The other day, unable to take it anymore, we sucked it up and ordered HBO. We needed our fix immediately. When the order went through and we were ready to binge watch, it wasnt our cable box we turned on, but our Xbox. This news, I am sure, would be music to Microsofts ears. It may have launched the Xbox 360 in 2005 as a gaming machine filled with games for gamers, but somewhere in the middle of that long lifecycle it decided to focus what seemed to be the majority of its efforts on making Xbox...

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Today, were announcing two new mice designed specifically for Windows. These are the first mice from Microsoft , giving you quick and easy access to specific features in Windows – and, in the case of the Sculpt Comfort Mouse, more advanced functionality in Windows 8. The Sculpt Comfort Mouse is a perfect companion to the Sculpt Comfort Keyboard we announced last fall. The Sculpt Comfort Mouse has a touch sensitive blue strip on its side called the Windows touch tab that makes it easy to navigate...

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Microsoft is updating its YouTube application for Windows Phone to comply with some, but not all, of Google terms of service. On May 7, Microsoft rolled out a YouTube app for Windows Phone 8that the company developed itself. On May 15, Google sent Microsoft a cease and desist letter about that app, noting it violated some of the YouTube terms of service, including not displaying ads and allowing users to download content from the app. Google requested that Microsoft either block or pull the...

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If you were hoping to play your vast collection of Xbox 360 games on Microsoft latest creation, weve got a spot of bad news. Microsoft Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten confirmed to that the new Xbox One console will have no backwards compatibility whatsoever. No, there not, said Whitten, when we posed the question. The system is based on a different core architecture, so back compat doesnt really work from that perspective. Technologically speaking, it not wholly a surprise that backwards compatibility...

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We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what weve confirmed today. While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friends house – should you choose to play your game at your friends house, there is no fee to play that game while you...

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Microsoft on Wednesday confirmed that the next Xbox video game console, codenamed Durango, will be revealed to the public at a special event at its Redmond campus on May 21. That event will kick off a multi event unveiling which will continue through June, and then the release of the device, which is expected in early November. On March 28, I exclusively revealed via Twitter that Microsoft had changed the original reveal date for the next Xbox from April 24 to May 21. So yesterday’s...

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Bing is evolving into more than just a Web search engine for Microsoft. It also gives the company a way to harness and make use of data using Microsoft myriadmachine learning and computation capabilities. And though it may be hard to see through all the Scroggled fog, Bing may be more important as a service than a mere search engine to Microsoft going forward. This week, as part of its Xbox One reveal, Microsoft execs didnt call out Bing by name much, if at all. However, as a subsequent post on...

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My first thought, honestly, is how boxy it is. In 2010, Microsoft released a slim version of the Xbox 360 that was literally streamlined, with a curvilinear X shaped form that made its predecessor feel clumsy in comparison. The Xbox One is a bit bigger than the 360 and as rectangular as it gets. Its not without its flourishes, though. Its a deep, glossy black that the industrial design team calls liquid black. The top of the console is subdivided into two 16:9 rectangles, derived from the...

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