Tag Archives: Microsoft

Microsoft shakeup: J Allard & Robbie Bach leave the company

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After a flurry of rumors, this week Microsoft confirmed that Microsoft Chief Experience Officer J Allard and President of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division Robbie Bach will be leaving the company this year.  It was rumored that J Allard, known to many as the “father of the Xbox”, abruptly decided to resign from his post at the company after the Microsoft Courier tablet was erased from potential existence.  This was immediately shot down by Allard himself in a letter to the company that mentions “no chairs were thrown” when he made the decision to leave.  After working at Microsoft for nineteen years, he says that he’s now ready “to put some energy into [his] passion for design, the arts and philanthropy.”  For the time being, however, Allard will remain with Microsoft as an “advisor” to CEO Steve Ballmer and he has no plans to jump ship to other tech companies like Google and Apple.  Here’s an excerpt from Allard’s goodbye letter titled Decide. Change. Reinvent.; look after the break to read it in its entirety. 

If you’ve been following along, you probably understand just how difficult it was for me to decide to leave the tribe and explore new territory, but the time has come. My passion for our cause combined with my obsessive nature has put many of my other interests on hold for a long time. I don’t know exactly what tomorrow looks like – but if my focus has been 95% MSFT, 5% life until now, I know that the first step is to flip that ratio around. After wrapping some projects up, I will shift to 95% life and 5% MSFT. With that 5% I’ll be working for SteveB on a couple of projects beginning this fall.

Robbie Bach, whose been with Microsoft for about 22 years, will leave the company outright this fall.  Though he’s only 48, Bach is labeling his departure a “retirement” and he says that the decision to leave the company was his alone.  “I’m at the time in my life where I want to dedicate more time to my family and my nonprofit work, including my work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.”  Click here to read an informative TechFlash Q&A with Bach.  Here’s an excerpt from company letter written by Ballmer concerning Bach’s departure; look after the break to read more. 

After almost 22 years with the company, Robbie Bach has decided to retire from Microsoft. I have worked with Robbie during his entire tenure at Microsoft, and count him as both a friend and a great business partner and leader. Robbie has always had great timing, and is going out on a high note — this has been a phenomenal year for E&D overall, and with the coming launches of both Windows Phone 7 and “Project Natal,” the rest of the year looks stupendous as well. While we are announcing Robbie’s retirement today, he will remain here through the fall, ensuring we have a smooth transition. 

So how does this shakeup affect Microsoft?  With Allard and Bach out of the picture, this leaves Andy Lees, head of the mobile communications business, and Don Mattrick, head of the interactive entertainment business, reporting directly to Ballmer concering mobile and gaming initiatives.  I will always remember when I was first introduced to J Allard when the original Xbox was announced back in 2001, and it was great to see Robbie Bach in person at Microsoft’s CES keynote this past year.  Their experience and expertise will be noticably missed at Microsoft.  I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. 

[Via Engadget; Joystiq; ZDNet, here & here; MicrosoftBlog] Continue reading Microsoft shakeup: J Allard & Robbie Bach leave the company →

Halo: Reach gets September release, Bungie thanks players with video

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Mark your calenders, people.  Halo: Reach will release September 14, 2010.  And if you’re an ultimate Halo fan and expecting to get your game on day one, be sure to preorder as soon as possible.  Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop: “Pre-orders for ‘Halo: Reach’ have been off the charts, with fans snapping up the limited and legendary editions since they were introduced just a month ago.  Overall, it’s a real testament to the passion of the ‘Halo’ fan base.”

The Halo: Reach beta invitational was a huge success for developer Bungie and Microsoft.  Over 2.7 million gamers participated in the beta, playing over 13 million games for over 16 million hours.  In a fun way to thank Halo fans for taking part in the beta, Bungie compiled a bunch of in-game footage captured by players.  The video, embedded above, contains some awesome sticks and impressive kills..so check it out.

