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Steven Sinofsky leaves Microsoft

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:48:00 GMT

Just weeks after the launch of Windows 8 technology, Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft Window's division has stepped down.

Microsoft is currently giving no reason for Sinofsky's departure but has revealed that Julie Larson Green would be promoted into his position.

"Some might notice a bit of chatter speculating about this decision or timing. I can assure you that none could be true as this was a personal and private choice that in no way reflects any speculation or theories one might read - about me, opportunity, the company or its leadership," Sinofsky told industry publication Forbes.

"It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft."

Sinofsky's leaving, is one of many changes currently taking place at the top of some of the world's largest technology firms.

Tech giant Apple announced that Scott Forstall, head of iOS software was the leave along with head of retail John Browett following difficulties with Apple's new mapping software.

American internet titan Yahoo hired a new chief operating officer in October of this year in a bid to regain some of its market share. It also appointed Marissa Mayer, the company's third chief executive in the space of a year.

"The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft," CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer told the BBC.

"To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings."

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Microsoft to dump Windows Live Messenger for Skype

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:25:00 GMT

Microsoft has announced plans to "retire" its Windows Live Messenger (WLM) instant chat tool, and replace it with Skype.

The company acquired Skype 18 months ago, paying $8.5 billion (£5.3 billion) for the communications developer. With the announcement Microsoft said WLM will be turned off worldwide by March 2013, except in China.

WLM, initially known as MSN Messenger, launched during 1999 and over the years additional features such as video calls, photo delivery and games were added to the service.

In 2009, Microsoft announced WLM had 330 million active users, and according to internet analysis firm Comscore it still had more than double the number of users of Skype's instant messaging service at the start of this year - making it the second most popular after Yahoo Messenger.

However the report suggested WLM's US userbase was on the decline, with 8.3 million users representing a 48 per cent drop each year, while Skype increased in audience over the same period - a problem which industry experts branded "cannibalisation".

"When a company has competing products that can result in cannibalisation it's often better to focus on a single one," Brian Blau from the consultancy Gartner told the BBC. "Skype's top-up services offer the chance to monetise its users and Microsoft is also looking towards opportunities in the living room.

"Messenger doesn't seem like an appropriate communications platform for TVs or the firm's Xbox console - but Skype does."

Blau added Microsoft have taken steps to integrate Skype into its new Windows Phone 8 OS. Microsoft will offer a tool to migrate contacts over from WLM and hope this will minimise the risk of users turning to rival platforms, such as AIM or Google Talk.

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Windows 8 smartphone to be unveiled a week before iPhone 5

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:13:00 GMT

The long awaited iPhone 5 is set to see some rivalry from the new Windows 8 smartphone as bosses announce the sought after handsets will likely be unveiled within one week of each other.

The next generation iPhone is rumoured to be making its grand debut at an Apple event in San Francisco on September 12th, but it seems like they have been piped to the post by their Microsoft competitors. Nokia and Microsoft will are also set to unveil the Windows 8 smartphone in September at a joint media event in New York just one week prior.

Apple fans are delighted at reports the new iPhone will feature a larger screen than previous handset, vastly improved camera and 4G connectivity, and its even rumoured to be made of liquidmetal.

Bosses hope the Windows 8 smartphone handset will challenge competitors like Samsung's Galaxy with simple user interface and excellent operating system.

"I don't think about rewinding the clock and thinking about competing elsewhere," Stephen Elop, Nokia Chief Executive said

"In today's war... (between) Android, Apple and Windows, we are very clear, we are fighting that with the Windows Phone."

However with a global 2.3 per cent dip in mobile phone sales, it seems the world is waiting with baited breath for the new Apple iPhone.

Samsung shifted the most mobile phones in Q2 2012, grabbing 21.6 per cent of the market. Nokia trailed in second place with 19.9per cent and Apple placed third with 6.9 per cent according to recent market research by Gartner.

"While predicting the timing of the iPhone release is topical for investors, we continue to believe that whether iPhone 5 launches in the September or December quarter is largely irrelevant to the overall story, which we believe is that the new phone will be the largest consumer electronics product upgrade in history," Gene Munster, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, an asset management firm in the US, told the Wall Street Journal.

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Bing to launch personalised search sidebar with help from Facebook

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

Microsoft's Bing announced yesterday that it will add a new social sidebar to its search results pages, using data from Facebook and other social platforms to help users find information most relevant to them. The changes will be rolled out in the United States in coming days.

Bing explained the motivation behind the redesign by saying 90 per cent of people prefer to listen to their friends when making decisions. The announcement was accompanied by a video previewing the new personalised search results pages.

The Bing Team wrote about the changes in the company blog: "We value input from our friends and opinions from experts but at the same time want comprehensive, relevant and unbiased results.

"Recent attempts at social search haven't unlocked the full potential of tapping our social networks," the post said. "And the reason is pretty simple - social in search hasn't mirrored how people do things in real life."

