Gadget and Techno Updates
Posts tagged microsoft support jobs
Microsoft plans to sell 5 million Kinect units this fall
Nov 4th
Microsoft is now expecting to sell 5 million Kinect sensors through the holiday shopping season. The revised forecast marks a significant jump from the company’s initial expectations, which called for shipments closer to 3 million units during the same time period.
“Presales have exceeded expectations,” said the head of Microsoft’s entertainment unit, Don Mattrick, in an interview with Reuters. “People are coming to us and saying this is must-have holiday item.”
Research group IDC recently published a strong forecast for the Kinect, which analysts expect to outsell the PlayStation Move controller. IDC’s numbers, ranging from 2.5 million to 3 million units, More >
Internet Explorer leads early HTML5 compliance tests
Nov 3rd
The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) has published results from its first set of HTML5 compliance tests, which were topped by the latest Internet Explorer 9 beta. Microsoft’s browser was found to adhere to a limited set of features more closely than Firefox 4 beta 6, Chrome 7, Opera 10.6, and Apple’s Safari 5 browsers.
The W3C tests only covered seven features of HTML 5, including attributes, video, canvas, getElementsByClassName, foreigncontent and XHTML5. Omitted standards, however, included elements such as the file API, local storage, drag-and-drop, Web Workers, and SVG animations, among others.
As noted by Wired, IE9 appears to be up More >
Jobs: iTunes Extras, LP coming back to Apple TV
Nov 3rd
Apple chief Steve Jobs in a brief e-mail said that iTunes Extras and iTunes LP would come to the redesigned Apple TV. The switch from Mac OS X roots to iOS had seen both of the features dropped, but the CEO sent a message from his iPhone reassuring a MacRumors fan that the two components were “coming.” It’s not known, though unlikely, that the update will ship in an Apple TV firmware update alongside iOS 4.2.
Both of the features were designed to run natively at 720p and were considered ideal fits for Apple TV since they could play at native More >
Sprint to take HTC 7 Pro orders from Microsoft staff Dec. 8
Nov 1st
Sprint will give Microsoft staffers an early treat as it plans to open pre-orders for the HTC 7 Pro to the Windows developer ahead of launch. Confirming an earlier leak, the carrier said Microsoft alone could start requesting the phones December 8. Sprint wouldn’t give BGR a release date, but the phone won’t ship until 2011 since WP7 won’t support CDMA phone networks until then.
It’s unknown when regular buyers will have access to the 7 Pro, but the timing could see an unveiling as early as CES.
The 7 Pro is considered the spiritual successor to the Touch Pro2 and has More >
IDC: Kinect will outsell PlayStation Move this year
Nov 1st
Microsoft’s Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 may outsell Sony’s competing Move controller for the PlayStation 3, according to a forecast published by research firm IDC. Kinect sales are expected to fall somewhere between 2.5 million to 3 million units in the US for the fourth quarter, while Move shipments could fall between 2 million and 2.25 million.
Sony recently announced that it had already shipped 2.5 million Move controllers in just one month, with one million purchases by US customers and 1.5 million shipped to Europe. The company suggests it is having difficulty keeping up with the strong demand.
Microsoft More >