Dropbox now faces some serious competition. I am a paying Dropbox user (Dropbox Pro 50 (50GB plan) – USD$99/year) for almost 2 years now and I have used up about 95% of my storage space and I didn’t want to go to the Pro 100 (100GB plan) because at USD$199/year it is pretty expensive. I hope this competition will drive down the prices for Dropbox, if not I would have to switch to Google Drive or Microsoft SkyDrive.

Google Drive Features

• Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything (PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.
• Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just… there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive app to your Android phone or tablet. We’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices. And regardless of platform, blind users can access Drive with a screen reader.
• Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Let’s say you upload a scanned image of an old newspaper clipping. You can search for a word from the text of the actual article. We also use image recognition so that if you drag and drop photos from your Grand Canyon trip into Drive, you can later search for [grand canyon] and photos of its gorges should pop up. This technology is still in its early stages, and we expect it to get better over time.

Google Drive Price Plans

• 5GB – Free
• 25GB – USD$2.49/month – USD$29.88/year
• 100GB – USD$4.99/month – USD$59.88/year
• 1TB – USD$49.99/month – USD$599.88/year
• When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB.

Microsoft SkyDrive Price Plans

• 7GB – Free
• +20GB – USD$0.84/month – USD$10/year
• +50GB – USD$2.04/month – USD$25/year
• +100GB – USD$4.17/month – USD$50/year

Dropbox Price Plans

• 2GB – Free
• 50GB – USD$9.99/month – USD$99.99/year
• 100GB – USD$19.99/month – USD$199.99/year

If you are not too sure whether is Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive or even Dropbox is suitable for you, check out the following articles:

• The Verge: Google Drive vs. Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync, and others: a cloud sync storage face-off
• Engadget: Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared
• Gizmodo: Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox and More Compared: What’s the Best Cloud Option?

Official Blog Post: Introducing Google Drive… yes, really

Key Updates In This Consumer Preview

• Broad range of product changes and improvements. Since the Developer Preview in September, designed to preview the programming platform, Windows 8 has progressed across every dimension. From completing the user experience for touch, keyboard and mouse to refining the development platform, the Consumer Preview improves performance, quality and reliability across all subsystems. With the added features, it represents a more complete view of the capabilities of Windows 8.
• Windows Store with new apps. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview marks the beta opening of the Windows Store, which is filled with a variety of new Metro style apps from both third-party developers and Microsoft. During the Consumer Preview, these apps are available to try and experience at no cost to users. The Windows Store will offer personalized recommendations, and Windows 8 gives users the ability to take their apps and settings with them across multiple PCs, making it easy to discover and try new apps while offering developers the greatest opportunity of any platform.
• Connecting to the cloud across Windows-based PCs and Windows Phone. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview offers seamless integration with the content people care about across their devices. An optional additional sign-on with a Microsoft account provides access to a host of features, including the ability to roam all settings, use cloud storage, communicate with email, calendar and contacts, and connect to a broad range of services. Your connection to the cloud works across your Windows-based PCs and your Windows Phones.
• Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 5. The best way to experience the Web on Windows is with Internet Explorer 10. The browser has been re-imagined to create a new experience designed specifically for Windows 8 devices. It provides an edge-to-edge user interface that is all about less browser and more Web. Fast and fluid, Internet Explorer is hardware-accelerated to enable Web performance.
• Preview of new hardware capabilities. At the event, Microsoft also showcased Windows 8 running on a wide range of new x86- and ARM-based reference hardware. This hardware will be available to select developers for trial and testing as previously announced.

Hardware Specifications

• 1 GHz or faster processor
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• 1024 x 768 minimum screen resolution

Direct Download Links

• English – 64-bit (x64) (3.3 GB) [sha1: 1288519C5035BCAC83CBFA23A33038CCF5522749]
• English – 32-bit (x86) (2.5 GB) [sha1: E91ED665B01A46F4344C36D9D88C8BF78E9A1B39]
• Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Press Release: Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows 8 Consumer Preview
Blog Post: Introducing Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Both HTC Radar (RRP: SGD$569) and Samsung Omnia W (RRP: SGD$498) will be the first Windows Phone 7.5 to be released in Singapore. The HTC Radar will be available next month (October 2011) while the Samsung Omnia W will be available sometime in Q4 2011.

The Mango release is available for free to all Windows Phone 7 customers. Microsoft will begin delivery of the update to existing Windows Phone 7 users from today and gradually ramp up delivery so that the update will be broadly available to most existing customers by the end of October 2011.

