Internet Explorer 11 first made its debut in the Windows 8.1 Preview earlier this year. Much like Internet Explorer 10, the latest version of IE is always exclusive to the operating system it debuts on at first, but after a while Microsoft will eventually release it for older operating systems.

Microsoft rolled out Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview for Windows 7 users back in July of this year. Microsoft has now rolled out the Release Preview version of IE11 and the download is now available.

“The IE11 Release Preview for Windows 7 is available for download today and includes performance improvements making it 30% faster than other browsers, updates to support the latest Web standards, and developer tools improvements in response to your feedback on the IE11 Developer Preview for Windows 7,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

IE11 reflects the latest emerging Web standards as well as several developer tools enhancements to increase developer productivity. Microsoft is also touting an increase in JavaScript performance, even going as far as saying IE11 Release Preview is 9% faster than IE10.

In the Windows 8.1 version of Internet Explorer 11, users can sync their tabs across devices via their Microsoft Account. However, since Windows 7 doesn’t have such integration with Microsoft Account, this tab sync feature isn’t available for Windows 7.

Hit the download link below to snag it! No word on when IE11 for Windows 7 will go final, but we can venture a guess and say sometime around October 17th (the day Windows 8.1 with IE11 rolls out).

We’ve been covering the latest news of Windows Phone, with the leaks of the Nokia Lumia 1520, GDR3 – aka Bittersweet Shimmer, and Windows Phone 8.1, which is also known as Windows Phone Blue. But one thing we have yet to cover is a new feature rumored to come with Windows Phone 8.1, called “Cortana”.

Cortana is Microsoft’s “revolutionary” assistant technology. Although we do have a voice command system built in, it’s time Microsoft improved on it to have competition with Siri and Google Now. According to other Microsoft execs, this technology would not be available to users until they finalize every bit of it, so it will be most likely between 2014 and 2016.

If you ever played Halo, you would recognize the name “Cortana”. Cortana is named after a Halo character that knew everything. According to Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet, “Cortana will be more than just an app that lets users interact with their phones more naturally using voice commands. Cortana is core to the makeover of the entire “shell” — the core services and experience — of the future versions of Windows Phone, Windows and the Xbox One operating systems.”

While we have to rely on leaks only, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer has hinted that Microsoft will be working on “a family of devices powered by a service-enabled shell.” He continues, “Our UI will be deeply personalized, based on the advanced, almost magical, intelligence in our cloud that learns more and more over time about people and the world. Our shell will natively support all of our essential services, and will be great at responding seamlessly to what people ask for, and even anticipating what they need before they ask for it.”

Ballmer later on says in his memo that this shell will also be a “broker information among our services to bring them together on our devices in ways that will enable richer and deeper app experiences.” Ballmer has been touting publicly how users will be able to use voice assistant technology for all their devices. An example would be telling your PC to “print my boarding pass on Southwest” and then their systems would automatically jump into action.

Cortana will be made up of several services combined into one. It would pack Bing’s information, TellMe speech recognition technology, and “natural-language-plus-social-graph concoction.” To view screenshots of Cortana, head on over here.

Microsoft recently acquired Nokia’s hardware and software division, which means that Microsoft owns the Lumia smartphone brand. But what are Microsoft’s plans for the Lumia brand? According to Nokia’s EVP for Sales and Marketing, Chris Weber, Microsoft wants to create a unified brand across Lumia and other Windows based devices, such as the Surface.

“On smartphones, it’s more complicated and we’ll be seeking to create a unified brand across Lumia and other Windows based devices. But we’re still a long way from when that decision has to be made,” Nokia stated in an official blog post. The big question is, will Microsoft get rid of the Lumia brand name and simply call new Windows Phone devices as Surface phones? Or will we see new Lumia tablets? These names are just speculation since no one knows just yet what Microsoft intends to do.

“Nokia as a company will remain. Microsoft isn’t buying the whole company, just a part.”

So what’s next for Nokia after this acquisition? Well, in essence, nothing has changed now. In six months, we will see faster innovation from Nokia when it comes to the feature phone range, backed by Microsoft’s help. As for customer support, warranties, and guarantees, nothing changes due to the acquisition.

