A war of words has begun between Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky and Intel senior vice president Renee James, after the Redmond giants claimed Intel have made innacurate claims about the forthcoming Windows 8 software.

Speaking at the Intel Investor Meeting, James said that the Intel team had found many legacy applications currently running on Intel's x86 processor line would not work on ARM versions of Microsoft's new OS.

"There will be four Windows 8 SoCs for ARM," she said. "Each one will run for that specific ARM environment, and they will run new applications or cloud-based applications....They are neither forward- nor backward-compatible between their own architecture - different generations of a single vendor - nor are they compatible across different vendors. Each one is a unique stack."

Microsoft's Sinofsky immediately went on the defensive, issuing this statement:

"Intel's statements during yesterday's Intel Investor Meeting about Microsoft's plans for the next version of Windows were factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading. From the first demonstrations of Windows on SoC, we have been clear about our goals and have emphasised that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time."

Via: Businessinsider.com

Just a quick stat here pointed out by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, following Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of VoIP company Skype.

Roll back a mere seven years and Microsoft could have bought Apple for that much money, and still got $1 billion dollars worth of change from the transaction. The Cupertino company was worth just $7.5 billion, before its valuation sky-rocketed over the coming years.

Sure, you'd have to factor in inflation and the like, as well as the difficulty anyone would have had in predicting the astonishing success of the iphone, let alone iPad. But you cant help but feel Microsoft may have got a bit of a rough deal here.

For a full breakdown of Apple's metoric rise to become a >$300billion dollar company, click here.

Remember last week when we told you that both Facebook and Google were fishing with big-money lures in an attempt to catch voice and video chat service Skype? Well forget that; it seems Microsoft are now the front runners to buy the VoIP company.

Despite already having a tie-in with Facebook and engaging in joint venture talks with Google, it seems Skype have been tempted by a massive $8.5 billion deal with Microsoft.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, Skype's financial advisory team, seem to be doing a great job; set to be floated publicly this year, Skype was expected to have an estimated value of around $1 billion.

Either Microsoft are feeling particularly flushed with cash, or Skype drive an awfully hard bargain then.

Via: Reuters

UPDATE [10th May 13.24 GMT]

We've just got official confirmation that Microsoft have indeed nabbed Skype. Here's the release, with a press conference to follow shortly:

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Skype CEO Tony Bates will hold a press conference on May 10, 2011, to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft Corp. will acquire Skype S.A., a leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion from the investor group led by Silver Lake.

The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities. The combination will extend Skype's world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft's existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.

More details to follow folks!

Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft is quite the eccentric, often compared to the reclusive Howard Hughes. His enormous wealth has funded no end of bachelor fantasies (including owning his own private space rocket and jamming with the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger).

In a candid interview with CBS 60 Minutes just ahead of the release of his memoirs "Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co-founder of Microsoft", Allen recalls his early days with Bill Gates, and his eventual falling out with the world's richest man. Apparently Allen overheard Gates calling him "unproductive" whilst Allen was recovering from Stage 4 lymphoma cancer, and would often start "personal verbal attacks" against his partner. It was like "being in hell" says Allen, who left Microsoft in 1983.

You can catch some extras from the interview by following this link.

With the Honeycomb tablet onslaught growing by the day, Microsoft's tablet offerings are looking more and more irrelevant. That may soon change however, if the latest rumours surrounding the release of Windows 8 prove true.

Microsoft have announced that their annual Professional Developers Conference is to take place from September 13th to September 16th, and with it the growing possibility that Windows 8 will be revealed.

As well as giving the desktop OS a fresh lick of paint, Windows 8 is also expected to be the first time Microsoft build an operating system with a focus on tablet devices. With Apple's iPad range as popular as ever and more and more Honeycomb tablets set to hit the market before the summer is out, that September Windows 8 launch, giving Microsoft breathing space to get the OS out the door by early 2012, seems a sensible move.

Via: Business Insider

We're still probably at least a year away from the launch of Windows 8, but already we're starting to get a few trickles of information about Microsoft's forthcoming operating system update.

Alongside a Windows Phone 7 style log-in screen, it looks like much of the interface will rely on the Ribbon-style controls previously seen in the lastest incarnation of the Office software suite. The shots also reveal a new File menu set-up.

It's a long way off from completion yet (as illustrated by the strange gaps in the screenshots) but it's a brief early taster of what to expect either way. Click below for some shots of Windows 8.

Via: Windows Within

The Active Views project is intended to keep users in Hotmail when they get a link to other sites. So if you get a picture link sent to you from Flickr, say, you will be able to see it without leaving Hotmail - ditto YouTube videos.

