Gadgets Blog » Microsoft

For years, Nintendo’s Wii has been the unrivaled leader in motion control technology with its nunchuk-like controllers that followed peoples’ movements and translated them to actions on the screen.

This year, both PlayStation and Microsoft unleashed their version of motion control, and Microsft Kinect for Xbox 360 seems to be leading the pack. Unlike both PlayStation and Wii, Xbox Kinect does not use a controller, instead using a camera to track the movements of the player.

When the player jumps, the character jumps. This controller and camera in one gives players the unique opportunity to have their direct image placed into the game screen, and it even reads clothes and colors and translates it to the screen for chats, etc.

Tech and gadget G4 recently tested this device’s capability to recognize specific clothing, from standard jeans and a T-shirt to a naughty school girl uniform, bikini and even nude. Jeans and even naughty school girl translated to the game, but the digital version of nudity was blocked. Unfortunately, it does not block direct video nudity, even though there are supposed to. That’s something for parents to watch out for.

Microsoft’s long line of operating systems defined an era of computing, and with good reason. Beginning with Windows 95, the company’s dedication to a user-friendly interface was remarkable. Early Windows operating systems were an excellent blend of graphical design and power using, with both serious and recreational users able to do what they wanted with the system.

However, later upgrades didn’t always precipitate the market change that Microsoft had wanted. The ill-fated Windows ME saw only a short span before being replaced by Windows XP. Most recently, the new Windows 7 system is having difficulty making its way into the computer market mainstream. Many companies and users initially opted to stay with Windows XP, which had remained a reliable choice even after the release of Windows Vista.

However, it appears that this trend is gradually dying, with more and more users making the switch from XP to Windows 7. The latest system from Microsoft has sold over 250 million copies so far, marking it as a tremendous success and a much-needed breakthrough after customer dissatisfaction with Windows Vista. The last hold-out on older operating systems, however, is only now getting under way.

Back when current generation gaming consoles were being released, a perplexing turn of events set Nintendo apart from its competitors. Where Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3 opted for high-powered machines that supported other kinds of multimedia, Nintendo kept the graphic capabilities on their Wii console relatively limited, embracing instead a motion-sensing control scheme that provided an extra dimension to their video games. Nintendo’s gambit seems to have paid off, with the Wii standing as a high-selling console with positive market trends on the rise.

Enter Microsoft’s reaction to the Wii. While the Wii controllers had motion-sensing devices built into them, Microsoft’s Kinect controller is entirely hands free. The device is capable of spotting human movement while mounted just in front of the television screen — no controller required. That person’s movements translate into in-game activities, creating an experience that Microsoft hopes will be perceived as more involved and compelling. The players don’t use a peripheral anymore. Instead, they use their entire bodies.

Way back when the original Microsoft XBox was just hitting shelves everywhere, the world first came into contact with a brand new hero. Master Chief, the warrior saving humanity in Bungie’s Halo, catapulted the franchise to international success. Never before had a first-person shooter for the console been executed so cleanly, with fast-paced action, addictive multi-player, and an epic storyline. Halo has since branched out into multiple-sequels, but developer Bungie has insisted this final entry into the saga, the prequel Halo: Reach, will be the last. And what a way to go out.

The storyline of Halo: Reach occurs before the action of any other Halo titles, when mankind first makes contact with the alien race the Covenant. A single-player campaign covers these early skirmishes as the combat goes from high-tension, suspense to large-scale battles against the aliens. The story mode has always been a highlight of the Halo experience, and Reach’s story is excellent in how it requires no prior Halo knowledge to enjoy. The campaign can be enjoyed solo or with up to three other teammates, making for a great cooperative experience.

Other multi-player modes offer up a great experience both online and off. Firefight pits up to four users against waves of enemies that become progressively stronger, allowing you to test your mettle and reach for new survival goals. The online multiplayer is perhaps the finest on XBox Live, with six different groups of games available from the main menu. There’s also a ranked-pool, something that Halo first introduced into online gaming, pitting more skilled players against each other in a competition for experience points and leveling-up. All of these modes are fully-customizable in a way few other games allow.

It’s hard to believe the 1990s were a staggering 10 years ago, and it must be even harder if you’re a fan of old-school computing giant Microsoft. The big-bad wolf of the 1990s tech boom, Microsoft has found itself in a bizarre place in the 21st century. Apple’s business model of providing both hardware and software for their electronics has earned them a new devout following, while Internet-based search giant Google has essentially given so many products out for free they’ve established themselves as huge player in the gadget world. What’s a multi-billion dollar company to do?

One glaring weakness in Microsoft’s armor has been Internet Explorer 6. The Internet browser, still the most common one in use, comes standard on Windows-running personal computers, but its prevalence has also opened it up to a number of weaknesses. Users craving security have turned to Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Google’s Chrome. That could be changing, however. With Internet Explorer 9, which was released in beta earlier this week, Microsoft aim to fix a number of these security concerns, once again providing a quality product for the millions who still use IE.

Amongst the most noticeable changes is the joining of navigation and search into a single bar. Much like Google Chrome, IE9 ties its navigation bar into the Microsoft Bing search engine, providing instantaneous searching and browsing of the web. Its an interesting step for Microsoft, who once scoffed at the idea and stated it compromised privacy too much. IE9 places its tabs next to the search bar, instead of above it a la Chrome or below it a la Firefox. This limits the amount of space each tab gets, which could be annoying for users (such as myself) who jump back and forth between a huge number of tabs at any given time.

