Kinect to be Priced at $150?
Even though Microsoft has not confirmed the pricing of Kinect, the Microsoft Store currently has a page up that shows that Kinect will be priced at $150.
Other retailers, such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon, have as well shown the $150 pricing, but could not be confirmed from Microsoft. Now with Microsoft’s own store putting up the $150 price tag on Kinect it, does it mean its official?
Let’s just hope that when it launches there are better game titles to play than the ones demoed because they were not compelling at all. Do you think that you will buy it at this price? Let us know in the comments.
Can we Expect a XBOX 360 Slim at all?
With the announcement of the PS3 Slim by Sony at GamesCom last week, there have now been rumors of a XBOX 360 Slim in the works from Microsoft to counter the PS3 Slim. The PS3 Slim is going to be released before September 1st at a new price of $299 and with the announcement of the XBOX 360 Pro being dropped and the XBOX 360 Elite replacing the Pro at the same $299 price point, Microsoft and Sony will finally be going head to head at the same price point. Could this mean that Microsoft might follow Sony’s footsteps and release a slim console of their own?
Microsoft may tell people that they are confident with the way sales are going and they are confident that the PS3 will not overtake the XBOX 360 in sales this holiday season, but there is reason for disbelief. This holiday season can mean announcing a new XBOX 360 Slim soon to counter the PS3 Slim, if sales dip and if the PS3 has higher sales. If they don’t that may be another story, but it can still happen.
If Microsoft were to release an XBOX 360 Slim, they can market it as a new reliable console that is more reliable than the previous versions of the console. A console redesign could be a good marketing move to get rid of the stigma of 360′s continuous breaking down. They can use the knowledge that they have now on heat design and with that they can redesign the XBOX 360 so that it has less faliure rates than before. That would mean less to no RRoD’s, E74 Errors, or other issues.
There is something stopping Microsoft from redesigning a slimmer console. A problem that they face would be that they can’t redesign a slimmer console until they get to the point where they can get the CPU and GPU in the same package. Sony shrinking the cell processor down to 45nm and other components allowed them to build a slimmer version of the console, but Microsoft still has a Falcon 65Â nm chipset in their consoles.
This holiday season will be a turning point for better or for worse for Microsoft. Do you think that there will be a slimmer XBOX 360 in the works?
Microsoft Office Technical Preview Program now Live!
Microsoft has opened up it’s doors to those that signed up for the Technical Preview Program a couple months ago. Those that got in got a special e-mail with their invitation to the program. With that invitation it will allow you to test the Office 2010 Technical Preview and report bugs and suggestions to Microsoft.
Welcome! We are pleased to invite you into the Technical Preview program to be among the first people in the world to experience Microsoft® Office 2010.
The following link will bring you to Microsoft Connect, where you will find downloads available for early, pre-release versions of Microsoft Office 2010 products. You will also find product information and have the chance to participate in newsgroups to engage with our product teams and other program participants. Please note that there is no technical support offered for this program.
Check your e-mails now for your invite! We will post screen-shots of Office 2010 soon.
Pre-Order Windows 7 NOW!
Microsoft has dropped the link for the pre-orders of Windows 7 now! Get your Windows 7 Upgrades at a cheaper price! The pricing is as follows:
Upgrades:
Home Premium – $ 119.99 (Vista Launch price of $159.99)
Professional – $ 199.99 (Vista launch price of $199.99)
Ultimate – $ 259.99 (Vista launch price of $259.99)
Pre-Order Upgrades:
Home Premium – $49.99
Professional – $99.99
Full Retail:
Home Premium – $ 199.99 (Vista launch price $239.99)
Professional – $ 299.99 (Vista launch price $299.99)
Ultimate – $ 319.99 (Vista launch price $399.99)
http://store.microsoft.com/
So go and pre-order Windows 7 for a cheaper price and beat others to the punch.
Bing goes live!
Microsoft is previewing Bing for all to see. It has released as a preview, but it is more than a preview, it is the next Microsoft Live Search Engine. As you can see, when you go to the website, there is a hover-to-preview, video preview, etc.
Check it out for yourself here.
Microsoft Office 2010 Beta: Accepting Signups!