[Via IGN; Joystiq]

The Microsoft Courier is no more

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At any given time, we’re looking at new ideas, investigating, testing, incubating them. It’s in our DNA to develop new form factors and natural user interfaces to foster productivity and creativity. The Courier project is an example of this type of effort. It will be evaluated for use in future offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time. – Frank Shaw, Microsoft Corporate VP of Communications

And just like that, Microsoft confirmed and, unfortunately, denied the Microsoft Courier.  Back in September Gizmodo broke news that Microsoft had a magical tablet of sorts in the works; pictures and even a video of the prototype device had found its way into the mainstream.  Then came October and November, and those months brought more leaked video and images.  Then as recent as last month hard details surfaced; this “digital journal” running an advanced varient of Windows Phone 7 with enhanced UI features like dragging, flicking, copy & pasting, and “pocket”-ing all of a sudden started to come alive.  And then the words of Frank Shaw shut it all off.  The Microsoft Courier, the future proto-tablet that could, ceased to become a reality.

According to sources close to the matter Microsoft did hire an internal team to work on the Courier and there were actual plans to tranform it into a marketable device.  However, Microsoft just recently ordered Team Courier to close up shop.  Reasons, unknown.  Although the Courier prototype we’ve come to know and love thanks to a slew of leaked renders is dead and gone, all is not for naught.  We may very well see the innovative user interface deisgn come to fruition in some other Microsoft project(s) in the works.  But it’s a shame, really.  Microsoft–you had something BEYOND AWESOME with this thing!  Oh well, Windows Phone 7 will have to fill the void.

[Via Gizmodo; Endadget]

Steve Jobs shares his “thoughts on Flash” [Update: Adobe responds, Microsoft jumps in]

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs released an open letter today regarding his position on Adobe’s Flash standard for video.  He breaks down his argument against Flash with the following categories: there’s “open”; the full web; reliability, security and performance; battery life; touch; and “the most important reason.”  That is, “If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features.”  Quick summation: Jobs calls Flash proprietary and closed; he shares his excitement on the rise of H.264 and the coming of HTML5; Flash makes Macs crash; since Flash decodes in software it eats away battery life; and Flash was not designed for a touch environment.  His concludes: 

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

But you should really read it for yourself, just look after the break.  Pretty compelling argument, eh?  Sure, H.264 and HTML5 are the future of video for mobile devices.  But Flash is in the here and now.  Ah, Jobs you’ve got me arguing for both sides now.  Form your own opinions in the comments below!

Update: Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch formally responded to Jobs’ open letter.  His short blog post is called “Moving Forward” but after reading it what he really means to say is moving past Apple.  Look after the break to see the rebuttal. Continue reading Steve Jobs shares his “thoughts on Flash” [Update: Adobe responds, Microsoft jumps in] →

Microsoft Kin: the device for “Generation Upload”

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On Monday Microsoft finally lifted the covers off ancient rumored devices dubbed “Microsoft Pink” by introducing their next foray into the mobile space called Microsoft Kin.  Microsoft recently aquired Danger, the company behind the Sidekick; created with Sharp, the Kin devices are essentially next-generation Sidekicks.  At its core, and well all around it, Kin is a social networking phone aimed at tweens.  Microsoft is calling its target market “Generation Upload”, 15-30 year olds who are all about chatting, texting, taking and sharing photos, and constantly updating their favorite social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  Note that Kin is not a smartphone; smart dumbphone is more like it.  Although it’s built upon Windows Phone 7 and shares similar UI aesthetics, it can’t run apps and it’s closed off to many other WP7 features like Xbox Live.  This is all by design, really, since Microsoft is really pushing it strcitly as a social networking device.  Kin contains two family members, Kin One and Kin Two.  Both devices contain three unique features: Kin Loop, Kin Spot, and Kin Studio.