The new social sidebar will appear on the right side of every results page for those signed in to Facebook. It will feature personalised data related to each specific search query, such as a list of 'Friends Who Might Know' - based on Facebook likes/interests - and a list of 'People Who Know' - based on their renowned expertise in the field.

It will also allow users to 'Ask Friends' and will include an 'Activity feed' synced with the Facebook newsfeed.

The Bing Team continued: "People have become as important as pages and search needs to evolve to embrace these changes. The challenge has been to figure out how to integrate the information you care about with the people who can be most helpful to you in getting stuff done."

This latest endeavour by Bing is yet another example of Microsoft's growing partnership with Facebook. However, speculation remains that Facebook may one day start its own search engine.

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Microsoft Blocks Pirate Bay Links in Windows Messenger

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:48:00 GMT

Microsoft has confirmed that it no longer allows users to send Pirate Bay links via its Windows Live Messenger. Links to the popular bittorrent site are now met with a warning message that reads: "The link you tried to send was blocked because it was reported as unsafe."

Though Microsoft didn't make a public announcement about the new security measure, it did confirm the ban after it was discovered and reported by the website TorrentFreak.

Microsoft told the BBC that user protection was main motivation behind blocking Pirate Bay links, saying:

"We use Smartscreen technology to protect our customers from malicious and unwanted content including phishing, malware and spam.

"We block instant messages if they contain malicious or spam URLs based on intelligence algorithms, third-party sources, and/or user complaints. Pirate Bay URLs were flagged by one or more of these and were consequently blocked."

The Pirate Bay was also in the news last month after its web host, Swedish company Binero, was asked to provide the Swedish Authorities with information about the site's owner. The website allows its 5.5 million registered users to share and download copyrighted files, such as films, music and computer software.

Online copyright infringement has been a major talking-point in recent months, from the controversial SOPA, PIPA and ACTA bills, to the official shutdown of file-hosting site Megauplaod in January. As authorities from across the globe seek new ways to combat illegal downloading, Microsoft's decision to ban high-profile bittorrent site Pirate Bay, while still allowing links to similar sites, may be more of a symbolic move than a mere security measure.

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Bing swings into action with new results buttons

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:49:00 GMT

While Google's spending time getting more social with Plus, Bing's just announced it will incorporate 'Action Buttons' to allow users to perform a number of tasks directly from a search results page.

Writing on the Bing blog, Deepak Vijaywargi, programme manager for the search engine, said the buttons would allow searchers to get things done quicker on the web.

"Now when you search across seven popular categories - including airlines, couriers (e.g. FedEx), restaurants, banks, rental cars, software downloads and hotels - you will be presented with buttons for top actions on the site, that directly take you to the page where you can complete your task," Vijaywargi said.

The buttons continue on from Bing's 'decision engine' branding, which the program manager said had been represented in the past by the engine presenting users with 'deep links' they felt relevant to the search.

Vijaywargi also said the particular buttons would be specific to a user's query, and that Bing would use an algorithm to determine which buttons to display.

"Based on how people search, our algorithms now determine top actions and corresponding links in the site for a given category with high precision," he said. "For instance, with airlines the top 3 tasks are: check-in to a flight, check the status of a flight or book a flight.

"For software sites, if you are searching for a specific product you likely want to download it. For car rental agencies, you'd like to rent a car, find out locations or contact them."

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Yahoo! hustles display ad deal to fend off Facebook

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:49:00 GMT

Carol Bartz may have just left the building, but Yahoo!'s newest CEO Tim Morse is already attempting to boost the portal's performance and fill the firm's coffers by flash-selling display adverts.

According to The Financial Times, Yahoo!'s top brass are hustling to secure a mutual ad-selling arrangement with Microsoft and AOL in a bid to ramp up ad revenues and stop Facebook from toppling Yahoo! in the US display-advertising market.

All three firms have remained tight-lipped on the issue, but industry sources let slip that the trio seem close to finalising a deal after making successful pitches to New York ad buyers earlier this week.

Details are still thin on the ground but it's thought that each of the firm's mad men sold premium ad space on their own pages to Manhattan buyers, as well as second-tier slots on partner sites.

The move could make buying display ads across Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL as quick and easy as buying search-related ads on Google.

However, critics have been quick to note that each firm can only guarantee premium space on its own network. Good placement on secondary sites, however, will likely be subject to each partner site's discretion depending on its own ad sales - potentially making for a tough sell to savvy media buyers.

Criticisms aside, Yahoo! seems quietly bent on rolling out the system by the end of this year - especially as the firm's second quarter display advertising revenues came in at just $467 million - $40 million below forecast - after a sales shake-up left the company with fewer hands to sell premium ads to big-name customers.

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Google updates search to include social

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:48:00 GMT

Search giant Google recently announced updates to its search service that will see SERPs include social results from Google+ users.