Based on the official site, Where’s my phone update?, both SingTel and StarHub are in the status of “Delivering update” which means:

Microsoft has started to send out the update. Important: To help ensure quality, software updates are typically sent out gradually and/or in batches, so it might take several weeks before you receive notice that an update is available for your phone.

Official Site: Windows Phone 7.5
Official Status Page: Where’s my phone update?
Press Release (Windows Phone 7.5): Microsoft Puts People First With The Launch Of The Latest Version Of Windows Phone In Singapore
Press Release (HTC Radar): HTC Unveils HTC Radar, HTC’s First Windows Phone 7 With Mango Update
Press Release (Samsung Omnia W): Samsung delivers a unique experience with Omnia W, a smartphone that puts people first

The new Metro UI look awesome, hopefully this time round, Microsoft will make the UI consistent throughout the whole Windows. Microsoft has learned from their mistake and the Metro UI is now built for touch rather than mouse from the group up. It is just wrong slapping a touch UI to Windows 7, it just does not work.

Smilar to OS X Lion, Windows 8 will have its own App Store for you to buy software. I hope the software prices are reasonably priced. Windows 8 also supports ARM-based chipsets. In the press release, they did mentioned “One Windows”, I am hoping they meant there is only one edition of Windows 8 and not so many editions like its predecessors, it just confuse the crap out of consumers.

You can try out the Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview for free (no activation is required), just head to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516/ and download the ISO. The x64 variant is 3.6GB and x86 one is 2.8GB.

Here are some highlights extracted from the press release:

Touch-First User Interface

• Metro style. Windows 8 introduces a new Metro style interface built for touch, which shows information important to you, embodies simplicity and gives you control. The Metro style UI is equally at home with a mouse and keyboard as well.
• Touch-first browsing, not just browsing on a touch device. Providing a fast and fluid touch-browsing experience, Internet Explorer 10 puts sites at the center on new Windows 8 devices.

More Ways to Engage With Powerful, Connected Apps

• Powered by apps. Metro style apps built for Windows 8 are the focal point of your experience, filling your entire screen so there are no distractions.
• Apps can work together. Apps communicate with each other in Windows 8. For example, you can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.
• Your experience syncs across your devices. Live roams all the content from the cloud services you use most – photos, email, calendar and contacts – keeping them up-to-date on your devices. With SkyDrive, you can access your files, photos and documents from virtually anywhere with any browser or with Metro style apps in Windows 8.

Enhanced Fundamentals

• The best of Windows 7, only better. Windows 8 is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7, delivering improvements in performance, security, privacy and system reliability. Windows 8 reduces the memory footprint needed – even on the lowest-end hardware – leaving more room for your apps.
• Preserving power-user favorites and making them better. For those who push the limits of their PC, Windows 8 features an enhanced Task Manager and Windows Explorer and new, flexible options for multimonitor setups.

New Developer Opportunities

• Windows Store. The Windows Store will allow developers to sell their apps anywhere Windows is sold worldwide, whether they’re creating new games or familiar productivity tools.
• Build using more languages. Windows 8 lets you leverage your existing skills and code assets to create great experiences using the programming language you prefer.
• Rich hardware integration leads to richer experiences – particularly for games. DirectX 11 gaming power underlies Windows 8, allowing the easy creation of full-screen games with smooth, flicker-free action.

New Generation of Hardware

• One Windows – many shapes and sizes. Support for ARM-based chipsets, x86 (as well as x32 and x64) devices, touch and sensors means Windows 8 works beautifully across a spectrum of devices, from 10-inch tablets and laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens.
• Always connected. With Windows 8, new ultrathin PCs and tablets turn on instantly, run all day on a single charge and stay connected to the Internet so your PC is ready when you are. Next-generation system on a chip (SoC) support will also enable greatly extended standby and low-power states.
• Tap the full power of your PC. Windows 8 runs on PCs and is compatible with the devices and programs you use today on Windows 7, without compromise, to deliver the performance you expect of a PC.

Lock Screen

Start Screen

App Screen Showacasing Keyboard

Press Release: Microsoft Reimagines Windows, Presents Windows 8 Developer Preview

TAIPEI, Taiwan – June 2, 2011 – At 2011 Computex today, Microsoft Corp. showed hardware partners the next version of Windows, internally code-named “Windows 8″, to help the partners build devices that take advantage of the new user experience. As part of this technical preview, Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Windows Planning, Hardware and PC Ecosystem at Microsoft, demonstrated how “Windows 8″ is optimized for newer touch-centric hardware, including tablets, while still delivering the flexibility, connectivity and power that people have come to expect from Windows today.

