Microsoft - page 22

In response to the public’s outcry that tech companies are working with the NSA to pilfer personal info on targets of interest, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and others announced an alliance with civil liberties groups today demanding for more transparency by the U.S. government concerning wiretapping.

The coalition sent a letter today to President Obama and other leaders in Congress, urging for greater transparency around national security-related requests. Portions of the letter were published last night, but we now have a copy it in its entirety, which can be read below:

Apple and some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies have been under heavy fire ever since info on the National Security Administration’s PRISM program leaked to the public last month.

In response to the public’s outcry that tech companies are working with the NSA to pilfer personal info on targets of interest, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and others have formed a broad alliance with civil liberties groups that will tomorrow demand for increased transparency regarding the U.S. government’s spy programs on citizens.

All Things D reports that the alliance will publish a letter Thursday, demanding President Obama and Congress allow tech companies to provide reports on information requests related to national security.

Today Microsoft released iPhone and iPad versions of Outlook in the App Store. The native iOS app offers features that the mobile web version can’t, like incoming mail notifications.

Microsoft’s release notes:

Microsoft has announced today a major company reshuffle which will affect both its hardware and software divisions. It’s part of the company’s initiative to become “One Microsoft,” and it will see many company executives moved into new roles.

Apple has moved up to number 19 in the latest Fortune Global 500 survey thanks to its financial performance throughout 2012, which saw the Cupertino company collect $157 billion in revenue. The iPhone 5 and the iPad mini have been credited for its success over the past 12 months.

Apple is expected to launch a new smartwatch called the “iWatch” as early as this fall, and we already know that it could face competition from Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and LG. But there’s another competitor that may want a piece of the pie: Dell.

Apple is close to securing a deal that will bring Time Warner Cable subscribers access to their cable television service through the Apple TV, according to sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, who have been speaking to Bloomberg.

The two companies are expected to announce the deal “within a few months.”

Did you know that Microsoft has its own note-taking app? Well it does, and it’s called OneNote. The iOS app has been in desperate need of some love for many months, and today Microsoft released version 2 for iPhone and iPad in the App Store. Besides some significant design and functionality tweaks, OneNote is now totally free. You used to only be able to save 500 notes before paying.

HP famously gave up on its smartphone and tablet business back in 2011 when it announced that it would no longer be developing hardware powered by its webOS platform. But two years later, the company is planning to have another crack at it.

Yam Su Yin, HP’s Senior Director of Consumer PCs and Tablets, has confirmed that the company is already working on a new smartphone — one that will deliver a unique experience that you won’t get from its rivals.

Microsoft announced earlier this week that it is bringing the PC classic Age of Empires to Android and iOS, and that sparked speculation that the software giant may be into porting Xbox games over, too. But don’t get your hopes up, because Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer has confirmed that it’s not going to happen.

Spanish mobile operator Telefonica has partnered with Microsoft in a bid to boost Windows Phone 8 adoption. The two companies plan to launch an “enhanced marketing effort” that will fight back against “the current duopoly” of Android and iOS.

Microsoft has teamed up with Japanese development studio KLab to bring its 1997 classic Age of Empires to Android and iOS. Microsoft is hoping the real-time strategy simulator will capture some of the success of the growing mobile game market, which is currently luring gamers away from traditional handheld consoles like the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita.

Paper for iPad creator FiftyThree has today announced that it has secured $15 million in funding to build a suite of “mobile tools for creativity.” It’s quite an achievement for an app startup, particularly one that isn’t a smash-hit game, but if FiftyThree’s upcoming apps are anywhere near as successful as Paper, the investment will surely pay off.

Apple’s iOS platform has continued to be the top platform for users who actually like to buy stuff via their smartphone, says a new study from Forrester. Consumers with iOS devices are 30% more likely to buy something via their device, than Android users.

Even though iOS is where more of the money is at, Android isn’t getting ignored by U.S. companies. Forrester’s study also reported that 96% of ebusiness professionals surveyed for the study plan to launch a native or hybrid Android app by the end of 2013, while 99% said they plan to do the same for iOS.