Yesterday Hotmail announced an extension to Active Views, meaning more types of businesses will be included. From now on, users who get emails from Netflix will be able to update their movie selections from the email. Blogging site Posterous will enable comments on posts directly from the email, with similar services available for LivingSocial, LinkedIn and Your Digits. No news on Facebook yet, though.

"In traditional email with just a text link, the percentage of people clicking through is less than 10%. With Active Views, customers are clicking on the video control in about 25% of all email messages with a video," Windows wrote in its blog.

MSN and Hotmail now lets users add up to five new and unique email addresses to their existing address, the company announced about a month ago. It's a great idea - most people juggle more than one email address depending on whether it's work or play, not to mention keeping one around for anything that may generate spam.

Gmail gaining ground
Hotmail was my very first email account, I abandoned the good ship MSN when Gmail came along and offered users loads of storage. Gmail also let you forward your mail to other addresses, to name some of the flexibilities it had even back then, meaning Gmail became my email of choice and Hotmail became the spam-receiver.

A quick straw-poll among friends shows that this has been the case for many Hotmail accounts over the past few years, and while the sample group is small it's safe to say Hotmail (and Yahoo mail) has suffered from the success of Gmail. But then this Hotmail Alias thing came along, and as I need another email address I eyed an opportunity not to have to familiarise myself with yet another webmail system.

Getting an Alias
So I logged into my Hotmail account and clicked the button for 'Options', looking for how to add an Alias. Now, I will admit to not looking around for more than about five minutes before giving up, but that's a very long time in web-land isn't it. So I googled the problem - yes, basically asking the competition how to set up Hotmail Alias. Google came through with more than one handy step-by-step instruction, and the problem was solved in a minute. If you want to know, the procedure is 'options', 'more options', and then click on 'Windows Live'. I've seen the button for Windows Live when logging into the Hotmail account, but I'd never paid much attention to it. A peek around this Windows Live-place reveals something like a personal profile page, but there is one strictly practical element: The option to add multiple email addresses within your existing address.

I'm not sure why MSN feels a need to separate this from the Hotmail side of things, because it seems natural to search the Hotmail side to perform an act related to, well, Hotmail. But adding my new email showed you can choose between an address with the hotmail.co.uk suffix, or live.co.uk, so maybe that explains the logic behind it. Adding the new email was quick though, and about ten minutes later a confirmation email was sent telling me the new address was ready. But the system doesn't tell you need to wait for this conformation, meaning I initially thought the setup had failed as my first test email bounced.

... but why the clunk?
The new email is now live and kicking within my old email page, and when sending an email I can choose which address to use as the sender. I have also set up a separate folder for all email that comes to the new address. Again this works well once it's set up, but for some reason the system won't let you divert it into an existing folder - it forces you to create a new folder. A small problem, granted, but it adds to the clunkiness of the process.

In conclusion - Hotmail Aliases is a great idea, and once it's set up it works really well. A for effort, MSN. But the setup process is unnecessarily complicated. In the end it took less than fifteen minutes, but that was thanks to the kindness of internet strangers having created a tutorial to help me manoeuvre a fiddly system. Fifteen minutes is a long time for something that should probably have taken less than five minutes. So while it's a great boost for Hotmail, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. If this is representative of Hotmail's effort to regain the webmail crown, I suspect Gmail needn't lose sleep any time soon.

A new report from Bloomberg is stating that Microsoft's tablet optimised version of Windows will now be launching in 2012.

Ready in time for the "back-to-school-season", that could mean as late as next Autumn. Which, considering the iPad 2 launches in just over a week, Honeycomb tablets are shipping and the BlackBerry Playbook is just over the horizon, sounds a ridiculously long time away. It does however line up with previous rumours concerning Windows 8's launch, adding authenticity to the claims.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was bullish last year when he claimed that 2010 would be awash with Windows tablets by the end of the year, but large numbers failed to materialise, and the slates that did appear were disappointing to say the least. Windows 7 simply isn't suited to touch controls, and needs a major overhaul if it is to compete with iOS and Android-packing devices.

Given that by next fall we'll likely have an iPad 3, a next-gen Playbook and a Honeycomb eco-system that's likely to be thriving with apps, hardware and Android-tablet-manufacturing-experience, Microsoft face a steep hill to scale before their tablet arm sees any major success.

A new coupons, deals and vouchers service will be integrated into US Bing serach results, Microsoft have confirmed via the Bing blog. The money-saving tips will cover "more than 200,000 unique offers in over 14,000 cities and towns across the US".

The new Bing deals will not be sold directly by Microsoft. Instead, they are the result of a new partnership with The Dealmap, a US deal aggregating service whose sources include Groupon and Living social.