The technical demonstration also highlighted the new operating system’s ability to work across both x86 and ARM-based architectures, with a variety of early prototypes shown running the new operating system. Microsoft and silicon chip makers AMD, Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. initially announced plans in January to work together on the next version of Windows.

“Our aim with ‘Windows 8′ is to make the user experience a natural extension of the device, from the time you turn on your PC through how you interact with the applications you know and love,” Angiulo said. “This represents a fundamental shift in Windows design that we haven’t attempted since the days of Windows 95, presenting huge opportunities for our hardware partners to innovate with new PC designs.”

The new user experience also extends to how applications will run on “Windows 8″, with controls naturally fitting into the device experience. Developers also will be able to use common Web technologies, such as HTML5 and JavaScript, to create applications for the PC, further easing integration and adoption.

To aid developers in building applications for the new operating system, Microsoft formally opened registration for its new developer conference, BUILD. The conference will take place Sept. 13–16, 2011, in Anaheim, Calif. More information and online registration for BUILD is available at http://www.buildwindows.com.

Press Release: Microsoft Previews ‘Windows 8′

• Windows Phone 7.1 SDK is out (see link below), “Mango” and new Windows Phone will be coming this fall/Autumn/.
• “Mango” might not be Windows Phone 7.1
• The first Nokia Windows Phones will be on “Mango”
• Dell will not come out with Windows Phone anything soon as it is not ready to hop on to the “Mango” bandwagon
• Communications: Threads, Groups, Deeper social network integration, Linked inbox & Hands-free messaging
• Apps: App Connect, Improved Live Tiles & Multitasking
• Internet: Internet Explorer 9, Local Scout, Bing & Quick Cards

Linked Inbox (left), IE9 (Right)

Group (Left), Integrated Messaging (Right)

Links

• Press Release: Microsoft Previews Next Release of Windows Phone
• Press Images: Windows Phone Newsroom: Image Gallery
• Developer News: Beta Mango Tools Available Today
• Engadget: Live from Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP preview event!
• Engadget: Windows Phone Mango and Bing Vision hands-on

AUSTIN, Tex. – March 14, 2011 – Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of the latest version of the world’s most-used browser with the release of Windows Internet Explorer 9 in 39 languages at an event at the SXSW Interactive conference. Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft’s most-downloaded browser beta of all time, with more than 40 million downloads, and it has already has gained more than 2 percent usage on Windows 7. Already more than 250 top sites from around the globe are taking advantage of the capabilities in Internet Explorer 9 to deliver differentiated experiences to their customers, with many featured on http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.com. Together, these partners reach more than 1 billion active Internet users on the Web.

Top Sites and Designers Take Advantage of Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer 9 is designed to bring sites front and center through Windows 7, enabling a more immersive, more beautiful Web experience. Features such as Pinned Sites and Jump List enable people to put their websites directly on the Windows 7 Taskbar, as though they were native applications, and then to quickly and easily perform tasks related to those websites, such as check their inboxes, change the music station, accept friend invitations or see breaking news.

Fast Is Now Beautiful: Internet Explorer 9 With Hardware Acceleration
The new version of Internet Explorer takes advantage of the power of modern Windows PC hardware to improve all-around Web browsing performance. It is the only browser with hardware-accelerated HTML5 spanning all graphics, text, audio and video. Internet Explorer 9 harnesses the power of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), unlocking 90 percent of the PC’s power that went previously untapped by Web browsers.

Improving Privacy and Security Online
Because the Web is increasingly less secure and private, Internet Explorer 9 is designed to be a trusted browser because it contains a robust set of built-in security, privacy and reliability technologies that keep customers safer online.

