Pedro Hernandez

On paper, Sony’s PlayStation 4 (PS4) has a performance edge on the Xbox One from Microsoft, despite sharing a similar “Jaguar” system-on-chip (SoC) architecture from Advanced Micro Devices. A recent leak from the Xbox One’s November 2014 software development kit (SDK) from hacking group H4LT revealed that game developers can now dip into the added […]

Microsoft’s Year of Change: Cloud, Mobile, Windows 10 and More By Pedro Hernandez Nadella Takes Charge Satya Nadella took the helm at Microsoft on Feb. 4, officially ending Steve Ballmer’s 14-year reign as the software giant’s chief executive. As only the third CEO after Ballmer, and legendary co-founder Bill Gates before him, Nadella had some […]

Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 console was not only a commercial success for the company, it helped kick-start a 3D sensing, hardware-hacking movement. This year, the motion sensor’s Windows counterpart is being put out to pasture. The Redmond, Wash.-based company released Kinect for Windows v2, based on the more advanced unit that is available […]

Microsoft is making it easier for developers to monetize their apps when the highly anticipated Windows 10 operating system arrives in 2015, according to Todd Brix, general manager of Windows Apps and Store. The software giant is working to beef up Windows Store, Microsoft’s take on app marketplaces like Apple’s App Store and Google Play. […]

Boyd Multerer, director of development for Xbox, has made his exit from Microsoft. “Goodbye Microsoft. It was a good run. Xbox was Great! Time to do something new,” tweeted Multerer (@BoydMulterer) on Dec. 29. Where he is landing next is being kept under wraps, at least for now. “Currently doing independent secret stuff,” reads Multerer’s […]

Skype is emerging as the connective tissue binding Microsoft’s collaborative, cloud-enabled business software ecosystem. First teased last month, Microsoft has turned on Skype for Office Online, announced Skype Senior Product Marketing Manager Karen Tong in a blog post. “Skype for Office Online makes collaborating a breeze. The chat experience is available right next to the […]

Unhappy holidays awaited new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owners last week. Microsoft’s Xbox Live service and Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) were essentially knocked offline on Dec. 25 after a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack rendered them unreachable. Xbox Live and PSN provide online multiplayer and media services for the companies’ respective game consoles. Both services […]

Microsoft is streaming “The Interview” from Sony Pictures Entertainment on Christmas Eve, the company announced today. The movie is at the center of a recent Sony hacking scandal involving terabytes’ worth of data, including videos, personally identifiable information and emails from high-level executives. The comedy’s plot revolves around two bumbling journalists, played by James Franco […]

Microsoft has gathered some powerful allies in its ongoing legal battle against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case involving emails stored in a data center in Ireland. Now, that country’s government is lending its support. On July 31, Manhattan’s U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Microsoft to turn over Outlook.com emails stored […]

Microsoft is offering up its latest Windows Store statistics as proof of Windows 8.1’s popularity, at least compared with its predecessor. “Windows 8.1 is now the primary operating system for Windows Store. In November the vast majority of downloads (approx. 92%) of Windows Store apps were from customers running Windows 8.1,” wrote Windows Apps and […]