Month: December 2012

If you are a Microsoft Hotmail user, then you will be seeing solicitations in your Inbox to upgrade to “Outlook.Com”. Basically, this is a new interface that streamlines some services, for example, SkyDrive, Calendar, Skype (coming soon). But really it is a harbinger of things to come or things that are already here: Windows 8.

If you have used Windows 8, as I have, then you will notice that Microsoft is merging the Metro styled interface across the board: on tablets, on PCs, on laptops, on phones, and …online.

Go directly to Microsoft’s Outlook site for any questions

I do not mean to seem like an AT&T advertisement, but this is a really good deal. It is a Windows based phone that costs 1 Cent. Here is the catch: it is refurbished. That should be pretty self explanatory, but if you are looking to get an essentially free Windows based phone, then this is the time. It is a web only offer, and of course, you need to sign up for a voice and data plan with AT&T.

Hey, it is at least worth investigating and comparison shopping.

AT&T Store for 1 Cent Phone

It looks like developers will are able to essentially save their custom built apps to the Cloud. This is intriguing for Developers across the Microsoft spectrum.

From ZDNet:

“One of the new development concepts introduced with Windows Phone 8 is compiling applications in the cloud. But what does this mean, exactly?
Among the hundred-plus developer sessions that Microsoft execs presented at the company’s Build 2012 conference (and which are now viewable for free by anyone, not just conference-goers) was one touching on Microsoft’s cloud-compilation strategy.
The Softies first mentioned intentions to provide compilation in the cloud in June 2012 — when Microsoft first opened up about some of the features coming in Windows Phone 8. Details were scarce, other than the fact that Microsoft, and not individual developers, was expected to be the one doing the compiling of apps once they were submitted for approval. Up until last week, Microsoft officials declined to say anything further about how cloud-compilation would work for Windows Phone.
(One thing we did know is that cloud compilation is/was part of Microsoft’s strategy to insure that existing Windows Phone 7.x apps work well on Windows Phone 8.)
There’s now more publicly available information. In addition to the aforementioned Build session, a new Microsoft Channel 9 “Going Deep” episode digs even further into cloud compilation, which Microsoft is advertising as enabling “really fast startup of Windows Phone 8 .Net apps.”

ZDNet Article

Microsoft Surface sales numbers higher than tought? Interesting opinion …

“If Microsoft’s tablet has a sales problem — and let’s strut that I-F again — distribution is the reason. The product isn’t overpriced or flawed. Microsoft only sells Surface through the company store; that’s online and (by my count) 66 retail shops. Sixty stores are in the continental United States, five in Canada and another in Puerto Rico. There are only a limited number of places anyone can buy the tablet, which limits how many the company can sell. What matters more is how many Microsoft sells per store. Pundits crying “fail” are nincompoops of the nth degree. If any of them bothered to look at Apple Store, they would understand.”

BeatNews Article