Press Release: Microsoft Announces Global Availability of Internet Explorer 9

Direct Download Links From Microsoft:

• Windows 7 x86
• Windows 7 x64
• Windows Vista x86
• Windows Vista x64

File Sizes:

• Windows Update: x86-based (32-bit): 750 MB
• Windows Update: x64-based (64-bit): 1,050 MB
• Downloading SP1 from the Microsoft website: x86-based (32-bit): 4,100 MB
• Downloading SP1 from the Microsoft website: x64-based (64-bit): 7,400 MB
• Installing SP1 using an installation DVD: x86-based (32-bit): 4,100 MB
• Installing SP1 using an installation DVD: x64-based (64-bit): 7,400 MB

Instructions: Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
KB: Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Here is the full Microsoft’s press release:

LONDON – Feb. 11, 2011 – Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

Under the proposed partnership:

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.
• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.
• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.
• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.
• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience
• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.
• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.
• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO, said at a joint news conference in London. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale.The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

Here is a snippet of Nokia’s press release:

Nokia plans to form a strategic partnership with Microsoft to build a global mobile ecosystem based on highly complementary assets. The Nokia-Microsoft ecosystem targets to deliver differentiated and innovative products and have unrivalled scale, product breadth, geographical reach, and brand identity. With Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform, Nokia would help drive the future of the platform by leveraging its expertise on hardware optimization, software customization, language support and scale. Nokia and Microsoft would also combine services assets to drive innovation. Nokia Maps, for example, would be at the heart of key Microsoft assets like Bing and AdCenter, and Nokia’s application and content store would be integrated into Microsoft Marketplace. Under the proposed partnership, Microsoft would provide developer tools, making it easier for application developers to leverage Nokia’s global scale.

…

As of April 1, Nokia will have a new company structure, which features two distinct business units: Smart Devices and Mobile Phones. They will focus on Nokia’s key business areas: high-end smartphones and mass-market mobile phones. Each unit will have profit-and-loss responsibility and end-to-end accountability for the full consumer experience, including product development, product management and product marketing.

Smart Devices will be responsible for building Nokia’s leadership in smartphones and will be led by Jo Harlow. The following sub-units now in Mobile Solutions will move under Smart Devices:
- Symbian Smartphones
- MeeGo Computers
- Strategic Business Operations

To support the planned new partnership with Microsoft, Smart Devices will be responsible for creating a winning Windows Phone portfolio.

…

Press Release (Nokia): Nokia outlines new strategy, introduces new leadership, operational structure
Press Release (Microsoft): Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem

Box Front

Box Back – Specifications

Box Contents

HTC 7 Mozart – Front View

HTC 7 Mozart – Back View

Windows Phone 7 OS

Now I have phones from all major mobile OSes (iOS, Android, Symbian^3 & Windows Phone 7) except Blackberry!

Here are the two editions of it:

• Home and Student Edition:
  • Includes:
    1. Word for Mac
    2. PowerPoint for Mac
    3. Excel for Mac
    4. Messenger for Mac
  • Suggested retail price:
    • SGD$188 (1 licence)
    • SGD$228 (3 licences Family Pack)
  • Apple Store Singapore:
    • Home and Student Edition (3 licences Family Pack)
• Home and Business Edition:
  • Includes:
    1. Word for Mac
    2. PowerPoint for Mac
    3. Excel for Mac
    4. Messenger for Mac
    5. Outlook for Mac (NEW!)
  • Suggested retail price:
    • SGD$298 (1 licence)
    • SGD$398 (2 licence Multipack)
  • Apple Store Singapore:
    • Home and Business Edition (2 licence Multipack)
    • Home and Business Edition (1 licence)

If you get the Home and Student Edition (Family Pack) or Home and Business Edition (Multipack), you can redeem a free Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 worth SGD$54!

*UPDATE* Apple has updated its store with Microsoft Office 2011! Post has been updated to include the link

The press release is pretty long, so I am not going to paste it here. I will summarize the press release into point form:

• Windows Phone 7 will be available from 21st October 2010 onwards
• SingTel apps like AMPed and MobileTV will be integrated into Microsoft Marketplace
• The phone will come preloaded with SingTel’s Xplorer and TrafficeLIVE app
• SingTel will offer Windows Phone 7 with 3 handset models:
  1. Samsung Omnia 7
  2. HTC HD 7 (Exclusive to SingTel)
  3. LG Optimus 7
• SingTel will introduce three enhanced Windows Phone 3G Flexi price plans:
  1. Windows Phone 3G Flexi Lite Plan
  2. Windows Phone 3G Flexi Plan
  3. Windows Phone 3G Flexi Plus Plan

SingTel Windows Phone Price Plans

PS: The prices for the Windows Phone 7 handsets is not stated in the press release and I can’t seem to load the official site for SingTel’s Windows Phone 7.

