Microsoft released version 4.3 of their Zune HD firmware today. The new update includes bug fixes, support for 3D games, and new applications to the Zune HD. The list of fixes (courtesy of Digital Trends) are as follows:

Interface Changes:

• Apps open and close faster
• Quicker startup time (it was up to 30 seconds or more before)
• Touchscreen is supposed to be more accurate

Music:

• More detailed artist bios with links to related songs, other artists and albums and other information
• On the radio you now have a choice of seek method in the settings

Keyboard:

• Keyboard option has been added in the settings menu
• larger landscale keyboard

Other:

• Faster web browsing
• Auto suggest feature for text input

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Zune HD firmware update 4.3

Hoping to see Project Natal sometime soon? Well you’re going to have to wait a bit longer. Thanks to sources and a behind-closed doors Microsoft tour of UK publishers and studios, British game industry magazine, MCV, is reporting that Natal will be released worldwide in November of 2010 with a price of under £50 (which is approximately $82 U.S. dollars). Microsoft is reportedly readying approximately 5 million units for the day one release of Natal. We should also see approximately 14 games for launch day. Microsoft hopes Project Natal will rejuvenate the Xbox 360 thereby extending the life of the console which will be 5 years old when Natal officially launches in 2010.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Microsoft, Project Natal

For those of you that have been waiting on the new social networking features of the Xbox 360 to arrive, you’ll want to check out the hands-on overview of the new apps over at News.com. The new features are due to arrive on the Xbox 360 at some point in November and will feature integrations with Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm. Expect the Xbox Live Video Marketplace to also receive a slight overhaul as it will be called the Zune Marketplace. According to News.com, this follows Microsoft’s desire to make “Zune” their music and video brand.

Of the three social-networking features due to arrive on the Xbox 360, I have to say that the Last.fm one is the app with most functional appeal. Have a social function to hold at home or need some music playing in the background? Seems that Last.fm would be the perfect solution for those needs – simply start it up and let the music stream through to your Xbox 360 from the Net.

Don’t get me wrong of course – the Twitter and Facebook integrations are certainly interesting.. but if I want to check on my friend’s status, I’m more likely to do so on my iPhone or PC than on the Xbox 360. And yes.. Twitter/FB folks – expect many more useless status updates to hit the web once the Xbox 360 integration rolls out because clearly we all need to know that so-and-so is playing Call of Duty 4 right now on some particular map.

Joy..

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Social Networking, News.com

Microsoft’s “Security Essentials” anti-malware service will be freely available to consumers starting today, Tuesday Sept 29th. Security Essentials is designed to protect consumers from viruses, spyware, and malicious software and will be freely available at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/. The software doesn’t require any registration, trials, or renewals.

Features of Security Essentials include:

• Runs in the background alerting users only when action needs to be taken
• First Microsoft security product to use the company’s new Dynamic Signature Service which makes sure consumers stay updated with the most current virus definitions without having to wait for the next scheduled download
• Limited CPU utilization and memory usage

Security Essentials will be available for Windows XP SP2 or SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 including Windows XP mode on both x32 and x64 systems.

[Check it out]

[Download Security Essentials]

Technorati Tags: Microsof Security Essentials, Anti-virus software

So the big news of the day (in case you haven’t had a chance to peruse other gadget/technology news sites out there) arguably came from Gizmodo.com where they reported on a skunkworks project over at Microsoft codenamed “Courier”. Headed up by none other than J.Allard himself (yes the golden boy behind the Xbox 360 and um.. the Zune), Courier is a completely fresh take on the tablet device concept.

First and foremost, take everything you knew about the Microsoft Tablet PC and throw it out the window (no pun intended there). Courier is a complete re-envisioning of what a tablet device could be like. Using a journal/booklet-styled form factor, Courier features dual touch-screen displays, a built-in camera, and a unique customized multi-touch user interface.

Much like the Microsoft Surface, users can interact with objects on the display using finger gestures. Want to share a note with a contact? Flick the contact over to the note and instantly share the note with the contact. Want to capture an image for a scrapbook? Capture it and then flick it over to the scrapbook section.

Yes.. one look at Courier and you’d think it came from Apple! (Ironically enough, Courier is so “cool” looking that one has to wonder if this leak was done on purpose to cool off any Apple buzz on their supposed upcoming tablet device. Nothing like conspiracy theories!).

To find out more about Courier, you’ll want to head over to the Gizmodo webpage and check out the embedded video clip.

There’s certainly a lot to like with Courier.. but will the project ever see the light of day? Will it be competitively priced? Will it have a large application eco-system (a la iPod touch/iPhone)? Will it actually jump the threshold of being “nice to have” to “must have”? All questions that are yet to be answered.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Courier, J. Allard

As widescreen displays become more and more prevalent everywhere, it only makes sense that webcams would eventually make the switch to widescreen aspect ratios. That’s exactly what Microsoft has done with the introduction last week of the new LifeCam Cinema webcam – the first consumer webcam for the PC capable of capturing widescreen video with a native 720p sensor.

Features of the new Microsoft LifeCam Cinema include:

• Ability to maintain a high frame rate even under poor lighting conditions
• 720p HD video capture at 16:9 aspect ratio
• Auto focus
• Microsoft ClearFrame Technology which offers faster image processing technology to help deliver smooth video at any resolution and improved noise reduction technology to reduce image graininess and help keep videos sharp
• 74 degree angle of capture
• High precision glass element lens
• Digital microphone
• Aluminum body

In addition to the new widescreen-enabled LifeCam Cinema camera, Microsoft also announced the new LifeChat LX-1000 headset which provides high quality audio and a noise-cancelling microphone.

