Author Archive
Microsoft Executive Creates Cologne
January 20th, 2011 by DustinA Microsoft VP of Sales has decided to broaden his scope of sales. He has created a perfume and cologne that smells like money. While this may be cool to some people, I certainly wouldn’t want to attract the gold digger types out there. At least musicians can come out with something useful: liquor (Cabo Wabo, among many others).
Patrick McCarthy, a vice president of sales at Microsoft, took a break from his day job to create His Money Cologne and Her Money Eau de Parfum, a line of his-and-hers fragrances that are designed to make the wearer smell like a million bucks — or more, depending on how much you put on.
Xbox 360 Update Locks Out Pirates
January 19th, 2011 by DustinMicrosoft quietly let out an update today to fix a problem that they created in a November update: the ability to Boot to disc. In the process, they also have disabled the ability to play pirated copies of some games. While I don’t approve of piracy, the ability to backup your bought software has always been an issue.
The update is mandatory and Xbox 360 owners will be prompted to update the next time they sign-in to Xbox LIVE. Microsoft has also blocked some popular flashed firmware disc drive modifications with the update. Pirates typically flash their DVD drives with modified firmware to bypass Microsoft’s game security checks.”Anti-piracy 2.5″ is the software giant’s latest attempt to thwart console pirates. According to nearly 200 posts on a popular Xbox 360 moding forum, pirates are having a number of issues loading games after the mandatory update.
Microsoft.com Supports New Metro UI
January 18th, 2011 by DustinMicrosoft is in the process of updating their website, going for a new Windows Phone 7 Metro UI style. What do you think of the new interface?
Angry Birds Coming To PC
December 11th, 2010 by DustinThe wildly popular and very entertaining Angry Birds is getting the PC treatment. This is will very nice, as the mobile version is extremely fun, but a little slow on my tiny Droid Eris (No Windows Phone 7 on the Verizon network yet).
Rovio Mobile, creator of Angry Birds, confirmed it is close to releasing a PC version of its popular mobile game. During a Helsinki press event, Rovio briefly showcased the PC game in action. The desktop version duplicates the game play of the mobile game, but incudes high resolution graphics for the big screen. The official launch date was not announced but Rovio hints that it will be coming soon.
Why is Google So Upset With Microsoft
October 17th, 2010 by DustinI’ve always found it poor form to put down the competition (even with Microsoft) without telling the consumer what you can do for them. Google has been dissing Microsoft, their phone, their OS, but with little to back it up. How can they put down the phone OS when Microsoft has been putting out phone OS’s with Windows Mobile before Google even had an Android thought? I’m thinking that Windows Phone 7 is a much bigger competitor than both Apple and Google first imagined.
Clearly Micorosoft is a hugely profitable company with a great many products and product areas that directly bring revenue into the company. Apple is the same with a great many product areas from servers to MP3 players that again bring in revenue. They may not have as many product lines as Microsoft or the same market share but they’re doing extremely well.
Nintendo Entertainment System: 25 Years Old
October 17th, 2010 by DustinHow many still have their old Nintendo Entertainment System? I know I do. Years of memories from this system, and I can still say I enjoy playing some of the games to this day (although, using an emulator). Tomorrow, October 18th, marks the 25th birthday of the United States release of the immortal NES. What memories do you have of this awesome system (other than seeing it and then buying a Sega Master System?).
On October 18, 1985, Nintendo of America officially debuted the U.S. version of its first-ever home videogame console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was an overhauled version of the company’s Family Computer, which had parlayed its rocky launch in Japan into a nationwide phenomenon in short order. The arrival of the NES was a stealthy attempt to defibrillate an American home gaming market that had lain dormant for nearly two years. In time, the success of the NES made Nintendo a powerhouse and confirmed that gaming was a legitimate medium rather than a passing fad.
More Ray Ozzie Docs
October 15th, 2010 by DustinRay Ozzie has added some new documents on his webpage, this time some personal notes from Windows 1.01. Some nice little notes there, and some proof that they were using Macintosh as their inspiration. These blasts from the past are pretty awesome to look at.
Your response to my previous post was overwhelming; thanks. While on the subject of 1985 nostalgia, I’ve uploaded one more final scan – some personal notes of mine from that era related to Windows. I frequently traveled to Microsoft because I’d known Bill since my Software Arts days. Our startup, Iris Associates, had also been doing very early work with Windows as one of its first ISV’s.
Windows 1.01 Running On DOSBox
October 15th, 2010 by DustinI’ve done this myself a while back, and had fun with it. Compared to current operating systems, it is a pile of… Well, you know. But, it sure does bring back some memories of times gone by.
Vista went into reduced functionality, how do I re-extend it another 30 days?
October 12th, 2010 by DustinWindows Phone 7: Not That Different
October 12th, 2010 by DustinWell, there is always someone to rain on Microsoft’s parade, this time over at Fortune Magazines website. I think I can assume she owns an iPhone, probably. While I’ve yet to see any Windows Phone 7 devices in person, from what I hear, I have been proven very wrong. I have said in the past that it may be too little, too late. Well, it certainly isn’t too little. As far as too late, only time will tell if they can rip back some market share.
But good is not enough. I’m not talking about a couple of missing feature like copy and paste, which the company promises will arrive shortly. Can Microsoft create a platform that stands out enough to compete with Android and Apple? Will it be different enough that consumers are hungry for it? Will it be pervasive enough that developers want to invest limited resources in making appls for it?