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Tag: microsoft

  • Microsoft Giving Away $100,000 Rewards For Finding Windows 8.1 Security Flaws

    Microsoft Giving Away $100,000 Rewards For Finding Windows 8.1 Security Flaws

    If you’re good enough with code, perhaps you can make some good money digging up bugs for Microsoft.

    Microsoft is offering what it calls a ‘Bounty Program’ to finding exploits and vulnerabilities for Windows 8.1.  Google has had a similar program for its Chrome web browser for quite some time now, though not offering as much money.

    The new exploitation method must not be one that Microsoft already knows or that has been described in prior works and the submission must also include a white paper explaining the method.

    The biggest one is the Mitigation Bypass Bounty, which will pay up to $100,000 to developers who find “truly novel exploitation techniques” in Windows 8.1.

    Any successful hacker can earn an additional $50,000 “BlueHat Bonus” if they can tell Redmond how to fix a major flaw in the operating system. In addition, there’s an $11,000 bounty on Internet Explorer 11 Preview Edition vulnerabilities – but with a 30 day time limit – presumably so that any new problems can be fixed in time for the final release.

    “Microsoft will pay up to $100,000 for truly novel exploitation techniques against protections built into the latest version of our operating system (Windows 8.1 Preview). Learning about new exploitation techniques earlier helps Microsoft improve security by leaps, instead of capturing one vulnerability at a time as a traditional bug bounty alone would,” the company explained.

    That program begins on June 26 but will end 30 days later on July 26th. More details on all three bounty programs, including some advice on how to submit a good exploit report, can be found here.

    The company is set to introduce the new Windows 8.1 Preview at the BUILD developer conference in San Francisco on June 26th as well.

  • Report : Microsoft Was Close To Acquiring Nokia But Talks Broke Down

    Report : Microsoft Was Close To Acquiring Nokia But Talks Broke Down

    Technology pundits have long speculated that, one day, Microsoft would buy its way into manufacturing of its own mobile phones. Apparently that day came a lot closer to fruition than people had thought.

    Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone business – the deal you probably assumed would happen sooner or later – has been scuppered before talks were even made public, according to a new report.

    On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Microsoft has been engaged in “advanced talks” to snap up the Finnish mobile maker, but that those discussions have recently broken down and are not likely to resume.

    The WSJ also adds that both companies were close to an oral agreement with Microsoft purchasing the device division of Nokia, using some of Redmond’s reported $66 billion held in off-shore businesses. That method would have let Microsoft avoid a hefty tax penalty for purchasing the massive phone maker.

    microsoft

    The price was reportedly too high in Microsoft’s reckoning and the software giant was understood to be concerned by Nokia’s inability to mount a serious challenge to the likes of Apple and Samsung in the smartphone business. This may sound a little rich coming from Microsoft, but the addition of HTC to the ranks of top class smartphone makers and the recent return to form of Sony and BlackBerry has made Nokia an outside bet in the smartphone race.

    Nokia’s smartphones exclusively use Microsoft Windows Phone software, under a deal the two companies struck two years ago.

    [Via]

  • Microsoft Backtracks On Xbox One DRM And Used Games Policy

    Microsoft Backtracks On Xbox One DRM And Used Games Policy

    Xbox One will not require regular online check-ins or place restrictions on game-lending “as a result of feedback from the Xbox community,” Microsoft announced today.

    “Today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360,” wrote Don Mattrick in an official blog post today.

    Additionally, Mattrick wrote, players will be able to “trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today. There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.”

    This will come at a small cost — despite previous announcements, Xbox One will require that discs remain in the tray in order to play games, and players will be unable to share downloaded games. In other words, it’ll work exactly like the Xbox 360 — for better and for worse.

    Originally it was planned that the new Xbox One would have allowed digital games to be shared with ten friends and family, allowing others to log in and play the titles. A cloud-based system also meant that software would be available from any console, even without a physical disc, and downloaded titles could be shared and sold. That would not be the case now.

    Now, when the new console is released this November, there will be no need to authenticate the system online every 24 hours – a requirement thought to have been introduced as a digital rights management measure. According to the statement, “After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again.”

    On the other side of the coin, capitalizing on online anger about Microsoft’s policies, Sony took E3 by storm with their announcement that the PlayStation 4 would use no similar DRM scheme.