The LifeCam Cinema and LifeChat LX-1000 will be available starting in September with the LifeCam Cinema priced at $79.95 and the LifeChat LX-1000 priced at $24.95. Pre-sales on Amazon.com will begin today.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Microsoft LifeCam Cinema, Microsoft LifeChat LX-1000

Zune HD pricing is now official. Microsoft announced today that you can begin pre-ordering the 16GB and 32GB Zune at various locations such as Amazon.com, Best Buy, Walmart, and the Microsoft Store. Prices were originally leaked courtesy of Amazon.com earlier this week and guess what? Those prices were indeed correct (I know.. shocking). So here are the details.

As most of you know, the Zune HD will be available in two storage capacities – a 16GB model and a 32GB model. The 16GB Zune HD will be available for a mere $219.99 while the 32GB model will be available for a low price of $289.99.

AND in case you’ve been under a rock for the last six months or so, the Zune HD will feature a built-in HD radio receiver, support for HD video playback, multi-touch navigation, a beautiful OLED display, support for games, a built-in web browser, and of course Wi-Fi connectivity. The unit measures 52.7 x 102.1 x 8.9mm and weighs approximately 2.6 oz.

I absolutely love the pricing of the Zune HD. Microsoft’s gone ahead and done the right thing for once with the Zune – price it BELOW competing Apple iPod products. Let’s face it, if the 32GB Zune HD was priced at the same price point as the 32GB iPod touch, then folks will flock to the iPod touch if only for one reason – the App Store support. At $289.99, the 32GB Zune HD is $110 dollars less than a comparable 32GB iPod touch – a bargain for the flash storage capacity, touch screen display, and a friggin HD receiver!!! OK.. so with that I can probably live without the App store support (tho Microsoft, it would be cool if we could download third party apps for the Zune!!!).

OK.. so when is this all coming out? Pre-order is NOW and units will become available starting on Sept. 15th. Go get em!

[Pre-order the 16GB model at the Microsoft Store]

[Pre-order the 32GB model at the Microsoft Store]

Technorati Tags: Zune HD, Zune HD Price

Long time rivals, Microsoft and Nokia, have announced a new alliance today whereby Microsoft will bring its suite of business software and services to the Nokia platform. The alliance is initially aimed at Research In Motion and its BlackBerry product line but you can be sure that the two companies are also intensely focused on Google and the Android platform.

In addition, Microsoft is breaking away from its typical software strategy where everything revolves around the Windows platform. The Microsoft Office division is now free to step away from Windows and leverage other platforms to grow its business model. This makes a great deal of sense considering the changing software landscape where more and more users are trusting software as a service (SaaS) models in the cloud.

So what are the details of this new relationship between the two companies? According to the Microsoft press release, the two companies “will begin collaborating immediately on the design, development and marketing of productivity solutions for the mobile professional, bringing Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft business communications, collaboration and device management software to Nokia’s Symbian devices.”

And when can we expect new software? Starting next year, Nokia will ship Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones followed by other Office applications and services. Software and services expected include:

• Ability to view, edit, create, and share Office documents with mobile-optimized versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote
• Enterprise IM and presence optimized with Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile
• Mobile access to intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft SharePoint server
• Enterprise device management with Microsoft System Center

The initial focus will be business users with the initial target device being the Nokia E-Series of smartphones.

[Check it out]

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Nokia

Although Microsoft has yet to release the official price points for the upcoming Zune HD media player, this hasn’t stopped the folks over at Amazon from doing so.

According to this Amazon webpage, the 16GB Zune HD will be priced at $219.99 while the 32GB Zune HD will be priced at $289.99. These price points are unconfirmed of course – especially when you consider that clicking on the links will get you nowhere on the Amazon website for now. So yes – don’t believe the text that says “Available for Pre-order” because they are not at this time.

Here’s hoping the 32GB model is indeed under $300 dollars tho!

[Check it out via ZuneSphere, PC Magazine]

Technorati Tags: Zune HD Price, Amazon

We finally have a “Microhoo” folks!

Although not quite the merger nor acquisition that some folks were clamming for in years past, Microsoft and Yahoo! have finally come to terms on an agreement that will hopefully position both companies for a better fight against search king Google. The basics of the agreement boils down to the following: Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the “exclusive” worldwide sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

Want more of the nitty gritty? Here ya go:

• This is a 10 year agreement
• Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies – with Microsoft having the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into existing web search platforms
• It’s all about Microsoft Bing when it comes to search for both companies. Bing will power Yahoo! search and sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its own technology in other areas of business like enhancing display advertising technology
• Each company will maintain separate display advertising business and sales force
• Yahoo! will maintain their look and feel on their sites
• Yahoo! will focus on a core business or web content and products for its users
• Yahoo! and Microsoft search marketplaces will be combined making it easier for advertisers
• Microsoft will compensate Yahoo via revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!’s network of sites
• Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo at an initial rate of 88% of search revenue generated on Yahoo owned and operated sites during the first 5 yrs of the agreement

Yahoo estimates that at “full implementation”, this agreement will:

• improve annual GAAP operating income of approximately $500 million
• save capital expenditure by $200 million
• improve operating cash flow by approximately $275 million

The Microsoft-Yahoo agreement does not cover other areas of their respective businesses including email, IM, display advertising etc. Both companies are hopeful that the deal will close by early 2010. You’ll be able to read more about this on a site the two companies have established over at http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com/

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Yahoo