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

Microsoft moves veteran Dave Cutler into Xbox division, to move beyond games

Work is underway on a successor to the Xbox 360, and rumors have been flying about who is working on it.

Pushed by All About Microsoft, Microsoft has confirmed in a statement that Dave Cutler, the father of Microsoft’s Windows NT operating system, is now working on Xbox.

“Dave is one of our brightest minds and is currently working on projects that will help advance our goals in the consumer space as we continue to … Continue Reading

Microsoft’s live TV service for Xbox is dead

Announcements about internet-connected smart TVs have had an overwhelming presence at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show, which is probably because streaming live video is growing in popularity among consumers.

But despite this upward trend, tech giant Microsoft has decided to cancel the launch of its new live TV service, according to a Reuters report today.

The company was planning to implement the live TV service through its Xbox Live game console, as VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi … Continue Reading

Microsoft changes its Xbox brand and design chief

It’s no secret that Microsoft is designing the successor to the Xbox 360, as it needs to keep pace with Nintendo, which is introducing a new console next year. But now it will evidently take on that task without the help of one of the veteran marketing and design experts.

Don Coyner will no longer lead the design and experience group for Xbox, according to Jay Greene at Cnet, which cited two unnamed Microsoft sources … Continue Reading

Get the e-book of “Xbox: The Making of a Bad-Ass Machine”

To mark the 10th anniversary of Microsoft’s Xbox, VentureBeat’s lead games writer Dean Takahashi wrote an epic two-part story on the history of the video game console. The articles were a huge hit with VentureBeat readers, but we thought the depth and breadth of Dean’s reporting was worthy of a of a full book.

We’ve combined part one, “How Microsoft unleashed a video game revolution,” and part two, “Microsoft’s journey to the next generation,” … Continue Reading

What’s inside the Xbox update for Netflix

To go along with yesterday’s massive Xbox Live updates, Netflix has pushed out a new user experience for the Xbox 360. The Netflix application has undergone a complete overhaul, providing people with a completely new look and several new features.

The new Netflix for Xbox has a similar look and feel to Xbox Live’s new dashboard. The previous scrolling navigation is there, but with a new look that predominantly features stacked rows of movie and … Continue Reading

Bieber fever afflicts nation: Pop star most searched person of 2011

Did Bieber fever get the best of you this year? Join the club. The YouTube sensation and current cause of adolescent ague was the most searched person of 2011 on Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

Bieber beat out 2010 Bing champion Kim Kardashian for the top spot. But don’t feel bad for the soon-to-be-divorced reality star; Kim still nabbed the number two position and was the most searched female of the year on Bing.

President Barack … Continue Reading

VBWeekly: Yelp IPO, Google Music, and the history of the Xbox

VentureBeat’s weekly video show returns with a quick discussion of some of the week’s highlights in tech business.

Your hosts, Christopher Peri and Dylan Tweney, talk about Yelp’s filing for an initial public offering, news of which just dropped 30 minutes before we started filming. You can be sure we will be following up on that.  We also briefly discussed the difference between iTunes Match and Google Music services, and finally a said a few … Continue Reading

The making of the Xbox: Microsoft’s journey to the next generation (part 2)

Update: Don’t like page breaks? This two-part series is now available as an e-book for the Amazon Kindle.

Editor’s note: This story is the second of two pieces on the 10th anniversary of the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox video game console, which debuted Nov. 15, 2001. The narrative is based on recent interviews as well as my two books: Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft’s Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, published in 2002; and The … Continue Reading

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The making of the Xbox: How Microsoft unleashed a video game revolution (part 1)

Update: This two-part series is now available as an e-book for the Amazon Kindle for your reading comfort.

Editor’s note: This story is the first of two articles on the 10th anniversary of the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox video game console, which debuted Nov. 15, 2001. The narrative is based on recent interviews as well as my two books: Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft’s Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, published in 2002; and The … Continue Reading

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Microsoft shifts online veteran to run Xbox marketing

Microsoft online business veteran Yusuf Mehdi will become head of marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Division that includes the Xbox game division, the company said today.

Mehdi was previously in charge of the company’s online services division. He will report to Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business.

