Tag: microsoft

Indian Teenager Creates Windows Phone 8 Malware, To Present it At MalCon

A 16-year-old security researcher from India plans to present a malware application for Windows Phone 8 at the upcoming MalCon security conference in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 24.

The Trojan, created by 16-year-old Shantanu Gawde, is said to work by posing as a legitimate app which can access a user’s data once activated.

Fortunately for Microsoft and Windows Phone 8 users alike, Gawde is an ‘ethical hacker’ from India’s National Security Database program.

It is not yet clear whether the malware is able to affect Windows Phone 8 handsets by targeting a specific weakspot in the system, or by duping careless users into installing something dodgy.

Nevertheless, it poses serious questions over the security of the Windows Phone 8 OS – particularly as it shares several similarities with its PC counterpart.

Microsoft has yet to see Gawde’s findings and has therefore been unable to comment specifically on the nature of the risk.

However, Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Director Dave Fornstrum has said the company would “investigate any issues disclose” in the MalCon talk and “take appropriate action to help protect [its] customers”.

Although finding vulnerabilities could be potentially damaging to the Windows Phone image, it could also be seen as a blessing in disguise by allowing Microsoft to discover and amend such security issues before hackers have the chance to develop more advanced malware.

November 14, 2012
Microsoft Surface Tablet Gets Run Over by Car, Survives

What is worse than forgetting that you left your brand new Microsoft Surface on the top of your car before driving away? How about watching a car drive over your tablet as you helplessly stand by. And for the record, this was the 64GB model with an included Touch Cover that cost $699. That’s exactly what happened after a WPCentral forum member left his Microsoft Surface tablet on the roof of his car and proceeded to drive over it before recalling what he’d done.

[quote]He writes, “Each car passed by with the tires on each side of the Surface until the very last car. The tire of the car ran completely over the Surface and next thing I saw was my brand new $700 tablet and touch cover flying through the air in separate directions! My heart jumped, and so did I! I jumped out of my car and ran across the street to first grab the tablet, then the Surface, and then my phone which of course fell out of my lap during all this. I jumped back in my car just before 60 mph traffic made its way to me!”[/quote]

Pretty remarkable stuff, especially considering the Touch Cover prevented any screen damage whatsoever. During the Surface announcement, head of the tablet team Panos Panay dropped a Surface on stage in front of a ravenous and highly-skeptical tech media. To our surprise not only was the Surface unharmed, but he offered to do it again just to prove it wasn’t a fluke. In other words, Microsoft knows that the Surface is an incredibly well-built piece of technology.

November 13, 2012
Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s Windows Chief, Set To Leave

Microsoft Corp said the head of its flagship Windows division and the driving force behind Windows 8, Steven Sinofsky, will be leaving the company with immediate effect, days after the software giant launched the Surface tablet.

Just weeks earlier, Microsoft released Windows 8, the company’s biggest overhaul to its flagship software product in years. The departure raises questions about how Microsoft, one of the giants in the technology business, will prepare itself for a new generation of leadership.

In an e-mail sent to all employees Monday evening, Mr. Ballmer said that Mr. Sinofsky’s decision to leave Microsoft comes at the start of a “new era” for the company, with the release of a wave of new products like Windows 8.

“I am grateful for the work that Steven has delivered in his time at our company,” Mr. Ballmer said in the e-mail. Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, said Mr. Sinofsky was not available for an interview.

[quote]In a statement announcing his departure, Mr. Sinofsky, 47, said, “I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company.”[/quote]

Mr. Sinofsky was viewed as one of the most competent managers within Microsoft, and he earned high marks for helping to improve the quality of its software after the company released Windows Vista, a widely criticized version of the operating system. A former technical assistant to Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder, he was known to be a big admirer of Apple’s attention to detail in its products.

His name was often floated by people speculating about a possible successor to Mr. Ballmer, who has not announced any plans to retire from the company.

November 13, 2012
“Notification Center” For WP8 : We Ran Out Of Time Says Microsoft, May Come In Next Update

There is no doubt that Windows Phone 8 is beautiful, fast and, most importantly, a huge upgrade over its predecessor.

But one thing that Microsoft didn’t change, to the chagrin of almost every WP7 user, was the way the OS deals with notifications. When WP7 debuted in late 2010, neither iOS nor Android had what could be called great notification systems. Yes, Android has, from the beginning, had its drop-down shade, but one couldn’t dismiss individual notifications until Android 4.0. iOS, until its fifth iteration, had arguably the worst and most disruptive way of dealing with notifications in the industry.

