Tag Archives: xbox 360

Bing Challenges Nation to ‘Bing It On’

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2012Technologyamerica, big box, bing, bing it on, challenge, Facebook, foursquare, Google, Google Search, kinect, knowledge graph, Microsoft, microsoft prize, mike nichols, mtv, pane, quality, quora, san diego, search engine, search result, social search, Twitter, video music awards, web, windows 8, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live

Study suggests people prefer Bing’s Web search results nearly 2-to-1 over Google.

REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 6, 2012 — Beginning today, America can click and choose which Web search results it prefers by participating in the Bing It On Challenge, available at Bing.com. Based on research that indicates people prefer Bing Web search results over Google, Bing is inviting consumers to come and see for themselves with an online test designed to show that the quality of Bing’s Web search results has surpassed Google’s.

Although most people identify themselves as Google searchers, an independent study commissioned by Microsoft Corp. shows people chose Bing Web search results over Google nearly 2-to-1 in blind comparison tests.* Given those findings, Bing decided it is time to let people see for themselves that there is a better option in search. (more…)

World’s Top Tech Students Go for It All Down Under

By Guest PostJuly 6, 2012Technology2012 summer games, Argentina, australia, blog entry, brazilian brothers, bubblegum, cloud computing, darkened room, eduardo, eureka, gold medals, Greece, Iceland, imagine cup 2012, kinect fun labs, korea, let it bee, london, mathdash, Microsoft, olympic athletes, Pizza, project, robert miles, roberto sonnino, roberts quest, serbia, sydney, team, team boddymusic, team catchcake, team drexel dragons, team radiant, team symbiosis, Technology, united states, walid abu-hadba, windows, worldwide finals, xbox, xbox 360

Young technologists are looking to take the world by storm this weekend at the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia.

SYDNEY – Wrapped in the flags of their countries, the competitors climb onto the podium, beaming with joy as the cameras flash. They are young, passionate, business-savvy ambassadors of their field.

These aren’t soccer players or high jumpers, but they are no less competitors than the athletes seeking gold medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London. They are the planet’s premiere young technologists. And, to slightly alter an infamous movie line, they’ve come to change the world and chew bubblegum – and they’re all out of bubblegum. (more…)

A Career of Thriving on ‘Impossible Projects’ – Including Kinect for Xbox 360

By Guest PostJune 12, 2012Technologyalex kipman, algorithmic security agency, ben sugden, boston, brazil, career, chase bank, cirque de soleil, curitiba, galen center, gaming system, impossible projects, inflection point, j p morgans, jaron lanier, jeffrey margolis, katie stone perez, kinect, los angeles, Microsoft, microsoft called, microsoft campus, microsoft technology, microsoft visual studio, msbuild, new york, peter loforte, rsa security, sao paulo, seattle, software, tablet pc, Technology, tv screen, unix, virtual machine, vm, windows vista, xbox 360, young boy

Alex Kipman, leader behind Kinect, on making technology ‘disappear.’

REDMOND, Wash. – June 12, 2012 – In June 2010, Alex Kipman sat in Los Angeles’ Galen Center as Cirque de Soleil performers helped introduce the world to Kinect. Acrobats, musicians and 10-foot tall puppets filled the sports arena, where 3,000 people watched a boy onstage discover Microsoft’s new controller-free gaming system.

“Hi, Alex,” a narrator said to the boy. “Welcome home.”

Kipman claims the name was coincidence, but he could be forgiven for making the connection, having led the development team that spent several years building Kinect. Sitting in the darkened arena, he reflected on the journey that began with a question: Can we make technology disappear? (more…)

Microsoft Marks E3 with “Halo 4,” New Entertainment Experiences

By Guest PostJune 4, 2012Technologye3, electronic entertainment expo, Entertainment, fable, forza, game of thrones, gears of war, halo, halo 4, los angeles, master chief, Microsoft, south park, splinter cell, windows 8 pc, xbox 360, xbox live, xbox music, xbox smartglass, yusuf mehdi

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Microsoft announced a robust lineup of new Xbox 360 games, including a new installment of the blockbuster Halo franchise. The company also unveiled new content and entertainment experiences for Xbox LIVE and smart devices.

LOS ANGELES – The Xbox 360 console charged into its seventh Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) today buoyed by a bundle of blockbuster game releases led by Halo 4 and a set of new entertainment experiences that will push Xbox farther into the living room, and onto PCs, tablets and phones.

