Microsoft hardware and software, from Windows and Office to Surface tablets and Xbox.
Microsoft launches Windows 8 today. Until 31st January 2013, Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users can download Windows 8 Pro for S$49.99. Those who bought a Windows 7 PC between 2nd June 2012 and 31st January 2013 also qualify.
Microsoft has a new corporate logo after 25 years, unveiled on Thursday, 23rd August 2012. It felt the perfect moment for change, with an incredibly exciting year ahead as it prepares to release new versions of nearly all its products.
Earlier this morning, Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 at the Windows Phone Developer Summit. Existing Windows Phone 7.5 Mango users won't be able to upgrade, due to hardware differences. Instead, they'll receive a minor Windows Phone 7.8 update.
Microsoft has jumped on the tablet bandwagon with the Surface. I'm unsure whether the official name is just Surface or Surface Tablet, since Surface used to mean Microsoft's huge touchscreen table. It seems Microsoft has renamed that older device PixelSense.
The Windows 8 Release Preview is out, the final pre-release before launch. It includes Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10, new apps for Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger, and hundreds of new and updated apps in the Windows Store.
Google Drive is finally here after years of waiting, just in time to join the cloud storage rush, with Microsoft's new SkyDrive landing two days ago. Dropbox now faces competition. I've been a paying Dropbox Pro user for two years.
The Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview is out. Since the Developer Preview last September, which focused on the programming platform, Windows 8 has advanced on every front, from completing the touch, keyboard, and mouse experience to refining development and design.
Microsoft Singapore officially launched Windows Phone 7.5 yesterday, bringing more than 500 new features and enhancements. The HTC Radar, at a recommended S$569, and the Samsung Omnia W, at S$498, are the first Windows Phone 7.5 handsets here.
The last time we saw Windows 8 was at Computex on 2nd June 2011. Yesterday at the BUILD conference, Microsoft demoed the Windows 8 Developer Preview. The new Metro UI looks fantastic, and I hope Microsoft keeps the interface consistent.
At Computex in Taipei on 2nd June 2011, Microsoft gave hardware partners a technical preview of the next Windows, internally code-named Windows 8, to help them build devices that take advantage of its new user experience.
Microsoft has previewed its Windows Phone 'Mango' update, with the Windows Phone 7.1 SDK now out. Mango and new Windows Phones are due this autumn, the first Nokia Windows Phones will run Mango, and Communications gains Threads and Groups.
Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 9, promoted on a new site called Beauty Of The Web whose URL honestly looked like a phishing page at first. The latest version of the world's most-used browser launched in 39 languages.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 is now available. Sizes vary widely: the 32-bit Windows Update is around 750MB and the 64-bit 1,050MB, while standalone downloads from Microsoft balloon to 4,100MB and 7,400MB respectively.
Finally, Nokia is dumping Symbian for something better: Windows Phone! Nokia and Microsoft today announced a broad strategic partnership combining their complementary strengths to build a new global mobile ecosystem and challenge the smartphone status quo.
Got the HTC 7 Mozart from Mobile Square for S$670 without contract. After trading in my Nokia N82 and my mom's iPhone 3G, I paid just S$260. Now I own every major mobile OS except BlackBerry!
Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac is now available on most retail shelves. The Home and Student edition bundles Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger for Mac, priced at S$188 for one licence or S$228 for the three-licence Family Pack.
Five minutes after Microsoft's press release launching Windows Phone 7 in Singapore, I got SingTel's, titled SingTel brings Windows Phone 7 to Singapore. It's long, so in short: the phones go on sale from 21st October 2010 onwards.
I wish Apple would, like Microsoft, make Singapore a first launch market. Per the press release, the much-anticipated Windows Phone 7 reaches the public here on Thursday, 21st October, as SingTel, StarHub and M1 join 60 operators across 30 countries.
Microsoft has announced Singapore Kinect and new Xbox 360 prices. Kinect with Kinect Adventures is S$229, the 4GB Xbox 360 alone S$339, or bundled with Kinect S$469, and individual Kinect games S$59.90. Everything arrives at the end of August 2010.
Microsoft has renamed Project Natal to Kinect, arriving 4th November 2010, and I'm definitely getting it for my Xbox 360, rumoured at US$150. On the original console Kinect connects via USB plus a separate power cable.
Microsoft today unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series at Mobile World Congress 2010. Being a brand-new OS, they dropped the Windows Mobile 7 branding for this name instead. From the first look, it looks pretty impressive.
On Saturday, Li Xiang and I attended HP and Microsoft's Envision the Future event at Giraffe Restaurant & Bar, opposite Plaza Singapura. The food wasn't bad, and we each got a name tag to write our thoughts on the theme.