Microsoft has opened applications for the Microsoft Office 2010 Beta sign up.
The Microsoft Office Technical Beta program is an invitation only program intended for committed beta testers. The purpose of the program is to gain product feedback and technical validation across the family of Office client and server products. Selected participants will receive pre-release software, early product documentation and guidance, and beta technical support through our sponsored Technical Beta Program newsgroups. Selected testers will be expected to participate in monthly program surveys and other requests for feedback.
In order to sign up, you have to visit http://www.office2010themovie.com/, submit your contact details, answer to a few survey questions.
Microsoft has said that by mid July, the beta will be released.
Download the Windows 7 RC EARLY!
Looks like the RC for Windows 7Â has been let lose early! Microsoft has released the RC today on their own servers, no torrent! Download it before everyone (if you haven’t got the leaked version yet) and brag to others. 
Download it here: Windows 7 RC at Microsoft.com
OR
Direct Link: http://wb.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/release/windows7/4/0/c/40c1e714-7910-4b38-9b5e-67fa522e6a44/7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_retail_ultimate-grc1culfrer_en_dvd.iso?lcid=1033&RURL=https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-rc-32/enus/
File Name: 7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRC1CULFRER_EN_DVD.iso
Size: 2.35GB
MD5 Hash: 8867C13330F56A93944BCD46DCD73590
Welcome to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) testing. We’re on our way to Windows 7, and if you like trying out pre-release software, now’s your chance. You get to see what’s coming, and we get to see if our changes and fixes from the Beta testing are working correctly.
How do you test the software? You put it on your PC, and then do what you’d normally do. Your PC will automatically and anonymously send our engineers the information they need to verify the fixes and changes they made based on the Windows 7 Beta tests.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx
New Windows 7 Build Milestone 7105
There is speculation on the Internet that the next Windows 7 Build Milestone and that is 7105. The last build that was leaked, and known to be released, was last month and it was build 7070. We can only guess that Microsoft made some great improvements because of the huge milestone jump.
The changelog that we have been sent annomusly is:
1. Improved networking support, local network.
2. Added more support for some previously incompatible programs.
3. Extras in the LP and small cosmetic interface improvements.
4. Added support for new drivers for various of devices.
5. Extended support for sensory based displays.
6. A small optimization and changes in the kernel.
If this has been released to testers we could expect a leaks soon.
2,500,000,000 Achievements Unlocked On The XBOX 360
OXM has reported that XBOX 360 games have have unlocked a grand total of two and a half billion Achievements, earning 52 billion Gamerscore in the process.
This data has been released by XBOX boss Aaron Greenberg and this is a big accomplishment for Microsoft. Although this may seem like a big number it can be even bigger. There is no way to calculate the achievements from those that have never connected to XBOX Live. So, the average works out at 150 Gamerscore for every Xbox gamer.
These are impressive stats and a congradulations are in order for Microsoft.
XBOX 360 Elite Might be Canned
Recently there are rumors, from FUDZilla,that Microsoft might kill off it’s high-end Xbox 360 model, the Elite, which might happen sometime during the second quarter of this year.
When Microsoft does stop production of the Elite, they will stop fulfilling orders from retailers. From that, when the inventory is depleted, the Elite system will move to more of a limited edition role that will be available only at select retailers, and likely only in select countries like North America and Europe. You can still pick up Elite consoles that will be available in those areas if you fork out more for a Limited Edition console, and that should be more like the recent Resident Evil 5 Red Elite Limited Edition console.
Why would Microsoft just kill of their high end console though? There can be a variety of reasons. One can be that since the economy is bad enough as it is, people are not buying them as they used to, with the tight credit and cash crunch. Retailers do not want to stock high-priced Elite systems, which tend to sit on the shelves longer than the Arcade and Pro systems. Another reason could be that with the ability to release a limited edition console (in place of the Elite) and only be sold in select stores and areas, they can get more money for selling something that is limited in quantity.
While the entire thing is still in the planning process anything can happen. This idea/rumor might fall through and never happen, or it can happen and we might have to pay a little extra to find the high end model of the XBOX 360. This is all speculation and only time will tell. What is your insight on what will happen?