Apple is building a massive new store at the Stanford shopping center in Palo Alto to replace its smaller, more modest retail location a few hundred yards away. The new Apple Store is going up just a stones throw away from a big Microsoft Store that opened last spring.

The new flagship store is expected to be one of Apple’s largest ever, as it will enough extra floor space to test new product ideas. Designs for the store were completed  and approved in 2011 by Steve Jobs, just six months before Tim Cook took over as CEO.

According to the Palo Alto Online, construction on the new store is happening seven days a week as contractors hurry to finish the 12,000 square-feet store. The store was supposed to officially open in November 2012, but the sensitive glass design of the building has caused delays.

Here are a couple photos of the store currently under construction:

Microsoft just loves to poke fun at the iPad, doesn’t it?

It has already aired a number of commercials for the Asus VivoTab that mock its size, weight, lack of Office support, its inability to run two apps simultaneously, and most of all its price. And now the software giant is doing the same on behalf of Dell.

Microsoft has launched Office Mobile for iPhone today, allowing Office 365 subscribers to access and edit their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents stored in SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro, or SharePoint from virtually anywhere. The app boasts support for charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes, and more.

iOS 7 is clearly how Apple sees the future of mobile design. It’s a radical departure from anything the company has ever done before. The general aesthetic also feels a lot more like Android and even Windows Phone 8.

Whether it’s intentional or by pure coincidence, Apple’s internal nickname for iOS 7 happens to be the same as Microsoft’s for Windows 8, according to a new report.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Andrew Stone, an indie NeXT developer who worked with Steve Jobs for almost a quarter century, believes that Jobs would’ve never let Apple be a part of the United States National Security surveillance program PRISM.

During today’s WWDC keynote, Apple’s Eddy Cue briefly mentioned Bing integration in iOS 7. While demoing new features in Siri, Cue mentioned that Bing is used to power web searches. Nothing was said about Google, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Apple has been distancing itself from Google for quite some time. For instance, Apple Maps is now on iOS and OS X. Bing integration in Siri, while a more subtle move, is definitely a knife jab at Google. And Microsoft couldn’t be happier.

The New York Attorney General has called for Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft to invent new ways to curb the ongoing smartphone theft “epidemic.” Eric Schneiderman wants meetings with representatives from all four companies, and he has urged them to “be as innovative in solving this problem as they have been in designing devices that have reshaped how we live.”

Time Warner Cable is in talks with Apple to sign a video streaming deal for some of its content. After the successful launch of its TWC TV app on Roku devices this past March, Time Warner Cable announced that it’s trying to get ink more deals.

Speaking at an investors conference in London on June 4, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt told investors that the company wants to strike deals with Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung:

The developers of the free, open-source Camino browser for Mac OS X have announced that it will no longer be developed after a decade-long run. They are now encouraging existing users to adopt a “more modern browser,” such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Earlier today, Microsoft released a new ad that attempts to show how much better the ASUS VivoTab is at getting stuff done than the iPad. A similar TV spot was aired last night with Siri being used to mock things like the iPad’s lack of Powerpoint (a Microsoft product).

Alongside its TV ads, Microsoft has put up a new webpage called “iPad vs. Windows.” At the bottom of the comparison it says that the ASUS ViviTab “has a bigger touchscreen” than the iPad.

False.

Microsoft has released a new TV ad that slams the iPad touts Windows 8 on an Asus tablet. This is the most directly targeted attack campaign on Apple in recent memory—even the Samsung Galaxy ads had more tact.

The tagline of the ad is “Less Talking, More Doing,” a.k.a using apps like Powerpoint. Siri is used to mock the iPad, ending in the virtual assistant giving up with, “Should we just play chopsticks?” in Garageband.

You have to give it to Microsoft for not pulling any punches. It will be interesting to see if Apple responds. Remember the good ol’ days of Mac vs. PC?

Via: The Verge