  • Microsoft Frees 2 Million PCs From Citadel Botnet

    Microsoft Frees 2 Million PCs From Citadel Botnet

    According to Microsoft, the actions it took against the world’s biggest cyber-crime rings (the Citadel botnet) freed at least 2 million PCs infected with the virus. It is believed that the Citadel Botnet was used to steal more than $US500 million from bank accounts worldwide.

    The information comes from Microsoft Digital Crime Unit’s Assistant General Counsel Richard Domingues Boscovich in an interview earlier this evening. Said Boscovich, “We definitely have liberated at least 2 million PCs globally. That is a conservative estimate. We feel confident that we really got most of the ones that we were after. It was a very, very successful disruptive action.”

    The botnets, which were run from “command and control” servers at data hosting centers around the world, were used to steal from hundreds of financial institutions, according to court documents that Microsoft filed to get permission to shut down servers in the United States that were being used to run the operation.

    Data center operators typically are not aware that their servers are being used to run botnets.

    Among the PCs liberated, the majority were located in the US, Hong Kong, and throughout Europe. The take down process worked by severing the Citadel networks from the infected machines, with a total of 1,400 networks being successfully pulled. Those responsible for leading the networks, however, one of which is known as “Aquabox”, were not captured, and have not been identified.

    Though the chief botnet organizer is still on the loose and many machines are still burdened by Citadel, Domingues Boscovich says they “feel confident that we really got most of the ones that we were after.”

    [Via, Via]

  • Report : Microsoft Paying Devs $100,000 To Develop For Windows Phone

    Report : Microsoft Paying Devs $100,000 To Develop For Windows Phone

    Sources close to Microsoft have confirmed that the tech giant is determined to prop up its Windows Phone 8 App Store, and it’s willing to bust out the big boy checkbook to do it. According to Business Insider, Microsoft has offered several top tier developers upwards of $100,000 to bring key apps to its mobile platform.

    This is on top of offers to pay $100 per app, up to $2000, if developers publish an app before the end of this month.

    The payment aims to entice developers to create apps for Windows Phone 8 as Microsoft play catch up to other app stores for Apple, Android, and BlackBerry.

    microsoft

    Windows Phone chief marketing office Thom Gruhler told Bloomberg that Microsoft currently has around 145,000 apps and games in the Windows Store, although versions of Pinterest and Instagram are still missing for Windows Phone.

    Although Windows Phone 8 is missing these two particularly popular apps, Gruhler explains that the store does still contain 48 of the 50 most-downloaded apps across all platforms.

    While some may argue bribing developers is cheating, this is exactly the level of support we expect Microsoft to provide for the ecosystem, and of course Google and Blackberry both used the same strategy in their early years.

    Last year, Google announced that Google Play had 600,000 apps, matching Apple’s App Store.

  • Xbox One Games To Cost The Same As 360, No Price Hike

    Xbox One Games To Cost The Same As 360, No Price Hike

    Xbox One first-party titles will be $59.99, as confirmed by a Microsoft representative speaking to Kotaku. Activision, EA, and Ubisoft have not announced game pricing for the next-generation console.

    In an official statement to gaming-exclusive sister site of The Verge, a Microsoft representative tells Polygon that pricing for Xbox One games published by Microsoft Studios will remain the same at $59.99: “I can confirm that Microsoft Studios games on Xbox One will be $59.99,” the representative told Polygon.

    With every release of a new generation of consoles, gamers and enthusiasts alike often wonder what kind of, if any, price increase they’ll be seeing in the gaming market. When Microsoft and Sony unveiled their previous generation of new consoles, games saw a pretty substantial price increase.

    It comes to many as a relief that there won’t be a price increase for Xbox One titles, despite the added cost of development for new consoles. Truly a win for the hardcore and casual gamers who work hard to buy multiple titles each and every month.

    While that is good news for some, what about PS4 gamers? Can they expect the same treatment? After all a $100 difference in console pricing means nothing if the price of games will just end up covering the difference, right? While Sony has yet to confirm the pricing, an earlier report in February, Sony announced that the maximum price for PS4 games should be $60 too. Although Kotaku emphasized that Sony representatives were quiet on this topic at E3.

