Category Archives: Technology

Slide Show: Exploring a World of Natural User Interfaces

*Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie gathered with individuals from across the company this week for a day of futuristic demos showcasing natural user interfaces, 3D technologies and new ways to interact with computers. Get a behind-the-scenes look.* 

REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 24, 2011 – Microsoft provided a glimpse into computing’s future at the Microsoft Home this week, showing demos of 3D and virtual worlds, vision systems that create new models for interacting with computers, and research that explores potential scenarios for Kinect beyond gaming.

Mundie and Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, also announced plans to make a Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK) available this spring. The non-commercial SDK will be geared to academics and enthusiasts. (more…)

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Amazon Prime Members Now Get Unlimited, Commercial-free, Instant Streaming of More Than 5,000 Movies and TV Shows at No Additional Cost

*Amazon Adds Instant Videos to Amazon Prime*

SEATTLE, Feb 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced the launch of a new benefit for Amazon Prime members: unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows. This new benefit is being added at no additional cost — Prime membership will continue to be $79 per year. Amazon Prime’s all-you-can-eat free Two-Day Shipping has already attracted millions of members. Customers can learn more about an Amazon Prime one-month free trial and start watching instantly at www.amazon.com/primevideos.

“Millions of Amazon Prime members already enjoy the convenience of free Two-Day Shipping,” said Robbie Schwietzer, vice president of Amazon Prime. “Adding unlimited instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost is a great way to give members even more value for their $79 annual Amazon Prime membership.”  (more…)

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Hello Mother: Microsoft Makes ‘Native Languages’ More Accessible

*The Microsoft Local Language Program extends software to often underserved cultures, allowing people to experience technology in their native language. Feb. 21 is International Mother Language Day*

REDMOND – Feb. 21, 2011 – While visiting a government office in Vietnam nearly a decade ago, a Microsoft employee noticed one of the employees had Post-It® notes all the way around her computer monitor.

The notes weren’t daily “to-dos” or grocery lists, but English-to-Vietnamese translations of common Microsoft Windows and Office commands such as “file,” “save” and “print.” At the time, there was no Microsoft software available in Vietnamese. (more…)

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Social Networking Accounts for 1 of Every 5 Minutes Spent Online in Australia

*comScore Presents ‘The State of the Internet in Australia’*

Sydney, Australia, February 18, 2011 – comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released The State of the Internet in Australia, which looks at the latest trends in digital consumer behavior in the market. The findings of the report were also recently presented at a comScore-hosted industry event in Sydney. Among the report’s key findings was that Social Networking now accounts for the largest amount of total time spent online at 22 percent, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from the previous year, as social media plays an increasingly prominent role in Australians’ digital lives. (more…)

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In Watson’s Wake, IBM World Community Grid Registration Skyrockets 700%

$500,000 in IBM Jeopardy! Challenge prize money to fund global research that benefits humanity

ARMONK, N.Y. – 18 Feb 2011: Watson wasn’t the only computer system that won this week when it competed successfully against two human champions on the Jeopardy! game show.  

The other computing system is called World Community Grid, a virtual supercomputer that helps scientists solve humanitarian challenges by tapping the unused computing power of personal computers around the world.  Scientists who use World Community Grid are not only set to receive $500,000 in prize money — but are already earning unprecedented support worldwide: The day after the tournament’s conclusion, World Community Grid saw a 700% spike in the number of people who normally volunteer their computers’ spare power for the effort. (more…)

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comScore Releases January 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings

*VEVO Captures Second Place in Video Content Ranking*

RESTON, VA, February 15, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 171 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in January for an average of 14.5 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in nearly 4.9 billion viewing sessions during the course of the month.

Top 10 Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers

Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in January with 144.1 million unique viewers. VEVO captured the #2 ranking with 51.0 million viewers, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 48.7 million viewers. Viacom Digital took the fourth position with 48.1 million viewers, while AOL, Inc. drew 44.5 million viewers. Google Sites had the highest number of viewing sessions with 1.9 billion, and average time spent per viewer at 283 minutes, or 4.7 hours. (more…)

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IBM Introduces New Systems to Bring More Efficiency to Data Centers Run Amok

*Continues Ongoing Investments in Innovative Workload-Optimized Systems*

ARMONK, N.Y. – 15 Feb 2011: IBM today announced workload-optimized systems to help companies manage a range of more demanding workloads that are placing new stresses on already over-taxed data centers.   

The offerings, which span IBM’s systems portfolio, represent IBM’s continued investment in systems integrated and optimized across chips, hardware and software, for a range of work at a time when companies face unprecedented amounts of data and are under pressure to become more efficient in managing and drawing timely insights from the information. (more…)

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Microsoft Shows New Features and Future Direction as Momentum Builds for Windows Phone 7

At the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft leaders announced upcoming new features for Windows Phone 7 and provided a glimpse into the new phone’s early feedback and growing momentum

BARCELONA, Spain – Feb. 14, 2011 – Microsoft today kicked off Mobile World Congress by giving people a glimpse of what the rest of the year will bring for Windows Phone 7. Among the updates are several new features, a booming app marketplace, and the integration of even more Microsoft products with the phone. (more…)

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