Latest Windows Phone 8 Update 3 New Features

The Latest Update for Windows Phone 8

Now supporting larger displays with more room for the great Live Tiles.

The latest Update 3 is supporting new features such as large displays via HD and the experience via the Start Screen will also improve with the stored apps thus improve the user experience and quality feel. 

This new update certainly confirms the previous news on the new phone to support the technology namely the Nokia Lumia 1520.  Despite of all the qualities of the existing Nokia Lumia 925 including the exceptional camera on the Nokia Lumia 1020, nevertheless the new Nokia Lumia 1520 is to set a new a standard in terms of consumer experience and quality which is to deliver an amazing 1080×1920 display, 2GB RAM, 32GB of storage space and finally a a microSD slot.

It seems possible that a 20-megapixel camera is on the pipeline too.

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Newest Microsoft Windows Phone 8 Apps from YODspica Ltd

Today we saw the launch of two interesting free apps.

For users of Microsoft Windows phone 8 operating system by YODspica Ltd.

The two new apps include the Cardiff Open Coffee Network which is a monthly free business network meeting with its official website on 1Cardiff.com and the other free app is that of YODspica Ltd itself which can be viewed and downloaded on Our Company.

So if you have a windows phone what is stopping you from downloading these great apps today, the download links are above with the screenshots seen on this post. 

The windows phone apps, are well designed and developed, the first app provides detailed information about members which they are to be updated regularly, a news page with the latest event news, a ticket page for anyone wish to book into events, with other detailed information throughout the navigation options. 

The Our company windows phone app, provides detailed information on all services currently offered by YODspica Ltd, as well as a latest news feature for readers.

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Welcome to Microsoft Ventures to Help New Business Flourish

The global phenomenon of promoting and encouraging Entrepreneurship keeps increasing and is a very popular choice for most daring, creative and multi-skilled individuals.

 

Companies like Microsoft are ever more understanding and extending their arms to understand and help this global growth by encompassing new raw talent which consists of such much potential when fine tuned and supported correctly even if with custom offers to suit specific interested parties.

 

Any idea and Entrepreneurial business are always evolving so it is important to offer the correct solutions and not to generalize offerings, and this is where Microsoft has been learning and accommodating by popular demand it case for innovation, which is particularly difficult for such a large organization however they appear to be trying quite hard and focused in order to become ever more appealing with their technology and innovative solutions. Particularly in the applications development market.  

As a result today, Microsoft is announcing the creation of Microsoft Ventures, which consists of a solution that offers tools, resources, expertise and routes to market. Alongside specific help with mentorship, guidance, seed funding, joint selling opportunities among other benefits.

Microsoft Ventures is a top level approach to business development which includes a community evangelism program and BizSpark.  The popular program of BizSpark on its own also to continue to offer access to Microsoft tools and technologies.

For more information is available on The Official Microsoft Blog  and microsoftventures,

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Microsoft Windows 8.1 OS Release Update and Windows Phone 8 Update

The new release update for Windows 8 is to be named Windows 8.1 and will launch as a public preview on the 26th June (which coincides with Microsoft's Build developer conference), Microsoft has today announced. 

It also follows from Microsoft Tami Reller presentation at a Conference in Boston today, where she stated how Microsoft will continually update Windows in order to create and innovate for “a richer experience”.

This new release update will also be available for Windows 8 ARM-based Windows RT.

Furthermore, a new update coming in the summer on the Windows Phone 8 OS update which contains improvements for Wi-Fi connectivity, messaging, support for CalDAV and CardDAV in order to run Google contact and calendar syncing services. Furthermore, a reintroduction support for FM radio, capability to select, download and pin tunes in Xbox Music and improve the accuracy of song information with metadata.

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Interesting Productive Shortcuts on Microsoft Windows 8

The new Microsoft Windows 8 is designed to work seamlessly with hardware that is enabled for touch or gesture interactivity. Nevertheless, many users will still be using the Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard. With this mind, we have collected the best keyboard shortcuts that will improve the users experience:

• Windows logo key + start typing: Search your PC


• Ctrl+plus (+) or Ctrl+minus (-): Zoom in or out of many items.


• Ctrl+scroll wheel: Zoom in or out of many items.


• Windows logo key + C: Open the charms


• Windows logo key + F: Open the Search charm


• Windows logo key +H: Open the Share charm


• Windows logo key +I: Open the Settings charm


• Windows logo key + K: Open the Devices charm


• Windows logo key + O: Lock the screen orientation (portrait or landscape)


• Windows logo key + Z: Open commands for the app


• Windows logo key + PgUp: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the right.