Kin Loop: This is your home screen.  It’s the place where all your social network content gets aggregated and displayed.  Loop aggregates information from four selected services: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Windows Live.  Information is updated in real time (well, every fifteen minutes unless you manually hit refresh).  So what you need to understand is this: the device does not run apps for these services; they live on the phone at all times.  Your profile picture and current status is visible at the top of the screen.  The rest of Loop is covered in recently updated statuses from the friends you converse with most often.  If you want to delve deeper into their page, simply tap their picture and you’ll be transported to their standard profile page.

Kin Spot: There’s a small green spot located at the bottom center of the screen at all times.  This dot allows you to collate all kinds of stuff and share it all with your friends.  For example, if there’s a picture, video website, status update, or map you want to share with one of your contacts, simply drag and drop the content into Spot and you’re one tap away from sending it off to your friends.  Enter Spot by tapping it and select the contact and content you want to share.  Content can be shared over SMS, email, or social networks.

Kin Studio: This is where all your device’s content is stored online.  Everything that you have on your Kin (contacts, pictures, videos, etc.) is backed up to “the cloud.”  In this case the cloud is Kin Studio, a website based on Silverlight that can be accessed on any computer.  So if you lose your Kin, all the data that’s on it continues to thrive online at Studio.  Also, Studio makes for a great way to watch and enjoy your Kin’s content on a larger display.  Studio’s UI is impressive; it features a visual timeline and supports geotagging in a map, allowing you to pinpoint exactly when, say, a photo was taken, and where it was taken, respectively.  It’s a very seamless experience; if you update something in Studio (for example, add a video), the change will take effect on your Kin device, and vice versa.

Kin also comes loaded with a custom IE web browser.  The display is capacitive with multitouch support, enabling pinch-to-zoom in the browser, but there is no Flash or Silverlight functionality.  Also included is a fully functional Zune player (hrm, minus Zune gaming), allowing for music,video, and radio playback.  Zune on Kin will provide the same experience found on Zune HD players and (soon) WP7 devices.  You can stream music over WiFi and 3G and there’s full support for Zune Pass, meaning you will always have access to your entire Zune library.  For Mac users, Microsoft will be providing software to sideload your iTunes music and iPhoto pictures to a Kin device.  Note, this is not a Zune client for Mac, it just a way to get a Mac user’s content from Mac to Kin; no Zune Marketplace access for you!  Now let’s distinguish between the two members of the family. Continue reading Microsoft Kin: the device for “Generation Upload” →

Microsoft demos new pen & touch input on Surface

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Microsoft Research is back with a new way to interact with their Surface multitouch table.

Manual Deskterity is a prototype digital drafting table that supports both pen and touch input. We explore a division of labor between pen and touch that flows from natural human skill and differentiation of roles of the hands. We also explore the simultaneous use of pen and touch to support novel compound gestures.

The combination of pen and touch input makes for a wide range of gestures like holding, tapping, dragging, and crossing that can be used in ways you likely have never seen before.  Check it out in the video demonstation above.  I smell a hint of Courier here.

[Via MyMicrosoftLife; Engadget]

Windows Phone 7 Series drops the ‘Series’ from its name

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When Microsoft first announced its mobile reboot as “Windows Phone 7 Series” there was immediate backlash due to its length and, well, it’s quite the mouthful.  After some deliberation, Microsoft decided to listen to its critics and potential customers; the new mobile OS is now branded “Windows Phone 7.”  Ahh, soo much better, isn’t it?

And while we’re still feeling the effects of April Fool’s Day, I’ll let you in a little Windows Phone 7 gag that got me and the rest of the tech community.  On April 1 PocketNow broke news that all WP7 devices would not support replaceable batteries, falling in Apple’s footsteps.  They reported: “The move is intended to promote clean and attractive hardware designs which are sure to impress. Nobody wants to see an ugly battery cover latch on a phone running something as beautiful as the Windows Phone 7 Series OS.”  But it turned out to be a hoax.  So there you go.

