Usually when we hear one big company is interested in buying out another big company, there’s an element of “Hmm, didn’t see that one coming…” But in the case of Microsoft reportedly toying with the idea of paying $1 billion for Barnes & Noble’s Nook business, it’s more of “It’s about time those two crazy kids made formal commitment.” Microsoft already invested $300 million in Nook last year, and it seems prepared to go all the way. [More]
Microsoft Reportedly Considering Buying Out Barnes & Noble’s Nook Division For $1B
By May 9, 2013
Microsoft Decides To Try This Whole Windows 8 Thing Again With A Few Tweaks
By May 7, 2013
When something doesn’t go quite right the first time, what’s a ginormous technology company supposed to do? Why, just slap a couple of coats of paint on the ill-received Windows 8, fluff it up a bit and send it right back out on stage. Microsoft is reportedly tweaking its most recent iteration of Windows because customers have been complaining of confusion, and PCs aren’t selling so well. [More]
Could It Be Possible That The New Xbox Will Actually Let Users Play Games Offline?
By May 6, 2013
In a world where game makers are releasing titles that demand players always be connected to the Internet or just not play, it’s not surprising that fans of Microsoft’s XBox were worried that the next iteration would also require a constantly-on connection. According to a leaked internal Microsoft email, that won’t be the case. Cue rejoicing. [More]
Microsoft Includes Free Disposable Wifi Router In Forbes Magazine
By April 29, 2013
“I still like print magazines, but I wish that they functioned as a portable wifi hotspot,” said no one ever. This wish came true for some people last week when they received a special edition of Forbes magazine in the mail that serves as a disposable wifi hotspot as well as a disposable news delivery device. [More]
Microsoft Trying To Get A Grip On Customers’ Online Privacy Concerns With New Campaign
By April 22, 2013
In a time when almost any aspect of our lives can be translated into online terms and our personal information collected, tracked and used like so much currency, many people are understandably concerned about privacy in the virtual world. Microsoft is attempting to show its customers that it’s on top of things with a new campaign dedicated to discussing online privacy. [More]
Microsoft Cloud Services Locks You Out Of Your Digital Life, Won’t Explain Why
By March 25, 2013
Microsoft wants to be the provider of all of your cloud services, from webmail (Outlook) to storage (SkyDrive), aiming for the same market as cloud services from competitors like Google and Apple. The new product has a lot of fans, including Josh. Well, Josh was a big fan until Microsoft abruptly locked him out of his account and won’t tell him why. [More]
Zune Pass Customers Not Getting All Of Their Free Downloads, No One Knows Why
By March 15, 2013
Chris is a Zune Pass customer, and has been since the very beginning (whenever that was.) Early adopters get a pretty great deal that new subscribers don’t: ten song credits per month. He sent his tip in in the form of a chat transcript that was refreshingly well-written on both sides and honest on the part of the support representative. Let this serve as a heads-up to Zune fans who haven’t noticed this problem yet, but may experience it in the future. Or not. [More]
Hotmail Going The Way Of The Dinosaur As Microsoft Opens Outlook To The Public
By February 19, 2013
I remember the giddiness of being freed from the yoke of a paid AOL membership, ready to choose my very own email address instead of the one my dad had set up. I probably searched AltaVista or asked Jeeves before finding I could set up a free account at Hotmail.com. It was a heady feeling, one of liberation and unbounded email opportunities. Fast forward to the present, when those still faithful to Hotmail are no doubt mourning its impending demise. [More]
Microsoft Under Pressure To Cough Up Skype Privacy Reports
By January 25, 2013
While you’re chitchatting away on Skype with your friend living halfway around the world or maybe showing your new kitchen improvements to your mother by carrying the laptop around, what is Skype doing with your information, and what happens if the government tries to get it? A group of privacy advocates are putting Microsoft in the hot seat with a letter asking it to answer such questions. [More]
It’ll Only Cost You $125 To Escape The Clutches Of Windows 8 With Downgrade To Windows 7
By January 24, 2013
Hey, Microsoft? Just a little heads up. If customers despise your latest and ostensibly greatest operating system so much that businesses are offering a downgrade service, you might want to take that as a sign that something has gone wrong. Because while we can understand having to pay for an upgrade, ponying up cash just to take a step back on your new laptop with pre-installed software is well, it’s a step back. [More]
Microsoft Store Can’t Exchange A Defective Computer Properly, Sends Me Wrong Refund
By January 21, 2013
Albert wrote to us about his problems with his Cyber Monday purchase from the Microsoft Store. No, we haven’t been sitting on his message for almost two months: he’s been struggling with Microsoft for that long, trying to get this transaction to make sense. One important thing that he learned: just because he’s lucky enough to live relatively near a Microsoft Store, that doesn’t mean it will do him any good. [More]
My Quest For A Defect-Free Microsoft Surface Goes Surprisingly Poorly
By January 2, 2013
Being an early adopter can be difficult. Overall, Grady likes his new Microsoft Surface tablet, but noticed some hardware issues, like light distortion and a power button that doesn’t feel right. Those are relatively minor issues when the entire device is working well, but not what Grady expected when he laid out $600 for a new tablet. That’s when he began his quest to return his Surface to Microsoft and obtain one with no defects, cosmetic or otherwise. This quest turned out to be more difficult than he had predicted. [More]
Microsoft Offers Free Month Of Service To Make Up For Recent Xbox Live Cloud Outage
By December 31, 2012
What’s better than an apology? An apology with some free stuff thrown in to sweeten the pot and turn those frowns upside down. Microsoft is apologizing for a recent cloud outage that left Xbox Live users hanging with nary a way to access their saved games and will treat users to a free month of membership to try and make up for it. [More]
Xbox Live Won’t Let Me Register Child Accounts Until I Verify Credit Card I Never Gave Them
By December 4, 2012
Xbox Live Silver is free. Right? Well, Brian was under that impression. He gets that Microsoft needed a credit card on file to verify that he’s an adult, but didn’t get why it wanted to charge him money when he went to verify his billing address. He only uses prepaid cards for his Gold account, and they want him to verify the information of a credit card that he never gave them. [More]
A Future XBox Might Finally Make All Of Our Holodeck Fantasies Come True
By September 12, 2012
Be still, our Star Trek-loving hearts! Microsoft has reportedly filed a patent for some kind of technological equipment that looks a lot like the experience offered by the holodecks onboard the starship Enterprise. For those not in the Star Trek: The Next Generation (and later Trek iterations), these were essentially empty rooms that could be programmed with any experience the user wanted, including who they wanted there and in what setting. A fantastical scientific future — and maybe now close to reality. [More]
I Want Xbox Live To Stop Sending All Of My Account E-Mails In Chinese
By September 11, 2012
Emi’s Xbox Live account was hacked last year, but she has control of it again. She just can’t read any of the e-mails that Microsoft sends her about it. That’s because they’re in Chinese. This wouldn’t be a problem if she could read Chinese, or if she had any idea how her account was set that way or how to change it back. She doesn’t. Neither does the chat representative at Microsoft, and the only support available is through user forums. [More]
Microsoft Updates Service Agreement To Make It Easier To Read The New Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clause
By August 31, 2012
While we appreciate that Microsoft has made its online services agreement much easier to read, the update comes with a questionable addition: a shiny new mandatory binding arbitration clause with class action waiver. The clause states that you agree to settle any legal disputes (except intellectual property rights disputes) in either the small claims court in your county of residence or Microsoft’s, or through the arbitration procedure outlined in the agreement. Microsoft announced that this change was coming awhile back, and has already added similar language to its XBOX Live service. [More]
Imaginary Billing Problem Means I Can’t Ditch Hotmail
By July 24, 2012
Mavfan has a very old Hotmail account. It’s positively ancient in Internet years, existing since 2001. He was happy to just let the account forward to his wife’s Gmail address until it was hacked and began to send dirty spam messages to everyone the couple has ever e-mailed since 2001. It was time to put a stop to that nonsense, so he set out to shut down the account. Hotmail just won’t let him go. [More]