• Windows logo key + PgDn: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the left.


• Windows logo key + Shift+period (.): Snap an app to the left


• Windows logo key + period (.): Snap an app to the right

Microsoft Office Available on Android and Apple Mobiles in 2013

It is now known that Microsoft will present the version of the Office 2013 as a productivity suite to be available on Android and Apple Mobiles and Tablets, however the timeline for the availability was not previously known until it was stated a plan of the Office 2013 where its general availability is scheduled to arrive early in 2013.

Furthermore, it now also know Office 2013 will be available in December 2012 for corporate users, however the consumer versions of home office 2013 will only become available not before February 2013.  Furthermore, Office 365 for mobile devices and tablets will appear in March 2013.

Microsoft stated "Office Mobile will work across Windows Phones, Android phones and iOS." Also in a recent development Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer wrote a letter that contains a vision that Microsoft is shifting its model to focus on devices and services.

Microsoft Solutions Upcoming Name ReBranding Changes

Microsoft is going through a marketing rebranding process in order to showcase its new clean and modern look, as it can be seen from the recent changes and the upcoming releases.

In this post we have collected relevant changes to the naming of Microsoft offerings, on the left side of the list it can be seen the original name and on the right it can be seen the new branding names.
Metro design => Modern design
Metro style apps => Windows 8 apps / Windows Store apps

Office 2013 => Office Next
Office 2010 Home and Business => Office 365 Home Premium
Office 365 Plan E3 => Office 365 ProPlus
Office.com => Office Store
SharePoint Workspace => SkyDrive Pro

Windows on ARM => Windows RT
Windows Live ID/Passport => Microsoft Account
Hotmail => Outlook.com
Windows Live SkyDrive => SkyDrive
Windows Live Mail => Windows Mail Desktop
Windows Live Essentials => Windows Essentials

AppFabric Service Bus => Windows Azure Service Bus
SQL Azure => Windows Azure SQL Database
Windows Small Business Server/ Windows Small Business Server Essentials => Windows Server 2012 Essentials
Silverlight => XAML

Microsoft adCenter => Bing Ads
Microsoft Search Marketplace => Yahoo! Bing Network

Microsoft Office 2013 RT Final Versions Available Starting November 2012

The new Microsoft version of its Office Suite labelled as Microsoft Office 2013, will also be available as Office 2013 RT for devices only. It then follows that it will be offered to customers that purchase Win RT operated devices as part of their pre-installed offerings, as a result it will not be possible to purchase the office suite as an individual product rather as a solution "included" with ARM-based Windows RT tablets. Furthermore, it will not be available at the Windows Store.

The final version of Office Home & Student 2013 RT will become available and it is expected to be sometime between November to January 2013, in the case of customers that purchase Windows RT devices before the period of the final version releases, then it is possible to upgrade to final versions for free on the normal Windows Update settings.

Below are some of the features not available at the Office 2013 RT versions:

• Macros, add-ins and creating Data Models in Excel 2013 RT. 


• Searching for embedded audio and video files, recording A/V notes, recording narrations in PowerPoint 2013 RT and importing from an attachment scanner with OneNote 2013 RT. 


• Older media formats in PowerPoint, not able to edit equations written in Equation Editor 3.0.

Microsoft Windows Phone 8 New Feature, Room to Chat

As the new windows mobile operating system from Microsoft official global launch is approaching, new features will surprise many people for the better, this now includes group chatting functionality named "Room to Chat".  Furthermore, users on group chat will be able to share content and calendar appointment, events or lists to do.

The way it works, is that windows phone users are invited via text message as recipients from whoever is setting the group chat. It then follows, that group chat members are also able to customise their content sharing settings, either by choosing to share content with the entire group, or filtering and selecting content to be shared privately with a particular Room participant.

Source The Verge.  In further detail WMPowerUser published a description of the group chat: "Gather your friends and family together. Invite them to a private Room where you can share a calendar, photos, group chat and notes. Or add them to a Group to see social updates from just those folks and text them all at once. Tap the plus sign to get started".

Microsoft Users Must Agree to New Service Agreement, from 19th October

Microsoft is now notifying users of services including Bing, Outlook, MSN, Skydrive, Office365 and Office, these notifications relate to a new update on the Microsoft Services Agreement.  It then follows, that the main relevant updates that users should note are presented below:

User produced content, can be automatically shared 
As a result, Microsoft can use user content to “provide, protect and improve” all “Microsoft products and services... including cloud services”. It can be concluded that the agreement is being updated to take into consideration the new release of Windows8, where users need to provide a Microsoft user account in order to use the Operating System with the new full features that include the cloud synchronizations.