The update, only applicable to users signed in to Google+, aims to make search results more personalised by displaying a note under content their connections have already posted.

Google product manager Sagar Kamdar wrote on the Google Search blog: "This is just the latest step in helping you find the most relevant information possible, personalized to your interests and the people you care about."

Users can already influence their search results on Google with the +1 button, which appears under search results and on pages across the web. The new update takes the next step by connecting users with content on their Google+ networks to the wider web through search results.

Kamdar made sure to reiterate that Google would not include posts marked private on results pages to maintain users' privacy.

In Friday's posting, the Mountain View man also said the search engine would be rolling out the feature over the next couple of days.

Search rival Bing rolled out a similar feature in May, where individual search results were elevated if they received a 'Like' from a friend on Facebook.

According to CNET, Bing director Stefan Weitz said of the update: "Microsoft is deepening its relationship with Facebook, creating a bulwark against Google, which dominates Web search. The Facebook partnership offers Bing searchers something they can't get on Google."

However, as YouGov recently assessed Google+ could become the world's second-largest social network within a year, the Redmond-Palo Alto alliance could have its work cut out for it.

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Release date rumoured for Windows Mango mobile OS

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:25:00 GMT

A tech website has revealed Microsoft Windows set to launch new mobile operating system codenamed Mango for new handsets and existing Windows Phones on 1 September.

Pocket-Lint appeared to confirm rumours that the Mango OS will soon be rolled out on an international level, citing 'multiple trusted sources'.

The long-awaited Mango software will be the second version of its kind and Microsoft's latest attempt to compete with big brand leaders.

"That will be the date that the company will start its fight back against Android and the iPhone," Pocket-lint reported.

Windows hinted previously that Mango would be available sometime in the autumn, and the choice of launch date seems be perfect timing.

"The launch date, we now understand, has been chosen due to its importance in tying in with IFA, Europe's largest consumer electronics show in Berlin, and means that companies like Samsung, Acer, ZTE and LG will be able to show off new devices with Mango installed," Pocket-lint said

First announced by Windows back in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the new operating system is officially powering a new handset from Toshiba-Fujitsu in Japan and has several updated features over WP7.

"The WP Mango will implement multitasking and have improved email conversation view, [along] with threads that bring together SMS, instant messaging and Facebook chats," the BBC reported.

A September release, however, could miff Redmond's new partner-in-mobile Nokia, as the Finnish handset maker planned its first Windows Phone handset to hit the shops in October for the run up to Christmas.

Launching the Mango software before the Nokia handset becomes available could result in tricky business for the mobile manufacturer, plus cuts out one way Windows could get the edge on the competition, according to analysts.

"The key thing that sets apart Mango from the previous launch of Windows Phone is that it will be on Nokia devices," NPD Group analyst Ross Rubin told CNet back in June. "Mango phones will be the basis for Nokia's first entrée into the market since its deal with Microsoft. And it has the potential to deliver to a lot of volume for Microsoft."

Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny the alleged launch date.

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Blighty's smart phone use soars while Google gripes at rivals' mobile moves

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:48:00 GMT

Google's griped that Microsoft and Apple are hindering the success of Android using suspect mobile moves amid the news that smart phone adoption has soared among Blighty's teens and adults with Apple's iPhone topping Android-powered counterparts to be crowned Britain's must-have mobile.

According to BBC News, Ofcom found over half of British teens and a third of British adults now use mobile devices to surf the web, with Apple's iPhone the most wanted by mobile-mad Brits.

Smart phones, the telecoms operator said, are currently more popular with adult males (58 per cent) and teenage girls (52 per cent), than among grown women and teenage boys.

Facebook ranked as the site most visited by Blighty's mobile users, clocking up 43 million mobile hours in December 2010 alone. However, online banking activities and gameplay proved popular enough to distract some mobile-savvy Brits from status updates and photo-tagging.

And while the iPhone took top honours as Blighty's must-have mobile, Ofcom noted Apple's iPhone played second fiddle to RIM's BlackBerry among younger crowds, with 37 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds identifying BlackBerry as their brand of choice compared to the 32 per cent who plumped for Apple.

The news came as Google's accused Microsoft and Apple of pulling suspect mobile moves, including filing "bogus claims" against Android, after the pair joined forces to successfully outbid Google and secure the Nortel patents - a hotly contested portfolio of mobile comms technology and patents.

According to Google's official blog, Microsoft and Apple are determined to slow the growth and popularity of Mountain View's Android platform on both sides of the pond.

"Android is on fire," Google's senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond blogged. "More than 550,000 Android devices are activated every day, through a network of 29 manufacturers and 231 carriers.

"Android and other platforms are competing hard against each other, and that's yielding cool new devices and amazing mobile apps for consumers.

"But Android's success has yielded something else: a hostile, organised campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents."

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