Microsoft once had a near monopoly on Web browsers with Explorer, so it comes almost as a shock to find that the Web browser most used to access Bruceongames is Firefox 3 and that even the undermarketed Chrome has made a significant impact.
When it comes to search Google always had the majority of the market but MSN now seems to have slipped away to nearly nothing. It doesn’t bring many people here.
You can forgive the above because Microsoft, famously, misunderstood the internet so came to it late. Operating systems are different though, Microsoft have owned this sector since MSDOS. But even here there are massive cracks appearing. By far the fastest growing section of the PC industry is Netbooks.
And the Linux derived Ubuntu has become a great success. Microsoft have fought back by bringing XP from the grave. But they are imposing stupid maximum system specifications that attempt to defy Moore’s law.
And of course their worst ... More »
Whether victims of excessive hype or consumer stinginess, these would-be sizzlers are likely to fizzle this holiday season.
T-Mobile G1 - Price: $179 (with two-year contract)
Google's hotly anticipated push into operating systems for mobile phones was a media sensation, but HTC's version of its Android-powered device is falling short of the hype. Critics say the "Google phone," which went on sale Oct. 22, is a little clunky with design flaws like no earphone jack and an oddly jutting chin. Close, but no iPhone killer.
Zune video MP3 player - Price: $230
Microsoft's latest answer to the iPod, with 120 gigabytes of storage and a 3.2-inch high-resolution color screen, is a vast improvement over the original Zune, which debuted in 2006. But the new Zune faces the same problem as the iPod: Smartphones and other Web-enabled devices chock full of features (think iPhone) threaten to render these one-trick players obsolete.
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RadioShack's Online Trade-In Program will swap your old gadgets for gift cards. You search their database for your gadget and offer the best quality assessment that you can, and they provide a mail-in sticker that you print.
If all goes well, they'll send you a gift card 10-14 days after the unit is received. So assuming worst case scenario, what are your totally broken gadgets worth?
• 3G iPod (10GB) - $3.23
• 1st Gen Zune - $5.81
• Palm Treo 650 - $3.69
• Xbox 360 Premium - $9.65
• DS Lite - $4.25
• Wii - $15.85
• PlayStation 3 (60GB) - $23.48
Needless to say, if you've trashed all of your electronics, you may be able to unload them and score a few bucks in the process.
The new Xbox 360 Dashboard OS update is coming soon and it is going to be one of the biggest changes to the Xbox 360 since the system hit the market.
It is going to include the first complete redesign of the Xbox interface called the NXE by all the cool kids. The New Xbox Experience (NXE) is going to be the best thing to hit the Xbox and it is going to completely redefine how we use it.
One of the niftiest things at Penny Arcade Expo 08 was seeing the new Xbox dashboard. Xbox Live's own Major Nelson showed it off. He made sure to stress that it is still a work in progress and that there was an army of programmers over in Redmond that were cranking out code and testing it as he gave the demo.
As a side note if you ever go to a game expo or press event and Major Nelson asks you not to film something in the presentation and you do it anyway and then go on and keep on filming after he notices you and calls you out and you don't stop it then y... More »
It wouldn't be accurate to say that the sky is falling for Microsoft's one and only gaming console, the 360, but it may be time to look at what the company is doing right... and where it's going wrong.
The Sony PlayStation 3 is beginning to chip away at the 360's lead in both software and hardware sales in the US, and that system only seems to be picking up steam. In contrast, the 360 doesn't seem to have much real momentum these days.
While it's hard to find ways for Microsoft to get its mojo back, we can easily identify a few problem areas that are becoming clear as the 360 ages. These are the weaknesses in Microsoft's strategy that have to be addressed before the system can hope to get its groove back. Let's take a look.
You have to find your voice
When the PS3 launched, the 360 was the system with more, better games, and the better online strategy. Microsoft also did a wonderful job in poaching some of gaming's largest franc... More »
Sony's handheld is far from unsuccessful. The little device absolutely destroys in the Japanese market and it provides a nice alternative to the DS here. In the world of handhelds, some consider it a Yin to Nintendo's Yang.
It's the other side of the spectrum, it's the PSP. Capable of playing music, video games and the so awesome UMD, this sucker came to the table loaded with possibilities upon its release several years ago. (/sarcasm)
Even with that, Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, sees Sony's device as a road map of how not to handle a portable.
The PSP is a reasonably successful product at the profit-and-loss level. But as a product concept, there are cautionary tales to learn from it...
While it is good at producing audio, it's not a good music player because it doesn't have local storage (except for flash memory slots). You can't keep your music there. It has a beautiful screen, ... More »
Microsoft's on-again, off-again relationship with an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive looks set to be on again this Monday. As you all know by now, Monday marks the beginning of Apple's annual WWDC, and a little bird told us something is going to be announced by Steve Jobs there during his keynote.
Microsoft doesn't care; a tipster told CrunchGear it's going to "upstage" Jobs, Apple and the entire known tech-using world by announcing an Xbox 360 with Blu-Ray drive one hour before the beginning of the conference.
Wrote the tipster: I‘ve got a close friend who works at Microsoft, previously with the HD-DVD division and now in the E&D division (Xbox, zune).
I’m told MS will upstage Apple with a Monday 9am PDT announcement (1 hour before WWDC) via press release that the Xbox 360 will get Blu-Ray before Christmas. Price was “under the current Elite”, but i couldn't get any more details.
Our sources close to Microsoft have confirmed that the company wants to reach out for the retail market presence. Microsoft wants to open and create many retail shops dedicated exclusive to Microsoft and its products.
This is something that Apple did with its many Apple retail stores around the world. Microsoft will put its retail people in the shops with hope that these skilled people will be able to show the true Microsoft experience.
We can only guess that the shop will be filled with lot of software but it’s likely to include some peripheral stuff such are keyboards and mice as well as some MP3 Zune players. You can count on some computers but the last paragraph is something we suspect not something that has been confirmed.
If they put all that we just listed, it will definitely look like a Microsoft copy of Apple retail stores. Maybe even some windows phones?
It worked well for apple so Microsoft has the chance.
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