Microsoft Support & Discussions

I’m hearing Microsoft may be gearing up to deliver new standalone dev tools for building HTML5 client applications, and also may be adding HTML5 support to Visual Studio. Could Mix ‘11 be the launch pad for these efforts? View the full article

Windows IT Pro As I have said (and written) repeatedly, the future of computing is both highly mobile and highly connected. This is pretty obvious, and I make no claims to the title of industry seer. This week, however, I've come to the conclusion that my prediction is already half realized: Computing today is already highly mobile. The highly connected bit is going to prove to be the tricky bit. ... View the full article

Windows IT Pro Microsoft this week revealed that it will issue a non-commercial Windows software development kit (SDK) for its Kinect motion sensor device, bringing the Xbox 360 add-on to enthusiast developers. ... View the full article

Windows IT Pro Amazon on Tuesday rolled out a new streaming video service aimed squarely at market leader Netflix. Marketed as part of the preexisting Amazon Instant Video, the service is free to Amazon's best customers, those who enroll in the company's Amazon Prime service. ... View the full article

Microsoft Research and the company’s Interactive Entertainment Business unit have been working together to build a software development kit (SDK) for individuals who want to build Windows apps that use the Microsoft Kinect sensor. View the full article

Given the very few (and occasionally confusing) leaks around Windows 8, an update as to how things are progressing is always welcome. Here’s a slide from a source of mine that is allegedly a snippet from the Microsoft internal Win 8 Milestone build timeline. View the full article

On February 21, Microsoft officials told Windows Phone 7 (WP7) users that the company had started rolling out the first update for Windows Phone 7. Before you copy-and-paste-happy WP7 fans begin salivating — this first update isn’t NoDo. View the full article

Windows IT Pro Microsoft this week began priming the virtual pumps for the first Windows Phone software update by delivering a staged rollout of a pre-update, if you will, that updates the software updating mechanism in Windows Phones. That is, the software giant is slowly rolling out a software update that will make future software updates possible. ... View the full article

Windows IT Pro According to the analysts at NPD, overall video games sales fell over 4 percent in January 2011 when compared with the same month a year earlier, with slowing hardware sales weighing heaviest. The firm reports that retail video game hardware, software, and accessory sales generated $1.36 billion in the month. ... View the full article

Windows IT Pro For tech industry watchers, there's nothing more agreeable than watching two corporate behemoths going at it, arguing over their products and technologies. But in two recent events, these fights have been curiously one-sided, with a Microsoft attacker in each case coming out looking foolish for the attempt. ... View the full article

Supersite In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Tom Merritt and I discuss the Nokia and Microsoft partnership and resulting fallout, Windows Phone announcements at Mobile World Congress, Apple and Google's contrary subscription content plans, travel tech tips, and more. ... View the full article

Supersite In this week's mailbag: Windows Phone 7 and SD memory expansion revisited, Google isn't innovative, Windows Phone and NFC, using Windows Phone as a Zune device, replacing Drive Extender in Windows Home Server 2011, and Office, Windows Phone 7, and Windows Live SkyDrive. ... View the full article

Supersite When Microsoft cut Drive Extender from Windows Home Server 2011, I figured that was the end of that product. But I was wrong, and I can now reveal that I intend to use WHS 2011 for my own home technology needs, replacing the original version of WHS. ... View the full article

Supersite While the Internet Explorer Mobile web browser included with Windows Phone 7 is actually pretty decent, like much of Windows Phone it's missing some basic and key features. But that's where Adam Nathan's excellent Metro web browser comes to the rescue. ... View the full article

Microsoft officials say they are considering modifying the Windows Phone Application Provider Agreement to add more open-source licenses “in upcoming revisions.” View the full article

Windows IT Pro An often irreverent look at some of this week's other news, including a Nokia shareholder uprising is just a hoax, Windows Phone app development skyrockets, Symbian developers need to face a not-so-new reality, Intel is desperate for Meego partners that don't exist, Microsoft Office continues its scoffing at Google Apps, Verizon iPhone 4 sales embarrass, Google Music is finally on tap, Watson beats humans at Jeopardy, and Borders files for bankruptcy protection. ... View the full article

Supersite Today, Bing released the Bing Bar 7, bringing the best of the web right to your browser with easy access to things like Bing search, Facebook, email, Bing Rewards, maps, games and more. ... View the full article

Microsoft has many, varied platforms across the company. The latest addition to the line-up: The Living Room Platform. View the full article

Windows IT Pro One day after Apple shocked content makers (and, hopefully, antitrust regulators) with an antagonistic subscription publishing scheme in which it would command 30 percent of all sales and prevent its partners from fairly selling their wares elsewhere, Google announced a competing plan for its own and other mobile platforms. ... View the full article

There’s an alleged leaked Dell roadmap making the rounds that shows a timeline indicating that Dell is going to ship a Windows 8 tablet, codenamed Peju, in the first quarter of 2012. My first reaction on seeing this is… No way. View the full article

Microsoft released the on-premises and partner-hosted versions of its Dynamics CRM 2011 product on February 16. View the full article

Supersite If you subscribe to MSDN or TechNet, you can now grab the slipstreamed ISO for Service Pack 1 + Windows Server 2008 R2 or Service Pack 1 + Windows 7, as well as the standalone installer. ... View the full article

The much-ballyhooed Nokia shareholder “revolt” over Nokia’s Windows Phone 7 adoption plan is over, a day after it began. View the full article