  • Xbox One Will Only Work In Certain Countries At Launch Excluding India

    Xbox One Will Only Work In Certain Countries At Launch Excluding India

    If you were thinking about ordering the Xbox One via a relative/friend abroad and use it in India before it officially launches here, Microsoft wants you to forget about it. 

    Just when you thought Microsoft couldn’t go a day without some new anti-consumer disaster it’s been revealed that the Xbox One is so reliant on its online connection that it won’t even turn on in some countries, no matter where you buy it from.

    Microsoft’s Xbox One preorder information page states that the console will only support Live in only 21 countries at launch, and therefore presumably won’t work anywhere else.

    Xbox One

    The problem is there are only 21 supported countries at launch (depending on who you ask there are around 206 countries in the world) and that doesn’t include Portugal, Poland and most of Eastern Europe, or Japan and the rest of Asia (including India).

    The full list of supported countries is Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.

    Microsoft have described this as a “staged approach” to marketing their new console. Their regional vice president for sales and marketing in Asia stated that they were still working on allowing Asian gamers a “great experience”, including localised content.

    The only alternative for people residing in India (or the other countries omitted) would be to create a new Xbox Live account that pretended to be based in a supported region

    In contrast, Sony has said that the PlayStation 4 will be region-free, like the PlayStation 3.

  • Bing Maps Gets New Features Including 270TB Of Bird’s Eye Imagery

    Bing Maps Gets New Features Including 270TB Of Bird’s Eye Imagery

    Bing Maps announced a number of new additions today, including a more expansive collection of Bird’s Eye Imagery locations, new Venue Maps and a Report a Problem feature.

    Microsoft announced that it has added its largest-ever batch of Bird’s Eye imagery to Bing Maps — nearly 270 terabytes of data, or the equivalent of 100,000 DVDs, as the company tries to keep up with the 3D mapping capabilities offered by its competitors.

    Bing Maps

    So far, Microsoft has published a total of 1,452,958 sq km, or half a petabyte of data, in Bird’s Eye scenes from around the world. The Bing Maps coverage for this release is shown in yellow (it’s mainly for the US, some Europe, plus a little Canada and Australia):

    Bing Maps

    As for Venue Maps, these allow you to navigate your way around malls, airports, amusement parks, stadiums, and more on your computer or Windows 8 mobile device. Venue Maps automatically show up when you zoom in while using Bing Maps. Purple and green polygons will appear, and clicking on one will pop out a directory with a full list of points of interest that you can explore from a top-down view.

    Bing Maps new ‘Report a Problem’ feature involves a link that appears in a box when a user clicks on a location. After clicking the link, a user is given the option to select whether a location is currently empty, if there is a new venue in the existing location, or submit comments to identify more specific issues.

    [Via] 

  • Nokia, Microsoft Working Even Closer, Collaborative Effort Coming Soon

    Nokia, Microsoft Working Even Closer, Collaborative Effort Coming Soon

    During a Lumia 925 briefing in the UK, Nokia revealed that they’ve tightened its ever-growing bond with Redmond-based Microsoft, makers of the Windows 8 (mobile and desktop) platform. Nokia UK’s Ray Haddow stated that the Finnish company has been “working even closer” with Microsoft and we can expect to see new collaborative efforts in the near future. Engadget reports that Nokia and Microsoft will work to raise Nokia’s profile.

    Nokia and Microsoft first entered into a “broad strategic partnership” that made Windows Phone OS its “primary smartphone strategy,” but there have been rumours of Nokia coming to market with a tablet for years now.

    Nokia

     

    The company went on to discuss marketing opportunities it’s seizing upon as a result of its Microsoft affiliation, so we very well might just be talking about plans for a new promotional blitz. What was less clear is if all that might be focused on a particular product (and we certainly expect the EOS to be a big win for both Nokia and Microsoft) or if it could be more broadly Lumia- or WP-focused in general.

    Could this mean that Nokia might be ready to enter the Windows-powered tablet space? No telling what these two have in store but we should know in the next few weeks.

    [Engadget]

  • Microsoft Abandons India and other Asian Countries, Xbox One to come Late 2014

    In what feels like a painful abandonment of enthusiastic gamers of Asia, Microsoft has delayed the launch of its new console the Xbox One in Asia by a whole year. Alan Bowman, Microsoft’s Regional VP for Sales and Marketing in Asia, says that the new console will launch in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India around late 2014.

