Group items tagged

Once upon a time, Microsoft dominated the tech industry; indeed, it was the wealthiest corporation in the world. But since 2000, as Apple, Google, and Facebook whizzed by, it has fallen flat in every arena it entered: e-books, music, search, social networking, etc., etc. Talking to former and current Microsoft executives, Kurt Eichenwald finds the fingers pointing at C.E.O. Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates's successor, as the man who led them astray.

icrosoft on Monday revealed a family of super-thin tablets called Microsoft Surface to compete against Apple's iPad and to extend the lifetime of Windows, its flagship product of 30 years. The launch is a concession that the tablet will likely become the workhorse of the trillion-dollar information technology industry, a radical demotion of the desktop computer. "We've ushered in a new era of cloud computing and embraced mobility," CEO Steve Ballmer said at the event. Microsoft has positioned the Surface family of touchscreen devices as a fundamental part of interacting with its next-generation operating system.

We've long noted the need for data science types who can bridge between us. And now, to my utter delight, a new lab is emerging to complement our lab. The folks who are going to serve as the founding members of the new NYC lab are computer scientists, physicists, experimental economists, and data scientists. Many of them are interested in social network analysis and big data problems but - or shall I say crucially - they all see the value in collaborating with ethnographers. In other words, we're building a cross-lab team that'll create new possible interdisciplinary collaborations that make my heart go pitter patter. The new lab will become the thirteenth Microsoft Research office worldwide, but it is being heralded as a particularly significant addition, according to researchers who will work directly with the New York team. Danah Boyd, a member of Social Media Collective at Microsoft's New England site, says that new the new lab will complement the organisation's existing structure and help provide a bridge with her lab for future research:

"A newly published patent application shows Microsoft potentially planning to take console gaming beyond the barriers of the TV screen by projecting a "peripheral image" around a room, providing a 360-degree view of a virtual scene. Microsoft's patent application for an "immersive display experience" was published by the US Patent Office last week after being filed back in early 2011. It describes a standard video game system with a connected "environmental display" capable of projecting a panoramic image that "appears to surround the user.""

Microsoft s'associe au libraire et détaillant américain Barnes & Noble et investit un montant de 300 millions de dollars américains dans une filiale nouvellement créée qui évoluera dans le marché du livre numérique.

"Les capteurs de Microsoft permettraient de mieux saisir les déplacements d'une personne en tenant compte de la profondeur de champ. Le but : rendre les espaces publics plus adaptés."

Microsoft France inaugure aujourd'hui la classe immersive, premier espace d'apprentissage 100% numérique en Europe. Equipée des dernières avancées technologiques et entièrement repensée, la classe entend favoriser la réussite scolaire en développant de nouveaux outils pédagogiques et de nouvelles méthodes d'apprentissage.

Microsoft's new project is able to detect hand positions in 3D and translate them into software commands - perhaps a user could swipe their hand to the side to turn a page in a book, or pinch their fingers to zoom in on a document. The device can also display a human hand on-screen when necessary.

Building fully functional electronic devices yourself is a satisfying process. That magic moment when your experimentation combines software, hardware and mechanical know-how all together to become a finished product. Add a 3D printer to the mix, and you are really in for a treat. Rob Miles knows his way around Gadgeteer, the Microsoft .NET hardware enabler that turns a developer's dreams into reality. Although he was already off to a great start, it all changed when Rob set himself up with an Ultimaker 3D printer. Designing and printing his own enclosures has given him a whole new perspective on DIY development and hardware hacking. 

In a bid to give its staid image a jolt of cool, the software giant snaps up a red-hot business-networking platform for $1.2 billion in cash

Illumishare est un projet d'outil collaboratif que Microsoft est en train de mettre au point et qui ouvre des perspectives nouvelles au travail collaboratif. Illumishare est un outil qui semble nous projeter dans la science fiction et pourtant il pourrait être lancé assez rapidement. De quoi s'agit-il? Illumishare est un dispositif qui combine vidéo projecteur, caméra, et logiciel type skype pour la voix. Il crée sur votre bureau, (votre bureau physique,  pas l'écran de votre ordinateur), une fenêtre lumineuse sur laquelle tout ce que vous allez poser, tout ce que vous allez écrire sur une feuille de papier va s'afficher sur la fenêtre lumineuse de la personne ou des personnes avec qui vous travaillez. Que celle-ci soit dans la pièce d'à côté ou a l'autre bout de la planète.

My thoughts on Project Glass: first of all, it's vaporware. Announcing stuff two years in advance is just not a cool or smart move and that's the first thing that ticks me off. It reminds me of the Microsoft Courier, the dreams we had for the Palm Pre and every other product that seemed awesome when they announce it and then turns out to be shit when you can finally buy it, or gets discontinued before you even get a chance to get your hands on it.

"Roku founder Anthony Wood runs a startup that, along with companies like Apple and Microsoft, sells hardware that's bringing Web video to home television screens. It's no wonder his nine-year-old daughter prefers to watch her favorite Disney shows on Netflix at her whim, rather than surf Disney's own 24-hour cable channel. This is one example of how traditional TV service providers are losing their hold on America's eyeballs. Internet-connected TVs are becoming the norm on store shelves, and today represent 12 percent of those in people's homes, according to a recent survey by NPD Group. These TVs, and devices like Roku's, make it easier for viewers to cut the cord on their expensive cable bills, and instead simply watch content provided by companies including Netflix, Hulu, Apple, Amazon, and Google on their big home screens."

C'est la marque la plus emblématique de la Corée du Sud. Samsung est la plus grosse entreprise technologique au monde. Ses bénéfices sont supérieurs à ceux d'Apple, de Google et de Microsoft réunis. Mais Samsung est aussi un conglomérat géant dont les activités touchent à presque tous les domaines. Pour la première fois et en exclusivité pour un Oeil sur la planète, plongée au cœur de l'empire Samsung.

nnovative teachers + technology + smart policies = the active learning and collaborative skills required for the 21st century.

« La dématérialisation est la première étape incontournable de toute stratégie de développement durable » déclarait Eric Boustouller, président de Microsoft France, en octobre 2009.

David Sacks of Yammer wonders if Silicon Valley - meaning the venture-backed bastion of innovation and wealth creation in the Bay Area - has started to lose it's mojo. His argument - more of a handwave really - is that a/ the economics don't work in a system with such large incumbents (like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, etc.), b/ partly because todays agile, ramen-fueld startups don't have the cash to effectively compete against the incumbents, and c/ the number of ideas that can be juiced into existence given that context are few.

"IR.U is a new coalition by the founders of Gig.U that will bring Super Wi-Fi networks - better known to some as White Space networks, or wireless internet over unlicensed and unused TV channels - to over 500 educational institutions across the US. Comprised of higher education associations, public interest groups, and private tech companies like Microsoft and Google, AIR.U aims to offer fast, reliable internet to remote schools and universities in areas otherwise too remote for wired broadband."