Category: microsoft (Page 3 of 8)

Netflix for Windows Phone 7 is the best mobile idea since…ever

March 16, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

For all the features that have been billed to us as the ‘iPhone killer” in the past, nothing stands out quite like Netflix for Windows Phone 7. Granted, the media service will probably be coming to other platforms as well, but it’s being pioneered on Windows Phone 7, replete with subscriptions and 3G video streaming. What more could you want?

Unless Steve Jobs has something truly compelling up his sleeve this June, Netflix capability will make more than a few media geeks reconsider an iPhone purchase. There have been rumors of this and other similar applications coming to the iPhone for years now, but we haven’t seen much progress. There’s Slingbox, but that’s not quite the same situation. On demand streaming is where the world is pointing, from potential iTunes deals to the success of sites like NinjaVideo.net.

Gizmodo has a preview of the service working. It’s just a prototype, but usually the word prototype means it’s only going to get better.

Apps, microsoft, Mobile

mobile netflix netflix netflix mobile streaming netflix streaming windows windows phone windows phone 7

Windows 7 was my idea

February 23, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I’m a big fan of College Humor, particularly for its parodies. This one is a take on those obnoxious Windows 7 commercials, though here we have “real” people listing the types of things they want to see in an operating system. Imagine an operating system created by people who have no idea what a computer really is. Are you shaking with frustration yet?

microsoft, Websites

college humor humor my idea operating system parody vimeo Windows 7

The Windows Phone meltdown begins

February 22, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Wired went out and found a bunch of Windows Phone developers to see what they think about Windows Phone 7 Series. The response is…less than pleasant. In fact, most of them sound pretty concerned if not downright pissed. That’s bad for Microsoft, considering its developers that keep a platform viable in the marketplace. Let’s start with one of the more hilarious quotes.

“I think it’s just royally fucked. That place is so big: The tools, the people, it’s all so fragmented.” Awesome. That’s Kai Yu, CEO of BeeJive, a company that develops an IM app. There is at least one developer, though, that’s excited about the new platform. “My speculation is that Microsoft has some incredible platforms they can tie all together with the new mobile platform.” That’s Jim Scheinman, COO of Pageonce, a productivity app developer. “If one developer can write across all the other platforms, that would be easier for us and all the developers…. If you want to attract hundreds of thousands of developers, it would behoove Microsoft to try to make that happen. That would be a very, very exciting opportunity for all of us.”

It would be exciting, but Microsoft has burned a lot of bridges by torching its last platform. It’s got a lot of ass-kissing to do before there will be any happy Windows Phone developers in the world.

Source: Wired

microsoft, Mobile, News

developer relations developers headlines microsoft windows windows phone windows phone 7

Windows Phone 7 Series: Ballmer’s gambit

February 16, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

For all the talk of the Windows Phone 7 Series, you’d think it was going to save Microsoft in the mobile market. That may be true, but it’s going to be an ugly transition. I’m sure few people missed the fact that Windows Phone 7 means everything that came before is obsolete, least of all the current Windows Mobile users. It’s gone. Kaput. None of the current Windows Mobile software will function in the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem.

A lot of people say it was necessary. I tend to agree. Windows Mobile was butt ugly and ran about as fast as an 80 year-old with an artificial hip. It had no evolutionary cycle, not to stay competitive anyway. But doing away with the old has left Windows Mobile with an 8-10 month lame duck period. Development is going to grind to a halt, likely within the week. That’s going to leave a lot very unhappy users who have been loyal to the brand to this point. I guess Microsoft expects that they’ll be willing to wait until the holidays for a phone with any new features.

The message from Microsoft today was clear: Windows Mobile is dead. We’re looking at an eight month grieving period at the very least.

microsoft, Mobile, News

ballmer steve ballmer windows phone windows phone 7 winmo zune hd zune phone

Bing continues to gain market share

January 16, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Microsoft’s Bing continues to show market growth, and not steadily. It’s actually accelerating with each new month, as the latest statistics show.

For December, query totals at Bing were up 49.4%, up from June’s opening totals of 11.6%, with every month increasing in between. Barclay’s Capital attributes the growth to Bing’s ad push, along with the draw of Bing cashback. A fresh ad market is always going to bring a lot of help from affiliates, something Microsoft has used to its advantage.

Bing hasn’t really slowed Google, though. It’s searches were up more than 20%, which was also above average. Yahoo, on the other hand, continues to lose market share, though more slowly than in previous months.

Source: TechCrunch

microsoft, News, Websites

bing bing cashback bing growth bing it bing search search engine stats search with bing statistics