Any laptop user knows how hard it can be to be so close to your screen when typing. This often causes eye strain and can make you more tired than you actually are. As someone who practically lives on their laptop I know that I suffer from horrible headaches. Well Microsoft has come up with a new keyboard that makes working on your laptop more comfortable (it also works great with desktops). Their new Microsoft Arc keyboard is about the same size as a 15 inch laptop keyboard and allows you to sit wherever you want because it is wireless.

The Arc keyboard is thin and lightweight making it easy to move all around the house or wherever you take your laptop. The Nano Transmitter can be left in your computer or neatly stored under the keyboard by being snapped in. Since it is wireless, you will have to buy batteries to run it. There is an on/off button that will allow you to conserve the battery life when not using the keyboard. It also has a two color battery indicator to warn people when to replace the batteries. With a four way directional pad, you get the benefit of arrow keys while not taking up space. The wireless function is 2.4GHz which will allow you to move up to 15 feet away from the transmitter. This is a must for anyone who suffers from eye strain and headaches from using their computers.

Microsoft has complained about Google’s business practices and suggested that the company is “undermining competition” by locking in business partners to deals that are excluding competitors. European authorities have apparently asked Google to explain their algorithms because of complaints. It may be a legitimate complaint but it sounds funny coming from Microsoft. The two companies now seem to be locked in battle as Google has expanded rapidly into other domains and Microsoft is determined not to be overtaken.

Microsoft’s partnership with Yahoo and the launch of Bing is clearly designed to try and claw back some of the share of online searches which is the foundation of Google’s success. Meanwhile Google has used the search engine success as a springboard into loads of other business pursuits. The two heavyweights have until now been subtle in their shots at each other but this marks a departure for Microsoft and it seems likely the fight will intensify. So who are you backing?

After the announcement from Sony last week about the new PS3 slim and the price drop for their console Microsoft have been forced to act and they have just announced that the Xbox 360 Elite will now be offered at $299. That’s a drop of $100 to bring it into line with the PS3, although the PS3 still has superior functionality. They have also knocked $50 off the price of the Xbox 360 Pro bringing it down to $249 and they announced that once stocks run out the Pro model will be discontinued.

Microsoft have claimed that they planned this price drop for months and this may be true but there can be little doubt that Sony have forced their hand. If they really intended to swing out the price drop around about now then they would have announced it at GamesCom. The new Xbox 360 Elite will no longer be bundled with a free HDMI cable as Microsoft look to make some savings, although they claim the hardware is being sold at a profit, unlike Sony who makes a loss on every PS3 sold. The Xbox 360 still lacks web browsing capabilities and has no Blu-ray support.

As you may know, Windows 7 was scheduled for release in 2010. Nevertheless, there are some leaks about launching the operating system next year, in June. Microsoft’s internal calendar has June 3, 2009 as the planned release date. Some voices even claim that Microsoft will present a public beta version on October 27th.

By making a little research, I have found a video of the Windows 7. Moreover, the OS was confirmed by iInside sources which claim that internal builds have already been made available to partners for hardware and software certification. Windows 7 will reuse the old kernel and device driver model, so we can consider it an evolution of Windows Vista rather than a new OS.

However, a Microsoft spokesman told that Windows 7 will follow its original schedule. The company said it will be released in three years from Vista’s launch (January 2007). But having in mind that they will use Vista’s platform, it could arrive sooner in 2009. We shall see…

via Internet News

That time of the month again, when we take a few products and test them out to see if they’re any good or not. This one is going to be a bit different but because many of our readers mailed us asking to include some gaming products, too, here we have the new Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard up for a spin.

It’s a collaboration between the software giant and Razer, famous for developing some of the best gaming mouse, ever. But let’s head on.

The first thing I liked about it is the design that makes it look like a standard multimedia keyboard with interesting and pleasant curves and no flashing or disturbing lights (only a  soft blue backlight). There’s one small drawback to all these, and that’s the fact that it’s pretty big. Big as in 20.75 x 10.75″.

However that’s why there are enough shortcut keys nicely located and I’m talking about those six programmable gaming hotkeys, the four bumper buttons or Razer’s Hyperesponse gaming key action.

Another white ball, is that it offers a very pleasant and most important, a truly silent typing experience. Same ball goes to the detachable, padded wrist support which is covered in high quality leather because when I play I always seem to hurt my skin if the weather is hot.