[Via Engadget]

First WP7S ad does the trick

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Meet Anna, Miles, and Luca.  They are the ficticious family Microsoft has decided to use in their first commercial spotlighting their brand new mobile OS.  Windows Phone 7 Series is shown off in all its panoramic glory by way of enlarged heads up displays.  Thought it’s nothing spectacular, Microsoft gets it right by featuring the OS’s most prominent features like the connected people hub, photo sharing, and Xbox Live.  With WP7S devices due out this holiday season, let the marketing blitz begin.

[Via Engadget]

Microsoft details WP7S at MIX’10: developers, developers, developers

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This past week Microsoft revealed more details surrounding its brand new mobile phone platform, Windows Phone 7 Series.  During their WP7S launch event last month, Microsoft showed off all the UI basics and promised more information to come this month at their annual conference held for developers and web designers called MIX.  And boy did they deliver.  MIX’10 proved to be a highly informative conference, focusing on how developers will get their applications onto WP7S devices.

Technical details.  Third-party developers will have access to XNA and Silverlight tools to create applications for WP7S devices.  Microsoft is offering free dev tools, providing Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and Expression Blend for Windows Phone, to get things started.  In addition to these programs, developers also have access to many services like Microsoft Location Service, allowing devs to make their apps location-aware, and Microsoft’s Notification Service, a push notification system much akin to Apple’s that allows devs to send notifications to users of their apps, regardless of the app being open.  Notifications slide down in a tray at the top of the screen (less obtrusive than Apple’s pop up way of doing it).  Other prominent services that devs are given include multitouch, accelerometer, and camera & microphone support.  If you are a developer or know someone who is a developer, Microsoft is offering free beta versions of the dev tools today at developer.windowsphone.com.

Where will all the apps be sold, you ask?  In the Windows Phone Marketplace, of course!  Just like the rest of the hubs, the Marketplace hub will be “panoramic,” meaning menus are opened with left and right slide gestures.  Microsoft is encouraging all developers to create trial versions of their full apps.  The Marketplace supports credit card purchases, operator billing, and ad-supported content.  Purchased apps can be pinned to the user’s home screen for easy access.  Finally, the revunue split:  70% goes to the publisher, 30% to Microsoft.

Marketplace partners.  Microsoft announced the first slew of app partners and they include exciting picks like Pandora, Sling, Shazam, EA Mobile, Namco, Foursquare, and the Associated Press.  Look after the break for a full listing of all partners.  A majority of the demos show that at least this initial batch of apps will deeply integrate with the WP7S look and feel (think panoramic views and shiny, sleek interfaces).  Many of them show off 3D animations, incorporate images and video, and they can reach into your local content (like a photo editing app opening up a picture you took).  The most interesting app demo came from Netflix.  They demoed a prototype app that supports Watch Instantly, allowing a subscriber to browse and watch their Netflix collection on the go.  Unfortunately this was being pushed as a concept, and we likely won’t see anything like it for some time.  Another exciting app demo showed off the gaming capabilities of WP7S devices.  The Harvest is a 3D Xbox Live-supported title that excited developers with its gorgeous graphics, destructable environments, and Xbox Live in-game leaderboard, gamerscore, and acheivement support.  Look in the gallery below for screenshots from some apps.

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Lingering questions are answered.

Multitasking: WP7S will not support true multitasking.  Microsoft’s first-party applications will run in the background when exited, but third-party apps will remain in a suspended state until the device needs additional resources.  For example, Microsoft apps like Internet Explorer and the Zune music player will run in the background, but other apps like Yelp will be forced to quit when not in direct use at any point without notification when you start opening other apps and the device needs to access more resources.  This “intelligent app management” is also purportedly found in Google’s Android OS.

