The holidays are getting closer, and Microsoft has started cutting prices on it’s Xbox 360 console. The 250 GB version and the 4 GB Kinect version have been dropped by $50, bringing them to $250. A good deal if you are in the market this Christmas.

Each bundle is priced at $250 except for the standard and holiday 250GB Kinect bundles, which are $350. Most of the bundles have games and DLC codes packed in, including Forza 4, Kinect Adventures, Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, Fable 3, Halo: Reach and a digital copy of Skyrim.

The Xbox 360 version of Halo 4 has been leaked online, and Microsoft is not happy (duh). The leak is definitely real, and I’m sure that the ones that leaked it will be caught and reamed badly. Not going to be a good holiday season for those that did the leak.

For those with modded Xboxes and are wanting to give this a try, I can suspect that Microsoft will be going through some very tough and frequent banning missions very soon. Is it worth it? Personally, I never really cared much for the Halo franchise, but even if I were – I don’t care much for the pirate scene. Modding, sure. The original Xbox was a huge modding platform that gave birth to the XBMC (Xbox Media Center), which probably contributed a lot to the 360 media features.

According to the publisher, Halo 4‘s second disc "contains data that will need to be installed on an Xbox 360 hard drive or compatible flash storage device with at least 8GB of available memory in order to access ‘Halo 4‘s’ extensive suite of multiplayer features." Microsoft has employed a similar system for first-party games like Forza Motorsport 4.

Office 2013 has finally reached the release to manufacturing stage, meaning it is complete and ready for distribution. For those wondering and complaining about the very bright interface, the Office team has included a darker theme that can help your eyes.

General availability is planned for the first quarter of 2013. Starting October 19, customers purchasing Office 2010 from local retailers or resellers will receive the new Office for free upon availability. Customers will also see a preview version of the new Office on Windows RT devices, beginning with the Windows 8 launch on October 26.

While I’m excited for the launch of Windows Phone 8, I’m sure that Verizon will take their precious time to release any form of device on their network. I am in the market for a new one, and am holding off (I have a broken WP7 – HTC Trophy) until the new devices hit. Sadly, Verizon has great coverage in my area, otherwise I’d jump to a different carrier.

If they can bring the devices sooner instead of later, I’m going to be sporting a new HTC 8X Windows Phone 7 very soon.

One of the most often asked questions I see daily (through many forums, at work and personal friends) is “Why is Microsoft calling me? Do I really have viruses and are they being sent out?”. No, Microsoft isn’t really calling you unless you called them first and opened a support ticket.

Now, it looks like the FCC is taking some action against these scams and will be taking them to court. This is good news, and hopefully the phone calls stop for many people. I had gotten the phone calls, but I was never available to take the call. I wanted to have some fun with these crooks and just waste their time like they are doing with so many others.

Microsoft phone scam warnings: http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

With October being National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the timing of the announcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday that, at FTC request, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered a halt to six alleged tech support scams pending further hearings and has frozen their assets (see October 3, 2012 List of Commission Actions) was ideal.

Before the public was given access to the builds of Windows 8, they let the employees test it. Called “Dogfooding”, they let the employees use the products to test it in real world working conditions. If they didn’t like it and they work for the company, how could the public where most have no vested interest in the product? Fortunately, the employees liked it!

Business owners should here be confident that their adoption of Windows 8 across their network will have a massive amount of support both inside the software and from Microsoft itself right from the start. This news bit was made more to assure IT users that they’ve tasted the food first before they send it to the restaurant, so to speak, and that it’s more than safe – it’s tasty.

In a recent survey, a majority of people preferred Windows 7 over Windows 8. Good news: A lot of people prefer the Microsoft Surface tablet over the iPad or Android tablets.

Microsoft claims that Windows 8 is the first version of Windows to be designed for both tablets and desktops, with users able to switch between the new user interface and the more familiar desktop mode. This was viewed to be a weakness by 18 percent of respondents.

Microsoft has revealed the pricing and other details for the home and small business versions of their Office 365 subscription based Office suite. 5 devices are allowed for the users you designate for about a c-note. Great pricing for always having an up to date, cloud based Office suite.

• All the Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher.*
• Ability to use Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs shared among all users in the home. Subscribers also have flexibility to change their 5 devices at any time, and full featured Office applications are available for temporary use on any PC.
• Nearly 3 times the amount of SkyDrive storage with an additional 20GB over the 7GB you get for free.
• 60 minutes of Skype^TM world calling per month to keep in touch with family anywhere.**
• Premium licenses that are always up-to-date with latest new features and services released regularly. With the new Office, new capabilities will be added multiple times per year.

Microsoft is integrating everything and killing the Zune name (again). Xbox companion and now the Windows Phone companion app. Now, you get a metro styled interface when you plug in your phone to a Windows 8 powered PC. It connects and allows you to access the pictures, videos, music and documents on your phone.

Microsoft has been retiring a number of its Zune desktop app features recently, in preparation for the upcoming switch to Xbox Music. While the company is readying its new music subscription service, Microsoft will also introduce new apps to manage and sync Windows Phone 8 devices. Sources close to Microsoft’s WIndows Phone plans have revealed the look and feel of a Windows 8 companion app for Windows Phone 8 devices.

Microsoft is again offering a downgrade option for new users of Windows 8 Professional to Windows 7 or Windows Vista, but not XP. XP is finally getting the retirement notice.

"Instead of using the Windows 8 Pro software, you may use one of the following earlier versions: Windows 7 Professional or Windows Vista Business," states the software license agreement for the version of Windows 8 Pro that will be installed by computer makers (OEMs) on new PCs.