Richard Hay has asked the big question on Windows Activation to Microsoft – will they decommission the XP activation servers after official support? I’ve never been a fan of Windows activation – from the initial activation issues, reactivation at odd times, or after official support will you still be able to reinstall and actually be able to USE the software? Some people are still very content using XP (some are with Windows 98!). Hopefully, they stay online for quite a while longer.

Keep in mind that Windows XP was the first version of Windows that required activation within 30 days of installation in order to be able to continue using the OS. That means this is the first time an OS requiring activation will hit the end of official support. It is understandable that it would be a concern for those who simply do not want to move off Windows XP for whatever reason.

The Windows Blog has a new post discussing the packaging and pricing for the upcoming retail release for Windows 8.1 on October 18th (a month away!). Pricing is $119.99 for standard and $199.99 for Pro editions. An add-on to upgrade to Pro (Pro-Pack) is $99.99, which allows you to go from 8.1 Standard to 8.1 Pro and includes Media Center. If you are a Pro user, a $9.99 upgrade is available to enable Media Center. Packaging is similar to Windows 8.

One thing to note – Microsoft is now releasing a ‘Full Version’ edition rather than just an upgrade edition this time around, due to consumer suggestions.

One shift to note in Windows 8.1 is that we will be offering “full version software” at retail and online for download that does not require a previous version of Windows in order to be installed. The copy of Windows 8 that is currently available for sale at retail and online is an “upgrade version.” This shift allows more flexibility for customers in specific technical scenarios and is in response to feedback we’ve received. It will be easier for those consumers who want to build PCs from scratch, run Windows 8.1 in Virtual Machine (VM) environments, or run Windows 8.1 on a second hard drive partition.

This guy claims that the purchase of Nokia by Microsoft signals the end of Windows. He says that Microsoft will go more for the Apple model and supply their own hardware and OS on it’s machines, and not make it available for end users to install on any machine. Sure, Apple succeeded in that realm, but Microsoft became #1 for allowing Windows to be put on any compatible machine. For the phone business? Sure, I can understand a single Windows Phone 8 device from Microsoft (although, I’d really like some options in hardware), but never on the desktop or tablet. If I cannot build my own PC and throw Windows on it, I won’t. I just can’t see it happening at all on the desktop.

He does focus on the phone market in his article, and I can see that as a possibility. Not the best idea that Microsoft has had lately, though. I’d use a Microsoft branded phone, though (of course, it’d be Nokia inside).

But software, Gates saw, was a different story. Software had a face. Software imprinted itself on users—once you learned one Windows PC, you understood every Windows PC. Unlike hardware, software enabled network effects: The more people who used Windows, the more attractive it became to developers, which meant more apps to make Windows computers more useful, which led to more users, and on and on. Finally, software was wildly, almost unimaginably profitable. After writing code once, you could copy it endlessly, at no marginal cost, for years to come—and make money on every single copy you sold.

The recent price cuts for the Surface devices have been made permanent. Prices are dropping, but are they worth it even at the lower price? My iPad is limited, similar to the Surface RT. It won’t run full desktop applications (for the most part). The Windows Store has a much more limited selection of usable applications than the Apple Store, as well. For many, they want the full PC functionality in a tablet form – the Surface Pro. That is what I am looking for right now. The price is getting better, and it’s an excellent product. I am waiting to hear about the Surface 2 before I make a decision (close out prices on Surface Pro as well as comparing specs and battery life).

What are these adjustments?

• $100 (U.S.) off Surface Pro (including the 256 GB SKU). This means the entry-level Surface Pro will now start at $799 (U.S.)
• $40 (U.S.) off Touch Covers. Touch Covers will now start at $79 (U.S.), and Limited Edition Touch Covers will now start at $89 (U.S.)
• $50 (U.S.) off Surface RT bundles. Surface RT bundles will now start at $399 (U.S.)

The talented Heroes actress Ali Larter gives a pitch for Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription based Office suite. Microsoft is starting to put more effort into the promotion of the Office 365 platform. Many people have no idea what it is. I’m glad Microsoft is putting more push into promoting it.

Mary Jo Foley has finally gotten an interview with Steve Ballmer (after many, many years!) after he announced his retirement from Microsoft. Some great questions in there – Regrets, successor, plans for the future.

Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here (includes from from lead Microsoft board member John Thompson).

Ballmer: I’m proud of being I would say a significant part even of the birth of intelligent personal computing, the notion that people use computing technologies, whether that’s phones, PCs. I mean, we kind of birthed that over the course of the ’80s and the ’90s, and that’s had such an unbelievable impact on people’s lives. I would say a billion plus people and now more with phones, even if they’re not all our phones, I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished there.

Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, has started the retirement process and will be gone within a year. Quite a few people that really disliked Windows 8 were calling for his head, but his actual motivation is unknown. He may just want to finally pass on the torch.

I definitely didn’t see this coming, but I wish the best for Steve in his retirement.

As for a successor? There is no one in mind yet, but I’m sure in the next few months a few names will be suggested.

“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer said. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

The upcoming Xbox One will have a nice selection of games, some at launch and some soon after, that are exclusive to the Xbox One or exclusive for a limited time. A good list is available for those wanting to check them out, and I’m sure more will be announced as the console gets closer to launch. All these great games still have me wondering which console to get this fall…

Here are some statistics about Xbox One’s line-up of announced games:

• 38% of titles are exclusive to Xbox One
• 37% of titles are brand-new IP
• 44% of titles will include either timed or exclusive content to Xbox One

• Microsoft exclusive titles received 272 award nominations and 111 wins at E3 2013.
• Xbox One titles earned 10 Game Critics Awards, with Xbox platform exclusive “Titanfall” taking home a record-breaking 6 awards, including “Best of Show.”

We’re really excited to see the positive response to the Xbox One games line-up and remain committed to making Xbox One the best place to play games.  Below is the complete list of announced Xbox One games – for more information, visit news.xbox.com

For those that use Outlook.com for your email, you have a new feature rolling out (for some regions, as usual). Integrated Skype calling from within your Outlook.com window. Skype is a great service that allows you to make video and voice calls to others.

Having more features within Outlook.com is a great thing, and increasing your communications ability from within the single interface is excellent. Being able to answer an email with a face to face quick chat (or longer conversation) can be very helpful to many.

Email is an important and personal tool for most people, but there are moments when you want to be able to speak live or chat face-to-face. In a recent Ipsos Public Affairs poll 76% of people say that their email conversations frequently or occasionally result in a follow up phone or video call, or other means of communication. Those moments are perfect for Skype and now, face-to-face connection right from your inbox is just a click away.

Support for Windows XP ends on April 8th, 2014. Tim Rains of Microsoft goes over the risks of running the operating system after support ends. Running the OS after that date is definitely not something that I would really trust. So, for you still running it, it might be getting time to update your PC.

Some of the people I have discussed this scenario with are quick to point out that there are security mitigations built into Windows XP that can make it harder for such exploits to be successful.  There is also anti-virus software that can help block attacks and clean up infections if they occur.  The challenge here is that you’ll never know, with any confidence, if the trusted computing base of the system can actually be trusted because attackers will be armed with public knowledge of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could enable them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their choice. Furthermore, can the system’s APIs that anti-virus software uses be trusted under these circumstances? For some customers, this level of confidence in the integrity of their systems might be okay, but for most it won’t be acceptable.