and entertainment, the new Kinect for Windows sensor will revolutionize computing experiences. The precision and intuitive responsiveness that the new platform provides will accelerate the development of voice and gesture experiences on computers," Bob Heddle, director of Kinect for Windows, wrote in a blog post.
Kinect for Windows will come with a high-definition color camera, as well as a noise-isolating multi-microphone array to filter ambient sounds and better recognize speaking voices. It will also include Microsoft's Time-of-Flight technology, which measures the time it takes photons to bounce off of a person or object.
"All of this means that the new sensor recognizes precise motions and details," Heddle said, pointing to slight wrist rotation, body position, and even the wrinkles in clothes as data the new Kinect will sense and analyze. The sensor's enhancements will make it easier for developers to better track people, objects, and environments with greater detail. And with an expanded field of view, those details will come alive no matter the size of the room you play in.
Microsoft Takes Aim at iPad, Siri in New Advertisements
The Mac vs. PC war rages on this week, as Microsoft released not one, but two video advertisements panning Apple's iPad and Siri.
In both spots, Redmond has its Windows 8 operating system showing off its superiority in the areas of work, play, multitasking, and more, all at the expense of Cupertino's iOS.
The first ad, "Less talking, more doing" (video below), launched on Wednesday with a full-blown attack on Apple's virtual voice-recognition assistant. As the Windows Live Tiles flip in real-time on the Asus VivoTab Smart, showing new emails, Facebook status updates, and incoming SMS messages, the iPad's screen remains stagnant as Siri sadly admits that she's sorry, but she doesn't "update like that."
The apologies continue when a VivoTab user checks an Outlook inbox on one side of the screen while a snowboarder rides the mountains in a video playing on the other side.
"I'm sorry, I can only do one thing at a time," Siri says when the same task is attempted on the iPad, still focused on just the winter-games athlete.
Just then, both screens switch to respective presentation-making applications—the iPad running an unidentifiable program while the VivoTab vibrantly produces a colorful graph chart and other slides in PowerPoint, an application built for Microsoft by Microsoft.
Microsoft Hints at Xbox One-Windows Phone Integration
LAS VEGAS—Hey, you know what we didn't hear about at this week's Xbox One launch? Windows Phone. While Microsoft's mobile platform has only 3 percent market share and a unique connection with Xbox, the company still didn't take a moment during the launch to let Windows Phone draft off of its new, blockbuster set-top box.
But that doesn't mean there's nothing to say, just that they're not saying it.
"Is there anything I can say? No. It doesn't mean there's nothing that's being worked on. There's some time between now and the delivery of Xbox One. It is true that the general idea of an increased seamlessness and integration across these elements is a goal," Microsoft senior marketing manager Greg Sullivan told PCMag on Wednesday here at the CTIA trade show.
Windows Phone has Xbox-branded games and an Xbox-branded media store. It lets you accumulate Xbox gamer points and connect to the Xbox Live network. I tried to tease out whether Microsoft would extend the Xbox One's streaming media channels to Windows Phone, but no dice.
"I would offer up Windows Phone as evidence of great cross-divisional collaboration at Microsoft. Are we where we'll ultimately be? No, and we'll continue to improve it," Sullivan said enigmatically.
AMD Hits Game Console Trifecta With Xbox One
It's been an open secret for quite some time, but now it's official—Advanced Micro Devices has hit the trifecta with the selection of its chips for all three of the major eighth-generation game consoles, including Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One.
The Xbox One and Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 will both feature customized AMD accelerated processor units (APUs) integrating the chip maker's forthcoming Jaguar-class CPU cores and Radeon graphics, as well as a memory controller, video decoder, and other functionality. The Nintendo Wii U, released last November, relies on an IBM PowerPC 750 CPU but also incorporates an AMD-designed GPU.
Specs had already been revealed for the PlayStation 4, and obviously also for the Wii U, so Tuesday's Xbox One reveal by Microsoft made AMD's trifecta official.
"AMD is very excited to be working with Microsoft on their next-generation Xbox One. The Microsoft Xbox One leverages a single-chip, semi-custom AMD APU, with custom components co-developed with Microsoft designed to enable unique attributes of the system Microsoft is bringing to market," Saeid Moshkelani, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD's Semi-Custom Business Unit, said in a statement.
Editorial: The Next Xbox Revealed – ‘Xbox ONE’
Editorial By: Mark Fritts
The next generation of Xbox has officially been revealed and named – the Xbox One. It is rather simple, but far better than the rumored ‘Xbox 720’ or ‘Xbox Durango’ to name a few.