    This delay even after Microsoft has declared these countries as gaming high-growth areas, with sales of consoles and games booming in 2013. Alan Bowman also said that the new Kinect sensor will require less space as compared to this generation’s Kinect and will fit right in with Asian countries “where there is a lack of living room space” (we wouldn’t be too sure of that)

    in any case for all those who cant wait, there is always Palika Bazaar and Lamington Road for those imported consoles!

    [VIA]

  • Microsoft Xbox One Priced : US $ 499 coming to 21 Countries in November

    Microsoft Xbox One Priced : US $ 499 coming to 21 Countries in November

    Microsoft has announced the prices and availability of its new Xbox One Console at their E3 Press Event. The console will go on sale in 21 countries in November for a retail price of  $499.99 in the U.S., £429 (GBP) in the U.K. and €499 (EUR) in European markets. Roughly translated, the Xbox One can be expected in India for a price of Rs. 30,000 including taxes. 

    Every Xbox One system sold will include the new Xbox One console — which features a 500GB hard drive,1 Blu-ray player and built-in Wi-Fi — the new Kinect, one Xbox One Wireless Controller and a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members.

    Several titles were announced to be available by launch time from developers including but not limited to 343 Industries, Crytek, Turn 10 Studios, Respawn Entertainment, Remedy, Kojima Productions, Capcom and Insomniac Games. 

    jago_vs_sabrewulf_13

    The trailer of Halo for Xbox One, was highly unexpected yet well received. 

    Microsoft Studios is committed to making Xbox One the best place to play games, with more titles in development and more exclusives coming than at any time in the history of Xbox, With amazing games such as ‘Forza Motorsport 5,’ ‘Ryse: Son of Rome,’ ‘Dead Rising 3,’ ‘Titanfall,’ ‘Halo Xbox One,’ ‘Kinect Sports Rivals,’ ‘Project Spark’ and ‘Quantum Break,’ Xbox will continue to lead the industry with the biggest exclusives, new IP and blockbuster franchises that will delight gamers for the next decade and beyond.”  said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president, Microsoft Studios. 

    Gamers who reserve the following exclusive Xbox One Day One edition launch titles, also available in limited quantities at major retailers while supplies last, will receive special bonus content:

      • “Ryse: Son of Rome.” Exclusive multiplayer map and sword with bonus attributes.
      • “Forza Motorsport 5.” Access to four cars tuned to the top of their class.
      • “Kinect Sports Rivals.” Exclusive sporting equipment that separates your Champion from the rest of the world.
      • “Dead Rising 3.” Exclusive Frank West and Chuck Greene Tribute Packs with bonus attributes.

    [Via]

  • “Smaller” Windows 8 Tablets To Get Office 2013 For Free

    “Smaller” Windows 8 Tablets To Get Office 2013 For Free

    Aside from announcing that Outlook 2013 will be coming to Windows RT 8.1 later this year, Microsoft has revealed at Computex 2013 that all new “small” x86 tablets running Windows 8 will come with basic Office 2013 apps for free.

    So far, there are few details regarding what products will be eligible for the bundle, what version of Office will be included and whether it will be a time-limited deal, but we do know that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote will form the free package.

    Only x86 Windows 8 tablets will qualify for the bundle, as they are the only devices able to run the full version of Windows 8. The ARM processors used to power Windows RT devices, such as the Microsoft Surface RT, can’t run x86 applications and will miss out.

    This follows with what we’ve seen in recent tablet launches, such as the 8-inch Acer Iconia W3, which comes with a free copy of Office 2013 installed out of the box. Expect more information about Windows 8 and the inclusion of these Office 2013 apps at BUILD 2013, Microsoft’s developer event scheduled for later this month.

    Microsoft is also adding a version of its Outlook email and calendar app to Windows RT — the version of Windows 8 that runs on ARM-based chips from Qualcomm and Nvidia. Prior devices, such as Surface RT, came with only Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, along with a custom e-mail and calendar program.

    “We’re always listening to our customers and one piece of feedback was that people want the power of Outlook on all their Windows PCs and tablets,” Microsoft said in a statement.