Windows Phone, on the other hand, used toast notifications that were immediately intriguing. Combined with live tiles, they provided a simple way to view what was happening — emails, tweets, messages — without disrupting the overall user experience. Very soon, however, it became obvious that without a live tile consolidating these notices, it was possible to miss a notification and have no idea where it came from. Users were understandable frustrated by this, and expected something a little more robust in Windows Phone 8.

Alas, when WP8 was revealed in its entirety, not a mention was made to the notification system. Microsoft, however, is sensitive to the matter, and commented on it during BUILD. Microsoft’s Michael Fennel told an audience during a session on notifications, “We ran out of time. It’s very, very important to m. We get tons of feedback from developers that they want something like that as well. I promise we’re thinking very, very hard on that one.” While the statement is nothing more than a, “we’ll see,” and may not be implemented until WP8.5 or its equivalent, it’s good news to hear that Microsoft is giving it some serious thought.

November 12, 2012
Microsoft Office App For iOS And Android Due Early 2013

We knew that it was coming, after several leaks and a tacit admission from Microsoft, Office 2013 for iOS has finally been revealed in screenshots.

The software is still slated to arrive on iPhone and iPad in March, 2013, but based on the first looks of the software, it’s obvious that Microsoft is designing this from a Metro-style perspective, within the bounds of the iOS design framework.

An Android version is expected to come to market by May. Both will have free service, with optional subscription models adding revenue like OneNote for iPad does already. Viewing documents in Word, Excel and Powerpoint will be free, but a subscription to Office 365 will be necessary to edit and annotate. In other words, Office 2013 will be free to play. Like the version of Office for Windows Phone, these apps will allow for basic editing and syncing with SkyDrive; Microsoft doesn’t want to eat too much into its desktop market.

We haven’t seen what Office for Android will look like, but you can bet it won’t appear drastically different to what you see above.

[The Verge]

November 8, 2012
Rumour : Microsoft Readying A 7-inch Xbox Surface Gaming Tablet?

Microsoft is expected to release a 7-inch gaming-focused Xbox Surface tablet in the future, according to The Verge. Back in June, we heard rumours that Microsoft would be releasing something called a Xbox Surface tablet, but that unsubstantiated info took a back seat to the actual Surface tablet announcement later that day.

Since then Microsoft hasn’t commented on the smaller version of its tablet series, focusing instead on the 10.6-inch Surface RT and upcoming Surface Pro devices. But if you cast your mind back to that warm day in June, the Xbox Surface was on tap to sport a 7-inch 1280×720 pixel screen, a custom ARM processor and speedy graphics chip. The Verge posits that the tablet won’t run a full version of Windows 8, but like Windows Phone 8 will have a kernel based on the real thing, just tuned for gaming. You can count on a massive graphics chip and multiplayer functionality, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Kinect brand makes an appearance in the product’s marketing.

Considering the original Surface was one of the best-kept secrets in the industry, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft maintain a couple surprises of its own before the device is officially announced. When that will be is still up in the air, so stay tuned for more.

November 7, 2012
Microsoft will kill the Messenger, merge it with Skype

Microsoft has announced that it will retire long time messaging champion MSN Messenger and will streamline transition into recently acquired Skype. The Skype client added support for Messenger contacts and chat just two weeks ago, when version 6 was released. Within six months, the Skype client will be the only option available for connecting to Messenger contacts.

Though the Skype client now connects to both Skype and Messenger networks (and Facebook too), the networks are at present still separate, and there’s no bridging between the two. Microsoft is working on moving users in a fast way, Messenger users signing in to Skype for the first time have to either merge their account with their own Skype account, or create a new Skype account if they don’t have an existing one. Users of the Skype client can see both networks; Messenger clients, whether first- or third-party, will only see Messenger users.

For those worried about their buddy list, rest assured the list will be transferred to Skype.

[Skype]

November 7, 2012
HALO 4 comes to the Gaming world with a Bang

Microsofts biggest game series ever HALO will get its newest edition the HALO 4 to the world today. Microsoft hopes the return of the laconic green-armored super-soldier protagonist of Halo, which has generated $3 billion of revenue since its 2001. The Game launched in 40 countries starting midnight tuesday. The Halo series, made by Microsoft Game Studios, spearheaded the company’s foray into gaming that began with the 2001 launch of the first Xbox. It has sold more than 46 million copies to date and helped the console lead the market ahead of Sony’s

The Game will be launched and will compete alongside Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty Enterprise.

