Technomaly » Microsoft

Calculate Home Energy Savings with Microsoft Hohm

J. Matthew Zoss — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:35:23 +0000

Want some information on your home’s energy efficiency and how you can save money? Microsoft’s web app Hohm will calculate the energy usage of your specific house. It doesn’t take much to set up, either – just enter your address and Hohm will set you up with the basic information. The more info you provide, the more specific Hohm can get about your energy usage. It took me about five minutes to enter my power company info and get some data back on my house.

Hohm isn’t just about showing you how much power your home uses – it’s also filled with useful tips on how to lower your energy consumption. If you’re interested in lowering the energy usage of your home, Hohm is a great tool to start with.

Via Lifehacker

Microsoft Loses Two Key Executives

J. Matthew Zoss — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:49:45 +0000

You might not know the names Robbie Bach and J Allard, but you’ve definitely heard of some of the projects that they helped create. Both were integral to major projects like the Xbox and the Zune, and this quote from Bach spells out some of the other things he’s worked on during his 22 years with the company:

“At Microsoft, I’ve been so fortunate to spend more than two decades of my life working with incredible people and doing amazing things like launching Office, Xbox and Xbox Live, the ‘Halo’ franchise, Windows Phones, Zune and more,” Bach said in a prepared statement. “I’m at the time in my life where I want to dedicate more time to my family and my nonprofit work, including my work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I have the utmost confidence in Steve, Don and Andy and their ability to see through our mission of bringing extraordinary entertainment and mobility experiences to life for people around the world.”

Allard has worked at Microsoft for over 15 years and spent a chunk of time as the public face of the Xbox. Rumors circulated late last week that he was leaving Microsoft due to the cancellation of the Courier tablet project. Whether or not that was ultimately the reason, it’s clear that Microsoft is losing some big talent. Engadget reports that the departures are due to a larger shakeup at Microsoft, and the Xbox and Mobile divisions will now report directly to CEO Steve Ballmer.

The Terminator Hates Apple

J. Matthew Zoss — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:00:22 +0000

Film maker Leon Wang has discovered the real mission of the Terminator, and it may not be what you expect. Watch the full video here to discover what these evil machines are actually up to.

Via Engadget

Microsoft Cancels Courier

J. Matthew Zoss — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:15:16 +0000

Not long ago, the internet got its first glimpse of Microsoft’s answer to the iPad, the Courier. The dual-screen tablet PC folded like a book and operated with a swanky stylus-based interface that looked a bit too good to be true. Perhaps it was, because the project was unexpectedly canceled late last month. The project was never officially announced, but it has officially been killed. Gadget site Gizmodo contacted Microsoft and got the official word:

At any given time, we’re looking at new ideas, investigating, testing, incubating them. It’s in our DNA to develop new form factors and natural user interfaces to foster productivity and creativity. The Courier project is an example of this type of effort. It will be evaluated for use in future offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time.

The premature death of the Courier is a shame, but hopefully the technology developed for the device will resurface in future Microsoft products.

Microsoft’s Kin Phones Coming May 13?

J. Matthew Zoss — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:22:21 +0000

Yep, looks that way. This leaked memo shows that Microsoft’s pair of Kin phones are scheduled to hit on May 13, with pre-orders starting on May 6. You may have seen the commercials for the phone running already, as light on details as they are. There are actually two phones on the way, the Kin One and the Kin Two and while the two devices are actually pretty different, they share a lot of the same basic functionality, all built around Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform.

More information on the Kin phones is available at the official site.

Source: Gizmodo

Play Classic Arcade Games in Microsoft’s Game Room

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:17:33 +0000

If you have an Xbox 360, chances are that you’ve already downloaded a game or two through Xbox Live Arcade. Microsoft has expanded on its library of classic arcade games with Game Room, a virtual arcade that lets you play your old favorites in a customizable arcade environment. Unlike other Xbox Live Arcade titles, Game Room gives you more than just the game itself – it offers up virtual arcade cabinets, as well as the sights and sounds of the video game parlors of yesteryear. You don’t even have to buy the individual games in Game Room if you don’t want to – you can keep it real and pay per play. What makes it even sweeter is that Game Room is playable on both your Xbox and your PC, so if you’re not a console owner you can still get in on the fun.

The Game Room download is free, but you’ll have to use real money to either purchase arcade machines to populate it (or use the aforementioned pay-per-play method). There’s a pretty extensive list of available games and the pricing is pretty reasonable, so if you’re into classic arcade games there will probably be something on the list worth springing for. 400 ($5) Microsoft points unlocks a purchased game for both Xbox and PC, 240 points unlocks it for a single platform, and 40 points will get you a single play. The full list of games available in Game Room is below:

Adventure
Armor Battle
Asteroids Deluxe
Astrosmash
Battlantis
Centipede
Combat
Crystal Castles
Finalizer
Football
Jungler
Lunar Lander
Millipede
Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing
Outlaw
RealSports Tennis
Red Baron
Road Fighter
Scramble
Sea Battle
Shao-Lin’s Road
Space Armada
Space Hawk
Star Raiders
Sub Hunt
Super Cobra
Tempest
Tutankham
Yars’ Revenge

Europe, You Now Have Web Browser Freedom!

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:09:56 +0000

As the result of a lawsuit last year, Microsoft is now offering all EU residents a choice about which web browser their computer uses as its default. Rather than automatically setting the default browser of all Windows-based PCs to Internet Explorer, PC users will now see a “choice screen” that asks them to choose a default browser from a list of popular options, such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari.