This is similar to Google user services, such as Android phone users. In this context, and in particular relating to this new agreement from Microsoft, it may be the privacy concerns that may occur, in the case where Bing search engine uses user content to display publicly data and how it will select user content including whether a user has any veto power.

Users cannot sue Microsoft

Microsoft users will now only be able to request reconsiderations and take action on possible disputes via a binding arbitration, where user rights and proceedings are diminished.

The new updated Microsoft Services Agreement will be active for agreeing users from the 19th October 2012, in order to use Microsoft services.

Windows 8 and Phone 8, Official Launch Dates Announced

Microsoft has been quietly preparing Windows 8, however some details have emerged recently, such as Windows 8 date is October 26. Furthermore, a new standard design visual named Metro style has been implemented and thus revamping most of its consumer and cloud solutions user interfaces, such as skydrive and outlook in preparation for the big launch event.

With regards to the new Windows Phone 8, today there was an interesting development with the presentation by Samsung of the first Windows Phone 8. Furthermore, Nokia soon will within the next week or so, showcase its new devices in the US and  HTC Windows Phone 8 is scheduled to also showcase sometime in mid-September.

Following our sources, we can now provide some detailed dates:

October 25, Microsoft's big launch event for Windows 8 and the Surface RT, with the available products after midnight.

October 29 Windows Phone 8 Official launch, and devices available within a week.

Now Available Microsoft Skydrive on Android

Microsoft keeps innovating its current solutions, following the recent upgrade from hotmail to outlook, now is the turn to its file cloud storage  SkyDrive. As a result, there is now also a new user interface design, of which it standardizes with the current look and feel of outlook, but most importantly with the new Windows 8 Metro style.

The news today is however, that skydrive is now available on the Android mobile platform, at its Google Play store. The Skydrive Android app follows on its availability also on iOS apps with equal features. The recommended Android version to run Skydrive is Android 4.0.

SkyDrive solution, competes directly with SugarSync, Dropbox, Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud.  However, the main advantage of SkyDrive is that it offers up to 7GB of storage, with possible additional storage cheaper.

Microsoft New Logo Arrives

Microsoft has today unveiled its new logo design, this is an interesting and expected development for a few weeks now, since it started shipping new hardware without its traditional logo.

"It’s been 25 years since we’ve updated the Microsoft logo and now is the perfect time for a change. This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 to Xbox services to the next version of Office, you will see a common look and feel across these products providing a familiar and seamless experience on PCs, phones, tablets and TVs. This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning."  Source.

Microsoft Entity Framework is Now Open Source

Following on the pattern of making open source software highly available on Microsoft solutions, the company has now made another step towards supporting open source frameworks by opening its very own Entity Framework that works by helping data manipulation. It first started last year when Microsoft made available quite a few development related tools such as NuGet among relevant libraries linked to ASP.Net programming. Furthermore also last year it sponsored Node.js development projects as well as large data analytics Apache Hadoop for Windows. And as another huge step it is also making Linux available on Azure its cloud computing flagship platform.

The way entity framework is structured within Microsoft is at its Open Technologies, in this context earlier this year projects can be developed using Open Technologies. The source code for Entity is on Codeplex, where codeplex is the Microsoft equivalent to GitHub.

These steps are very much welcome by Microsoft, and it seems it is trying to catch and attract development talent that use those technologies, nevertheless the next challenge by Microsoft may be to consider other parts of its well established traditional technologies that it owns.

Windows Phone 7 “The World Doesn’t Need Another Platform” says Android

PC Magazine posted earlier an interesting interview with Android chief Andy Rubin.  From the interview it was mentioned the Android rivals. It was well noted a particular emphasis with regards to Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7.  It was stated by Andy Rubin  “the world doesn’t need another platform.”

Furthermore, it was stated that the Windows Phone 7 looks “interesting” but no value is apparent, particularly when the Android system is already out there. “Android is free and open; I think the only reason you create another platform is for political reasons”.

Previously, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has made clear his opinion on Android being free: it’s not free, you have to pay patent fees for it, due to Microsoft.

Rubin expands his thoughts on Android versus Windows Phone 7:

I encourage everybody to use it, but I’m also not under the impression that everybody will use it, which is a good thing, because competition is good for the consumer and if somebody has an an idea for a feature or a piece of functionality in their platform and Android doesn’t do it, great. I think it’s good to have the benefit of choice, but in the end I don’t think the world needs another platform.

It was argued that the key strength of Android lies in Google’s ability to create mashups of many services, following their cloud computing vast experience.