A couple of my contacts have confirmed that Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson recently mentioned the Threshold codename in an internal email about plans for his unified operating system engineering group. If all goes according to early plans, Threshold will include updates to all three OS platforms Xbox One, Windows and Windows Phone that will advance them in a way to share even more common elements. The codename Threshold, for those wondering, derives from the planet around which...

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Does it make sense for Microsoft to continue to release consumer and enterprise versions of Windows simultaneously, as the company speeds up its product delivery pace? That possibility was raised by Terry Myerson, the Microsoft Executive Vice President in charge of the company unified operating system engineering group, during his remarks at the Credit Suisse 2013 Technology Conference on December 4. Myerson noted that the needs of consumers, who tend to be interested in having their operating...

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be a distant memory, but Microsoft is creating 12 days of deals at its own retail stores to continue the bargains in the run up to Christmas. The first day of sales commences on Monday, with Microsoft Stores selling Dell’s Venue 8 Pro tablet for just $99. It’s an incredibly good deal for an 8 inch tablet running a full copy of Windows 8.1, but there’s a slight catch: there’s only 20 at each of Microsoft’s 58 stores across the US...

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The long, slow march toward end of life of Microsoft currently most popular operating system is underway. As of October 30, 2013, Microsoft ceased selling boxed copies of Windows 7 at retail. ZDNet Ed Bott posted back in April of this year about the pending October 30 cut off date, but a few stories have popped up this week about it, so this is just a reminder. This October 30 cut off date mean that OEMs or retailers are no longer selling PCs with Windows 7 preloaded. I can verify after a trip...

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About 10 days ago, reported once again that Ford CEO Alan Mulally was in the lead position to take over as CEO of Microsoft, with one internal exec as the No. 2 choice. As I noted in a post on November 19: Ford CEO Alan Mulally remains in the pole position for the job, with the idea that he will be more a ‘caretaker type CEO, whose deep experience and inspirational charisma will get the company on the right path, while also training up a number of internal candidates to eventually take...

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Microsoft researchers have designed a smart bra that can detect stress. The prototype contains removable sensors that monitor heart and skin activity to provide an indication of mood levels. The aim was to find out if wearable technology could help prevent stress related over eating. Mood data was provided to the wearer via a smartphone app in order to highlight when emotional eating was likely to occur. A team from Microsofts visualisation and interaction research group embedded an...

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In November, paid downloads of games on the Windows Store grew 34.12 percent, while free game downloads grew a more modest 13.41 percent. In the month, the Windows Store assortment of games saw 1,311,209 paid downloads and 16,744,484 free downloads. Microsoft has released a partial dataset for its Windows Store app platform performance in the month of November. The company previously reported download rates concerning all app categories, for both free and paid applications. However, for the...

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My ZDNet colleague Steven J. Vaughan Nichols has been pounding the table for Chromebooks since their launch more than two years ago. Back in June 2011, he called the Chromebook a Windows killer, predicting that Microsoft is facing real trouble in the market for desktop PCs. Last April I wrote that Chromebooks are struggling in the market, based on real world usage figures. That an illusion, according to Mr. Vaughan Nichols, who argues today that Chromebooks have been selling like hotcakes on a...

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