  • Microsoft Targets Another 25 Million Xbox 360 Sales

    Microsoft Targets Another 25 Million Xbox 360 Sales

    Microsoft is still aiming for another 25 million sales of their eight-year-old Xbox 360 console, bringing the total to 100 million units sold. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s senior VP of Interactive Entertainment Business, speaking to OXM, said they expect half of these sales will come from new Xbox 360 owners, while the other half will be old console replacements.

    Speaking with OXM, Mehdi said of Microsoft’s hopes for Xbox 360, “We believe over the next five years we can break a 100 million unit installed base. That’s something we’re shooting for, it’s not a financial plan as such, it’s just rough numbers if you will.

    The company plans to bolster 360 sales with a “Huge Announcement” at the upcoming 2013 E3 show, according to the report.

    Microsoft Game Studios executive Phil Spencer recently told GameSpot:

    “I think the Xbox 360 is going to be very vibrant for many years. In fact, we have a huge, I think it’s huge, Xbox 360 announcement for E3 that I keep wanting to talk about, but I can’t. I think it will surprise people. I loved what we did last year with Minecraft; bring Minecraft to the box; six million units later it’s kind of a beast. I think there’s a lot of life in the Xbox 360 for years to come.”

    As regards hopes for Xbox One, it’s obviously a bit early to say, but Medhi does think next gen consoles as a pack can trump sales of their predecessors as handily as the latter trumped sales of theirs.

    “Every generation, as you’ve probably heard, has grown approximately 30%,” he said. “So this generation is about 300 million units. Most industry experts think the next generation will get upwards of about 400 million units. That’s if it’s a game console, over the next decade.”

  • Xbox One Will Allow Multiple Accounts On Single Xbox Live Subscription

    Xbox One Will Allow Multiple Accounts On Single Xbox Live Subscription

    It seems Xbox Live memberships can not only be used across both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but memberships can be used across multiple profiles. This means multiple profiles on a single Xbox One console can use a single Xbox Live Gold membership to be able to access Xbox Live Gold exclusive demos, cross-game chat and, of course, play online multiplayer.

    The “new generation” of Xbox Live will be compatible with both Xbox 360 and Xbox One and allow users to communicate with each other across consoles.

    Microsoft’s president of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, confirmed to Polygon players will be able to chat and communicate across the generational barrier between Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

    So you’re essentially paying for the IP of that console, rather than the online account.

    “We want to make sure that you and your son both have your own account,” Kilgore told Polygon, using the example of a parent and child sharing the same Live Gold membership. “We want you log in to get your stuff, and when he logs in to get his stuff. On that console, if you have Gold, he can use Gold as well.”

    Xbox Live Gold memberships offer a host of features, including online multiplayer games, free game demos, access to the Web via Internet Explorer, and movies and TV shows via services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus (not much use in India). The current membership costs $9.99 for one month, $24.99 for three months, and $59.99 for 12 months.

    [Polygon]

  • Xbox one first round of games revealed, Fifa 14, Forza 5, Call of Duty : Ghosts and Madden NFL 25

    Xbox one first round of games revealed, Fifa 14, Forza 5, Call of Duty : Ghosts and Madden NFL 25

    Microsoft just announced their next big gaming console revolution the Xbox One. The biggest developer as always has been EA games and it wasn’t much behind here either with  Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14, EA Sports UFC and the much hyper Fifa 14. 

    All new EA Games Titles will run on the new EA Sports Ignite game engine. EA’s Andrew Wilson said ;

    All four will launch in the next 12 months, All four will be revolutionary.All games will have Xbox One-exclusive content, which will be revealed in the coming months.”

    Xbox-exclusive Forza Motorsport 5 along with Turn 10 Studios racing series will  be among the console’s early titles. A new title exclusive to Xbox from Max Payne Developer-Remedy Entertainment called Quantum Break, a game title that will blend live action gaming with Live TV, details on how it will work are scarce now. 

    For FPS lovers, Call Of Duty : Ghosts from seasoned FPS developer ; Activation, will come first to the Xbox One. A trailer for this upcoming title has also gone live (see below). Expect this game to hit all consoles, but the Xbox-One version will have exclusive content. 

    Microsoft is also working on 7 exclusive Kinect based titles which will be launched alongside the new Xbox One, to take control of the exciting new features of the new iteration of the Kinect. 

    With the ability to capture gameplay, expect the likes of Youtube to be flooded with gameplay footage from users worldwide. 

    [youtube id=”Zxnx3W-HA18#!” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

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