“We expect our smartphone, mobile phone, industrial design, support and all the related teams to be doing their same job to the same standards, but working for Microsoft. Working with Microsoft we can increase the awareness and growth of Windows Phone, Asha and our feature phones. We can build upon the success of Lumia and create a stronger, faster, more innovative route to driving this portfolio and the exciting ecosystem around it,” Weber stated.

It will also mean faster innovation in our Asha and feature phone range – with the backing of Microsoft – a real boost to our goal of connecting the next billion people to the Internet,” Weber adds.

The bottom line is that the Windows Phone ecosystem now gets more investment, while Nokia’s design, durability, apps and support will not change. Nokia, as a company, isnt going anywhere. Microsoft simply purchased a portion of the company. It is still a great time to purchase a Nokia smartphone!

We’ve had pretty much every edition of Windows 8.1 leak onto the internet already, and today we can finally tick off the final SKU of Windows 8.1 that was yet to leak, Windows RT. Today, Windows RT 8.1 has leaked onto the web, but installing it will require a lot more work than usual.

Since this is our first ever Windows RT leak, it isn’t entirely clear how installation works. More so, as the ISO’s are clean, installing this leak will ultimately result in your Windows RT device being unbootable as it will not have the required drivers. WZOR, the guys behind the Windows RT 8.1 leak have provided drivers for Surface RT only, but you will be required to insert them manually before hand.

In a matter of fact, it’s more of a reflash than install. So bare that in mind.

Of course, with all leaks we suggest you do not try and install, especially with a leak which is very difficult to install. We will not be posting direct links to said leak, and we also do not permit download links in the comment section. Again, for the sake of your beloved RT device, just wait for the official update coming in October.

Not that long ago, Lenovo’s Think PC and Visual Category Manager Simon Kent stated that Windows RT is not what businesses want. Instead, businesses want the ‘full version of Windows.’ During the IFA 2013 conference Friday, Lenovo added that Windows RT is no longer needed. But why?

When Microsoft rolled out Windows RT, the idea was to provide a Windows experience that was similar to the full-fledged Windows 8 but offered support for low powered ARM chips to achieve longer battery life. However, Lenovo argues the fact that thanks to Intel’s upcoming Haswell chipset, battery efficiency will become a norm and Windows RT will no longer be needed.

Haswell offers battery efficiency and performance at the same time, so it makes sense to simply have a device running the full-fledged Windows 8 operating system. Given Lenovo’s stance on Windows RT, it comes as no surprise that the company wants to focus solely on Windows 8. Lenovo has already discontinued its Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 product, powered by Windows RT.

Do you agree with Lenovo? Is Windows RT redundant now that battery efficient chipsets are making their way onto devices?

After the recent updates that Microsoft did to its Xbox One consoles improving its CPU and GPU, it looks like Microsoft is ready to ship the consoles to retailers for its November 22nd release date. It will be $499 including the console itself, Kinect, one controller, and the headset.

During the Citi Global Technology Conference, Yusuf Mehdi, who is the Xbox Chief and Strategy Officer, stated that Microsoft will continue to support the Xbox 360 for another 3 years while also releasing more than 100 games.

“We’re going to continue to invest in Xbox 360, and the two devices can work in concert. So it’s not like the day we ship Xbox One your 360 won’t work. We’ll continue to support it.”

If the Xbox 360 will be supported for another 3 years, then it will ‘die’ after 11 years ever since it got released in fall 2005. While the Xbox One will get released in successful markets, the Xbox 360 will still be able to sell in low-end markets like the Middle East or Africa due to its low price and availability of games. If this were to happen, then we can suspect the Xbox 360 to surpass its 100 million user mark over the new few years.

We’ve heard in the past that EA and several other game vendors stated that games released before the next generation consoles will be able to run on current generation consoles. If the consumers plan to buy the new Xbox One or PS4, a $10 upgrade fee is charged on a select variety of games so users can get the new next-generation-supported game discs.

