Microsoft connects Windows 8 for PCs, phones with new Solitaire, Minesweeper and Mahjong
As a late holiday gift, Microsoft is finally syncing up some of the popular software from its desktop and tablet Windows OS with the latest version of Windows for phones. We are, of course, referring to classic Windows games like Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Minesweeper (which also has a WP7 version) and Mahjong, which as of today are available on Windows Phone 8. Better still, they’re enhanced for Xbox leaderboards, achievements and stat-tracking, with the ability to pause and resume games across Windows PCs, phones and tablets. They’re all free, so hit the links to download them and waste time on the go just like you do at work.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Windows Phone Blog
Google seeks judgment protecting Android from ‘Rockstar’ group’s patent lawsuits
Google isn’t about to remain idle while the Apple- and Microsoft-led “Rockstar” patent group sues numerous Android partners. The search giant has quietly filed a declaratory judgment complaint asking a San Jose court to rule that the company (and therefore, the Android ecosystem) doesn’t infringe seven of Rockstar’s patents. As GigaOM notes, Google isn’t mincing words — the firm accuses Rockstar of “placing a cloud” over Android and harassing a large part of the technology industry. The legal action doesn’t necessarily amount to fighting fire with fire, though. Declaratory judgment complaints frequently represent attempts to score an early victory, rather than the first line of defense; Google likely has more up its sleeve if this tactic doesn’t work.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Blackberry
Source: GigaOM
Leak hints at Nokia-made Windows Phone with dual SIMs
Rumors surfaced just days ago of Nokia-built Windows Phone 8.1 devices for the developing world, and you may already be looking at one of them today… or rather, its home screen. Frequent tipster @evleaks has posted what’s reportedly a screenshot from the Moneypenny, the all-touch device from those earlier rumors. In addition to showing on-screen navigation keys, the image supports claims that the Moneypenny is the first dual-SIM Windows Phone — an important gesture toward markets like China and India, where multi-line support is a big selling point. There aren’t many other clues in picture, although the “6:30″ in the corner may allude to a Lumia 630 name. Whatever Nokia might call the handset, we wouldn’t expect it anytime soon; assuming the Moneypenny exists in the first place, we likely won’t hear anything official about it until Microsoft reveals Windows Phone 8.1.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia
Via: WPCentral
Source: @evleaks (Twitter)
Facebook for Windows Phone 8 now lets you pin chats and events to the home screen
Windows Phone-toting Facebook users no longer have to worry about missing an important conversation or party update. A revamped Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 lets socialites pin seemingly any Facebook content to the home screen as a Live Tile, including chats, events, groups, pages and photo albums. The app’s redesigned main Live Tile also shows wall updates, and Microsoft has spent time bolstering both the language support and overall performance. Whether or not you need to watch your friend activity like a hawk, there’s enough here to justify swinging by the Windows Phone Store for an upgrade.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Facebook
Via: Windows Phone Blog
Source: Windows Phone Store
Got Windows Phone? You have 20GB of bonus SkyDrive space for the next year
If you’re a Windows Phone user, check your email — you’re about to get a big holiday treat. Microsoft has followed up its earlier Surface promo by giving Windows Phone owners a free 20GB of extra SkyDrive storage for the next year. The bonus capacity stacks on top of whatever is already present, and customers have until January 31st to claim their additional cloud space. You’ll have to wait for an email like the one above before you can take action, but we’d expect these notices to roll out to all registered Windows Phone users in short order.
Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Microsoft’s Project Siena lets you create Windows apps with ease
If you think creating an app is something only whizkid developers and those with programming skills can do, think again. Microsoft has recently unveiled Project Siena, a Metro-style app that lets anyone create their own Windows 8.1 program with regular PowerPoint and Excel knowhow. As it’s a Metro app, you can even craft it directly from a touch-enabled tablet, no keyboard or mouse required. Microsoft has done this before with Windows Phone App Studio, which lets you build apps for the phone, and Siena is very much like that. Microsoft says using Siena is as easy as editing a document; simply cobble together the right design, connect it to your data and away you go. As for what you can do with it, the program is compatible with a variety of content like SharePoint lists, Excel and Azure tables, RSS feeds and an assortment of RESTful services, which should give creative minds a few ideas. Underneath the hood, the Siena-built apps are just HTML5 and Javascript and can be deployed like other Windows 8.1 programs, so even tried-and-true developers can give it a go. If you’re keen on learning how Siena works, hit the link below to watch a couple of tutorials, download it from the Windows Store and get started on creating the next big hit.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Via: Surface Geeks
Source: Windows Store, MSDN Blog, Microsoft Project Siena
Nokia Black update brings imaging enhancements to Lumia 1020
Nokia likes to bundle Microsoft’s Windows Phone updates with a set of its own improvements specific to the Lumia line, and the latest such version — known as the Black update — is finally making its way to the Lumia 1020 on AT&T. In addition to the standard firmware enhancements that comes as part of the “GDR3″ update to Windows Phone 8 (such as screen rotation lock, custom ringtones for specific types of notifications and the ability to close running apps in the app switcher more easily), you can also enjoy some of the same imaging features that were integrated into the Lumia 1520: the Nokia Camera, which combines the Pro Cam and Smart Cam into one fantastic app, and other unspecified performance enhancements. You’ll also get the new and improved Glance Screen also seen on the 1520, Bluetooth 4.0 LE support, better battery monitoring and other miscellaneous stability fixes. The download is hitting our devices right now, but as usual, it may take a while to roll out to everyone.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia, AT&T
Via: WPCentral
Microsoft’s first Xbox-exclusive documentary is digging up Atari’s past
Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios will launch its first original documentary production next year, a film exploring the rise and fall of game industry legacy Atari. You read that right: a modern game console manufacturer is creating a documentary about a failed game console manufacturer. A bit meta if you ask us!
Anyway, the documentary will focus on digging up the symbolic grave of the early game industry: a burial site with “millions of unsold game cartridges” in New Mexico. The game in question was the Atari 2600 adaptation of E.T., a holiday 1982 release — often called one of the worst games ever made. A new production studio co-founded by Simon and Jonathan Chinn (Man on Wire, FX’s 30 Days), named Lightbox, is heading up production; filming is slated to start in early 2014, with an exclusive debut on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One at some point later in the year.
It’s unlikely that the Atari doc will be the first product from Xbox Entertainment Studios to launch in 2014, as shows are scheduled to roll out starting in early 2014.
Source: Microsoft
Avenger Reflex aims to improve Xbox One and PS4 input times, looks bananas
Those Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamepads you’ve got look a little underdressed, and not nearly enough like Batman. Thankfully, the Avenger Reflex is here to fix both issues in one fell swoop, appending a shell to either the XB1 or PS4 gamepad that promises “faster response time” and levers to hit the four main face buttons without having to lift your thumbs from either thumbstick.
As you might’ve already guessed, the Reflex is simply the latest iteration in the Avenger series. It adds one new trick: dubbed the “bionic edge,” a lever below your left thumb “removes all need to move your thumb from your analog stick.” We’ll have to give it a shot before trusting that claim; we’ve got until “late March,” when the Avenger Reflex goes on sale for $70 (pre-orders are available now for 20 percent off if you use discount code “REFLEX”).
The company started back in 2011 with an Xbox 360 gamepad shell, eventually evolving several successful iterations. Beyond the Avenger controller series, the company also makes the occasionally controversial, always bizarre Delta Six gaming peripheral.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Sony, Microsoft
Microsoft pulls Surface Pro 2 update after reports of battery and installation problems
We hope you weren’t quick to leap on the Surface Pro 2 update that popped up last week; if you were, you may be regretting it for a while. The company has pulled the upgrade following reports of both failed installations and battery problems, including a reduced capacity and incomplete charges. A fixed release is coming “after the holidays,” but there’s no word of an easy way to roll back. Short of resetting the system or a convenient restore point, you may have to live with a buggy tablet for the next few weeks.
Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
Source: Microsoft Community
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