[quote] “Because there hasn’t been a game to star “Master Chief” for five years, there’s a bit of a pent-up demand,” said Ryan McCaffrey, Xbox Executive editor at videogame website IGN.com. “Call of Duty has taken over as the most popular game on the Xbox, so I think it will be very close,” [/quote]

HALO 4 is expected to haul a large gaming re-ignition with Microsoft, and is being pegged at the biggest thing to have happened to Gaming since the original HALO. Microsoft also held a massive launch event last week in the small country of Liechtenstein in Europe. Some historic landmarks and the countryside of the 62-square mile nation was transformed into a futuristic Halo-like universe and reporters were allowed to test the game.

November 6, 2012
Microsoft Testing A Surface Phone?

After the launch of the Surface tablet, Microsoft (MSFT) is reportedly is busy testing a smartphone with Asian suppliers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, it is not clear if the device will enter into mass production. The phone comes with a screen size between four and five inches, The Verge has reported.

Though previous reports suggested that Microsoft was mulling its own flagship Windows Phone, the device is unlikely to be unveiled before 2013.

The company is waiting to gauge the reception of its partners’ products — Nokia’s Lumia 820 and 920, HTC’s 8X and 8S, and Samsung’s ATIV S — before committing to bringing the phone to market. Unlike Android vendors, Microsoft keeps its phone hardware partners on a short leash, so few of the software elements can be changed. And even Nokia thinks it would be a good idea for Microsoft to release its own phone.

It’s possible that the company is waiting for sales numbers of its Surface tablet in order to see whether consumers are willing to buy into Microsoft as a device company.

November 3, 2012
Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac updated for Windows Phone 8
The Mac app for connecting and syncing your precious upcoming Windows Phone 8 device has been updated on the Mac App Store. Not only has the app been updated to Version 3.0 but it has also received a new “Windows Phone” name, to prevent further name changes one can presume. The app has added support for Retina MacBooks and also drag and drop sharing capabilities b/w some of Apple’s native apps like iPhoto and iTunes.

The new app will support all upcoming phones including the ATIV S, HTC WP 8X and 8S along with the Nokia Lumia Devices. Full Changelog below :
- Support for Windows Phone 8
- Drag and drop files between Windows Phone and your Mac desktop
- Drag and drop files from Finder to your Windows Phone 8 devices
- Support for iPhoto 9.3.2 and Aperture 3.3.2
- Support for battery charge state (Windows Phone 8 devices)
- Enhanced capability support for ringtone files (Windows Phone 8 devices)
- Support for Retina display Macs
[Mac App Store]
November 2, 2012
HTC Will Launch the new portfolio including Windows Phone 8X and 8s for India and Asia Today

We are in Singapore for the launch of the new HTC Windows Phone 8 Devices, including the Windows Phone 8X and the 8S alongside Android devices like the HTC One X Plus. We will get you cover by cover so stay tuned to iGyaan and expect updates on Twitter ( @iGyaan) and Facebook as they happen.

HTC Windows Phone 8X will Be HTC’s flagship running Windows Phone 8 operating system, which was officially released on the 29th of October. It features a completely new approach to Windows Phone 8 Devices with a new polycarbonate unibody design and a list of new bright colors. The HTC Windows Phone 8X features a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4.3 inch display, 16GB of inbuilt storage and 1GB of RAM. WiFi a/b/g/n, NFC and an integrated 1,800mAh Li-ion battery. There’s also quadband radio support for GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSPA/WCDMA (850, 900, 1900, 2100MHz) and LTE where available.

The HTC Windows Phone 8S also features similar builds but has a dual tone look. The display is a rather sharp 4-inch, 720p screen. For memory there’s 1GB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage, with room for an additional 32GB via microSD expansion. That actually puts it above the 8X, which is stuck at 16GB of space thanks to its lack of expandable memory support.

The HTC One X+ (plus) will come with a faster 1.7GHz Tegra 3 CPU, larger 2,100mAh battery, expanded 64GB of storage and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sense 4+ onboard. The One X+ is targeted to replace the One X as a new flagship for Android.

No information on pricing, but all of the above are pegged at a pre Diwali availability. Stay tuned for more information.

November 2, 2012
Windows Phone 8 SDK now available
Microsoft has finally released its long-awaited software development kit (SDK) for Windows Phone 8. It’s been a long time coming, but it makes sense since today is the first day of Microsoft’s BUILD conference in Redmond, Washington.

The SDK is described as an environment “for building apps and games for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5.” That’s pretty obvious but why 7.5? That’s the odd thing here.