Remember IllumiRoom? IllumiRoom was described as a proof-of-concept system that augments the area surrounding a television with projected visualizations to enhance traditional gaming experiences. Truly the future of gaming. But it wont be here anytime soon due to costs.

According to a new report, Microsoft’s Albert Penello, head of product planning for Xbox One, revealed that the future of gaming known as IllumiRoom was not followed through due to the cost. “It’s very, very cool tech but it’s, like, for a consumer, it requires projectors and things. It’s really super-neat if you’re in the lab and you’ve got Microsoft money and you could totally set up this awesome lab, but… we looked at it, but for an average customer it’s, like, thousands of dollars [for the set up],” Penello stated.

Rumors had indicated that we might see the IllumiRoom feature during the launch of the Xbox One, but as we now know, cost will play a crucial role in delaying that. Until Microsoft can figure out a way to bring the price down, IllumiRoom will end up being a cool gaming concept restricted to Microsoft’s internal labs.

If you are unfamiliar with IllumiRoom, take a look at the video we’ve embedded for your viewing pleasure below.

If you follow up to the latest technology news, then you are aware of the relationship between Google and Microsoft. After ‘trying’ to make an official YouTube app available for Windows Phones, they still can’t seem to be able to work together. Well today you’re going to be in shock because they are now joining forces to sue the US government.

Microsoft has partnered up with Google to sue the US government over surveillance transparency. Although the government has said that it will release the total number of national security demands for consumer data for the past 12 months, Microsoft and Google think this is not enough. Both companies feel that everyone deserves the right to know which details, involving official data requests for user data, was requested. This is why Microsoft and Google have both stated yesterday that they will sue the US government to battle over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), for the sake of their customers.

We’ve seen the reaction to everyone when Edward Snowden leaked details on what the US government is up to, which was about the NSA, FISA, and PRISM and their actions against internet users. But everyone raged not only at the government but to the companies providing information for the US government. These companies included Microsoft, Google, and some others. After Microsoft admitted that they were not spying on its customers, some critics still believe they were aiding the US government to spy on people.

“Each company filed a suit in June arguing that they should be allowed to state the details under the first amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, and in the process defend corporate reputations battered by Edward Snowden’s revelations,” The Guardian’s Rory Carrol wrote.

Microsoft’s legal counsel Brad Smith said in a blog post, “On six occasions in recent weeks we agreed with the department of justice to extend the government’s deadline to reply to these lawsuits. We hoped that these discussions would lead to an agreement acceptable to all.”

“With the failure of our recent negotiations, we will move forward with litigation in the hope that the courts will uphold our right to speak more freely. And with a growing discussion on Capitol Hill, we hope Congress will continue to press for the right of technology companies to disclose relevant information in an appropriate way,” Smith adds.

This seems to be the tech giant’s ways to boost their morale due to previous false allegations and to fight for more transparency for their consumers.

In an official blog post today, Microsoft has revealed some new features for SkyDrive Pro. SkyDrive Pro is a cloud storage service tailored to Office 365 subscribers, now offering a whopping 25GB of storage rather than the default 7GB. Microsoft has also rolled out a new feature called “Shared with Me” which offers SkyDrive users the ability to easily find documents others have shared with them.

“Have you ever experienced the pain of trying to locate a document or folder a colleague previously shared with you? Shared with Me eliminates the worry of finding those important items, because now they’re all visible in a single view from within your SkyDrive Pro,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post. Shared with Me appears in the left-hand side of the navigation pane of your SkyDrive Pro.

Microsoft has also increased the default storage space for new and existing SkyDrive Pro users from 7GB to 25GB. Even better if you are a SharePoint Online admin, because you can now increase SkyDrive Pro storage space to 50GB or 100GB for your users.

“In the spirit of continually improving the SkyDrive Pro service, we’re also increasing the overall file upload limit in SharePoint Online to 2 GB/file and the default recycle bin retention to 90 days (up from 30 days). And we’re enabling versioning by default on newly provisioned SkyDrive Pro libraries, which saves the last ten versions, so you never lose an important document. These service improvements apply to SkyDrive Pro and to team site documents and data,” Microsoft added.

