After previous revelations about Windows Threshold, a release we might think of as .2, some more information has emerged about Microsoft plans for the future. And if you were worried that Windows 8.1 didn't go far enough in appeasing desktop users on traditional PCs, I think I have some good news for you. I first discussed Windows Threshold last week in Microsoft to Take Windows to the Threshold. According to Mary Jo Foley, Threshold is a wave of updates that will bring Windows 8.x, Windows...

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An image of the handset waspublished in November by @evleaks, showing a Lumia style device with no apparent capacitive buttons for navigation. We’re told that Normandy supports Android applications like Skype, and other popular top apps.Nokia has been developing the Android powered phone despite Microsoft’s plans to acquire the company’s handset business. It’s now unclear whether Nokia will release the handset before the Microsoft deal is finalized, or whether Microsoft...

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As Ive blogged previously, while Microsoft is moving toward a One Windows vision, that vision is more along the lines of one Windows core, but multiple SKUs, or versions, according to my contacts. SKU actually stands for stock keeping unit, for those wondering. This new strategy doesnt necessarily mean there will be a different SKU for every kind of Windows form factor out there. Instead, as Microsoft moves forward with its Threshold Windows wave, there might be just a few Windows SKUs built on...

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If you dont like the idea of people spying on you, you really shouldnt be using any console from this or the previous generation, mate. If you believe Kinect is the mega corporate demon spy machine, youre totally blind. Your iPhone, Android, PS3, Xbox 360, Facebook, Twitter, ISP, cellphone company – they all have clauses in their T&Cs that say they are able to monitor usage including video, audio and text. So wake up Plug your kinect in and use it – its brilliant. Stop being such...

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Good news for those that have already purchased Halo: Spartan Assault for Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 – anyone who purchases the game on one of those platforms before December 15th will be eligible to purchase the Xbox One version of the game at the discounted price of $4.99. As an Xbox One title, there are 1000 Achievement Points up for grabs, which means new Achievements and higher values to gun for. In case you missed it, Halo Waypoint published the full, updated Halo: Spartan Assault...

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As you build new apps or improve existing apps, its important to understand as much as possible about the store where your apps will be offered. We frequently get questions about the best categories, the best markets, top languages, and so on.We started sharing information in the Explore Store Trends section of the Windows Store Dashboard, including some user demographics and catalog information. Very few developers used these reports, and we received feedback that the presentation was not...

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This week, reports from a number of media outlets stated that Microsoft had quietly ended retail sales of Windows 7, and that sales of PCs with Windows 7 installed would end next year. However, since those reports have been posted, the Microsoft web page cited as the main source of those stories has been updated, and throws the current retail sales life of Windows 7 into unknown territory. Originally, the Windows lifecycle fact sheet page showed that Windows 7 retail sales ended on October 30th,...

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What not clear is whether the Threshold releases will be staggered as were the Blue releases. Microsoft delivered Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, both parts of the Blue wave of releases, in October 2013. But Windows Phone 8.1 was always planned for a longer, 18 month schedule, and wasn't isn't expected to hit until the first half of 2014. A set of Office 2013 updates, codenamed Gemini, might also be considered part of the Blue wave. According to Ms. Foley, Threshold is a set of...

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