Microsoft Will Pay You $100 to Upgrade From XP

By David Nield at Digital Trends: 

If you’re still contentedly plugging away with Microsoft’s 13 year-old Windows XP operating system, the executives at Redmond have an offer for you: Upgrade to a brand new Windows 8 machine, and they’ll put $100 in your back pocket. Head to the online Microsoft Store if you’re tempted.

You also get 90 days of free support and a free data transfer service thrown in, though the deal benefits Microsoft as well as users — with official support for Windows XP ending next month, computers that are still running the operating system will no longer receive the security updates and patches required to keep online dangers at bay.

To qualify for the discount, you’ll need to fork out for a shiny new Windows 8 machine costing $699 or more, and there are a variety of all-in-ones, laptops and tablet/laptop hybrids to pick from (including Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 2). Check the FAQ pages on the Microsoft Store website for more information — you’ve got until June 15 to get your order in.




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Windows 8.1 Might Be Getting A Free Version

Windows 8 wasn’t the renaissance Microsoft hoped it would be. Sure, the total number of Windows 8 users steadily increases every month, but it has no chance of toppling Windows 7 at this point. One reason for that is that consumers don’t want to pay $100 or more to upgrade. Microsoft might soon be remedying this.

ZDNet reports that Microsoft is currently looking into a free version of Windows 8.1 called Windows 8.1 with Bing. It’s reportedly part of a grand experiment as Microsoft sees the writing on the wall – operating systems will one day be free. The company will have to adapt to this reality before it happens, and that’s where Windows 8.1 with Bing comes in.

So, what is Windows 8.1 with Bing? Well, nobody is exactly sure at this point, but they have some ideas. One theory is that it’s an experiment into a free version of Windows 8 that would only come with Bing services. All the other applications you usually get with Windows, like Skype, OneDrive and Office, would all be available as paid-for add-ons. In other words, Windows 8 would be free while applications can be added on through separate purchases as needed.




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Foursquare Cuts $15M Deal with Microsoft

Foursquare is announcing that it has received $15 million in funding as a result of a partnership with Microsoft. The deal will see Foursquare contributing to the Bing platform’s location and context layers on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

The funding will be rolled into Foursquare’s previous raise of $35 million in December, bringing the total to $50 million. In addition, a licensing deal has been struck for the location data, but the financial terms of that haven’t been disclosed.

This is not a simple licensing deal for Foursquare’s location data. Instead, Microsoft will be getting the data and much deeper access to its contextual layers than any third party via Foursquare’s API. Holger Luedorf, Foursquare’s head of business development, tells me that this is a multi-year agreement that includes both data and technical components that will integrate with Microsoft’s Bing platform on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

Foursquare will expose more functionality to Microsoft’s team than any other platform has access to. Luedorf says this includes Foursquare’s location targeting system that utilizes phone sensor data to pinpoint user locations and points of interest.



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#Foursquare’s New #Windows 8 App Brings LocalSearch to Desktop

In the four years Foursquare has been around, it’s gone from the app that tells everyone about the donut you’re currently eating to the app that helps you find the donut you actually should be eating. The evolution of Foursquare’s fundamental purpose, from a geolocation-based social app to a local business recommendation engine, has been mirrored by the app’s design changes over the years—meaning, check-ins and social functions have been demoted while Explore and search have taken over the prime real estate of your phone’s screen.

It makes sense then, in the app’s most recent incarnation launched today for Windows 8, Foursquare is gunning even harder to become your go-to service for telling you what you want and how to get there.

The fact that this is Foursquare’s foray into native apps for the non-mobile world is notable. The app can be used across Windows 8 platforms, from your Surface tablet to your desktop computer without its basic functionality changing at all. Foursquare has already proved itself as a reliable source for quick-check information like, what’s immediately nearby, hours of operation and whether or not that burrito place you’ve been eyeing takes credit cards (it probably doesn’t).


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Microsoft shows off Windows 8 tablet concept

Microsoft on Tuesday showed off a concept tablet running an early version of its next-generation Windows 8 operating system during a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference presentation. The company briefly showed off the mysterious tablet, which touted a user interface that looks very similar to the tech giant’s mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7.

Windows 8

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know... . you might get one if you're a patient Windows user. With Windows' eighth major release (at least according to Microsoft's math), its name is becoming metaphorical. Taking on a default look that is rooted in Windows Phone 7 -- the first "Windows" to eschew windows -- with a smattering of Media Center, the next major version of Windows marks an overhaul of the initial user interface. Indeed, it is even a more radical departure than Apple made between Mac OS X and iOS, which preserved a scaled-down dock and icons, or between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.