To start it off, Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business took us back through the history of Xbox. Mattrick highlighted the innovations of the hardware and Xbox Live, and where it has gone over the years. During the opening, he stressed the all-in-one functionality of the new generation, which the Xbox has become more evident in recent years.
What was truly surprising was Microsoft’s decision to reveal the actual Xbox One hardware, along with the new Kinect sensor and controller. While the design is very sleek, nothing about the size or look shouts “next gen.” Both the console and the senor looked larger than the current generation – not something you would expect for the new generation. I am pleased that they kept the controller with similar design choices, but enhanced the ergonomics, integrated battery, and added new sensing technology.
Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, Arriving Later This Year
As expected, Microsoft today unveiled its next-generation gaming console, the Xbox One.
The updated gaming and entertainment device will debut "later this year," Xbox chief Don Mattrick said during a launch event at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters. Pricing was not discussed.
The Xbox One will come with a revamped controller (below) and Kinect sensor, which Microsoft said "is now an essential and integrated part of the platform."
Unlike its rival, Sony, Microsoft actually showed off the new Xbox One at its press event. Some joked on Twitter that it looks like a VCR.
Mattrick talked up the Xbox One as not just a game console, but an "all-in-one entertainment system." To that end, he brought out Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, to demo some of the new features coming to the non-gaming Xbox experience.
Using your voice, for example, the Xbox One will let you switch between games, live TV, and music as fast as you might switch the channels on the TV. With Snap Mode for Xbox One, you can also multi-task and do two things at once, like watch Star Trek on one side of the screen and surf the Web on another.
Live Stream of Microsoft’s “Xbox One” Reveal Event
Microsoft today is set to unveil its next-gen Xbox, called the "Xbox One". The event is at its Redmond headquarters and below is the live stream video for the event.
Microsoft Readying for New Xbox With August Xbox 360 Dashboard Update
Not news: Microsoft is prepping a successor to its Xbox 360 console, and eager gamers have but two days to wait until the company pulls the big curtain off its new system – whatever it's ultimately going to be called.
News: Microsoft hasn't yet abandoned the trusty ol' Xbox 360, not by a longshot. According to a new report from The Verge's Tom Warren, the company is allegedly prepping another dashboard update for its soon-to-be-legacy system. The laundry list of changes include major updates to the console's traditional user interface, which should bring smaller-sized Live Tiles – borrowed from Microsoft's upcoming Windows Blue update for Windows 8 – into the mix.
And in a welcome bit of relief for gamers who have had to endure Microsoft's pointless points system for Xbox purchases over the past eight years or so, the company will officially kill off Xbox Points once the new dashboard update hits consoles. While Microsoft hasn't mentioned what, exactly, will happen to any points that gamers currently have accumulated, it's likely that they'll simply convert the value of each individual "point" over to cold, hard cash, which gamers will be able to use to make transactions going forward.
Gift cards for Microsoft Store items – covering all of Microsoft's properties, not just the Xbox – will start popping up in retail stores once Microsoft makes the big transition. Additionally, gamers will be able to make standard purchases using their credit or debit cards. Wave goodbye to the arduous process of having to exchange cash for points, and then purchase items with said points.
Bill Gates Reclaims ‘World’s Richest’ Title
Tech titan and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is once again the richest person in the world.
The 57-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist has recaptured the top spot from Mexican investor Carlos Slim, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This marks the first time since 2007 that Gates has out-bankrolled the rest of the world. His fortune, Bloomberg reported, is valued at $72.7 billion, up 16 percent this year.
Known for his philanthropy, Gates once relinquished his "World's Richest" title when he gave away $28 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting hunger, improving education, and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS. He was left with "only" $49 billion.
Meanwhile, Slim fell from first-place grace this week as his America Movil SAB company – the largest mobile phone operator in the Americas – dropped 14 percent recently, when the Mexican Congress passed a bill that Bloomberg said could devastate Slim's market dominance.
Gates took to Reddit earlier this year for an "Ask Me Anything" session that focused on topics like his attitude toward open-source software to the worldwide charitable work done by his foundation.
When asked about the late Steve Jobs, Gates said, "he and I respected each other. Our biggest joint project was the Mac where Microsoft had more people on the project than Apple did as we wrote a lot of applications." Gates saw Jobs regularly over the years, he said, including an afternoon spent with him a few months before he passed away in October.
Gates spoke about Jobs again in a recent 60 Minutes interview, saying that the two of them grew up together. "We were kind of naively optimistic and built big companies. We achieved all of it, and most of it as rivals," Gates told host Charlie Rose.