So there you have it. These features do not apply to the standard SkyDrive which we all have access to, this simply applies to SkyDrive Pro for those of you who are Office 365 subscribers.

Earlier today, we learned that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would be retiring within the next 12 months. This news was surprising and unexpected. In an interview with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, we learn that Ballmer’s biggest regret during his tenure at Microsoft was Windows Vista.

“Oh, you know, I’ve actually had a chance to make a lot of mistakes, and probably because, you know, people all want to focus in on period A, period B, but I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that’s probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn’t prove out to be as valuable,” Ballmer stated.

Windows Vista, codename Longhorn, is widely known as a flop in the eyes of many consumers, due to glitches and crashes. Aero made its debut in Windows Vista, offering a new visual feel to the operating system. This feature was great but the operating system had its fair share of problems when it came to driver support and other glitches.

Microsoft has yet to select a new CEO for the company.

Not that long ago, Microsoft announced that its Outlook.com email service would have built-in Skype video calling and messaging functionality. As of today, Skype for Outlook.com are now intertwined in the UK and North America, with more countries receiving this feature soon.

“A few months ago we announced that a preview of Skype video calling and messaging was starting to arrive in Outlook.com. Today we are excited to give you an update: Skype for Outlook.com is now fully available in several countries around the globe including the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, France, Canada, and the United States,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

However, more countries will see this feature in the near future. “For those of you outside those countries, we’re still working hard to ensure this is available worldwide in the near future,” Microsoft explained.

Having the ability to make Skype video calls directly from Outlook.com only adds to the benefits of the service’s features, which includes social connections with Facebook and Google. Microsoft cites a statistic in which 76% of those who email frequently follow up via a phone call or video call. This makes Skype for Outlook.com ideal for those who wish to easily make a video call right from their inbox.

Head over to Outlook.com and give Skype a try. Do you find this feature to be useful?

Microsoft has unveiled a new evolution of its ergonomic product line called the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop, which was designed based off extensive research. With this new keyboard, Microsoft wanted to create “something beautiful” without sacrificing the ergonomic benefits.

The Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop features a combo of the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard and Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse. The Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard features a split layout and is actually beautifully designed and is unique. The layout is designed to help position your wrists and forearms in a natural and relaxed position.

“The palm rest is cushioned and the keyboard has a “domed” shape, as shown above, to reduce wrist pronation. Matter a fact, the internal codename for the keyboard was “Manta Ray” because as you can see, it resembles a manta ray. It also allows for reverse-tilt angles to promote a straight, neutral wrist position. All these adjustments to a traditional keyboard put your body in the best possible position for comfort and ergonomics,” Microsoft explained.

The keyboard was designed for Windows 8, featuring hotkeys that work with the operating system. You can also remove the number pad if you don’t want it.

The Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse was “designed for healthy computing with a unique ergonomic shape that encourages natural postures.” The mouse is a bit bigger than typical mice, but only because it reduces the contact between the desktop surface and the underside of your hand which reduces carpal tunnel pressure. Not only is the mouse designed to place your forearm in a relaxed position but the mouse also features a Windows Start button so you can access the Start screen faster. There is also a back button and a four way scroll wheel.

The Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop will be available this month for $129.95 (US). The mouse can be purchased separately for $59.95 (US).

Microsoft has rolled out a new website called “Microsoft by the Numbers” which offers visitors a unique way of showcasing all of the company’s product and service stats in one visually appealing manner. In fact, the website is designed as a large Start screen.

On the website, which you can check out by clicking the source link below, products and services are listed in a live tile format. We learn that Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system has sold 100 million licenses, which could be an old statistic by now. We also learn that Bing holds 17.86% of the U.S. search market share and that the Windows Store has seen 250 million app downloads from users.

It does appear that some of these stats are old and need to be refreshed. Microsoft is also apparently using data from other sources, such as Netmarketshare, to brag statistically about a product or service.