It has a stand-alone Visual Studio Express 2012 edition. It can also work as an add-on to Visual Studio Express 2012 edition for Windows Phone or works as an add-in to Visual Studio 2012 Professional, Premium or Ultimate editions. Microsoft says the SDK also includes emulators and additional tools for profiling and testing a Windows Phone app under real-world conditions.

Requirements:
- Hardware:
  - 4 GB of free hard disk space
  - 4 GB RAM
  - 64-bit (x64) CPU
- Windows Phone 8 Emulator:
  - Windows 8 Pro edition or greater
  - Requires a processor that supports Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
October 31, 2012
Windows Phone 8 Launched

Microsoft lifted the veil on its latest Windows Phone 8 (WP8) operating system (OS) at an event in San Francisco today. Handsets from HTC, Samsung and Nokia will feature the new mobile OS. Huawei is expected to launch a device as well. Those living in Europe will be able to get the new WP8 handsets this weekend. Other markets, such as Asia, are expected to be able to buy the handsets in November.

“There’s one more thing that sets Windows Phones apart,” said CEO Steve Ballmer. “That is new, killer hardware.”

The flagship of the Windows Phone lineup is the Nokia 920, built out of a partnership between the two companies. It will be available in the U.S. in November.

Two other high-end smartphones, the Samsung Ativ S and HTC Windows Phone 8X, were previewed by CEO Steve Ballmer.

“The global launch of Windows Phone 8 is just starting,” said Ballmer.

The software presents a very different home screen from the rows of icons found on Apple or Android phones and is a key design feature of the operating system.

Its design uses the same active tiles found on Windows 8, Microsoft’s new PC operating system that launched Friday. The tiles are constantly changing with fresh information so, for example, a weather tile will update with the latest forecast while the email app will show the latest message received.

“The static grid of icons has been the standard on smartphones,” said Belfiore. “We decided not to use that tired old metaphor. Our way is to put people at the center of the experience.”

People users interact with can be given their own tiles so that the latest interactions on email or social media are updated.

“It’s the most personal smartphone operating system you can get and keeps you closer to the people that matter most in your life because of that,” he said.

New features include the speed of Internet Explorer 10 which it said was up to seven times faster than the version on WP7.5 at handling webpages based on the commonly used Javascript language. In addition it has been designed to make use of devices’ graphics processing units (GPUs) to render videos or animations written in the HTML5 computer language.

The firm also showed off Kid’s Corner – a function designed for parents who give their handsets to their children to play with. It allows them to restrict access to a limited number of apps without giving access to email, phone call or text message functions.

Microsoft said a survey had suggested about two-thirds of smartphone-owning parents in the US had used the handsets to occupy their children while out shopping, visiting friends or some other activity.

Another new feature is Rooms which allows users to create an invitation-only environment in which members share their calendars, notes, photos and other material. The firm suggested it might be used to help families, sports teams and other community groups stay “in sync”.

Microsoft also made much of an “always-on” Skype experience.

This addresses one of the major flaws with its previous mobile system which had not allowed the video chat program to run in the background. That had meant that users of iOS and Android phones had been able to receive calls while using other apps, but WP7.5 devices had not – a notable omission bearing in mind Microsoft paid $8.5bn (£13.7bn) to buy Skype in 2011.

Overall, it has been an interesting day with the WP8 launch and Google’s announcements! More to follow.

October 30, 2012
Microsoft Officially Unveils Windows 8 and the Surface RT tablet

Microsoft has brought thousands of people to New York to celebrate the launch of its Windows 8 operating system and its Surface RT tablet, available October 26th. Touting 670 million users of Windows 7 and over 15 petabytes of data stored in its Skydrive cloud, Microsoft is confident that Windows 8 will become even more successful than its predecessor.

One major aspect of the announcement is bringing more attention to Windows RT, a version of Windows 8 optimized to run on ARM-based processors such as Nvidia’s Tegra 3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 family. This is the version of Windows that will first become available on Microsoft’s Surface tablet — the Intel-powered Pro version will be available in the coming months — and will be limited to running apps downloaded from the Windows Store. While this severely limits the potential audience of Windows RT, Microsoft has promised that the Windows Store will contain more apps upon its launch than any other ecosystem did when it launched.

Microsoft claims that there have been over 1,000 PCs, in varying styles and sizes, certified to use Windows 8. The ARM-based PCs and tablets will have extensive peripheral support, supporting the majority of mice, keyboards and printers. As for apps, Microsoft promises that top brands will feature in the Store, as well as first-party apps such as Xbox Music, Games and Movies.