Currently the chief audience officer for online services, Mehdi will start his new job as chief marketing officer for the game business Dec. 5. Mehdi has … Continue Reading

Xbox.com adds new Metro-style social and video sections

Microsoft is adding new social and video interface designs to its Xbox.com dashboard, which mimics the company’s upcoming metro-style UI available in Windows 8.

The new Social section replaces the current “My Xbox” portion of the website. Microsoft said the update will make it even easier to see what your friends are doing on Xbox LIVE as well as provide early access to new features in the Xbox 360 dashboard update, such as the Beacons … Continue Reading

Live TV is coming to the Xbox 360: Microsoft signs deals with Verizon, Comcast and others

As VentureBeat previously confirmed, Microsoft has reached a deal with Verizon that will bring live TV content to the Xbox 360, the companies announced Wednesday.

Microsoft has long since aspired to turn its Xbox 360 gaming console into a complete media center experience, which it has arguably been unable to achieve without a better selection of television content.

The new partnership gives Xbox Live Gold subscribers access to live TV channels offered by Verizon’s FiOS … Continue Reading

Xbox as a set-top cable box? Microsoft in talks with Comcast and Verizon

Microsoft is committed to securing a spot in your living room. The technology giant is in talks with both Comcast and Verizon to make its Xbox 360 gaming console a set-top cable box, according to a report from Digiday that cites anonymous sources familiar with the company.

Microsoft first announced that a live TV service would be coming to the Xbox at E3 in June, but the company didn’t offer up many details. Of the … Continue Reading

Netflix’s Qwikster game rentals may have short shelf life, thanks to cloud gaming

Netflix today spun off its mail-order DVD business into a new service called Qwikster, which will include mail-order video game rentals. Given Netflix’s immense success with the movie business, you might expect the games rental business to fare just as well.

But this is not the early 2000s, and the game rental service will face stiff competition from what might be one of the biggest revolutions in gaming since the advent of digital distribution: cloud … Continue Reading

How Microsoft engineered Kinect to withstand gamers and lightning strikes

Microsoft engineers spoke publicly for the first time yesterday about how they built the Kinect motion sensing system, offering a rare glimpse inside the secret world of product design.

After being taken to task for designing Xbox 360 game consoles that failed in large numbers, Microsoft turned a corner: Very few customers have returned the Kinect add-on for the Xbox. One of the reasons was the engineering discipline that the company applied in the wake … Continue Reading

Former Xbox chief Robbie Bach emerges on Sonos board

Robbie Bach, former chief Xbox officer at Microsoft, has resurfaced on the board at Sonos, the maker of internet-based audio electronics.

Bach has kept a low profile since he left Microsoft last year, giving up the title of president of the Entertainment & Devices group that includes the Xbox, Zune and Windows Phone 7 products. Bach told the Wall Street Journal that he was “decompressing” after spending more than 22 years working 60 to 70 … Continue Reading

One of gaming’s best startups, Bungie, turns 20

Bungie is one of the most successful game startups in history, although the company was obscure for the first 10 years of its existence, or half of its 20-year life. Today, the maker of the Halo series of games is marking its 20-year anniversary with the launch of an hour-long web documentary.

Entitled “O Brave New World,” the documentary includes footage from the company’s elusive co-founder, Jason Jones, as well as former Bungie chief Alex … Continue Reading

Microsoft’s game business grows 30 percent as Xbox 360 gains share

Microsoft’s video game revenues grew 30 percent for the fourth fiscal quarter and generated a small profit for the period.

The growth was propelled by the growing dominance of its Xbox 360 console, the Kinect motion-sensing system, and its online game service Xbox Live.

Microsoft’s overall revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30 grew 45 percent.

Revenues in the Entertainment & Devices business — which includes Xbox games, consumer software, Zune and Windows Mobile … Continue Reading

Skype boots executives to prep for Microsoft takeover

Internet video chat company Skype confirmed on Monday that eight executives have left the company following Microsoft’s huge $8.5 billion buyout offer in May. The company did not say whether the executives were laid off or resigned, but Bloomberg suggests they were fired. Bloomberg, however, did not mention any grounds for firing.

“Skype, like any other pragmatic organization, constantly assesses its team structure to deliver its users the best products,” a Skype spokesperson said in … Continue Reading