At the bottom of the website, there is a link to download all the stats in PDF format. This offers readers a two-paged PDF file that outlines all of the stats. If you are interested in checking out the new “Microsoft by the Numbers” visual stats website, hit the source link below.

Microsoft is promoting its Outlook.com email service in a new anti-gmail manner, pointing out that Google reads your private email conversations. On top of that, Google will push junk mail directly to your email inbox.

“Google violates your privacy by reading every single word of every single email sent to and from Gmail accounts so they can better target you with ads. Now, they’re going one step further over the line by using that same personal information to spam your inbox with ads that look like real emails. Your email provider should protect you from spam, but Google is doing just the opposite; they’re reading your private email conversations and using what they find to push junk mail directly to your Gmail inbox,” Microsoft stated on its Scroogled website.

Microsoft has been going at it with Google with the company’s Scroogled campaign, highlighting privacy concerns and issues with Google’s products and services. Microsoft has been running these campaigns in an attempt to get users to ditch Gmail and Google Search for Microsoft’s Bing Search and Outlook.com email service.

Microsoft’s Bing team launched the “Scroogled” campaign earlier this year intended to bring back “honest search” by slamming Google and their practice of using paid advertising to promote products to shopping searchers during search results. Instead of seeing consumers being “Scroogled”, Microsoft wants you to see what is really going on with Google.

Head over to the source link to learn more about the Scroogled campaign. You can also watch the embedded video below showcasing how users are getting Scroogled with Gmail.

For those of you who are running Windows RT 8.1 Preview on your Surface RT, you might have experienced an issue where your battery would drain out quickly. This is a known issue and Microsoft has offered a temporary workaround until the final version of Windows RT 8.1 is released.

“Since installing the Windows RT 8.1 Preview I have experienced high battery drain in Connected Standby. I’m losing 2-3% an hour when the Surface RT is in standby, so losing 30% battery during the day when not being used,” one user stated on an official Microsoft support forum. The issue stems from a Bluetooth setting in Windows RT 8.1 and Microsoft is aware of this issue.

In essence, the reason this issue occurs is because the Bluetooth radio was turned off. In order to fix this issue, simply enable Bluetooth. “Do you have your Bluetooth radio turned off, e.g. through airplane mode? If so, please turn it on as a workaround. Swipe in from right to bring in charms bar, tap on Settings and then on Change PC Settings at the bottom. Subsequent steps to get to the switch to enable Bluetooth: Change PC Settings > PC and Devices > Bluetooth,” a Microsoft support member explained.

Enabling Bluetooth fixes this issue. “I’ve now tested over an extended Connected Standby time, and can confirm that turning Bluetooth on has stopped the high battery drain,” another user mentions.

While it may seem counter intuitive to enable a radio to save battery life, this is simply a bug and shouldn’t come as a surprise since Windows RT 8.1 is still in a Preview stage. “It is reasonable to want to turn off the Bluetooth radio to conserve even more power, but be aware that the major contributor to drain on battery is overall system power use, not just an individual radio. Microsoft teams are aware of this issue in the preview build of Windows 8.1,” the Microsoft support member adds.

So if you have this issue, make sure you enable Bluetooth on your Surface RT!

According to new data from Net Applications, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 is still the top browser in terms of market share, beating out Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox. On top of that, Internet Explorer 10 is currently the second most popular Internet Explorer version in terms of market share.

According to the data which was released today and is current as of July 2013, Internet Explorer 8 retains the top spot with a 23.52% browser market share. Internet Explorer 10 comes in second place with a 15.36% share. Mozilla’s Firefox 22 rounds off the top three browsers with a 11.67% share. IE9, on the other hand, holds a 9.69% share while Google’s Chrome 28 holds a 8.98% share.

Microsoft has been touting Internet Explorer 10 as the browser that was designed with security in mind as well as the browser perfect for touch. Microsoft also touts Internet Explorer 10’s ability to block over 99% of malware and has less vulnerabilities compared to rival browsers on the Windows operating system.

Microsoft also recently released Internet Explorer 11 Preview for both Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, offering users a better touch experience than that of its younger brother Internet Explorer 10. Which browser and version do you currently enjoy using? Sound off in the comments below!