Stefan Weitz, Bing's director, told the Paidcontent blog: "Instead of creating our own program and starting from scratch, we're looking for opportunities where [it] makes sense, for us and the consumer, to partner with leading industry experts."

Bing's new features are the latest in a growing line of location-based deals services that include the likes of Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places.

So Apple wants to trademark 'App Store' so no one else can use this term when it comes to selling similar things. This may seem fair enough, but Windows begs to differ.

'App Store' is too generic to be trademarked, Microsoft has complained to the US patent authorities, claiming it would restrict competitors' ability to describe their own products.

Now Apple has launched a protest to Microsoft's protest, helpfully pointing out that Microsoft is sitting on one of the most generic trademarks itself: Windows.

"Having itself faced a decades-long genericness challenge to its claimed Windows mark, Microsoft should be well aware that the focus in evaluating genericness is on the mark as a whole and requires a fact-intensive assessment of the primary significance of the term to a substantial majority of the relevant public," Apple said in the filing. "Yet, Microsoft, missing the forest for the trees, does not base its motion on a comprehensive evaluation of how the relevant public understands the term App Store as a whole."

Microsoft predictably (or generically?) responded by saying it remains confident.

Google's outgoing chief executive Eric Schmidt used his keynote speech in Barcelona to have a dig at Nokia after being snubbed by the Finnish mobile giant in favour of a partnership with Microsoft.

During the talk, Schmidt revealed that Google had held "extensive" discussions with the firm about using its Android operating system, before Nokia announced it would opt for Windows Phone 7 instead.

"We would've loved if they would have chosen Android; they chose the other guys," Schmidt said. "I think we were pretty straightforward. We would like them to adopt Android at some point in the future; that offer remains open." "We think Android was a good choice for Nokia, and we're sorry they made a different choice," he added. Nokia plans to begin shipping Windows Phone 7 handsets this year but is unlikely to shift large volumes of Microsoft powered smartphones until 2012.

During an intriguing question and answer session, Schmidt batted away questions over Facebook and whether it was encroaching on Google's business.

Schmidt said that Google still looked upon Microsoft as its biggest competitor and that Facebook was "additive", with no evidence suggesting that the social network was cutting into his firm's ad revenue.

When asked if there were any truth to the rumours that Google and Facebook were looking into buying Twitter, Schmidt responded by saying simply, "We love Twitter, and I love to tweet."

Nokia are now to make Windows Phone 7 smartphones, which means the Finnish handset manufacturer will now also have Xbox Live compatible software in their hardware.

"Microsoft will bring a great software platform and the brands consumers want, like Bing, Xbox Live and Microsoft Office. Nokia will bring our leading mobile devices," said Nokia CEO Stepehn Elop.

"We are both bringing our unique services and devices. We will help drive the future of this platform. We will bring Windows Phone to extended price points and market segments."

Windows Phone 7 devices allow owners to log into their Microsoft Xbox 360 Live community accounts, racking up competitive gamer scores in compatible apps and also sending messages to friends also subscribed to the Xbox Live service. Nokia's new handsets will now also offer this functionality.

Xbox Live on Nokia handsets? It'll beat another round of Snake anyway...

Nokia's Investor Event kicked off in London this morning among the flurry of news surrounding the new partnership between the Finnish handset manufacturer and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform.

Nokia will now officially be using Windows Phone 7 as their core smartphone OS, but that nearly wasn't the case according to Nokia CEO Stepehn Elop, who took to the stage with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to talk through the details of the partnership. Android very nealy became the OS of choice.

Elop explained that Nokia had "explored the opportunity with the Google ecosystem...there's some attractive elements but our fundamental belief is that we would have difficulty differentiating."

Problems "commoditizing" the software, as well as the growing number of Android handsets at all price points were noted as hurdles, particularly given Nokia's already-sturdy mid-and-low range catalogue of handsets.

Elop has a point when it comes to making the Android software experience unique and there are certainly difficulties when making "differentiating" incusions to the OS. Only HTC, with the Sense UI have managed to truly put a worthwhile stamp on the platform that is their own. But with Windows Phone 7 software all-but-identical from handset to handset, you have to wonder how differentiated even Nokia's new WP7 gear turns out to be.

1,000 UK apprenticeships will be created over the next three years, Microsoft has announced.

The news comes as London mayor Boris Johnson and Business Secretary Vince Cable launched National Apprenticeship Week in the City, and have called on big business to take a more active role. The Mayor hopes to drum up 20,000 new job opportunities in the capital by the end of the current academic year, with 9,000 jobs so far secured.