Copy & paste: Following in the footsteps of its big competitor, WP7S will not support the copy & paste function at launch.  Apparently this was a conscious decision made by Microsoft; they believe cell phone users do not use this function very often.  Instead, Wp7S devices will use a data detection service that recognizes text input like phone numbers and addresses.  Hopefully they won’t take as long as Apple did with bringing clipboard functionality to its mobile OS.

What’s contoso?: Contoso is the placeholder name Microsoft added to the Marketplace UI, and now we know its purpose for being there.  Microsoft has alloted a space in the Marketplace for phone carriers to put their own branded store.  So this is a separate place where Verizon Wireless can sell their content to users, for instance.

Hardware minimum requirements: capacitive touch; A-GPS, accelerometer, compass, light and proximity sensors; 5 megapixel camera with flash and an independent camera button; 256MB RAM, 8GB Flash; DirectX 9 & codec acceleration; an ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion CPU; and Back, Start, and Search face buttons.  Initially Microsoft will require all handsets to boast a 800 x 480 (WVGA) resolution screen.  An update will allow for 320 x 480 (HVGA) screens at a later undisclosed date.

Exsisting WP7S devices: At Mobile World Congress, we were introduced to the Asus model.  At MIX, two new devices were unveiled–a Samsung slate and LG slider (the first with a keyboard).

All in all, MIX’10 was a huge invitational for all developers and Microsoft welcomed them with open arms.  Microsoft is making it extremely easy for developers to jump into Windows Phone 7 Series by offering free dev tools.  With their stringent hardware minumim requirements and terriffic initial batch of app partners, the apps out of the gate should look great and function well.  With graphics-intensive games like The Harvest linking Xbox Live to cell phones, Microsoft could very well raise the bar for mobile gaming, giving the App Store and its growing number of sub-par games (and even the likes of DS and PSP) a tremble in their boots.  I am really digging Microsoft’s start-from-the-ground-up mentality and I am excited to see what developers can do with their brand new mobile platform.  However, as many have pointed out, Microsoft is stuck in a classic case of Catch-22: Microsoft wants customers to choose WP7S phones and developers to write programs for them.  But developers won’t bother pushing their apps into the Windows Phone Marketplace if customers aren’t attracted to WP7S phones, and customers won’t purchase WP7S phones if they don’t offer a wide-ranging marketplace of apps!  Microsoft still has more work to do.  Priority number one?  Come up with a good marketing campaign.

[Via Engadget, here, here, here, here & here; Gizmodo; Slashgear]

Continue reading Microsoft details WP7S at MIX’10: developers, developers, developers →

Xbox 360 to get USB mass storage support this spring [Updated]

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The fine folks at Joystiq have corroborated with two outside sources, confirming that “USB Mass Storage Device Support on Xbox 360” is coming this spring via a firmware update.  The update will allow Xbox 360 users to transfer Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Indie games, Games on Demand, DLC, and game updates to an external storage device.  According to the leaked Microsoft documentation, the external device must be at least 1GB in size with space for a 512 MB system partition.  After you insert the storage device into the 360,  a prompt will give you two options: “configure now,” which completely wipes the device and caps 16GB of space for game file content and “customize,” which readies the device for game files and allows you to keep non-game files on it such as music.  So what can we deduce from all this?  It looks like the Xbox team is willing to pull out of the Memory Unit (MU) business and finally allow its customers to use their own external storage devices, an ability PS3 users have had since that console’s introduction in 2006.  Also, with recent chatter that a slimmer Xbox 360 is in the works, the design team may opt to remove the MU slots entirely.  Sure, 16GB of external space (or 32GB if you choose to insert two USB devices) isn’t much, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.  Hell, that much space allows for “previously infeasible operations such as installation of a full disc-based title.”  Full games on the go sounds nice, now doesn’t it?  (Disc-in-tray authentication is necessary, of course.)

UPDATE: Microsoft’s Major Nelson has confirmed USB mass storage support is coming to Xbox 360 via a system update on April 6.

[Via Joystiq]