Another big advantage is that Reclusa is suposed to have an ‘instant response key action’ which is great for gamers because they can record key macros. Too bad it only records only eight key presses. I would have expected much more.

Now to the negative part of this review. Guys, how about some media controls on it? How about better volume control or a smaller price. How about allowing us (gamers) to switch the blue backlight on and off? Keyboards these days are not what they used to be, but I’d sure give Reclusa a 9.00 if it were for my honest opinion/ However our friends at TestFreaks rated it as a 10

Decide for yourself if you plan on buying one. It’s about $70 on Amazon but other shops seem to have it for under $50.

Who’s Google? It’s the world’s most popular internet search engine, that is backed by a complex algorithm that was developed by geniuses with computers, Larry Page and Sergey Brin – the founders. They’re the leaders of search, but today the question is … for how long? Very long I think.

According to comScore’s latest figures the US search market is dominated with a stunning 61.5% by Google, then we have Yahoo with 20.9%, 9.2% for MSN, 4.3% for Ask.com and 4.1% for Aol. But where are those dot.com startups that want to revolutionize the industry? Where’s Mahalo or Cuil or Quintura? There’s probably a reason why I can’t find them on the list, right?

Google is going to stay king over search for a long time because their system is very good. Not flawless, but very good. But will they stay there forever? Probably not. Why? Microsoft and Yahoo! are always looking for some hot startups – with great ideas – to buy. Live Search from MSFT is getting better and better after they bought Powerset.

Another way of dethroning Google is to make it return bad results. I’m not talking of those people trying to spam their listings – it’s only available for a few hours/days and when found, it goes down. I’m talking about major websites asking to be removed from the search results. But who’s going to do that? Probably no one!

If Microsoft and Yahoo should learn anything from Google’s initial success, it’s that getting “rid” of users quickly is more important than keeping them searching. Sure, it sounds counter-intuitive, but it worked for Google – ArsTechinca

On June 20, Marilyn Huff a U.S. judge upheld a jury’s ruling for $368 million in damages against Microsoft Corp for violating patents held by Alcatel-Lucent. The whole amount however, is bigger, because Bill’s company has to pay a total of 512 million, which includes interest on the original award.

“We had always believed we had a strong case and are pleased that the judge agreed that the jury’s thoughtful verdict was well reasoned and supported by the evidence,” Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman Mary Ward said in a statement.

Microsoft said the infringement for those two video-encoding patents (which are obviously still so relevant to the proceedings in these cases) are related to technology that allows users to enter dates into calendars and the other one is used in tablet computers to recognize patterns in handwriting. They are going to appeal the decision again.

I’m not sure what they’re based on but it’s pretty clear they may not win that battle.

Reuters

Remember all the hype around Microsoft acquiring Yahoo? It’s back. Steve Ballmer has come with a new round of negotiations. The new deal refers only to Yahoo’s search engine along with the search marketing business. All the others groups of the company would remain in Yahoo’s yard.

This new deal seems to please Microsoft’s stockholders which were not too happy with the first one. On the other hand, Yahoo’s stockholders have put pressure on their board of directors which have not too many choices at the moment. Thus, the transaction could go as fast as we can imagine. Obviously, Microsoft would pay much under the $40+ billion full buyout. Tech Crunch editor suggested Yahoo’s board of directos could go back for the former deal, but I don’t think they want that. We shall see.

via TechCrunch

Big announcement guys and gals. Microsoft is offering incentives to people that have the time to evaluate (evalu’08) the new Microsoft Server products that were recently released in Los Angeles. The prize is a Windows Home Server. But wait, this is not for all of us. Only 18+ years old residents of the United States with an IT or software development role will be allowed to sign up.

Go ahead and read the official rules and keep in mind that sweepstakes ends June 30, 2008.

via wegotserved

A record fine of $1.3 billion has been issued today by the European Union to Microsoft because the company “charged unreasonable prices” for software information to developers that wanted to build Windows compatible products. If we were to make the total amount for the fines Microsoft has to pay we’ll end up with about $2.5 billion.

Though Microsoft had taken measure to make sure the company is meeting the anti-trust regulations in Europe, said that the issues for which they’re fined today have been taken care of.

Just to bring a smile on Bill’s face, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said “We could have gone as high as 1.5 billion euros ($2.23 billion). The maximum amount is higher than what we did at the end of the day”. They are still skeptical and have all their eyes on Microsoft to see their next steps.