Official Site: SingTel’s Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7

This is a copy + paste from the press release:

The much anticipated Windows Phone 7 in Singapore, which is available to the public on Thursday, October 21.

Next week, SingTel, StarHub and M1 will join 60 mobile operators in 30 countries worldwide to bring the phone to market, with a variety of handsets available from HTC, LG and Samsung. Today’s announcement marks the culmination of an 18-month buildup during which time Microsoft has been working with its partners to “bring consumers a different kind of phone.”

Windows Phone 7 enables people to find what they care about most, more easily than on any other mobile device. Specifically Windows Phone 7:

• Is built around you. People are ready for a different phone experience and Microsoft built Windows Phone 7 not around apps, but around the way people want technology to support their lives. Less stop and stare, more glance and go; less searching, more finding; less clutter, more clarity.
• Fuels new experiences. Windows Phone 7 represents many firsts in the mobile industry such as the Xbox LIVE integration. With a blockbuster list of game titles from award-winning publishers, the phone marks a new era in mobile gaming.
• Provides a whole new opportunity for developers. With leading developers and ISVs in Singapore embracing Silverlight and the XNA Framework, the new Windows Phone 7 application development platform enables a rich ecosystem for developers to create the next generation of applications and games.

Official Site: Windows Phone 7
Official Image Gallery: Windows Phone 7
Official Video Gallery: Windows Phone 7
YouTube: Windows Phone Channel

• Kinect and “Kinect Adventures” game: SGD$229
• New Xbox 360 (4GB) with Kinect and “Kinect Adventures” game: SGD$469
• New Xbox 360 (4GB): SGD$339
• Each Kinect games: SGD$59.90
• Available Date: End of August 2010

Press Release
SINGAPORE, July 20, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today announced an all-in-one opportunity to jump into the controller-free fun of Kinect this holiday: the all-new Xbox 360 4GB console, the revolutionary Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” packaged together for a suggested retail price of S$469.

With “Kinect Adventures,” players will make their way through 20 adventures, navigating roaring rapids and ducking and dodging through mountaintop obstacle courses and other exotic locations — no controller, wand or balance board required.

In addition, existing Xbox 360 console owners can purchase the Kinect sensor with “Kinect Adventures” for a suggested retail price of S$229.

The sensor, which will work with each of the 40 million Xbox 360 consoles currently in households worldwide, is uniquely able to track your full body movements, to deliver a multiplayer experience right out of the box.

In addition, the new Xbox 360 4GB console, which will be available by the end of August in Singapore, will be available for a suggested retail price of S$339. With a sleek new design, the Xbox 360 4GB console looks great and includes built-in Wi-Fi N, 4GB of internal flash memory, touch-sensitive buttons and a black matte finish.*

“Kinect for Xbox 360 offers tremendous entertainment value for the whole family,” said Erik Ford, Senior Regional Marketing Manager, SEA Xbox 360. “With full body and multiplayer play right out of the box, Kinect is the most unique, complete and affordable way for everyone to enjoy controller-free fun and entertainment.”

In addition, Kinect games, including “Kinectimals,” “Kinect Sports,” “Kinect Joy Ride” and MTV Games’ and Harmonix’s “Dance Central”, will retail for a suggested retail price of S$59.90.

Website: Xbox Singapore

Microsoft Kinect

First off, Microsoft Project Natal has been renamed to Microsoft Kinect and will be available on 4th November 2010. I am so getting it for my Xbox 360. The rumored price is USD$150.

For the Xbox 360 Original, Kinect will connect to your Xbox via a USB cable and a power cable is needed for power (doh!). Whereas for the New Xbox 360, you just need 1 cable (see below).

Official Site: Kinect
Fact Sheet: Kinect (docx)
Source: Microsoft Kinect gets official, Video Chat announced

Xbox 360 Slim

New Box 360

Microsoft also launch the new Xbox 360 which is slimer but personally from the screenshot, I think it looks uglier. It will go on sale from today in the US and priced at USD$299

Here is a quote from Engadget:

The new box is crazy sexy in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons, and Microsoft says it’s “whisper quiet,” with one large fan instead of two — the new 45nm chipset undoubtedly generates less heat to begin with. On the features front, it’s got integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n WiFi, five USB ports, and 250GB of storage on a removable hard drive, although it’s not a standard drive or same drive as the old console, and older Memory Units won’t work, either. Upgraders can use a USB-to-Xbox hard drive connector cable to migrate to the new box, however. There’s also a “custom Kinect port” on the back that looks like an HTC-style ExtUSB port, and it also seems like the power supply has moved inside the case.