This week, Microsoft unveiled what has to be one of the more exciting gadget-related stories of the year. Boasting a full-fledged preview in Engadget, similar in scope and depth as their notorious iPhone preview, the computing giant unveiled its tentative models for what could be their most important gadget of 2010.

The Windows Phone 7 marks an important area where Microsoft has lost ground to competitors like Google and Apple. The company may still have a relative lock on desktop computers, but as things stand now, portables like smartphones and tablets lack a consistent Microsoft product that can compete. Perhaps then, this would be the gadget to bring Microsoft back?

To be fair, it is a bit too early to tell just how great these phones will be. One key difference between Microsoft and Apple products is their manufacturing process. Microsoft designs the software on their phones, but the actual phone design and manufacturing is left up to other companies like HTC and Samsung. Apple, on the other hand, makes both software and hardware, creating what some feel is a better-integrated system. Microsoft’s Windows 7 has been fully integrated for mobile phones, replacing Windows Mobile 6.5, a product that was plagued with some less-than-stellar features.

While rival company Apple may have beat Microsoft to the initial launch, the computing giant of the ’90s has plans to strike back in a market where they have been hurting: personal electronics. The iPad, hailed as a computing revolution by bringing portable touchscreen technology to a new development point, has been the target of a serious amount of flack from hardcore computer users.

Specifically, Apple’s imposed limitations on the abilities of the iPad have made many customers frustrated, with the lack of third party applications and no way for the device to multitask programs. Combined with recent misgivings about the Apple iPhone 4, the proverbial iron seems hot for Microsoft to strike. In today’s news story, the giant did just that, announcing a line of tablet PCs with the potential to cut into Apple’s market share.

Yesterday’s top story in the technology world generated a huge amount of buzz, which is perhaps to be predicted. First and foremost, it involved the Media’s Favorite Company, Apple. This in and of itself guaranteed that here would be a disproportionately large media coverage, but to make things even better, the story pitted Apple against Microsoft. Indeed, according to an article in Business Insider, there’s a new king of the computing world as Apple’s market capitalization finally overtook Microsoft’s.

Before we get into analysis, let’s take a look at the raw numbers. At the end of the day on May 26, Apple’s market capitalization was sitting at $222.12 billion. Microsoft’s was close by, but distinctly less at $219.18 billion. The companies are the second and third most valuable American corporations, behind only Exxon Mobile.

According to one calculation of enterprise value, Apple is worth $200 billion, with Microsoft worth $197 billion. Market capitalization is the value assigned to a company based off its equity. Equity, largely in part, is determined by stockholders. So the second numbers become more important, as other calculations take factors such as outstanding Assets and Liabilities into consideration. Still, Apple stands as the more valuable company.

Yesterday we featured three excellent releases from Google that had incredible potential to lengthen the company’s lead in the world of cloud computing. Earlier this week we featured YouTube, the revolutionary video site owned by Google, as they celebrated their landmark fifth birthday. As if all of this Google-related news wasn’t enough to begin with, today (May 20), Google announced something capable of topping all prior announcements. Partnering with Sony, Logitech and Dish Network, Google is attempting to bring us a solid product where so many before have failed: our televisions.

Google TV, which was announced with one of the company’s trademark stylish videos, looks to synchronize all sorts of video media into one source for viewing on the television. The technology, at least in the video, looks fairly straightforward. With an Internet-connected television (or adapter box, for those of us without the brand new TV models), the user can search for media in a Google Chrome-esque bar. The video in question turns up from a variety of sources, including NetFlix, YouTube, and other online options. Sony and Logitech have plans to incorporate the system into televisions, while Dish Network will provide a small adapter box serving the same purpose.

While it’s an amiable goal on the part of Google, their success here could very much be a game-changer. For one, virtually every other company who have attempted such a thing have failed. AOL had AOL TV, which fell through. Microsoft’s Windows Media Player showed a lot of promise, but was brought down by difficulties in video formatting and relative difficulty of use. Even Apple has failed at this endeavor, with an Apple TV option that was closely related to your iTunes video library. While Apple’s incarnation was perhaps the best, it still suffered from limited video selection, primarily because videos had to be purchased from their official store.

If Google can manage to succeed in this endeavor, then they will be treading upon, not just other Internet companies, but also posing a threat to the entirety of television. While Internet-based TV may very well be the way of the future, there are some serious doubts for the time being. For one, high quality broadcasting would require a large amount of bandwidth, and YouTube videos could look grainy and poor on a high-resolution TV screen. Nonetheless, I suppose Google knows what they’re doing. Keep your eyes open for Google TV in the near future!

It’s a sad day in the world of technology. This last week saw the untimely demise of two of the most promising ideas on the market, bringing great disappointment to the world of consumer electronics. While these two items had little in common, one a music-listening service, and one a planned iPad killer, the combined loss in such a short span of time is disappointing and a bit frustrating at the same time. This week’s tech news roundup will focus upon what could have been as we mourn the passing of online-music service Lala and Microsoft’s innovative tablet, the Courier.

But first, Lala. The service had earned a remarkable cult following as a small independent company. The beauty of Lala is that it enabled the listener to access their music database from any computer with an Internet connection. While free services like Pandora provided music as well, Lala had a music library that was affordable, around $.10 per song. For such a modest fee, these songs belonged to the users and opened up for unlimited streaming. Not only was it a great idea, but Lala itself had a great business model, working closely with record companies large and small to bring listeners a wide selection.