There are two things I find really interesting about this story. First: the EU operates on such different legal standards that it can mandate that Microsoft must point out the existence of other browsers. Second: Is the average EU PC user so computer illiterate that they need to be told that their computer has the ability to run other web browsers? Installing a new web browser doesn’t exactly require a lot of programming knowledge or anything. Then again, I’ve heard stories about Americans calling tech support because of problems with their computer’s cupholder. I guess people are dumb all over.

Source: BBC News

More Microsoft Tablet Photos “Leaked”

Asterios Kokkinos — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:09 +0000

Well, I’m sure these “leaked” photos are coming directly from Microsoft’s marketing department, but still – at this point, I am actually somewhat excited about a mobile product from…Microsoft? That doesn’t sound right. Still, these photos are pretty sweet.

The product’s a “digital journal” dubbed Courier, and we got the info on this via Mashable, which got it via Engadget. Ah, the circle of internet news.

Take a look at these photos! Microsoft? The Zune guys? I can’t believe the guys who made an unattractive brick of an MP3 player are designing this thing – the specs from Mashable are:

Handwriting recognition (take that, iPad)
When folded, it’s slightly larger than a 5×7 print.
Less than an inch thick, slightly heavier than a pound
Runs Windows Mobile 7

The device is to be released “in the second half of 2010.” I have to say, its foldable design makes it a very attractive device – especially as an e-reader, as it’s the first tablet design that I’ve seen that looks like an actual book.

Source & Photo Source: Mashable

Microsoft Installs New Chief Creative Officer

Asterios Kokkinos — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:00:51 +0000

News from the land of Windows & Office: Microsoft’s got a new Chief Creative Officer!

Meet Gayle Troberman, a 13 year veteran of the company who’s just been put in charge of the juggernaut’s marketing efforts. And to be honest, the company needs someone in charge of those efforts. From their current boring “I’m a PC” campaign to their previously boring “Jerry Seinfeld & Bill Gates Hang Out” campaign, Microsoft’s well…boring.

BTW, remember how those Seinfeld ads had a campaign topping 300 million dollars? I sure do, and it’s still hilarious.

Hopefully Troberman’s first act will be to quit responding to the Mac vs. PC ads out there and simply promote their products on their own merits. Whenever I see someone on television go, “I’m a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea,” my first reaction is, “No it wasn’t – are you kidding me? A gigantic corporation made this.”

People at Microsoft keep trying to make the company personal and approachable, which is a tough sell for a company with more money than one could ever spend. Why not just make some ads about how good Windows 7 is?

Source & Photo Source: FastCompany

Cookin’ With Bing

J. Matthew Zoss — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:27:54 +0000

I use a lot of Google software every single day, so when Microsoft’s Bing search engine was released I wasn’t too tempted to switch, even when the positive reviews started trickling out. But as the search engine has added new features to help separate itself from the pack, it’s steadily become a more interesting program. I really like this latest feature: an ingredient recipe search. Type an ingredient into the search bar (from something common to the outlandish) and it will return recipes from popular cooking pages right there on page, without making you click through. I do a my fair share of recipe searching online because I’m hopeless in the kitchen on my own, so this is a pretty useful tool. No more clicking back and forth to see which chocolate chip cookie recipe looks the best – they’re all laid out there on the same page.

What’s more, the Bing recipe search has recipe ratings, as well as fat and calorie comparisons so you can compare them to one another. You can even sort recipes by courses, so you won’t be flooded with entrees when you just want to whip up an appetizer.

See the Bing recipe search demo in action here.

Story and Image via Lifehacker

Show Off Your Muscles, Control a Computer

J. Matthew Zoss — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:15:07 +0000

It’s now 2010, so it’s fitting that we keeping getting ever closer to cyborg technology. This video from Microsoft’s R&D department doesn’t actually involve the merging of human flesh and machinery, but you might think so if you saw this tech being used in public. Using a system called electromyography (EMG), this project uses the electrical impulses in our muscles to control simple techology devices like an mp3 player or Guitar Hero without using an interface device. Just move your muscles and control the device.

This video explains and demonstrates the technology in pretty clear terms. Watch it and I think you’ll see where might all lead. SkyNet is coming, people!

Microsoft EMG Demo (via Engadget)

YouTube To Microsoft: The HP Slate Sucks

Geoffrey Golden — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:32:23 +0000

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled a new product yesterday at CES 2010 and it’s… a tablet PC? Hey, isn’t Apple supposed to be making one of those? Perhaps in an attempt to beat Apple to the multi-touch punch, Ballmer demonstrated HP’s new slate PC, capable of running Windows 7. They posted a teaser video on YouTube (above), which is currently getting hammered in the comments section:

Vismund: “this amazing device will sell 20 units…”

jewjack: “IM GUNNA BUY TWO! (one when it comes out, and the second to replace the first when it breaks down)”

rhadiem: “This is just another sad case of HP/Microsoft trying to copy Apple and have some of the magic pixie dust rub off on them. What they didn’t show was :20 seconds into the video the slate caught a virus, bluescreened and after a 4 minute reboot the only app for it was the HP logo sizer and a half-baked use of multitouch for Paintbrush.”

SteelVelocity: “boooo!!!”

There are some positive comments as well, along with the usual PC vs. Mac “X ripped off Y” jibber jabber. However, with over 200,000 views and an average rating of 2 stars, it can’t be ALL Mac evangelists down-voting this video… or can it? It’ll be interesting to see what people think of a demonstration that’s longer than 18 seconds.