Official Site: Xbox 360
Source: New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (video hands-on!)

Press Page: Xbox E3 Press Page

Check out the UI videos:

Today at Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the next generation of Windows Phones, Windows Phone 7 Series. With this new platform, Microsoft offers a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications. For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7 Series. Partners have already started building phones; customers will be able to purchase the first phones in stores by holiday 2010.

Designed for Life in Motion

With Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft takes a fundamentally different approach to phone software. Smart design begins with a new, holistic design system that informs every aspect of the phone, from its visually appealing layout and motion to its function and hardware integration. On the Start screen, dynamically updated “live tiles” show users real-time content directly, breaking the mold of static icons that serve as an intermediate step on the way to an application. Create a tile of a friend, and the user gains a readable, up-to-date view of a friend’s latest pictures and posts, just by glancing at Start.

Every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for Bing, providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone, while a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant Web or local results, depending on the type of query.

Windows Phone 7 Series creates an unrivaled set of integrated experiences on a phone through Windows Phone hubs. Hubs bring together related content from the Web, applications and services into a single view to simplify common tasks. Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:

• People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.
• Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.
• Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.
• Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content.
• Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.
• Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.

…

Official Site: Windows Phone 7 Series
Press Release: Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Series
More Information: Windows Phone Press Kit
YouTube: Windows Phone Channel

We each have a name tag and on top of it, we are suppose to write what we think of the future. Everyone’s one future was pretty generic like “bright”, “exciting”, “soon”, “nice”, “now”, etc. I decided against the norm and put, “Future is Future loh”. I wanted to put “bleak” but it sounds generic as well. Li Xiang’s put “Future is astonishing”.

My Future

The ice breaker session was first, we are split into two teams and tasked to made/imagine a futuristic object based on the “old” objects that we are given. Li Xiang and I was in Team A

“Old” Objects

Team A Futuristic Object

Team B Futuristic Object

Team A was tasked to build a mobile gaming device of the future and team B was tasked to build the gym of the future.

Next was lunch which I should have took some pictures but I did not because I was busy eating. lol

Next up was 5 speakers giving a 5 minute presentation of what they think of the future.

5 Speakers

First up was Brian Ling from Design Sojourn who give a speech on the future of product design. Imagine a small product manufacturing machine that can sit on our desks and manufacturing products!

Brian Ling (Extreme Left)

Second was Mina Sunico from The Glamour Zone who talks about the evolution of blogging in the fashion industry.

Mina Sunico

Third was Daniel Tso from Tech 65 giving a talk on the future of gadgets, the future of gadget maybe as rich as our computer but still as mobile as our mobile phones. Think tablet!

Daniel Tso (Extreme Left)

Fourth was Willis Wee from Penn Olson who talks about the future of mobile, in particular smart phones and mobile advertisements. He did mentioned that Social Media Gurus are bullshit and I have to agree with him on that.

Willis Wee

The fifth and last speaker was Nicholas Aaron Koo from Geekonomics who thinks that the future is “BUB PFUSE” which are acronyms and stands for Bleak, Uncertain, Bright, Personalised, Fun, Unexpected, Social and Exciting.

Nicholas Aaron Koo

What is a HP event without HP computers? The following computers were there for us to play with! The HP Touch Smart, HP ProBook, HP Envy and HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje.

HP 3rd Generation Touch Smart

HP ProBook

HP Envy

HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje

The HP Envy is the nicest designed Windows laptop I have ever seen, but unfortunately the price is pretty steep as well, comes in 13″ (SGD$3,499) and 15″ (SGD$3,699).

HP also launches a new campaign called “Blog A Trend“, details are stated below:

What Is “Blog A Trend”?
It’s the simplest ideas that change the world. We believe bringing minds with various insights and ideas will certainly spark a revolution.

Blog A Trend is how you get to start your very own future revolution.

How Blog A Trend works:
Pen a blog post (of at least 300 words), or create a photo story, or even produce a video clip about the most compelling vision of the future. Once it’s up on your blog, email your post to us with the permalink to futureis@ waggeneredstrom.com by 28th February 2010.

Blog A Trend is eligible for bloggers residing in Singapore only.