VideoLAN President and developer Jean-Baptiste Kempf has posted up a new blog post and has provided us an update on the progress of VLC for Windows RT. According to Kempf, there has been good progress and a release is coming soon.

“As people who follow @videolan know, we keep working quite a bit on our port to the WinRT platforms. It is probably the port where the most effort is spent on those days, and is probably the most difficult. The good news is that we are improving quite a bit, and we are closer to having something on the store,” Kempf stated on his blog.

Since VLC has also been working on platforms such as iOS and Android, Windows RT has not created an impact in development. “..work on one platform does not slow down the development of other platforms ports,” Kempf adds.

A beta of VLC for Windows RT will soon hit the Windows Store, as certain issues are continuing to be addressed. “We fixed most of the issues, including the WinRT static calls, meaning that we rewrote a lot of idl, idl tools and header files,” he adds. So far, they are at 5 forbidden calls and as soon as there are 0, the app will be uploaded to the Windows Store as a Beta for all to test.

Earlier today, Microsoft rolled out Internet Explorer 11 Preview for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 users. Microsoft has also announced that the modern.IE one-click scanning tool for website developers is now available via GitHub as open source under an Apache 2.0 license.

“With the release today of the Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview for Windows 7, we’ve also updated modern.IE – a set of tools and resources that make developing for the web (and IE) just a little bit easier. We want the web to move forward. And, we want to help web developers spend more time innovating and less time testing,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

Microsoft’s one-click scanning tool allows developers to see how their website looks across common devices in the market available today and it costs you nothing. Developers can see a free screenshot of how their website renders across browsers and devices.

Microsoft has released modern.IE on GitHub for developers to download and test locally. “Today, we announce its release under the Apache 2.0 license and available for you on GitHub so you can have complete confidence in scanning for your intranet, line-of-business web app, authenticated firewall, or super-secret project,” Microsoft explains.

Microsoft has also released new virtual machines for download featuring Windows 8.1 Preview with IE11 and Windows 7 with IE11 Developer Preview. Microsoft is also featuring a 25% off Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac discount, which lets you run Windows and Mac apps side by side. You can snag the VMs or check out the discount at the source link below.

Hit the download link below to check out the open source modern.IE.

Back in 2011, Microsoft announced that they would not be “endorsing” WebGL in its current form as a security precaution. The key concerns included the exposure of hardware functionality, a heavy reliance on third parties to secure web experience, and unproven denial-of-service protection capabilities. However, fast forward to now, Microsoft has added support for WebGL in Internet Explorer 11. Why?

Microsoft has made a few security improvements to allow the safe support of WebGL in IE11, no longer relying solely on the GPU for hardware acceleration. “We did a lot of analysis of vulnerabilities, we did threat modelling, and we have essentially a pre-screening stage. Think of it like SmartScreen for WebGL content; we screen WebGL content for dangerous and suspicious patterns,” Microsoft’s Internet Explorer boss Dean Hachamovitch stated in a recent interview.

“Running WebGL on top of the latest DirectX technology provides additional security. On other devices and operating systems it’s possible to overwhelm the GPU and get all sorts of bad things happenning. On the DirectX architecture there is time-out detection and recovery. If you overwhelm the GPU, instead of taking down the whole system, it will just reset the GPU. So we feel we have defense in depth and, with the changes in the standard, that makes it safe to implement,” he adds.

The Internet Explorer team actually had to convince Hachamovitch to add WebGL support, since he was the one who was hesitant about adding it. He changed his mind as soon as the WebGL spec included technology called CORS. This technology effectively prevents image stealing attacks.

While Microsoft may have thought it was a security risk to use WebGL, it seems that the company has changing its mind after seeing Google’s Chrome dominate in market share. The internet is shifting towards a more 3D and immersive experience, so having WebGL support is a must for Internet Explorer.

New details have emerged today regarding Microsoft’s rumored Surface Watch. Apparently, the prototypes of this watch are housed in Oxynitride Aluminum, which is an expensive “translucent aluminum.” On top of that, the prototypes feature removable and colorful wrist bands.