'London is the engine room of the UK economy and over the next three years Microsoft intends to deliver 1,000 apprenticeships in the capital through our network of partners,' commented Stephen Uden, Microsoft's head of Skills & Economic Affairs. Microsoft has a network of 5,400 small- and medium-sized enterprise IT partners in London, where it can train young, unemployed people as technical support assistants.

In addition to Microsoft, Virgin Media will provide nearly 90 apprenticeships for London, while major law firm Norton Rose said it swill take apprentices onboard as part of its recruitment programme.

Microsoft has filed a motion with the US Patent and Trademark Office, aiming to force Apple to give up the "App Store" trademark. They are arguing that the name is too generic and are even using Steve Jobs' own words against him to prove it. When Apple applied for the trademark in 2008, Jobs was quoted as saying "Amazon, Verizon and Vodafone have all announced that they are creating their own app stores for Android."

"'App store' is a generic name that Apple should not be permitted to usurp for its exclusive use. Competitors should be free to use 'app store' to identify their own stores and the services offered in conjunction with those stores."

Currently Microsoft's version of the App store is going by "Marketplace."

The CES tradeshow of January 2011 will likely be the moment when Microsoft reveal the latest range of Windows tablet devices, according to the NYT.

Speaking with "people familiar with Microsoft's plans", the NYT suggests that Steve Ballmer will once again take to the stage to demo the new gear, with Dell and Samsung slates getting top billing.

The Samsung number, reportedly sporting a QWERTY keyboard, could be the rumoured Gloria tablet previously featured here on Tech Digest. It is described as "similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin. It also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing".

There is also suggestion that a Windows 8 operating system for tablets, featuring a "layered interface" may rear its head at the event.

"[Microsoft] believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work", said a NYT source.

According to new research commisioned by Microsoft, as many as 68% of Brits planning to buy PC software this year are considering purchasing pirated versions in a bid to save some cash. It's an issue close to Micrsoft's heart, and for good reason; alongside counterfeit copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on DVD, their Windows 7 operating system is expected to be the item most affected by knock-off sales.

Michaela Wardell, Head of Piracy at Microsoft says: "For years, British consumers have been ripped off by dodgy dealers selling counterfeit software. This trend is set to continue if we don't raise awareness of the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by the counterfeiters.

"Over the last 18 months, counterfeiters have changed tack, we're now seeing more pirated products being advertised at higher prices. These higher price points, whilst still highly discounted, appear more realistic to consumers seeking out a Christmas bargain.

"Unlike a pirated DVD or counterfeit handbag, the negative effects of counterfeit software are far greater. People are opening themselves up to a host of problems such as identity theft and data loss. These are serious issues and it's absolutely vital that consumers are on the look-out and checking before they buy."

An interesting fact to come out of the research? Men are 20% more likely to pick-up dodgy software than women.

Microsoft are launching a new browser based version of their Games for Windows Marketplace.

Looking to directly take on Steam with Live integration, competitive score tracking, daily deals and Gamertag/Gamerscore compatibility with Xbox 360 accounts, it's Microsoft's most aggressive push into PC gaming territory for some time.

Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc called the new Games for Windows Marketplace "an easy way for PC gamers to discover, buy, and download their favorite games.

"Anyone can browse the marketplace, but to buy and download all you need to do is sign in with your Windows Live ID. The Games for Windows Marketplace integrates with Xbox LIVE so if someone signs in with the same Windows Live ID they use for Xbox LIVE, the Games for Windows Marketplace will display their Gamerscore and Xbox LIVE avatar at the top right."

100 games are currently available through the service from the likes of 2K Games, Activision and Capcom among others.

Find out more by clicking here.

Ever wondered how much it costs to market two high-profile tech launches in the same year? Well, if you're Microsoft looking to tout your new range of Windows Phone 7 devices and Xbox 360 motion-controlling Kinect kit, you're looking at roughly a cool $1 billion.

It's a figure Austin Power's arch-nemesis Doctor Evil would be proud of. Split in two, that amounts to roughly $400 million on the smartphones and more than $500 million on Kinect. That's nearly £649,525,000 to us English folk.

Kinect in particular has quite an extravagent launch planned. Cross brand tie-ins with Burger King, Pepsi and Kellogs are all lined up, a mjor television ad campaign that will involve the Disney channel, Nickelodeon and spots between hit shows such as "Glee" and US talent show "Dancing with the Stars", as well as a rumoured involvement from directorial maestro Steven Spielberg.

This is in addition to over 7,000 midnight game store openings to conincide with the launch stateside.

"Kinect is the largest, most integrated marketing initiative in Xbox history, bigger than [the Xbox 360's] launch," said general manager of global marketing communications at Xbox, Robert Matthews. "We are going to be spending millions to launch this globally."

Here's hoping it pays off.

Via: All Things Digital / New York Post