October 25, 2012
Skype gets up to Version 6.0 Integrates Microsoft Accounts and brings Retina Support
Skype 6.0 gets a host of new features along with compatibility with Retina display Macs and future similar display PC’s. The new Skype adds the ability to sign in directly with your Facebook or Microsoft account including Hotmail, Live or Outlook. Skype 6.0 will also add Modern UI friendly look on Windows * machines/ tablets to up it game. Now you can instant message your Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts via Skype all in one place. Skype 6.0 also brings localization languages in Thai, Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian, Catalan and Slovak, bringing the total languages Skype supports to 38.

[toggle_box title=”Skype Blog” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Today we have released a new version of Skype for Desktop. Get it now for Windows orMac.

What’s new:
Sign up and sign-in is easier than ever. You can now sign into Skype 6.0 using your Microsoft or Facebook account – there’s no need to create a new Skype account. This makes it even easier to connect with friends on Skype without having to set up another account.
Now you can instant message your Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts via Skype all in one place. If you use a Microsoft account today, merging your accounts is easy – just sign in to Skype with your Microsoft account.
We’re working on polishing a feature which will enable audio and video calls to Windows Live Messenger customers using Skype 6.0 desktop clients. The feature will be available in coming weeks.

We want to hear your feedback. Discuss what matters to you on Skype Support Network or report glitches on our public issue tracker.

Here’s more of what’s new with Skype 6.0 for Windows Desktop:
We are excited to support our growing community around the world with new localized versions of Skype 6.0 in Thai, Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian, Catalan and Slovak, bringing the total languages Skype supports to 38.
We have refreshed and flattened the Skype 6.0 UI with a simpler and less cluttered look. We have updated the look of the instant messaging and SMS areas as well.
We have removed the online user counter at the bottom of your Skype Contacts list to unclutter the UI and make more space for your friends within the contacts list.
When you change your profile picture, we will now show you all of your previous Skype 6.0 profile pictures so you don’t have to look through old files if you want to use a previous image.
We are constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of our product. To that end we are adding additional “opt-in” telemetry reports for users who choose this option: “Tools>> Options>>Advanced>>Tick “Help improve Skype…” The reports may contain your Skype ID and or Microsoft Account ID but we will not use it to identify or contact you.

Here’s more of what’s new with Skype 6.0 for Mac Desktop:
We hear your feedback! With this release we’ve added support to open chats in multiple windows.
We also added another feature you’ve asked for – support Retina display. Now you can take full advantage of improved usability and of higher resolution screens.

Known issues for Skype 6.0 for Mac:

Category Description Workaround

Account On Mountain Lion the profile image picker does not work as expected – recent images can’t be seen and effects can’t be added None available

Release build for Skype for Windows is 6.0.0.120 and on Skype for Mac is 6.0.0.2946.

Volunteer localization of Skype for Windows has been done by:
- Bulgarian: Nikolina Filipova & Nikolay Filipov
- Chinese (Simplified): Wang Miao (TOM.com)
- Chinese (Traditional): Penny Yang, Carlos Lee (PChome)
- Czech: Petr Silon
- Dutch: Kees Koenders
- French: Fabrice Imperial & Bruno Lépaulard
- German: Claudius Henrichs & Dick Schiferli
- Hungarian: Mark Bender
- Italian: Daniele Conte
- Lithuanian: Viktoras Kriukovas
- Norwegian: Stig Auestad
- Polish: Karol Szastok
- Portuguese: Francisco Ferreira
- Romanian: Péter & Mónika Henning
- Turkish: Ömer Emin Dede
- Ukrainian: Vitaliy Kupchynskyy
Volunteer localization of Skype for Mac has been done by:
- Bulgarian: Nikolay Filipov
- Brazilian Portugese: Fabio Roselet
- Dutch: Alexander Henket
- Estonian: Triin Tähema
- French: Jean-Pierre Kuypers
- German: Claudius Henrichs
- Norwegian: Kenneth Stevenson
- Polish: Bohdan Zielinski
- Portuguese Portuguese: Francisco Miguel Ferreira
- Spanish: Carola Clavo
[/toggle_box]

[Skype]
October 25, 2012

Category	Description	Workaround
Account	On Mountain Lion the profile image picker does not work as expected – recent images can’t be seen and effects can’t be added	None available

Tag: microsoft

What’s new:

Here’s more of what’s new with Skype 6.0 for Mac Desktop: