The DeanBeat: DICE Summit entices the game industry’s insiders to Vegas

The DICE Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is well under way this week, bringing some of the game industry’s best minds together in Las Vegas for a few days of networking, thinking, talking, back-slapping, and partying. Staged by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, it is a chance for the best of the business to shine, from an opening keynote by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game developer Todd Howard on why we create … Continue Reading

Windows on ARM coming around Windows 8 release, will have Office 15 apps

Microsoft’s plan to bring Windows to ARM chips has been a curious endeavor, mainly because the company hasn’t offered up many specifics about how the new version of Windows will differ from the traditional x86 and 64-bit versions of the operating system.

That all changed today with a nearly-9,000 word blog post by Microsoft’s Windows unit president Steven Sinofsky, in which he divulged a slew of details on Windows on ARM (WOA).

The big takeaways … Continue Reading

Foxconn hacked by group that says “damage is bliss”

Chinese manufacturing company Foxconn was hacked this week by a new group of “greyhat” cyber criminals who say tearing down companies is fun.

“So Foxconn thinks they got ‘em some swagger because they work with the Big Boys from Intel, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple? Fool, You don’t know what swagger is,” said a SwaggSec member in a letter addressed to “Users of Cyberspace.”

SwaggSec, which started tweeting about its hacking endeavors on January 26, released … Continue Reading

Google likely to launch Dropbox-like cloud storage service soon

Search king Google is close to launching its own cloud storage service similar to Dropbox and Amazon CloudDrive, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

If the report holds true, Google will be entering an extremely crowded market with a product simply called Drive. (No relation to the awesome Ryan Gosling movie.) On top of Dropbox and Amazon, the market consists of strong players like Microsoft SkyDrive, Box, SugerSync, and many others.

Drive’s … Continue Reading

Nivio pulls in $21M to make cloud computing cheaper and more student-friendly

Cloud computing and desktop virtualization are rapidly growing trends in the tech world, and one company has spent a considerable amount of time developing this technology. Nivio, which started as an idea in 2004, announced today it has received $21 million in its first round of venture capital funding.

Nivio lets you store up to 10GB of your documents, music, and movies in the cloud for free with nDrive. Your files sync across all of … Continue Reading

Don’t call it a beta: Microsoft to unveil Windows 8 Consumer Preview on Feb. 29

Microsoft’s long-awaited Windows 8 release for public testing will be unveiled at a press event in Barcelona on February 29, tying in with the Mobile World Congress occurring at the same time, the company announced today.

Originally referred to as the Windows 8 beta, the release will instead be called the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which gives us a pretty good idea as to Microsoft’s target audience (hint: not the techies running earlier builds of … Continue Reading

Another 4,000 production jobs axed at Nokia

Nokia may have some hot new smartphone models coming this year, but its financial turmoil isn’t over. The Finnish phone giant said Wedneday morning that it plans to cut around 4,000 jobs.

The company is reducing production at plants in Hungary, Mexico and Salo, Finland. The three plants make smartphones now and Nokia is now shifting a lot of that work to Asia to be closer to its suppliers. Nokia wants to speed the time … Continue Reading

Microsoft readies Windows 8 app store games

Microsoft is preparing a slate of games for the Windows 8 operating system that consumers will be able to purchase on the upcoming Windows Store, according to The Verge.

Some developers such as Arkadium are excited about the opportunity for games to shine on the new Microsoft operating system, whose Metro interface emphasizes ease of use and touch applications.

The games will be part of a new app-like experience for Windows users, making it a … Continue Reading

Microsoft Flight takes off on Feb. 29

Microsoft said today it will launch its Microsoft Flight flying game on Feb. 29. As we noted before, the game is a free-to-play online-based title aimed at reviving an old flight simulation franchise.

As the title implies, this is no longer a game for simulator fans, who demand the utmost realism and all sorts of hard-to-use options. Rather, it is a simpler game aimed at the masses who enjoy the experience of flying.

If this … Continue Reading

Windows 8 UI is dropping the ‘Start’ button

Microsoft has removed the “Start” menu button from its upcoming Windows 8 operating system, according to a consumer preview released earlier this week.

The Start button. which made its debut in the Windows 95 version of the OS, sits on the far left side of the “Live Bar” (see screenshot above). The Start button was one of the primary methods used for people to navigate to computer settings, applications, stored files, and more. The leaked … Continue Reading

Microsoft now testing Skype for Windows Phone 7, could debut soon

After a surprisingly long delay, Windows Phone owners may soon be able to get their hands on a Skype app of their very own.

Microsoft is currently testing a near-final version of Skype for Windows Phone 7, and the company may be planning to launch the app at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, reports Tom Warren at the Verge.

Microsoft has been promising a Skype app for Windows Phone for some time. … Continue Reading

Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’ may offer support for Skype, NFC, more

Microsoft’s upcoming software for Windows Phone, dubbed “Apollo”, will offer integration with Skype and Windows 8, according to internal video uncovered by Pocketnow.

The Windows Phone OS will have a make-or-break year in 2012, and it’s already off to a good start by being featured in Nokia’s anticipated Lumia 900 smartphone and a few other powerful devices that were pushed by CEO Steve Ballmer (pictured) at CES 2012. Another big update to the phone’s software … Continue Reading

As Google falters in public favor over privacy, Microsoft seeks to step in

Some would look at Google’s recent PR flub over privacy policies and settings as a bit of a fiasco.

Microsoft, of course, sees it as an opportunity.

This week, the company is placing a series of ads in newspapers across the U.S. to remind consumers that it still offers popular and secure web services for search, email, document management, and more.

In short, the company is making a bid for disgruntled Google users. For those … Continue Reading

Microsoft launches Kinect for Windows aimed at developers and businesses

Microsoft today launched the Kinect for Windows commercial program, bringing the Xbox 360 motion-sensing peripheral’s hardware and software to the PC platform. The company hopes businesses around the globe will take advantage of the Kinect to improve internal operations, build new customer experiences, and potentially revolutionize their respective industries.

“It’s been just over a year since we launched Kinect for Xbox 360, and we’re only starting to scratch the surface of what’s possible with Kinect,” … Continue Reading

Ahead of the Windows 8 beta, Microsoft makes the ribbon smaller based on feedback

Showing that Microsoft is making some progress on Windows 8 as it prepares for the late-February beta release, the company today unveiled a slew of changes that it’s making to the OS based on feedback from early testers.

While some of the changes aren’t very exciting — there’s plenty of minutia when it comes to file copying, for example — other fixes related to the infamous ribbon, which replaces the traditional Windows file menu, are … Continue Reading

Microsoft Office 15 technical preview testing begins, public beta live this summer

Microsoft will soon let select customers and companies try out builds of Office 15, the next generation of Office software, the company announced on its Office Exec blog today.

Microsoft’s Office suite of software is one of the most important (and profitable) products the company sells, so each new major release is a big deal. Microsoft has sold about 200 million Office 2010 licenses since its launch 18 months ago, as spotlighted in Microsoft’s latest … Continue Reading

Social media’s role in politics

You’ve read how Facebook and Twitter fueled the Arab Spring uprising. You are watching the videos coming out of Syria on Facebook. But most likely you have not witnessed the power of social media impacting politics in near real time right here at home in America. Sure, activism groups and politicians have tapped social media to raise money. But to date, no flash mob has ever stopped a bill in its tracks or beaten down … Continue Reading

Nokia Lumia 910 headed to Europe with a 12MP camera

While Americans eagerly await Nokia’s Lumia 900 Windows Phone, Europeans have something even better to look forward to: the Lumia 910.

The newer model will sport a 12 megapixel shooter, an upgrade over the 8MP camera on the Lumia 800 and 900, according to a product page  by Dutch retailer Typhone.

We’ve asked Nokia to comment on the new model, but we don’t really expect the company to reveal much so soon. The existence of … Continue Reading

Kayak gives site a new look, isn’t worried about Google competition

How big of a deal is a site redesign, really? For travel-booking heavy Kayak, it’s everything. That’s why it took the company six months, one $30,000 eye-tracking device, and countless A/B tests to perfect its new website look, which is being unveiled today.

The eight-year-old flight-, hotel-, and car-reservation company recently released a new iPhone and iPad app. Inspired by the minimalist user interface of the iOS app, Kayak decided to give its website a … Continue Reading