Microsoft also revealed a set of new Xbox content, partners and apps – including bringing Internet Explorer to the console for the first time. The company also introduced a new music service and Xbox SmartGlass, a new app that brings an immersive entertainment experience to all devices. (more…)

‘Kinect Star Wars:’ A Tour de Force by Fans, for Fans

By Guest PostApril 3, 2012Science Fiction, Technologyabby lee, boonta eve, c 3po, craig derrick, darth vader, david tuft, don mattrick, droids, force, galactic dance off, george lucas, Germany, han solo, jabba the hutt, jedi experience, jorg neumann, kinect, kinect star wars, lego, lucasarts, Microsoft, nahil sharkasi, padawans, princess leia, r2 d2, rancor rampage, seattle, star wars, stormtrooper, xbox 360

*Meet the Force-sensitive fans who helped bring the Star Wars universe to life in “Kinect Star Wars,” the ultimate Jedi experience for Padawans of all ages.*

REDMOND, Wash. – Abby Lee walked into a Seattle toy store recently and purchased two LEGO Darth Vader alarm clocks, a Star Wars pop-up book, and a few LEGO speeder bikes. The bemused checkout clerk asked if she was going to a birthday party.

“No,” Lee replied. “I’m going to work.” (more…)

A Passion for Privacy: Three Chief Privacy Officers Reflect on a Decade of Work Creating a More Trustworthy Computing Ecosystem

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2012TechnologyBill Gates, brendon lynch, computer models, corporate privacy group, database, early winters, game, information database, internet explorer 6, internet explorer 9, kinect, Microsoft, microsoft office 365, mountain climber, mpsd, multinational company, peter cullen, privacy strategy, richard purcell, trustworthy computing initiative, websites, xbox 360

*As the proliferation of devices and cloud services expands the amount of data becoming available globally, Microsoft’s chief privacy officers have focused on developing policies, processes and technologies to help protect users’ personal information.*

REDMOND, Wash. — A mountain climber turned database whiz. A customer loyalty manager for one of the world’s largest banks. A quality assurance and risk management consultant.

The career arcs that led Richard Purcell, Peter Cullen and Brendon Lynch to Microsoft couldn’t have been more different. Yet, in their own unique way, each path was preparation for serving as the corporate privacy officer of one of the world’s largest software and services companies. (more…)

Kinect in the Classroom: Scratching the Surface of Potential

By Guest PostMarch 6, 2012Education, Technologyacceleration, austin, brazil, cameron evans, cheryl arnett, classroom, department of labor, disneyland, games, guinness world records, imagination, India, jack chang, jebediah pavleas, kinect, kinect effect, magic kingdom, Microsoft, robin angotti, saudi arabia, skype, stem, sunset elementary school, sxswedu, taiwan, Technology, texas, university of washington bothell, velocity, xbox 360

*First graders are using Kinect for Xbox 360 to get to places like Disneyland (on a map, at least), and high school students are graphing mathematical equations with their bodies.*

CRAIG, Colo. – March 6, 2012 – First-grade teacher Cheryl Arnett spent much of last summer playing Kinect for Xbox 360 with her grandkids.

For fun, yes, but the 19-year veteran teacher at Sunset Elementary School in Craig, Colo., also had an agenda. A longtime lover of technology, Arnett was looking for ways to teach with Microsoft’s controller-free device. When she brought Kinect to her classroom at the start of this school year, the reaction from her enthralled students was “over the top,” she said. (more…)

‘Gears of War 3’ is an Action-Packed Father and Son Story

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 2011Technologyamerican chopper, anya stroud, chris wynn, christmas, delta squad, discovery channel, dlcs, downloadable content, epic games, gears of war, gears of war 3, locust horde, marcus fenix, microsoft studios, new york city, new zealand, paul teutul, role playing games, rpgs, sci fi warfare trilogy, times square, troops of delta squad, xbox 360, xbox live

*Thousands of retailers around the world are opening their doors at midnight for the launch of the long-awaited “Gears of War 3,” a dramatic, action-packed finale to the Xbox 360 sci-fi warfare trilogy.*

REDMOND, Wash. – “Gears of War 3,” the dramatic, action-packed, much-anticipated conclusion to the blockbuster Xbox 360 trilogy, marches out at midnight.

Fans who have been waiting for the final chapter in the sci-fi warfare saga are lining up around the world to buy the game, which goes on sale at 12 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20. With 20,000 launch locations, the release is the franchise’s biggest, stretching from New Zealand to Times Square. (more…)