Details about this touch watch first broke back in April of this year when we learned that Microsoft had reportedly asked its Asian suppliers to ship components of a potential touch-enabled watch. Microsoft had requested these components to potentially create a touch-enabled watch device, featuring a 1.5 inch display.

The report also indicates that the Surface Watch will feature a custom tailored version of Windows 8 with 4G LTE capabilities and 6GB of internal storage for the operating system. Best of all, the watch doesn’t need to be connected to your smartphone. Microsoft will be relying on cloud storage for this Surface Watch.

Microsoft is also focusing on the idea of having removable wrist bands, which include a variety of colors such as blue, red, black, white, yellow, and grey. While this device is rumored to be in prototype state right now, we expect to be hearing more about it by next year.

Would you be interested in a Surface Watch?

Microsoft’s Windows Store has finally reached the coveted 100,000 app mark. Windows 8, which introduced the Windows Store, was launched back in October of 2012. While some of you might be impressed with the 100k mark, I am not.

Microsoft revealed today that the Windows Store had finally reached 100k apps. Microsoft has kicked off several incentives for developers to create a Windows Store app, including tools and tutorials, even offering developers cash for developing apps in at attempt to “spark creativity.” Just recently, Microsoft revealed some future plans for the Windows Store, including PayPal SDK integration as well as support for a game development platform called Unity Pro 4. But all this doesn’t change the fact that the Windows Store is still full of crap apps.

Take a look at the screenshot above and below this paragraph. Notice how there are numerous apps from the same developer. These apps are numerous and simply “spam” the Windows Store in quantity. As I monitor the Windows Store on a daily basis for new app releases, I am surprised to see so many useless apps being approved in large quantities. Why is Microsoft approving these apps? Is the race to have so many apps in the Windows Store such a big priority for the software giant?

Back in January of this year, the Windows Store surpassed the 40,000 app mark and I wrote a piece similar to this one bashing the fact that the Store was full of useless apps. I pointed out how we would see the same app over and over again in the Windows Store and if Microsoft even actively checks the Store to weed out “spam” apps or even duplicate apps submitted under a different name or submitted to a different category. Unfortunately, fast forward to now, the same issue persists.

To me, a quality app is an app that someone can use over and over again. It’s an app that has usefulness and makes you tasks easier. For example, a Facebook app, an Instagram app, or even a Twitter app. Most of the non-quality apps I have tried only once and removed them immediately after due to the fact that they were either rushed, poorly designed, or served no purpose at all.

But i’m not going to be all negative about the Windows Store. The cover of the book, so to speak, shows us that there are now 100k apps in the Windows Store. Congrats Microsoft, you have developers who have shown interest in creating “apps” for the Windows Store in return for some little cash via advertisements or paid apps. This shows momentum and the fact that developers are showing interest. During Build 2013, Microsoft even revealed that the Store has seen over “hundreds of millions” of app downloads to date. Amazing!

However, I am simply looking at things from another perspective. I’m sure there are many of you out there who share the same feeling I do. If you disagree with me, then that’s totally fine. 100k apps is a great feat to reach but with all the non-quality apps in the Windows Store, I’m not all that impressed.

How do you feel about the Windows Store? Do you share my feelings or do you disagree?

According to new data from Net Applications for the month of June 2013, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10 browser has surpassed Internet Explorer 9 in market share. However, Internet Explorer 8 still remains as the most widely used Internet Explorer version.

According to the data, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8.0 currently holds a 22.67% market share, while Internet Explorer 10 holds a 13.52% share. Internet Explorer 9 is down to 11.71% share while Internet Explorer 6 is down to 6.13% share. Google’s Chrome 27 comes in second place, right behind IE8 and right above IE10. Mozilla’s Firefox rounds out the top three browser brands and is right below IE10 in terms of market share.

Microsoft has been touting Internet Explorer 10 as the browser that was designed with security in mind as well as the browser perfect for touch. Microsoft also touts Internet Explorer 10’s ability to block over 99% of malware and has less vulnerabilities compared to rival browsers on the Windows operating system.