What you should blog about:
Tell us about the future and what trends define it. Here’s a tip: think about people, think about what they like, what they don’t like and how those behaviors will be redefined in the future. Your submission can even be your opinion on a trend you see emerging. Share these ideas with your readers and generate a discussion – your first step in starting a revolution.

In short, tell us what you believe will soon become part of our everyday lives and then, get people talking. If our judges think your post has generated the most interesting discussions, you’ll get to win the latest gadgets from HP’s latest line-up of computers

Some possible Blog A Trend topics:

• Future of Thin & Light
• Future of Music
• Future of Touch
• Future of Fashion
• Future of Personalization
• Future of Social Media
• Future of Design
• Future of Content
• Future of Environment
• Future of Education
• Future of Entertainment

There is an official site for this event, check out HP Future Is. You can also check out Joe’s blog post on the event as well.

Official Photos

The first 177 customers gets to buy Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Edition at SGD$77 (RRP: SGD$219). After that, a limited number of customers can purchase it at SGD$147 during the launch event.

Full Install Prices

• Windows 7 Home Premium – SGD$359
• Windows 7 Professional – SGD$529
• Windows 7 Ultimate – SGD$549

Upgrade Prices

• Windows 7 Home Premium – SGD$219
• Windows 7 Professional – SGD$359
• Windows 7 Ultimate – SGD$379

OEM Prices (Full Install)

• Windows 7 Home Premium – SGD$190
• Windows 7 Professional – SGD$255
• Windows 7 Ultimate – SGD$350

I have been using Windows 7 for quite sometime since it was available in my school’s MSDN AA on 14th August 2009. I am very satisfied with it, definitely an improvement over the failed Windows Vista or the long running Windows XP.

*UPDATE* Updated post with Windows 7 OEM prices from Fuwell.

Source: DK and VR Zone

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash. – 29 July, 2009 – Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

Pretty interesting agreement terms!

• The term of the agreement is 10 years;
• Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into its existing web search platforms;
• Microsoft’s Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business such as enhancing display advertising technology.
• Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter’s automated auction process.
• Each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force.
• Yahoo! will innovate and “own” the user experience on Yahoo! properties, including the user experience for search, even though it will be powered by Microsoft technology.
• Microsoft will compensate Yahoo! through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!’s network of both owned and operated (O&O) and affiliate sites.
• Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo! at an initial rate of 88% of search revenue generated on Yahoo!’s O&O sites during the first 5 years of the agreement.
• Yahoo! will continue to syndicate its existing search affiliate partnerships.
• Microsoft will guarantee Yahoo!’s O&O revenue per search (RPS) in each country for the first 18 months following initial implementation in that country.
• At full implementation (expected to occur within 24 months following regulatory approval), Yahoo! estimates, based on current levels of revenue and current operating expenses, that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual GAAP operating income of approximately $500 million and capital expenditure savings of approximately $200 million. Yahoo! also estimates that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual operating cash flow of approximately $275 million.
• The agreement protects consumer privacy by limiting the data shared between the companies to the minimum necessary to operate and improve the combined search platform, and restricts the use of search data shared between the companies. The agreement maintains the industry-leading privacy practices that each company follows today.

Source: Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape

Tim Huckaby’s Profile

Consistently rated in the top 10% of all speakers, and currently focused on Smart Client Technologies, Tim Huckaby has been called a “Pioneer of the Smart Client Revolution”. Tim has been awarded multiple times for the highest rated keynote and technical presentations for Microsoft and numerous other technology conferences around the world.

Event Outline

Innovation is touching down in Singapore! See it with your own eyes and hear it directly from Mr Tim Huckaby, a “Pioneer of the Smart Client Revolution” as he shares on Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight and Microsoft Surface!

This session will be heavily demo focused to accentuate how the power of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight 2.0 can be used to visualize data.

WPF is the next-generation presentation sub-system for building rich Windows smart client user experiences that incorporate UI, media, and documents.

Microsoft Silverlight is a plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.

Microsoft Surface a multi-touch product that allows a user to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects.

Event Details

Date: 10th December 2008 (Wed)
Time: 6pm – 9pm
Venue: Microsoft Auditorium, Level 21, NTUC Centre, One Marina Boulevard, Microsoft Singapore
Email: MSDPE@crystaledge.net
Call: Meagan at +65 6293 4947

Registration is free, so if you are interesting please RSVP at this link.

Full Details: Mix-It-Up December 2008: Touch-It-Up

PS: Weiquan and Suqin, if you are interested want to go together?