E3 starts tomorrow. Microsoft press conference starts now. If you are from the really impatient ones, we have two X360 trailers to enjoy before the official announcements. The first one has just become available and is all about the Kinect Star Wars game, that should put the Force in your hands for real.

Demo Below!

Microsoft showed off its progress with Windows 8 at the D9 Conference as promised. A 4 minute video demonstrates how they have broken away from the interface that has been slowly evolving since Windows 1.0 and they haveve gone for something that looks a lot like Windows Phone 7. The major change here is the Start screen thats right, gone is the iconic Start menu, replaced with a tile-based screen, much like the WP7 one. Instead of shortcuts, apps get a tile, which they can use to display various relevant info.

A tap on a tile will launch the full-blown app. Much of the apps Microsoft showed were written in HTML5 and JavaScript, which I supposed was dictated by the need for apps to run on both x86 (Intel, AMD) processors and ARM processors (from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments).

Microsoft made it clear that they have showed only a part of the work they have done so far Windows 8 supports native apps that run on Windows 7. Once you start a native app, you are dropped out of the tile-based interface and into something that looks just like the Windows 7 desktop.

Its interesting how Windows 8 handles multitasking as well a swipe on the screen moves between full screen apps. A neat trick is that if you do not swipe all the way through, you can dock an app so that the screen is split between both apps and you can readjust the split later. That trick works with native and HTML5 apps though if you mix them it looks kind of unnatural.

Demo Below!

Microsoft is aiming to limit the variety of future Windows-based tablets by enticing chip makers to work with only one device maker,three sources tell Bloomberg.

The move would allow Microsoft to have greater control over upcoming tablets running Windows 8, and it would also help avoid the problem of trying to support endless hardware variations something that has been a problem for Microsoft on the PC-side for decades. The move is not surprising since Microsoft hasalready established stiff restrictions for Windows Phone hardware.

The plan would involve chip companies like Intel, AMD, and Nvidia choosing a single computer manufacturer for Windows 8 tablets. Microsoft is not making the restriction mandatory, Bloomberg reports, but its offering incentives to chip and device makers that should tempt them towards forming "sole alliance". Potential benefits could include lower software prices and features that would make Windows work better on particular tablets, the sources say.

But while the "sole alliance" plan will certainly be good for Microsoft, many manufacturers will inevitably be left out. Already, Taiwanese manufacturers HTC, Acer and Asus are complaining about being excluded from the short list of manufacturers Microsoft is presenting to chip makers, Digitimes reports. Microsoft is instead offering up Dell, HP and Samsung as recommended manufacturers.

Microsoft will also allow chip makers to choose another manufacturer for netbook-like Windows 8 devices. The sources also made it clear that Microsoft will not be pursuing similar restrictions for the desktop version of Windows 8 on traditional PCs.

Microsoft has chosen to "nurture" the talents of a 14-year-old boy who attempted to hack into the company online gaming network, Xbox Live, rather than slap the kid with lawsuits. The lawsuit approach to hackers is presumed to have led to Sony online game network being crippled for nearly a month.

Microsoft has clearly learned from Sony lesson, because Xbox Live competes directly with Sony PlayStation Network along with other online networks that sell games and demos like Valve’s Steam network for the PC and Mac computers. Sony lost around $171 million while the network was down for 24 days. The PlayStation Store, a critical service for Sony that lets it sell games and distribute them digitally, still remains offline.

Online hacktivist group Anonymous, which routinely takes up political causes like defending Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, brought Sony PlayStation Network (PSN) online gaming network to its knees with a distributed denial of service attack as part of "OpSony." The group attacked Sony because the company tried to prosecute George Hotz, a 21-year-old hacker who modified his PlayStation 3 to install unauthorized software a process called jailbreaking the device.

About a year ago, Microsoft formed a patent agreement with HTC that entitled it to royalties for all HTC Android phones. Now, it appears that deal is paying off big for Microsoft.The software giant has made five times as much from HTC Android phones as it has from its newly launched Windows Phones, according to calculations by Asymco Horace Dediu.

Dediu relied on numbers from Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, who stated that Microsoft gets $5 for every HTC Android phone made. Considering that HTC has sold around 30 million Android phones, Dediu estimates Microsoft made around $150 million through its royalty agreement with the company.

Microsoft in January said that it had sold 2 million Windows Phone 7 licenses to manufacturers, and with an estimated $15 per phone licensing fee, Dediu figures that Microsoft only made $30 million from Windows Phone last year.

According to some internal sources, Microsoft is preparing to preview its tablet-oriented Windows OS next week. As I already reported, Windows 8 will debut next year on various gadgets, including ARM-based tablets.

As the rumor has it Microsoft will preview the new Windows for tablets on a Tegra2-based device. This should happen on the conference in California next week.

Apple has sold almost 20 million iPads since its launch in April 2010 and is already working on the iPad 3. Now it is a good time for Microsoft to step in the game, otherwise it will be really hard to catch up later.

Its no secret Microsoft is working hard on the next Windows installment for some time, but its the first time we hear something official about it. According to Steve Ballmer, Windows 8 will be optimized for "slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors". Ballmer also noted Windows 7 sold over 350 million licenses worldwide and it brought lots of improvements touch, ink and speech.

Ok, what we know so far is that Windows 8 for PCs will look much like its predecessor with a few UI changes, while the game changer should happen into the touch-based gadgets slates, tablets, etc. There is still no info on how and if Windows 8 will help the game development. I guess everyone is just too busy waiting for Duke Nukem Forever, so we will know after the impossible happens in June.

Here is another interesting extract from the Ballmer interview:

“And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there is a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8.”

Great NEWS  for college students!

Microsoft announced today that it will offer a free Xbox 360 with 4 gigabytes of storage (a $199 value) to any student who purchases a Windows 7 computer for $699 or more.

Its a smooth move for Microsoft, since it gets Xbox 360s into even more dorm rooms, gives students one more reason to go with a Windows PC instead of a Mac, and is a great way to get rid of its low-end Xbox 360 stock. Even better, Microsoft is allowing students to purchase any Windows 7 PC over $699 though it recommends a few specific models like the sexy Samsung Series 9 ultraportable.

Apple has offered students similar deals in the past by offering them a free iPod Touch. But by offering students a free Xbox 360, Microsoft will also ensure that it has a presence on their televisions. At this point, the Xbox 360 is more than just a game console its an entertainment centerpiece thanks to its support for Netflix, Last.FM, and Microsoft Zune Market.

Work HARD... Play HARD!

Now you have the option to make your payments on Xbox Live by using your PayPal account. Along with adding a great dose of convenience, this new feature will also add an extra layer of security to your transactions.

Speaking of security, we have all seen what has happened to Sony PlayStation Network which was recently hacked, causing Sony to take it offline, a state it remains in currently in some countries. But if Sony follows in Microsoft footsteps and enables PayPal payment option, it could safeguard its users from further attacks on their accounts and credit card information, as users would not need to have them there any more. And considering the number of PayPal users, this move could work in everyone favor.

Microsoft has just sealed a deal for acquiring Skype Technologies SA company. The deal is for $8.5 billion the biggest sum Microsoft has paid for an acquisition up to date. They are certainly overpaying but they desperately need to expand their online services portfolio. The rumors about this acquisition started just yesterday, but its official now.

Skype was bought by eBay in 2005, but the plans to use it to ease the communication between buyers and sellers fell apart. Today the major shareholders in Skype are a group of tech investors. It seems Microsoft has bought the remaining eBay share of 30% and all the shares from the investors group.

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.