A recent court ruling has resulted in Microsoft losing the trademark to the name SkyDrive in the UK due to a news broadcaster being worried that the name SkyDrive could be confused with their Sky video streaming services. Microsoft are appealing the decision, however if the company are unable to win back the trademark, they will have no choice but to rename SkyDrive.

It appears Microsoft are already preparing for a worst-case scenario, as the term ‘Microsoft Drive’ has been coded into the Windows 8.1 operating system, and can be seen in PC Settings once a registry setting is tweaked. If the term Microsoft Drive isn’t a backup name for SkyDrive, then what are Microsoft planning to use it for?

Hopefully Microsoft won’t have to result to the name Microsoft Drive, as SkyDrive is now a well known cloud storage service and having a rename in Europe could result in loss of market share. What are your thoughts on this? Leave them in the comments area below!

Bad news for Microsoft and its SkyDrive brand name, as a new report revealed today indicated that Microsoft had lost a trademark case against British Sky Broadcasting Group. This Group goes by the name Sky and the group had filed a complaint against Microsoft alleging that the SkyDrive name was a trademark infringement against the Sky brand.

This ruling is from a British court and states that Microsoft’s SkyDrive does in fact infringe on Sky’s trademarks in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. According to the judge, Mrs Justice Asplin, Microsoft’s use of SkyDrive was likely to cause confusion amongst consumers and that the use of SkyDrive was detrimental to the Sky name, which amounts to a trademark infringement.

The best case scenario is that Microsoft wins an appeal against Sky. The worst case scenario is Microsoft completely drops the SkyDrive name and re-brands the service or even pays Sky royalties to continue using the SkyDrive name. This isn’t the first time Microsoft went all out with a brand name only to change it. Remember the Metro name? Microsoft had to cease using that name thanks to a lawsuit from a group called “Metro AG.”

“Sky is pleased with the judgment handed down today by Mrs Justice Asplin. We regard any unauthorized use of the Sky name as a clear infringement of our well-established Sky brand. We remain vigilant in protecting the Sky brand and will continue to take appropriate action against those companies that seek to use our trademarks without consent,” Sky stated in an official statement.

Microsoft’s response to this? “This case is only about the SkyDrive name and has nothing to do with service availability or future innovation. The decision is one step in the legal process and Microsoft intends to appeal,” Microsoft stated. Let’s see how this turns out.

For those of you who have been using the Skype service, Microsoft has detailed the future roadmap for the communications service. Based on user feedback, Microsoft is working on improving and adding a few new features to Skype.

According to Microsoft, more people are using Skype from their phone or tablet, rather than a PC. Skype continues to grow in users and the Skype app is one of the top 10 most downloaded apps of all time on the Windows Phone, iOS, and Android platforms.

“As more and more people take Skype with them on the go, we’re continuing to evolve the experience according to the mobile user’s unique and ever-changing needs,” Microsoft states in an official blog post. So what can we expect? Microsoft is working on improving battery consumption from the app as well as making the messaging feature much more convenient and touch friendly.

Microsoft is also working on making the Skype experience fast yet familiar across different platforms, including adding the same features across platforms. “More and more of our users have Skype on their phone, tablet, and PC. So while we still need to make Android feel like Android and Windows feel like Windows, people want a fast, beautiful, and more coherent design across all the devices they use,” Microsoft adds.

Microsoft’s number one concern right now is to increase performance and quality of the Skype app. Microsoft is also working to make conversations at the heart of the redesigned app experience. “To make all your interactions on Skype easier, we are putting conversations at the heart of a redesigned experience. Not only is this Modern design bold and beautiful, but it’s also simpler and easier to use. Doing this on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 dramatically reduced the time it takes to reply to a message, while making it even simpler to upgrade that conversation to a voice or video call. Our aim is to make the experience and design of our apps as consistent as possible, while still respecting each device’s unique look and feel,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft did not reveal exactly when we can see these changes take place, however, now we have an idea of what Microsoft is working on. Eventually, all the Skype apps on each platform will share the same vision and feature-set!